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fearlessinger · 2 years

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How does Athena foil Apollo?

oh in so many ways… Love that you picked her. (Granted Athena herself, like all the gods who aren't Apollo, has had a relatively low amount of screentime in the rrverse so far, but I believe there's enough to paint a pretty complete picture if you read between the lines, and take into account what other characters - mainly Apollo and her children - say/imply of her. So.)

Athena is Zeus's favorite, I would argue even above Artemis, because she's the only one out of all the gods who never feels the need to resort to going behind his back in the course of the three pentalogies. She's the only member of the Olympian council that we know he actively seeks the advice of.

Apollo on the other hand, is possibly the least favored of Zeus' progeny in the present day. In Apollo’s own words, Zeus “hasn’t trusted [Apollo] for millennia”. By the time we meet him, Apollo has been left by his father barely any room to maneuver even within his own domains, as demonstrated by the fact that he can’t even independently choose to cede the reins of the sun chariot to anyone that Zeus might not approve of. He is the one Zeus immediately points to when he needs a scapegoat. He gets hit with a punishment so harsh it's quite literally a miracle he survived, to the point that we find ourselves wondering, in the end, if he was actually meant to.

But it wasn't always like this. Once upon a time Apollo too enjoyed Zeus' favor. He and Athena both used to be Zeus' main enforcers and right hand people. We still see evidence of this in the kind of relationship they seem to have.

Athena is the only one of Apollo’s family members whose counsel he explicitly wishes he could ask during his trials, as opposed to his wishing for material help from most of everybody else. She is the only one of the gods to openly speak against Apollo’s punishment, right in front of Zeus too. She words her disapproval carefully enough that she retains plausible deniability, but just barely. And she alone bets on Apollo’s survival in Hermes’ pool. In that last council scene, she and Apollo are able to silently communicate with just a glance. It’s clear that they share some deep camaraderie, an old well established ease with each other that the recent distance between them has not diminished.

We’re never given the full explanation, but it’s not hard to figure out how their paths must have diverged. It’s not even hard to figure out why. Apollo’s ruled by his heart, while Athena can’t fathom following anything but her brain. As Apollo started more and more chafing under their father's rules, more and more refusing compliance, Athena clearly made the opposite choice. Nowadays they play opposite roles: the beautiful fool and the dutiful lieutenant. Everything about the way Apollo chooses to present himself is a middle finger to his father, whereas Athena is the staunchest of Zeus loyalists.

And yet it looks like they still have a lot of respect for each other. Which isn’t surprising because they have some significant similarities despite their very different characters. Firstly: they share a similar sense of responsibility. It’s undeniable that Athena takes their job very seriously, and much as it may seem that Apollo has the opposite attitude on the surface, we know, having reached the end of TOA, that that was never the truth. Secondly, they are both extremely intelligent and acutely aware of it. They both expect to be the smartest person in the room at any given time. And they are right except of course for when they are wrong bc their intelligence most definitely does not prevent them from being also incredibly dumb. You may be wondering how can I so confidently make this latter assertion, since we never get a peek into Athena’s head, but I think Annabeth saying that the first lesson Athena’s kids must learn is that “mom is always right and don’t you ever dare suggest otherwise” backs me up here.

On this note, it’s interesting to observe that Athena’s children and Apollo’s children both display a strikingly unusual amount of faith/confidence in their divine parents, compared to… basically all the other demigods.

Annabeth won’t ever stop singing Athena’s praises/boasting about being her daughter, even as she makes comments like the one I cited above. And Will famously stood in front of the army that was about to raze CHB to the ground in Apollo’s name and called bullshit on the idea that his father would ever approve of such a thing with enough conviction that the matter was considered settled and nobody even for a second thought of doubting Apollo afterwards.

And yet “dad is always right” is very obviously not an idea that has ever entered the mind of any of Apollo’s children. They show absolutely no reverence, let alone fear, toward their father. Will doesn’t hesitate to legit SCOLD Apollo in front of the whole camp in THO. The loyalty that Apollo’s children have toward their father is nothing like that of the Athena kids toward their mother. In this too it seems like Athena has chosen to stick to the path traced by Zeus, while Apollo has rejected it.

But their divisions aren’t irreconcilable, and that little secret nod she gives Apollo at the end of TON proves it. Remember when I said Athena is the only one out of all the gods who never feels the need to resort to doing stuff behind Zeus’ back? That changes here. For the very first time, we see her take initiative without her father’s knowledge or consent.

#colorsunlikeanythingseen #rrverse #toa #toa meta #*cough* someone ask me about hermes next *cough*

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toasecretsanta · 1 year

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A gift for @colorsunlikeanythingseen written by @m-arnie-xx based on the prompt “Apollo & Jason”

Caelus Grey had more fingers on one hand than he had friends, and he couldn’t have given a damn that most people thought this was some terrible tragedy.

Because, like, of course it sucked to sometimes spend his lunchtimes alone at school — when Friend Number 1 was off at student council and Friend Number 2 was sick, and that was the full extent of his friends at school — but it did make birthday party planning a whole lot easier.

And yes, obviously it might’ve been nice to have a slightly bigger chance of getting one of his friends in each of his classes, odds that were usually stacked against him, but Caelus couldn’t deny that his grades were probably a whole lot better because of it.

You see, the thing was that he’d just never been that much of a social person. He valued a few, strong bonds over casual acquaintances any day, and everytime he thought about just biting the bullet and trying to at least engage in small talk with his lab partner, or seat-mate, that voice in the back of his head would whisper and remind him, You had better friends once.

The voice was delusional, but Caelus digressed.

The point was: he had exactly three friends and was perfectly okay with that number.

Who needed a contact list longer than the Collins English dictionary, for instance, when Ximena knew his Wendy’s order off the back of her hand, and shamelessly spent her dad’s money to buy him it whenever he was having a bad day after another one of his nightmares dreams about that damn yacht against?

Who needed a friend in every class when Aidan always saved him a seat in the cafeteria, and once agreed to hide a baby bird, that Caelus had saved, in his room after Caelus’ mother had banned him from bringing home any more animals into his own?

Who needed a hundred friends at their birthday party, when Lester could persuade his parents to let him take Caelus out to just about anywhere for his birthday present, including (though not limited to) multiple Broadway shows, the Military Aviation Museum, and honest-to-gods France in the past few years?

No one. Certainly not Caelus, that was for sure.

Ximena, Aidan, Lester — yes, he was happy with the three friends he had.

----

(“I’m sorry, but I’ve checked a hundred times. He’s not in Elysium, not anymore. Jason must have gone for rebirth.”

“And there’s no way to tell? No way to find out who he’ll be reborn as?”

“No. And even if there was, I’d be breaking so many rules trying to find out.”

A sigh. “Thank you for trying Nico.”

“You’re welcome, Lester.”)

----

For as long as he could remember, Caelus was sure that he had a guardian angel looking after him.

When he was younger, only a small toddler really, this angel had taken the form of an imaginary friend just a little too real to be created from his mind. Moving around constantly because of his dad’s job, Caelus had spent most of his childhood playing alone — which probably contributed to his lack of friends as he grew up, to be totally honest — except for the fact that he never had been by himself at all.

He’d build a tower of sand in his kindergarten’s playpit, and his imaginary friend would be kneeling next to him, patting down the walls and teaching him how to use water to turn them from crumbly sand to hardened and strong.

He’d search through his newest school’s library for the next book in his favourite series, and his imaginary friend would be searching too, somehow always able to find the book before Caelus did and pressing it into his hands with a wink.

He’d be flicking through channels on the TV, utterly bored and stuck for ideas on what to watch, and his imaginary friend would reach over and pluck the controller out of his hand, changing over to a programme on paramedics that was probably not entirely age appropriate but Caelus would credit years later for being what initially inspired him to become a doctor.

And then, as he hit middle school, and then high school, his imaginary friend became much more than that: he became his protector.

The first houseparty that Caelus ever attended, fourteen years old and completely out of his depth, his guardian angel had been the one to take him home that night, giving him a stern lecture on the dangers of alcohol but helping him sneak back into his room so he didn’t get caught by his parents all the same.

When he was failing an essential class and completely convinced that he was going to fail the exam that was worth half his grade, his guardian angel had sat with him for hours the evening before, explaining the same concepts over and over again with the patience of a saint until Caelus finally understood everything, before sending him off to bed with the reminder that “Without a good night’s sleep, all of this will have been for nothing, so you’d better get your full eight hours, you understand?”

And when his dad had gotten into a car crash, and all the doctors had been prepping to turn off the life support and announce the Time of Death, it was his guardian angel that had shown up with a determined look, like nothing Caelus had ever seen before, on his face and strode past medical staff who couldn’t see him into the surgery himself, only to return five minutes later following behind an overjoyed doctor who announced that “Everything is going to be okay. Your dad will make a full recovery.”

So, yeah — imaginary friend turned guardian angel. How brilliant.

(And if the first time Caelus had ever met Lester he’d had to do a double take, then that was only natural and a complete coincidence. After all, they both had blondish-brown hair and blue eyes — it was no wonder that they looked like they could be twins in Caelus’ eyes.)

----

(“Apollo.”

“I know, Hades, I know. No contact with the reborn. But it’s not as if I’m trying to remind him of his past life or anything.”

“You saved his dad. His dad, who was supposed to die.”

“I won’t apologise. If the Fates wanted James Grey dead that much, even I would not have been able to stop his death.”

“…Stay away from him Apollo. If your father finds out-”

“He won’t. I promise, I won’t let him find out.”

“Good. See that you don’t.”)

----

Congratulations graduates!

He was looking like an idiot for sure, but Caelus couldn’t help the grin that would overtake his face every time he looked at the banner strung over the stage that he would walk across in less than an hour, to collect the diploma he had spent the last four years working towards.

Of course, this newly-acquired degree wouldn’t mean he was going to become a fully fledged doctor any time soon. No, years more of junior doctor training awaited him even after he got his initial qualifications, but so sue him if the idea of not having to survive of black coffee and awful college meals was a joyous one.

“Stop it,” said Ximena, swatting his arm. “You look like you’re high, grinning stupidly every few minutes.”

“Oh shut up Xi.” Caelus bumped his shoulder against hers in retaliation. “I’m not high. I’m just happy, that’s all.”

She sniffed. “Good thing you are. I’d hate to see you miserable after spending so much money on this degree.”

“Technically, it was the bank that paid for most of this diploma.”

“Well then, you’d better enjoy this good feeling now, hadn’t you? Before you see all the student debt you’ve racked up and forget what the concept of happiness is, y’know.”

Caelus did not bother to deign her with a reply, choosing instead to scan the crowd of graduates and family members for his parents, who’d walked off to peruse the selection of canapés and should have been returning anytime soon. He did not get very far in his crowd-searching, however, before another, melodic and very familiar voice spoke from his left.

“Well done,” it said. Only with years of having his imaginary friend (and, wow, how had it been twenty years, and he still hadn’t come up with a better name for him yet) appear out of nowhere as experience, did Caelus manage not to jump out of his skin with the surprise.

“Dude,” he said, not bothering to whisper — somehow, others never heard him when he was talking to his imaginary friend. “A little warning next time, please?”

“Sorry,” his friend grinned, not sounding very sorry at all. He slung an arm over Caelus’ shoulders. “I meant what I said though: well done on graduating. Med school is tough as Tartarus to get through, but you did so amazingly.”

Caelus turned slightly pink at the compliment, even as he pondered the odd choice in words. Tough as Tartarus. From his elective on Greek and Roman mythology back in high school, he knew that Tartarus was the Ancient Greek and Roman’s equivalent of hell. “Thanks.”

His friend hummed, smiling, then turned his head to the sky, the light of the sun illuminating his face and making his hair shine like liquid gold. “Nice day for a graduation ceremony, don’t you think?”

Caelus looked up at the cloudless sky. “Yeah, it is.” He glanced at his friend out of the corner of his eye, then back up. “Odd though, because the weatherman said it was supposed to rain today.”

There was a chuckle from his left. “As if I’d ever let it rain on such an important day as this.”

Wait… what?

Caelus frowned. “What do you mean, ‘as if I’d ever let it rain’?”

There was no reply. He turned his head to look at his imaginary friend, mouth open to ask exactly what he’d meant by that, but only an empty chair awaited him.

----

(Years later, Caelus died from a brain tumour, surrounded by his family and friends. He had lived a long life, working as a doctor for many years before retiring to travel the world with his wife, Ximena Grey neé Ortiz, and passed from this world to the next happily, and with few regrets.

In his last few weeks of life, a new doctor was assigned to look after him while he stayed at the hospital. With hair like liquid gold and eyes bluer than sapphires, even with his brain failing, Caelus could have recognised his guardian angel anywhere.

“You came,” he croaked.

“As if I was going to let you die without getting to say goodbye,” replied his friend, busying his hands by flicking through Caelus’ medical charts to hide their shaking.

And say goodbye he did, standing beside Caelus’ bed as he slipped into Thanatos’ clutches, and waiting ready in the Underworld to welcome him as he entered, all memories of his past life restored to him.

“Jason…” Apollo whispered, running across the Hall of Judgement to embrace his brother.

“Thank you,” Caelus Jason murmured in reply. He didn’t elaborate further; he knew Apollo would know what he was thanking him for.

His brother drew back, and though there were tears in his eyes, a smile was also stretched across his face. “It was my pleasure,” he said, “Truly.”)

#toasecretsanta #m-arnie-xx #colorsunlikeanythingseen #jason grace #pjo apollo #nico di angelo #pjo hades #trials of apollo #toa #riordanverse #trials of apollo fanfic #toa fanfic #riordanverse fanfic

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dreams-and-dreams · 1 year

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Secret Santa (just want to make sure you got it)

Prompt Meg and Apollo road trip

I do not get why mortals complain about road trips. There is nothing better than driving across the country, spending time with friends, and listening to music, podcasts, or whatever radio station you happen to find. It is better in the sun chariot of course but even so there is joy in the journey of our stolen truck. I have however learned to appreciate road stops more than I used to when I was a god I rarely saw the point in stopping.

“Turn left” Luckily I was reinterpret this particular order and turned my body left to face Meg instead of raming the car into the side of a building

“Meg watch your orders. I am not mad at you but you have to be more careful”.

“Right, sorry” Meg said and looked away, her face was like cement. Luckily that only lasted a block and she soon went back to examining her map and humming along to the radio.

“Go…We… um.. Please go right now.” I turned right wondering what destination or dead end I would find.

I turn the corner only to find more rows of downtown brick buildings. I will never understand Missouri’s apparent urge to make everything brick. It brought up bad memories of Athena’s lectures on city planning in Olympus. I barely had to make an effort to tune out those meetings. When buildings weren’t brick they were the same bland cookie cutter modern office space.

“Right. It’s right here” Meg suddenly said. I barely had time to turn right. I pulled into a building that managed to be a mix of both brick and modern glass office space. Perhaps Athena had a point about the decay of American architecture.

“Why are we here Meg.” I asked as she stumbled out of the car with the grace of a newly born gazelle.

“Fork.” She said pointing at the fork that looked like one of Utgard-Loki’s dropped dinner sets (Do not accept any of his invitations even if he is, funny, has really good poetry, and lovely eyes. He is simply a terrible host).

“Yes I see the fork. Why?”

With her usual eloquence Meg wandered off without a word in my direction. I suppose you can only expect demigods to stay still so long. I felt a bit wobbly as well, another downside of being mortal. I used to be able to drive all day with complete ease and now after only four hours driving I wanted a rest.

I found a bench to sit down on. It was once of those weird almost modern art ones with curves that might pass as handle bars if you squinted in the middle. The air was warm and you could feel the sun warming the earth. Perhaps it was Ra up there or Sol, or a giant ball of gas, at the moment the cosmos turning on without me brought more comfort than despair. Even if I fail things would continue my children would outlive me and the world would keep turning (a weird fact but not an unpleasant one).

Someone sat down next to me and it was not Meg. It seemed to be a business lady and I felt hungry just looking at her. I didn’t need to be the god of medicine to recognize the clear signs of extremely unhealthy weightloss. She was bone thin in the way only starving people could be, her once perfectly tailored business suit now sagged around her like loose skin. Despite the layers of her suit jacket, vest, and shirt I could count her ribs. She is literally only skin and bone.

“Hey are you alright?” I asked knowing the answer should not be yes. I would not be surprised if I had to call for an ambulance which would be a problem unless the Arrow of Dodonna could make phone calls as easily as they could access google maps.

“Yes… yes I am alright better than ever in fact. Thank you for asking, what is your name, young man.” She gave me a thin smile as she found something funny.

“Lester.” I searched my pockets for some sort of snack. Dried vegetables or meats would be preferred as she would be more likely to accept that of course anything is better than nothing.

“It is nice to meet you Lester. I am Limos, I work in one of the offices there. What are you doing here this is hardly a place you should be.” I found a packet of peanuts in my sweatshirt pocket.

“I am on a road trip with my little sister.” I was starting to feel hungry myself. Ugg road trip snacks are not filling. “That’s her”

She looked over towards where Meg was destroying the carefully cultivated patch of grass at the center of the roundabout. Limos was not as happy as I was at seeing her have fun.

“Well we can’t help who we are related to.” If looks could kill Meg would be dead but when she turned back to face me Limos was all smiles again. “What do you know about this monument.”

“Not much” I was increasingly tempted to dig into the peanuts myself.

“The fork used to be a sculpture in front of some restaurant. They went out of business and whatever company rents out this office space bought the world’s second largest fork.”

“Second?” I felt weak. The last time I felt this hungry was the last time I was mortal. It hadn’t quite sunk in then that food, sleep, and water were now mandatory for me. I was in such a rush to complete the wall of Troy I didn’t eat, sleep or drink for four days straight. Had I not maintained some measure of godly strength I would have died. I wasn’t at that level of hunger yet but something was wrong.

“Oh yes the new largest fork is located in Colorado. So not it is now just a large empty fork with nothing particularly special about it.”

I pulled out the peanuts poured half into my hands and offered the other half of the bag to Limos. “Here”

She looked like I had just offered her maggot infested meat. Far faster that she should be physically be capable of moving she threw the bag into the dirt and knocked the peanuts out of my hand.

“I never share. You should never give something for nothing! That destroys profits and drives me out of business” She snarled and for a moment resembled my father about to strike. However hunger was a force far more powerful than fear so I was more focused on the peanuts.

“My peanuts!” I stumbled off the bench and collapsed as if my legs were cooked spaghetti. My stomach growled like a cornered wolf ready to eat me alive.

“You aren’t human.” I should know exactly who and what she was but as usual that file was not found.

“Neither are you Apollo.” Limos said and in a parody of tender care helped me back onto the bench.

“Why are you trying to kill me.” I asked mostly to delay the inevitable. I remembered many many reasons monsters, gods, spirits, and humans might try to kill me and there were even more that I had forgot.

“I am not trying to kill you Lord Apollo. You might die but that wouldn’t be my fault.”

“Well that is a nice change. It really does not feel like you aren’t trying to kill me though” I rasped. Shooting pains ran through my stomach were it not for Limos’ tight grip on my hands I would have charged towards the roundabout and started eating grass or the peanuts scattered out of reach.

“It’s not worth getting on Artemis’s bad side besides you are going to die soon anyways hopefully after you deal with Python. It could be… inconvenient for us all if you die before then” She said is an even and uncaring tone like she was discussing the projected revenue of a new product and not whether I would live or die.

In a worrying turn of events I stopped feeling hungry as if my body gave up on receiving anything to eat. With this bit of renewed clarity I remembered that she was the very very very minor god of famine (duh), not someone I hung out with, and the natural enemy of Demeter and her children. She wasn’t here for me she was here for Meg, and I was a hostage.

She seemed to notice my look of despair, “Oh you finally caught on took you long enough.” Limos dragged me to my feet. I had to come up with a clever plan to warn Meg unfortunately nothing clever came to mind so I did the next best thing.

I shouted. “MEG. LIMOS IS FAMINE. DO NOT STEP OFF THE---”

I was rudely interrupted by Limos covering my mouth. Taking a page out of Megs book I bit her, hard. Despite the blood running down her hand Limos didn’t even flinch. Luckily her blood was red, like the triumvirate or my sister’s hunters. Limos’ power truly had faded over the millenia. If I wasn’t about to pass out and had my ukulele or any arrows, I could kill her! Maybe...

Meg unlike me was always ready to fight someone and was armed with ornamental vegetable seeds, snacks, and swords. With her typical grace she stated, “Give him back.”

“I will if you corporate with me. Lets have a talk just you and I this does not have to be ugly and no one needs to get hurt.”

Hopefully heading my warning Meg did not move closer. Limos stepped onto the road instead cementing my theory of her not quite having the range she once had “Your dear stepfather worries about you and had hired me to bring you home.” Limos lied.

“He- he isn’t my family. That’s not my home. I am not going back like that ever again.” Meg spoke in a rush like she was trying to fit decades of unspoken words into a sentence.

“I am sorry about your situation I truly am” Limos continued lying, “But I was hired for this job and I must fulfill it. I am sure we can reach a compromise.” I am sure she said elaborated more but I was rather distracted by a jagged knife of bone getting far too close to my throat.

Perhaps it was a sign of my current starving state of mind but my first thought was not, oh yikes I am going to die , instead I wondered it I could eat that bone. There was only one way to find out. In a move so stupid that Limos couldn’t predict it I stopped biting Limos’s and bit down on the knife instead. In case you are wondering, no it did not tase good. it tasted like my own blood and new mouth injuries because that is what happens when you bite jagged knives.

Luckily Meg took advantage of Limos’s distraction or perhaps someone drop kicked a pumpkin out of a nearby window. Either way Limos fell back and I stumbled forward. Meg supported me back to the grass and more importantly the pumpkins. They were better than any ambrosia and nectar I have ever had.

“That was quite rude of you. To think we could have done this the easy way. Now well- you have disrespected a god you both know the consequences of that.” My pumpkin withered and felt more hungry than ever after eating.

“How do we beat her.” Meg said still standing tall despite her new hunger. I tried to mimic her focus.

“Food, especially gardens, grow as much as you can. You are her natural enemy for a reason, she wants to kill you before you kill her, because this god can die.”

Meg nodded and scattered seeds across the grassy spot. Strawberries blossomed and burst into fruit, shoots of grass grew into golden grain, squashes sprouted. It was a paradise greater than Elysium. I gobbled up as much strawberries as I could. Meg munched on a cob of corn. We were safe for now, but I doubted that Meg could outlast a god. Limos reached the curb but did not step closer. I could see anger behind her smiling mask either at my words or the pumpkin staining her new suit jacket.

“Ridiculous I am immortal just like you once were Lester. You could never defeat let alone kill me. I just want to kill you because you are related to someone I can’t hurt yet.” Meg nodded at me as if to say keep talking. Finally I could do something I excelled at!

“That speech might have fooled me if I were a mortal but I am a very old god. I have witnessed the final moments of pantheons, I can see the signs of a gods death. Your domain is weakening-”

“NO it is not. Famine has never weakened in fact it has grown more than ever, tonight over 828 million people will go to bed hungry. My reach has not weakened and it never will.”

“Yes there are far too many people hungry, but they don't have to be. New farming practices are so effective that there is enough food to feed everyone.” I couldn’t tune out all of Demeter's rants on improved agricultural efficiency.

“And people would rather have it rot then share it. No one shares if it means that they might lose a few dollars.” Limos successfully was distracted arguing with me but Meg seemed to need even more time.

“Some are that greedy but not everyone. Besides that isn’t even your biggest problem I mean who know who Limos is? You name is practically forgotten. I haven’t seen a shrine for you in millennia and nothing is named after a famine god. That would be terrible branding.”

For a moment Limos’ mask of confidence cracked and either fear or anger leaked through. “Shut up.” A wave a hunger washed through me a but I simply helped myself to more strawberries. “Gods are always powered by a worshippers’ fear. Even if they don’t know my name anymore, anyone that has met me fears me and will never return to life the same. That is more powerful than any shrine.” Her resemblance to Zeus continued to grew and it wasn’t because they had the same taste in business suits.

“Fear only works for so long, Love lasts far longer, but nothing is remembered forever. Even Pan died and you are far weaker than him. How much time do you have before you die like everyone you killed? I have always wondered what a god’s afterlife would be like if we have one at all.”

Limos trembled probably out of anger. “You are going to learn that first.” Bone knives flew towards my neck and would have hit were it not for Meg and her ornamental vegetables. A wave of vegetation grew cracking the concrete. A peach tree grew around Limos trapping her.

As one Meg and I ran towards the truck. The ground trembling beneath us as the road was transformed into a new community garden. We did not buckle our seat belts, I stomped on the gas pedal, accelerated to illegal speeds and left Limos in the dust. Presumably. I did not turn around to check.

It took twenty miles before I felt safe enough to speak “That was terrible. We are never doing that again”

“Yeah, don’t get captured ever again.” Meg looked at me weirdly like I might die or vanish forever if she looked away again.

“I am not planning to. Want to find us a new rest stop?”

“Thought we were never doing that again?”

“We aren’t visiting any large forks again, but a ball of twine is still on the table if it is on the way too….”

I didn’t continue the weight of our task sat too heavily in my throat for moment, but I drove on each mile getting us closer to what would be the end of our journey one way or another. I would not mind another roadside attraction before things ended.

Facts

The statistics about word hunger is accurate as of my time of writing this. Source https://www.actionagainsthunger.org/the-hunger-crisis/world-hunger-facts/

The story of the world’s second largest fork is is accurate.

A lot of Missouri’s building are made of brick due to the brick mines as well as because brick is fire resistant. St. Louis is particular had a problem with fire due to how steamboats were prone to spontaneous combustion.

Brickwork can be beautiful if you are a bit creative but corporations are not creative.

There is a surprising amount of discourse about whether or not this is or isn't the largest fork. Missouri’s is the tallest but Colorado's is the largest from what I have seen. Main source https://417local.com/largest-fork-springfield-mo/

Meg and Apollo did fight a famine sprit at Springfield Missouri’s largest fork.

Limos is the greek god of famine.

We do have enough food to feed everyone on the planet. No one needs to starve.

This is really good!! The facts and research put into this are great and also sunflower siblings bonding yessXD Thanks for this<3

#toa #toa apollo #trials of apollo #meg mccaffrey #toa secret santa #colorsunlikeanythingseen

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tsarinatorment · 2 years

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OC Alphabet Soup: Send me a letter of the alphabet A-Z, and if I have an OC starting with that letter, I’ll tell about them.

Once again, a letter that crops up more than once! Sticking with my system of picking the eldest (if it wasn't obvious, if a letter gets picked again, I'll go for the next eldest, etc., so unless I say they're the last one, repeated letter requests are a-okay!)

B is for… BAIRD McNEILLY

Unlike last time I did this game I’ve actually started drawing all of them, so all answers this time will be accompanied by actual Tsari-art of her own ocs.

Baird, like most of my OCs, is a fandom OC - specifically, he’s a demigod from Riordanverse.

Pronouns: He/Him Date of Birth: 16th July 1985 Parents: Apollo and Fiona McNeilly (a skiing instructor from Aviemore, Scotland) Etymology: Baird - minstrel or poet. McNeilly - son of the poet from the Gaelic Mac an Fhilidh. Years at CHB: 1997-2003 (Year-Round camper) Status: Left camp aged 18 Inherited Domains: Archery*, Youth, Healing

Baird attended camp long before the chaos of Percy’s time there; he knew Lee well, having arrived only one year before him, and Michael more briefly. He left the same summer that Will arrived, so only knew him very briefly.

He's a laid back and rather loud character, not afraid to take the reins and step up when things need doing, especially when it comes to helping younger campers. While he was never Head Counsellor, or ever in line for the role, he often supported them with new campers and had a way of making most kids feel at ease reasonably quickly.

Like all of Apollo’s children, Baird has a degree of healing. It’s not particularly impressive - he can triage effectively and utilise some basic healing hymns, though his natural healing factor is barely above the average demigod's - but it’s enough to keep him and people around him alive, which is what matters.

His primarily inherited domain is archery, and while he can use any bow, he stubbornly sticks to the longbow. Before discovering he was a demigod and being whisked away to Camp Half-Blood, his dream was to join the Royal Company of Archers, a dream that wasn't quelled in the least by several years in America.

After leaving camp, he indeed returned to Scotland and finally joined the Company, which he loves doing. Despite the discipline side of things being difficult, his battle-reflexes do make him an excellent bodyguard.

However, that wasn't the end of his interaction with the demigod world - his time off coincided with the climax of the Second Titanomachy, and Baird was one of the several adult demigods who hurried back to help defend Olympus - he was one of the few who survived.

#colorsunlikeanythingseen #pjo oc #riordanverse oc #original character #baird mcneilly #child of apollo #percy jackson and the olympians #pjo #riordanverse #tsari's art

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wangxianficrecs · 2 days

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Follower Recs

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Here with a Rec! It's a sweet and short fic where Lan Zhan does share a drink with Wei Wuxian and his ghost lady posse. This changes nothing. But it creates some fun memories at least. Also shout out to their excellent WWX Pov and the ghost ladies are very fun. @colorsunlikeanythingseen

Let's Share a Drink Before Parting!

by ImNobody122

Not rated, 4k, Wangxian

Summary: Maybe it was a whim. Maybe it was some old impulse heavy with nostalgia. Maybe it was something else entirely. But Wei Wuxian couldn't help but tease Lan Zhan once again as he walked through the streets of Yumeng. Wei Wuxian was disappointed but not surprised when Lan Zhan refused to sit down and did not approve of his choice in company or cultivation even though the ghost ladies are quite lovely. He did not expect that Lan Zhan would actually drink the offered wine. Or that he would be such a terrible drunk!

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(Please REBLOG as a signal boost for this hard-working author if you like – or think others might like – this story.)

#May 2024 #Wangxian Fic Recs #follower recs #follower rec #mdzs #MDZS #Mo Dao Zu Shi #CQL #Chenqingling #The Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation #The Untamed #Wangxian #Not rated #short fic <15k #Let's Share A Drink Before Parting #ImNobody122

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apollosgiftofprophecy · 7 months

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Favorite Posts

Mainly this is so I can find these posts easily (for future reference) but also wanna make a place for all these great posts :3

this is definitely not complete and I don't think it ever will be haha

Mythology

Apollo is Best Dad by @whatasunchild

Artemis & Ipheginia in Aulis by @specialagentartemis

Mythology is Flexible by @tuurverheydepoetryandprose

Defend Apollo Hours by @whatasunchild

Apollo & Cassandra Fanfic by @odiko-ptino (i need more nuanced Apollo & Cassandra they give me LIFE)

@my-name-is-apollo

Apollo & Admetus I

Apollo & Admetus II (with extras!)

Marsyas

Apollo & Cassandra Analysis II

Apollo & Cassandra Analysis III

@amiti-art

Apollo & Rhoeo

Eumelus

Multiblogs

Apollo & Cassandra Analysis I by @poemsandmyths @theoiaesthetics and @wasspword

Apollo & Hera by @sukizula, @/my-name-is-apollo, @greek-suitehearts, @pjgreeksblog, & more!

The Eumenides Analysis by @clodiuspulcher and @crisisoninfintefandoms

ToA

Artemis & Apollo's Relationship in ToA by @worlds-oldest-teenager

TTT Apollo V Commodus Fight Analyzed by @newathens

Demigods POV on the gods V Apollo's by @the-primordial-archivist

Keyseeker's Abundance of Analysis by @flightfoot

Reread PJO/HoO/ToA by @hashtagloveloses

Apollo Headcanons by @ukelele-boy

Copollo Art That Inspired A Fanfic (And My Reaction To It) by @newobsessioneveryweek

Copollo Incorrect Quote by @moodyseal

The Apollo Iceberg by @lubble-underscore

ToA/AtLA Fusion by @colorsunlikeanythingseen

Rachel & Apollo by @hogoflight

@thesungod

"the fall of the sun; the final verse"

Apollo Slay Moments

@aeithalian

The Estelle Theory

Apollo's Fatal Flaw

Middle Child Hermes

@literallyjusttoa

Sunny's Timeline (part 1) (part 2)

Copollo ToApril 2023 Fanart

The Delphic Family (With Some of My Headcanons)

Caged God Art (that i wanna make a fanfic of) (that i DID make a fanfic of-)

Top 7 Exes From Ancient Greece

Apollo Headcanons

Zeus & Apollo

Greek & Roman Culture Differences

@fearlessinger

Apollo & Zeus BoO Analyzed

The Halcyon Green Elephant

ToA: What To Know Before Reading

What Apollo's Arc Is Really About

@tsarinatorment

Apollo Kids are Greek AND Roman

Apollo & Octavian

Michael Yew's Fatal Flaw (Ao3)

The Twins & the di Angelos (Ao3)

Michael Yew's Death (Ao3)

Kronos Wins AU (But Also Not)

MultiBlogs

Nico & Apollo by @tsarinatorment & @fearlessinger

Apollo is CHB's Patron by @tsarinatorment, with additions by @stereden (here) & @fearlessinger (here)

Commodus Redemption Arc: How It Could Happen some clowning between @moodyseal and myself :)

#masterpost #the trials of apollo #apollo #artemis #commodus #meg mccaffrey #zeus #hermes #trials of apollo #michael yew

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wangxianficrecs · 1 year

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Jin Ling and Demonic Cultivation by ImNobody122

Jin Ling and Demonic Cultivation

by ImNobody122

Not rated, 8k, Jin Ling

Summary: Mo Xuanyu was not the first demonic cultivator Jin Ling had to rescue from his uncle's hands.

My comments: The author made the super interesting point that Jin Ling was a bit too casual about caring for people his uncle suspected were Wei Wuxian and was about to torture, so this fic explores the years before Wei Wuxian's return and how Jin Ling came to slowly grow into his role as the person who will attempt to free people his uncle mistook for Wei Wuxian, because it happens like every other week and it's a bit embarassing for teenage Jin Ling too, like: urgh, can't believe my uncle is once again shouting about having caught Yiling Laozu. I really enjoyed this story!

Excerpt: “Well your music must suck if they think you are a demonic cultivator after hearing a song.” “I would argue the opposite. My music was just so good that even the dead enjoy it and why wouldn’t they gather to listen? Music speaks to the soul. All it took was the sound of a dizi and the presence of calmer corpses for that idiot to think I am a demonic cultivator.” His uncle wasn’t an idiot. He wouldn’t accuse someone of this wouldn’t hurt someone without good reason. He wouldn’t. Lee Xiu didn’t care about his internal turmoil and was tying her hair back with a bit of twine. “My uncle isn’t stupid he grew up with the Grandmaster of demonic cultivation. If anyone can recognize a demonic cultivator it’s him. You’re lying.” “Then Jiang Cheng isn’t just stupid he’s crazy too. I mean he thinks I am Wei Wuxian!” She seem to find the accusation ridiculous Jin Ling didn’t. Wei Wuxian grew up with Jiang Chang, fought with him, fought against him, if anyone could recognize him from a song it would be his uncle. Jin Ling stumbled backward wary. If this really was Wei Wuxian… he would have to be very careful getting his sword back. He would get to kill the man that murdered his parents. “What are you doing acting so scared? Do you really think I am the Yiling Laozu?” She studied him for a long moment then lifted her long draping red sleeves. Even in the darkness he could clearly see the branching whip marks of Zidian. Blood flowed freely and it was a wonder that Jin Ling’s robes weren’t stained with her blood. She wasn’t Wei Wuxian. Zidian was never wrong.

pov jin ling, thirteen years of wei wuxian's death, torture, aftermath of torture, mild gore, child jin ling, teenage jin ling, jiang cheng & jin ling, jin ling is a brat, demonic cultivation, implied/referenced torture, jiang cheng's 13 years of serial killing, not jiang cheng friendly, canon compliant, angst, @colorsunlikeanythingseen

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(Please REBLOG as a signal boost for this hard-working author if you like – or think others might like – this story.)

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toasecretsanta · 1 year

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To: @dreams-and-dreams from @colorsunlikeanythingseen

Prompt: Meg and Apollo road trip

We see a big fork/ I’m absolutely famished/ Turns out I bite too/