#Medea wouldn’t be able to save him from that

[starrysymphonies]

I finished Trials of Apollo and I’m still not over it

[helenofsparta2]

Rick did Jason Grace so dirty in HoO

Before I explain, I think I should establish that I really like Jason as a character. While he isn’t one of my favourites, he has really grown on me over the last couple of years. But he never really had a shot with the fandom, after his introduction in The Lost Hero, and after Son of Neptune and a lot of that has to do with the way Rick set him up for failure from the very beginning with a variety of writing decisions. The odds were really stacked against him.

Let’s first recap the very base of who Jason Grace is. He had an unstable mother, who gave him up to Juno when he was two years old, so that she could claim him as her champion. He is the only demigod child of Jupiter, and grew up raised by wolves, then later raised in a relatively strict military hierarchy since a very early age without any knowledge of his mortal family. He had to deal with all the pressure and expectations that came with who his father is. Over time he managed to become one of the two leaders of said hierarchy and has been committed to change its society for the better ever since. He led Camp Jupiter in the titan war and managed to defeat the titan Krios with his bare hands,  He is the long-lost brother of Thalia Grace, one of the more popular characters from the PJO book. He is extremely kind, protective, and loyal, and one of the most powerful demigods in the Riordan verse.

This should have easily made him into a fan favourite character. But what happened instead was for him to become the least favorite member of the seven, to be considered boring and skippable by a lot of fans, and to even get a lot of haters. (I know especially here on tumblr a lot of people really love Jason, but I’m talking about the more general part of the fandom, and I don’t think anyone can deny that Jason gets quite a lot of hate there.)

So, what went wrong?

I think there are three main reasons for the dislike he receives.

Telling, and not showing on part of Rick’s writing

A constant forced comparison with Percy

A lacking character arc in the hoo books

Let’s start with the first one.

Telling, and not showing

Piper’s and Leo’s POVs did him a huge disservice in that regard in the lost hero. During the entirety of the book, Piper wore rose-tinted glasses when it came to him. There is barely a chapter without her glazing Jason, or commenting on his looks or generally how perfect he is. Leo deals with a lot of insecurities and, while not as extreme as Piper, puts Jason also on a pedestal in his chapters. This was, for one, quickly becoming repetitive, but also put a lot of expectations on Jason, which are impossible to meet for any character.

It doesn’t help that Jason didn’t achieve all that many impressive feats in The Lost Hero. He didn’t do nothing, but in comparison to Leo and Piper, he gets a bit overshadowed.

Leo pretty early on established himself as a mathematic genius. He repairs Festus, saves Piper and Jason from the cyclops, and fights against Khione at the Wolf’s house.

Piper uses her charm speak to convince Boreas and his sons to let them go, frees Leo and Jason from Medea’s control, breaks Hera’s cage together with Leo, and is able to revive Jason after he accidentally looked at Juno in her divine form.

Jason, meanwhile, defeats a venti at the Grand Canyon and saves Piper’s life, defeats Lityerses and Midas, and defeats Encaladeus with the help of Zeus.

Don’t get me wrong. Those are great accomplishments and put Jason at the very top of the demigod power hierarchy, but with the way everyone talks about him, and with the standards we already have for children of the big three as readers of PJO, he just falls a bit short. Especially when you focus on top of that on other moments in that book where he gets knocked out by the cyclops or looks unprompted at Juno in her divine form, to list a few examples.

Despite this, his actions and abilities would have probably still made him into a fan-favourite character, if there wouldn’t have been this constant comparison with Percy.

A forced Comparison

Jason and Percy are getting compared in the hoo books in a very obvious way. They are set up as equals by Rick with its entire premise in the first two books and the weird rivalry thing he wrote in Mark of Athena, which is, I think, the main reason why Jason is so disliked.

Percy Jackson is probably the most popular character within the Riordan verse. The only characters who even come close are Nico di Angelo, Leo Valdez, and maybe Annabeth Chase. He is the main character for the entire prequel series, and had much more time to develop and for the readers to get attached to than any other character.

This was a lost battle, even before the first chapter of the lost hero was written. By the time, Percy and Jason meet, Percy was the main character, or at least one of the main characters, in 11 adventures, if you include the short stories, while Jason was one of three POV characters in a single book. A book, where he had amnesia for the entirety of it. People are protective of their favourite characters, and if you make a direct comparison between the most popular character in your franchise and some new guy, even (try to) establish them as equals and force them to have a rivalry, people are naturally going to develop a dislike for the new guy.

And Rick certainly didn’t help matters with the way he wrote them.

At the end of the lost hero, Hera tells Jason, that he is going to be the leader of the seven, but we know he isn’t. We, as readers, who have followed Annabeth and Percy since they were 12 years old, know that he doesn’t deserve this role, judging by what we have seen of him.

Even if he were to be portrayed as strong as Percy in the following books, it would feel undeserved. While we have seen Percy fight the many monsters and titan’s he did in the PJO books, and seen his growth in both power and character, we only get told that Jason defeated Krios with his bare hands. There isn’t even a flashback in either his or Reyna’s POV chapters of the incident, which could have at least elevated this accomplishment.

And then, Rick publishes Son of Neptune and every possibility of Jason being on the same level as Percy gets instantly flung out of the window.

Percy is the MVP of that book. Frank and especially Hazel are awesome, absolutely no discussion there, but for me at least, Son of Neptune was really Percy’s time to shine.  (Though I have to admit, I’m pretty biased towards Percy, so that statement is probably really subjective.)

Even before he leaves for the quest, Percy already killed one gorgon, demolished the romans in the war games, sees through Octavius’ performance, figures out what happened with the golden eagle and proves his selflessness by choosing not to take the gorgon blood to recover his memories. Then later he tricks Phineas in what is for me one of the coolest moments in the entirety of hoo, fights an entire army, destroys a glazier, defeats Polybotes basically by himself and, again, makes a fool out of Octavius in front of the senate, and all that after Rick already nerved him by removing the curse of Achilles.

Comparing especially the fights against Polybotes, and Enceladus respectively does Jason absolutely no favors.

Jason fought good, he fought greatl even, he had this very cool moment with his speech explaining who he was and boasting of his accomplishments, but in the end, his weapon got destroyed and he had to pray to his father to kill Enceladeus with a lighting bolt. That was an amazing feat for a demigod, absolutely no discussion, but really pales in comparison to Percy’s fight at the end of Son of Neptune.  

Percy absolutely bodied Polybotes. I don’t even know if he received a single injury in this fight. The “help” he received from a god was him smashing the decapitated head of Terminus into Polybotes. Like, Terminus didn’t do shit in that fight.

You can’t describe two characters as being equals and then portray so huge differences in their accomplishments.

Yes, Hazel and Frank also often say that Percy is powerful, or a good leader, or handsome, or smart, in a similar way to how Piper and Leo describe Jason, but with Percy it feels more like a reward as a reader. Because we have already seen him be all of that in the original books. It’s just acknowledgement and no new information.

Also, the absolute dissonance between Jason’s disappearance and camp Jupiter’s reaction also doesn’t help him. How can we believe that he is a leader of the same calibre as Percy, when most of the people in the camp he has lived in since he was four years old, don’t even care that much about his disappearance and are so quick to replace him? (Even worse, they replaced him with Percy) I know that this is just the way, Camp Jupiter works, but simply as a narrative choice, it’s very questionable.  

A lacking Character Arc & Amnesia

Coming to the last point. Jason’s character arc in the entirety of Hoo fell flat to me (Though, to be fair, most character arcs, if they even existed, fell flat to me in Hoo.)

His predominant character arc is him struggling with his identity, between being a roman or a greek. Now, this would be a very compelling arc, if we’d know who Jason Grace was as a roman. But we don’t. We know close to nothing about Jason’s life in New Rome. The only meaningful relationship he apperantly had was with Reyna, and he barely thinks about her in his povs, and even in Reyna’s chapters in boo we barely find out about their friendship. The entire camp turns against him in Mark of Athena. By the end of Boo, he still has not regained his entire memory, and never really confronted his past as a praetor. This is not a full, or satiscfactory character arc.

There are many other points I could name, like his relationship with Piper, or how him being Thalia's brother came completely out of the blue, or how he didn't built any meaningful relationship with characters who weren't Piper or Leo in the four books he's been in, but, to be honest, this post is already getting too long.

I'm just frustrated because he could have been one of the coolest characters in the Riordan verse, but he was really sat up to fail.  

[mako-neexu]

Breath caught in her throat, Ritsuka’s heart beat picks up the pace.

Ah, this was so not good-

The curse placed on her has her floating once more, the random times that has it activating catching her off guard and causing her to tilt forwards and look as if Herc was dragging her to the sky by the scruff of her mystic code.

“Guys-!” She tried to tell the team ahead of her, but as always, her voice couldn’t reach them. She had always felt a little too breathless like this as well.

Granted, they were a little too far away when she started to lag behind but her voice- yeah, she could still shout. She tried that, she tried that every time but it just wouldn’t reach them once she starts floating.

Ritsuka sighs.

Her curse, while not really harmful, was getting annoying but at least they were on their way to the culprit’s destination to make them dispel what was cast on her.

But she did learn a quick technique to get out of this state temporarily.

Ritsuka slows her breathing, and maneuvers her body into a relaxed state, clearing her mind, her heart, something that was simply similar to sleeping.

She closes her eyes. In darkness, her vision dims further but she was once more starting to feel a stronger pull. Whichever way it was, she hoped it was better than staying afloat.

—Something grabs her ankle.

And when she opened her eyes, she was on the ground once more, no longer feeling helpless in the air.

“Master.” 

She blinks. 

Ah, Count- Her tense shoulders relax in an instant seeing him tower over her from behind, his arm wrapped around her shoulders. She sighs with a smile, immediately comforted by his rescue, “Thanks for saving me back there. Floating just like that is getting annoying, don’t you think?”

He remains silent for a moment, his expression unreadable with his hat tipped down... and when he doesn’t respond, she tilts her head and asks, “Count?”

The King of the Cavern shakes his head, “It’s nothing, but wear this.” He takes his coat off and drapes it around her figure, “The blessings temporarily holding back the curse are weakening by the hour, but you may wear this to keep you anchored.”

Since his cloak is a part of him… then the black lightning and flame of purification embedded in the fabric would be able to protect her.

It’s a bit heavy but she was nonetheless really grateful. So she smiles brightly at him, “Thanks. So, shall we catch up with them?”

He nods without another word, making sure he covers her back as she treads forward.

Ritsuka couldn’t help but linger on his words.

Anchored? So were the spells that Circe and Medea cast were getting weaker? How so? Man, she really needs to catch up to their team and find out what’s seriously happening here.

–

(The Count of Monte Cristo had noticed once again that the Master had lagged behind. 

He didn’t hesitate to use his noble phantasm to reach her before Molay’s gate swallowed her above unaware, before the creatures even had the chance to so much as touch her. 

And once he had grabbed her ankle, he pushed them back to the surface and away from the sky, tucking her face against his chest …

—Returning her spirit back to her lifeless body once more.)

[sanctummilitis]

 ARTORIA/ARTURIA PENDRAGON (SABER) ♚ MISTIFIED

spoilers for lostbelt 7: Nahui Mictlan included!

[Saber voice] ah shit, here we go again.

fortunately for her, things won’t be as rough this time, and the main focus is incorporating Fate/Labyrinth into her canon history. this run will also take advantage of Melty Blood Type Lumina’s release and give Saber the memory of that jump across the Nasuverse, though cutting off at the end of her story while engaging Arcueid, seeing as there isn’t anything on her actually returning to the Fate universe.

RESIDUAL DATA IMPRINTS

FATE/LABYRINTH — a sidestory to Prototype, focusing on the Subcategory Holy Grail War wherein Saber is summoned as Manaka Sayjou’s spirit in possession of another girl unfolding in The Seventh Labyrinth of Caubac Alcatraz.

ANTARCTICA — Chaldea headquarters, but not at you know it. rather than the final bastion of humanity from the Time Temple arc or the frozen relic of the Lostbelts, the state of the site comes instead from the upcoming Ordeal Call arc, with Chaldeas matching its appearance there and the post-Tunguska title screen.

SENTIENT DATA IMPRINTS

MANAKA SAJYOU — the Master of Prototype’s Saber, the male Arthur, Manaka became the same for his female counterpart. after growing up with a lack of emotions, she quickly found love for the male Arthur which spiralled into obsession and madness, leading to slaughter in order to awaken the Beast without sacrificing her own Servant. without him present, those traits aren’t so exposed, but anyone with a good judge of character will know she’s much more than she appears.

MEDEA, CURSED ARM HASSAN & ROBIN HOOD — allied Servants who not only join but carry on in Saber’s stead after she departs the story; Medea and Cursed Arm might also have been part of the Fifth Fuyuki Grail Wars, but the wipe of typical Servants deprives them of the memory and, in line with their role, they’ll accompany Manaka’s imprint

KIRITSUGU EMIYA — Shirou’s adoptive father and Saber’s Master from the Fourth Holy Grail War. unlike the former, Saber’s relationship with Kiritsugu was strained to say the very least, and though Shirou might have held firm his resolve to save everyone, Kiritsugu’s acceptance that the task is simply impossible might just be relevant to everything Saber’s gone through since the original Mistified (they won’t tear into each other for once, promise).

BOSS ENEMY — ORT XIBALBA

to prevent the city winding up an entire island of crystal, ORT here will follow the example of its in-game incarnation since the backstory to Lostbelt 7, and continues to in Pan-Human History. that being, it’ll remain stationary and won’t move so much as an inch unless provoked — in which case, it’ll repel whoever tries their luck like flicking an ant off your arm. billed as the strongest entity in the system, Nasu’s unbeatable enemy, you wouldn’t be able to scratch it anyway.

[jacks4eva]

reaction to the lost hero by rick riordan

imma be honest this is a long time coming, okay so here’s the timeline we’re looking at so you understand me. i read lightning thief in middle school, dropped it and read it again in ninth grade. then i read sea of monsters, but never started titan’s curse. then for some reason in 11th grade i bought the second book in heroes of olympus and started to read it and got confused so i started to read titan’s curse and got to when percy took artemis’s place and then dropped it...again. very sad that time considering it was LEGIT THE END SO CLOSE. anyway yesterday i read the whole thing again and the battle of the labrinyth in like 6-8 hours. idk i can’t remember if i started at 10pm or midnight but i finished at 6am. anyways today i read the last olympian, and now i’m starting the lost hero. i thought it’d be funny to do my reactions.

this timeline is just funny because i have read so many books, and yet the most popular ones like percy jackson and harry potter, didn’t wanna finish lol. i still haven’t finished goblet of fire yet i read 100 pages an hour and could probably finish it in a day. anyways.

let the reactions begin

okay i’ve heard of jason but i was not expecting a pov already

woah electrocution

he’s already got a love interest what

he said the coach is 5’0 i now imagine the coach as danny devito i have no choice

piper and leo yes i recognize these names

(i’ve seen a lot of posts about percy jackson okay)

i like leo i don’t like dylan

i love the starwars reference

oh look guys we got popular girls that are racist, can they get their asses beat in this pls

dylan is also racist for smiling-asswipe

we love the cherokee representation

i hate them so much can they please leave

“i had to say something” i like coach hedge is this bad

i hope percy is the storm but i just know i wouldn’t be that lucky

ofc dylan is a racist monster

danny devito never returned :(

PLS TELL ME THESE REINFORCEMENTS ARE PERCY AND ANNABETH

who is the bulky dude

i’m sorry i’m laughing he’s a big scary dude with his head shaved and A RAINBOW TATTOO and his name is butch

oh so that’s why percy isn’t here

okay usually when reading i can form some kind of theory or connection but at this point i literally have no clue what is happening

i just knew as soon as he asked that he had abilities with fire but i was not expecting fire fingers

wow what a first impression “you should be dead”

wait so all i remember from the son of neptune was the beginning had percy alone i think and i’m not sure if he had his memory or maybe not and he was running away from monsters, so is what’s happening to jason similar to that? and WILL PERCY NOT BE FOUND IN THIS BOOK?

“That also was necessary. Long ago, your father gave me your life as a gift to placate my anger. He named you Jason, after my favorite mortal. You belong to me.

“Whoa,” Jason said. “I don’t belong to anyone.”

Now is the time to pay your debt, she said. Find my prison. Free me, or their king will rise from the earth, and I will be destroyed. You will never retrieve your memory.”

... okay theories, um a goat skin cloak was mentioned to have been owned by Zeus’s foster mother and that he owned it so the woman could either be the foster mother or Hera. If it was Hera, it would make sense that Zeus gave his son to placate her anger at his cheating or whatever. They are also trapped in Olympus, so prison would make sense. Hera was brought up a lot too, and according to wiki Hera persuaded Aphrodite to make her son make Medea fall in love with a mortal named Jason, so more than likely the lady is Hera. Their king will rise from earth could be the king from the battle of the labrynth, maybe. Or another king ya know there are so many.

Wait a minute

Something else I know about their names is Jason’s last name...JASON GRACE I thought it sounded familiar, because of Thalia Grace. Hah look at me being correct. That explains the flying and not being burnt by a lightning bolt—oh I’m stupid for not seeing it sooner.

Now just gotta figure out who Piper’s parent is.

Aha so I was right it was Hera.

Chiron not being able to give the information they need is kind of annoying.

Enceladus? So a giant offspring of Gaia, um...no bueno. Not a king tho.

“Child of lightning, beware the earth, The giants’ revenge the seven shall birth, The forge and dove shall break the cage, And death unleash through Hera’s rage.”

Okay theory time, child of lightning is obviously Jason. Beware the Earth...yeah no clue. The giants’ revenge the seven shall birth, the giants are probably the children of Gaia since that one giant was her child and it’s the seven are probably the seven half bloods from the great prophecy. The forge and dove shall break the cage, um maybe Leo is the forge since he’s hephaestus’s child (probably butchered the spelling). Doves are typically associated with aphrodite/venus, so idk about that. Maybe Piper is Venus’s child, I mean her God parent is her mom and it’d be funny since she was judging the other aphrodite kids. Also I assume Hera will kill whoever trapped her or someone involved since she’s so mad. Idk.

Could kill Drew btw.

CALLED IT CALLED IT CALLED IT IM A GENIUSSS

Wait. This woman looks like Hera, her clothes are made of Earth and she said Leo would fight her children trying to wake her. They’re gonna try to wake Gaia, which would make sense that it said stay away from Earth if she’s the Earth Goddess

I like the wolves thing because Romulus and Remus, ya know the twin boys who were raised by wolf and started Rome.

“You are our saving grace, as always. The she-wolf curled her lip, as if she had just made a clever joke”

I mean yeah his last name is grace

“She must really like this Percy guy to search for him so hard, and that made Jason a little envious. Was anyone searching for him right now? What if somebody cared for him that much and was going out of her mind with worry, and he couldn’t even remember his old life?”

so what if Percy’s just chilling at the Roman version of camp halfblood without a clue to who he is? bro.

Imagine reading this and seeing all of things I get right and wrong and wanting to slam your head into a wall.

Okay like idk why Annabeth was freaking out we kind of knew they were siblings, I mean they have the same dad. Unless this is saying they have the same mom or are twins or something. That’d be cool. That’s probably what he’s saying tbh but still, could’ve emphasized it more than “that’s my sister” like dude.

Anyway, they look very different so that’s funny.

King Boreas? uh.

Oo French

Let’s see what I can translate from the very little duolingo I did. Bienvenu, maybe a greeting. Idk which tho. Je suis Piper, I am Piper. Et c’est Jason, fils de Zeus, and this is Jason, son of Zeus. Vous parlez francais? tres bien, you speak french? good. Hey not bad, not shockingly good but considering I did the duolingo lessons 4 years ago, not bad. Vrai? Truth? Yeah I just looked it up.

Danny devito is alive!

“Leo scratched his head. “Well, I dunno about Enchiladas—”

“Enceladus,” Piper corrected.”

Leo is me omfg

DANNY DEVITO IS BACK

Arrows...HUNTERS OF ARTEMIS PLS?

“Leo stepped out next. “You’re catching me, too, Superman. But I ain’t holding your hand.”

this made me laugh ok moving on

Uh fight a sea monster? bro is Jason just Percy 2.0

“Aphrodite’s message was clear: This one needs no improvement.

And Piper agreed.”

I wonder if you can hear me squealing from hundreds or thousands of miles away

Did you miss the fact that he’s thirty feet tall— I DIED

Who slew titan k-what now? So basically yes. Percy 2.0

Okay I recognize the name Hazel, and all I ask is that she is not involved with Jason because Jason and Piper are really freaking cute.

an exchange of leaders, SO THEY DID SWITCH THEM

The way I called it

I WAS RIGHT AHA

anyways. time to read son of neptune

[deathsmallcaps]

PJO TV Plans

So before even the first little HINT about the PJO Disney+ show, I was making plans for a Riordan-verse tv show.

So each season would have twenty episodes, with 8-9 episodes per book and in the middle, two episodes based on short stories or myths. This would allow for the actors, who would obviously be age-matching kids, to grow and still be the appropriate ages for each story. 

As we would eventually run out of actual Riordan books, we would move on to Riordan Presents books. Here’s my plans! Let me know what you think and if/how i should clarify!

(Bold is Season, italic is middle/short story episodes, and strikethrough is book. I often show the extents of each episode through chapter titles or quotes found on the wiki plot summaries of each book. If using chapter title, that means it uses every chapter until the next mentioned one.)

Season 1

The Lightning Thief Field Trip

Going to Camp

Claiming + Getting Ready For A Quest

Starting the Quest 

Going Further West

Las Vegas + Reaching the Underworld (until Charon is bribed. We catch a glimpse of Nico and Bianca in Las Vegas)

Cerberus part + Fighting Ares

The End

The Demigod Diaries: Diary of Luke Castellan

Percy Jackson’s Greek Gods: Parts 1-4

Percy Jackson’s Greek Gods: Part 5

Percy Jackson’s Greek Gods: Part 6-7

The Sea of Monsters Meriwether College Prep

Returning to Camp

The Quest Begins

The Hydra + The Sea of Monsters

C.C.’s Spa and Resort + The Sirens (first paragraph as denouement for episode.)

The rest of The Sirens (expands Annabeth’s flashback)

Polyphemus

Ending

Season 2

The Titan’s Curse Westover Hall + The Hunters + Thalia Attempts to Drive 

Percy’s Latest Dreams (Expands Capture the Flag a bit maybe)

The Hunters, A Demigod, and a Satyr Team Up

The Smithsonian

Junkyard of the Gods

The Hoover Dam

Percy Takes the Titan’s Curse

The Council of the Gods

The Demigod Files: Percy Jackson and the Stolen Chariot

Percy Jackson’s Greek Gods: Parts 8-9 (9 is more like an ending plot, a quick one.)

The Battle of the Labyrinth Orientation

Arriving at Camp

Into the Labyrinth

The Triple G Ranch + To Hephaestus’ Forges

Calypso

Back Into the Labyrinth

The Lost God

Return to Camp

The Demigod Files: Percy Jackson and the Bronze Dragon

The Demigod Files: Percy Jackson and the Sword of Hades

Season 3

The Last Olympian Blowing Up the Princess Andromeda

Poseidon’s Kingdom + The War Council and the Great Prophecy (3rd paragraph as the denouement/end of episode)

The War Council and the Great Prophecy (the rest) + The Last Olympian

Percy Jackson’s Greek Gods: Parts 10-11 

The Underworld

Percy Jackson’s Greek Gods: Part 12 

A Visit from the God of Messengers

The Battle Begins

Percy Jackson’s Greek Gods: Parts 13-14 

Percy’s Dreams + Prometheus Visits the Campers

Hyperion, The Flying Pigs, and the Party Ponies

Percy Jackson’s Greek Gods: Parts 15-16 

Dionysus, Old Friends, Drakons, and the Spy

Percy Jackson’s Greek Gods: Parts 17-18

Back to Olympus

The Cursed Blade

Everyone Receives a Gift

Percy Jackson’s Greek Gods: Parts 19-21

Percy Jackson and The Singer of Apollo

The Demigod Diaries: The Staff of Hermes

Season 4

The Lost Hero The Grand Canyon

Camp Half-Blood 

A Quest is Given

The North Wind

Detroit + The Sorceress and the Gold King (3rd Paragraph) (This is a 2-parter with the next episode)

The Sorceress and the Gold King

The Hunters of Artemis + Aeolus and the Real Enemy (First 2 paragraphs)

Aeolus and the Real Enemy + Mount Diablo

The Wolf House

A Change of Power and Bunker 9 + Mysteries are Unveiled

The Demigod Diaries: Leo Valdez and the Quest for Buford

Percy Jackson’s Greek Heroes: Parts 1-2

The Red Pyramid Beginning to the Blowing up incident

Rest of the Second Paragraph

First 2 sentences of 3rd Paragraph, maybe mixed up more with the latter half of the second paragraph

Book Heist

Graceland + Learn about Feather of Truth

Duat + Sobek attack

Fourth Paragraph

Fifth Paragraph

Season 5

The Throne of Fire First Paragraph

2nd Paragraph until they mention the birthday; that’s introduced at the end of the episode.

Birthday Adventure

3rd paragraph

4th paragraph

5th paragraph

6th Paragraph

7th + 8th Paragraphs

9th + 10th Paragraphs

The Demigod Diaries: Son of Magic

Percy Jackson’s Greek Heroes: Part 3

The Son of Neptune Going to Camp Jupiter

War Games and Receiving a Quest (may spill over into next due to long backstories)

Meeting with Phineas

Meeting the Amazons

Learning the Family Gift

Arriving in the Land Beyond the Gods

Fighting Alcyoneus and Freeing Thanatos

Joining the Defensive

Promotion, Revelations, and Reunions

Season 6

The Mark of Athena Uniting the Camps until the toast

Uniting the Camps

On the Run (until “Just after the god leaves”)

“She shows on the tour” 

“Once docked in the harbor” 

Entering the Mediterranean Sea

The man introduces himself as Chrysaor

As Annabeth gets Deeper under the city

The three quickly arrive at their lair

Reuniting + Ending

Percy Jackson’s Greek Heroes: Parts 4 + 8

The House of Hades First 2 paragraphs

Paragraphs 3-4 + First 2 sentences of 5th paragraph

Paragraphs 5- “he is turned into a plant.” 

“he is turned into a plant.” to Paragraph 8

Paragraphs 9-11

Paragraphs 12-14

Paragraphs 15-17

Paragraph 18 to “Doors of Death, which vanish.” 

Remainder

Season 7

The Blood Of Olympus The Suitors

Earthen Ghosts

Percy Jackson’s Greek Heroes: Part 5

Subduing Nike

Percy Jackson’s Greek Heroes: Part 6

Lycaon

Percy Jackson’s Greek Heroes: Part 7

Unleashing the Makhai

Percy Jackson’s Greek Heroes: Part 9

Orion

Percy Jackson’s Greek Heroes: Part 10

Kymopoleia + Pegasus

Percy Jackson’s Greek Heroes: Part 11

Meeting Asclepius

Percy Jackson’s Greek Heroes: Part 12 (part A)

Thwarting the Giants + Orion Defeat (to “Tyson shows up”)

Percy Jackson’s Greek Heroes: Part 12 (part B)

The rest of Orion Defeat

Percy Jackson’s Greek Heroes: Parts 13-14

Defeating Gaea + The Ending

Season 8

The Serpent’s Shadow First half of first Paragraph

Second half of first Paragraph

Paragraph 2

Paragraph 3 to Paragraph 4’s second sentence

The rest of Paragraph 4 to Paragraph 5’s first sentence + Paragraph 6

The remainder of Paragraph 5 + Paragraph 6’s first sentence

Paragraph 7 except for last sentence.

Last sentence of paragraph 7 to end

Son of Sobek

The Staff of Serapis

The Crown of Ptolemy

The Sword of Summer A Homeless Death (first four paragraphs)

Remainder of A Homeless Death + Reborn as an Einherji (first 2 paragraphs)

Remainder of Reborn as an Einherji

Retrieving Sumarbrander (first 2 paragraphs)

Remainder of Retrieving Sumarbrander

The Craftmanship Duel

Information from Thor

Versus Fenris Wolf and Surt (first 2 paragraphs)

Remainder of Story

Season 9

The Hidden Oracle A God Made Human Again (First 3 Paragraphs)

Remainder of A God Made Human Again 

Time at Camp Half-Blood 

The Three-Legged Death Race 

Into The Woods 

Calming the Grove (First 3 paragraphs)

Remainder of Calming the Grove + Fighting the Colossus Neronis (first paragraph)

Fighting the Colossus Neronis (second paragraph)

Remainder of story

Camp Half-Blood Confidential Part 1 - Apollo’s Version

Camp Half-Blood Confidential Part 2 - First half of Percy’s Version

Camp Half-Blood Confidential Part 3 - Second half of Percy’s Version

The Hammer of Thor Training with a New Roommate (first and second paragraph)

Remainder of Training with a New Roommate

An Undead Trap

Paying Off Hearthstone’s Debt

Meeting Heimdall + Giant Bowling (First 2 sentences)

Giant Bowling

The Wedding (up until Despite Magnus trying to pull him back up)

Remainder of the story

Season 10

The Dark Prophecy Welcome to Waystation (First 2 paragraphs)

Remainder of Welcome to Waystation + Liberating the Griffins (first paragraph)

Remainder of Liberating the Griffins

Obtaining the Throne of Memory to “like at the Camp Half-blood forest”

“like at the Camp Half-blood forest” to end of the second paragraph

Obtaining the Throne of Memory (Last paragraph to Into the Oracle “that she may be Apollo’s daughter.”)

Into the Oracle (Remainder of first paragraph)

Remainder of story

9 from the Nine Worlds: Just Another Decapitated Head (it would be ambiguously set so at this point, people wouldn’t be able to tell this was set after they save the world.)

The Burning Maze Wandering the Maze

Finding Hedge at Macro’s Military Madness to “immobilizes the Praetor.”

Remainder of Finding Hedge at Macro’s Military Madness

Recruiting Piper McLean

Battling Medea to “knocking her out.”

Remainder of Battling Medea to Meeting up with Jason Grace (First paragraph)

Remainder of Meeting up with Jason Grace

Tragedy on the Julia Drusilla Yachts to “by and for horses.” 

Remainder of Tragedy on the Julia Drusilla Yachts

Puzzles in the Burning Maze to “prophecy is complete.”

Remainder of Story

Season 11

The Ship of The Dead Meeting Percy, Traveling to the Chase Mansion + Leaving Valhalla

This Is Why I Hate Clothes Shopping+ Goal Achieved! Sort of...

Aegir’s Court + The Chat with Njord + Crew Members’ Background History

This Little Light of Mine, I’m Gonna Let It Shine

More Tormenting Dreams + Meeting Hrungnir

Creating Pottery Barn + Daily (Nightly?) Dreams

Speaking of Trolls...

Fighting Hrungnir

Slaying Alderman + Retrieving the Whetstone of Bolverk

My Eighth-Grade Physics Actually Comes in Handy

Meeting Frigg in Flam

Nice Doggy

Fighting the Thralls of Baugi + Meeting Gunlod and Obtaining Kvasir’s Mead

So’s Your Face!

Fighting Suttung and Baugi + Journey to the Fortress of Skadi + Meeting Skadi to "can elaborate further."

Well, That was Surprising

Remainder of Meeting Skadi + The Battle on the Naglfar

I Play with Fire 

The Flyting + Escape from the Naglfar + Party with the Gods (first paragraph)

Remainder of Story

Season 12

The Tyrant’s Tomb Landing in San Francisco and Airborne Attacks

Arriving at Camp Jupiter 

A New Prophecy … Senate Meeting

Heading To the Tomb … and Second Thoughts (“Frank calls for a war game”)

Dreams of Destruction (“As Apollo, Meg and”) … Journey to the Soundless God (“ravens to retreat”)

Journey to the Soundless God (“They reach the platform”) … The Second Wave Begins (“to the ground below”)

The Second Wave Begins (“The next thing Apollo”) … Two-on-Two Fight to the Death (“takes on Apollo”)

Two-on-Two Fight to the Death (“the fight starts”) … Second Encounter With Tarquin (“more of his hoard”)

Second Encounter With Tarquin (“Only nothing happens”) … Remainder

Son of Magic

Demigods of Olympus, like those Minecraft choose your adventure episodes on Netflix. When showing on TV they pick the most popular route probably. 

Aru Shah and the End of Time Unleashing the Sleeper

Traveling to the Otherworld

Claiming

The Sprig of Youth

Night Bazaar

Library

Kingdom of Death

Back to the Museum

The End?

(I am writing this as of May 21, 2020, and only prepared for the books I’ve read so far. I’m working on it. And there may be more additional content later to fill in as the mid-season changes, but I don’t have it as of this minute. I will update in a reblog later.)

Season 13 Aru Shah and the Song of Death AND The Tower of Nero (Camp Jupiter Classified: A Probatio’s Journal)

Season 14 Aru Shah and the Tree Of Wishes AND The Storm Runner (Brooklyn House Magician’s Manual)

Season 15 The Fire Keeper AND Aru Shah And the City of Gold (Hotel Valhalla: Guide to the Norse Worlds)

Season 16 The Shadow Crosser AND Aru Shah Book 5

Season 17 

Sal and Gabi Break the Universe I want them to go first for spacing but I 

haven’t read these books yet. I have read the first Tristan Strong book at 

the moment.

space

space

space

space

space

space

space

space

Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky Chapters 1-5

Chapters 6-12

Chapters 13-18

Chapters 19-25

Chapters 26-31

Chapters 32-36

Chapters 37-41

Chapters 42-46

Chapters 47-51

Season 18 Sal and Gabi Fix the Universe AND Tristan Strong Destroys the World

Season 19 Paola Santiago and the River of Tears AND City of the Plague God

Season 20 Paola Santiago Book 2 AND The Last Fallen Star

Season 21 Dragon Pearl AND Race to The Sun

And that’s what I have so far lol

[cynthiaandsamus]

Custom Toonami Block Week 54 Rundown!

Code Geass: Lelouch tries to make Suzaku Nunally’s knight since he’s already planning on distancing himself from her and as shown in the previous episode and R2 basically nothing can stop the Lelouch/Suzaki teamup. However during Tohdoh’s rescue they find out Suzaku’s been piloting Lancelot the whole time and Lelouch breaks down and has his first Kira Laugh of the series. Meanwhile instead of being Nunally’s knight, Suzaku because Euphemia’s knight while she blows off the art contest she’s supposed to be judging (I mean she never puts the flower on any art and instead says she wants Suzaku so I guess Suzaku won the art contest, he’s art now).

Inuyasha: The Togenkyo retelling continues and Kagome is stripped naked and thrown in a bath for purely plot-related reasons and not because stories in this part of the series had a Kagome’s tits quota to fulfill. Anyway tits aside, Inuyasha reflects on Tokajin’s distaste for human fragility and his own frustrations with his human form but rejects the easy path to power the fake sage promises, reflecting him rejecting using the jewel to become a full demon later. Because this is later in the series in the anime we have to end it with a sword kamehameha so yeah, the tree absorbs Tokajin and becomes a super demon and Inuyasha just Wind Scars it because it doesn’t matter how strong you art, Wind Scars are OP and just destroy 90% of the villains in this series.

Yu Yu Hakusho: Everyone’s getting kind of sick of Yusuke’s tsundere attitude towards Keiko so they say they need some more explicit expression of love in order to give Yusuke his life back. Meanwhile Yusuke’s house catches on fire and Keiko the absolute baller runs in to a burning building to save Yusuke’s corpse but Yusuke has to use his spirit egg deal to make sure the fire doesn’t kill her too. It’s really cool and all that Yusuke barely has to think about this but really he didn’t have much choice anyway because if Keiko died in the fire his body would burn up and he wouldn’t be able to return anyway. Even though it doesn’t last long the scene where everyone’s rejoicing about Yusuke coming back to live juxtaposed with Yusuke not being able to tell them he threw away his only chance to come back to save Keiko is really heartbreaking. But Koenma says Yusuke may be a bitch but he’s our bitch so he can come back anyway. Luckily next episode has him come back for real because this whole ‘I legit can’t talk to people to solve simple problems’ as the whole plot setup is starting to get old.

Unlimited Blade Works: So now that Rin and Shirou both have no historical figure shaped plot armor their next strategy is to go find the strongest guy around and be their best friend, which just so happens to be a little girl and her personal Hulk. But conveniently enough Gilgamesh gets there JUST before them and is prepared to fight them off with his Unlimited Butt Works. Also Caster’s backstory is kind of sad but she’s still a major bitch, like she doesn’t care that her former guy was pulping children, but that he was doing it badly. And then she sends him back in time and sets him on fire or some shit, this’d probably be all symbolic if I remembered more of Jason & the Argonauts from High School but Medea always was my favorite character from it so idk.

Panty and Stocking: Panty and Stocking infilitrate a high school and spend most of their time trying on fetish outfits until they trip over a double whammy of Barbie/Bee puns in the form of teenage Gainax Lusamine and they shoot her and shit. Also Panty legit has no boundary so she shows her sex tape off to everyone ruining her weird out of nowhere uncomfortably Hollywood celebrity status and Stocking saves her ass but the show can’t decide if Panty is a super bitch or just a minor bitch so she fucks over Stocking again and then youtube happens. The real miracle is that Panty only made one sex tape in her life to spread around or this episode would be twice as long. Also Briefs is here.

FMA Brotherhood: Mrs. Bradley succeeds in unknowingly convincing the public that Mustang’s revolution is legitimate because Mrs. Bradley is the most powerful FMA character, she doesn’t even need a first name she’s that strong. The main group meets up with Envy and Mustang finally gets to grill him (lol) about Hughes’s death. Envy learns what type matchups are all about and also that he’s weak to fire and should shut up while he’s ahead.

Attack on Titan: Zeke considers to be an insufferable arrogant jerk as the Beast Titan while he continues to treat this mass slaughter of Eldians he supposedly wants to revive the empire of as another day at the batting cage. Bertoldt punts Eren back over the wall which is still unintentionally hilarious and Erwin commands a bunch of innocent kids and Floch to ride to their deaths so Levi can not even kill Zeke but at least wipe the smug smirk off his face, still kinda worth it.

[deadendairgetlam]

it’s bitterly ironic, really, that rin in many ways has the potential to be a better hero than shirou, or at least a hero whose characteristics come more naturally.

it isn’t because she’s completely selfless, or necessarily a better person. no, rin has shown herself to value self-preservation and even signs of greed and pride. rin isn’t an entirely noble person, it’s almost impossible to be when raised on the principles of magus society. it’s because despite the fact that she belongs to such a fundamentally flawed society, she’s able to maintain a decent sense of right and wrong. it’s because unlike shirou, or even arturia, she developed as a person separated from the ideals of others.

it’s not that she isn’t influenced by others’ expectations, it’s made apparent that she looks up to her father and wishes to prove herself to the world he wanted her to succeed him in, but the fact that she grew up without a guardian who actively guided her towards a certain moral system during the most formative years of her childhood. unlike shirou, arturia, or sakura, there’s a confidence in her identity to rin that they lack. she’s far from a fully realised and developed person, she still has far too long a road ahead of her for that, but she isn’t quite as bound to the firm mould they were set in. she’s bound by the sense of duty she places upon herself to protect fuyuki and the lives of its population, but that duty isn’t something built around someone else. it’s built on the basis of her own interpretation of the grail war and what she knows from what her father has left behind, but the beliefs and decisions are very much her own.

one of shirou’s greatest flaws as a person is that he struggles to be his own person with his own wants outside of the desire of becoming the vessel of hero of justice, whereas rin’s greatest flaw as a mage is that she’s too much of a person to completely conform to the coldness of the magus world. she’s too human to act with no worry for those she might harm in order to achieve her goals. this is clearly shown when she hesitates to kill medea when given the opening to, and during heaven’s feel when despite knowing what the simplest route is as a solution, she still isn’t able to take it. it’s not that she isn’t calculating or capable, she has the potential to be as cruel as the majority of other magi, but she feels too strongly and her moral compass is just as stubborn as the rest of her - too stubborn to be discarded. it’s not that rin isn’t bound by duty, it’s that her character never manages to be quite defined by it, even if it would be most convenient to be.

in so many ways rin and shirou are similar. they both struggle to repress their emotions in order to become their ideals, and there’s more than one parallel between their actions, and they both spend so much time looking up to an image on a pedestal that they lose sight of reality, both’s fall back to the ground and disillusionment is steep, but rin’s ideals have always been on shakier ground. rin has seen loss at a younger age than shirou because of those ideals she tries to live up to.

a theme that overlaps in the behaviour of fsn’s main cast is denial, and the same goes for rin, but there’s always a contradiction between what she’s forcing herself to believe and think, and what her actions imply. rin is a magus that should value reaching the root above all else, but it isn’t truly what she prioritises. sakura is no longer her sister, but in the small gaps where she can’t blind herself to the truth of her feelings, she hovers and watches. rin is selfish, but she gives what she can’t take back. rin is a magus, thus naturally a liar, most of all to herself, but the truth always shines through the cracks in light of her actions.

shirou is many things and grows to be even more, but at his core he is still the boy who lost everything and adopted the life goal of his father because he’s all shirou had after being saved. at her core, rin is still the brave, yet scared and values her safety enough to be sensibly cautious, girl who saved a group of children from a mass murderer while she was still a child herself - while her role model was too focused on winning the grail war to do anything until it became absolutely necessary to intervene.

rin wouldn’t really call herself a hero, but she can be one.

[atopearth]

Fate/stay night Réalta Nua Part 4 - Unlimited Blade Works Route (2/2)

Day 11-16 Omggg I love their date! Saber is there as well but I think it’s so adorable how Saber is on Rin’s side most of the time, and it’s so cute how Saber loves to eat different things haha. I think the funniest was when Saber hated losing to them in the batting cage so they had to play a lot of games hahaha. But I guess, through the dialogue, I can kinda understand more of why Shirou was always insistent on Saber not fighting in the Fate route. Saber is actually smaller than Rin and she’s apparently weaker than them physically as well if she’s not using her magic power! She must be pretty small then! And omggg lmaooo when Shirou figured out the mystery of the stolen loaf of bread🤣🤣 Shirou thought Rin took it as a late night snack and ate up the whole loaf when she actually used it to make them lunch hahahaha. Honestly, it was really sweet of Rin to plan such a day so that Shirou could relax and have fun, especially since he’s never really found anything fun for a long time and he doesn’t even think he deserves to have fun at all. Honestly though, I still find Caster’s Noble Phantasm Rule Breaker such a…I don’t know how to say it, I mean, I understand that the Command Spells was magic done by one of the three families and since Caster is like from the time of the Gods or whatever, I guess it’s possible for her to cancel it and stuff, but I feel like when powers like this exist, it kinda makes the rules of the war and everything feel so…cheap? Like, I guess I liked the war because each Servant presents different powerful Noble Phantasms and abilities but they’re all respectively things that pertain to their strengths and utilised within the boundaries of the war, but Caster’s ability just negates a lot of that and makes things feel like such a free for all with no rules and that just feels boring tbh. Otherwise, Saber being able to stop herself from listening to Caster’s orders and attack Shirou for a bit so he can escape was saddening, especially with those tears in her eyes. But yeah, the way everything went was really understandable, Shirou would never give up on Taiga’s life (since Caster took her hostage) even if he has to sacrifice his own, so really, it wasn’t a situation they could really win from at all..sad that their cute date turned into this disaster though.

Rin always tries to sound mean to Shirou, but really all you can hear from her is concern for him all the time. She hates seeing him get hurt and always wants him out of the war because he’s too kind. I can see why Shirou is adamant about going to save Saber since her being controlled is his responsibility, but at the same time, Rin is right, there is nothing he can offer to the battle right now, especially with his injuries. Lmaooo at Tiger Dojo 22 where Caster calls Taiga for advice on how to be a better character, hahahah even she knows she’s plain lmaoo. Honestly though, I love how Shirou is always able to tell that Rin is truly kindhearted and that underneath her role as a magus is a normal girl that’s very sensitive and sweet. I love how he got her to release her emotions and cry after she felt betrayed by Archer (who left her for Caster). I love the CG with them talking to each other back to back! And I love how Shirou is always there for Rin to help her get herself together. He’s right though, Rin is someone who resolutely stands on her own path, even if she regrets something, she will retaliate and destroy it to make her path what it should be to her. She gets sad but she never gives up, and I can see why Shirou would admire her so much tbh. It’s so cute how Shirou so honestly told Rin he likes her a lot, blushing Rin is so adorable!

I feel like Caster’s past is supposed to make me feel “something” for her but honestly, she still feels as bland as she is. Maybe it’s because ever since she was born, she’s been (literally) controlled by others, forced to abandon her country and kill her brother etc, used as a scapegoat to be the epitome of crime and thus viewed as a witch, but everything about that story is kinda just told to you as a reader, so really, it’s hard to feel anything for her. Like, I feel sorry for her that she had to experience all that, and I get how grateful she is towards Kuzuki for saving her when she nearly disappeared (after killing her crappy Master), but as she says, she really has no motivation or goal aside from helping Kuzuki and he himself doesn’t really want anything either, so they’re kinda like a duo that has no real purpose than to exist and fight if confronted and I guess fight to find a place for themselves. 

Tbh, Shirou always admires Rin for being able to go full on ahead without regrets, but I think someone like him who is able to be so decisive on walking on the path he decides and is ready to accept it even if it’s “wrong” is something very admirable as well. I LOLed when Shirou and Rin went to Illya’s castle (to ask to co-operate against Caster) and Illya’s “alarm” magic that alerts her to them entering the forest zapped Rin so badly compared to Shirou, it was hilarious hahahaha. Honestly, seeing Berserker so desperately protect Illya from Gilgamesh and Illya being so scared really shook me. But I think seeing their past was worse, they were both used and controlled by the Einzberns to get the holy grail, and Illya was forced to go out in a freezing forest with just Berserker so that they could train her into controlling him properly. And I guess it was then that they both realised in their hearts that the only ones they could trust in were each other. I always wondered why Illya didn’t seem to do anything aside from rely on Berserker to fight, but after the flashback, it seems that all those Command Spells on her body that were put by the Einzbern family are there to control Berserker and that puts a great toll on her body and probably even shortens her lifespan. It used to practically destroy her and make her scream in pain, but now it’s a bit better, and I guess that’s why Illya just allows Berserker to do everything for her, it’s mainly because it’s cumbersome enough for her to just control him. But yeah, Gilgamesh slashing her eyes and stuff made me feel so uncomfortable and sad. In the end, Illya’s just a kid… But yeah, I totally understand why Shirou couldn’t help but appear to try and help Illya knowing it was futile. But! I still blame him because him revealing himself also endangers Rin and he should have thought more about her. Buuuut, I’ll admit that it wouldn’t be like Shirou if he was able to restrain himself, and I think I would have been disappointed in him haha. He’s lucky Rin was there to help save him tbh, and I guess we should be glad that Shinji is Gilgamesh’s Master lolll, I mean, if it was anyone more useful, they would have been totally screwed~

Hahahaha, it was so cute how Shirou and Rin kept arguing about who should be running away when Lancer appeared. It was hilarious how Lancer waited for them to finish arguing hahaha. HAHAAHA it was such a tense atmosphere when Shirou agreed to co-operate with Lancer, but then when he said under one condition, and whilst everyone was wondering if he wanted to know Lancer’s Master or something, all Shirou wanted was for Lancer to stay away from Rin hahahaha, he’s so cute🤣🤣🤣 I’m amazed that Archer could create a shield (Aias) that blocked Lancer’s Noble Phantasm, it wasn’t easy for him to block it, but nevertheless, he did end up blocking it. I guess that’s the benefit of being able to project weapons or shields etc that are strong against each Servant’s respective Noble Phantasms. Rin is so cool though! She got Caster to let her guard down and then used martial arts to defeat her! Well nearly, because Kuzuki comes to save Caster since he’s stronger than Shirou, I mean, it’s pretty amazing that Shirou could fend him off for so long. Guess they should be glad that Archer wasn’t a traitor and dealt the last hit attempting to kill Kuzuki, but Caster sacrificed herself to protect him. It’s kinda funny though, Caster’s life as Medea was ruined because of a “man” (she was controlled by a God but the God made her love that man so I guess same thing?) and even as a Servant, even though this time was her first time truly falling in love, nevertheless, she still ended up giving her life up for love, and it’s always for a man that will never love her back. It’s nice to see that even though Kuzuki was pretty disinterested in everything, he was ready to fight until the end even after Caster died, tbh although Shirou wanted to stop it and save Kuzuki, I think Kuzuki would have preferred being killed by Archer as an end rather than surviving. Rin really does save Shirou all the time though haha, it was thanks to her smart thinking of taking Saber as her Servant that they could fend off Archer from killing Shirou.

Honestly though, Lancer is such a great guy. He really knows how to appreciate Rin hahaha, I couldn’t believe her “thanks” to him stopped him from wanting to really kill Archer when they had their duel, and even now when she’s kidnapped by Archer (to ensure Shirou will come to save her and thus fight him), he’s so ready to go help them out. I guess Shirou was right to tell Lancer to stay away from Rin hahahaha. Honestly, it’s so heartbreaking to hear Archer talk about how he had to keep killing in order to save many, and that’s why he feels that he must kill Shirou, because if he doesn’t kill him, he’s going to become him, the hero Emiya. I think it’s so heartbreaking to hear that because you can feel how much Archer wants to kill himself, and in order to do that, he must kill Shirou. He thinks that his existence gave happiness to no one and only caused death and destruction since he killed people to save people…and it’s probably disheartening for Saber to hear this too, since she and Shirou are similar. I guess that’s why she wanted to stay here instead of going to save Rin (from Shinji) with Lancer.

Omg, I didn’t realise that Archer was executed because he was accused by the person he saved, even though he was the one who gave his all to stop the conflict, he was accused of starting the conflict and died for that “crime”. I think something that really hit me was when Archer described his role as a Guardian, he calls it being a “cleaner” because “they do not save people. All they do is eliminate harmful people, without distinction of good or evil. They do not save people in despair. Instead, they eliminate people in despair in order to save others who are enjoying life.” It’s so true. It’s something that’s ever present in life, we are always eliminating the people who are unable to live happily, we are always killing them because of the destruction they cause, and it’s understandable, but at the same time, it’s exactly against what Shirou desires. He knows that he can’t save everyone, but he wants to, and at the least, he wouldn’t want to kill others he wants to save in order to save others. I feel like the more Archer killed, the more he felt like he was killing the people he was supposed to save and that really destroyed him. And because he became a Guardian, he didn’t even have the choice to not do these things. The world itself had already decided that these people were harmful to it, so Emiya had to kill them, all the times he was summoned, he had no free will to decide for himself what should be done and what shouldn’t be done to save the world, the world already decided it and willed him to just kill them to “save” the world. The world deemed them irredeemable and unable to be saved, and Emiya had to accept that, but it must have been such torture to have to experience that over and over again. Even if killing Shirou doesn’t cause Archer to disappear, I’m sure the satisfaction of killing the past him that he thinks is silly and caused all this would at least relieve Archer somewhat.

Kotomine definitely let his guard down against Lancer. Although he used his Command Spell to order Lancer to kill himself, he hadn’t even disappeared yet and he already let his guard down! In other news, Shinji is a shit as usual~ and seriously, after seeing Kotomine get stabbed by Lancer, I don’t know why the dumbass Shinji doesn’t think about how Lancer could still be a threat, and what makes him think Gilgamesh will help him with such a lowlife job lol. It was really cool when Lancer used bits of his last strength to protect Rin until the end though, he’s such a hero. I also liked how resolute he was in death and was ready to burn the whole room to ashes to make sure Kotomine wouldn’t survive. I guess Kiritsugu’s last words of relief over Shirou saying he’ll be a superhero in his place was like a curse to Shirou. He said it because he admired Kiritsugu and wanted to be just like him, but he probably didn’t realise how much it really meant to him until he said it, and because of that, Shirou had no choice but to become a protector of justice, he couldn’t disappoint the guy who was so happy to have found him alive in that fire, he couldn’t disregard a dying man’s wish, and really, he just wanted to be just as strong as his father. In this sense though, there’s a similarity between Shirou and Rin. The both of them have been “passed on” an ideal or dream that they must fulfill. For Shirou, he needs to save people as a superhero. For Rin, she needs to win the Holy Grail War as the successor of the Tohsaka family and for her father who died because of it. But really, you wouldn’t say that Rin’s will is hypocrisy, because she has practically made that dream her own, and I think that can be said for Shirou as well. Even if it all started from someone else, it doesn’t mean it’s a “borrowed” ideal, because it had already transformed into their own ideal with the strength of their convictions and beliefs. And honestly, even if it is a borrowed ideal, it’s fine, because that is the path they chose, whether it was for someone else or not, this is what they chose and what they will commit to do. In that sense, who can really judge them? I honestly felt really touched when Shirou relentlessly attacked saying his dream is not a mistake, because he believes in it and will continue to believe in it no matter what. Really, I can’t help but feel so affected by Shirou’s will and determination all the time, he’s so mentally strong, it’s crazy. It was kinda relieving but at the same time hurtful when Archer admitted his lost and was stabbed by Shirou. In the end, this was never really a physical fight, because Archer could have killed him if he really wanted to imo, in the end, it felt like everything was set up by Archer to see the strength of his ideals again within Shirou. Archer had experienced tragedy after tragedy that deteriorated his heart for too long, so I feel like in a sense even though he hated his younger self, he also wanted to rekindle and remember the emotions he once had towards his ideal of becoming a superhero. I feel like he wanted to see whether he would be able kill himself first or remember why he was so adamant on being a superhero and how strong his mental fortitude towards it was first, so it was great that young him aka Shirou succeeded in showing him once again why his choice wasn’t wrong and wasn’t a mistake.

Anyway, Gilgamesh always ruins the mood, doesn’t he?! So the reason why Servants have to fight until the last one is because their heroic spirit souls are used as pure magical energy afterwards to kinda “create” the holy grail contents and give the remaining magus/Master power to use it for what they want? Lmao at Gilgamesh leaving the castle and wanting to change locations because the castle was burning down and he didn’t want ashes to go on him. You know, now that I think about it, if all the people Archer witnessed destroying the world was like Shinji, yeah I think I would feel the same hatred towards humanity and their ridiculous conflicts too. Ooh I guess although I’ve seen it, it never really clicked to me that Gilgamesh stopped Illya from becoming the holy grail by taking out her heart and putting it inside Shinji so he would become it? HAHAHA omg, Rin and Shirou need to have sex so he can share her magical circuits and use her magical power to create the Reality Marble (where Archer can project and use all those swords etc) and fight against Gilgamesh?! No wonder why Rin became so shy mid way through the strategy meeting hahahaha. Well, that was a pretty long and detailed H-scene! Rin looked really cute though loll. 

Hmmm how interesting, so Servants who are magi can summon other Servants, but they must have a host to keep the Servant in this world, and for Assassin, that is the mountain, therefore, even though Caster is dead, as long as the mountain exists, Assassin will be there to protect it. However, he still needs magical energy, and so even though he’s still “alive”, he will disappear soon, since Caster only gave him a limited amount of magical energy. Although I guess the main reason he still stands is because he really wanted his life to end in battle with Saber. Assassin’s true identity is rather saddening. He’s just a no name guy that was most fit to be seen as the guy “Sasaki Kojirou” because he can perform techniques Kojirou could, and so he is assumed to be him according to what this Kojirou character should be. In the end, he’s “nothing”, and I guess such an existence, being able to fight with Saber before he disappears would be a nice thing to do instead of meaninglessly disappearing. I mean, it’s understandable that Saber is in a rush to distract Gilgamesh so that Rin and Shirou can destroy the grail, and then they can all destroy Gilgamesh together, but honestly, that’s not Assassin’s problem and he has no reason to stand aside when Saber did once promise him that she’ll fight him properly again. I guess that means it’s time for Shirou to shine haha. I think Shirou’s “impossible” dream really reminds of Kaoru’s dream in Rurouni Kenshin. Honestly, their dreams are probably naive, probably impossible and probably ridiculous to others, but just like Kenshin, I think you can’t help but want to believe in it hoping that it can be possible, and continuing to fight to make it possible. And I really feel Shirou’s resolve in that. It took a while but I’m glad he finally realised that what he could do wasn’t infinitely create swords to fight against Gilgamesh, but instead create the Reality Marble that contains an infinite amount of swords aka unlimited blade works. But really, I’m happy that regardless whether it be the Fate route or this one, Shirou is the one who helps Saber realise that she needs to move forward, well, Archer and his burdens is the one who made her realise it in this route, but they’re both Shirou after all! I’m just glad that she’s not living in regret anymore and can go back peacefully after destroying the Holy Grail.

Although I’ve been rather sceptical with how a lot of fights went in this route, I think Gilgamesh against Shirou is probably the most satisfying and understandable to me (alongside Shirou against Archer), mainly because it’s true that Gilgamesh had always won his battles through the amount of Noble Phantasms in his treasury and how relentlessly he uses them as “arrows” rather than as swords. He lacks the skills and techniques to use them because he is merely an arrogant owner of them. And that’s why I think it’s understandable how Shirou can face off against him. Not only is Shirou physically capable, his Reality Marble gives him swords right by him, he can pick them up much easier than when he had to project them over and over, so in the end, it becomes more of a battle mounting on their determination and strength, which Gilgamesh lacks because he lives thinking that he doesn’t need to work hard for anything since everything is already his. And seeing him lose because of that is much more satisfying than in the Fate route because what Gilgamesh really lost against here isn’t something like Saber’s OP armour, he lost against his own lack of skill and what he prides himself in, his own arrogance. He let his guard down against a “faker” that can only do imitations of his swords, and was unable to recover his composure facing off against someone much “lower” than him being able to overpower him, even if it’s only for a bit of time. Not sure how I feel about the black void from the destruction of the Holy Grail coming to consume Gilgamesh though… Lmao at Tiger Dojo 24, the hanging mini Shirou getting smacked by Taiga and being blown away like a star was so funny hahahaha. 

I find it quite a miracle that Archer was able to survive this long into the end game and was able to watch over their battles and save both Rin and Shirou in the last minute! Like, he was already weak at the castle, fought with Shirou, took the hit from multiple Noble Phantasms by Gilgamesh and he was still able to project so many weapons to get Rin away from the Holy Grail monster and then project another one to prevent Gilgamesh from dragging Shirou into the void?? I guess I should be impressed rather than in disbelief haha. Honestly though, I do believe that Rin is Shirou’s “true love” because you can really see how much Archer still loves and cherishes her after all that he experienced. His silly banter with her was so similar to how she and Shirou interacted, and I think the fact that he still held on to her jewel (that ended up allowing her to summon him) is enough reason to really see how much he thought about her and how much he wanted to be with her. But at the same time he couldn’t be with her because it was his love and admiration for her that probably allowed him to move forward and follow his dream/ideal and end up becoming Emiya the heroic spirit. I honestly wanted to cry when he asked Rin to support himself and take care of himself aka Shirou. And I honestly believe in Archer’s belief that if Rin is beside Shirou, he won’t become the regretful hero Emiya. It’s saddening that even if Shirou leads a different life, Archer will probably always still be a heroic spirit doing what he had to do before. The only relief to be had is that after encountering Rin and Shirou here, he’s kinda rejuvenated himself by being reminded of past him’s beliefs, wishes and his resolve for becoming who he has become today. So, he’ll be fine, even if it’s painful. Archer’s last smile looked so much like Shirou. And omggg, something I never realised! In the beginning, Archer chose to call her Rin and continued calling her that because calling her Tohsaka is something Shirou does! By coming to terms with his own self as Shirou, he can finally feel like he can call her Tohsaka like he used to… It’s so cute and bittersweet😭😭

I loved how adorable Shirou and Rin were (in the true ending) when she kept asking if he would come with her to London as her apprentice at the Magic Association training academy or whatever and Shirou was too shy to openly say yes when it was obvious what his answer would be haha. The good ending was something I would have also liked to see in the Fate route but I guess seeing it here is nice too! It’s a bit like a harem end lmao, but I think Saber deciding to stay in this world to see if she can find her own answer by watching over Shirou (since Archer said she is wrong but she doesn’t really understand in this ending), so now Shirou, Rin and Saber can always hang together! It’s so cute honestly~ It’s kinda like how everything was in the beginning of this route, so playful, fun and happy with three of them haha.

Overall, I really liked UBW. Imo, I still think that the fights with Caster etc were the weak parts of this route and it can kinda detract your attention because I didn’t think it was really interesting lol. But everything is worth it when it comes to Shirou’s fight with Archer and then Gilgamesh. It really felt like everything that was built up since the beginning was made worth it. It was nice to see how much Archer and Shirou were natural enemies against each other without Shirou even realising who he was, yet they both couldn’t help but be influenced by the other. I thought Archer’s story really made UBW such a highlight emotionally. His story was well developed and nicely explored against Shirou’s ideals and you could really see how much they couldn’t help but clash. I honestly really loved how no matter what Archer did that seemed contradictory to what “Shirou” would do, in the end, he was Shirou through and through with how soft of a guy he really was. I really loved the concept of Shirou being the one to make possible future him/Archer realise why his original ideals were so important to him and why despite everything, he really doesn’t regret how everything came to be anymore. I really think that it was such an important growth to both Archer and Shirou and I loved it. It allowed them both to further their resolves and be proud of the path they’re walking on. Another great thing about this route was Rin, she’s such a great heroine that totally matches well with Shirou because not only does she drive him to become a stronger person like her, Shirou also makes her want to improve and be as driven as him even when things don’t go her way. I just think that not only do they work to bring their best out of each other as people, they’re also very capable in being silly with the other. They’re just as cute as they are strong and I love their relationship. As for the other Servants, I think only Lancer and Assassin really hit me emotionally. Lancer being such a ladies man and fighting for his own beliefs is something I always enjoy seeing, and Assassin finding meaning by being able to fight with other true swordsmen was something I couldn’t help but feel happy for. It really felt like a 8.5-9/10 route!👌

And nowww, on to the last route! Since the last Heaven’s Feel movie isn’t out yet, I don’t really know what happens at the end of it, so I guess aside from the Fate route, this will be the other route I don’t have much idea about what will happen and that kinda makes me excited haha!

[somedayonbroadway]

i rlly wanna have a situation where the newsies and the delanceys are forced to work together to save someone they both love (maybe medda? i hc that they sometimes hide from wiesel in the bowery theatre) ~ crutchie anon

I love the idea that the Delanceys hide from Weasel sometimes! That’s so cute! She’d love all the Newsies including the Delancey brothers!

Maybe there would be a fire at the theatre. And Jack would already be inside but he’d get out. And he’d run into the Delanceys who were going ther e to hide. And for once they wouldn’t be arguing with each other. The Delanceys might even help pull Jack out and help make sure he was okay. But Jack would be panicking because Medda was still inside. So he’d try to get back in to go get her and they wouldn’t understand why he wasn’t staying still and trying to breathe. But the second Jack caught a breath he’d cry out for Medda and the brothers would just know.

Some of the other newsies would have seen the fire from a little ways a way. Maybe Race, who was going to go check and see if Jack was at the Bowery. And he’d be rushing towards it and he’d see Jack laying outside on the ground just as Oscar rushed to go back inside. But Race would stop him and he’d be terrified and he’d ask what the hell was going on and Morris would scream at him that Medda was still inside.

Jack would recover as quickly as he could. He’d say that someone needed to go get help and he’d try to get up to go back for Medda but Race would push him back down. Jack would be burned pretty badly. One of his arms would be really, really bad. So Race would try his best to calm him down. Jack would pass out eventually. And Race would take over. He’d tell Morris to run and get help and then he’d run back into the theatre. Oscar would follow him.

It would be like they’ve been working together their whole lives. They’d be protecting each other from falling sets and weak floorboards as they made their way up to Medea’s dressing room.

She’d be locked in, something blocking the door. Race would let her know that they were there and that they were gonna get her out, even though it was getting harder and harder to breathe. And they’d literally break the door down to get to her.

Oscar and Race would help her walk as they made their way back down, but something would fall on Race and his leg would get caught. He’d be trapped. So he’d tell Oscar to get Medda out. And he would. Medda wouldn’t be able to fight with him. She’d be too weak. But the second Oscar got Medda out, he’d run back to get Race just as Morris was coming back with help.

Oscar would run back in. He’d try to get a fallen post off of Race. Race would be panicking. Firefighters would get in to try and help them out. But Oscar would pass out trying to help Race.

When they woke up, they’d all be in a hospital. Race would wake up next to Jack. Jack would have a bandage wrapped around his right arm. Race would find out his leg was broken. He’d find out that Medda was alright and that she agreed to pay for all of their visits. Morris would be sitting on Oscar’s bed, running hands through his hair.

And from then on, the boys wouldn’t be so hostile towards each other.

Thanks Crutchie-anon! 💕

[shuttershocky]

“Report.”

“Emiya-kun has very little ability at all. He can’t fix broken glass and he can barely use reinforcement on an item without shattering it. Kiritsugu Emiya did not teach him any more than simply activating his circuits, and he has no knowledge about what magic crests are at all. His power is so weak I can’t even sense him tripping the bounded field I placed over the school. If you ask me, he doesn’t even count as a magus.”

“Understood. Anything else?”

“Um! S-Senpai is very independent. Even if Fujimura-san comes over every day to keep him company, he lives by himself and does all the maintenance work in his home. He has an understanding of technology that far outstrips mine and Nee-san’s, and is able to grasp the inner workings of a machine after sending a trace spell through it. I searched around and the liquor store near his house also pays him for helping out in the back of their shops, although officially it’s all off any record books. The land his house is on is owned by the local yakuza family whom Fujimura-san is a part of, so they pay for all the taxes and pretend to be the homeowners. I don’t think anyone realizes Senpai is living alone as an orphan without any legitimate legal guardian, although once Fujimura-san gets a job as a teacher I think she will adopt him. And... And his cooking is very good!”

“Oh. Wow. You could learn a thing or two from this kid, Kokutou.”

“Learn from who? The Emiya boy? Or Sakura using the investigative skills that I taught her?”

“Yeah get your little victories in when you can get them, you nerd, because I teach these girls how to shoot lightning from their fingers.”

It was a late night at The Hollow Shrine, Touko Aozaki’s detective agency. 12 and 13-year-old Sakura Matou and Rin Tohsaka had just returned from a battle to the death with a shapeshifting monster inside the Emiya manor (another story for another time!) The big boss herself had asked the two girls to give their assessment of Shirou Emiya’s abilities and living status, while Mikiya Kokutou slaved away in an adjacent table, taking notes, updating their records, and doing their accounting, all at once.

Touko took the opportunity to glance at her first apprentice. Kokutou looked like he would finish and return home soon. Shiki was fast asleep on the office sofa, and the two new parents had left Fujino and Azaka to care for baby Mana. It’s not that they didn’t trust Azaka and Fujino with their baby, but- No wait yeah Kokutou and Ryougi would have to be insane to trust the agents of the Hollow Shrine to care for a baby.

Just look at how the agency turned two kids into assets.

“Excellent work, girls.” Touko said, “You may go to bed now.”

Rin and Sakura didn’t move.

“We were wondering, Mo- uh, Touko-san. What are you so interested in Senpai for?” Sakura said.

Touko raised an eyebrow. Sakura didn’t call her ‘Mom’ around earshot of her older sister, likely out of respect for their recently deceased biological mother. Sakura herself didn’t appear to hold too many feelings toward their mother, (being given away would do that, Touko supposed) but it had clearly still been a sore point for Rin. Touko didn’t mind for the most part. Being called ‘Mom’ wasn’t bad, but it never felt natural to her. Maybe she didn’t feel as if she deserved it? She didn’t dare explore why.

Touko pushed up her glasses. Kokutou was being uncharacteristically quiet. It looked like she was going to have to explain this one herself.

“The last time that boy was here I sent a trace over his magic circuits and you know what I find? Possibly the plainest configuration I’ve ever seen. Basic, low-quality circuits that would barely be able to muster a stable flow of energy.”

She paused, enjoying the look of confusion over the girl’s faces.

“And then I felt a trace pass over my own magic circuits, and it felt a lot like the one I just sent at him. I block it of course, but I send a second trace over his body just to be sure if he was as weak as he looked. The information I got back was completely different. It was an imperfect job, and of poor quality, but suddenly his magic circuits looked a lot like mine.”

Rin’s jaw dropped, but Sakura continued to look confused. Touko tsked mentally, it looked like the worthless Matou hadn’t even tried to teach her anything at all.

“I believe,” she continued. “Shirou Emiya has some sort of copycat ability attached to his vision. He did not appear to be doing anything consciously, but his eyes were on my hands when I sent a pulse through him. I’m not sure to what extent his copy ability goes nor how closely his ability can recreate an original, but I do know that in all my years as a Clocktower mage I have never seen a magus able to alter the configuration of their magic circuits through their own power. Imagine what a mage could do with such an ability. They might even be able to make projection magic useful, if they can copy more than just an item’s basic form.”

“Wow!” Sakura said, her eyes aglow. “Senpai really is an amazing person!”

If Rin was impressed, she was hiding it. She continued to stare at her with a hard look in her eye.

“But what do you need him for, Touko-san?”

“What? Getting tired of visiting Emiya? I thought you two rather liked him, seeing as you just tried to convince me to leave him alone.”

Rin and Sakura glanced in opposite directions, red staining their cheeks.

“Please answer the question, Touko-san,” Rin muttered.

Touko glanced at Kokutou, who was hunched over a new pile of paperwork. He was really gonna leave her to do all the talking this time huh?

She removed her glasses with a sigh.

“Sakura, go to bed. I need to have a talk with your sister about some things that may be upsetting.”

The younger Tohsaka (were... were they Aozakis now?) looked as if she wanted to protest, but nevertheless bowed and scurried off into the former storage room where she and her sister slept, shutting the door behind her. Shiki groaned a little from the noise, but continued to snore peacefully after.

“Rin,” Touko said, “The Matou did more than just buy your sister. I found Zouken Matou’s crest worms inside her body, including several that had been infesting her for years, altering her magical circuits and feeding on her energy.”

Rin looked like she couldn’t breathe. “W-What?”

“That’s not all. Zouken inserted what I can only guess to be the physical fragments of the 4th holy Grail into her womb, whatever for we’ll never know what with Azaka lighting him up like a firework, but she could potentially pose an extreme danger to herself and others. I destroyed the crest worms just fine, but I know nothing about the thaumaturgy behind the holy grail, and I doubt just surgically removing the fragments would be safe for Sakura with how much her body’s been changed to survive with that thing inside her.”

“S-So what do you need Emiya-kun for?” Rin asked, her hands balling up into fists and shaking lightly.

“I need him to craft me this.”

Touko clapped her fingers, sending a tome flying from the shelves and into Rin’s hands. It opened on a set of pages depicting a strange weapon.

“Rulebreaker, a dagger owned by the ancient Greek witch, Medea. It could be used to nullify even very powerful and complex magic, but was lost forever when Medea fled to Iran. Now if Emiya could make me even a partially working forgery, I could learn how Rulebreaker nullifies any and every form of thaumaturgy, including the latent power in a shattered grail, and remove the fragments safely. Also, who knows? Sakura’s body may be greatly altered, but the changes left her with heavy scarring inside. Scarring I can use as a changelog. If I could learn how the boy’s changing circuits work, I may be able to return her body to how she used to be.”

Rin stared at the floor, contemplating everything she just heard.

“Is this really the only way, Touko-san?”

“Oh no. I could have made Sakura a puppet body ages ago, but Kokutou kept whining about how ‘Horribly unethical’ and ‘Overwhelmingly traumatic’ the transfer process would be.

“It is horribly and unethical and it would be overwhelmingly traumatic,” Kokutou muttered, not looking up from his mountain of work.

“Don’t listen to this guy, Rin. He has no idea what he’s talking about. I crush Sakura’s current head just like that,” Touko snapped her fingers, “And she’ll instantly open her eyes in her new body. No pain, no trauma, she won’t even realize it happened.”

“That's... That’s a cruel joke Touko-san.” Rin whispered. “Sakura has had enough and transferring a soul without the use of True Magic is impossible.”

“Only if the soul can tell which of the bodies is its proper one,” Touko said, hands thumbing an unopened pack of cigarettes. “Don’t underestimate me kid.”

Rin stood quiet again, as Touko idly daydreamed of everyone leaving so she could smoke by the window.

“Wait,” Rin said at last, “What’s in it for you? I know the Clocktower magi. You wouldn’t be doing this for Sakura if you weren’t going to get something out of it.”

Touko’s eyes widened for a brief moment before she resumed her cool gaze.

“Good question. Let’s just say a talent like Emiya’s could prove very useful to this agency in the future. Sakura and I both have plenty to gain if we can help that boy develop his powers and come do some work for us. But that will have to be another time. It’s very late Rin, you should go to bed.”

“Oh. Okay.”

Rin turned back slowly and plodded off to their room with plenty to think about.

The office was quiet again save for the sounds of Kokutou’s pen scratching on paper, and Shiki snoozing away.

Touko propped up her face with a hand. That Rin was a sharp one. She ought to be more on her guard when they talked-

“Oh my God. You actually don’t have an ulterior motive in mind, do you?”

“What?”

Touko snapped out of a daydream, glancing over at Mikiya Kokutou. He was peering at her over his glasses, a tiny smile on his face.

“I saw that. She got you by surprise there. You actually didn’t think of using Emiya for anything other than for Sakura huh?”

Touko felt the heat rise to her face. Must be an extremely rare mistake she made when she built this current body.

“Don’t be stupid, Kokutou. A unique ability like that? Why that Emiya boy will serve all sorts of nefarious purposes.”

“Name one you have in mind, right now.”

“I’ll, er, make him project the spear of destiny and use it to summon heroic spirit Jesus or whatever!”

“I knew it,” stupid Mikiya said, face splitting into an ugly grin. He already had a missing eye he didn’t need to make himself look worse. ”Touko Aozaki, are you thinking about the welfare of another human being?”

“Ugh, shut up and work Kokutou. Don’t you have a baby to go home to? How’d you even get her anyway Azaka told me all that’s in Shiki’s apartment is a puny bed and a mini-fridge and you’re stuck sleeping on the floor. What? You two made do with a wall?”

It was Kokutou’s turn to flush. Not that Touko flushed earlier; she never got flustered. 

“Th-That’s private!” he stammered.

“Very private!” interjected the supposedly napping Shiki.

“Hmph. Well, I know you’re just deflecting anyway Touko-san.” Kokutou said. “It’s good to know there’s still a heart in there somewhere.”

“What? Fuck no, this right here is a 100% intellect-driven machine.” Touko flared, pointing at herself. “I don’t even put fake physical hearts into these bodies anymore I just stuff a pump in there and call it a day.”

“Mhmm. Sure.”

“Okay, you know what?” Touko said, throwing a white envelope at him. “Get your early paycheck. Now go! Shoo! Both of you! You can finish that tomorrow. Go be with your kid. Hell, buy some booze. Make a second kid in the shower or something I don’t know.”

“Alright, alright.” Kokutou said, getting up from his desk. Shiki rolled off the sofa like a cat too lazy to push itself off with its legs. 

“Finally,” she said, “There was so much talking I thought I’d fall asleep on that crappy sofa for real.” 

“Goodnight, you two.”

Shiki and Mikiya walked over to the exit, but someone wasn’t done just yet.

“Summon Jesus? Really?”

“OUT!”

When the two had left, Touko leaned into her seat with a long sigh. She felt like opening the window and finally having her smoke, but something kept nagging at the back of her mind.

Instead, she walked on over to the girls’ room. The two were sound asleep, silent and unmoving in their cheap futons.

“You heard all that huh?”

Sakura shot upwards.

“How did you-”

“You snore like the devil kiddo. So does Rin, except she kicks too.”

Rin got up as well. Both girls looked at Touko, a waterfall of questions behind their eyes.

“Okay out with it. I suppose Rin would have told you as soon as she knew anyway.”

Sakura looked down on her fumbling hands, trying to piece together the words with her fingers.

“Am I really dangerous?”

Touko crouched down to meet the little girl at eye level. With the moonlight spilling in through an open window, Sakura kind of looked like Fujino the night the Hollow Shrine first met her, afraid and so horribly alone.

“Kid, I am the greatest mage to have ever come out of the Association, notcountingcheatinglittlebitcheslikeAoko. You don’t have to be afraid of anything. Okay, maybe be afraid of some things related to our line of work, but not the grail, not the crest worms, not the Matou, not the Tohsaka, not even the Magus Association itself. Not now and not ever. No one can touch you when you’re with me.”

Touko Aozaki had no idea what she was saying, nor why the words just seemed to tumble out her mouth by themselves. It’s just that... She knew what it was like to be thrown out of a family in favor of a sister. She had lived most of her life on her own, half of it on the run, anyone and everyone out to get her, nobody she could trust but herself.

Maybe she was just saying everything she wanted to hear back then.

Sakura said nothing, but she buried her face in Touko’s chest, and wrapped her arms around her.

“O-Oh. D-Didn’t take you for a hugger.”

Touko glanced at Rin, who had her hands locked behind her, with eyes as red as her dress, rocking back and forth on her futon.

She reached out to the other girl.

“Okay okay come here.”

Rin didn’t sob as much as she bawled into Touko’s shirt. The old mage was surprised for the nth time that night.

“Oh. Didn’t take you for a crier.”

She held them there for what felt like forever, but really was probably closer to about ten or so seconds.

“You know what?” Touko said, looking at them both, “ I can’t sleep either. I’ve got popcorn somewhere on the shelves and a brand new tv just came in. Why don’t we watch a few movies on the couch?”

“Um, c-can they be heroic movies?” Sakura asked. “With a brave, dashing hero giving their all against the world? Shinji never let me see anything except for.. For...”

Touko squeezed her a little tighter.

“You know what? I have the perfect thing for us to watch. Just don’t tell Kokutou, He’ll launch into some two-hour lecture about what is and what isn’t age-appropriate.”

____________________________________________________________

Mikiya Kokutou stepped into the office at 6 in the morning of the very next day.

His boss was always awake by then, mumbling something or other about him preparing the coffee while she read the morning paper with halfhearted interest. Today however, his boss was fast asleep on the couch, Rin and Sakura huddled under her arms and popcorn all over the floor. A movie was playing on the television, with a woman in what looked like a forklift crossed with battle armor walking towards the screen.

“Get away from her you bitch!” she snarled.

Mikiya flinched. He was going to have to talk to Touko about showing the kids more age-appropriate movies. For now though, he was content to smile at the beautiful mess in their office.

“We’ll carve a heart into you yet, Touko,” he whispered.

Mikiya glanced again at the movie. Was that a new TV? How did the office even afford one when... When...

He pulled out and tore open the white envelope his boss had tossed him the night before.

Pay you double and a half next month, I promise!

- T

“OH COME ON!”

[flightfoot]

A Convergence of Apollos Chapter 7 - END

God!Apollo’s POV

We arrived at the Empire State Building shortly before sunset. On the one hand, I was afraid that maybe the demigods (and satyr, and... me?) had already completed the quest, and my counterpart had fled. On the other hand, I was grateful I didn’t have to wait long for them to show up. I have a tendency to get lost in my own head when given the opportunity to think while stressed, and right then, I had nothing BUT time. Well I suppose I COULD have practiced for my concert (which at this rate I’d probably have to cancel, I didn’t think I could deal with performing at the moment) but there’s no way I could concentrate on it.

So I paced.

I was grateful that Artemis believed me enough to come at least. My tale was absurd; I KNEW that. If I’D heard another god spouting about a time-traveling mortal version of themselves, I’d assumed they’d either been tricked or was crazy.

But I COULDN’T write off what I’d seen. I’d felt a vague sense of familiarity while looking at the boy, something that said ‘Look closely and THINK.’ But another, louder part of me had screamed ‘DON’T LOOK. Don’t listen. Not if you want to maintain your worldview. If you look too closely, even you won’t be able to hide from the truth of what you’ll see.’

So I tried to avoid looking. I invented a somewhat plausible-sounding reason for why they might have appeared out of thin air. I tried to maintain my careful facade.

Then my other self smashed it to pieces.

“Do not harm her.  Don’t you dare harm ANY of them.  LOOK AT ME!  REALLY LOOK AT ME, DON’T JUST STARE THROUGH ME LIKE WE ALWAYS DID, DON’T PRETEND PEOPLE FEEL THE WAY THAT’S CONVENIENT FOR US, FOR ONCE IN YOUR LIFE, TRY TO UNDERSTAND! “

I couldn’t stop myself. I did as he asked and looked closer, into his essence, into his SOUL.

What I found shocked me. But I can’t say I was truly surprised. Part of me had already known what I’d find.

It was my own essence. My own self. Only a bare sliver, but undeniably there, and undeniably ME.

I’d freaked. I couldn’t help it. And I did what I always did when in emotional turmoil. I went to my family.

I glanced over at Artemis. She stood stock-still. To someone who didn’t know her, it might have looked like she wasn’t doing anything. I knew better. That was the look of a hunter waiting for their prey.

If my other self HAD been a trick, I would’ve felt sorry for them. Most gods knew better than to get on my sister’s bad side, myself included. We might mess with each other a little, but it was very, VERY rare for us to do something that would truly, deeply upset the other person. The times that’d happened...

I shoved the thought away before it could fully manifest. I had enough going on with my current internal crisis. No sense picking at old wounds.

I heard the sound of rapid footsteps. I glanced up.

My mortal self charged towards my sister, a look of desperate NEED on his face.

How long had he - had I - gone without seeing Artemis?

Was Zeus truly that cruel, to deny me from seeing my twin?

Who was I kidding. Of course he was.

My mortal self SMASHED into Artemis, sending him sprawling to the ground. I winced. That HAD to hurt.

He scrambled back up, winded. My sister - HIS sister - helped him up.

I looked at Artemis’s face. The look of concern and shock in her eyes... clearly she’d realized that I hadn’t been tricked or mistaken. This boy was somehow, impossibly, ME.

He babbled brokenly into Artemis’s shoulder, tears running down his face and soaking Sis’s shirt. I watched silently. I was NOT about to get in the middle of this. For one thing, my other self NEEDED this. For another... well, who WOULD? Honestly if I could reasonably give them privacy I would, but we were in the middle of New York City right near the Empire State Building, and it didn’t seem like either of them were thinking about the location at the moment. I also hoped to hear more about what my future self went through. Maybe if I knew I could prevent it, or at least make it less traumatic.

Then Artemis checked him for injuries. And things got so much worse.

At some point along my journey, I’d been injured BADLY. Really, REALLY badly. And I seemed almost ASHAMED about it.

What my other self hinted he’d done - how he hinted about these other people being held captive, with his own life as the only bargaining chip he had - it chilled me to my core. Had he done what I thought he’d done? Nearly killed himself to help save a handful of demigods?

I didn’t quite know how to feel about that. I’d never had that level of resolve. I’d never been put in a situation where I’d had to choose between my own life and someone else’s.

If I was, could I make the choice my counterpart had?

Maybe... maybe if it was Artemis or Leto. But for a handful of demigods? They were disposable. I tried to help my own children at least, but even then I didn’t always realized that they’d died until years later. I’d been striving to get better on that front, but I still wouldn’t put myself in mortal danger for them.

The closest I’d come was with my favorite son, Asclepius. When Zeus struck him down, I’d been FURIOUS. But even then, I didn’t go up against Zeus directly for fear of being destroyed. I’d taken it out in the Elder Cyclopes instead. I was still punished, but it would’ve been MUCH worse if I’d outright attacked Zeus.

What had happened - what had he - what had I - been through, that had caused me to put the lives of a few demigods above my own?

Why did he care so much?

I refocused on my other self. Maybe I could glean some answers from him.

I listened to his description of what Medea was going to do to him. What she HAD done.

I nearly threw up.

I stumbled to the nearest light pole and slid down it until I was sitting on the ground.

I- I’d nearly been destroyed. COMPLETELY.

Death was one thing, but THAT? That was MUCH worse.

And Zeus! He must have seen this. We weren’t omniscient - not by a long shot - but he would be watching me already, if only to laugh at my suffering.

He didn’t do anything.

Of course he didn’t. He didn’t even want me to help Artemis when she was captured, why would he intervene on MY behalf?

Because he would be partly responsible for your destruction, I answered myself. Because this goes beyond just sitting back and not helping. He would be the reason I was vulnerable in the first place. He would be responsible for it.

Oh who was I kidding. Zeus would just shove the blame onto someone else. Or maybe he’d just argue that I deserved it and it was my own fault I wasn’t tough enough to survive.

“I- I w-was saved. I- I- regained some of my memories. But n-not all. I- I...! ”

Wait, WHAT?! I hadn’t regained all my memories afterwards? What did I forget...?

No.

PLEASE NO.

PLEASE ZEUS, PLEASE.

“I- I- I forgot you, Artemis. I forgot you existed.”

Not seeing my sister was one thing. But forgetting her entirely?

That- that went beyond anything I could’ve imagined.

I couldn’t - not without my sister - how - how had my other self even had the strength to CONTINUE? When something so fundamental to myself was ripped away?

I could survive with being mortal. I’d done it twice before.

I didn’t know if I could survive without being able to even REMEMBER the person I was closest to.

Artemis knew me best - perhaps even better than my mother. She was my rock.

To have that swept away...

“I’m- I’m so sorry Artemis. I for-forgot you. I’m a horrible-”

From my outside perspective, I knew it wasn’t his fault - MY fault - that he’d forgotten Artemis.

But I also knew that in his shoes, I’d blame myself too.

Maybe we weren’t so different after all.

Artemis wasn’t having ANY of it.  “NO. Apollo, you are NOT a horrible ANYTHING, least of all for something you have no control over. YES, I’m shocked and angry, but not at you. NEVER at you. At our Father, at Caligula, at Medea, yes. BUT NOT AT YOU.”

Artemis... what had I done to deserve such a wonderful sister?

I teared up as my other self collapsed into my sister’s arms.

Artemis... she’d known just what to say. Of course. She always did.

After awhile, my other self calmed down enough to speak.

I almost wished he wouldn’t. That I’d never have to learn what had caused him such pain. But I needed to know. I needed to UNDERSTAND.

My other self finally said how, EXACTLY, he’d gotten that wound.

So this... this was why he’d changed. Why I’d changed. Jason... he’d been willing to die without a complaint, because he couldn’t stand someone else dying in his place.

No gods had come to his aid. But a demigod HAD.

Jason had been more willing to help, to put himself on the line, then any of my divine brethren.

Of course that’s what heroes do, a voice whispered in my head. Jason is hardly unique in that way. But you never cared about that before. So why are you being affected now?

Because it’s me, I answered myself. It was always someone else before. It wasn’t me, so I wrote it off. I wrote off all those demigods and I HADN’T CARED.

My other self’s tale wasn’t done.

It got worse.

Jason at least was a demigod hero. I would at least EXPECT heroic actions from him, even if I hadn’t fully appreciated such heroics in the past. And from the sound of it, he hadn’t just sacrificed himself for me. It had mostly been for Piper.

But Crest?

It took me a moment to even remember what a Pandos WAS. I wouldn’t have expected much of anything from one of them. And from the sound of it, Crest was a child.

And yet...!

He’d... this kid... he’d not only gone against the orders of one of the cruelest people I’d ever known in the hope of getting some music lessons, but had continued to help my other self beyond ANYTHING he would have asked for.

He hadn’t stopped either. He’d sacrificed himself for me. He’d had SEVERAL chances to leave me to my fate, and yet he’d chosen to save me even if it killed him. Even though it killed his dream.

He didn’t even KNOW me.

Abruptly I realized that I’d stopped thinking of this as happening to some other version of me, and had started thinking of it happening to MYSELF.

I couldn’t help it. Hearing what had gone down, I connected more closely with this other version of myself. I saw how I’d gone from being me to being him.

We weren’t any different at our core. Of course we weren’t. We were the same person until very recently. It was only his recent experiences that distinguished him from myself, and hearing what he’d been through, I at least had a shadow of his experiences.

I didn’t think I could ever become like this other version of myself entirely, never reach the sheer depth of his understanding and compassion for the mortals that I’d been neglecting for so long.

But I could try.

Maybe that would be enough?

Watching my other self collapse into my sister’s embrace for the third time, I decided that it would HAVE to be enough. I had to become someone worthy of the help my other self had been given. Someone worthy of those sacrifices.

I- I wanted to be a better person. A GOOD person. I didn’t know whether that was even possible. I’d done some horrible things in the past, and allowed others to occur in my ambivalence.  But I would TRY.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

My other self calmed down enough to continue speaking again after a few minutes.

He turned to me, seeming to just remember I was here. I couldn’t blame him. With all he’d been through, with all he’d lost, I’d get tunnel vision too.

He stared at me for a moment, seeming to search for words.

“Do you understand?” he asked at last, seeming to look into my soul.

“I- I think so,” I replied, my mouth suddenly feeling dry.

He seemed to consider what I said for a moment, then nodded. “There are some things you need to know. I told Percy a lot of what happened, what’s GOING to happen, so you can ask him for more information later. But there’s some things I didn’t go into. Some things I wanted to tell you in person.”

I nodded, trying to hide my anxiety.

“Our kids - ALL of them... try to be there for them more? When I went to Camp Half-blood, they- they tried to make me feel comfortable. Tried to help me feel like I belonged. Even though I barely knew them. Even though I’d only visited them in person a handful of times, spoken to them in dreams a dozen more. They still tried SO HARD to help me. They cared about me SO MUCH. They deserve better.”

Guilt twisted my stomach. I’d always felt that I should spend more time with my children. But I was afraid of what the other gods would say, ESPECIALLY Zeus. He preferred us to be hands-off if possible. I couldn’t do what he was asking...

Oh who was I kidding. It was true that Zeus didn’t like us spending too much time with our kids. He might notice if I vastly increased the amount of time I spent around them in-person, but he wouldn’t be paying as much attention to dreams, especially right now, when he had bigger things to worry about.

And I could probably sneak in a few more visits to Camp Half-blood than I did before. I’d just have to come up with some sort of excuse, like needing to talk to Chiron about something, or needing to drop off some stray demigod Artemis found who didn’t want or was unable to join the Hunt.

“I’ll try my best,” I said.

My other self sighed, “Good. Sometimes that’s the best we CAN do.”

He fell silent for a moment, his face twisting up a little. “There’s also the matter of one of my Legacies. Octavian.”

I tensed, glancing at Percy and Grover. He was talking about the Romans HERE? Now? In front of some Greeks? Sure he’d mentioned Jason before, but he hadn’t said anything to give away that he wasn’t Greek. Just MENTIONING the word ‘Legacy’ was a tip off that something was different about Octavian.

My other self noticed the look on my face and explained. “I already told Percy and Grover about the Romans. They’d need to know soon anyway, since Gaea is awakening and the Greeks and Romans will need to unite.”

I choked. Gaea was WHAT!

I opened my mouth to speak, but my other self cut me off. “I already told Percy most of what he needs to know, you can ask him for details later. I don’t know how much time I have and I don’t want to repeat myself too much.”

He took a breath and let it out. “So, Octavian. I think... he’s kind of like Commodus. I was enamored with Octavian’s promises, his vision of a future where I was head god of Rome. I fell for his flattery, ignoring any warning signs, just like I did all those years ago. Octavian, he... something’s wrong with him. I’m not sure what. Not exactly. But he REALLY hates the Greeks. I’m not sure why. You’ll have trouble forging peace between the camps if he’s in a position of power, at least as Octavian is now. Octavian... I think he’s ill somehow. After an unfortunate incident that led New Rome to believe the Greeks had attacked them - again, ask Percy - he went kind of crazy. Manic. He refused to listen to reason, and believed that anyone who questioned him would stab him in the back.”

“I don’t know whether he can be saved. I wasn’t able to save Commodus. But maybe... maybe if you catch him early, you can stop him from deteriorating too far. It’s worth a try. There’s no chance of success without TRYING.”

“Just make sure he’s not in a position of power or influence right now. He needs therapy, or medication, or SOMETHING. But if he’s able to retaliate... well, I don’t think he’d even believe ME telling him that he needs help. I can see him believing that I’m compromised or tricking him or something. And if he believes that there’s a threat, he’ll try to neutralize it. Probably fatally.”

“I don’t know whether you could get him the help he needs. Maybe there’s no saving him. Maybe there was no saving Commodus. But you HAVE to try.”

I flinched, thinking of Commodus. I HAD to kill him. The alternative was too horrible to withstand.

That didn’t make the guilt lessen.

If I could avoid having that situation again, I would.

“I’ll try. I’ll look in on Octavian, try to find some sort of help for him. I think I’ll take a closer at the Romans in general, I haven’t spent much time with them lately. I think I’ll try to get to know Jason better as well. After what you’ve told me... well, I want a chance to know my little brother for more than a few hours. I’ll visit my children as often as I can get away with, considering Zeus and the War. And I’ll try to find Crest. Teach him to play the ukulele. Even if he’s never met me in this timeline, I still feel like I owe him for what he was willing to do in yours.”

My other self smiled at me, a bit of hope entering his eyes. “Thank you.”

I felt something snap into place, threads of destiny coming undone and reweaving themselves into a new tapestry. I could tell my other self felt it too.

He blurted out, “Find Meg! She was captured by Nero, She’s in-”

The air started twisting around them. My other self cut himself off, looking back at Meg in a panic. I had a distinct feeling he didn’t know WHERE Meg was, and he didn’t have time to ask.

Meg read his look. “Albany!” she blurted out.

CRAAAACK

The air untwisted, turning shimmering shades of green, then returned to normal.

There was silence for a moment.

“What just... happened?” my sister asked.

Oh yeah. She was the only who hadn’t seen this happen before.

“That’s what happened when they arrived. Except, you know, they appeared instead of vanished. Presumably they’re back in their own timeline now.”

I turned to Percy and Grover. “We need to talk. But it can wait until tomorrow. I need to hold this concert - can’t cancel without a lot of people wondering WHY, and I don’t want to divulge what happened to everyone just yet. Not before making plans. And I’m sure you two are tired after everything that’s happened.”

Percy smiled at me slightly. “Thanks. I’ll need to tell Annabeth, she can help.”

Grover suddenly looked nervous. “Um... Lord Apollo...” He gingerly returned my lyre.

I looked it over, noticing the reason for his anxiety. A large scratch on the shell. Nothing that would impact the quality of its music, but I HAD said “not a scratch”.

That seemed like a lifetime ago.

I gave him a small smile, hoping I looked comforting. “It’s fine Grover. I should have expected it to get a little banged up, with you bringing it into combat.”

His face collapsed in relief. Percy gave me a weird look... awe? Understanding? I wasn’t sure. But he seemed happy with what I’d done.

As they walked away, I called out, ‘Oh, and Grover?”

The satyr looked back at me questioningly.

“Happy birthday.”

His face broke out in a smile. “It has been.”

I stood there for a moment, savoring this brief period of peace. Tomorrow I’d have to meet with Percy and Grover, find out what else my other self had to say about the future, what else should be changed. Tomorrow I could go looking for Meg and Crest.

But tonight, I had a concert to get to.

“You coming Artemis?” I asked my sister.

“You have room for all my Hunters?”

“I think something could be arranged.”

“I’ll see you there then.”

I vanished as the sun set on one of the most important afternoons in Greco-Roman history.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(A/N) So that’s it for this fanfic! I’ll probably write a sequel showing what happens in this new timeline, but I don’t know when I’ll start it. I might work on something else first. Oh, and in case anyone’s wondering, Meg and Apollo reappeared back in their own timeline back in the room with the cloth. This uses a divergent timeline model of time travel, so nothing that happens in the past will impact them.

[homesteadchronicles]

Which of your OCs are religious? Do they have conflicting views? How do they resolve their differences?

Are my OC’s religious? Gurl, you betta make some tea and take a seat, because this is gonna take a while! Long story short: all of my protagonists have distinctive views on religion, and since spirituality is a central point of this series (as is the physical incarnation of the Sealed God), there’s a lot to debate.

also thank you for waiting a day and an age for this response

___

Royan Godewine was raised in the heart of a kingdom that held the Sealed God as the centerpiece of life. Everything they did was for His glory (or so they claimed). As with many young men, Royan went to church out of duty and followed the laws as well as would be expected of a well-to-do prince. However, despite having a vague sense of devotion to the Sealed God, he failed to comprehend the true mysteries of Him or the level of love others claim to feel from Him. After the death of the former king left Royan without an uncle but with insurmountable guilt, he strove to prove his worthiness to the Sealed God as a knight, a prince, and a potential Shepherd. His relationship with religion is one based on physical action instead of mental-emotional understanding.

Oeden Halflife has experienced two halves of similar, yet still-conflicting, religions. Being raised in the North, he followed the same religious ceremonies and services as Royan. However, having been born to a Southern mother, he practices his faith differently. He believes the Sealed God to be a man of emotion, one who is compassionate and zealous and indignant and mournful and proud all at once. He has sent saints - those with extraordinary destinies - into the world to embody His emotions and bring about His desires. While Oeden doubts he is one such saint-to-be, His devotion to the Sealed God (and the world He created) is too strong for him to sit silently. Oeden’s relationship with religion is one of unbridled emotion that compels him towards reckless action.

Medea Brahim is but a vessel of broken faith. Having watched her aunt - a devout follower of the Sealed God - succumb to a sickness He could have cured, she denounced her faith in any false god that had seduced the people of Edenfell and demanded unwarranted worship. Her father’s declaration that men shall be made into gods throughout Al-Hasan is a mixed bag to her, believing some graced with that title do not deserve it. Medea’s mission is to eradicate all trace of untrue gods so the people of this world can live with one able and willing to provide for and protect them - even if that god is Medea herself.

Farukh has never considered himself a particularly religious man. Even before the ban of the Sealed God’s worship in Al-Hasan, he said a prayer only when death or salvation seemed imminent. Even then, he didn’t really know who he was praying to - and he sure as heck wouldn’t pray to any of the “gods” of Al-Hasan now. Being forced to work for them, he has seen their corruption firsthand and hates them all the more for it. It is only the intervention of one boy sentenced to death that might change his mind...

Kasumi of the Shadows wears two faces for worship. One, she wears while amongst her kinsmen, the supposedly-civilized folk of Genesai. These people praise the Earth Mother who allegedly made each human from the many living organisms already on the planet. Meanwhile, when in the presence of the nomadic tribes of Genesai, Kasumi worships their god - the Starfather who left the Earth Mother but would return one day. Kasumi is conflicted in her beliefs, thinking both could be right in their own ways and wishing they could coincide. Kasumi’s looking for the truth amidst the uncertainty so she doesn’t need to don a mask in the midst of her own people.

Carmila Ramos came from a strictly-religious family. That is, after their reputation plummeted from nobility to peasantry. Carmila’s newly-humbled mother demanded their family attend church and pray to Santa Marisol at every chance. Carmila did so without developing any attachment to the saints or the god they served. After their mother’s death, Carmila’s older brother, Cesar, kept the faith while Carmila left it for a rainy day when she would need it. She knows the prayers, knows god can’t be too mad at her for leaving him alone - he’s a big boy! He doesn’t need her. And he’s certainly done so little to help them. Why thank a messiah who didn’t save you?

[medea10]

My Review of The Promised Neverland

[authorgirl1111]

Olympian Pain - Dionysus

You’re an absolute moron Dionysus thought as he watched his older half-brother aim an arrow at his chest. Caligula isn’t one to reason with.

 It made sense to Dionysus though. If Apollo died he would go to the underworld his essence would be untouched, he wouldn’t be a shell of who he was. He would still exist.

 Dionysus hadn’t been back to camp ever since Zeus had declared his punishment… postponed. Apollo needed to be banished, and the council could not handle two missing gods for an extended period of time. Dionysus banished was fine he still had his powers he just couldn’t go home (barring emergency council meetings) but Apollo and Dionysus? The council couldn’t handle two of its members missing.

 It also gave Dionysus incentive to not interfere with Apollo. Smart Dionysus would have laid low, and stayed out of his fathers’ sight, would most likely have just spent his time with Ariadne. In fact, that’s exactly what he had been doing. He and Ariadne had been on a well-deserved date, when he noticed that Pan’s Successor and two other people were running for their lives in the Labyrinth.  His older half-brother, and the Demeter brat – May… something was with him, being chased by strix.

 By all accounts Dionysus should have done nothing. Zeus wanted Apollo to receive no help. At all.

 Except…. Satyrs fell under his jurisdiction, especially satyrs from Camp, moreover he couldn’t just let the Lord of The Wild – Pan’s successor- die.

 So, he lent a little of his power not much that Zeus would notice, but enough that would expedite the growth of the strawberry plant.

 Later on, when Apollo was kneeling down aiming an arrow right at his chest. Dionysus couldn’t do anything. He couldn’t even relieve Caligula of his madness. Since Caligula wasn’t mad. Caligula was perfectly aware of what he was doing. He was aware that he was evil and doing wrong, and Caligula just did not care. The only thing Dionysus might have been able to do was make the guy a tad less literal, but that would not have changed Caligula’s plan. His madness just… wasn’t there, and unfortunately making him Mad would not have done anything.

 So, Dionysus could only watch as Apollo stabbed himself in the chest. Could only watch as Medea saved his life, and later could only watch as his own brother was flayed alive.

Thanks @flightfoot for the help! 

 Hope you guys enjoy it. Feel free to comment.

[ddpej]

Ever and Always a Smartass

(A few selected quotes from my twelfth-grade “classical allusions” literature assignments.)  (I never was terribly fond of literature classes..)

The task for each reference: (1) summarize the story, (2) list and explain the conflicts within the story, and (3) declare and explain a take-away theme statement for the story.  Each assignment had to fit on a single index card (including the back).  Despite this restriction, I was commonly asked to perhaps use a few more words... and maybe reconsider my tone, and perhaps try to find a more standard take-away?  (Spoilers: Nah. x3)

They are presented in no particular order, as the cards had no dates and got shuffled at some point.  The quotes as given below are in most cases not the entirety of my response, but are the most relevantly amusing bits.

Regarding Joseph and Bros. (Biblical):  (3) “Brothers are jerks.  Or, if you prefer, guys are jerks.”

Regarding Perseus and Medusa (Greek): (1) “Traditional beginning for an ancient myth: kid’s gonna kill Daddy later, so Daddy sails him down the river to let him die ... [Perseus]  goes home, pulls out Medusa’s head, and turns a bunch of jerks into statues.  Yay for him, the gods are happy, and so on and so forth.”  (3) “You’re only as good as your worst gadget.”

Regarding Jesus and Lazarus (Biblical): (3) "If someone really wants to go open a four-day-old tomb, don't argue."  [Teacher's note: "Other, larger theme?"]

Regarding Midas of the Golden Touch (Greek): (1) "When he turned his own daughter into a gold statue as well, he figured out he hadn't made the best decision."  (3) "Money isn't everything. ...we'd know that money is everything because everything would be money.  Since it's not, we know money isn't."

Regarding the Birth of Christ (Biblical): (3) "Just nod and smile. ... Other actions may result in loss of speech, sudden outbursts of angelic chorus, and other such minor problems."

Regarding Samson and the Philistines (Biblical): (3) "Strength of a lion, brain of a tsetse fly."

Regarding Paris and the Golden Apple (Greek): (1) "It was fortold that Paris would cause the downfall of Troy; wonder of wonders, he did."  (2) "god vs. god -- Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite were all duking it out for the stupid little apple that was obviously intended to cause problems."  (3) "Stay out of the gods' affairs."

Regarding Daphne and the Laurel Wreath (Greek): (2) "Apollo wouldn't have had nearly as many problems to deal with if he was able to just keep his mouth shut"

Regarding Jason and the Golden Fleece (Greek): (1) "Jason's skin was saved by princess Medea multiple times as he attempted the task set to him."  (3) "Behind every successful man is a woman's helping hand."

Regarding Pygmalion and Galatea (Greek): (3) [sharp detour into speculation about where you might acquire a personality for infusing into a statue]

Regarding Echo and Narcissus (Greek): (2) "Narcissus was in love with his own image, and if that's not a problem then I don't want to know what is."

Regarding Odysseus and the Trojan Horse (Greek): (1) "They leave for Troy.  Big long battle that no one can win -- ten years.  Whee."

Regarding Cupid and Psyche (Greek): (1) "Venus sent Cupid after [Psyche], but Cupid managed to stick himself instead. ... Venus kept making things difficult, as she was still mad at Psyche."  (2) "god vs. man ... Venus basically tried to ruin Psyche's life."

Regarding Arachne and Athena (Greek): (2) "Oh, and Athena turned Arachne into a spider after her first curse caused Arachne to commit suicide.  Nothing major."  (3) "There's a difference between being proud and being stupid."

Regarding Orpheus and Eurydice (Greek): (1) "The song was sad and pretty and stuff."  (3) "If Mr. Moron had just waited a few more minutes .. They all appear to be idiots."

Regarding the Book of Ruth (Biblical): (1) "Sandals were exchanged."  (3) "In those days, that was considered a Successful Life."

Regarding David and Jonathon (Biblical): (2) "Saul just liked fighting with everyone."

Regarding the Agony of Christ (Biblical): (2) "high priest vs. guy with sword."  (3) "Nothing is guaranteed."

Regarding the Death of John the Baptist (Biblical): (3) "Couples in healthy relationships talk things over together.  They don't fight over the death/life of a mutual acquaintance; instead they calmly and rationally discuss the good and bad of such a matter.  They don't sneak around behind each other's back to kill the man they disagree about; during their calm discussion (see previous) they arrive at a cooperative conclusion and work together to accomplish that goal."

Regarding Cain and Abel (Biblical): (3) "He won't be dead for awhile, but he won't be having much fun before he dies, either."

Regarding Noah and the Flood (Biblical): (2) [sharp detour into the callousness of the deaths of all the animals left behind]

Regarding the Tower of Babel (Biblical): (3) "As [different teacher] says, know your role and stay in your hole. ... We have enough problems communicating without the language barrier, thanks..."

Regarding Jacob and Esau (Biblical): (2) "Jacob and Esau had some issues with each other right from the start.  Actually, from before the start, if you count birth as the beginning of your life."

Regarding Abraham and Isaac (Biblical): (1) "Abraham, Sarah, and Isaac went on living life."  (2) "The decision didn't seem to bother him much"  (3) "How comforting, no?  God will change his mind and tell you not to do what he told you to do in the first place, assuming you are stupid enough to listen to him when he tells you to go kill your kid..." [Teacher references "tone.." for something like the seventh time]

Regarding Daedalus and Icarus (Greek): (3) "Follow the instructions. ... If nothing else, read/listen to them carefully and then consciously choose to ignore them."

Regarding Pilate and Jesus (Biblical): (1) "The crucifixion and all the stuff that that entails occur."

Regarding the Rescue of the Child Moses (Biblical): (1) "God did not forget the Israelites."  (2) "The Hebrew and Egyptian peoples had a few minor disagreements"  (3) "It's good to be female."

Regarding the Burning Bush (Biblical): (2) "The Hebrew and Egyptian peoples had a few minor disagreements" (and the teacher didn't even notice I reused it!).  (3) "Since he's got the whole 'almighty' thing going, your best bet is to just deal with it.  If he tells you to go face down the king of a country you ran away from, and you will likely be killed as soon as you set foot over the border, and you really don't think it's a good idea... you'd better just do it anyway."

Regarding the Passage through the Red Sea (Biblical): (3) "If the people you want to go after have a god at their backs, you probably should just leave them alone.  Especially when said god has already plagued your country, killed all your first-born sons (animals included), and given his chosen leader some powers that border on miraculous."