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Hey! I saw your recent Grace Siblings angst post and I really enjoyed it. I was also wondering if you had anything else on them? It could be happy or sad headcanons

Ask and you shall receive! Most of these are at least kind of sad (not all though) so I feel like I now owe y’all a happy Grace siblings hc post at some point in the future

-Jason’s first word was “Lia” (because baby Jason couldn’t pronounce Thalia yet). Thalia never got over that.

-His second word was “no”. Beryl was “no” basically exclusively for three months. That made Thalia almost prouder than his first word did lmao

-When Beryl left him at the Wolf House, Jason wasn’t super alarmed at first. His mom leaving him somewhere and walking away/not being around isn’t super unusual. He only started freaking out after some time passed and he realized Thalia wasn’t coming to get him. (Absolutely crushing fic that my friend wrote which features a related concept can be found here, if you’d like to be even more sad :))

-Luke was the only person Thalia ever told about Jason. It did not help his general opinion of the gods. 

-There’s a canonical short story where Thalia is given a prophecy that she’ll be reunited with her family (and, specifically, that this doesn’t mean her mom). Her and Luke meet Annabeth right after, and I’m pretty sure Thalia thought she was Jason at first glance. She’s almost the right age, and they look similar.

-When Thalia was dying (before Zeus turned her into a tree), she assumed the being reunited with her family-prophecy meant she’d get to see her brother again in Elysium.

-Thalia definitely struggles to think of the two year old brother she lost and the fifteen year old brother she gets back as the same person. (This is made infinitely worse by the fact that their age difference is only two years now, instead of the seven it’s supposed to be.) Thalia knows that they are, objectively, the same person, but the Jason she remembers was small and fragile and needed her help to do basically everything. Seeing him now as a teenager who learned not to need her at all… it brings her a lot of joy because she thought she’d never get that, but she definitely also struggles with it a lot.

-For the above reason, I feel like she’s wildly overprotective of him. Jason, who was raised to succeed and fail on his own strength, does not know how to handle this. It’s bizarre in the same way that the concept of Leo and Piper trying to protect him is, so this isn’t an isolated Thalia issue.

-Jason gets anxious when people are mad at him. This should be a terrible combination with Thalia’s short fuse, but it isn’t. The reason for that is the fact that Jason’s anxiety surrounding people’s anger is rooted in his fundamental belief that love is a thing that needs to be earned and will be taken away from him if he isn’t perfect. He can’t explain why, but it’s never felt that way with Thalia. He just knows instinctually that she still loves him, even when she’s mad at him.

-Thalia was the first person Jason cried in front of in years. This just feels right to me.

-They’re not sure which one of them feels weirder when Jason turns sixteen and is now technically sort of older than her. Thalia ruffles his hair and tells him she’s always going to be his big sister, regardless of whether she’s physically older.

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Jason Grace had done what? Zeus had many children, which meant I had many half brothers and half sisters. Except for my twin, Artemis, I’d never felt close to any of them. Certainly, I’d never had a brother defend me in front of Father. My Olympian brethren were more likely to deflect Zeus’s fury by yelling Apollo did it! This young demigod had stood up for me. He’d had no reason to do so. He barely knew me. Yet he’d risked his own life and faced the wrath of Zeus. My first thought was to scream ARE YOU INSANE? Then more appropriate words came to me. “Thank you.”

-The Burning Maze, page 216.

Apollo and Jason guys ... just .... Apollo and Jason.

This is a redraw of this comic! Because I have always been obsessed with this scene.

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there's just something about reyna being so desperate for a romantic connection after venus tells her that she'll never be loved by a demigod. when she was even willing to date octavian, when she immediately latched on to percy after he arrived at camp, and then, of course, her unrequited feelings for jason.

this is partly why I dislike people blaming jason for "leading her on" because there's absolutely no canon evidence to suggest that reyna was vocal or obvious about her feelings to jason or ever made a move about it. it's only mentioned that they shared something special, which could just as easily allude about their close friendship. jason said that he never felt anything romantic towards reyna, they were both pretty restricted when it came to love because they had an image to withhold at camp, they also had this external pressure of being the potential picture perfect couple. he liked sharing roman history knowledge with her as a best friend, they wanted to visit cool historical monuments together, which he appreciated, and he trusted her deeply, but that was all there ever was to it. their connection was dominated by sweet platonicity, in his perspective, atleast.

reyna misinterpreting jason's behaviour as something romantic also makes sense to her character because she wanted to be loved that way. it was reyna's wishful thinking that caused her inevitable heartache and that adds nuance to her character.

reyna had her own faults in the downfall of jason and her's friendship, just like jason did. and that makes them good characters. they both refused to reach out bc of hesitation and it isnt just jason's fault as the fandom claims it to be.

remember when jason said reyna distanced herself from him and was never quite the same around him after the venus incident?? do people not understand that jason's hesitation to reach out must have stemmed from that?? worried that she'll distance herself again?? or when reyna greeted piper in boo and didn't even take a glance at jason? reyna had too much pain inside of her so she couldn't reach out. and that's okay.

they never ended up clearing the air because of this lingering hesitation, causing reyna to have everlasting guilt after he passed. and that is also okay. they were just kids who cared about eachother but didn't know better.

their relationship is way more complicated and heartbreaking and reducing it to "jason lead her on and broke her heart, he's the real red flag" does injustice to BOTH their characters.

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jason grace halloween costumes!!! can you tell I have a thing for boy scouts?

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jason being taught plant magic by persephone was the greatest fucking gift ever given to the jasico fandom. its canon to me. i would put it in every fic if I had the justification

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how am I only just realising that when the prophecy of the seven was talking about "the oath to keep with a final breath" it wasn't talking about leo's promise to get calypso, but it was jason's promise to piper that he'll always keep her safe. he had his final breath keeping that promise brb I'm gonna cry a river

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After watching Cinderella (the original animated movie, which was my favorite as a child), it strikes me how it solves many common problems people have with this fairy tale. Like:

Why did they try to identify the mystery girl using her shoe size? Because the bullheaded king's only clue to her identity was the shoe the Grand Duke picked up off the steps.

Why didn't the prince recognize her by her face? Because his father wouldn't involve him in the process at all, and wasn't the one going around trying to find her.

Why did the prince want to marry a lady he only met that night? Because his father was going to force him to marry someone, and he genuinely liked this woman.

Why did Cinderella want to marry a man she only met that night? Because marriage was her best and most secure way to freedom. Fucked up, but you can't say it's unrealistic for the setting of a fairy tale. She also genuinely liked him.

If they're using the slipper to find her, wouldn't it be more sensible to search for the person with the other slipper? Yes. The King is purposefully nonsensical and the Duke is purposefully terrified enough of him to carry out his orders to the letter. Furthermore, they end up doing that in the end anyway, because the Duke's glass slipper is shattered, and Cinderella brings out the one she has to prove her identity.

Why didn't the stepmother and stepsisters recognize Cinderella at the ball? Because they were dancing too far away, and then left the party to dance in private, which was possible because the King wanted very badly for his son to hit it off with someone and tried to arrange the best conditions for that to happen.

Why didn't Cinderella save herself? Because in real life, abuse victims should not have to shoulder that responsibility, and usually can't. In real life, you need and deserve an external support system. Asking for help, in this kind of situation, is very important. She is saved by others because she is loved. Because she is not alone. Because she has friends who love her, and want her to be happy and safe and free. Because in real life, people who want to help someone who is suffering are like the mice. We can't pull out miracle solutions, but we can provide companionship and if we're in the right place at the right time, we can help the person find a better life.

Why didn't the fairy godmother save Cinderella from her abusive household, or try to help her sooner? Because she's magic, and magic can't solve your problems. Quote: "Like all dreams, well, I'm afraid it can't last forever." This (and Cinderella's dream of going to the ball) is a metaphor for pleasurable things in bad circumstances. An ice cream won't get rid of your depression, but it will provide you with momentary happiness to bolster you, as well as the reminder that happiness in general is still possible for you. Cinderella doesn't want to go to the ball so she can get away from her stepmother and stepsisters, or so she can meet someone to marry and leave with. She wants to go to the ball to remind herself that she can still have things she wants. That her desires matter. This is important because the movie does a very good job of illustrating Lady Tremaine's subtle abuse tactics, all of which invisibly press the message that Cinderella doesn't matter. While going to the ball and fulfilling her dreams may not be a victory in the material sense, it is still a victory against Lady Tremaine's efforts.

Why is Cinderella's choice to be kind and obedient framed as a good thing, when you are not obligated to be kind to your abuser? This one walks a very fine line, but I think the movie still makes it make sense. Lady Tremaine never acknowledges her cruelty. She always frames her punishments of Cinderella as Cinderella's fault. Cinderella is interrupting, Cinderella is shirking her duties, Cinderella is playing vicious practical jokes. Cinderella is still a member of the family, of course she can go to the ball, provided she meet these impossible conditions. Lady Tremaine's tactics are designed to make Cinderella feel like she must always be in the wrong and her stepmother must always be in the right. If Cinderella calls her stepmother out on her cruelty, or attempts to fight back, Lady Tremaine can frame that as Cinderella being ungrateful, cruel, broken, evil, etc. If Cinderella responds to her stepmother's cruelty defiantly (in the way she's justified to), she's not taking control out of Lady Tremaine's hands. Disobedience can be spun back into her stepmother's control. She wants Cinderella to be angry and sad and show how much she's hurting. So since Cinderella is adapting to her situation, she chooses to be kind. Not only because she naturally wants to be and it's part of her personality, but because it is a form of defiance in its own way, and it allows her to keep a reminder of her agency and value. Her choice to be kind is her chance to keep her own narrative alive: she is not obeying because her stepmother wants her to and she has to do what her stepmother does, but because she wants to. It's a small distinction, but one that makes all the difference in terms of keeping her hope and identity. (Fuck, I wrote a whole paragraph about how this doesn't mean you can't be angry at people who hurt you or that you need to be kind to deserve help, and then deleted it by accident. Uh. Try again.) Expressing anger and pain is an important part of regaining autonomy and healing. Although it is commendable to be kind while you are suffering, it is NOT required for you to get help or be worthy of help. If Cinderella's recovery was explored beyond "happily ever after" she would need to let herself be angry and sad to heal. Cinderella is not only kind because it comes naturally to her, but because it's her defense against the abuse she's suffering. Everyone's story and experiences are different, and one does not invalidate the other.

Bonus round for answers that aren't part of the movie:

Why didn't Cinderella run away? Where would she go? Genuinely, in hundreds-of-years-ago France, where would she go if she snuck out of the window with a change of clothes? With her step-family, she's miserable and abused, but she's fed, clothed, and in no danger of dying or being taken advantage of by anyone other than her stepmother and stepsisters. Even if she escapes and manages to find financial security, her stepmother might be able to find her and get her back.

Why didn't Cinderella burn the house down with them inside it/slit their throats in the night/poison their food/etc.? Because that's a revenge fantasy, and this story is a fantasy about being saved. There's nothing wrong with making Cinderella into a revenge fantasy. That's perfectly fine, as long as you acknowledge that the other type of fantasy is also a valid interpretation. (I mean, the original fairy tale features the stepsisters getting their feet mutilated and all three of them getting their eyes pecked out, so go for it.)

Why isn't Cinderella more proactive in general? Because she's a child who has been abused for the back half of her life, who has had to be focused on survival because. you know. she's an abused kid.

How did she dance in glass slippers? Gotta agree with you there man, that's weird.

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List of queer books I read, loved & recommend!

(There isn't any particular order, I wrote these as I remembered them)

Master Of One - Jaida Jones & Dani Bennett (mlm, fantasy, very cool worldbuilding and magic system, funny, cool characters)

Legends & Lattes - Travis Baldree (wlw, fantasy, very soft & chill vibes)

The Priory of the Orange Tree - Samantha Shannon (wlw, high fantasy, cool worldbuilding, kinda reminds me of LOTR but with more dragons and feminism and lesbians)

Even Though I Knew The End - C.L. Polk (wlw, supernatural noir, cool 1930s detective story with angels & demons, I loved this one!)

The Love Interest - Cale Dietrich (mlm, science fiction, very cool concept)

The Darkest Part Of The Forest - Holly Black (side mlm, fantasy, cool fae lore)

The Weight Of The Stars - K. Ancrum (wlw, not quite science fiction but space stuff is involved, lovely and complex characters)

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe - Benjamin Alire Sáenz (mlm, fiction, very nice in general, there is also a sequel)

The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue - Mackenzi Lee (mlm, historical and vaguely fantasy, nice story but I preferred the sequel honestly)

The Lady's Guide to Petticoats and Piracy - Mackenzi Lee (wlw, the sequel to the one before, more fantasy elements than the first, asexual main character!!)

Gallant - V.E. Schwab (no romance, but in the background one of the characters(?) uses they/them pronouns, very cool dark fantasy vibe)

Stranger Than Fanfiction - Chris Colfer (gay main character, trans main character, coming-of-age, nice book)

Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda (yes it's the Love, Simon book, mlm, fiction, pretty nice)

They Both Die At The End - Adam Silvera (mlm, sci-fi ish but mostly fiction, cool ideas, but the ending is sad! Very amazing book though, I haven't read the prequel yet)

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo - Taylor Jenkins Reid (wlw, bi main character, historical fiction, cool story, just a neat book in general)

This Is How You Lose The Time War - Amal El-Mohtar & Max Gladstone (wlw, sci-fi, very cool time travel stuff!! and very beautiful, it felt like reading poetry most of the time)

One Last Stop - Casey McQuinston (wlw, background trans & pan & queer characters, sci-fi or fantasy idk, but time travel, I loooved this book, great)

The House In The Cerulean Sea - TJ Klune (mlm, fantasy, THIS BOOK oh my gosh you should read it!!, just cute and lovely and good)

Under The Whispering Door - TJ Klune (mlm, fantasy, this book is also sooo amazing, great character development and awesome relationships and stuff, it's been a while since I read it but it was so good)

In the Lives of Puppets - TJ Klune (mlm, ace main character!!, sci-fi, now THIS is found family, oughh feelings. argh, tj klune you’ve done it again, a human and his family of funky robots… I love them)

And They Lived... - Steven Salvatore (nblm, fiction, about gender identity and learning to love yourself, read it a while ago but it was very nice)

I Wish You All The Best - Mason Deaver (nblm, fiction, about finding your identity and people who care about you, very cute and sweet)

The Song Of Achilles - Madeleine Miller (mlm, historical, very good in general)

Carry On - Rainbow Rowell (mlm, background wlw in the third book, fantasy, it's a trilogy, basically Harry Potter if it was gay and also better)

Silver In The Wood - Emily Tesh (mlm, fantasy, very pretty, lots of fae stuff and lovely descriptions, it has a really good sequel too)

Pretty much anything by Alice Oseman (all cute and lovely and great, though I've only read Radio Silence so far I hear only good things, Solitaire is on my to-read list)

I Kissed Shara Wheeler - Casey McQuinston (wlw, fiction, it's been a while but I liked this book)

The Falling In Love Montage - Ciara Smyth (wlw, fiction, this book was so cute and funny and deeply emotional it made me Feel way too many things, I'd definitely recommend it)

What Big Teeth - Rose Szabo (a bit of queerness all around, fantasy, werewolves and monsters, this one was pretty cool!, lots of original ideas for the world/character building)

His Quiet Agent - Ada Maria Soto (mlm, asexual, fiction, about like spies but this book was so gentle and sweet I wanted to cry in the best way possible)

Some By Virtue Fall - Alexandra Rowland (wlw, historical fiction(?), theatre drama!! rival romance!! duels!!, a very good read in general)

Don’t Want You Like a Best Friend - Emma R. Alban (wlw, historical fiction, I’m not usually one for regency romances, but I really liked this!!, very cute and lots of drama, and there’s a sequel coming out soon!)

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Jason fumbling everyone in his life is actually really sad when you think about it because his love has always been doomed from the start.

Reyna being told by a goddess that no one else would heal her heart and her misinterpreting her and pushing Jason away, never getting to reconcile with him

Pipers love for him all being an illusion and a sick form of manipulation from the gods that by the time either of them realized what had happened it hurt them both

Leo knowing from the start it was him or Jason, and being so determined for it to be him cause he knew Jason was too good, and he knew he’d find a way back. But it didn’t matter anyways. Cause he was too late.

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Jason not telling anyone about his birthday is just... So sad on so many levels.. and literally nobody in the fandom talks about it (so I will duh)..only Piper had to figure it out and ask him about it, even then, he was embarassed to admit it.. proves how much nobody ever made him feel special about his true self or ever told him that he was worth being born :( He feels ashamed about making his birthday about himself even though that's the whole point of birthdays, because he feels that he isn't important enough :(

he just shrugs off his birthday, a day that is supposed to be about you, because "they have bigger problems". He has been told his whole life, to shrug off his own personal issues to put everyone else above him in the Roman legion, that not even birthdays make much sense for him.

Jason never ended up telling anyone about his birthday in the end either. Only Piper and Thalia knew. And his only known birthday was the day Annabeth and Percy fell into tartarus.

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Jason Grace Angst

pretty boy by sunshinemidnightrain

Words: 1861 Chapters: 1/1 (AO3)

It was a totally offhand remark, one of Leo’s many jokes and even a compliment. There was really no need for Jason to feel bad about it. And yeah, Jason is pretty. He knows he’s pretty. Hell, he owns the fact that he’s pretty. But still, the comment curls up and sits like a heavy weight on his chest, taking him back down memory lane. or Jason Grace, and the problem with being beautiful.

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You know how cool it would’ve been if Jason fell into Tartarus? As much as I love the Percabeth “I’d walk the ends of the world for you” I think Jason falling into Tartarus would’ve helped his character. Since Tartarus focuses mainly on memories, don’t you think it would’ve been an interesting way for Jason to relearn who he was? We’d see his memories and past achievements and hardships and figure out how he turned the way he did. Basically, Jason’s character would benefit from it and it could’ve been a challenge he had to face—like does he really want to know who he used to be? Sure he wants his memories back, but there’s a slight chance that he doesn’t like what he sees. Imagine the emotional turmoil he’d go through. Oh and also we’d get dark!Jason and that’s cool in of itself.

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Gentle reminder that the last thing Caligula heard, as he got killed by Frank was "Jason Grace".

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Have we ever considered a fanfic of reincarnated nico di angelo as tim drake? Or twins separated from birth? No? Okay...

What about reincarnated Jason Grace as Superboy aka Conner Kent

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bear with me but the tlh trio being antagonists would have been leagues more compelling. especially over the canonical unfinished arcs they received by the end of the series.

piper being capable of having it all and getting anything she wants but unable to understand why she cannot receive the exact kind of love she’s always craved hence having to force people to give it to her. piper has arguably the most evil-coded power of them all: she can force people to do things they’re unwilling to do. even the gods are not exempt from this. to have that much power and not be corrupted by the ease the world affords her as a neglected child ... piper having to satiate her simultaneous desire and abhorrence of love with her ability to demand it by force.

leo canonically being a failed experimental homebrewed hero by hera (watching over for him as a baby, leaving snakes in his cradle a la hercules, overall obsession about him she never even had for jason, who had been offered to her) and having his mother die in conjunction with the narrative he was being forced into by an ancient force planning around his future. which is akin to a chosen one origin story but flipped on its head because canonically by book 1 leo has little heroic empathy and nobleness that percy holds and holds in his heart every grudge against every single person who has ever slighted him. can name them all. hates humanity and prefers his machinery. and has a negative view on the world that never cared for him. because why should he care when the only one who’s ever cared about him burned in his own flames.

jason, little obedient child soldier who does everything he’s told because it’s all he’s been taught. he’s charismatic in leading but not because it comes naturally. everyone who has ever admired him adored what he’s built his character to be like. jason has no real sense of self + no desire to find it because what is the point when that’s not what this world needs from him. and so badly he needs to be needed. piper in moa met hercules, vain and selfish and bringing everyone down with him and thought: “A hero couldn't control the gods, but he should be able to control himself. Jason would never be like that.” because jason is control incarnate. and he can control himself until he can’t. until he realizes he’s owed the the world enough. and the world owes him now.

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hand him a microphone !!

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i feel like the paparazzi should have had a bigger role in hoo. i mean since piper was the daughter of one of the most biggest actors in hollywood and percy is one of the america's most wanted, both of them on a suspicious cruise ship with some other mysterious people causing random chaos everywhere should have caused a little bit of hysteria among the media.

for one, i feel like it would add a lot of humour and chaos. imagine every dinner or lunch scene on the argo II starting with a funny update of what the newspaper has to say about their new globetrotting adventure. imagine the paparazzi reminding percy more about his life ("mr. jackson, are you going to explode another monument?!" "bestie what r you talking about?"). imagine every fight scene being interrupted by people asking questions.

but imagine the angst potential too. imagine the paparazzi affecting piper's arc of figuring herself out. and the additional pressure she feels to maintain this relationship with jason. imagine percy and annabeth falling into tartarus because the flashing lights prevented the rest of the seven from getting to them on time. imagine all the mental breakdowns on camera. imagine them worrying that sally and grover would see everything on tv.