#(i specify sons because. thalia) | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

queen-of-weird-girl-nation · 4 months

Text

A Jason Grace Analysis

While my Jason fics relies on mainly interpretation and headcanons, this one’s mostly going on the limited list of Jason’s life from the books. YOU’RE ALLOWED TO DISAGREE WITH ME,JUST DO IT RESPECTFULLY IN THE COMMENTS. be nice pls.

Spoiler alert 🚨 (for PJO, HOO and TOA)

Jason Grace is a character who was, in a way, screwed over by Rick during his writing of Heroes of Olympus and eiDzgventually Trials of Apollo. His story was very sad, but never explored to its fullest potential and in some cases didn’t make sense. He’s a character who is seen as ‘boring’ by the fandom, which , in a way, makes sense. Uncle Rick didn’t do him justice, so I’m here for a Jason Grace analysis.

Firstly, Jason’s incredibly depressing life. Because I do not know what vendetta that Rick had against my boy, but I would argue his story is the most tragic of everyone in the books. Yes. Even Nico.

Jason’s mother was an unhinged alcoholic who was obsessed with fame. For the first 2 years of his life, he was basically looked after by his sister, who was also a young child. As hard as Thalia tried, she probably wasn’t the best caregiver on account of her age. His mother was unstable, which has got to leave some scars, even if you’re a young kid, because you still know what’s going on to some extent. And Jupiter seemed to leave the family to their own devices after a while, not even staying for a kid. So Jason has been basically abandoned, keep track of how often that happens.

Then Jason was abandoned again, this time by his mother, left as a sacrifice for Hera. And he wasn’t sacrificed just anywhere, he was left at the Wolf House, where Lupa tested him to see if he was ‘pup or food’. So Jason, at two years old, was tested by a Wolf Goddess, a ruthless one at that, who threatened to kill him if he didn’t live up to expectations. Just a great environment for a toddler to live in. And while the time he spends in the Wolf House is unspecified, the general consensus is that it was for a year or two. This is more of a headcanon, but the implications of ‘pup or food’ could show that he stayed with her longer than the average Roman demigod. In SoN, it’s shown that most demigods do their Wolf House training for like, a week. And the training sounds harsh when Percy, age 16 does it. So imagine a 2 year old, going through that, constantly. Then he is off to New Rome.

In HoO, it’s pointed out that Jason has 12 lines of his forearm for his years of service in New Rome. 12 lines representing 12 years of service.

Jason has been serving 12 years of military service since he was around 3. So that means that this literal infant is just… in the military. How does that work? Was baby Jason just running around in little armour? Was he doing the same drills as other kids when he was much, much younger? Also the fact that in Camp Jupiter, you train for 10 years, then go to live in New Rome. But Jason has been serving for longer than that, with 2 extra years. It seemed like he wasn’t going to retire anytime soon in the books, so that also adds some mystique to his character that was never explored.

Then we move into the other things at Camp Jupiter, which is that Jason was treated like a statue or a star, instead of a person. Hazel says that he is ‘more legend than boy’ which is so sad! This kid, this 15 year old is seen by those around him as a hero, a legend to look up to. Did Jason have any other friends? While Reyna seems to be close, Reyna had a crush on him, and while he didn’t know that, it must have made the friendship a bit… different. Jason isn’t specified to have any other friends in the books, probably because everyone was to in awe of his status as a Son of Jupiter. And while Jason may care about the rules, in Roman terms he was a very radical person. He was just trying to live a calm life, to not be known only as the Son of Jupiter. He joins the least respected cohort. He tries to take less important quests. But it doesn’t work, because he does get assigned big quests and while he is in the 5th cohort, people still treat him like a legendary hero instead of just a guy. And while the phrase ‘victim of nepotism’ is quite controversial, I think that Jason actually fits that bill.

Then we come to SoN. You know that tweet that’s like: hey we’re calling off the search party. we found a different guy out there we like more. That’s what Camp Jupiter did to Jason. Again, he was abandoned, this time by his own Camp. Like I know 8 months is a while, but oh my gosh, do we have to elect a new praetor? There’s also a contradiction. Percy is a Greek demigod, which isn’t a thing the Roman’s really like. Yet after a couple weeks at Camp, he’s already a PRAETOR? While Jason was put down for being ‘unrecognisable as a Roman’, they elected a very Greek person as a praetor? He was immediately accepted into the highest position of power? Also the fact that Jason wasn’t looked for. At all. While CHB was scrambling to find their boy (as they should), no one in CJ cared? Like, aren’t they the ones with the giant searching eagles? It seemed like everyone forgot about him, with him being missing not being a huge thing for most people (except Hazel and Reyna to my memory, fill me in if anyone else gave two frogs) and that’s gotta sting. The knowledge that your entire camp not only replaced you, but didn’t bother to look.

Jason also had amnesia and never regained huge chunks of his memory. That must be horrible, to have parts of your life gone, to not remember much. While Percy got everything back, Jason got so much less!

Jason goes on the quest, then comes back. He goes to CHB, goes to school. He starts having a normal life. And he gets broken up with, making him genuinely sad. And while I know that Piper had no ill intentions whatsoever when she broke up with him, that also could count as an abandonment. Because they don’t really keep in touch in the book, they seem to go their separate ways. So kinda half of an abandonment, even though both parties weren’t in blame.

Finally we have his death. While Thalia got turned into a tree by Zeus, a slightly caring act for a god, Jason died. This could be because Jupiter is crueller than Zeus or it could be because of the cycle of patricide, with Jupiter killing his father, who did the same to his father. Maybe it’s because of his paranoia. Maybe it’s because Jason called Jupiter unwise, but it still counts as an abandonment. The god saved Thalia (she could be seen as non threatening, not a killer. Not someone who could carry on the tradition of son killing father) and abandoned Jason, left him to die the ‘heroes death’.

Jason’s life has been one big struggle and rejection. 4.5 times, he was abandoned, left somewhere by someone. Left to die in the end. He was a child soldier, meaning that he was a kid that never got to be a kid, just a tool for the gods, for years and years. And he struggled with making friends, making new rules, trying to push the camp into the future. Seen as unroman, even Reyna says it. That’s an awful life, one that Rick Riordan never explored and one that’s contradicted at times.

Jason was a character that Rick dropped the ball on so hard.

Because, while his life is incredibly difficult, it has so much potential for storytelling, that Rick dashes on the rocks, leaving the fandom with a character who people acknowledge as weak and boring.

So, in the fandom, Jason is regarded as having no personality, or being a knock off Percy. So, Jason not really having a huge personality, as a kid who trained as a soldier from a young age, makes sense. He was spending half his childhood trying to survive so trying to figure out what MBTI type he was may have fallen low on his list of priorities. Then he got amnesia, and sent on the Seven quest. So Jason not having time to develop a sense of personality makes sense, buts here’s the catch. It’s never explored. Rick never, ever explains why that might be happening, which could make for a compelling story arc. Rick never expands on the child soldier thing at all, which sucks because instead of Jason having an identity crisis about Greek and Roman camps, he could be really weird since he’s a child soldier. (I’m aware that they’re all child soldiers, but I refer to Jason as child soldier since he was just a baby when he started)

And the seeds were there. For example, the scene with Jason being wary about Nico and not wanting to rescue him, that could have been Jason being taught that practicality is key. That some people are expendable. He could have learnt that from the ARMY THAT HE GREW UP IN. That could have been a plot point, that Jason struggles with taking breaks or knowing that’s he’s appreciated, that his childhood was abusive and not normal, that life isn’t a constant battle for survival. That could have been his arc! All of the pieces were right there! Rick, dude, you’re a great author, but you fumbled so hard on this one!

And also the fact that… unpopular opinion time….

Jason wasn’t stronger than Percy, but he should have been.

Jason has been in the army since he was a toddler, and I know that Percy’s really powerful, but come on! Jason being this really nice, really powerful kid with super strong powers and no social skills could have slayed. Maybe this is the inner Jason stan in me, but I personally think that Jason should have been stronger than Percy, simply because it makes more sense. Jason has been training for ages and ages, he single handedly fought a Titan at younger than Percy (around 14 or 15) so it seemed like his powers were muted by Rick. This could probably be because the PJO fandom is like a toxic TikTok boy mom when it comes to Percy (I can be like this too), making him centre stage and getting annoyed when he isn’t. Percy is meant to be the strongest, which isn’t bad, in some situations it just doesn’t fit. Or maybe Percy’s just wildly OP.

This is not to say that in the book Jason was weak, but people treat him like that.

And Jason’s really sad life is never explored! He should have been struggling with 1500 mental illnesses at once because that constant abandonment? The stress of everyone’s expectations? Trying not to die at like 4? He’s neither the eldest nor a girl, but he’s got so much eldest daughter syndrome and is burnt out gifted kid syndrome personified. And it’s hardly touched on!

There’s also the fact that’s a really small nitpick, but, the fact that Jason only has 1 single lip scar? That shows that Rick wasn’t paying attention to his own character. Jason trained with the Wolf Goddess then was in the army, he should be covered in them.

In conclusion, Jason’s very sad and tragic story was hardly utilised and the very interesting parts of his character were not used in a way they could be. But don’t worry Jason. While Rick Riordan may have flopped you, you are one of my favourite characters.

Peace ☮️

#jason grace #camp jupiter #heroes of olympus #percy jackon and the olympians #riordanverse #percy jackson #jason grace my child #my child <3 #percy jackson and the olympians #pjo fandom #rick riordan #long post

201 notes · View notes

newathens · 7 months

Note

its kinda weird seeing ppl be mad at what you brought up when its so fascinating how daughters in this series gets treated differently from sons (whether thats by design or b/c of ricks own bs) daughters not being able to get away with what sons can or not getting as much attention as the sons but at the same time being exempt from the suspicion that they will depose their fathers (cuz of prophecy) specifying son)

they really are and the dynamics we get because of it are so interesting !! something that i always end up thinking about is daughters as martyrs, sacrificial lambs, etc in this series. thalia, bianca, hazel, silena, annabeth (almost, if she fell alone), zoe. and im not saying that we don’t see sons receiving this treatment (because leo sacrifices himself, jason does as well) but in the spirit of iphigenia, when it happens to the daughters, it feels more pointed, sometimes it feels like a punishment, other times it comes off maternal (and don’t get me started on the actual MOTHERS!). the daughters just do have a different set of experiences and i think it aligns wonderful with the mythic source

i will say that the prophecy probably uses ‘his’ in the same way that all general prophecies and riddles etc use male-centered grammar; it’s supposed to be considered applicable to all. but you are onto something in the sense that the girls are ‘exempt’ from suspicion and that can lead back to the way rick writes them. and im saying this even with thalia’s temptation in mind, because she does not receive the same vitriol from zeus than jason does. not by far

15 notes · View notes

apollosgirl9 · 3 years

Text

Rating The riordanverse books that I’ve read

Note: please don’t get mad, this is my opinion, you can comment yours, but no hate please.

Note number 2: there’s heavy spoilers for all riordanverse, so if you haven’t read some, I suggest you stop reading once you see a name of a book you’ve never read.

Lightning thief: 7/10 pretty good book but honestly it wasn’t for me. Sure it was sweet with the whole Percy saving sally and stuff but I just wasn’t a fan

Sea of monsters: 6/10 so many love this book so imma get hate but I want a big fan of it honestly. It was a good book but not this kinda book I would stay up till 3 am reading.

Titans curse: 10/10 LOVED IT! It was amazing, definitely one of my favourites. Di angelos were in it along with Queen Zoë, Thalia and my gal Rachel. The whole concept of Percy getting annabeth was cute yet cringy but all in all, amazing book.

Battle of the Labyrinth: 9/10 this one was pretty good ngl. It wasn’t my favourite but it was still pretty good.

Last Olympian: ok so there’s something wrong with me and the last book of the series is ALWAYS my favourite (unless we’re talking red Queen but that’s a different story). So obviously I’m giving this one and infinity/10 mainly cuz I’m a sucker for romance AND it was a genuinely good book. So yeah I loved it.

All the in between books such as demigod chronicles and the guide to chb deserve a solid 10/10 all really good, I’m not gonna specify cuz I wanna fit this in one post so if there was any side books I’ve read, the get 10/10

Lost hero: ok so usually, I would give this like an 8/10 but they went to Canada, bumping it up to 9/10. It was a pretty good book, but I think it’s a tad bit overrated. The trio was an amazing trio so yeah.

Son of Neptune: 10/10 amazing book, really underrated but honestly really funny. They went to Canada, so as a Canadian, gets more points. Frank and Hazel were such a cute couple, and Percy just made a great third wheel (not as good as broski Grover tho).

Mark of Athena: 7/10 it was pretty good but let’s be honest, it was sorta over hyped. Sure, it was a pretty good book but I think people love it to much.

House of Hades: 2/10. Now before you get mad at me, it wasn’t for me. I never actually read it front to back because it didn’t seem Interesting.

Blood of Olympus: 9/10. The beginning of solangelo (*insert weird squeal thing*) which obviously made me happy. Plus, we got to see more of Queen Reyna and that was amazing. Also, Octavian=dead in this book so that’s a plus. Once again, last book so obviously my favourite in the series.

The Hidden oracle: 9/10 All of the TOA books are amazing plus this one we got to meet solangelo while they were dating. We also met Meg aka the whole ass mood.

The Dark Prophecy: 7/10 there was caleo which was the first real time we met them. Not to mention the old lesbian couple (I forgot their names rn)

The Burning Maze: 6/10 good storyline but he killed Jason so lost like 3 points for that. I don’t need to explain more.

The Tyrants tomb: 9/10 ok so I was SO ready to ship Lester and Reyna but then when she rejected us I was sorta sad. They would’ve been so cute but the fact that she laughed in his face was awesome.

Tower of Nero: 10/10 amazing book, plot, and character development. I’m not gonna give spoilers cuz it’s fairly new so I know their are ton that haven’t read it so I’ll leave it like that.

Sword of Summer: 10/10 I loved all mcga books are are amazing and this one was so refreshing with the new characters

Hammer of Thor: 8/10 this one was pretty good but it wasn’t my favourite so therefore only got an 8. Also, Alex was in it which made me happier.

Ship of the Dead: ♾/10 literally the best book in the world and I don’t need to talk any more.

Red Pyramid: ok so I’m gonna explain myself before I tell you my rating. I couldn’t get into it. I am not a fan of Egyptian mythology. It wasn’t a good book in my opinion. I never finished the series cuz I didn’t like it. I don’t mean to offend anyone so please no hate. I don’t mind you telling me your opinion but please no hate. It’s my opinion. 1/10

Thank you for reading this. Feel free to share your opinion in the comments.

#book rating #riordan universe #riordanverse #percy jackson #percy jackson and the olympians #heroes of olympus #trials of apollo #magnus chase and the ship of the dead #magnus chase and the gods of asgard #the kane chronicles #kane chronicles

24 notes · View notes

sepiadice · 5 years

Text

Tales of Genius Ch. 3: Blossomforth Brides Pt. 1

(1/26/2019)

I’ve been wanting to get to this session for years. Literal years. Since the overly dramatic high school group, when I first introduced and used North Fort in a Pathfinder session, then reiterated on for years after, always dying to do this campaign.

What feels like a decade later,[1] we finally reach Blossomforth.

Shorter session this time. Limited player availability, late start, arguments over the difficulty dice in magic, my usual distraction making dinner.[2] The usual.

Hopefully I can coordinate sessions more often, since we actually stopped two-thirds of the way through my plans.

I’ll have to actually figure out what happens next. Dang.

CAST

Eli Roberts: (Played by Lyons) Child of Clio. Doctor, travelling to write a medical text akin to Gray’s Anatomy. He’s an Intellectual! Older gentleman, hits on women to fluster the GM.

Olivia Grayson: (Played by Maddie) Child of Thalia. Apprentice to Eli. Believes her Squirrel-raccoon companion is her boyfriend reincarnated. Murdered a dude, stole his clothes.

Fromthe: (Played by Jose) Child of Calliope. Military veteran and current mercenary. Also has some mercantile ambitions. Doing fine.

Jean De Ferrero: (Played by Anthony) Child of Terpsichore. Travelling con artist. Took aforementioned murder victim’s gun.

So we pick up where we left off last time: standing outside the Soldier’s Rest Mayor’s office, Eli with a letter. I had an idea for what they encounter if they backtracked to North Fort,[3] if they stay,[4] and of course if they actually move forward.

This is why it’s handy to be loose with session planning: gives you extra room to think up threads for other locations if the party goes rogue and wants to go back or over there. If you intend to mostly wing it, you can write out a couple sentence-long ‘this is a possibility’ suggestions, and be prepared to improv if you get called on it!

But the players tend to be good at minding my overly obvious plot threads. Maybe in an overly meta way. I have to learn subtlety.

Anyways, the party reviews the plot, and figures out how to advance. Namely, by going south to the nearest train station in Blossomforth.

They get a wagon ride and arrive about a half day later, in the evening.

Blossomforth is an agricultural town well regarded for its Strawberry Wine, which is exported even beyond the borders of Astree. Small town, traditional, and because I’d watched a Let’s Play of Night in the Woods, there’s a subtle undercurrent of the younger folks moving away and the older folks being afraid of the town fading away.

Eli happens to know someone in the town whose son he saved.[5] William lets Eli and pals stay at his home, noting his son moved to Taffyport and works at a factory.

Which is the first canon mention of Taffyport.

Unfortunately, due to winter, the trains aren’t running up to Blossomforth just yet. That’ll have to wait until after the Forest Bride Festival.

You see, every year, a little before spring, the town gathers to prepare for planting season and celebrate surviving winter. They open a barrel of Strawberry Wine prepared during the last Harvest Festival, dance, sing, play booth games, send a maiden into the woods for an ancient ritual, feast. That sort of stuff.

The party joke about human sacrifices. William gets uncomfortable. After some needling from Dr. Roberts, William comes clean:

The titular Forest Brides are supposed to come back. Historically, they do! Bring in a bottle of wine and food, supposedly talk to the local deity,[6] then come home.

The last two never came back. So the town’s divided. Be Tevye and continue tradition, or maybe stop losing girls to the woods... Forest? I’m not clear on that.

Anyways, Olivia hears forest and wants to go that way. We really need to examine why she’s learning medicine from Eli if she hates people so much.

The party manages to talk her into waiting for morning.

The next morning, she immediately heads towards the woods. The rest of the party follow. So I move a character from town to the woods so I can do the plot.

This is Ms. Marian Shepherd. In another, more elf-inhabited universe, the niece she shares a name with is often called Trix.[7] Marian’s trying to get a pair of town guards to let her into the woods to investigate. Both Eli and Jean try to flirt, but Ms. Shepherd is more concerned about one of her pupils, Maryanne Diane, being this year’s Bride. Olivia hides amongst the trees.

Fromthe is businesslike, so she mostly deals with him.

She says they’d need to get permission from the town council, and agrees to take the party to them.

Olivia senses magic. There’s a lot of magic. Unfamiliar magic yet similar to what the party sensed in the mines they’d come from.

The party goes to where the festival preparations are happening and meet with the town council, who Eli decides he knows. I compromise, but mostly ignore the personalities he ascribes. We have Briggs, Sarah, and the third member who never got a name.[13] The party try to negotiate permission to investigate, mostly to Briggs.

Briggs is initially hesitant, but slowly comes around. The first Bride to go missing was his granddaughter, Ashley, but it’s not impossible she used the chance to run away and find a new life elsewhere. Fading town subplot, after all.

Councilwoman Sarah is opposed and doesn’t particularly like Eli, and tradition demands no trespass in the woods. Argue argue.

The third councilman, who most falsely assume is senile, speaks up and gives permission. As he’s the oldest person in a town that operates on a Town Elder system of governance, it’s the final word.

Briggs gives them a permission slip.

They invite Ms. Shepherd along, but she concedes she has nothing to offer, and was only trying to get into the woods so someone would be looking into things. Now someone is.

Into the woods.

The party follows the source of the odd magic, and eventually come upon a woman sitting on a boulder, eating a Corned Beef Sandwich with extra mayonnaise.[8] She introduces herself as Isabelle.

Oh, and Isabelle is wearing the same robes as the man Olivia murdered in the mine, and a rabbit skull mask. She also does not like seeing Olivia wearing the cloak and snake skull mask she looted, and demands to be allowed to burn it.

Olivia refuses, and after the party try to convince her to give the items up, Jean just grabs the mask, and eventually Olivia agrees to give up the cloak.

Turns out she’s here for the same reason as the party, more or less, and as they walk deeper into the forest, she provides some exposition.

She’s a Dark Shepherd, a secret society dedicated to maintaining cosmic balance and the traditions of Deep Magic, sometimes called dark magic or blood magic and the like. But it’s not really a morality thing, don’t worry.

The guy killed in the mines, however, belonged to a splinter group: the Feral Oaths. They think covering the land in iron and the growth of industry is bad and should be undone to return to the old ways.

She also says that, while deeply tragic, killing the giant snake in the mines may have been necessary, and doesn’t condemn the group. And while the loss of life is always sad, the man Olivia murdered[9] was a Feral Oath, so screw him.

They reach a clearing in the center of the forest. There’s a serene pond with a small island in the center with a tree on it. Isabelle takes a moment, concludes she doesn’t actually know if there’s a proper ceremony nor how to perform it, so she just sits.

A massive deer emerges.[10] The tree, as it turns out, is part of an antler. He’s really big.

He speaks. Probably in the mortals’ minds for the time being, but I didn’t specify that since I needed to get to a dramatic hanger.

So he’s been lonely. No one came last winter. Or the winter before that.

Which means the brides haven’t reached their destinations.

Huh.

Thus ends the session.

This is actually a little earlier than I planned, so I’ll have to figure out how to fill out the next session. I already have the general path Eli’s following, and I have schemes prepared for Fromthe and Olivia. I need to figure out something for Jean De Ferrero.[11] Probably should just talk to the player. Like a reasonable GM.

Lessons learned: nothing concrete comes to mind! I’m feeling more comfortable behind the screen, even though I still feel an amount of inadequacy. And I still need to confront my anxieties about my voice and speech impediment[12] before I can shift into a podcast project, but practice is always important. And hopefully a group that can lend gentle criticism and maybe argue about the magic rules less.

I think a good background thing is that it’s okay to have sidequests and plans that need to be triggered like a video game, and not to close options because the players didn’t jump on them. Narrative time is flexible, things can get moved, cooperate with players and grant them the chance to do what they feel is pressing and/or fun in the moment without sacrificing story or investment.

Until next time, may your dice make things interesting.

[1] Can’t be bothered to do the math. Write up should be on this blog.| [2] Everytime I tell myself ‘Next time, casserole’. Then I make something with curry. [3] Fun fact: in North Fort, I had a vague concept for what would happen if they decided to screw the catacombs/mine, and instead try going North to ask for help. Also an explanation the North Fort mayor would give for not trying this himself. [4] Both events could still trigger. Heh heh. [5] Lyons has picked up on my willingness to accept things that circumvent minor problems or non-issues. Would’ve let them grab an inn, but it doesn’t actually matter. He also names everyone because I’m garbage at names and haven’t enacted any solutions to said garbage. [6] Who isn’t a wolf that resides in wheat, and don’t you suggest I wear my inspiration blatantly on my sleeve! [7] Original, Pathfinder plan was this was a retired Trix, but things shifted, and Ms. Shepherd doesn’t have the right personality. [8] She needs the calories. [9] There were some lies about what happened, since he didn’t get a shot off, or really provide any characterization himself. [10] I decided to reference Princess Mononoke moments before I utilized it. So add it to the list of things I blatantly rip off. [11] Maybe he can found a confection company? [12] This has been occurring more often at work than the table, but still. [13] Lyons said third council-guy is name Lysander. I don’t recall this happening, so it’s a footnote of dubious canon now.

#sepiadiegms #genesys #tales of genius

1 note · View note

dumbledearme · 6 years

Text

chapter forty-five—the fate we make

read Child of Land and Sea here

Act V — Walking On Water

Part VIII — We're off on a mission, we're tough; in good condition. We're short but standing tall. No fear!

Thalia said the Titan wanted to see Andy under the flag of truce, that he had a message from Kronos. Andy didn't seem to have a choice. The flag was as big as a soccer field and was carried by a thirty-foot-tall giant with bright blue skin.

"A Hyperborean," Thalia said. "The giants of the north. It's a bad sign that they sided with Kronos. They're usually peaceful."

"You've met them?" Andy asked.

"Mmm. There's a big colony in Alberta. I'm telling you, you do not want to get into a snowball fight with those guys."

With the giant, came a half-blood in armor, an empousa demon and a tall man in a tuxedo. The group walked leisurely toward the them.

"The tux dude is the Titan?" Andy guessed. Grover nodded.

The Titan stepped forward. He was taller than an average human. His black hair was tied in a ponytail. Sunglasses covered his eyes, and the skin in his face and arms was covered in scratches. "Andy Jackson," he greeted. "It's a great honor."

"Why? Are you a fan or something?"

"I think he was only being polite," Thalia pointed out.

"Well, he can-" Andy caught herself when she realized the half-blood was Ethan Nakamura. The son of a bitch. His nose looked like a squashed tomato which made her feel a little better. "Oh, you shouldn't have come here," Andy told him. "Now I'll be forced to hurt you."

Ethan glared at her, unsure if she was being serious.

"To business," the Titan got between them. "I am Prometheus."

With difficulty, Andy tore her eyes away from Ethan and shook the other guy's hand. "The fire-stealer guy who was chained to a rock with the vultures?"

Prometheus winced. "Please, don't mention the vultures. But yes, I stole fire from the gods and gave it to your ancestors. In return, the ever merciful Zeus had me chained to a rock and tortured for all eternity."

"And how-"

"How did I get free? Hercules did that, eons ago. So you see, I have a soft spot for heroes. Some of you can be quite civilized."

"Unlike the one beside you," she commented.

"Oh, demons aren't so bad," Prometheus eyed the empousa. "You just have to keep them well fed."

"I meant him," Andy specified pointing at Ethan and thinking of ways to make him suffer.

Prometheus smiled as if he too didn't like Ethan but was too polite to say anything. "Andy Jackson, let us parley." Prometheus laced his fingers. He looked earnest, kindly, and wise. The idea of fighting him made Andy sad. "Andy, your position is weak. You know you can't stop another assault."

"We can do this all day."

Prometheus looked pained. "Andy, I'm the Titan of forethought. I know what is going to happen."

"Also the Titan of crafty counsel," Grover put in. "Emphasis on crafty."

Prometheus shrugged. "True enough, satyr. But I supported the gods in the last war. I told Kronos: 'You don't have the strength. You'll lose.' And I was right. So you see, I know how to pick the winning side. This time, I'm backing Kronos."

"Because Zeus chained you to a rock," Thalia guessed.

"Partly, yes. I won't deny I want revenge. It was very upsetting what I went through. But that's not the only reason I'm supporting Kronos. It's the wisest choice. I'm here because I thought you might listen to reason. We have you surrounded. We know your numbers. We outnumber you twenty to one."

"You also have a spy."

Prometheus smiled apologetically. "At any rate, our forces are growing daily. Tonight Kronos will attack. You will be overwhelmed, Andy. You've fought bravely, but there's just no way you can hold all of Manhattan. You'll be forced to retreat to the Empire State Building. There you'll be destroyed. I have seen this. It will happen."

Andy shook her head. "I won't let that happen. Our future isn't set. I can change it. We can all change it."

"Understand, Andy. You are re-fighting the Trojan War here. Patterns repeat themselves in history. They reappear just as monsters do. A great siege. Two armies. And you are Troy. Do you know what happened to the Trojans?"

Andy felt again, that fear creeping inside of her. But she wouldn't let him see it. "You're going to cram a wooden horse into the elevator at the Empire State Building? Good luck with that, buddy."

Prometheus smiled. "Troy was completely destroyed, Andy. You don't want that to happen here. Stand down, and New York will be spared. Your forces will be granted amnesty. I will personally assure your safety. Let Kronos take Olympus. Who cares? Typhon will destroy the gods anyway."

"You expect me to believe that Kronos would spare us? That he has even a drop of mercy in his blood?"

"All he wants is Olympus," Prometheus promised. "The might of the gods is tied to their seats of power. When Kronos destroys Olympus, the gods will fade. They will become so weak they will be easily defeated. Kronos would rather do this while Typhon has the lost. But make no mistake, the best you can do is slow us down. The day after tomorrow, Typhon arrives in New York, and you will have no chance at all. The gods and Mount Olympus will still be destroyed, but it'll be much messier. Much, much worse for you and your city. Either way, the Titans will rule."

"I serve Artemis," Thalia said angrily. "The Hunters will fight to our last breath. Andy, you're not seriously going to listen to this slimeball, are you?"

"You both have courage," Prometheus said. "But the courageous die too. We need not be enemies. I have always been a helper of mankind."

"That's a load of shit," Thalia said. "When mankind first sacrificed to the gods, you tricked them into giving you the best portion. You gave us fire to annoy the gods, not because you cared about us."

Prometheus shook his head. "You don't understand. I helped shape your nature. I have been whispering in man's ear since the beginning of your existence. I represent your curiosity, your sense of exploration, your inventiveness. Help me save you, Andy. Do this, and I will give mankind a new gift – a new revelation that will move you as far forward as fire did. You can't make that kind of advance under the gods. They would never allow it. Bu this could be a new golden age for you. You know in your heart that Titans and their offspring aren't all bad. You've met Calypso. She made you see."

"That was different-"

"How? Much like me, she did nothing wrong, and yet she was exiled forever simply because she was Atlas's daughter. We are not your enemies. Don't let the worst happen," he pleaded. "We offer you peace."

Andy looked back at Ethan Nakamura. "Peace... If we take this deal, you don't get your revenge. You don't get to kill us all. Isn't that what you want?"

His good eye flared. "All I want is respect, Jackson. The gods never gave me that. You wanted me to go to your stupid camp, spend my time crammed into the Hermes cabin because I'm not important? Not even recognized?"

"People make mistakes. Gods make mistakes too. You ask us to respect vengeance?"

"Nemesis stands for balance! When people have too much good luck, she tears them down."

"Is that why she took your eye? Were you just too damn lucky?"

"It was payment," he growled. "In exchange, she swore to me that one day I would tip the balance of power. I would bring the minor gods respect. An eye was a small price to pay."

"Mother of the year."

"At least she keeps her word, unlike the Olympians. She always pays her debts – good or evil."

Andy punched him so hard in the face he fell backwards. "I saved your life! You son of a bitch, I saved your life! And you repaid me by raising Kronos and hurting Anthony! You want someone who keeps their word? Well, you got me, Ethan Nakamura. And I swear I will watch you die!" As soon as the words left her mouth, Andy regretted them. She knew she was just being mean, that she was just angry.

Although the fear that crossed Ethan's good eye kind of made it worthwhile. He grabbed the hilt of his sword, but Prometheus stopped him. "We're on a diplomatic mission." The Titan studied Andy. "It bothers you what happened to Luke," he decided. "Hestia didn't show you the full story. Perhaps if you understood..." He reached out. Thalia cried in warning, but before Andy could react, the Titan touched her forehead.

Suddenly she was back in May Castellan's living room. Thalia sat on the table while Ms Castellan bandaged her wounded leg. Anthony held her hand. Hermes and Luke stood apart in the living room.

"Why show yourself now?" Luke demanded. "All these years I've been calling to you, praying you'd show up, and nothing. You left me with her!"

"Do not dishonor her," Hermes warned. "Your mother did the best she could. As for me, I could not interfere with your path. The children of the gods must find their own way."

"So it was for my own good?" Luke cried. "Growing up on the streets, fending for myself, fighting monsters?"

"You're my son," Hermes said. "I knew you had the ability. When I was only a baby, I-"

"I am not a god! Just once, you could've said something. You could've helped when... when she was having one of her fits, shaking me and saying crazy things about my fate. When I used to hide in the closet so she wouldn't find me with those... those glowing eyes! Did you even care that I was scared? Did you even know when I finally ran away?"

Ms Castellan was singing aimlessly, but it was obvious the others could hear them.

"Luke, I care very much," Hermes said slowly, "but gods must not interfere directly in mortal affairs. It is one of our Ancient Laws. Especially when your destiny..." his voice trailed off and Andy finally understood. Hermes knew; he had known all along. He knew what would happen to his son and he did nothing to stop it.

"What?" Luke asked. "What about my destiny?"

"You should not have come back," Hermes muttered. "It only upsets you both. I'll speak with Chiron and have him send a satyr to help you get to camp."

"We're doing fine without help," Luke growled. "Now, what is my destiny?"

"My son," he said, "I'm the god of travelers, the god of roads. If I know anything, I know that you must walk your own path, make your own choices, even though it tears my heart."

"You don't love me."

"I do love you. Just... go to camp. I will see that you get a quest soon. You will get a chance to be a great hero before-"

"Before what?" Luke's voice was trembling now. "What did my mom see that made her like this? What's going to happen to me? If you love me, tell me!"

Hermes expression tightened. "I cannot."

"Then you don't care!" Luke yelled.

Finally, May stopped her singing. "Luke? Is that you? Is my boy alright?"

"I'm fine. I have a new family now. I don't need either of you."

"I'm your father," Hermes insisted.

"A father is supposed to be around. I've never even met you. Thalia, Tony, come on! We're leaving!"

"My boy, don't go!" May Castellan called after him. "I have your lunch ready!"

Luke stormed out the door, Thalia and Anthony scrambling after him. May Castellan tried to follow, but Hermes held her back. She collapsed in his arms and began to shake. Her eyes opened – glowing green. "My son," she hissed. "Danger. Terrible fate!"

"I know, my love," Hermes said sadly. "Believe me, I know."

The image faded. Prometheus pulled his hand away from Andy's forehead. Her face was wet with tears. She had to focus not to throw up.

"Andy?" Thalia called. "What... what was that?"

Prometheus nodded sympathetically. "Appalling, is it not? The gods know what is to come, and yet they do nothing, even for their children. How long did it take for them to tell you your prophecy, Andy Jackson? Don't you think your father knows what will happen to you?"

Andy held back a sob.

"Andy," Grover warned, "he's playing with your mind. Trying to make you upset." He could read her emotions so he probably knew Prometheus was succeeding at that.

"Do you really blame your friend Luke?" the Titan asked her. "What about you, Andy? Will you be controlled by your fate? Kronos offers you a much better deal."

Andy clenched her fists. "No. Tell Kronos... You tell him to call of his attack. Tell him to leave Luke's body and return to the pits of Tartarus. If he chooses to continue this war, then let him know we're right here. We'll be our own heroes. And we will write our own stories - to death or to victory. That is my message."

The empousa snarled but Prometheus just sighed. "If you change your mind," he said, "I have a gift for you." A Greek vase appeared in Andy's hands. The ceramic lid was fastened with a leather harness.

Groven whimpered. Thalia gasped. "That's not-"

"Yes," Prometheus said. "You recognize it. This belonged to my sister-in-law. Pandora."

"Pandora's box?" Andy asked.

"I don't know how this box business started. It was never a box. It was a pithos, a storage jar. I suppose Pandora's pithos doesn't have the same ring to it. Nevertheless, she opened this jar, which contained most of the demons that now haunt mankind – fear, death, hunger, sickness."

"Don't forget me," the empousa purred.

"Indeed," Prometheus conceded. "The first empousa was also trapped in this jar, released by Pandora. But what I find curious about the story is how Pandora always gets the blame. She is punished for being curious. The gods would have you believe that this is the lesson: mankind should not explore. They should not ask questions. They should do what they are told. In truth, Andy, this jar was a trap designed by Zeus and the other gods. It was revenge on me and my entire family. The gods knew she would open the jar. They were willing to punish the entire race of humanity along with us." Prometheus tapped the lid of Pandora's jar. "Only one spirit remained inside when Pandora opened it."

"Hope," Andy whispered.

Prometheus looked pleased. "Yes. Elpis, the Spirit of Hope, would not abandon humanity. Hope does not leave without being given permission. She can only be released by a child of man. I give you this as a reminder of what the gods are like. Keep Elpis, if you wish. But if you decide that you have seen enough destruction, enough futile suffering, then open the jar. Let Elpis go. Give up Hope, and I will know that you are surrendering. I promise Kronos will be lenient. He will spare the survivors." He stood and left, the others following him.

"What did he show you?" Thalia demanded. Reluctantly, Andy told her. "Ah... Yeah, that was a bad night," she admitted.

"What happened to Ms Castellan?"

"I don't know. Luke told us about the strange things she would say. What caused it... I have no idea. If he ever knew, he never told me."

"But Hermes knew," Andy said. "Something caused May to see parts of Luke's future, and Hermes knew what she had seen – that he would turn into Kronos."

Thalia frowned. "You can't be sure of that. Prometheus was manipulating you. Hermes did love Luke. I could tell just by looking at his face. And Hermes was there that night because he was checking up on May, taking care of her. He wasn't all bad."

"But it isn't right. Luke was just a kid. Hermes never helped him, never stopped him from running away."

"Andy," Thalia said darkly, "this is exactly why I joined the Hunters. It's easier to control our feelings, you know? Love... it stops being so overwhelming. We all have tough things to deal with. All demigods do. And like you said: people make mistakes. Mothers, fathers. Gods. But Luke... he made terrible choices. And he made them on his own. Nobody forced him."

"So you don't love him anymore?"

"Don't say that. I will never stop-" she stopped herself. "If you're worried about who loves who... Well, if Tony... I mean, if he has to face Luke in battle, I don't know if he can do it. From the moment those two met, they've had a connection. They don't share the same blood, but they are brothers. After that night... After we left his mom's house? Luke was never the same. He got reckless and moody, like he was trying to prove something. By the time Grover found us... well, part of the reason we had so much trouble was because Luke wouldn't be careful. He wanted to pick a fight with every monster we crossed. And Tony... he didn't think that was a problem. He likes recklessness, just look at you."

"Who are you calling reck-"

"Those two together..." Thalia continued. "They wanted to be heroes. All I'm saying is... don't fall into the same trap. Luke has given himself to Kronos. We can't afford to be soft on him just because we love him."

Slowly, Andy nodded. "Alright. I hear you."

"I'm going to check on the Hunters, then get some more sleep before nightfall. You should crash too."

"No, I don't want to. I'll only have bad dreams."

"I know, believe me," Thalia looked down. "But there's no telling when you'll get another chance to sleep. It's going to be a long night. Maybe our last night."

"Do me a favor then," Andy handed her the jar. "Lock this in the hotel vault, will you? Hope isn't going anywhere. Not while I'm around."

Thalia smiled. "You got it."

Andy watched her go then found the nearest bed and passed out.

#andromeda #andy jackson #anthony chase #andony #genderbend #fanfic #dfcrosas #child of land and sea #walking on water #fem percy jackson

2 notes · View notes

loving-jack-kelly · 7 years

Text

Demigod Newsies

-Crutchie >son of Hephaestus fight me >made it to camp when he was ten >was claimed pretty quick >he's an amputee and had a normal prosthetic leg, a nice one, but not magic or divine or anything >his newfound siblings right away wanted to make him a new one, a weapon used celestial bronze one, but he insisted on doing it himself since it was his own body >it took him a while and he's continually adjusting it but he built himself a leg and it's awesome? Super steampunk looking, bronze, it has like ten weapons in it, it's just really cool >while he was working on it though, he did let his siblings upgrade his crutch and when he pulls the handle it pretty much turns into a super cool sword and he has his own super cool fighting style centered around his leg and his crutch >his dad is so proud Hephaestus looks down whenever he's fighting and is like "look at my son fucking shit up and messing with Ares's kids and winning capture the flag look at him go" -Jack >son of Apollo also fight me on this >his relationship with Apollo is really chill bc lbr Apollo gives no shits and Jack Kelly gives negative shits sometimes after sunset you'll just find Jack and a few of his sibling chilling by the lake laughing at their dad's shitty haikus while Apollo is busy turning the lake into a hot tub >Jack is really good with missile weapons and you'd think he'd use a bow and arrows but he bribed a Hephaestus camper into making him a fucking rocket launcher that doubles as a fireworks launcher and you better believe he uses it >he hates basketball because he doesn't like running for that long straight but he can sink a half court shot every time and he's really good at baseball >he also got Apollos music abilities, so he's really good at writing tunes but horrible at poetry and lyrics he usually enlists the Aphrodite kids on that part >he did inherit the thing where he can curse people to talk in rhymes and he abuses it greatly sometimes half the camp will be walking around swearing in rhymes about Jack >he and Crutchie are best friends and have been since Crutchie was part of the group that rescued Jack ala Percy and Thalia in the beginning of Titans Curse -The Jacobs Siblings >are simultaneously the envy and confusion of the camp >Davey is a son of Athena >Sarah is a daughter of Demeter >and Les is a son of Hecate >it's pretty rare for a god to have more than one kid with the same mortal let alone one mortal have three kids with three different gods >Davey is so good at planning, big picture kind of stuff, and organization, you don't want to be against him during capture the flag >Sarah can controls plants and you also don't want to be against her during capture the flag she'll turn the whole forest into a weapon >Les is magic but he either can't or doesn't want to control it so when he's happy everything is fine but if he's mad he'll curse you without quite knowing what he's doing >Davey and Sarah and so by extension Les are also really close with Jack -therefore Athena, Demeter, Hephaestus and Apollo are Allies in Capture the flag -you don't want to mess with them because they have all the tactical prowess of Athena, the control of the forest itself from Demeter, the inventions and weapons of Hephaestus and the impulsivity and lack of common sense of Apollo so they're ruthless almost on accident -Katherine >Arrives when she's thirteen and is claimed by Athena >causes a stir because her dad is a super famous author and she's famous for being his trouble making daughter >she and Davey are super close super fast and so are she and Jack and the alliance is made even stronger >she fights with two daggers with these pokey things sort of like a wrist guard coming off the hilts but really the balance the knives for throwing and she has good aim -Race >son of Poseidon and he's very proud of it >has never been on the losing team for capture the flag except when he's on the same team as Ares because he hates Oscar and Morris who are the head counselors and when he's on their team he takes a nap >when he's not on their team he turns the river into a wall of water and only lets a few people past so his team will win -Spot >visits from Camp Jupiter once in a while >is a son of Trivia, who is the roman equivalent of Hecate >he fights with magic >his mom gave him a set of magic dice that pretty much is just enchanted D&D dice that help him make decisions and predictions >he's also a pretty badass sword fighter but he'd rather not have to >when he finally asks Race out he legitimately gets slapped in the face with a wave by Poseidon and as a result specifies for like a year that none of his sacrifice is for the god of the sea, wether in Greek or roman form >he also adopts Les as his personal trainee and takes him to Camp Jupiter for war games and poor Davey is stressed -Romeo >is a child of Aphrodite >is also a horrible matchmaker in that he can tell if somebody would be a great couple but is really bad at getting them together >he's also afab genderfluid and when he came out Aphrodite herself came down from Olympus and gave him a makeover and that's their claim to fame >his mortal mom (Aphrodite is Not Straight cmon guys) named him Juliet and he kept up the Shakespeare theme when she picked their new name >in entirely in love with Specs and is ridiculous about it -Specs >nonbinary child of Hephaestus >very buff >also very in love with Romeo >they and Davey invented a new sign language that the whole camp learned because their deaf it's really useful in all sorts of things because only Camp Half Blood people know it >their glasses not only improve their impressively bad vision but also let them see through the Mist so that's useful -there's not really a plot I guess I just really like the idea of them in the PJO universe -so yeah add on all you want -also if anyone literally anyone wants to draw Crutchie with his leg and crutch in this au I'd be eternally grateful -and finally I'm so sorry about the formatting I'm on Mobile and I'll fix it when I'm not anymore

#newsies hc #pjo #newsies au #I wrote this

261 notes · View notes

shipcestuous · 7 years

Text

The Lost Hero

I'm moving forward through the Percy Jackson universe. I recently finished The Lost Hero, the first book in the second series. Sadly there wasn't much in the way of incestuous interactions between the gods, although it featured quite a lot of Hera, who made several mentions of her fidelity to her marriage and her dislike of Zeus' children with other women.

What I wanted to bring up was the appendix in the back of the book (a first edition). Rick Riordan, the author of the series, has written some of the encyclopedic-type works that go with the series, but it's unclear if he wrote this appendix or not. It's titled Gods in The Lost Hero. It lists all of the gods that are mentioned in this book and what they are the god of and they're Roman names. What's interesting is that it mentions a few sibling relationships. For Ares it says:

The Greek god of war; the son of Zeus and Hera, and half brother to Athena. Roman form: Mars.

As you can see there is very little information and yet they included his relationship to Athena. I can't think of a single time when it was relevant in the book or in any of the myths. (Also it's interesting that it specifies "half-brother" - I would argue that's a misleading term, since ultimately they share the same 2 grandparents.) But I love Ares and Athena’s identity as siblings because they are gods of two different aspects of war, and they go together in that sense.

Apollo and Artemis' entries mention that they are twins and Hera's entry mentions that she is the wife and sister of Zeus - which was somewhat surprising since this serious is notorious for downplaying the incest and the siblinghood among the Olympians frequently goes unmentioned in the text.

Anyway, I just thought I would make a note of that.

Also the new series introduced a couple of shippable non-canon relationships: one of the new main characters, Piper, a daughter of Aphrodite, spends the first book trying to rescue her father, who is a famously handsome movie star named Tristan of all things. Before the kidnapping incident, she often acted out to get his attention and basically wants nothing more than to spend the day with him. She also has an ability called "charmspeak" that makes people do whatever she tells them to do or agree with whatever she says. She gets it more and more under control as the book progresses but still sometimes uses it on accident.

Another new main character is named Jason. He turns out to be the long-lost brother of a character, Thalia, from the first series. She thought he had died so there was quite a reunion. He begins the book with no memories, but they start coming back. One of the first things he remembers is Thalia after seeing her picture. He carries the picture around with him when he goes on a quest, and then at the end he pins it up near his bed so he won't be lonely. Jason and Thalia are the only demigod children of Zeus, but she has joined Artemis' group of immortally young, chaste hunters so they're not together at the camp where the series is centered. What makes it a little more interesting - though I'm not really a fan of this development in the story in general - is that Thalia is a daughter of Zeus' Greek form and Jason is a son of Zeus' Roman form Jupiter, which apparently makes them natural enemies according to the mythology of the series. But there’s no enmity between them right now. Thalia is very rough around the edges but is so soft for Jason.

#percy jackson series #mythology #greek mythology #ares and athena #piper and tristan #jason and thalia #r: fd #r: brosis #nc #hera and zeus #first post #commentary #noiv #nr

5 notes · View notes