#our goddess calypso <3

[mikimeiko]

Our Flag Means Death Season 2 - one gif per episode (with the first gif from their first scene and the last gif from their last scene) | Wee John

#our flag means death #ofmd #ofmd season 2 #wee john #ofmdedit #i made these in order of appearance in the first episode so the order might be a little strange #our goddess calypso <3 #loved how as soon as they were back on the revenge he started knitting and he never stopped XD #ofmd s2 one gif per episode #i made this #i just want a tag for the things i personally put out into the world

[dominicsorel]

KH1, The Dark World, Chirithys, and Riku: the Incredible Connection Pt. 1

Information I will be going over will include: that Riku has ALWAYS been a Dream Eater, the Dark World exists inside Riku’s heart and how being a Dream Eater affects what was happening at the end of KH1, that the darkness Aqua interacted with was none other than Riku’s (hence the Darkling-esque outfit), and how Sora’s Heart Station shines down in the Dark World.

1) Dream Eater Riku

A special ability Chirithy are noted to have the ability to smell light and darkness. This is something Riku is shown able to do and even mentions that Kairi had a similar scent to Namine (in the original scene he simply states he recognized Namine from her saving him), hinting he may have had this ability for a long time. And he can tell the difference between the smell of light and darkness and whose it is. He could even tell when Replica Riku took in Zexion’s powers, specifically.

In BBS, we see Riku seeming to sense something from Sora before even looking at him and he probably sensed sadness since Sora is crying and Riku looked worried. In KH3, we see a scene similar to this where Riku is making sure Axel is okay after getting injured pretty badly and he suddenly seems to sense something and that something is coming from Sora which causes him to run to him in order to reassure him that everyone still has their hearts.

In 3D, we see Riku has a Dream Eater mark on his back but he doesn’t have one normally despite what he is. The reason Riku gains a mark on his back in is likely because his heart joined with Sora’s when he went to sleep and it turned him into a new Spirit Dream Eater like the Chirithy at the end of KHUX in order to protect their chosen Keyblade wielders.

Chirithy are often portrayed as knowledgeable and almost teacher-like as they help guide their chosen wielders. Because Riku is keen on helping protect Sora from a very young age, it’s not hard to see how him playfully competing with him could be the way he helps him train to become stronger.

Riku is quite...worldly for a child in BBS. He could tell Terra wasn’t from their world (something he shares with the Goddess Calypso from POTC who also acts like a Dream Eater) and, honestly, I think he was expressing curiosity in the man because of the sadness in his heart. That’s simply conjecture, though.

And the way Riku talks at the end of BBS was very knowing. Like Sora was his chosen Keyblade wielder already at that point and he was advising him of his future duty he would help him with. Otherwise, why would he even bring up the idea of Sora helping others like this at all?

BTW the sun symbolism in Chirithy’s creation is another curious thing.

Riku’s often represented with a sun. He even shines down on Sora’s Heart Station like Sora is the world and Riku is the sun.

Nice visual hint there.

“They manifested, like a flame. They weren't really...really from anywhere. The conditions were right and they came into being. For centuries we've dreamed of a pure existence beyond our own.”

Honey, that’s you.

2) The Dark World

Now, you know how Chirithy turn into Nightmares if their wielder falls to darkness? And how if they’re not stopped they can plant darkness in the hearts of others? What does darkness pouring out of something remind you of?

Like...a Nightmare.

Remember the door closing in KH1? How afterwards we got a flashback involving Sora and Riku in a nostalgia filter? There was another scene that was awfully similar to it and it’s in BBS.

Ventus and Sora restored the hearts of Aurora and Riku. But...the difference being that The Dark World was locked inside of Riku’s heart in the process and he’s been dealing with that pain ever since.

While Sora and Kairi spend KH3 figuring out how to release Roxas and Namine from their hearts, Riku spends KH3 figuring out how to release Aqua from his.

[Part 1] [Part 2] [Part 3]

#kingdom hearts #kh riku #riku #kh chirithy #chirithy #chirithy riku #the dark world #kh meta #text #long post cw -

[dutchessofcaladan]

Pirates of the Caribbean: Wrath of the Kraken

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3! This is where my knowledge of Tides of War comes in handy to fix that plothole from Dead Men Tell No Tales' end credit. Also, I get to bring back one of my favorite characters (aka the fictional love of my life). This story has been really fun so far and I hope you guys have enjoyed! As always, a big thanks to @phantomoftheparadise0002 for beta-reading reading! I hope you're not sick of me 🤞🏼

Summary: When Jack recruits Smith to help him find the lost relics of Cortez, their mission doesn't go as planned when they run into terrors and joys from their past, ultimately witnessing the resurrection of the Dutchman...and her beloved Captain.

TW: Some language, pirate violence

Arriving in Tortuga mere hours later, Smith told her crew to go ahead while she stayed behind.

When she was sure her crew was out of earshot she screamed "CALYPSO!" to the heavens, rage evident in her voice.

"I told you not to speak him name."

Swiftly turning to face her, Smith growled, "What the hell did you do?"

"I do not'ing."

"Then how the hell is he back?!"

Hearing footsteps behind her, Calypso turned to see Jack standing behind her, the anger in his eyes matching Smith's.

"Jack." The Goddess greeted sweetly.

Jack said nothing, merely sneering at her.

Looking between them nervously, Calypso sighed. "Deh Davy Jones you saw in deh maelstrom was not deh Davy Jones dat fought wit deh East India Trading Company."

Smith and Jack's brows furrowed.

"It was him Shade."

"Shade?" Jack asked.

"A version of a person from another's memories." Smith answered. Looking at Calypso, she added, "But they're just myths. Stories that parents tell to their children. How the hell would one come into the real world?"

"Dehr are many stories, all of which are true." Calypso answered. "After you destroy deh Trident of Poseidon, Will Turner call to me, tell me to destroy deh Dutchman once he return to him family."

"How does that cause someone's Shade to appear?" Jack asked.

"The Dutchman." Smith breathed. Looking to Jack, she added, "Most Shades are bound to an object. My mother told me the story of a solider who had won many battles with a sword made of pure gold. When he died, his comrads attempted to melt the sword into a medal to give to his wife. As the blacksmith put it in the furnace, he was killed. It's said that as he died, the only thing he uttered was the dead soldier's name. Later, the comrads who gave the sword to the blacksmith told the Governor that the person who killed the blacksmith was their friend, using the sword of gold."

Jack shivered.

"When you attempted to destroy the Dutchman 9 years ago, that must've been what brought Jones back."

Calypso nodded.

"So how do we get rid of him this time?" Jack asked.

Smith shrugged. "My mother never told me that part of the story."

Shouting arose from the city as a group was being pushed towards the dock, Scrum and Mullroy at the front.

"Guess that's our sign to leave." Smith sighed, shaking her head.

"Captain!" Scrum called from the Crow's Nest.

"Aye?"

"We're aproachin' the island!" He smiled.

Looking out towards the bow, Smith smiled at the faint twinkles of the rubies in the light of the rising sun.

Jack smiled as he looked over at Smith as she stood at the helm of the Revenge, her posture straighter, an air of hope surrounding her as the island became closer.

"Where is he?" Smith asked, pacing the island for what felt like the 100th time. "She said he'd be here."

"I believe the word she used was repayment." Jack corrected.

"Oh, don't try that with me!" She shot back. "If it wasn't Hector we're here for then why would she send us here?"

As she turned to look out at the sea, something appeared in her mind's eye. A great chasm stretched across the sea, the Pearl on one side and the Silent Mary on the other, the Pearl's anchor dangling into the divide.

"Captain Sparrow, my effects." She said, taking off her coat and shoving it into his hands along with her pistol, sword, and hat.

Before he could question why, she dove into the sea.

"I'll never understand her." He said offhandedly to Scrum, causing Gibbs to give him a confused look.

Smith felt as if her lungs were on fire as she pushed herself to swim as deep as she could, the images of Hector being swallowed by the sea not deterring her.

Scrum watched as Jack started to shift his weight constantly from foot to foot.

"You alrigh', Cap'n?" He questioned, narrowing his eyes.

Throwing Smith's things to the ground, he began to take off his own effects, adding them to the pile at his feet.

"She's been down there too long." He said simply.

Just as he was about to jump in, Smith burst through the surface of the water, gasping for air, Hector's limp body in her arms.

"DUTCHMAN!" Someone from the Pearl screamed as the bright flash of cannon fire erupted from the other side of the ship.

As the mast of the Pearl fell, Jack, Scrum, and Gibbs jumped into the sea, Gibbs and Scrum taking Hector's weight while Jack grabbed Smith.

Standing on the deck of the Revenge, the crew watched in horror as the Pearl sank to the depths.

"Wouldn't be an adventure without loosing the Pearl, eh?" Jack joked sadly, attempting to distract himself from the lose of his beloved ship as he left the crowd.

Looking to Scrum and Gibbs, Smith instructed them to place Hector on the bed in the Captain’s cabin while she followed Jack.

Placing a hand on his shoulder, she gave it a small squeeze.

"She was a fine ship." Smith offered, to which Jack nodded.

"Aye." He sighed.

"We'll get her back." Smith promised. "We've done it before."

Jack looked at her, a deep sadness in his eyes as he nodded.

Wrapping her arms around him, Smith held Jack close as they mourned the Pearl.

"Captain!" Came Scrum's voice.

Smith removed herself from Jack's hold.

"He's awake."

#pirates of the caribbean fanfiction #potc fandom #potc fanfiction #potc game “tides of war” #jack sparrow x platonic!oc #jack sparrow #hector barbossa x oc #hector barbossa #tia dalma #calypso #davy jones #the flying dutchman #the black pearl #the queen anne's revenge #joshamee gibbs #self insert #fanfiction writer #writerblr

[heroofshield]

Surprise third chapter! After submitting this there was a scene that I had stuck in my head so I decided to add it because why not? Takes place before and during the 'Calypso's Birthday' episode.

--

Natasha pulled the rigging to help loosen the sail so they could catch the wind and sail towards one of the more northern islands in the Republic of Pirates.

“Princess!” Frenchie shouted from his spot on the upper deck.

Natasha had gotten used to the crew calling her that, but still went by Black Widow when plundering ships; she had a reputation to uphold after all. Finishing with the rigging she dropped the rope and raised a hand over her eyes to shade them. “Yeah?”

“How do you celebrate Calypso’s birthday?”

Natasha was momentarily confused, “Who’s birthday?”

“Calypso! Goddess of the fair waves we sail on.”

“Oh, right. Uh…music and dancing.”

Frenchie grinned and excitedly patted Fang’s shoulders, “See I told you we need music. We’re gonna throw a proper rager.”

Natasha watched as Frenchie, Fang, and a few others clattered down the steps and into the ship’s hold to talk to Stede and Blackbeard, while spotting Clint climbing down from his perch by the main sail.

“What was that about?” Clint asked once he was safely on the deck. “What about Calypso?”

“I dunno.” Natasha shrugged while continuing, “Maybe an excuse to have a party.”

“Been awhile since we last had a good one."

Read the rest on Ao3!

#fanfic #clint barton #natasha romanov #our flag means death #be_compromised #my writing

[bloomingcockroaches]

Hii I'm interested in your thought that At The World's End should've been two movies? Can you elaborate? Or give a link if you've talked about this before?

hi!!! i'm so flattered by this ask, thank you for caring about my thoughts!! :D i'd be more than happy to share

basically, i think that the amount of Plot(TM) in dmc vs awe is poorly balanced, so my reasoning for splitting awe into two films requires some run-up about what i would do to dmc

dmc serves to establish a few things, they are:

1. jack's deal with jones for his soul/the pearl

.......1a. bootstrap bill turner's sentence aboard the dutchman

.......1b. will turner's quest to free his twice-cursed pirate father (thank you master ragetti)

2. the existential threat of global capitalism/encroaching colonial empire/the end of the golden age of sail

we also, very importantly, introduce tia dalma, the sea goddess calypso in disguise. dalma is central and indispensable to the plot. she is the reason for jones, for the brethren court, for the eitc, for jack's compass and barbossa's resurrection. i mention this for two reasons:

1. i love her

2. i don't want it to seem as though i'm saying that dmc doesn't introduce things that are both fantastic and extremely important to awe

people tend to talk about dmc as a filler episode and that isn't true. that's not me being defensive about what was for many years my favorite of the triology it's just true.

now, what would i do differently? easy:

i would cut out the whole 30 minute segment on the island of the pelagostas. it is racist as fuck, poorly paced, and focuses too much on extended slapstick sequences that are very technically impressive in terms of stunt work and sfx, but very boring to watch

we should have gotten will onto the island, he meets cotton's parrot who screams for him not to eat him, he finds the pearl's remaining crew tied to a tree, he frees them and they all run back to the pearl where they meet pintel and ragetti. will says he's here for jack and gibbs explains that jack went looking for [insert magical artifact] and he won't be held responsible for his hubris. we cut to jack running towards the pearl. will smiles. we cut back to jack and see a large group of zombie skeletons behind him. will stops smiling. "time to go" he says. we watch as a desperate jack sparrow throws an amulet of some kind over his shoulder and the zombies dogpile onto it. he scrambles back up onto the pearl and orders everyone to keep to the shallows.

damn. obviously his plan for this magical artifact was a dud. whelp. time to go find tia dalma. we need her help. we were hoping to avoid that fate because jack was less than chivalrous in ending their relationship but clearly our first plan fell through.

i would cut most if not all of the water wheel sword fight on isla cruz. I RECOGNIZE THAT THIS IS AN UNPOPULAR DECISION but i promise the wheel fight would have been way more fun if it had been 5 minutes instead of 30.

cutting this down would ALSO cut down on the tussle between the dutchman's crew and elizabeth, pintel, and ragetti. i find this to be a more painful edit because i think they're sooooo cute together and their hot potato choreo with the chest is extremely funny. also this is one of elizabeth's longest action sequences. BUT SACRIFICES MUST BE MADE!!!

overall isla cruz gets cut down to 10 minutes, this includes

1. establishing davy jones' curse mechanic of being unable to set foot on land but the crew being able to act in his stead

2. establishing norrington's plan to get the key to beckett and restore his standing with the crown and getting the heart into his pocket

3. getting will off the dutchman, back on land, back with elizabeth

4. fantastic aerial shot of davy jones screaming over the empty chest

cutting the majority of these slapstick action sequences reduces our 2.5 hour movie to god's perfect runtime: a tight 90 minutes

i would also change the intro because it drags and feels like they couldn't decide if they wanted to open with jack in the turkish murder prison or with will and elizabeth's wedding so they did both and it feels awkward/slow

i sympathize with it being difficult to wrangle our golden trio together when one of them has fucked off to god knows where but bleagh. the turkish prison is never mentioned again, he goes there to get a drawing of a key on a piece of tanned hide. why on earth would he even need that. either the item he went to retrieve should have been magically significant or we should have just opened with gibbs telling jack that the crew is getting antsy because he's a dogshit captain and they're all sick of his shenanigans.

also i would not repurpose our saved hour for other stuff. the start and end of dmc is just as it should be. we begin with disrupting will and elizabeth's wedding and we end with jack being eaten by the kraken. those are the perfect beats. they have to stay that way.

ok this is super long and i'm afraid tumblr might eat it so im gonna talk about awe in a reblog!!!

#ask tag #scatter brain at work

[dungeonmistrix]

Part 3 of 4! I recently redrew our Shields of Celestia D&D party to celebrate our 2 year anniversary as a group, as well as the conclusion of our 2nd season and beginning of our 3rd!

Next up is our intrepid captain, Galit Abate! Just how many deals will he make with the sea goddess Calypso in order to protect his crew?

#dnd #dnd art #ttrpg #ttrpg art #warlock #shields of celestia #shields of celestia art

[sheakspeare]

It’s week 3 of the #OdysseyReadalong2023 (sorry for the delay!), and we’ve read books 5 & 6. I’m gonna leave some prompts for discussion about Book 5 below. 💙🌊

🌊 — Odysseus

In this book, we finally meet Odysseus, sitting on the shore of Calypso’s island of Ogygia and experiencing nostalgia. What did you think of him? Did he live up to your expectations?

🌊 — Calypso

In book 5, we also meet Calypso, a deathless queen. She is described as pushy, since she retained our hero in her cave, since “she no longer pleased him” (Od. 5.153). Odysseus doesn't think he has a say in his fate, and thus spends “his nights with her inside her hollow cave, not wanting her though she still wanted him” (Od. 154-156). What do you think of the goddess?

She also promised Odysseus immortality if he chose to remain with her. Would you have taken her up on her offer, or would you have returned home?

🌊 — Athena

In Od. 5.477-478, Wilson notes that Athena is still watching over Odysseus, because he found olive wood, Athena's tree. Did you catch up on this detail?

tags: @fangirlofallthefanthings

#OdysseyReadalong2023 #read-alongs #the odyssey #*mine

[animentality]

im glad you’re all talking about pirates of the caribbean, because i want it known

The plot might’ve gotten too complicated for most people to follow, but it was actually so fucking cool????

Because Davy Jones was a sailor, right? He fell in love with the sea. 

Specifically, the sea goddess Calypso. And of course, that’s already romantic, a sailor in love with the sea...

But then it gets even better. 

Because in order to be with her, he must become the ferryman of all who die at sea. And with this duty, he is then cursed, and cannot step foot on land...except, once every ten years, the only time when he can see his beloved sea goddess. 

but because the sea is wily, mischievous, playful and wicked at heart, she fails to meet him. 

and in his rage, he convinces all the pirate lords to bind her into human form. but he still loves her, and out of guilt, he carves out his own heart and stuffs it in a box full of love letters for her.

and then he goes on to abandon his duty, entrapped in his own bitterness, enslaving souls to himself and his ship...

and isn’t that the irony?

he felt abandoned and betrayed by the sea, and thus, he chose to abandon all the souls lost at sea, the people he had once sworn to protect and lead to the next life?  

THAT SHIT IS SO SICK. 

It’s so old world romantic. 

i am adamant on this. 

Pirates of the Caribbean wasn’t expected to be successful. Pirates were just not considered to be marketable anymore, they were like cowboys. 

But this movie comes along, that puts the spirit of adventure into our hearts, and has this just...love, this real affection for an epic quest centered around sailing treacherous waters and the depths of the high seas. 

Jack Sparrow, in love with the sea himself, Will Turner, the classic romantic after the damsel in distress, and Elizabeth Swann, defying that role and searching for an adventure of her own. 

It’s like a love letter to the past, to the mysteries of the ocean, the dazzling fascination, the morbid attraction, the dizzying fear that all sailors knew every time they stepped foot on a ship. 

it was an homage to some of the grand legends and stories we used to tell about the old world, a place that was fascinated with what could lie beyond vast swaths of perilous waters. 

i know 2 and 3 were complicated, but...i actually have a fondness for the lore.

i wish they would remake it, and maybe make that amazing lore more clear and less muddied by convoluted inter-politics. 

I think Davy Jones is suuuuch an interesting character, and his romance with Calypso was so thematic and fitting and so appropriate to the subject matter, and to the spirit of adventure, and it simply is not talked about enough. 

#pirates of the caribbean

[fearlessinger]

So, a little less than a month year ago (this is all my fault, I take sole responsibility for this loooong delay), I got roped into reading The Trials Of Apollo by @flightfoot’s amazing meta. I loved it more than I could have ever anticipated, and I’ve been gushing about it non stop to her on discord. We had a lot of fun reviewing the series and taking it apart to overanalyze bit by bit, marveling at the way it keeps growing layers and dimensions the longer one looks at it. Finally, we took out a google doc. The following is result n.3 of our combined excited ramblings, and… well it sort of turned into a full on dissertation. Whoops.

“You must make your own choice.”

Reconstructing Apollo’s Journey within Riordan’s Narrative

Much too self aware to be egotistical

Not the kind of feelings that gods have

You have heard of imposter syndrome?

As if you could have immortality or meaning, but not both (read on ao3)

By the start of book 2, Apollo is back to his routine of pretending to be a much bigger asshole than he actually is. Back to feigning incompetence too.  

My children Kayla and Austin explained to me this appalling downside to mortal tools that’s called ‘requiring maintenance’, he proclaims, as if we didn’t see him restring and retune a guitar just last book. Funnily enough, the issue of tool maintenance never comes up again after Apollo has gotten the satisfaction of making this point, much in the same way he never again shows the same unfamiliarity with mortal food and everyday appliances he did on his first day at Camp Half Blood.

“I never asked what kind of trials the petitioners went through,” is the explanation he offers for why he can’t remember the proper way of consulting his oracle. He’d rather let Emmie and Jo think he never cared to learn, than admit his memory is full of holes and he keeps forgetting about things that he did, in fact, know. 

Gods don’t struggle. Only the weak do. And nobody expects anything from cruel, stupid fools. Stupid fools will never run the risk of letting anyone down.

Just yesterday, I had toyed with the idea of leaving Calypso behind to the blemmyae when she was wounded. I’d like to say that wasn’t a serious thought, but it had been, however briefly. Now Calypso refused to leave Meg, whom she barely knew. It was almost enough to make me question whether I was a good person. (I stress the word almost.) (TDP 155)

You see, he tells us, he reassures himself with stunning brazenness: Calypso is a good person, completely unlike me, because she does exactly what I’ve been doing from the moment this story began. 

But in spite of his efforts, he doesn’t quite manage to patch up the crack that has formed in the walls of his fortress. His real feelings keep leaking out. 

Now that he’s started doing it out loud, and in earnest, rather than just inside his head where he knew it was pretense, and nobody could protest it, he just cannot stop calling all of these people friends.

And ridiculously, impossibly, people do not contradict him. Even worse: they seem to think his friendship is actually worth something. 

‘You,’ I snarled. It was difficult to sound menacing while bobbing up and down in a net. 

‘Hello, Apollo.’ Britomartis, the goddess of nets, smiled coyly. ‘I hear you’re human now. This is going to be fun.’ (TDP 79) 

It cannot be overstated how much Britomartis risked by giving sanctuary and aid to Apollo. The Lord of Olympus expressly forbade any kind of interference, but Britomartis did in fact interfere, and with only the flimsiest of pretenses as cover. 

Granted, being a minor goddess, and barely even connected to Apollo, almost certainly played to her advantage. By all appearances, Britomartis should have no reason to want to help him, and even if she did, what is the help of a small, inconsequential, almost entirely forgotten deity like her even worth? Zeus thinks so little of minor deities, he barely even remembers they exist most of the time. Ironically, their lower status grants them more liberty of movement than most major gods, and especially the 12 Olympians, can enjoy. 

Still, Britomartis’ transgression could have cost her everything. The gods are always watching. They are all ready to snitch on one another at a moment’s notice. And all of their eyes are on Apollo now.

So, to the benefit of their Olympian audience, Britomartis makes a show of threatening Apollo and his mortal companions’ lives multiple times. She gives Apollo a difficult, dangerous quest, for what they both agree and make a point to underscore is an entirely selfish reason. All she cares about are her griffins, you see. And her house. Definitely not the people who live in it. The fact that this all worked out to our heroes’ benefit in the end is obviously a fortunate accident rather than the precise result she was aiming for.

It’s so easy to believe it, because it meets our expectations of what a god is, how a god thinks and behaves. But Apollo knows the truth. He understands that Britomartis is the one responsible for the miracle that allowed them to escape the zoo. 

Oh, but she didn’t do it out of generosity, she explains, she did it because Calypso is more useful to her with magic than without! 

Apollo isn’t fazed by her excuses. He may not have been sure at first, but by that point he knows what she’s doing. 

It’s the exact same thing he always does. 

At the end of the book, he will comment that he can’t expect her to show him any more of her favor, finally calling what she did with its proper name. But he can't say thank you. He can’t even really show her his gratitude. That would be admitting to what she's done in front of the whole Olympian council. That would be admitting to what he and Britomartis are, too, and neither of them can have that.

Because as ridiculous as the idea might have seemed at first, and as much as they both insist otherwise, the truth is, Britomartis and Apollo are friends. 

But friendship is not something that gods do. Wanting to get into someone’s pants, yes, that is an emotion the gods are allowed to have. Wanting to mess with someone’s head or feelings. Wanting to claim humanity’s achievements as your own. Wanting a mortal to run an errand for you because you’d rather risk their lives than wasting the tiniest amount of your infinite supply of time. All of these things, the gods have a right to.

But wanting to help a friend in need, without asking for anything in return? No. That’s not how it works in the realm of the gods, within the confines of the little authoritarian dictatorship they call family. Love is always conditional. It is always revocable. Love is power, that you can hold over someone or that someone can hold over you. 

This extremely transactional view of love is enforced from the top all the way down to the demigods, whom the gods often won’t even recognize as their own unless they perform some great feat, leading the children to attempt incredibly dangerous stunts just to get acknowledged.

Friendship is for those who have to beg for acknowledgement. Friendship is for the weak, needy mortals who get attached, who are afraid of being alone. But the gods? The gods don’t need anything. The gods are above. 

All of them except for Apollo, who’s always been desperate to love freely, gratuitously, and unable to hide it as well and thoroughly as everybody else does. Who was raised to perceive his inability to master detachment, the ease with which he forms connections, the fierceness with which he treasures them, as a fatal flaw of his character, and who still, in spite of that, yearns for what he believes he shouldn’t allow himself to have. 

A gladiator with a trident rudely interrupted my song. I smashed him in the face with my combat ukulele. Then I used the elephant’s foreleg to climb onto her back. I hadn’t practised that technique since the storm god Indra took me on a late-night road trip in search of vindaloo, but I guess riding an elephant is one of those skills you never forget. (TDP 241)

“Even in ancient times, I had been woefully ignorant of anything below the Saharan Desert,” Apollo deplores. “We Olympians tended to stay in our own neighbourhood around the Mediterranean.” It’s clear he has never been a fan of this policy. He calls it “terribly cliquish.” 

In spite of this, he still was on a friendly enough basis with gods from other pantheons that they used to casually hang out. 

But all of these stories are set in the ancient past, and most of them star deities whose prominence has faded considerably, if not completely. Even immortals can’t take eternity for granted.

And Olympus’ isolationism only worsened with time. 

‘You fight for money?’ 

‘To pay my tuition,’ Jamie agreed. ‘I did not know what I was getting into with this emperor person.’ 

‘And yet you survived,’ I noted. ‘You can see that the world is, uh, much stranger than most mortals realize. You, Jamie, must have lots of ìgboyà.’ 

His laughter was deep and rich. ‘Very good. My name is actually Olujime. For most Americans, Jamie is easier.’ 

I understood. I’d only been a mortal for a few months and I was getting very tired of spelling out Papadopoulos. 

‘Well, Olujime,’ I said, ‘I’m pleased to meet you. We are lucky to have such a defender.’ 

‘Mmm.’ Olujime nodded gravely. ‘If we survive tomorrow, perhaps the Waystation can use an accountant. A piece of real estate so complex … there are many tax implications.’ 

‘Uh –’ 

‘I am joking,’ he offered. ‘My girlfriend says I joke too much.’ 

‘Uh.’ This time I sounded like I’d been kicked in the gut. ‘Your girlfriend. Yes. Will you excuse me?’ (TDP 288-289) 

As soon as he stops trying and failing to impress, Apollo immediately finds the right things to say to connect with Jamie, to the point that Jamie chooses to trust him with his real name and starts opening up about his life. 

Unfortunately, it turns out Olujime has a girlfriend, and Apollo, ever the drama queen, immediately takes this as his cue to flee like a heartbroken Jane Austen heroine. It does not seem to occur to him that what he took as a rejection was actually the tentative start of a friendship. 

But Apollo can’t bring himself to meet Olujime’s openness with any of his own. He can’t bear to bare his metaphorical soul to any of these people and watch them recoil from him, as he’s sure they would. Even after all the time they spent together, he keeps acting like he can’t stand Calypso, mock threatening to make Leo into a constellation as soon as he gets back the power to do so. He still half heartedly tries to pretend he’s annoyed by Meg, even, despite the fact that absolutely nobody at this point is buying it anymore. He expects that they will get tired of putting up with him. That they will abandon him. He doesn’t know what to do with himself when it becomes clear that they won’t. 

It was much easier to let himself be loved by Commodus, safe in the knowledge that they deserved each other, both cut from the same cloth, the exact same brand of ugly and terrible. 

Not that Apollo was ever honest with Commodus either. He spent their whole time together swallowing his distaste for the man’s actions, pushing down his misgivings. He made the young emperor a promise he already knew, deep in his heart, he would not be able to keep.

Even after all the pain and heartbreak, Apollo still pursues romantic relationships. He does not ever pursue friendship, even though he craves it just as much, if not more. He knows he can pay for the first. He doesn’t think he has anything of value to give in exchange for the second. 

You don’t have to bare your soul to someone if your objective is to just spend a fun couple of nights with them. You just need to be beautiful and good in bed. And Apollo used to be beautiful enough that his good looks made up for the lack of everything else. He’d come to rely on them almost entirely as he did his very best to downplay his own intelligence and wit and overall personality. He spent so long playing the part of the handsome idiot, it seems like he’d forgotten he could actually be charming, for real.

But Britomartis met him on his terms. She responded to his fake-flirting by fake-flirting back. Their whole relationship is play acting: he pretends to be pursuing her, she pretends to be stringing him along for fun in return. And there’s no doubt they both enjoy it, to a degree. Their banter is not fake. But it is a facade. It’s far more calculated than it appears. Leo, with his quick mind and keen understanding of people, almost seems to sense this as he observes the metaphorical Greek fireball being tossed back and forth between them, but he’s missing too much context to really understand what he’s looking at, much like we also were at the time. 

The truth is, neither Apollo nor Britomartis care about kisses. It’s fragile, this thing that they have between them. They don’t put a name to it. They don’t allow themselves to discuss it openly. 

“In case you’ve forgotten,” Apollo says, dropping the act for just one moment, “I am no longer immortal, so please, no Burmese tiger pits.” He trusts her enough to ask sincerely. He doesn’t trust her enough to feel like he does not have to ask. He can’t be sure of her intentions. He can’t even be sure of her motives. He thinks she must have intervened only because his sister ordered her to, not because she actually cares. She does nothing to dispel that notion. He calls her his sister’s “minion”. She acts offended. But in truth, that’s what she is. She can’t be Artemis’ friend either. She can only be her subordinate. 

Gods have servants. They have followers. They have enemies. They don’t have friends. 

[Agamethus] did not have a face, but his posture seemed forlorn. The blood from his severed neck trickled sluggishly down his tunic. I imagined Trophonius’s head transposed on his body – my son’s agonized voice crying to the heavens, Take me instead! Save him, Father, please! 

This blended with the face of Commodus, staring at me, wounded and betrayed as his carotid pulse hammered against my hands. You. Blessed. Me. 

I sobbed and hugged the commode – the only thing in the universe that wasn’t spinning. Was there anyone I hadn’t betrayed and disappointed? Any relationship I hadn’t destroyed? (TDP 183)

Self pity is something Apollo is very well acquainted with. Nobody’s gonna cry for him, after all, so he might as well do it himself. And he does. He does love wallowing. He’ll happily tell anyone who’ll listen how hard and cruel and unfair his life is... so long as there’s no chance of being taken seriously. 

Yet when he does it for real, and not for show, he does it behind closed doors, in the drab solitude of a toilet cubicle, where he doesn’t expect to be found.

But someone does find him this time.

Josephine pulled a cloth from her overall pocket. She wet it at the sink and began cleaning the sides of my face, getting the places I’d missed. She treated me as if I were her seven-year-old Georgie, or one of her mechanical crossbow turrets – something precious but high maintenance. ‘I’m not going to judge you, Sunny. I’ve done a few bad things in my time.’ (TDP 184) 

It’s an odd, terrible, wonderful thing, to receive compassion and understanding when you think you least deserve it, long after you’d lost any hope that you could ever have it. 

There is a world, here on the ground, far away from Olympus, far below the cold, unforgiving clouds, in which people are free to admit to their weakness, because they know, they trust, that they will be met with sympathy, rather than reproach. That their vulnerability won’t be exploited. That they will be cared for.

“Nets can be traps,” Jo says. “But they can also be safety nets.” 

This is not what Apollo’s life experience has taught him. He does not understand. 

And yet, maybe, he does. He keeps thinking about it. He just doesn’t know how to make himself believe it.

‘For those of you who don’t know me,’ she began, ‘my name is Hemithea. Jo and I run the Waystation. We never turn away people who are in trouble, even former enemies.’ She nodded to Lityerses. ‘We attract outcasts here – orphans and runaways, folks who’ve been abused, mistreated or misled, folks who just don’t feel at home anywhere else.’ 

She gestured to the barrelled ceiling, where the stained glass fractured sunlight into green and gold geometry. ‘Britomartis, the Lady of Nets, helped build this place.’ 

‘A safety net for your friends,’ I blurted, remembering what Josephine had told me. ‘But a trap for your enemies.’ 

Now I was the centre of attention. Once again, I didn’t like it. (I was really starting to worry about myself.) My face burned from the sudden flush of blood to my cheeks. 

‘Sorry,’ I told Emmie. (TDP 277-278)

Apollo has gotten so used to lying, at this point he lies by habit, out of reflex, without even having to consciously will himself to do it. He lies about himself most of all, and most of those lies are deliberate – to an infuriating degree, especially in retrospect. But he lies about other people too, and these lies are nowhere near as intentional. A lot of the time, he doesn’t even realize he’s telling them. 

In spite of his continued attempts to pretend otherwise, Apollo is very good at reading people. Except in one glaring respect. He has no idea how unreliable his narration can be, when it comes to other people’s opinion of him. 

He goes on and on, at the start of this journey, and still to an extent at least up until the end of book 3, about how he totally expects people’s love and admiration. About how he’s certain to have them by default. He fakes surprise every time it becomes clear that that is not, in fact, the reality of things. It’s one of his favourite recurring gags, actually: him doing – or imagining himself doing – some huge heroic gesture, but also, on the opposite end of the comedic spectrum, something really barely notable that could only look praiseworthy to an airhead like the idiot he role plays as, and readying himself for applause that never comes. 

But the truth is, he does not ever expect applause. Quite the opposite, in fact. He expects anger. He expects reproach. Ridicule, even. At best, he expects grudging tolerance. It’s very hard, all throughout the first 3 books, to get an accurate read of how everybody else really feels about him, because we only have his account of it, and he always expects the worst. 

In fairness, he’s not entirely off the mark there. He has a lot to feel guilty about. But he doesn’t stop at that. He feels guilty for things that he had no control over and objectively bears no blame for. He feels guilty for things that quite frankly aren’t a big enough deal to warrant any assignment of blame. He feels guilty for things that weren’t bad at all and he should maybe, actually, rather take pride in.

“I don’t blame you,” he tells Meg, every time he gently corrects her on something, every time she makes excuses for her stepfather, every time she looks like she wants to apologize. He knows that she’s been taught, she’s been made to feel like she’s responsible for everything, even and especially that which isn’t her fault. He gives her the reassurance and absolution that nobody ever gave him. And why should anyone have? 

He was a god. Of course he was responsible.

Apollo loves to act shocked that he didn’t get the starstruck reaction he pretends to feel entitled to, but his shock at finding himself on the receiving end of a friendly overture, a friendly sentiment… that is not fake. That is always genuine. And it is usually followed by him telling us, telling himself, that that kindness is much more a reflection of the people who bestowed it on him than of what he actually deserves. People are being too kind to him. They are mistaken. They just don’t know him well enough to realize what the truth is. 

And the truth, according to Apollo, is that he doesn’t even deserve the benefit of the doubt.

So when he meets Emmie, the first person who isn’t actively working with his enemies to treat him with some measure of actual hostility (and no, Calypso doesn’t count, because despite how convincing his reasoning sounds, she never quite seems to hate his guts as much as he insists she should), he takes it as proof of everything that he feels is true about himself.

Of course Hemithea, a woman whose last significant interaction with him was to thank him for saving her life, detests him now. Why shouldn’t she? Clearly, his gift meant nothing to her. In fact, she threw it away. This only confirms what Apollo already, deep down, believes. Even when he does a good thing, somehow, he manages to do it wrong. 

He’s so busy berating himself for his own perceived worthlessness, he completely misses that Emmie’s trapped in a spiral of guilt and self loathing of her own. 

Because the truth is, his gift meant everything to her. His gift gave her everything she has now. 

If not for Apollo, Emmie would be long dead, a broken corpse eaten by the fish below the cliff she jumped from to escape the wrath of her abusive father. It’s thanks to Apollo that she lived long enough to meet Jo. It’s thanks to Apollo that she found something more meaningful to her than even the blessing of a god. 

To give up that blessing... it felt right, but it also felt like a betrayal. 

This is the reason why Emmie is so closed off with Apollo. She feels guilty. She expects him to be angry. She expects that he will want to punish her. She’s afraid that, maybe, he already has. After all, it’s his oracle that snatched away their daughter’s sanity. It’s his enemy that’s taken Georgina. 

Even though she doesn’t dare voice it, deep down, Emmie can’t help but feel that, maybe, this is all her fault. Wouldn’t this be a fitting punishment, for turning down the blessing of a god? And not just any blessing. A blessing freely given, without asking for anything in return. Like all of Apollo’s gifts, irrevocable.

By renouncing to serve Artemis, Josephine broke her contract with the goddess and lost her eternal life. But Emmie’s immortality did not belong to Artemis. It was entirely hers. 

And it still could be. She still could have it. But she doesn’t. 

Because she didn’t want just a lifetime with Jo. She wanted the two of them to grow old together. She couldn't bear the thought of seeing her love die, and then, having to keep living without her. 

Josephine shrugged. ‘It’s okay if you don’t get it. But I want you to know, Emmie didn’t give up your divine gift lightly. After sixty-odd years together with the Hunters, we discovered something. It’s not how long you live that matters. It’s what you live for.’ 

I frowned. That was a very ungodly way of thinking – as if you could have immortality or meaning, but not both. 

‘Why are you telling me this?’ I asked. ‘Are you trying to convince me that I should stay as … as this abomination?’ I gestured at my pathetic mortal body. 

‘I’m not telling you what to do. But those folks out there – Leo, Calypso, Meg – they need you. They’re counting on you. Emmie and I are, too, to get our daughter back. You don’t have to be a god. Just do your best for your friends.’ (TDP 186)

Unlike Emmie, Jo is not blinded by guilt. As understandable as wariness toward the gods always is, she knows they have reason to expect better of Apollo. They have known his kindness firsthand. In their house, this refuge for outcasts that they built together, following no vision, no plan other than their own, they still call him Lord. The kindness and respect that Jo shows him, the trust that she’s willing to extend him, tell a story all by themselves. There’s no way for even him to pass them off as a mistake. 

Jo sees that Apollo doesn't “get it”. But she sees, too, that more than angry, he’s hurt.  

“I want you to know,” she says, “Emmie didn’t give up your divine gift lightly.” 

It's true. Even though she is sure of her choice, even though she knows she will never regret it, Emmie can't quite forgive herself for it. We aren’t made privy to her struggle explicitly, but it’s not hard to imagine what her thought process must have been like. To imagine all the good she could have continued doing even after Jo’s passing, for the rest of her eternal life. She gave that up. She feels like it's only a matter of time before she gets her deserved comeuppance. 

“Was it payback?” she asks him, finally. The look on his face is all the answer she needs.

“I believe you,” she tells him. Not necessarily about him being sorry. Not necessarily about him not resenting her either. But she believes now, that he’s human enough to have the same limitations as any of them. Gods, after all, are people too.

‘[...] You want to know what real exile feels like? This is my third time as a mortal. Stripped of my powers. Stripped of immortality. I can die, Calypso.’ 

‘Me too,’ she snapped. 

‘Yes, but you chose to go with Leo. You gave up your immortality for love! You’re as bad as Hemithea!’ 

I hadn’t realized how much anger was behind that last shot until I let it fly. My voice resounded across the parking lot. Somewhere in the zoo, a rudely awakened tropical bird squawked in protest. (TDP 113-114)

The thing is, though, Apollo IS angry at Emmie. That anger, that he keeps so tightly in check most of the time, we see a glimpse of it here, before he quickly reins it back in. 

How could Emmie, how dare Emmie voluntarily give up the thing that he’s so desperate to get back for himself? No, Jo is right, he doesn’t get it. 

And yet, he knows his anger is irrational. He knows it’s projection. This is not the choice he would ever have made. He was born a god. He has never wished to be anything other than what he is. But he isn’t Emmie. And Emmie had a right to make her own choice. Even if it’s the one Apollo thinks is wrong. That’s the gift he gave her. No conditions. No strings attached. So she could do with it whatever she wanted.

But why does she get a choice, why does everybody get a choice, and he doesn’t?

‘If only someone could control wind spirits and carry us over the fence.’ 

‘If only some god could teleport us,’ she countered. ‘Or snap his fingers and bring the griffins to us.’ 

I folded my arms. ‘I’m beginning to remember why we exiled you on that island for three thousand years.’ 

‘Three thousand, five hundred and sixty-eight. It would have been longer if you’d had your way.’ 

I hadn’t meant to start this argument again, but Calypso made it so easy. ‘You were on a tropical island with pristine beaches, aerial servants and a lavishly appointed cave.’ 

‘Which made Ogygia not a prison?’ 

I was tempted to blast her with godly power, except … well, I didn’t have any. 

‘You don’t miss your island, then?’ 

She blinked as if I’d thrown sand in her face. ‘I – no. That’s not the point. I was kept in exile. I had no one –’ (TDP 113-114)

The truth is, it’s not really Emmie, and it’s not Calypso either, that Apollo’s angry at. 

But still, despite everything, he wants to go back to his home above the clouds. He misses his prison. It was a comfortable one. Cozy. He’d gotten so used to it, he barely even noticed the gilded bars of the cage anymore. 

Because what’s the alternative? To stay mortal? To stay powerless? What good would that do him? What good would that do anyone? 

And yet, Apollo’s been thinking about it. At the very least, he can’t avoid acknowledging that it’s a possibility. 

“You don’t have to be a god,” Jo told him. “Just do your best for your friends.” 

But to be mortal. To be powerless. To be content with doing ordinary work, when he once had the ability to make miracles happen. Is that really the best Apollo can do?

“It’s not how long you live that matters,” Jo told him. “It’s what you live for.” And Apollo does understand. But he doesn't agree. 

“As if you could have immortality or meaning,” he scoffs, “but not both.” 

Apollo wants both. 

And why can’t he? Why shouldn’t he? 

Gods are people, yes, but not all people are the same. This is who Apollo is. He wants both. 

I stared at the arched brickwork on the ceiling, wondering if and when it would collapse on my head. ‘I miss my bed at Camp Half-Blood.’ 

‘This place ain’t so bad,’ Leo said. ‘When I was between foster homes, I slept under the Main Street Bridge in Houston for like a month.’ 

I glanced over. He did look quite comfortable in his nest of hay and blankets. (TDP 92)

This is a story about power and privilege. Apollo was born into them. As nightmarish as his life was, in his gilded cage on top of the world, this fact is undeniable, and he is well aware of it. 

“The rich and the gods,” he says, “[are] always the last to suffer.” 

In absolutely every possible way, to stay human, with nothing more to his name than a New York State junior driver’s licence, would be a sucky choice. 

But it would be a freeing choice too. 

Lester simply doesn’t have the responsibility Apollo does. He doesn’t have the power to make Apollo’s mistakes. He doesn’t have the power to fix them either. He might die, yes. But he’d die a hero’s death. He’d die sacrificing everything for a just cause. If he gets lucky, and his death is dramatic enough, someone might even write a ballad or two about it afterwards. He’d die, giving himself the illusion of having spared lives. 

And then people will keep dying. People that, as a god, he could have saved with the blink of an eye.

In absolutely every possible way, to stay human would be the easy choice. The cowardly one. 

And Apollo, despite what he keeps telling us, what he keeps telling himself, is tired of cowering.

Also? He really, really does not want to die. 

Dead people don’t get second chances. They can’t earn redemption. They can’t meet new irritating and weird and wonderful people to fall in love with. They can’t be of use to anyone anymore. And even though Apollo is certain, at this point, that he can’t, that he doesn’t deserve, to have any of these things, somewhere deep in his heart he still desperately longs for them. He does want a second chance. He does want redemption. He doesn’t just want to be loved, he wants to love. He wants to make a difference.

“Heroes have to be ready to sacrifice themselves,” Meg will tell him, trying to console him after the loss of Jason. Apollo doesn’t like her definition of heroism. There is nothing heroic in throwing your life away. Not unless it makes a real difference. To be a hero is not about self sacrifice. To be a hero is, should be, about making a difference.

And Jo is right. You don’t have to be a god, to be able to make a difference. 

‘You’ve built something good here, Hemithea,’ I said. ‘Commodus could not destroy it. You’ll restore what you’ve lost. I envy you.’ 

She managed a faint smile. ‘I never thought I’d hear those words from you, Lord Apollo.’ (TDP 384)

It’s an incredible thing, to receive compassion and understanding when you think you least deserve it, long after you’d lost any hope that you could have it. 

Apollo has no idea how much Emmie needed to hear him say that, but he understands enough, now, to know that she cares what he thinks of her choice. So he tells her. He gives her his blessing one more time, because it's the right thing to do. Because against his better judgement, against everything that his life in his luxury jail above the clouds has taught him, he can’t help wanting to be her friend. 

Emmie does not thank him, but she calls him “Lord Apollo” again. Not out of a sense of duty or obligation. She knows, now, how human he is. She uses the most respectful manner of address, one more time, out of simple, heartfelt respect. 

And he, who just cannot ever believe people might actually, for real, think highly of him, is a bit put off by it. He misses a lot of things from his former life. He does not miss the pedestal at all. 

In the end, what really, definitively puts things right between the two of them is Emmie’s invite to come peel carrots for dinner with all the people below. That’s what Apollo needed to hear. That he, too, can belong with the rest of them. 

“I envy you,” he tells Emmie. She built something good that cannot be destroyed. He wishes he could say the same.

And yet, despite all his failures, people keep putting their trust in him. People are counting on him.

We see all of it through Apollo’s eyes, so, as always, it’s colored by how useless, how worthless his efforts feel to him almost all the time. Because he keeps comparing them to the ease of having the power of miracles at his fingertips, but also, even more than that, because this is how he’s used to thinking of himself, deep down, even as he keeps refusing to admit it. Useless. Worthless. Because the truth is, even when he really did have the power of miracles at his fingertips, he would not, he could not use it. 

“Leo and Calypso seemed to think I could summon godly bursts of awesomeness anytime I wanted,” he says, miffed, before trying and failing to brute force a locked door open. But that’s obviously not how it works. It can’t be. Even though it keeps happening. Not all the time, no... but often enough. Often enough for Leo and Calypso, who have spent almost two months with him at this point, to notice. 

“Be more goddy,” Meg encourages him, again in front of a door that he struggles to open. A door he eventually does manage to break down, thanks to the expertise that he stubbornly keeps refusing to admit he’s acquired the long, hard, regular way, and that has only ever failed him because he keeps second guessing himself. 

But it can’t be that simple. It can’t. “If I could be more goddy,” Apollo exclaims, frustrated, “I wouldn’t be here!”

It can’t be that simple.

Can it? 

Apollo loves complaining about his companions, but in between the complaints, he never fails to acknowledge their skills and achievements. He always makes sure we note them too. 

His skills though? His achievements? He’d rather not think about them. He’d rather we don’t think about them too much either. He alternates between glossing over them as if they never existed and making such a big deal of them that we are forced to roll our eyes at him. 

I almost missed that shot, is how he announces his success. I gave away our position, he says after saving himself and Calypso from capture. “Which part?” he responds to Leo telling him “nice work” for having dispatched Commodus’ serpentine sewer guardian. “The drowning? The screaming?”

The only thing scarier than being useless is discovering that you aren’t. Apollo is terrified of admitting that he is capable. That he is powerful. That he is good. That he, too, can make his own choices. He is terrified that people will start looking to him for solutions again. That they will, once again, start trusting him not to let them down. 

But the thing is, they already do.

‘Calypso, hold this!’ I tossed her the Tots and unslung my bow. I nocked an arrow. 

Once, such a shot would’ve been child’s play for me. Now it was nearly impossible: shooting from a moving train, aiming for a point where the focused impact of an arrow would have the maximum chance of triggering the switch. 

I thought of my daughter Kayla back at Camp Half-Blood. I imagined her calm voice as she coached me through the frustrations of mortal archery. I remembered the other campers’ encouragement the day on the beach when I’d made a shot that brought down the Colossus of Nero. 

I fired. The arrow slammed into the lever and forced it backwards. (TDP 139)

Trust is a powerful thing. Much like a net, it can be a trap. It can be the thing that drags you down into the murky depths and drowns you. 

But it can also be the thing that lifts you up.

I remembered the other campers’ encouragement when I’d made a shot that brought down the Colossus of Nero, Apollo says, allowing himself to acknowledge, in this moment of need, what he hadn’t at the end of last book, and offering us a rare unobscured glimpse at the truth. The winning shot that HE had made, no convenient last minute stroke of luck required. The other campers who were there, not jeering at him, but cheering him on. 

“You actually trust Lit?” Meg asks, as she tries to puzzle the same problem Apollo himself is struggling with. “I can’t be sure,” he replies. “But I think we must try. We only fail when we stop trying.” 

How presumptuous of Apollo, who keeps offering his trust to people, to think himself above receiving any in return. That’s not how it works, here on the ground, a little insignificant speck among so many others. People, unlike gods, help one another.

“Just do your best,” Jo told him. It doesn’t have to be complicated. There’s no need to overthink it. “Just do your best for your friends.”

‘Commodus.’ I drew myself up to my full, not-very-impressive height. ‘This is the only deal. You will let your hostages go. You will leave here empty-handed and never return.’ 

The emperor laughed. ‘That would sound more intimidating coming from a god, not a zitty adolescent.’ 

His Germani were well-trained to stay impassive, but they betrayed scornful smirks. They didn’t fear me. Right now, that was fine. 

‘I am still Apollo.’ I spread my arms. ‘Last chance to leave of your own accord.’ 

I detected a flicker of doubt in the emperor’s eyes. ‘What will you do – kill me? Unlike you, Lester, I am immortal. I cannot die.’ 

‘I don’t need to kill you.’ I stepped forward to the edge of the dining table. ‘Look at me closely. Don’t you recognize my divine nature, old friend?’ 

Commodus hissed. ‘I recognize the betrayer who strangled me in my bath. I recognize the so-called god who promised me blessings and then deserted me!’ His voice frayed with pain, which he tried to conceal behind an arrogant sneer. ‘All I see is a flabby teenager with a bad complexion. You also need a haircut.’ 

‘My friends,’ I told the others, ‘I want you to avert your eyes. I am about to reveal my true godly form.’ 

Not being fools, Leo and Emmie shut their eyes tight. Emmie covered Georgina’s face with her hand. I hoped my friends on my side of the dining table would also listen. I had to believe that they trusted me, despite my failings, despite the way I looked. (TDP 370-371)

Gods are powered by belief. 

It’s in this moment, bruised and dirty and as puny as it gets, standing in front of the man he’d so desperately wanted to save, the man he’d so desperately wished and always failed to emulate, the man he eventually determined had to be stopped and personally took the responsibility to execute, that Apollo finally recognizes the two of them are nothing alike. 

He calls Commodus “friend” one last time, knowing, and finally accepting, that Commodus won’t take this last chance that Apollo is offering him, just like he wouldn’t take all of the chances that Apollo had offered him before. That Commodus will never be the person Apollo wanted so badly to believe he could be. “I had survived,” Apollo says, “a journey he would never dare take.” 

It’s in this moment, as his friends put their lives in his hands, choosing to believe in his impossible promise despite everything, that Apollo, for the first time in what feels like forever, believes in himself.

To be mortal, with no superpowers. To do the extraordinarily important ordinary work of every day. There is meaning in that, and strength, and dignity too. 

But it’s not the best Apollo can do. 

This is.

My body superheated, every particle igniting in a chain reaction. Like the world’s most powerful flashbulb, I blasted the room with radiance. I became pure light. 

It lasted only a microsecond. Then the screaming began. (TDP 372)

The only thing scarier than being helpless is discovering that you aren’t. And Apollo is scared out of his mind. 

#trials of apollo #toa #toa spoilers #rrverse

[asset35-maya]

CALYPSO 🐚 ☕️

Part 1 & Part 2

Part 3/3:

Nines froze as the human’s body melded to his. Gavin kept his eyes shut and his lips moving. Then what he’d been bracing for finally came.

Pain.

Sweet glorious pain, blossoming everywhere Nines gripped his body. Gavin was sure that his lips would bruise under the pressure of the reciprocal kiss… that his rib cage would shatter if Nines held him any tighter… that his lungs would burst if they didn’t fill with air soon…

A wolf-whistle broke through the stunned silence in the yard.

Gavin pulled back, light-headed from the rush of oxygen and drain of adrenaline. He didn’t fall though. Didn’t even move an inch. Strong arms and a heated gaze kept him pinned.

//

\\

“Of all the things in the world… why coffee?”

“I could ask you the same.”

Gavin tucked his head into the crook of Nines’ neck, cuddling closer.

“Hmm… I think weird working hours made me actually need the caffeine… but the bean snobbery just came with the rest of my superiority complexes.”

Nines laughed. It was more of an exhale than an actual laugh, but Gavin was thankful for it nonetheless.

“And you?”

Nines kissed his forehead, prolonging his answer as much as he could before finally relenting with a sigh.

“The reason you’re asking… is because running a café is just about the last thing you’d expect an android like me to be doing. And… that’s your answer. That’s exactly why I wanted it.”

“To subvert expectations…?”

“To not be the terrible thing I was meant to be.”

Gavin’s breath hitched at the depth of emotion in Nines’ voice. He didn’t dare look up to meet his eye and settled for pressing his lips to the razor-sharp jawline.

“I dunno what kinda code runs through you, but believe me when I say you don’t have it in you to be… terrible.”

Nines scoffed at that.

“How can you say that after all the shit you’ve seen me do.”

“I can say that after all the shit I’ve seen others do. Fifteen years on the job, remember? I can vouch that righteous anger is one of the least terrible things out there.”

When Nines didn’t respond, Gavin decided to move the ship out of uncharted waters. He propped himself up on an elbow and ran a hand down the android’s smooth chest.

“In fact, I think it’s downright sexy.”

That did the trick. Nines pressed Gavin into the mattress with a low growl and rolled over him, clamping his mouth over his throat. Their hips aligned and the conversation ended.

//

\\

“Ralph tried hard but the machine is not working. Ralph is stuck.”

“Move. Let me see.”

Gavin took the filter holder and disconnected it from the espresso machine with a firm tug. He leapt away in shock as water came rushing out. That was absolutely not supposed to happen.

“Er… I’ll get a mechanic friend to take a look later. Why don’t you go check on inventory?”

Ralph shuffled away with a thoroughly sceptical look in his eye. Gavin sighed openly once the android was out of earshot.

The café was in shambles.

The vandals may have gotten as good as they gave… but they’d left their mark. Even with insurance, there was no way such a new establishment could financially recover from a setback like that.

Nines said nothing but seethed with his usual brand of silent, impotent rage.

Unable to bear the slammed car doors and dismissive grunts any longer, Gavin had taken a solo day off to come down to the Calypso and see what could be done.

Not much, without a boatload of money, it seemed.

He sat down with a sigh and Ralph brought over a cup of coffee. Black. A pour-over. He set a bowl of runny eggs and a small basket of bread down on the table too.

Gavin looked up in surprise. Ralph shrugged.

“Nines is telling Ralph that you left without breakfast. Ralph’s equipment is all broken so Ralph just made something simple.”

Touched beyond words, Gavin motioned for Ralph to sit down with him instead of scurrying off into the shadows as per his usual habit.

He took a sip of the hand-poured drip coffee and broke a piece of the bread, dragging it through the eggs, European style. It was utterly homely and reminded of him of some bygone era that he’d needlessly bypassed. He looked up and met Ralph’s mildly unsettling stare.

“So… why the name Calypso? There’s nothing beach-themed or Caribbean about the place.”

“Nines chose it. After the Greek goddess.”

“Huh. And she was the goddess of coffee? Did they even have coffee back in those Hercules Orgy Olympics days?”

“She is a sea nymph. She detained the mythic hero Odysseus on her island for seven years.”

Gavin’s brows furrowed as he swallowed a mouthful of fresh bread.

“Did you bake this?”

“Yes. Ralph is baking daily. Ralph does it first thing in the morning at five. It is very calming to knead the dough and hear the birdsong.”

“It’s phcking delicious. Leavened perfectly. Now back to the name. This goddess nymph creature. She doesn’t sound very nice. She trapped this hero dude, right? Reminds me of my ex. Why name this pretty café after her?”

“Ralph can only imagine that Nines’ fascination with Calypso is the ambiguity of her nature. She can seduce and manipulate, but she can also heal. She is neither good nor evil.”

Gavin drained his coffee and sank back in his chair contemplatively.

“What do you think she is, Ralph?”

Ralph’s LED flickered and his eyes dipped to the table. He knew what Gavin was asking.

“Calypso is immortal. Calypso cannot help but fall in love with every sailor who lands on her shores. Calypso dreams of an eternal husband but lets Odysseus go when it’s clear he wishes to return to his wife. Well, maybe only when the Gods commands her to… but she releases him without harm!”

Gavin waited. Ralph’s head snapped up and he spoke in a short burst.

“Calypso is mythical. It does not matter what she is. Nines is real. Nines is good. Very good. Honest and honourable! Ralph will do anything for Nines!”

Gavin leaned back in his chair with the satisfied smile of an experienced police negotiator who’d gotten exactly where he wanted to.

//

\\

“What the hell is this? Where did you get so much money from?”

Nines’ amber LED cycled furiously as he took in the sight of the restored café. Ralph was humming to himself as he proudly polished the knobs of their repaired espresso machine.

Gavin led Nines by the hand to look at the repainted walls… the new furniture… the new crockery replacing what had been smashed…

“How…?”

“Oh I just embodied my inner Gen Z and tapped into the power of social justice.”

Nines looked thoroughly nonplussed.

“Crowdfunding, baby. I set up a link and Ralph told everyone on Twitter what happened to him and the café. Well, showed them, more like.”

Nines looked up at the ceiling and his LED slowly returned to a calm blue as he understood… but when he looked back down, his expression wasn’t any less troubled.

“Okay I just saw it. Edited footage from his optical units and a tearful testimonial. Ethically questionable, but clever.”

“Super effective. We overshot our target by a couple hundred bucks.”

“Hmm. People are kind.”

“Yes. They’ve actually done more for you. Look. Connor gave me this earlier today.”

Gavin reached into his jacket and produced an envelope. Nines’ eyes widened as he spotted the official seals of the Mayor’s office, the Manfred Estate and New Jericho.

“Someone started a petition… to let you back behind the helm of the Calypso. It really took off. I don’t know how you didn’t hear-”

“I muted any mentions of myself and the other RKs from showing up in my newsfeed.”

“Then this makes for a good surprise.”

Gavin gently pushed the envelope into the android’s hands and watched him open it with a precise fingernail flicked under the wax. He scanned the contents of the letter in a split second and let it fall through his fingers.

Without warning, he scooped Gavin up and set him down on a polished table for a deep kiss of even deeper gratitude. Ralph turned his back on them with a bashful giggle.

//

\\

“Baby.”

Nines didn’t respond.

“Hey baby?”

“Hmm...”

There was an intensity to the grumble that had Gavin second-guessing whether to persist. Being Nines’ lover didn’t exempt him from the consequences of asking stupid questions.

“Your thoughts are fucking loud. Just say whatever you want to.”

“Oh. Um… I was actually wondering… I mean, you don’t have to tell me… but like why… um…”

“Why haven’t I turned my badge in yet?”

“Yeah…”

Nines turned on his side and brushed the back of his hand over Gavin’s cheek. The intimate gesture sent a thrill through the human despite how much more intimate they’d just been in the recent past.

“Because I haven’t decided what to do next.”

Gavin’s brows knitted together.

“What do you mean? Aren’t you going to take back your business?”

Nines’ wan smile told him all he needed to know.

“Why?”

“It’s doing really well in Ralph’s hands. He’s capable. He’s creative. And I don’t think it’s fair for me to go back and get in his way all of a sudden.”

“He needs you.”

“He absolutely doesn’t. It’s his café. You helped him get back on his feet and he’s going to be fiiiiine without me.”

“Is it because you don’t wanna be her anymore?”

Nines scrunched his nose up in confusion.

“Who?”

“Calypso. The siren who trapped the Oddball.”

That earned Gavin a heartfelt laugh.

“Odysseus, Gavin.”

“Yeah. You were like Calypso and now you’re letting go of the coffeeshop because you figured it wasn’t meant to be!”

Nines frowned and pretended to check the human for a temperature. Gavin swatted his hands away with mock petulance.

“Fine, I’m probably way off the mark. You tell me what the deal is then!”

Arms snaked around his waist and pulled him flush against the android’s defined chest. Lips brushed the shell of his ear and when Nines spoke next, it was in the huskiest of undertones.

“I’m Odysseus. Not Calypso.”

The realisation was painfully obvious in hindsight.

“I’m the one who’s stuck on an endless journey home. I’ve faced a hundred artificial trials and tribulations. I’ve been a puppet at the hands of false gods. I answer existential questions to prove my self-worth every single day.”

Nines paused to gauge Gavin’s reaction. When he received none, he pressed a brief kiss to the human’s bare shoulder before continuing.

“It’s been a long journey. But not a pointless one. Every metaphorical island I’ve visited has granted me something. From literally running into Ralph in an old building… to defending our turf from other stray androids… getting ourselves off the street… setting up a café from scratch… being arrested on opening day… ending up on the police force with you…”

Gavin recognised that as his cue to squirm around in Nines’ arms and peck him on the lips.

“So who’s Cyclops?”

“What?”

“The story’s starting to come back to me now. Your boy Oddy fought a one-eyed monster on one of the islands he went to. Who’s the Cyclops in your story?”

Nines huffed another breathy laugh.

“Markus, probably. Connor is definitely Helios.”

“Who’s your wife?”

“Definitely not you.”

Gavin elbowed him in the ribs. An action that had more repercussions on him than Nines.

“So which island are you off to next?”

“I have no idea. But it doesn’t matter. I might already be home.”

#reed900 #rk900 #gavin reed #dbh nines #dbh rk900 #gavin900 #gavin x nines #gavin x rk900 #dbh gavin #dbh ralph #dbh markus #dbh connor #dbh #dbh fanfic #dbh writing #my writing

[sitting-around-and-fantasizing]

I had pirates of the Caribbean on my mind recently, specifically the song “hoist the colors” who’s lyrics reference the binding of Calypso(the queen) by Davy Jones(the king) to a mortal body(bones) after having taken her from the sea, her place of rest. This caused the pirates to sail the seas without fear of unnatural storms and wrath. Thus the lyrics “The king and his men stole the queen from her bed, and bound her in her bones, the seas be ours and by the powers, where we will we’ll roam.” Which is immensely cool and such an ominous melody but ALSO. What if Minecraft.

So i have the idea that the same song applies to my favorite white boys in mcyt. But what I want requires a bit of backstory. So Kristian is the goddess not of death, but simply the “other side of the coin.” She is the opposite of DreamXD, the god of light and life and creation and order. She represents everything that humanity hates, she is the monsters in the dark and the void beneath our feet. She is the creeping death in our homes and the war in our fields. When the crops begin to rot and decay, it is because of her. When the soldiers return bloodied and broken, it is because of her. When crime runs rampant the and the people go mad, it is because of her. When there is death in your home and grief in your heart. It was because of her.

She cannot cover the entire world by herself of course, so she created an aspect. A helper of sorts. His wings were as black as her wonderful crows and his eyes were cold and merciless. He was Philza, her little reaper. She did not raise him, of course, she was incapable of such acts of creation. But what she was capable of, was love. Love is the middle ground of life and death. It has caused innumerable wars, has plunged nations into starvation, it causes insanity and killed many. It has built homes and entwined the lost, it creates life just as easily as it takes it away. And Kristen fell in love with Philza.

Death and her angel continued to ravage the land. But now things were, less. Kristian was happier. She started to care for little things she never noticed before, started to understand things she had hated. Her attack on humanity slowly started to cease. She decided, that if she could not create, could not rear a child of her own, then she would have Phil do it.

She brought her angel three infants, all created just as he was with her power and will, and entrusted to him that she would come to visit, but she could take no part in the caregiving. They both knew that she loved them still, but she simply told him that they would take on other aspects. The first was a child seemingly in the image of the violent race of piglins, with eyes as red as war and sharp teeth. The second was seeming shifting in his hands, the grass died and withered around him, his eyes and hair were as brown as rot and there was a sickly sweet scent in the air. The third child had hair like spun gold and the eyes of the sky, he was active and loud, shrieking with glee. They would be the other 3. Thus the horsemen were born.

They continued in this way for a few years, Kristen fulfilling her duty and Phil only occasionally keeping her company. But one day, Kristen was… taken. She doesn’t quite know what happened herself. But she remembers a circle, she remembers black eyes. She was sealed to the mortal body of a woman about her stature, amusingly named Trixten. She had apparently been killed when the goddess had forcedly inhabited her body, but she lived in a small cottage in the woods, with a little garden. Kristen was… unsure about taking care of the garden, to say the least.

However, to Philza, there was nothing, not a single sign of her but a single dying crow, fading away as it croaked desperately. Philza felt grief for the first time. He would find his goddess. And he would raise hell to do it. (While being a single father to the actual children of damnation of course)

#pirates of the carribean #philza #philza minecraft #techno #technoblade #Tommy #tommyinnit #wilbur #Wilbur soot #Kristen #trixten #Mumza #ra rambles #ra’s aus

[openheartfanfics]

WEEK 5: And... Miami

Bryce x F!MC

Cardiac Arrest - @lahelable​​ 🎭 MC has returned to Edenbrook after visiting Miami with Ethan Ramsey. Feat. One-sided Ethan

Ethan x F!MC

A Drunken Nightmare - @groovypalacehorselover 🎭🛸 In which Ethan and MC slept together in Miami. 1.10 Rewrite of the morning after.

Part 2

A Million Cuts A Million Waves - @gryffindordaughterofathena 🎭 All actions have consequences, what was the consequence of the Miami kiss?

A Risk Worth Taking - @tmarie82​​ 🎭 1.10 Miami rewrite.

Accident - @perriewinklenerdie​​ ☁ 1.10 Rewrite. Harper sends Ethan and Claire to Miami for a conference. One poorly coordinated move sends them into the sea of feelings.

Avoiding You - @randxmthxughts 🎭 MC reflecting on Miami.

Be Happy... - @jerzwriter 🎭 Just weeks after returning from Miami, Ethan secretly watches as Bryce fills the role he so eagerly desires for himself. Feat. Bryce x F!MC, Ethan x F!MC

Between Games and Truths - @carreraleigh 📚 [mini: completed] Ethan and Lia go to the conference in Miami, Lia saves Ramsey from an uncomfortable situation and Ethan doesn’t know how much more he can resist his feelings.

Part 1  |  Part 2  |  Part 3 [NSFW]

Clearing the Air - @cryomyst​ 🎭 Set in 1.10, in which my MC talks to Ethan when neither of them could get any sleep that night.

Closed Hearts - @ernestlysinclaire 🎭 The plane ride home with Ethan after the Miami kiss.

Destination - @terrm9 ☁ Light NSFW - They’re in Miami, four years later. This time, Ethan needs to ask MC a certain question.

Ethan’s Open Heart - @jamespotterthefirst 📚 Miami from Ethan’s POV.  

Along the Seashore

Winner Takes it All

In the Afterglow

Flight - @starrystarrytrouble ☁ Ethan and MC fly home together after Miami.

Flight of Fancy - @takeharryandgo ♥ Ethan reflects on the night in Miami while flying home to Boston.

Games with emotions - @perriewinklenerdie​​ 🎭 1.10 Rewrite. Miami from Ethan’s perspective.

Haze - @irisofpurple 🎭 How did Ethan really spend the night after kissing Lana for the first time?

Heartache - @potionsprefect 🎭 He puts up a wall between them, leaving her heartbroken

I’ll Be Seeing You - @takeharryandgo 🩺☁ Months after Meredith left Edenbrook, Ethan reunites with her again in Miami.

It’s Our Paradise - @usuallyamazinglyaverage​​ ♥ Ethan and Anna waste a lot of water after their first time together. Set after 1.10.

Kiss Me Slowly - @raerheya ☁ The Miami balcony scene.

Like the Shoreline and the Sea - @stygianflood 🎭 Ethan is asked out on a date right after Miami in Book 1.

Miami - @rookie-ramsey ☁​ She never expected to return to the Miami hotel room.

Miami - @lady-calypso​ 🎭 Athena Robins meant soley for Bryce and no romancing of Ethan. I managed to make it through Miami in canon without kissing him, but that’s only because I’m trying to get no romance points. This is MY canon take on Miami with Athena.

Miami Getaway - @jerzwriter ☁ Ethan and Casey take a desperately needed vacation, but the green-eyed monster keeps visiting Ethan.

Miami Heat AU - @the-pale-goddess 📚♥

Part 1  |  Part 2

Part 3  |  Blind

Miami Nights - @heauxplesslydevoted ♥ While in Miami to celebrate their upcoming wedding, Ethan and Naomi sneak away from the festivities to have their own celebration.

Night Changes - @alina-yol-ramsey ☁ Miami x Hawaii moments

Not A Mistake - @danijimenezv 🎭 Rewrite of what happened after the kiss in Miami. Takes place in OH1 Ch10.

Ocean Kiss - @estellaelysian 🎭 A Miami Kiss

Out of Control - @liaromancewriter 🎭 While Ethan’s waiting in the airport.

Puncture Wound - @the-pale-goddess 🎭🌟 Ethan monitors Naveen overnight on New Year’s Eve. An unexpected guest keeps him company moments before the midnight strikes. Set After Miami.

Responsibility & Restraint - @ravenclawnerd Ethan’s thoughts on Miami

Some Things Are Worth The Risk - @hopelessromantic1352​​ ♥ A happy ending in Miami. 1.10 rewrite.

SOS - @liaromancewriter​ 📱☁ When Cassie has an emergency, there’s only one person to talk her off the ledge. Text fic featuring my favorite twins. Feat. Max Valentine 

The Balcony - @genevievemd ☁ Two years after their first trip to Miami, Ethan and Gen return for another conference and enjoy a quiet night on the balcony.

The Butterfly Effect - @monsoonblooms12 🎭 The Journey from where it all began to where they are now. From a 2-minute power nap to a Miami kiss, Pooja and Ethan have come a long way.

Under The Table - @droppedmydamncroissant 🎭 Calypso drowns her sorrows in alcohol after the events of Miami, marvelling at the depth of the affection she holds for Ethan - telling herself that the alchemy that circled them was unavoidable.

Wanting You - @poudredevie ♥ After playing poker with Declan Nash, Dr. Ramsey and Dr. Reyes head back to their hotel room. Will anything happen between them?

We Know What We Did Last Night- @usuallyamazinglyaverage 🎭   It’s the morning after. A 1.10 rewrite.

What Happens in Miami, Stays in Miami - @sharrybh20 ♥ Doctor kink

Whatever it takes - @perriewinklenerdie​  🎭 1.11 Rewrite. What’s going on in Ethan’s head when they get back from Miami?

While You Were Sleeping - @jerzwriter ☁ What Ethan says when he thinks Casey is sleeping.

Winter - @writinghereandthere ☁ Miami-born-and-bred Mariana struggles during a tough Bostonian winter and enlists advice from Ethan.

Your Love Is Killing Me - @headoverheelsforramsey 📚 [mini: complete]  A canon divergent take on the emotions Ethan and Meera face on returning from Miami, and what happens when Meera faints in the hospital atrium.

Part 1  |  Part 2  |  Finale

Love Triangle

Miami - @lady-calypso​ 🎭 Athena Robins meant soley for Bryce and no romancing of Ethan. I managed to make it through Miami in canon without kissing him, but that’s only because I’m trying to get no romance points. This is MY canon take on Miami with Athena. Feat. Bryce x F!MC x Ethan

#open heart #open heart fanfic #open heart fanfiction #choices open heart #open heart fanfics #ethan ramsey #ethan x mc #ethan ramsey x mc #oph trope challenge #trope challenge: miami #bryce lahela #bryce x mc

[sweetxcharming]

Mommy!Calypso small fic (it is influenced by "Experiment on me", "Hurricane" and "Control" - Halsey)

⚠️Warning: sensitive themes, like baby loss, are explicitly showed. If it makes you feel bad, I recommend you not to read. Thank you.

Basic informations first:

Calypso is, in The Odissey, a mother. She have, with Odisseus, 3 boys. This is important;

None of her kids is mentioned by Rick. So, basically, they could easily be taken by Odisseus when he got away;

Following this idea, Calypso already lost 3 kids by the next events

"Calypso had a kid. A baby boy. Hers and Leo's. Sitting on that sofa, late at night, she just couldn't believe that she was a mother once again.

'He's pretty cute, hum?' Leo looked at his baby, named Miguel. 'He have your eyes'

'But he's a mini-you, after all' She stared at that child wrapped around a cover she herself had made. The bit of curled hair on Miguel's head, a bit lighter than his father's. But the same small nose, the same lips, not as full as hers, the same pointy ears. 'He's perfect'

'He sure is.' The demigod looked at his girlfriend and Calypso returned the stare.

She knew she wasn't 100%; she felt her hair in a loose lace, the front on her eyes. The white dress had some stains; near her breasts, down her womb. Some of milk, some of blood, some of liquids she was still putting out. She wanted to go and take another shower, but right now that wasn't important.

Her boy was.

'Hey guys, how you doi--' The couple raised their looks at the TV room's door. Apollo, with Lityerses and Jo by each of his side, stopped instantly when he saw the kid sleeping in Calypso's arms. 'What is this?'

'He's here.' Leo smiled, getting up and closer to the god. 'He finally is bor--'

'You knew it?' Apollo interrupted Leo, looking at Calypso. 'You... You knew it?'

Calypso didn't responded. She just wrapped her baby closer to her chest. Leo looked at her, then at Apollo. Jo seamed to notice something wrong, but Lit was still a bit confused.

'Of course she did?' Leo answered, letting out a dry chuckle and raising his hands, pointing at the two people behind him. 'She... Pushed him out. For, like, hours. How can she not know he was born--'

'Leo, stop' Calypso murmured.

'I'm not talking about the birth' Apollo was different. He was rude, in defensive; scared. 'I'm talking bout what was birthed--'

'My son' Calypso answered, not looking up. 'I gave birth to my son--'

'THIS IS A TITAN!' The sun god screamed, pointing with his arms in Calypso and Miguel's directions. 'THIS IS THE PROBLEM! A TITAN!'

'A... Titan?' Leo looked confused. He stared at the nymph with the baby. She looked smaller. 'H-how?'

'How you think?' Apollo sounded a bit ironic. 'Have never passed your mind that, maybe, a goddess and a demigod could have a... Devine baby? I thought you were good at maths'

'But... She's a mortal' Leo chuckle again, searching for something realistic. 'She's not a goddess anymore'

'A nymph is still a type of goddess.' Jo said. She was now in the middle of the room, maybe to stop anything that could start. 'A mortal kind. And... Calypso is a titan. A titan nymph, a titan mortal goddess'

'And you knew that?' He stared at his foster mom, turning to Calypso. 'Do you... Knew it could happen?'

'I knew' Calypso spoke, her voice cracked, her head down. Her face wasn't visible. 'I knew it was happening inside me. I knew it.'

'Why... Didn't you tell me?' Leo didn't sounded mad. He stepped down on his knees, holding her face with his both hands. 'Why you didn't told me bout our baby? I wouldn't be mad or anything. I just... It doesn't make sense to me.'

'I didn't wanted to loose another baby' She murmured, almost impossible to understand. 'I didn't wanted him to be taken too...'

Leo didn't responded. He hugged her, taking care with his son's small body. He knew bout Calypso's past. She told him, it were on books. It was just different to see all that baggage reflecting on her for the first big time.

'That's okay, that's okay, I'm here, no one is taking our baby away...'

'I wouldn't be that sure...' Apollo said, walking into the nearest chair and sitting.

Calypso raised her eyes, fear on them. She just couldn't believe she heared it.

'What?' She moved on her place, making Leo get a sit by her side, ready to take the baby from her hands. 'What do you mean by that?'

'My father can be scared of him.' He pointed to Miguel. 'He could send some gods to take this new titan. Just to don't risk anythi--'

'He's a baby.' Calypso gave her son to Leo, who wrapped him and held close to his chest, like Calypso had done. Jo walked in his direction while the nymph stood up. 'What ~risk~ he could mean to Zeus?'

'I--I mean' Apollo stuttered. 'Not that I follow his mind or his ideas--'

'You sound very hypocritical while saying that right after screaming at my baby, his father and me'

'Well, I was scared!' The god sunk on to the chair, raising his hands. The air around Calypso looked heavier, more visible. 'It is a titan, after all! Titans normally wants to kill me!'

'A baby! Do you know what it means?' She got closer. Calypso just wasn't open to acceptance. She didn't wanted to know. One hand raised in Apollo's direction, to other strongly closed. 'You were scared by a... Sleeping baby?! How can that scary Zeus?!'

Apollo got up, taking a few steps back.

'Calypso, calm down--'

'NO!' She screamed. Wind spirits rushing all around. Calypso could her Jo asking her to stop and Lityerses calling Apollo. 'YOU WILL NOT TAKE MY BABY FROM ME AGAIN! I WON'T LET YOU OR YOUR FATHER DO IT!'

'OKAY!' Apollo told her back, raising his hands. The wind slowed down and Calypso started to feel tired. 'Okay, Calypso, okay, o one will take your baby--'

'Promise. Promises me' She asked, looking straight into his eyes. 'Swear for my sister's name; swear for the River Stynx'

'I-I swear for the River Stynx' He answered. 'Gods, Calypso, I-I'm sorry, but don't do it again. Please'

She stopped, her mind coming back to normal. She looked around: everything was a mess. People were scared of the fight, scared of her. Calypso felt her legs trembling, her body getting tired, her mind running out, her vison getting dark.

Her body falling down.

She woke up clean, in her bedroom's bed. Leo was by her side, holding Miguel and singing some lullaby she didn't recognized.

'What?...'

'Good morning, Sunshine' Leo smiled at her.

'W-what happened?' She tried to get up, being stopped by a strong headache. 'Ouch! My head hurts. Leo, what happened to me? I... Had some type of... Fight with Apollo, I remember that. But... How did I got here?'

'Me, Jo and Emmie took you here.' He changed his arms that where holding the baby, shaking from one side to the other. 'They cleaned you, changed you. I took care of this little buddy and you all the time after the shower. Are you okay now?'

Calypso lookd at the sheets. She felt bad for her reaction. She knew Apollo didn't mean to be rude or bad or offensive. But she just couldn't hold herself.

She also reacted out of fear.

'I'm sorry' Calypso murmured, not looking up. 'I'm sorry for what happened, you must be scared of me--'

'Why would I?' Leo smiled, taking her chin with one hand, holding the baby with the other. 'You protected me, and my baby. Our baby. I would have done the same, in your position.'

'No, Leo, you don't understand--'

'I do.' He looked at her deeply. 'They took my mother from me. They took my friends. They took my childhood, my teenager years. They took me, even tho I escaped them.' Leo's eyes were strong, hurted. Not even close to that glowing look he always have up, no, a more adult feeling on them this time. 'If you didn't had reacted, I would do. I'm not gonna let them hurt me anymore, and this includes not hurting you and not hurting this small one. No need to say sorry for that, I'm fine.'

Calypso couldn't belive. She let herself fall back on the bed, looking at the ceiling.

'But what about ny powers? They have not been like... That, after we got out of Ogigya. That didn't scared you?'

'Well, kind of, but not in a traumatizing style.' He put Miguel down on the bed, between them. 'And also, I almost put the bedroom in flames when we first had sex, and you still by my side, even after years of the same accident happening times to times. That's no big deal to us, being in between scaring situations, hum?'

'You really compared me bringing spirits to the TV room in the intention to kill a god to us having sex?' Calypso smiled sideways, looking at Leo.

'Not to us having sex, but me almost killing you during sex. See? Alike situations.'

'No, they're not'

'Yeah, they are, but you are tired, your mind isn't 100% yet to see it' He laughed. Calypso pushed him from his knees, not hiding her big smile.

'Okay, gimme the baby, I have to feed him.' Leo helped her to get up, passing Miguel to his mother as soon as possible. It wasn't hard for her to breastfeed after so many time, but surely a but strange. Calypso was happy to be at that position once again. 'Thank you for understanding me. I don't know, I just felt like you would be mad and... I don't know.'

'That's fine, Calie. That's okay.' Leo got closer to her, looking at the baby. 'Everything is going to be fine, all the three of us will be fine. No one is going to hurt us anymore. Right, mijo?' He played with the baby's chin.

Calypso let out a small laugh.

'I hope so' She stared at the world outside the window, the sun coming in, ignoring the clouds that tried to hide it. 'I do hope so'"

#Caleo #leo valdez #calypso pjo #heroesofolympus #percyjacksonandtheolympians #trials of apollo #apollo #lityerses #Jo #I got this idea near 6am #I'm just gonna leave it here #Sorry for anything #That's not 100% revised #I might do it later tho #I just hope you guys like it #Also listen to Halsey #She's also a mom now #Love that woman so fucking much

[drippingmoon]

Dropping by for a sec to say I hope you know that when I worked on LAWLB the other day, I reread Calypso’s retelling of her backstory (which I kinda forgot happened dhfjgk) and a part of my brain just. Pointed out that that is definitely a thing you’d ramble in the tags about and be excited over and love.

So that’s a thing. I think of you when exciting/important Calypso things start happening. I love that you love Calypso so much, in other words.

(Also puppy jumped up to says hi and can you believe it’s almost his birthday and he’s gonna be 2 years old??)

This made my day so so so so much better, nikky, I can't begin to tell you how this cheered me up<33

And if you got that feeling, then you bet I'd be spamming your tags with my incoherent love for our favorite Kraken goddess omg haha<33 I miss her and from time to time when I see anything aquatic, she just swims across my thoughts and floods me with feels🥰

Since you mentioned it before and said we could. Poke you to ask for snippets. Are you still doing that collage with the Calypso + her domain scenes?

So tiny?? Eli's two now?? I've kept in mind it's this weekend, but puppy's so tiny aaah, so little, so precious ❤ is he getting snacks or chewy toys for his birthday? Snuggles are in order haha<3

#days are getting longer here and to receive this message from you and taking a break from stuff #it energized me so much omg i'm so happy to hear from you and what you've been up to #we may write but it doesn't mean we remember everything we do akdkskj hahaha #i've no qualms with proclaiming my eternal love for calypso🥰🥰 #she attack. she play with Davy Jones. she raises from the waters and swallows ships. she teases Thanatos and softens up #but most importantly she crushes you with feelings and how amazing she and your writing is💞💞 #all the faces of Calypso and i'm forever happy to ramble in the tags about my love for her haha #pls drop for more than a sec whenever you want<33

[angelsodreamy-no2]

if annabeth chase rated the greek gods :

(ic : @helpimobsessedwithpercyjackson )

Zeus: 3/10 because he abandoned my besties Thalia and Jason, but because of that i got to knew them tho so idk

Hera: 0/10 because we hate each other + kidnapped my boyfriend and stole his memories, but at least she let him remember me tho

Poseidon: 4/10 because percy wouldn't exist without him, but him and my mum are enemies tho so not too sure

Demeter: 6/10 because i've never really had a conversation with her, but she seems nice + her kids are nice and helpful as well

Ares: 1/10 because he's quite annoying and tried to kill percy when we were only 12, only 1 points for him since im friends with some of his kids

Athena: 9/10 since she's my mom, not the most perfect mom tho so i'm going to have to deduce at least 1 point

Apollo: 7/10 because he has helped us several times on our quest, + his kids are really nice as well

Artemis: 8/10 because she's cool, i even considered joining the hunters

Hephaetus: 5/10 because i still have mixed feelings about him, nearly thought that my boyfriend died because of him

Aphrodite: 6/10 since i personally have 0 problems with her, even tho some of her kids are annoying. can't live without my personal therapist tho, piper. she supports me and percy so i guess thats nice

Hermes: 4/10 because he was once mad at me for not running away with his son who's 7 years older than me. has helped us on several quests tho

Dionysus: 5/10 because he sometimes forgets my name

Hestia: 8/10 since she seems like a nice goddess, very unproblematic as well which i love. percy loves her sl i guess thats a good enough reason

Hades: 7/10 since i feel bad for him sometimes, not a big fan of the underworld tho. extra points since he has a cute hellhound named cerberus

Persephone: 8/10 because she seems chill, i've never met her so i cant judge too much

Atlas: 0/10 since he nearly killed me and percy when we were only 13, but gave us matching grey streaks on our hair so i forgive him a bit

Calypso: 6/10 since i thought she was going to steal percy, a lovely person, is dating my friend leo so idk

Kymolopeia: 3/10 since she would've killed percy if it weren't for jason, but to be fair he was already giving up on life tho

Iapetus: 10/10 because he's the sweetest god ever who helped us and even sacrificed his life for us when we were in tartarus, forever greatful for him if im being honest

Kronos: 0/10 since he nearly killed me, percy, luke, and everyone. just no

Hyperion: 0/10, no comment

#annabeth chase #greek gods #pjo series #percy jackson #percy jackson and the olympians #heroes of olympus #hoo #hoo series #pjo

[sheakspeare]

It’s week 2 of the #OdysseyReadalong2023 (sorry for the delay!), and we’ve read books 3 & 4. I’m gonna leave some prompts for discussion about Book 4 below. 💙🌊

🌊 — Arrival at Sparta

Telemachus and Pisistratus (Nestor's son) arrive to Mycenaean Sparta in the middle of a wedding feast and meet king Menelaus and Helen, the face that launched a thousand ships. Have you ever crashed a wedding? Do you think it in poor taste? Or would you pay no mind to it, like our honourable hosts?

Also, the royal couple is wealthy, so much that even these noble boys are amazed by their rich surroundings. Would you like to live in a fancy palace? Or would you prefer a humble abode?

🌊 — Mourning

In Od. 4.98, Pisistratus says it is custom to “cut our hair and drench our cheeks with tears”. How does your culture deal with grief? Do you cut your hair like Mycenaean Greeks or do you have other traditions?

🌊 — ϕιλία (philía)

Philia is the kind of love that strong friends feel toward each other. In Od. 4.106-108, Menelaus (king of Sparta) says “[Odysseus'] destiny was suffering, and mine the endless pain of missing him”. Later, in Od. 4.179-181, he says “[Odysseus'] destiny was suffering, and mine the endless pain of missing him”.

It makes my heart warm how they love each other. Have you ever loved a friend this much?

🌊 —Tyrian Purple

Ever since antiquity, purple has been associated with royalty and wealth. This dye, used by ancient Phoenicians, was greatly prized because the colour did not easily fade. Because it was extremely tedious to make, Tyrian purple (from Tyre, Lebanon) was expensive, so only the wealthy classes could afford it.

When Telemachus “raised his purple cloak to hide his eyes” (Od. 4-156), he revealed his origins. He misses his father so much I can only imagine the pain he must be enduring :-(

What other colours scream power to you?

🌊 —Helen of Troy Sparta

Helen, wife of Menelaus, is renowned for her beauty. But she is also super smart. For instance:

She immediately recognizes Telemachus, even though she only knew him as a baby.

She also states that she was the only person to recognize Odysseus at Troy, when he was disguised as a beggar.

My girl's got the beauty and the brains! I love her, and she may very well be one of my favourite mythology women <3

Even though she is blamed for the war, we can see Helen and Menelaus are completely reconciled and have a harmonious married life. The king doesn't hold a grudge, and she doesn't feel any restraint in telling stories about her life inside Troy during the war.

Helen also mixed a powerful magical drug from Egypt that takes away people's sorrow and rage, and “bring forgetfulness of every evil” (Od. 4-122) with the wine they were to drink. Would you drink the mixture, or would you let yourself feel all the emotions?

🌊 — Menelaus and the Sea God

This book provides an account of Menelaus' return from Troy and his home life in Sparta. The king recounts his voyage home: his fleet was blown by storms to Crete and Egypt, where they were becalmed, unable to sail away.

He also tells the story of how he trapped Proteus, “who knows the depths of seas, and serves Poseidon” (Od. 4-384), and forced him to reveal how to return home. He and his men thus disguised themselves as seals and mixed with Proteus' flock of that animal. Were you familiar with this Sea God?

🌊 — Odysseus' Fate

Menelaus was also informed that Odysseus is being held in the clutches of the Nymph Calypso on her remote island. And he makes sure to tell Telemachus.

Remember in Book 1, when Athena told Telemachus that “the wide sea keeps him [Odysseus] trapped / upon some island, captured by fierce men / who will not let him go” (Od. 1.197-199)?

Telemachus now knows that was not the case, but do you think he caught the lie? And, most importantly, why do you think the goddess lied? Was it to make Telemachus feel better?

🌊 — The Suitor's Ambush

After finding out what Telemachus is up to in Pylos and Sparta, the suitors are planning to ambush him and kill the boy. Do you think they will succeed? Will they die trying? Or something in between?

Penelope has also discovered her suitor's plan, and she is overcome by sadness. She cries and weeps, collapsing on the floor, and only finds solace after Athena visits her in a dream. This time, the goddess has taken the guise of a phantom bearing the face of Penelope's sister. Would you have chosen a different disguise?

tags: @fangirlofallthefanthings

#OdysseyReadalong2023 #read-alongs #the odyssey #*mine