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softmoonlightmelody · 10 months

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re-doing heroes of olympus

HOO sucks, in a lot of aspects. And so I'm going to talk about how I'd fix it because I'm bored and also for fun. To be fair, I would rewrite HOO so quickly if I had the time and motivation.

(featuring: frank/leo, drew tanaka, and katie gardner)

(warning: long post under cut. and i mean long.)

The (revised) Seven:

Drew Tanaka - Drew replaces Piper here because, although I think Piper is interesting, Drew is a far better and more nuanced character if you let her be. Featuring: Drew's trauma, her thoughts on Silena, and her femininity!

Percy Jackson - objectively (not objectively), Percy is the most powerful character in the series. However, he could be a lot better, especially his character arc. Featuring: Percy's compassion, his hatred of Luke, and his straining relationship with Annabeth!

Katie Gardner - Katie, as the daughter of Demeter, is an incredibly powerful character and therefore deserves a spot. Plus, I think she's cool. Featuring: Katie's cool plant powers, her insecurity about herself, and her struggle to be recognized!

Leo Valdez - I happen to think fire is cool, and that Leo is an incredibly compelling character. He's not going to be a baby misogynist in my version, nor is he going to be particularly flirty. Featuring: Leo's cool fire!!!! but also his apprehension in using it, his (rightful) anger at Hephaestus, and his idea of himself in a world that's scared of him!

Frank Zhang - he's cool, he's interesting, and I am not going to make him an Asian stereotype! Featuring: Frank's hatred of seeming 'meek', his idea of being Asian in xenophobic New Rome, and his struggle of falling for someone who could kill him!

Hazel Levesque - she's interesting, especially as someone so young. But I'm going to make her act more her age, and also not have a weird age gap thing with Frank. They're not dating here. Featuring: her hate of all the responsibility that's being placed on her shoulders, her hesitant relationship with magic, with all its vices and virtues, and her dislike of her father, Hades!

Reyna Avila Ramírez-Arellano - she deserves it. Plus, she and Percy are parallels in my mind, more than Percy and Jason. Reyna's cool, and I loved her chapters in BOO, so more Reyna it is. Featuring: her seemingly insurmountable past, her stress to be perfect, and her relationship with a xenophobic New Rome!

and Grover Underwood - instead of Coach Hedge, I'm putting Grover in. Because I love him.

Relationships:

Drew/Katie - I love this ship. Plus, I think it's intriguing - two people from cabins vastly underestimated coming together to be amazing. Developing romance, and it's not established until the last book.

Percy/Annabeth - but not how you think! Percy and Annabeth both reconciling with how they don't like each other as much as they've been pushed together, and breaking up amicably but remaining friends.

Leo/Frank - tragedy here we come! Instead of having something like Jason/Piper where Jason leaves New Rome for CHB, Frank doesn't do that. He and Leo fall in love, get together, and then split, all on the Argo II. Frank can't leave New Rome, Leo can't go to New Rome. The perfect tragic romance, but with a glimmer of hope - maybe sometime, in the future, Frank and Leo can live together, outside of New Rome and outside of CHB. Plus, in chemistry - they're both afraid of fire, they both are insecure of themselves and their places in the world. They compliment each other.

Hazel & Frank - besties. They may be three years apart, but they are staunch best friends. Hazel teases Frank about Leo all the time.

Reyna & Percy - understand each other the way only people who know each other's situation in different fonts can.

Drew & Frank - East Asian mutual understanding! They bond over, although they're different places in East Asia, they're both living the experience of an Asian American/Canadian. They're living the immigrant dichotomy, and add on Leo to that kind of idea.

Katie & Hazel - they care so much about the people around them! I like the idea of Katie being Hazel's older sister figure in a way. Also, they bond over art. I don't make the rules.

Drew & Reyna - they're both incredibly logic-driven people, but whereas Drew is completely aware of her emotions and others', Reyna isn't, not as much. Also, they judge people together.

Katie & Leo - Katie and Leo are just the right kind of combination of sweet/overly excited ever. Katie helps remind Leo he needs a break, and Katie is always happy to just listen to Leo ramble on and on about something, as long as she can draw while he's doing so.

Reyna & Leo - they get along pretty well, which is kind of a surprise at first. But they have a minorly antagonistic friendship, but they still work together.

Drew & Percy - they're judgemental besties. What else can I say?

Percy & Leo - they're incredibly similar people for obvious reasons. It's even acknowledged in canon!

Katie & Grover - they bond over their mutual love of plants.

Reyna & Grover - they both understand duty and passion to be similar, and they both understand the amount of pressure to be a leader from a young age.

etc. I'm not going to outline every one of their relationships, because I'm lazy.

Book One: The Lost Heroes

Here, I'm combining TLH with SON, because we need all the space for the other parts of the series. It oscillates between Reyna, Leo, Drew, and Katie's quest, and Percy, Hazel, and Frank's quest. I never really liked how Annabeth didn't really do anything for the first two books, considering she's a main character for the last three, so everyone gets a quest. This makes the quests more condensed, and more in the length of the original PJO series, in terms of book size. Percy, Hazel, and Frank's quest stays mostly the same, albeit with a bit of condensing, whereas Reyna, Leo, Drew and Katie's quest changes a lot. It follows the same blueprint, but they don't meet with the Hunters at any point, and Khione and Medea and Drew are set up as intentional parallels to explore what Drew could be in the future.

Book Two: The Promise of Aphrodite

Yes, I'm deliberately changing it from the Mark of Athena to the Promise of Aphrodite. This time, they visit Troy first. I know, weird, but the Argo II in this book is slightly quicker at getting places. It stays mostly the same, with the storyline, though, although I'm removing the part where the Argo II needs repairs. However, Troy is, of course, where Aphrodite's biggest folly was, with Paris and Helen. Drew follows it, and at the end, Percy and Drew fall into Tartarus because of Drew needing to metaphorically bring down Aphrodite's legacy, the legacy of hatred (woo symbolism!), because they've become friends over the course of the book, and also angst potential. It also shows Percy and Drew's newfound friendship, and I want them to be something that isn't just romance in Tartarus. Also, Nico is here.

Book Three: The House of Hades

This time, the entrance to the doors is in Rome. So they go to Rome, fully intent on this. Nico comes out to Hazel in a sweet, private moment, because I want Nico's coming out to not be homophobic, and this is prompted by Nico seeing Hazel tease Frank about Leo, and him realizing that Hazel, and most of the demigods, might not have the same strong homophobia. Katie stresses over Drew in the Underworld, and Grover stresses over Percy, especially, but they're all stressing. Annabeth's moment of realizing about the pen part of Riptide is given to Drew, whereas Percy realizes about the M&Ms. This time, Jason makes the trek out to the Argo II instead of Reyna, and Jason, Grover, and Nico bring Reyna's purple cloak - a symbol of power and peace - back to CHB with CJ waiting to fight.

Book Four: The Blood of the Gods

Yes, it's The Blood of the Gods now, because reasons. This time, there isn't any huge 'one girl and one boy demigod' thing. Instead, it's 'one Greek and one Roman demigod'. Everything is more or less the same, but with different characters, so different things happen. In Athens, Reyna and Percy are the ones who bleed instead of Annabeth and Percy, because they're foils and stuff. However, this book balances nine POVs, as each book has at least seven POVs. Because... stuff. At the end of this book, the Greeks and Romans decide to reconcile temporarily to win together against Gaea.

Book Five: The Goddess of the Earth

All-out war! Finales only mean so much if they're actually finales. TLO was such a fun read because it's an actual war. Therefore, The Goddess of the Earth is a full-on war. Unlike normal, Gaea is slow to wake, and her power is more emphasized. It's also the Romans being lead together with Reyna and Jason, Percy and Annabeth, and it also leads to a lot more ability to develop these relationships. The lovely Piper-and-Jason scene at the end of BOO, where they're on top of the cabin in the stars, is given to Katie and Drew instead, because Aphrodite kids are like that. Annabeth and Percy, already having broken up, talk together. Nico can have a moment where he realizes his self-worth, and exclude romance in his future for now. And Frank and Leo have that heartbreaking conversation where they talk about how they can't be together. Anyway, peace.

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therealnuclearplatypus · 2 years

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don't mind me, just some Valzhang

don't like it? you do you don't attack me

The sun shone with early-morning luminescence. As Apollo, or Ra, or whoever it was, trailed his/her/their blazing glory across the sky, somewhere along the Via Praetoria, in the residence of the praetor of the Twelfth Legion, Frank Zhang awoke.

He blinked slowly, lazily, his vision bleary. He felt the familiar weight pressing along his own body and smiled.

Who'd have ever guessed? He couldn't stand Leo back on the Argo II, what with the whole Frazileo Love Triangle, as Piper and Percy had taken to calling it. Then, Leo died, and something broke inside of Frank—what about this tiny little Latino ensorcelled him so?

He couldn't understand.

Then, Leo came back, and Frank didn't know what to think. Hazel became praetor, and Frank wondered: yes, he loved her. With all his heart. But was it truly a romantic love? She was thirteen, for Olympus's sake. Was it really meant to last?

He'd always known he wasn't straight. Back in Vancouver, in that military school he used to attend, it was just boys. So, yeah, he knew he could be just easily attracted to the same sex as he was to girls.

Or any other gender, really. It just took him a while to get there—the falling-for-them part. He remembered wondering about this aloud back home one day, and Grandmother had said, "Well, then, Fai, go look it up, for Nirvana's sake. We never really thought you were heterosexual anyway."

Firstly, he had been shocked she'd actually unironically said "for Nirvana's sake" to him with a straight face. Then he'd been shocked that she was okay with him not being straight.

He was never really allowed to use the internet—for reasons he only now understood. Had he taken an 'Am I gay?' quiz, he would have been overrun by monsters and no matter how gay he was he'd be dead anyway.

So he asked around, somewhat awkwardly. Weeks after, Emily had asked her son, "So...?" When he looked at her in confusion, she clarified, "We never really thought you were heterosexual anyway," in a pretty good imitation of Grandmother's voice. Frank laughed, and came out as demisexual.

With Hazel as praetor, he began spending a lot of time with her, and they both came to realize: yeah, they'd loved each other like that, once.

Once.

They parted amicably, both knowing that they'd rather their first serious relationship was with each other than with anyone else. They remained the best of friends, so when Frank developed a crush on Valdez, he told her first.

"Oh, my gods, Frank," she'd laughed, "for real?"

"...yeah," he said grumpily. He was blushing something nasty.

"Please don't tell me this is a I-love-him-but-I-don't-want-to-be-in-love-with-him situation," said Hazel.

"No, that's not it," he sighed. "I didn't think I'd have a crush on him, if that makes any sense."

"Well, neither did I," she replied. "You two are such assholes to each other."

"Yeah, but ... ever since he came back, and we Iris-Message him from the Waystation, and seeing him so happy made me ... possessive, I guess? And then when Cal broke up with him and it was a mutual thing but he felt like shit anyway I felt like shit too, because he felt like shit, so I began Iris-Messaging him myself to see how he was getting on and we became really good friends ..."

"Oh, so that's why you two seem so close all of a sudden." Hazel nodded to herself. "Thought something was up."

"Yeah, but now I like him, and I'm pretty sure he doesn't, because he's as straight as one can be," Frank concluded.

Hazel snorted. "What?" Frank asked. She kept laughing. "What is it?!" he pressed.

"Oh, it's just," she answered, still kind of laughing, "it's just, it's really funny how you think Valdez is straight."

Frank's stomach performed a somersault. "He ... he isn't?"

"Never seemed to straight to me, and I'm from the '30s, so I automatically assume people are straight until I'm told they're not, no matter how much I hate that train of thought," Hazel told him. "Just tell him. What's the worst that could happen?"

"He could hear me," he replied darkly.

Hazel rolled her eyes. "Boys. I swear. Look, just ... give it time. You're amazing. Amazhang. Why wouldn't he like you?"

"Why would he?" Frank muttered.

She smacked him lightly. "Shut up, Zhang."

He chuckled softly at that. He didn't stop IM-ing Leo, every dam day, and he felt that he was kind of crossing some boundary with himself, allowing himself to fall for someone who most definitely did not like him back, but still being okay with that love being unrequited.

He knew how much Leo had gone through. Maybe he oughtn't tell him. Maybe it would only burden him.

Then came the week Leo decided to visit Camp Jupiter, without telling Frank, to surprise him. During that whole week, Frank found love letters seemingly written on a typewriter, all slipped under his door.

They were quite poetic, actually. He couldn't fathom who would write such wonderful things to him. He kept them, hoping he'd find the person who thought such nice things of him, and secretly hoping they were someone he could fall for.

On Leo's last day at camp, the two were in Frank's rooms, lounging on a sofa. Leo turned to him and said, "Thanks for helping get over the break-up."

"You've said that everyday this week," Frank responded. "You don't have to thank me, Leo."

"I can't believe it's been already so many months since we broke up," he continued. "But ... I'm glad it let me get to know you better."

Frank's heart skipped a beat. "Me too. Not, like, that I like that you've been broken up with, just—"

Leo laughed. "I know, I know."

Frank turned to look at him, this little shit who he had never really liked until said little shit revealed parts of himself previously hidden to Frank, and suddenly the little shit seemed infinitely appealing.

He still didn't know what to make of it.

But he thought, maybe Leo felt it, too. Maybe. Hazel was right. What was the worst that could happen?

"Leo," he began.

"Frank," Leo replied solemnly, then his face broke into a Leo-like smile, which gave Frank the courage to say what he had to say.

"You know, speaking of break-ups ..."

"Is this about Hazel?" Leo asked suddenly, concerned. "I know you've helped me a lot but I haven't really given any support in return ..."

Frank huffed a laugh. "No, idiot. Hazel and I are fine. You needed the support. Don't feel bad because you needed help. It's just ... how long after a break-up do you deem it fit to start another relationship?"

Leo looked a little taken aback, but smiled. "Well, when I find someone else I like, I guess. Why do you ask?" He eyed him cheekily. "Does Iguana Zhang have a wittle crush on somebody that he'd like to share?"

Frank reddened and elbowed him. "Shut up. But, actually, yes." He swallowed. "I ... I like you."

Leo stilled, and paled. "You ... you what?"

Frank felt queasy. He'd messed up. But he'd opened his big fat mouth now, so he might as well plough on. "Look, I—I know you might not be ... into boys like I am, but I just ... wanted you to know."

Leo went even paler. "I ..."

Frank wanted to die on the spot.

Leo took a breath. "I didn't know you weren't straight."

Frank stared. "I'm, uh, demi."

Leo looked at him. "I'm bi."

Frank couldn't stop staring. It wasn't exactly an answer, but it wasn't a rejection, either.

Leo's eyes glistened, and Frank realized that they were filled with unshed tears. "I like you too. But, but, why? Why do you like me?"

Frank felt elated. Then just as quickly felt confused. "Wh-what do you mean, why do I like you? Why wouldn't I?"

"Because!" Leo protested. "You deserve so much more than I can ever give you. You deserve more than a mess."

He couldn't help it; Frank hugged him. Leo melted into the embrace.

"Not really, I don't," he told him. "I like this mess. And I'm not exactly perfect, either. So get that out of your stubborn head. I know ... your fatal flaw is your inferiority complex, but, please, for once, just believe that I like you and want nothing more than to be with you and listen to you whine everyday and help you with your inventions even though I don't understand shit, it's still cool to see you do what you're best at, because it's true, Valdez, so just accept it."

Leo was silent. Frank felt him shaking. He hugged him tighter, and Leo let him.

"Fine," he said at last, his voice muffled against the praetor's shirt. "I—I believe you." (Heartstopper moment.)

"Y-you do?"

"I do. I really do like you. Let's give this a chance." They looked at each other, triumphant. Leo smiled a watery smile and said, "Can I tell you something?"

"Anything."

"You've been receiving letters, haven't you?"

Frank stared. He hadn't told anyone about the love letters.

"Written on a typewriter. Awfully sappy, kind of embarrassing to read."

"They're not embarrassing," Frank felt compelled to correct him, "they're just really painfully honest, and whoever wrote them seems like the most wonderful person, but also seems to be under the mistaken impression that I'm some Prince Charming, so ..."

"They are very honest," Leo agreed quietly, "and they are not under a false impression."

"How do you even know about them?" Frank asked dumbly, knowing the answer as soon as he asked the question.

"I wrote them, dumbass," Leo admitted. "Every single one."

"You did not. You did freaking not."

"Why not?"

"You can't possibly think all that of me ..."

"I do, Koi Fish, all that and more, so just accept it."

Frank smiled to hear him own words repeated back at him by the same person he'd said them to.

"I accept it, then," he said, and Leo kissed him.

Frank blushed so hard he almost turned into a border collie. Leo smiled, eyes still wet.

"Gonna have to work on the pet names, though," Frank said gruffly, and Leo laughed.

Leo stayed beyond the week he was supposed to be there. Hazel looked suspicious, but said nothing. Lavinia was also suspicious, and said a lot.

"He's been here for a month, Fai," she said. "Are you keeping him hostage?"

"Not against his will." He shrugged.

So he awoke that morning, blinking sleep from his eyes while Leo was still asleep, draped across his body like a lion. Frank kissed the curls at the top of his head, and heard him say, "Buenos días, cariño."

"Shoot, did I wake you?" Frank said.

"Nah, was already awake," Leo said sleepily, clearly lying.

"Sure you were," he said knowingly, kissing his hair again.

Leo smiled, and wrapped his arms around his boyfriend. Just as Frank was about to suggest getting up to have breakfast, Hazel knocked and entered, saying, "Good morning, Frank," looking at him and adding, "Hello, Leo," and was about to say something else when she paused. "Wait. Leo?"

"Hiya," he said sheepishly.

"Why are you in Frank's ..." She looked around Frank accusingly. "You asked him out and didn't tell me?!"

Frank shrugged and did his level best to look guilty.

"Oh my gods, finally," she said. "Valdez, you have no idea how long he's been crushing on you."

"Shut up!" Frank cried, but Leo only laughed.

"Same, honestly," he said and Frank fell back onto the pillows.

"Awwwwhh." Hazel smiled. "Well, that's why you've been here a whole month, huh."

"Mhm." Leo's hand cupped Frank' cheek. Seeing this, Hazel left them in peace, calling, "Don't forget the meeting at nine, Zhang!"

"I won't!" he yelled back, and let Leo caress his face before getting up to make some breakfast.

"Thank the gods we were wearing clothes when she came in," Leo mused.

Frank became flustered and fumbled with the waffle machine. "Why wouldn't we be wearing clothes?!"

Leo only shrugged, and laughed when Frank became visibly more flustered. "Also, what meeting?"

"It's a praetor thing," Frank explained. "Legion duties and stuff."

"I see," said the other, nodding, and sat up as Frank handed him his plate of waffles. He breathed in the heavenly aroma and said dreamily, "You know I love you, right?"

Then he froze when he realised what he'd just said.

They hadn't said those three little words yet. And here he was, saying them somewhat sarcastically in tone.

But wholly truthfully in meaning.

Frank only grinned, flushed. "And you know I love you, too."

And Leo relaxed. They ate their waffles in peace, Leo's head on Frank's shoulder, the way they did almost every morning for the past month.

"We gonna tell people now?" asked the shorter boy.

"If you like," replied the taller. "I mean, Hazel knows. I'll bet she won't tell anyone yet, though. That's Hazel. She'll let us say it ourselves."

"Thank the gods for that." Leo stole one of Frank's waffles. "And thank the gods for you."

"Lavinia won't stop teasing me about this," Frank pondered.

Leo worried. "Would you rather we didn't tell anyone, then?"

"No, no, that's not what I meant. I actually really want people to know. That way they know not to pine after someone already taken." He kissed Leo's forehead. The latter grinned.

"Do you ever think about how, technically, you are dating your ex's ex's great-grandson?" Leo asked.

"STOP GIVING ME EXISTENTIAL CRISIS, JEEZ," pleaded Frank, making Leo laugh.

"But it's true," he protested, giggling.

"I KNOW IT IS."

"Then—"

"WHY MUST YOU."

"I simply must."

"You're lucky I love you."

"I know I am."

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