#apollo has many many trust issues

[sunset-peril]

Ashes Remain - Chapter Four - When We Met

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April 17, 2020

Nine Tails Vale

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"I. Already. Told. You!"

Huh? Who was that?

"I'm a lawyer assigned to this case!"

Wait. Lawyer? Could that be?

"I need to study the crime scene, so if you would please tell me where Kyubi Manor is...!"

"You can't fool me! You're just some delinquent high school student playing hooky!"

Apollo turned his head towards the flaming voices, just in time to see a woman, about his height, trembling with rage. "You stupid, pigheaded...! This attorney's badge isn't just for show, you know!"

Looks like we've just found Ms. Athena Cykes, Justice.

"Tsk! Why don't you believe me! Don't expect me to defend you in court if you ever get arrested!"

"Well," The other voice was sounding much calmer now. "I'm usually the one that does the arresting, so." He flashed a last resort smile. "Say, shouldn't you be getting back to school?"

"I already told you, I'm a lawyer, not a student!"

"That's it! Enough of your lies! You're coming with me!"

~~~~

Ungh... what happened?

His head hurt, and he was now face first down on Yokai Lane's dirt street. What just happened? The last thing he remembered was the police officer arresting Ms. Athena Cykes...

Wait, where was that officer now?

Oh, right. He remembered now. Ms. Cykes snapped as soon as that officer grabbed her, throwing his body into the air... and straight onto him.

"Urnngh... think you can watch out for the bystanders next time?"

"Ah, oh! Whoops! Are you okay?!"

"I think so..."

But that officer...

"I am so sorry! I do that when people suddenly grab me... it's like a reflex or something."

It's like a felony is what it is!

"You're Athena Cykes, I take it?"

"That would be me. And you are?"

~~~~

They were now inside the Fox Chamber, where the murder had occured. Him, and Ms. Athena Cykes. Or, rather, Dr. Athena Cykes.

Athena was a doctor. Mr. Wright did not tell him that. He learned the reason almost instantly: she preferred to be called Miss Cykes, which is who Mr. Wright said to look for. She said that 'someone else was Doctor Cykes.'

Could she be bipolar? Schizophrenic, maybe? She did seem more than an average amount of unstable...

"Apolloooooooo!" Her voice sounded rather whiny, like she was trying to achieve Chords of Steel but had the patience of a five-year-old.

He could see why the cop thought she was a delinquent instead of a double-degreed European doctor of psychology plus lawyer. Her education made her thirty, at least. Her behavior was more akin to a ten-year-old. He wondered if she ever tried the psycho-analyzing thing on herself. Perhaps she had, and was afraid of what she found.

"What, Athena?"

"Look! Look!" She pointed out a minimum of five different investigation spots.

He needed some coffee. She was running circles around him.

This is who Mr. Wright hired? The boss said he and Athena would get along pretty well, he was expecting someone down-to-earth and ready for the dark truths of death. Someone optimistic enough to dream, but real enough to know the world they lived in was dark and dangerous. Someone like Clay, Detective Skye, or Trucy even.

Definitely not this very tall five-year-old.

He was going to have to spend some serious hours repeating Athena's age and education tonight to remind himself that she was not five.

She flared up an unassuming tapestry, one he now saw was dripping in blood.

The smell became much stronger after being disturbed.

He had just barely waded through the scent himself when he heard a thud, and the tapestry fell to the floor. "Athena? Ms. Cykes?"

Athena had passed out and was now underneath the blood-soaked tapestry.

~~~~

April 17, 2020

Wright Anything Agency

~~~~

"Athena! Can you hear me, Athena?!" He continued to splash cold water on her, small amounts so she wouldn't drown, until her eyes fluttered open.

"...¿Quién eres tú?" Her eyes twitched weakly, and she didn't roll over or try to sit up. "¿Quién eres tú?"

"Él no habla español, Athena." Mr. Wright piped in from his desk. "Ingles."

"Ah, you speak English... Who are you?"

"I'm Apollo Justice. We've, uh, already met? At Nine-Tales Vale? You threw a cop at me?"

"Ah, I'm sorry... I'm having some trouble remembering. Did I pass out or something?"

"Uh, yeah. You did. You found a tapestry and passed out as soon as we both realized it smelled like blood."

Her eyes flashed cold, that little necklace she wore turned black. How odd...

"Ah, sorry... I tend to not be good... with sudden large amounts of blood. I guess it just shocked me."

"It's okay. Did you hit your head? Mind if I look and see if you have any bruises?"

"I'd prefer you not... actually."

"Okay, I won't look. Does it hurt though? You need any meds or anything?"

"Wowww, Polly. Look at you being so caring!"

Why did that statement make him blush? It was completely normal to obsess over someone who may have gotten a concussion!

"I have a bit of a headache. It's nothing severe. I think I'll try drinking some water before trying medicine. Thank you, though."

"Okay. Do you need to rest a little? We have an emergency air mattress in the back room if you need to stay down."

"That would be nice, thank you. Could you help me up?"

He took her hand and pulled her up slowly, gently supporting her in each stage. The glove she wore was very cold and smooth where her fingertips were.

Mr. Wright helped them set up the air mattress. Wright had figured it was only a matter of time until it was used, since Athena didn't have a place of residence here. Trucy brought her a cup of water, and she dozed on the mattress for a while in the back room while Apollo worked on processing evidence in the main space. He'd gone back for that tapestry after Athena settled, and carefully processed it as evidence while making a note for the record of Athena's little accident just in case someone tried to present any of her DNA as evidence.

While she may be a little off her rocker, none of her genetic material was on that fabric when the crime happened. She was just more than a little unlucky.

Plus, she seemed pretty nice. It didn't seem like she had a murderer in her, crazy or not.

Although Kristoph Gavin had taught him a cold lesson in assuming people's ability and willingness to kill. He would never forget that lesson as long as he lived. He was honestly shocked with himself for trusting Athena so easily.

The fact that she practically unzipped her heart and dumped it unceremoniously in front of him definitely helped. Kristoph was reserved, and wouldn't wear his heart on his sleeve to save his life, much less dump all its contents out in front of a stranger.

Athena was probably fine. Probably not a killer. Probably not a psycho.

Even if some of the things she mentioned to him, like the cop-tossing reasoning, were arguably concerning.

But if some random man grabbed Trucy like that, Apollo would also want him getting flipped. Where the lawyer in Apollo cried out 'Objection!' the brother in him replied with 'If the same thing were to happen to Trucy...'

Eventually, the brother and lawyer made peace and decided to place Athena in the "Probably fine" category. Enough to be trustworthy, but definitely questionable in more than one way. It would help if he could see her thought processes just as easily as her heart. He was glad he didn't get flipped while a) carrying Athena back or b) while she woke up. Perhaps she'd already decided he was an honest man, if cynical. Likely with psychology.

He did hope her default language changed to English though. He wasn't sure if he could tell her that he only spoke English, or that his name was Apollo Justice, he was her co-worker, and they'd likely be assigned as pairs for most of their cases every. Single. Day.

Her presence reminded him of Lamiroir though. Without having one good reason why, he felt safer around both women. Which was unnerving, considering she was five years younger than him. Lamiroir at least gave off a motherly vibe, and was old enough to actually be his mother. Athena just made him feel like a bucket of contradictions.

He wanted to talk with her. At the least, about the trial starting tomorrow. He needed to know much more about her before he invested too much. He needed Gavin-proofing.

But for now, he would continue to analyze the crime scene and any head problems she'd sustained in her fall.

After all, her name is Athena Cykes.

And she's probably fine.

[mediumgayitalian]

At around half past one, Nico gets a Feeling.

He gets feelings a lot. Nothing he can quantify, just something telling him that something is up, somethings wrong. Or something’s about to be. At this point, he’s learned to trust his intuition, based purely on the number of times it has saved his life; a number he’s long since given up counting. (He’s only ignored his gut feelings three times in his life: when Bianca went on her quest, when his father promised not to hurt Percy before the Titan War, and when he went looking for the Doors. He has learned his lesson.)

So when something at the bottom of his stomach tells him to get up, to check things out — he does.

He knows it could be nothing. (The last time he had a Feeling, it turned out that he had placed a book precariously on the edge of his desk, and it had been about to fall. Not exactly world-saving stuff.) But regardless, he steps out of bed, shoves his feet into his shoes, and creeps out of his cabin.

Camp is kind of beautiful at night.

There’s an eerie calmness to it without so many human disasters running about, and the quiet reflects that. All Nico can really hear is the hooting of owls in the distance, the chittering of nocturnal animals and monsters alike, the distant screeches of curfew harpies, and the pleasant crashing of the waves. The air is clean, when he inhales, and he takes the time to hold it in his lungs for a bit, imagining the sweet breath is healing his burned lungs, turning the scar tissue back to something flexible and normal. Whether or not it actually works, he doesn’t know, but it feels nice.

Under the light of the brightly shining new moon and billions of stars, he starts his patrol. Around his own cabin first — there’s nothing, as he expected, the warning doesn’t seem overwhelming like threats tend to be — and then he makes his way around the circuit, checking behind gardens and shrines and inside braziers. He hums quietly as he walks, something preppy and bright the Apollo kids have been hollering for days, and waves to Lady Hestia, sword heavy at his waist.

“Come sit,” she calls, patting the seat next to her.

Nico does.

“Haven’t seen you out at night in a while.”

He hums, toneless this time, leaning back on his hands and mirroring her gaze at the sky.

“Been sleeping, for once.”

“I’m glad.”

He smiles, knowing that she means it. He watches out of the corner of his eye as she picks up his sword, sliding it from his belt loop, and uses it to stoke the flames. She doesn’t seem afraid of it, or wary. To her it’s just a stick of metal. It’s nice.

“You have you been, my Lady?”

She pokes at the embers a few more times, scooping a few to balance at the tip of the blade for a while. It glows with the heat, and he knows he’ll have to sharpen it tomorrow, but he doesn’t mind. Maybe he can do it while Will is in the archery range. It’ll give him an excuse to be at the armoury at the same time, anyway.

“I’ve been well.” She breathes deeply, small smile pulling at her face. “It’s calmer, and more people wave to me. I like it.”

“Good.”

She dismisses him a few minutes later, sending him off with a promise to chat again soon. She doesn’t need to worry about him promising — he makes a point to sit with her at least once a week — but it’s nice to know someone wants his company, so he appreciates it. He leaves with a wave, walking towards the eastern half of the cabins.

Nothing’s amiss. He can hear campers snoring, and see the odd reading light. Malcolm catches his eye as he walks past the Athena cabin and winks, sending a cheeky salute when he sees the sword held loosely in his hands. So far, everything seems fine. He’s beginning to think the Feeling might have simply been about Lady Hestia, so he decides to do one last check around the Big House and then head back.

Of course, that’s where the issue is.

The infirmary lights are always on. They’re dimmer in the night, more of a glow than anything, but there’s an extra brightness streaming out from the windows, and when Nico peeks inside, he sees Will, standing with his back turned at the nurse’s station.

He takes a moment to check his strength, making sure he has the energy for it — dinner last night was pho and he had three bowls, he most definitely does — and sinks into the shadows by the door. He materializes back in the little alcove by the bandage & wraps cabinet, lurking silently while he blinks the dizziness away.

The first thing he registers is soft singing.

He’s facing Will, now, and can see the glow coming from his hands, enveloping a bowl of some kind. He has both hands coated in some dusky pink substance, massaging and gently pounding it against the sides of the bowl, working it through with great care. As his voice gets higher, the glow gets brighter, fading as he dips lower. He sings something about hills and meadows and the breeze, about wing-song, about the sound of flower stems bending in the wind. For a while Nico stands, listening to the melodious ancient Greek, swaying with every pitch and hold. It’s captivating.

Will is almost haunting when he heals.

There’s a divinity in him — in all of them — but he glows when he sings. Not just his hands, and sometimes his head if he puts enough power in his words, but there’s an almost shimmer to the air around him, a shining warp. His skin gets clearer, and his hair goes more metallic, almost, like spun gold rather than blonde. His freckles make his skin into an inverse replica of the night sky, dark specks surrounded by bright empty between them. His long fingers pluck through bright strands of light like a harpist strums their chords; lightly, carefully, skillfully; like a braider weaves their hair. There’s an undeniable age to his magic, a practice that’s visibly replicated millions of times over thousands of years, as if every healer who has come before him links their arms with his, breathes their strength in his lungs. Sometimes, when he does something truly unbelievable, amazingly beyond reason, he flickers — his orange camp shirt fades into a white chiton, or long robes, or a white coat, or a blue tunic. Watching him heal is like watching the sunrise — breathtaking and unique, every time, but powerful in its cyclic archaism.

It takes Nico a long time to realise Will is swaying.

Snapped out of his trance, he begins to notice Will’s long, slow blinks, the unsteady way he stands, the weight he has leaned on the counter. Even his face looks plainly exhausted under the glow, face pillow-creased and eyes bruised, hair mussed, limbs leaden. Footsteps as silent as he can manage, Nico creeps over to the schedule posted by the door, scanning through the scrawled pen ink.

He curses quietly. Will is not supposed to be awake.

There are really only three people who can work the infirmary to its fully capacity, barring Chiron. Kayla, Austin, and Will are the only ones who can magically heal, as much as the volunteers are imperative, so when the camp is in full swing one of them must be stationed at all times. That’s how Will sets it up. A bit of a waste of time, he acknowledges, but Nico knows he has memorized every time a camper who should have been saved. He carries far too much guilt to ever let it happen again, as inconvenient as his rules may be.

Night shift, though, is a need-be basis. If the infirmary is as empty as it is right now, then there truly is no need to keep one of the three of them awake outside their circadian rhythm, staring at nothing. Instead, they take shifts in the on-call room — asleep, but prepared should anything go wrong, should a monster chase a new camper at an odd hour. It’s Will’s turn for on-call. It’s two in the morning. He should be asleep.

And, yet.

Nico recognizes the look in his eyes. There’s a — frailty, to them, a deep-seated, animalistic fear, one he recognises from the hours after his own night terrors. A single-minded panic that cannot be unseated in any logical way, cannot be comforted with any gentle hands.

Nico handles his fear with slashing swords and bruised knuckles. Will, he knows, handles his fear with obsessive, endless preparation.

Knowing full well nothing is going to drag him away from his focus bar actual cardiac arrest, Nico walks right by him. Will doesn’t move. He settles behind him in the old, creaky leather office chair, curling his legs under him and resting his head on the soft arm. He watches Will, watches the almost machine-like movement to his kneading arms, and falls back asleep to his humming.

———

“…Nico?”

He wakes up warm and a little cramped, in the same position he fell asleep. Sun is streaming on from the many issues, blocked from burning his eyes by Will’s hunched frame, facing towards him now, hands and shoulders shaking with equal violence.

“What time is it?”

His voice is croaky and wrecked from hours of singing. Nico is willing to bet his throat is burned as badly as his hands, cooked from non-stop, sun-borne glowing. The divinity that had emanated from him before has abandoned him and he looks young, lost.

“Early,” Nico says softly. He unfolds himself from the chair, stretching slightly — gods, he is going to ache today — and wraps a slow, careful hand around Will’s wrists. “Probably around six, if I have to guess.”

“I don’t remember waking up.”

“That’s okay.”

“I’m tired.”

“That’s okay.”

His breathing is heavy, laboured.

“I don’t —”

Nico squeezes gently. “It’s okay, Will.”

Will swallows and says nothing.

“Come on.”

Carefully, letting Will’s stiff joints set the pace, Nico guides him out of the infirmary. The sun shines brighter as soon as he steps outside, but he doesn’t seem to notice bar a tiny, almost imperceptible flinch at the change in lighting. Nico switches from holding his wrists to laying a hand on the small of his back, half-worried he’s going to fall over.

Luckily, he makes it to the Apollo Cabin upright, although the stairs take them a while. The hinges of the old screen door creak as Nico pushes it open, and he sees both Kayla and Austin, up and dressed, jump.

“…Will?” Kayla asks softly, eyebrows creased in concern. She walks over to him when he doesn’t answer, frozen still, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder. “You okay?”

Will leans — almost hesitantly — into the touch. The same blankness from before clouds his eyes, although this time there’s less of the fear.

“Hey.” Nico walks over to stand in front of him, waiting patiently for him to meet his eyes. In the minutes it takes, he hears Austin pad over, standing opposite to Kayla, hands clenching and unclenching like he can’t decide what to do with them. “You think you can sleep?”

Will doesn’t answer verbally, but drifts after a moment to his bed. Nico follows, helping him out of his shoes and shirt. After a beat of hesitation, Austin hurries over, turning down Will’s sheets and helping him crawl in. Soft guitar music begins to play, and when Nico looks over Kayla is fiddling with the CD player, turning the dials carefully. Without much fanfare, Will’s eyes flutter closed, and his breathing slows to something deep and even. His twitching fingers still.

“I don’t think today’s an activity day,” Nico murmurs. “I checked up on him a while after midnight; he’d been at it for hours. He didn’t stop ‘til sunrise.”

Kayla rubs harshly at her eyes. “Fuck.”

“He’ll be okay,” Austin whispers. He runs a gentle knuckle over Will’s forehead, then turns his careful, imploring gaze to Nico. “You kept an eye on him?”

“Yes.”

“Thank you.”

Nico inclines his head. “Had a feeling.”

“I don’t know what to do,” Kayla admits. “He was —” She trails off, staring at something in the left half of the cabin — the empty half. “He was like this after the Titan War, too. I think he spoke maybe two words for the entirety of September.”

Nico almost can’t imagine it. The very thought of it makes something twinge in his chest, clench in his stomach.

“We’ll figure it out.” He nods, to convince himself as much as Kayla and Austin, who look to him with way more trust than he deserves. “We won’t let it — it won’t get that bad. We’ll help, and if we can’t figure it out we’ll get help. It won’t be as hard as last time.”

It won’t be as hard as last time because there won’t be twelve shrouds, Nico doesn’t say, but he doesn’t need to. Both Kayla and Austin nod, looking at their sleeping brother with firm resolution.

“This time, we’ll be there.”

[genericpuff]

So, I want to confess something. I believe I speak for everyone when I say that the SA in LO is not only poorly written but very mishandled and was unnecessary. I want to point out I am not a SA victim, so I can not say with experience how well the deception was. Though I do know people in real life that were victims, I also don’t want to disclose their stories either. But, here’s the thing. I personally don’t mind SA in the media, if it is handled with care and they portray it as a serious issue!

The problem I have with most media is that shows and stories will either use SA as A. A plot device for romance development. B. Shock value or C. A joke. So many media I’ve watched use SA as any of the three categories (13 Reasons Why and content from Vivziepop being a few that I can think of off the top of my head). The only show I can think of that actually portrays SA seriously and shows real life impact is Tuca and Bride. I also think it’s pretty hypocritical that the media will use SA as long as they fall into any of the three categories, but when you want to show the negative effects of it like in Moral Orel, suddenly you get canceled! Again, Hypocrites! I also don’t think first time writers should write this kind of stuff, and Rachel is no exception. You can tell she didn’t know what she was doing, based on how little importance the SA has on the plot or how it falls into said categories as well. (and the rumors that she didn’t even know it was SA doesn’t help).

Now, that being said I don’t think a SA plot line was a bad idea for this kind of story. Again, the original myth was “The abduction of Persephone” and in some versions, Hades did force himself onto Persephone. And considering Ancient Greece was rife with many stories of such heavy topics, I can see why they would include that. My personal issue with LO’s SA plotline… is Apollo! First of all, while Apollo may have had some questionable relationships in his myths, he never really forced himself on anyone. In fact, the most famous story of him chasing Daphne was only because he was under the influence of Eros, meaning Apollo had no agency in loving Daphne. Second, Apollo had nothing to do with Persephone. They never interacted in any myths. Sure, there was one myth where Apollo asked Demeter for her daughter’s hand and Demeter rejected, but that’s it. The two never had any relationship. So it makes the plot line even more convoluted because of their lack of historical and mythical connection. Though, I do admit I kind of like Apollo and Persephone as a couple (In Rekindled not Lore Olympus), but I know they don’t get together.

Honestly, if Rachel really wanted to do a SA story that would prop up Hades without demonizing anyone, she could have done that! By making Persephone’s assaulter be Zeus instead of Apollo! Hear me out, in some stories, Zeus actually disguised himself as Hades and slept with Persephone, thus it resulted in Zagerus. So, it is canon in a sense that Zeus did SA Persephone. Not only that, but given he had a role to play in the “Abduction of Persephone” where he sold his daughter off to Hades, this makes him even more impactful to the story. He could be the villain instead of Demeter, who wants to use Persephone. And considering Zeus’s love affairs and his god complex (no pun intended) he would believe he was entitled to Persephone and would want to have her as a secret concubine.

Maybe Zeus would be able to learn more about Persephone through Hera and he would decide to set his sights on her. He could try and get closer to her as she is naive and never met the King of Gods, and would use her trust to pounce on her (Because in SA cases, your attacker is more likely to be someone close to you rather than a stranger.) And maybe Zeus would blackmail Persephone so she would have to keep seeing him or else get kicked out of school and be a disgrace to her mother. Then, you could have Hades find out and he would rage against Zeus. Maybe Hades would get Demeter involved and they would team up to punish the King all for the sake of protecting Persephone. Hades would suggest making Persephone his queen for protection, and Demeter would make the world grow cold unless Zeus complies, thus explaining Winter. Zeus would agree to give Persephone to Hades, and she will be under Hades’s protection. But Persephone would still want to be with her mother, so Demeter and Hades make custody arrangements.

Bam! A SA plot line that A. Actually adds to the story and raises stakes. B. Makes a terrifying but complex villain for the story that we all can hate without assassinating his character. C. Have Hades and Demeter come out on top. D. Be historical and mythologically accurate. (I’m also not saying that I wanted SA in LO or LR, nor do I think this version would have made it better, but I personally believe this plot line makes way more sense than: Apollo meeting Persephone in one day and SA her in her sleep.)

I agree with a lot of this, thank you for sharing!! (sorry this is a late response, I didn't want this big analysis to go to waste fdjasklfdsajlk)

But yeah, in essence / on paper the SA plotline in LO would have been fine, especially considering SA is present in just about every Greek myth story, but I don't think Rachel was really cut out to tackle that subject yet, mostly as a writer as all of her writing is very baseless and doesn't have the necessary planning, research, and direction required to depict a subject like that. It takes a lot of sensitivity, self-awareness, and self control, none of which LO has as a narrative or Rachel as a writer.

IMO Apollo being the god of the sun made for a great springboard for him to be like, this self-centered god who was so delusional in his own ego that he couldn't believe Persephone wouldn't want him, that alone was enough to make him out to be a great villain - even with the use of SA, where he couldn't take no for an answer - but then we had to get into the whole "Apollo is gonna use Persephone to overthrow Zeus" crap and it all fell apart from there. Not to mention the story could never decide if Apollo was some nefarious puppet master or just a delusional dumbass, so all the flip-flopping on his motivations led to him becoming a very weak villain.

That said, I will cut her some slack for not having Zeus assault her. Because while it's more accurate to the myths (and character accurate) the story could barely handle Apollo and he's the canon Good Boytm in the myths, imagine it trying to handle an actual serial assaulter?

But that's not me saying it's necessarily a bad idea. I just don't think LO would be able to handle it with Rachel at the helm lol

[randompjofan]

pjo headcanons cuz im bored

•the hephaestus and hecate cabin convinced chiron to let them make demigod-safe phones

•the catch is calling people will attract monsters anyway, so they stick to iris-messaging

•the first app nearly everyone downloaded was insta

•the gods took notice and apollo immediately downloaded it as well to stalk everyone

•most of the gods followed suit

•the iris cabin started an lgbtq+ pinterest page (they go INSANE during pride month)

•nico and piper were the first one to follow them

•reyna's way of coming out as bi was following them

•the romans and the hunters threw a RAGER when she did

•the greeks gleefully joined in

•venus got angry but couldn't do anything about it because bellona threatened to stab her in the gut

•the gods HATE getting injuries that should be fatal because in those moments they always wish they could die

•frank was really confused about lgbtq stuff at first, but he's starting to understand it now

•one year after jasons death, on his birthday, nico asked if hades would be able to resurrect jason since zeus was jason's dad

•hades mentioned this to zeus and at first he said no, but here threatened to make him sleep on the couch for another decade. He agreed.

•the apollo kids have karaoke nights on thursday

•there's also a camp-wide movie night, but sometimes they dont do it because how it works is one cabin must pick a movie and all agree on it

•when it was the hades cabin's turn nico and hazel sparred for either Tangled (nico) or The Princess and the Frog (hazel)

•hazel won, but let nico choose tangled because that way he could make fun of will the whole time

•when it was the poseidon cabin's turn, Percy asked annabeth to choose between finding nemo and moana

•she stood on a chair so she could look down at him, looked him right in the eyes and said "no."

•he got her back later by repeatedly singing the "Where's My Dad" song from finding nemo

•i'll make more movie night hcs later

•reyna and jason act like nico's mom and dad

•the entire apollo cabin has basically adopted nico at this point

•chiron often mistakes nico and will for patroclus and achilles and it makes him so happy that they're basically reincarnated versions of them he's one of their biggest shippers

•chiron has also shipped percabeth since percy arrived at camp no matter how many times annabeth insisted she hated him and he has no regrets

•grover and chiron often argue who the biggest percabeth shipper is and once percy told sally about this she iris-messaged them both and showed them t-shirts that said "#2 percabeth shippers" then turned around to reveal her shirt, which said "#1 percabeth shipper"

•athena and poseidon have agreed to get along until percy and annabeth die

•hades and apollo have also agreed to get along until will dies, as nico has been promised a place in hades's palace already and plans to take will with him

•nico has the worst nightmares out of all the campers by far, but annabeth is a close second

•hazel introduced nico to sanrio and gave him a kuromi plushie

•he has it on his bunk

•frank will sometimes transform into a peregrine falcon so he can visit chb in a matter of two hours

•nico taught hazel how to shadow travel after the war with gaea so she can get to chb at any tima

•will gets mad when she shadow travels, but nico gets even madder

•calypso has major trust issues and she really does want to be close to leo but she has a hard time

•the aphrodite kids have made it their mission to help her out

•on meg's birthday, apollo teleported to her in Lester form to wish her a happy birthday

•meg cried because she thought that apollo had forgotten her

•the hermes cabin caught connor with malcolm pace while staging the rocky horror picture show prank on chiron

•they immediately told the athena cabin about this, and all they said was "we've known for a month."

•the athena cabin is actually really good at telling when people are in love, but the Aphrodite campers are a bit quicker

•ares brags about clarisse and frank ALL THE DAM TIME.

•hades brags about nico and hazel constantly, and many times restates that he actually tried to be a good dad.

•nico will visit the underworld a lot during winter

•persephone always asks him "is your boyfriend here?"

•will decided that since the underworld is nico's second home, he'd visit with him

•things got reaaaaally awkward when he saw persephone (tsats reference)

•one of the first things persephone told him was how she turned him into a dandelion

•percy and annabeth iris-messaged nico at this moment cuz they got bored and laughed their asses off

•While Jason was in Elysium, he met Esperanza Valdez and Emily Zhang. They were actually good friends. He looked for Marie Levesque as well, but Nico told him to stop, and didnt elaborate. He wondered why, but stopped anyway.

•when he told leo and frank about this, they started SOBBING.

•a few weeks after piper started dating shel, they were at a park when piper realized there were karpos in a nearby field. She tried to shoo them away, but Shel just said "oh, those dont really hurt you, its ok." Thats how they found out shel could see through the Mist.

•a lot of people have a crush on rachel at chb and even some at camp jupiter. Rachel knows and when she told annabeth annabeth said "wow, you sound like percy." They practically died laughing.

•nico is actually close to mr. D to the point where he's allowed to play cards with him and mr. D actually calls nico "nico"

•it drives percy insane

•clarisse is really good friends with will as her and her siblings often end up in the infirmary and she feels bad for being rude to michael yew

•she's basically will's mom

•both camps call reyna and clarisse "the in-laws"

•nico will rent out his cabin for group sleepovers and just sleep in the apollo cabin

•one time they had a sleepover with the seven, nico, will, reyna and clarisse (will made her come) and they watched scream 5. During each kill scene frazel walked out of the room, percy, leo and jason watched through their fingers, piper and annabeth made a face every time she was stabbed, clarisse subconsciously mimed each stab while staring intensely at the tv, reyna and nico watched in silence and no one could tell if they liked it or not, and will just sat there labeling all the ways they would probably die and how the hell did Tara carpenter survive

•Nico is actually TERRIFIED of lightning after what happened to his mother and Bianca

•nico still has the statue of hades that bianca gave him

•drew tanaka is actually a decent fighter

•lavinia eventually became immune to the rashes from Poison Oak after seeing her so many times

•the first time will plagued someone was when a hecate camper hid austins saxophone in the Mist out of spite and he had a mental breakdown

•lou ellen made that camper sleep on the lawn

•the archery range is actually for all projectile weapons and the last time the romans visited lavinia got a manubalista bolt lodged in the target

•the valhalla kids visited CHB once

•people could only tell mallory and rachel apart from clothing and voice

•they decided to swap clothes for a day and watch people spiral because they're cruel like that

•alex and nico made shirts that said "glow-in-the-dark boyfriend club" and gave it to will and magnus

•leo met alex. It was horrific.

•hearthstone got flirted with by 6 dryads

•blitzen got frustrated by that

•jack met nico's sword and fell in love

•nico was deeply disturbed by that

•the song Mama's Boy by dominic fike is LITERALLY NICO. FIGHT ME FUCKING FIGHT ME CMON LETS GO-

•the "percy isnt nico's type" jokes DO happen very frequently, but percy doesnt make them, the entire camp does MINUS percy. Percy's just clueless lol

•not a lot of kids in cabin 14 are part if the lgbtqia community, but they are ALLIES TO DEATH.

•the hecate and hermes campers are OBSESSED with halloween

•frank was really intent on getting nico to trust him after he started dating hazel

[trlvsn]

while there are many things to be said about turnabout trump, a thing i feel people often misinterpret is trucy giving the forged evidence to apollo and how it's something that brings her back to the day of zak's disappearance. the thing is, it is an undeniable parallel if we look at it from an outsider's point of view or from phoenix's: a young and clueless attorney receiving evidence from trucy that turns out to be forged; but from trucy's perspective, the situation is actually completely different, and here's why:

1. this time, she is fully aware of the evidence being forged and why she has to give it to the attorney. she is not a small child anymore.

2. the evidence is given to her by her own father, not a stranger (kristoph did give the page to her, if i remember aa4 correctly)

3. most importantly, she is giving the forged evidence to help her father stay, not dissapear. she isn't getting ready to help her dad with a vanishing act - she is there to give the ace and can finally see the trial reaching an end instead of the verdict never being announced.

the trial ends. her father is there for her. justice is served. i don't deny the possibility of trucy still feeling the familiarity of the situation, feeling scared, subconsciously, that her father won't come back yet again, but at the end of the day, this situation is something that helps her reclaim her trust, power, and even ease the guilt she could be feeling for delivering the forged evidence for the first time. in a way, this is also trucy reclaiming her magic, as she delivers the ace by performing a magic trick of sorts. with this action, she says "i didn't know what i was doing then, but now i do and i'm doing it for a good reason". with this action, she says "this is no longer about zak gramarye: my actions are not his and my magic is not his". she ends up getting the gramarye rights by the end of the game, which fits this interpretation rather well; and ace attorney does like reclamation as a subtle theme, so i feel confident in my reading of this.

i only wish the game showed us more of trucy's perspective, but ace attorney has the unfortunate tendency of keeping female characters' issues and events as something that only happens in one case and never gets addressed ever again.

[wowyoulikeflowers]

headcanon list:

(mostly solangelo, but the others are present)

nico ADORES children, and the children adore him right back. he's nervous, at first, that they'll find him weird or creepy, but they all love his powers and ask him so many questions. he very quickly, and easily, becomes the favorite among the campers 12 and under. (nico and estelle become besties, and percy regularly jokes that nico is stealing his little sister from him).

will struggles with romantic gestures, not because he isn't a hopeless romantic, but because he overthinks everything to the point he talks himself out of them. nico, on the other hand, has vague memories of his mother teaching him how to court someone (girls, but all the theories apply regardless), so he has no issue with being romantic.

Sally Jackson is the biggest ally you'll ever meet. she's been decimating bigots since she was a teenager, and to this day, will verbally spar with any xenophobe. paul adores this about her and is her little cheerleader, holding her purse or earrings or shoes, whatever she deems necessary to have him hold.

nico was terrified to come out to Sally bc she's the closest thing he has to a mom, and so he's shaking when he tells her he's dating will. she just smiles at him and asks nico to tell her about will. later, when he leaves, feeling so light he could float, she pulls him into a tender hug and softly thanks him for trusting her. nico goes back and cries in will's arms from relief.

percy and nico make "not your type" jokes, but only after they have an in-depth conversation where they both apologize for their mistakes and wrong-doings against the other over the years. it's during this conversation that percy comes out to nico as bi, and it completely changes his worldview, bc it's one thing to be told you're not alone, and another to actually see it.

piper has made her peace with being a daughter of aphrodite, but she finds it hilarious to continue being "upset" by it. she'll make jokes, like, "ugh, if only my mother was a USEFUL godly parent" and the other campers will stare at her terrified while she giggles. aphrodite is never mad about this bc she knows emotions and can feel how piper is happy and content with her parentage.

nico, contrary to the belief that he doesn't feel emotions, is actually a very emotional person. he feels everything to the extreme, and started just shutting emotions out as a coping mechanism that was only ever encouraged by minos.

the most powerful demigods tend to look the most similar to their godly parent's chosen form. percy is a great example of this, as he's constantly referred to as a "mini-poseidon". nico is another, though he gets his eyes from his mom. a surprising one that no one remembers is will, who looks just like his father's preferred form.

(I can't remember if I read this somewhere else or if I dreamt this up) continuing with the will is powerful campaign, with apollo's children, there's an easy way to figure out how powerful they are. each of his partners appeals to one of his domains, and his children almost always are most proficient in said domain. for example, kayla knowles: her mortal father is an Olympic archery coach, and she is most proficient in archery. will is the first child of his to break that pattern in a century or so, and is his most powerful kid since asclepius. this is easily told by his mother, naomi, appealing to the music domain, but will having his proficiency be in healing; especially since he's incredibly talented with said healing powers.

nico has always been an ally, even in the 30s. he never understood why people were considered lesser bc of their skin color, and was never given an answer that made sense whenever he asked. he especially never liked how people talked about women, because his mama and bia were (and are) his heroes, so how on earth could they be lesser than him?

[khaire-traveler]

Deities to help with gender dysphoria?

Hey there! I'm currently on an Internet break, but seeing as how I recently reblogged something related to being trans (particularly about hateful blogs that are vile in every conceivable way), I figured I'd answer this ask now rather than later to hopefully help others out as well.

In truth, I feel that you should be able to feel comfortable turning to any of the gods you worship for these things, but that's mostly because I strongly value comfort and safety within spirituality. The gods that I have personal experience with, however, and that I've heard are the most helpful with these issues would be as follows (I'll make a list):

***PLEASE KEEP IN MIND THAT THIS IS MOSTLY UPG AND MY PERSONAL EXPERIENCES WITH THESE GODS***

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Hellenic Pantheon

• Dionysus - one of his epithets is literally Androgynos (androgynous) to comment on how he breaks the gender binary and defies expectations (as well as to emphasize that he is very beautiful, but that's more of a historical/cultural thing for the ancient Greeks); he has been one of the most helpful deities when it comes to my transition, and I've always felt extremely comfortable opening up to him about my personal problems and feelings that I wouldn't tell anyone else; he will always listen to you, and there is an air of understanding that I don't always feel with other gods; he really helps you feel at-home in your own skin and will encourage you to dress and act in ways that make you feel happy, comfortable, and safe; something that I seriously love about him is that you will always feel loved when you confide him, and he will go out of his way to remind you that Dionysus stands for the outcasts, for those who people look down on for defying the strict "rules of society"; he will always support you in your endeavor to be and embrace yourself and be right be your side, no matter who stands against you

• Athena - they don't have any epithets relating to this, but based on personal experience, Athena has always been extremely encouraging and supportive throughout my transition; they instill confidence in oneself and are great at helping you feel secure in your transition (like, getting rid of self-doubt regarding gender identity and such, but they're also great at helping you discover what feels right to you if you're unsure); they are also great at helping you identify what triggers your dysphoria and any behaviors/thoughts that you have that may contribute to the feeling; if you struggle with how others view you, Athena is great at encouraging you to focus more on how you perceive yourself and learning how to not take the words of others to heart

• Hermes - I cannot stress enough how extremely supportive and compassionate he has always been; I've heard from many other trans worshippers as well that Hermes is extremely good to interact with when they're having a moment of dysphoria or doubt; he will reassure you, and every single time, I swear he knows exactly what to say to make you feel better, especially if you're having negative thoughts about yourself; he is seriously the best hype man out there as well, if you're ever in need of someone who will boost you up; he will always encourage you to trust your own judgement and will insist that only you know what's truly best for yourself

• Apollo - He tends to be very effeminate in the way that he presents himself, even in ancient Greek culture, and for a lot of people, they find comfort in this; he is extremely supportive during transitions, and I've heard from many worshippers that he will challenge a lot of your negative beliefs about yourself directly; he is the type of god I would suggest if you're looking to work through these dysphoric feelings and, hopefully, get rid of them ultimately; the hard work of that can be extremely intense, I will not lie, and I honestly recommend seeking professional support alongside the support that Apollo can provide you with to ensure that you have all the help you need throughout this process; aside from that, Apollo is a wonderful guide throughout the often scary process that is finding and learning to love yourself; he will never leave you high and dry, and will support you for as long as you desire his support

• Artemis - As a literal goddess of transition, Artemis is fantastic for navigating through the various trials and changes of being trans, whether that be physically or emotionally; similar to Apollo, she defies gender expectations by often presenting herself in a very masculine way which can be a comfort to many people; despite what I often see online Artemis can actually be extremely soothing and comforting, providing you reassurance when you need it the most; she is fantastic for grounding yourself and finding inner stability; I find her to be very passionate and determined, but if you need a calm energy, she's very good at adjusting to whatever you need in the moment; she will encourage you to be yourself without shame as well as help you not care what others think/how others perceive you

• Aphrodite - being the goddess of love, she is AMAZING if self-love is something you specifically struggle with; in ancient Greece, there have also been depictions of her with a penis, so many worshippers believe her to be trans herself; she has been a massive assist for me in learning to love and embrace myself and my gender identity, and something she's been especially helpful with is accepting my physical body the way that it is, to a certain extent; she is extremely gentle, compassionate, and encouraging, and her inviting energy makes it easy to open up to her about how you're feeling; if you tell her you have a problem you'd like to work on, she gets on it immediately, and I personally noticed her presence a lot more in my life even just days after requesting her help

Norse Pantheon

• Loki - This may be a somewhat obvious entry, but Loki is insanely helpful when it comes to anything related to gender identity and self-acceptance; being a shapeshifter, Loki is not bound by the constraints of gender and has even been shown to have a lot of gender fuckery within mythos; Loki helped me come to realize that I identify as non-binary masc rather than fully male; Loki also helped me embrace the more uncommon factors of my gender, as I personally like to go by fae/faer when I can; I haven't gone to Loki much for my dysphoria, but based on what I've heard many worshippers say over and over again, they are a miracle-worker when it comes to anything gender-related

• Freyja - I don't personally have much experience with her, but seeing what worshippers of her say, I felt she was important to mention; similarly to Aphrodite, she has a domain in love and that includes self-love; she is amazing at embracing yourself for everything you are, and I've been told she's especially good at help with physical dysphoria; she seems to be very kind and loving but definitely has a fiery passion to her that cannot be mistaken; if that energy might be too intense for you, I'd imagine it's not an issue to ask her to come across with a gentler energy

• Freyr - From what I've been told, he has a very fatherly and gentle presence which can provide great support throughout your transition; he is wonderful at grounding and replenishing energy; when you need someone to reassure you that everything will be ok, Freyr is a wonderful god to go to; he will make you feel accepted and loved exactly the way you are which is how you deserve to feel

• Odin - I don't personally worship Odin, but I've been told he's a great ally to have when exploring gender; similarly to Loki, he is a shapeshifter; he is very supportive of transfolk, and I've heard that worshipper find a lot of solace in him during difficult times; he is a great advisor as well, and if you are willing, he can help you work on understanding your triggers and learning to cope with them; he's definitely really good with the self-reflection aspect of coping with dysphoria

• Thor - Again, I don't personally worship Thor, but I've been told he's fantastic at he's really helpful with self-confidence and self-assurance; he's great at providing you with stability as well and can be a rock-solid support during the most difficult times; if you're looking for a deity who will ground and support you, I would highly recommend Thor

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Since I don't worship many Norse deities, most of my information was from @broomsick who is a very knowledgeable and experienced Norse pagan! I recommend checking out their content, if Norse paganism interests you. I wanted to include the Norse pantheon, though, to leave the option open.

To my followers, please feel welcome to add your own experiences and thoughts/opinions! 🧡

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I hope this answered your question and gave you some good options! Best of luck to you as you embark on your journey. ☺️

[ruegarding]

Hi! How are you doing? Honestly, I had a bit of an obsession with Will after The Blood of Olympus mostly because he was a blank slate which meant that he could be anyone and anything especially since Apollo is the god of so many things, so I'd look for Will Centric content. And they were so infuriating because Will would constantly hate Percy for "being better than everyone else," "Killing Michael Yew," "Not trusting Nico." Like Percy did trust Nico, and he trusted him with his plan to defeat Kronos (which worked!) Sure there was some miscommunication but Nico came through for Percy. And Michael's death was not Percy's fault. Percy had to destroy the bridge to stop the monsters. Like to me, it feels like Will centric fics use the justification of Will to hate on Percy without anything being resolved, particularly towards Michael's death without addressing the fact that it was war and no matter how tragic it was, Percy couldn't save everyone. Anyways, HOO is fascinating. I've read somewhere on Tumblr that due to the fact that RR overpowered the five new heroes, that he had to leave the smarts to Annabeth. Which is very true and has detriments to literally every other character but especially Jason and Percy, who were essentially military leaders at 15 and 16! And like would it killed for Piper, Leo and Frank to not have superpowers? And did Hazel really need the Mist? I think it would have been fascinating if Annabeth was the one to learn it, because maybe it would have balanced out the whole power spectrum at the very least because RR insisted on giving everyone superpowers. And it's sad how neither Percy nor Annabeth have a perspective in the final book because they had just returned from Tartarus and because they're the characters we've known for years. RR just shunted them after Tartarus and Percy during the Final Battle. He is the son of the Stormbringer, he can literally summon hurricanes, plus if he really puts his mind to it, he can cause earthquakes. Like the Final Battle is where he couls have shined and yet, he did not. HOO was interesting but so much of it was a disappointment.

hi! yeah, i agree. w the way hoo (hoh and boo especially) are written there's a lot of percy bashing for things he didn't even do or things that are completely removed of nuance (thank u rick for that). like i've said before, percy has plenty of flaws, but instead of using any of them well rick made him completely ooc, and there is a definite bandwagon of hate from ppl for it. unfortunately it makes will's character a bit unapproachable in fandom.

annabeth w mist powers is interesting. i don't think i've seen that before. it could extend past being just another power and be a window into how annabeth imagines her perfect world. but yeah, there's a definite power-scaling issue w hoo, not just w the demigods, but w the antagonists, as well.

i think one of the biggest failures of hoo is that it sets up that there needs to be seven main characters—the seven of prophecy, even—and then fails to deliver these seven consistent main characters. like, the whole reason nico, reyna, and hedge end up delivering the statue is bc the seven (as in, all seven of them) have to finish the quest, but then we don't have perspectives from these characters rick just established as necessary, and rick keeps writing them out of the narrative, and characters who weren't even part of the seven come across as more important. it's a mess.

honestly, it would've been better if the seven did split up to bring the statue to chb, bc then, at least, they would all feel narratively important. instead, it's difficult to tell if we have seven main characters, nine main characters, or three main characters w some side povs. this makes it near impossible to have consistent, well-done arcs and leaves us w. whatever boo is.

[aficionadoenthusiast]

I absolutely hate these kinds of posts so I thought I'd do it to see first hand how many people actually like it and care about other people's opinions on their ships so...

my arbitrary ratings of non canon pjoverse relationships and why I think they would never work (or would) (scroll down for canon)

perachel: 3/10 nothing but platonic vibes, their brief stint felt more like an experiment than genuine romantic feelings or attraction; they both deserved better

percico: 1/10 a reiteration of an earlier post: their relationship would get bogged down by unshared feelings and grief, plus nico's crush was just a crush, and percy never had feelings in the first place

perlypso: 0/10 their whole interaction was percy being half dead and calypso being manipulated, not to mention she cursed him

pereyna: 2/10 any het relationship with reyna feels icky to me, she just seems so queer coded (which makes sense cause she literally joined an ace club), and percy was so focused on annabeth when they first met it just doesn't seem fair to either of them

pipercy: 4/10 this is a FRIENDSHIP I wanna see them figuring out they're bi together so much platonic potential

jercy: 7/10 honestly if I had to put these two with anyone else, I would choose this ship solely for the tension in mark of athena and that an alternate ship name is person

percypollo: 0/10 icky, pedophilic, and honestly kinda homophobic. percy would never enter a relationship with a god anyway

percy/literally any god: 0/10 see percypollo

lukercy: -1/10 imo there is no way to write this in a way that's not abusive, predatory, and just bad in general. i will not take the "enemies to lovers" storyline for this one either because there are some things that just aren't redeemable, and i consider luke's actions irredeemable. plus both their histories with annabeth make this ship very, very icky

pipabeth: 9/10 favorite non canon pairing, I can totally see a threesome with Percy, these two have such a great dynamic, only minus a point because I love percabeth too much

lukabeth: 0/10 sexist, icky, just all around a red flag

jasabeth: 2/10 nothing but platonic vibes

reynabeth: 4/10 they would be so powerful together, but feelings and emotional skills would be their undoing

jeyna: 0/10 see pereyna

leyna: 2/10 sibling vibes and see pereyna

theyna: 8/10 see reynabeth, but also I would love to see their similarities come to a head when they actually have to confront their feelings

apollo/reyna: 0/10 this is a thing?? ew???? reyna has such a huge issue with authority and the gods in general, it would never work, and see pereyna and percypollo

pipeyna: 7/10 would be good, but I need more info, though I think it would bring piper's jealousies to a nice full circle, especially if it was used in a way that helps piper figure out her sexuality

liper: 3/10 sibling vibes, I do not like

jiper: 5/10 that's right y'all, this isn't canon anymore! cute while it lasted, but they were completely made up and forced together by hera. that does not make a good, trusting relationship where one party is missing crucial details and the other remembers things that didn't happen, honestly i would have much rather they just ended it in lost hero when they realized hera was manipulating them

thaluke: 3/10 so much complicated history, I see them as ross and rachel from friends only worse

valgrace: 6/10 platonic mostly, but I can see it turning into something; I think they could definitely be good for each other; would love to see some healing centered stuff for them

valdangelo: 0/10 they barely interact, and their personalities are not the cute "opposites attract" it is straight up "we are both intensely traumatized, but in different, incredibly clashing ways"

haleo: 4/10 I can see it, but with sammy, it's just too complicated

fraleo: 5/10 I like the tension, but ultimately their personalities would clash too much

frazeleo: 10/10 this might be the only non canon ship I really wish was canon. separate, they are boring and clash with each other so much, but I think having the three of them together would provide a buffer when necessary while also keeping things fun and interesting

jasico: 3/10 very much a sibling relationship, seems to me like they were just shoved together because they were there

tratie: 10/10 floors me that they aren't canon

sally/poseidon: 2/10 sure it would work but she is an independent woman who wants less a man and more someone to love her and be there for her that isn't her son

ruegard: 8/10 would 100% ship it if i didn't love beckengard so much, plus i love the patrochilles parallels here

canon ships in order from least favorite to favorite:

zeus/hera: -10/10 sucks ass, their relationship is built on mistrust and a forced marriage, hera is quite literally shackled while zeus does whatever the hell he feels like while hera takes her anger out on anyone but him

god's/any of their affairs: 0/10 there's a reason none of them lasted

piper/shel: 4/10 another reiteration: ig it could be something, but it was literally a few paragraphs, and we know piper is experimenting with her sexuality, so it could be anything, not just a permanent romantic ship

caleo: 4/10 calypso needs some time to figure herself out and not be chained to a person or place; maybe they can try again after they both have some more life experience

frazel: 6/10 cute, but they're still pretty young, even by pjo standards, and compared to the other canon ships they're kinda dull imo, but i do love the awkwardness

beckengard: 9/10 absolutely love it, wartime romance, tension, dying for each other, trying for elysium for each other, only minus a point because one of them was a spy

sally/paul: 9/10 i love it, i'm so glad sally finally found a decent man, only minus a point because...adults

gruniper: 9/10 very cute, would be 10/10 but the start of their relationship felt kinda wonky to me like rick just wanted to pair grover with someone

solangelo: 10/10 adorable, checks all my boxes - opposites attract, healing from trauma, one extrovert one introvert, there is absolutely no downside

percabeth: 11/10 the OGs, the ship i use as a standard for all of my other ships no matter the fandom, still my absolute favorite ship, there was not a single bad track, they are so good for each other

[taxkha]

what’s ur favorite klapollo AU?

I HAVE SO MANY, so first of all of course the ice skating one, just. them dancing together romantically on the ice but one other that I havent shared on here that I love dearly is one where Apollo is a musician too So he releases his music via Youtube and aside from his songs not much is known about him, he does some other stuff like Q&A every now and then but its mostly his music Apollo used to have terrible social anxiety in this AU due to past bullying in high school and middle school and while it did get much better he has pretty severe trust issues so Klavier discovers his music on YT and is really into it and one evening Apollo is in a conbini late at night, trying to reach something on a higher shelf and Klavier happens to also be there who then helps him much to Apollos annoyance because uhm, I could have done that myself!! and they talk briefly with Klavier mentioning that Apollos voice sounds familiar and Apollo gets really startled and is like uh, we definitely dont know each other. bye. and then he feels the scene so later when Klavier is home he listens to one of Apollos songs again and then it hits him the little guy in that conbini was him!! and yeah I could go on about this au, it was one of the first I came up with and I really want to draw something for it at some point, I love it so much.

[artish-boi]

saw ur post about apollo being defense and YESYESYES this is a hill i will die on. i love klavier defendant as much as the next guy but apollo as the defendant has so many possibilities...plus the angst of klavier experiencing someone else close to him arrested for murder. i love phoenix as the lawyer but i raise you--athena, who has faith in apollo even though apollo struggled to have faith in her

Ooooooooooo especially if this happens after dd but before soj

I love this so much you're so right anon

Which would also mean that Athena actually gets a case for herself, and that the fun dynamic between Athena and Apollo is expanded and deepened. I still think that Trucy would be the weird girl for this case, because she would end up inserting herself in anyways, she's keeping her bit of family close.

Trucy and Athenas dynamic would be so fun to explore, since Athena, while chaotic, is going to follow the law, she's going to go about things the legal way even in the most desperate of situations, whereas Trucy is not above breaking the law to protect what she holds dear, as shown by her giving Apollo the card and her faking her kidnapping. For Athena, the law was her only hope, for Trucy, the law slowly destroyed the lives of those around her.

And then obviously Athena would use the mood matrix, which would be incredible to see used on Apollo. I can also see Apollo being incredibly secretive about the details of the case, still not trusting Athena, but eventually giving in, possibly after some sort of "therapy" done by Athena unpacking why Apollo has trust issues, or by Trucy nudging it out of him.

Anyways, this would give a great chance for the WAA to actually,,, have established dynamics between them that are deeper than the few lines provided.

[giggly-moon]

jumping onto the epic the musical oc train with my own babygirl Melia <3

- a seer along with a daughter of apollo, she inherited some of his powers surrounding prophecies, healing, light and music. she joins the crew a little bit after the war and some time after she escaped a shitty abusive arranged marriage (with a little bit of husband murdering), sneaking onto their ship and only revealing herself after they’ve already set out to sea again and now they’re stuck with her

- at first it’s hard for them to believe she’s actually a seer, because she does not at all act like you’d expect a seer to act. she’s too much of a coy, mischievous little troublemaker to be an all-knowing seer, right? nope.

- another thing she’s inherited from her father is that she’s very good with her words and knows how to use them to her advantage. she’s a very good liar and actor and will sweet talk whoever she can to get what she wants, acting all sweet and innocent to hide the fact that she’s actually little gremlin. she’s a tad manipulative but she never does it in a malicious way, it’s all about survival, baby.

- that being said, she also has some pretty bad trust and vulnerability issues. she’s practiced her whole life to hide what she’s really feeling or thinking, masking it with her smug and unbothered attitude. her acting skills are more of a defense mechanism.

- i feel like she and elpenor would have quite a bit in common, since elpenor joined the war at a very young age and melia was married off to some asshole at a very young age as well. so they both kinda feel like their childhoods were stolen from them and they never got to truly experience being a kid.

- the name melia means “honey”, which i initially chose just because i thought it was cute but now i think it could definitely be a reference to the way she acts all sweet and warm, like honey. but it’s also a huge inspiration for her color scheme, how she has a lot of the same colors as her father but her overall color palette would have more darker colors, consisting of colors like browns, oranges, and gold/yellows

- “honey” can also be used as a lil nickname for her

- she’s able to sense things relating to energies and spirits, and can pick up on the god’s powers and influence over things. like being able to immediately sense that odysseus is a warrior of athena. she’s also able to sense when danger is near

- due to her father being a god of music, certain energies that she picks up on can actually sound like music to her. like how in epic everyone has their own instrument or melodic motif, to her everyone’s energy or aura has a unique “song” to it if she pays enough attention to it. and like i said she can sense when danger is near, as in she can literally hear the danger motif in a sense.

- she may be a seer but she’s still pretty inexperienced with interpreting prophecies. smaller ones tend to be more straightforward, but big important ones can be very vague and overwhelming and full of metaphors and whatnot, a lot of her bigger prophecies she receives in her dreams and dreams tend to be rather confusing.

- she has these sun related markings all around her body that normally look like they’re just a somewhat darker shade than her actual skin tone, but when she uses her powers like receiving a big prophecy or healing someone then they all glow a soft golden color

- she’s not much of a fighter, she relies more on her words and her charm rather than physical strength or combat skills, but i feel like she would naturally be very swift and graceful and light on her feet. she’s also a very good dancer

- she and apollo don’t really have the closest relationship, but they do love each other and apollo tries his best to connect with her when he can, but she’s got too many walls built up so he’s often left unsure on how to get through them. she and hermes are pretty close though, he is her uncle after all and they have a very similar penchant for mischief and trickery, so he checks in on her quite often and he even aided her in the task of killing her husband.

- she does have her softer moments when she’s alone with someone (maybe even multiple people) that she trusts and feels comfortable with, where she lets the mask slip and some of her more genuine feelings start showing through. and when she’s close enough with someone then she’s very physically affectionate

- when it comes to tickling, she is a force to be reckoned with. she may look small and harmless and like she wouldn’t be able to win very many tickle fights, but what she lacks in strength she makes up for in being smart and crafty.

- plus she is an evil teaser, she just searches for whatever type of teases will be the most effective on someone and when she does she is absolutely ruthless.

- she’s also very good at convincing people to help her get revenge on someone (or just wreck someone for no particular reason), either by blackmailing them or pulling out the puppy eyes, especially when it comes to someone who would be rather difficult for her to take down on her own.

- she’s usually down for helping someone else wreck someone as well, granted that it won’t obviously come back to bite her. she just loves the mischief

- one of her favorite things to do is to tickle someone and pretend that it was an accident, she thinks it’s so funny how they get all frustrated trying to call her out on it

- she honestly managed to keep her own ticklishness a secret from the others for an impressive amount of time, mostly because when she first met them she made sure she gave the impression that she was not one to be messed with. but as she warmed up to them and they warmed up to her they quickly found out just how not intimidating she actually is.

- she honestly prefers being on the giving end where she has at least some control over the situation, but as time goes on she starts realizing more and more that being on the receiving end isn’t so bad either. she doesn’t like being vulnerable in front of others, but in this case it’s a kinda good type of vulnerable yknow? so she warms up to it rather quickly

- that doesn’t mean she won’t put up a fight though, cause she absolutely will. she’s still a huge tease whether she’s the lee or the ler, constantly taunting you and trying to make you falter and get any kind of reaction out of you. as always if she can’t gain the upper hand physically then she’ll use her words instead.

- she’s not the easiest to fluster, as she’s taught herself to hide her emotions pretty damn well, but it isn’t impossible to get that shell to crack.

- something new that she discovered about herself is that the markings on her skin that glow when she uses her powers will also glow when she genuinely laughs, which is something that she finds particularly embarrassing. the markings are also extra ticklish, no matter what part of the body they’re on

- she’s very ticklish pretty much everywhere but her worst spots would probably be her ribs, sides and neck

[maverickbackalley]

Someone already asked about Krisnix soooo,,, Klapollo perchance?

Sorry for the late reply! As a reminder to others, this is in reference to the brutal ship honesty post!

As for Klapollo: I love them. I hate them? I'm conflicted. I love the possibility between them but rarely how it's executed. It's another one of those ships that has a really particular balance to it to feel believable and, if I have to be brutally honest, many people don't do it Justice for me personally. Now don't get me wrong, I'll still inhale klapollo content like a malnourished kirby, but that doesn't mean I necessarily agree with all of it.

I've already presented my general Klavier thesis to the class, so I'll try not to be a broken record, but the man is so complex and I absolutely hate when people just write him off as dumb, whiny, or a purely overdramatic spoiled brat of a Rockstar. (Don't even get me started on cutting his hair directly after 4-4 I will chew through asphalt i stg.) I feel like these men both have hard-stop trust issues at this point and neither one is just going to uwu ;) their way into a relationship with the other in the first place. I admittedly don't have a read on Apollo as well as I feel I've been able to get a general grasp of Klav, but one thing Apollo is not is the shy little pushover some people make him out to be. He's a short king and I will always defend his right to hold himself at least 3ft taller than he actually is. That man is TOUGH and tenacious, even if hilariously awkward at times. I love that ferocity about him and how well it opposes the overly sociable way Klavier presents himself to the public. They both carry a tremendous amount of weight on their shoulders and it's not something either can "are you lost, babygirl~?" their way into a relationship with freely. That shit would need to be hashed out and a lot of healing would need to happen--both on an individual and a general relationship level--before it could get serious. I think they could be a great support for one another and balance out their personalities wonderfully in the long run, but I think the long game is where some klapollo shipping falls short, if that makes any sense?

I do love seeing art of them in general though so I'm admittedly way more flexible with what's portrayed with this pair than I would be with some others. Seeing or reading GOOD art of them that I agree with wholeheartedly is more like being handed my favourite ice cream in a waffle cone AND all my favourite toppings. I can still eat and enjoy the ice cream plain and out of a bowl, BUT DAMN do those extras make it that much better. Fuck me up.

As always though, people can (and should!) enjoy, create, and cater content and characters however they want. I want to ensure my saying all this doesn't make anyone think otherwise. Do whatever makes you and your blorbos happy, y'all.

Thanks for the ask and for playing!

[melloggd]

Review: Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney

Capcom • Capcom • 2007 • Nintendo DS Read it on Backloggd: (x)

So, here we are. Having written my Dual Destinies review (one of my favorites I've written, still) and almost being finished with Spirit of Justice, I feel its about time I toss my hat into the ring regarding AA4, possibly the most discussed Ace Attorney game of them all. There's a lot to unpack with AA4, and a lot of different ways to unpack it.

After AA1/2/3 wrapped up as a pretty much perfect, concluded trilogy, the 4th game had to be one to really break some sort of new ground, to not just seem as if the franchise was being stretched thin. And to outsiders looking in, be assured: They did far more than just give us a new protagonist. You meet Phoenix only to find out that he's completely changed, the perception of what makes a good defense lawyer has changed, your relation to the prosecution has changed, the story being told and, indeed, the very world of the game has shifted wholly. Its a remarkably ambitious game: One that, rather than just telling another story of a new character's growth like the old trilogy did, chose to readjust the lens of the series to focus far more on the law world at large, whilst subverting player expectations along the way.

I'll drop the dramatics and be blunt: In terms of ambition, ideas and themes, AA4 ranks as possibly my favorite game in the series. But as the finished game we got, I consider it the least enjoyable game in the series I've played.

Yet I can't even be sure if that's a bad thing. Because with so many of the issues I take with the game, there's a fascinating viewpoint that changes it into an interesting positive that also fits right in with the game's general direction of…well, misdirection, and subversion. Simply put, its an artsy game. For example, I noted halfway through my playthrough that the game's repertoire of characters are all mostly annoying, mean, or hard to work with, which leads to me as a player feeling miffed. Yet at the same time, Apollo is living in a new age of distrust and darkness in the legal world. He's living in an age where few feel like they can trust in others anymore, because people like Kristoph who desire results far above truth or fairness rule the justice system: The idea of "evidence" is so easily manipulated, that anyone can escape justice. Thus, Apollo's unable to have his perfect storybook journey of growth and support like Phoenix had because the world around him has changed to be hostile. So, is it really right of me to complain about the game doing what it sets out to do exceptionally well?

On the topic of Apollo himself, its very interesting that he himself is such a passive and static figure throughout most of the game, which underwhelmed me at first. But like I said: This isn't a character-driven story like the Trilogy, so is Apollo's lack of focus a BAD thing? Is the game trying to subvert what came before, rather than running with the tried-and-true optimistic hero's journey, a bad thing? Its a lot of these dilemmas I run into when thinking about the game, and its the reason why I respect it so highly despite the actual process of playing it being a lot more middling than the rest of the series in my eyes.

With all that being said, for as much intent as the game may otherwise have, it IS still Ace Attorney and comes with all the pros and cons of that. The animation is gorgeous, music is stellar, most of the overall mysteries are still pretty fun to unravel, and the whole gameplay of untangling testimonies is as fun as ever. The great fundamentals are still here and keep it enjoyable to play to a degree, and you can even sort of tell a new director is at the helm with this project.

Mitsuru Endo, previously a game designer first and foremost on games like Breath of Fire and Sengoku Basara, really rubs off his love for new gameplay systems and quirks in this game. Like usual for the series though, these systems end up being a mixed bag. Investigating evidence can be pretty fun and is a natural fit for the series, and Percieving is a cool and distinct power, iconic to Apollo. Yet then you have stuff like Ema's Forensics minigames, which feel really out of place and are uninteresting to engage with. There's no puzzle to them, just a good ol' DS touchscreen game. You get the feeling a lot of these things, and the systems exclusive to the third and fourth case, were added as a novelty, as fun toys for the player to engage with rather than being anything substantial…yet at the same time, as a game themed around magic tricks, isn't that heightened interactivity also part of the point?

In terms of writing and general direction, the main thing I think Takumi's games (those being the Ace Attorney Trilogy and The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles) are worse at than his peers' is linking cases together to form a cohesive whole. Takumi excels in writing amazing and deviously clever singular cases, but in all his games its as if he can't resist including one or two bonus cases solely for how cool their mysteries are, rather than thinking of how their inclusion will affect the pacing of the game in its totality. Samurai, Big Top, Masked, Recipe, a lot of the individual mysteries in Ghost Trick, Speckled Band, Clouded Kokoro, the first two cases entirely in The Great Ace Attorney 2…don't get me wrong, I think his works are almost universally fantastic, but at times they can feel disjointed to progress through due to his unashamed love of "filler".

Under Endo's directing, meanwhile, it does feel like effort was placed on giving all cases purpose, reigning in Takumi's style of writing just enough to get the best of both worlds. All cases have substantial meaning, yet are able to be as zany and clever as Takumi always loves to write them. Beyond being a crazy case of solving several crimes at once, 4-2 serves to highlight how much Phoenix has changed and how Trucy helps him. 4-3 features a murder that takes place during a series of live stage performances, asking you to rewatch its footage to catch specific details related to witness testimony. At the same time, it also has a great focus on Klavier as a character, and the corrupt police-force that's been able to thrive in this new age, asking questions on if the law is always just in what it stands for. Yet that being said, we run back to the original issue of fun: Despite its cool themes and depth, 4-3 remains the worst case in any Ace Attorney game to actually play, both because of poor gameplay pacing, but also because the writing doesn't feel fleshed out enough to properly convey its brilliant ideas.

The lack of Psyche-Lockes as well honestly destroys the fun of investigating, and the pacing across all three cases featuring investigations is honestly dreadful. The only substitute present for the lack of Psyche-Lockes is the aforementioned mind-numbing forensics minigames, which do little to help things. Now, I noted in my Dual Destinies review that that game also had underwhelming gameplay, but it to me was salvaged by still having a rock solid, well-paced story pace where things were always happening. The game lacks Psyche-Lockes (for most of it) as well but makes up for it with a steadier stream of discoveries, more interesting 3D crime scene investigations, and so on. Due to AA4s insistence on finding meaning in the mundane, it ends up far less fun to play.

So, its a really tough call. I don't think AA5 or 6 are as ambitious or nuanced in what they want to convey as AA4, yet but they make up for it by having more engaging story events and better pacing across the board, leading to a more enjoyable experience for me. They're stories that are told in a tighter and more fun way than AA4, yet it feels wrong to label the game as "the worst Ace Attorney!!" because, again, it tries so hard and has such a unique flair as by far the most artistic game in the series.

Had this been the final Ace Attorney as originally intended, it would've been an impactful note to end on. But I am glad we did get more games in the series, and it led to great things. The murky law world of AA4 begins to heal across the events of AA5, and AA6 gives you an insight into just how badly it could have escalated, emphasizing a theme of preparing the new generation to solve the issues that are inevitably going to occur through the old generation's stubbornness and evil. Apollo finally becomes a character with agency and goals, Trucy's relationship to the Gramarye's is given a sweet bookend, we get to see how Edgeworth and Klavier handle the growingly unjust law world, Ema is, there, and Phoenix takes on the mentor role he was destined to do.

What I'm saying is: I'm really happy with how AA4, 5 and 6 turned out as a trilogy, even though it makes AA4's ambition stick out in hindsight, and now just exists as "that one weird game" rather than "the crazy rug-pull finale of the series". Despite my grievances with it, I do still love AA4, and I'm glad its resonated with so many people. But its overambition alongside its stumbles, from pretty shallow gameplay additions to bad pacing, keep me from loving it wholesale and having it click entirely. Simply put, a lot of its "but its like this way on purpose"-isms just don't land with me the way they do in games like Suda51's work. Yet it remains Ace Attorney at its core, and the simple fact that they even tried in a series otherwise aiming for as much mass appeal as this one, is worth so much respect. Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney is forever going to be a standout game in the series, and for me that's both for better and for worse. Basically, I'm just glad it exists, even if its not for me.

[Play Time: 35 Hours] [Key Word: Overzealous]

[mariacallous]

It’s pretty easy to piss people off on Reddit. Less so to piss off seemingly everyone on the platform.

Still, Reddit’s management has succeeded in doing just that as it weathers protests over its decision to charge for access to its API. That ruling risks putting the company in a death spiral as users revolt, the most dedicated community caretakers quit, and the vibrant discussions move to other platforms.

The company’s changes to its data access policies effectively price out third-party developers who make mobile applications for browsing Reddit; two of the most popular options, Reddit Is Fun and Apollo, which together have over 41 million downloads, are both shutting down. After some initial backlash from users and disability advocates who said Reddit’s changes would adversely affect accessibility-focused apps aimed at people with dyslexia or vision impairments, Reddit said it would exempt those apps from the price hikes. Those apps also have far smaller user bases than Apollo or RIF.

Reddit’s plans—driven by an urge to make the company more profitable as it inches toward going public—sparked a protest across nearly 9,000 subreddits, where moderators of those communities switched their groups to private mode, preventing anyone from accessing them. Many of those subs remain inaccessible four days later, and their moderators say they plan to keep up the blackout indefinitely. (Disclosure: WIRED is a publication of Conde Nast, whose parent company, Advance Publications, has an ownership stake in Reddit.)

However unfazed Reddit execs appear to be, this subreddit seppuku sure does seem like a surefire way to sink the company. But does it really signal the death of Reddit?

“I can't see it as anything but that,” says Rory Mir, an associate director of community organizing at the Electronic Frontier Foundation. (Earlier this week, Mir wrote about what Reddit got wrong.) “Like with Twitter, it's not a big collapse when a social media website starts to die, but it is a slow attrition unless they change their course. The longer they stay in their position, the more loss of users and content they’re going to face.”

The unrest at Reddit is the latest in a string of social media upheavals that have seemingly pitted profit-hungry companies against their users. Platforms like Reddit, Twitter, or even Amazon that started operating at a loss in order to grow their user base eventually face pressures to further monetize their traffic. When a site sidelines the wants and needs of its users in the pursuit of profit, that leads to a downturn—and potential death of the platform—that author Cory Doctorow has termed “enshittification.”

“Any plan that involves endless and continuous growth is bound to run into scale issues, which is where I think Reddit and Twitter are running into problems,” Mir says. “You can’t inflate the balloon forever. It will pop at some point.”

Amy Bruckman is a regents' professor and senior associate chair at Georgia Institute of Technology’s School of Interactive Computing. She has also contributed to WIRED and is a moderator of several subreddits, including the very popular r/science, which is restricted until Monday. Bruckman says this era of social media has been rife with sudden changes. “There was an extended period of years, maybe even a decade, where it felt like the way things are is the way they always will be,” she says. “And everything is suddenly shifted.”

Reddit charging for access to its API is also about more than just third-party clients, Bruckman says. A move like this has angered so many people on Reddit because it feels like a betrayal of the community’s trust. It might be a vocal minority of users who are pissed off about the changes, but they’re the people who volunteer their time to keep communities functional—and they’re arguably the most important users on the site.

“Beyond the fact that it’s in a dozen ways harder to do our job, it’s also just the case that Reddit felt more like an open platform where innovation by committed users was encouraged,” Bruckman says. “And this feels like it's trampling on that.”

Reddit has denied that it is specifically targeting third-party apps like Apollo and RIF. The company initially said that limiting its API access is a move meant to control the flow of data being gobbled up by generative artificial intelligence companies like OpenAI training their large language models. But in an interview with NPR, Reddit CEO Steve Huffman said limiting third-party access will also help Reddit keep control over how it displays ads—the company’s primary source of income—to users. Force everyone to interact on one app, and it’s easier to fill their feeds with whatever advertising you want.

“They’re shooting themselves in the foot,” Mir says. “The content of the users is what makes the platform worth visiting. These hosts kind of run into this confusion that their hosting is the reason people are going there, but it’s really for the other users on the medium.”

And those users are bailing. Bruckman says she knows a moderator who has already quit, saying it wasn’t worth the energy to devote so much time to a company that can just toss all that effort aside. Like with Twitter, no clear alternative has emerged as a replacement. Bruckman advocates for public funding of a nonprofit version of something akin to Reddit. Some more casual users say they’re going back to Tumblr, which is still recovering from its own corporate sanitization in 2018.

Still, Mir says, there’s a real hunger for stability on a platform. It’s part of the reason sites like Reddit and Twitter have gotten so big. There are people who have had the same email address for 30 years or the same username on Reddit for a decade. If users have invested significant time in a community, it’s going to be a pain to find something amid the sea of federated upstarts that all claim to be the next best thing.

Clearly, Reddit is hoping that inertia and customer loyalty keep people on its site. Even if users grumble about losing their favorite app, the company is expecting they’ll just cave and download the official app. That may work on your typical user, but it’s not going to be as easy to convert the mods—especially ones who feel burned by Reddit’s monetary machinations.

Mir offers another business metaphor for the tension on Reddit: “If you have a really good music venue, but you break relations with every notable artist, you’re not going to be a very successful venue. You need to really prioritize the needs of the folks providing the value on your platform.”

[gunsblazin]

Continued from here | @scriptedstories

With a gravely serious nod, Mark takes the screwdriver and approaches the small dog. He sits, crosslegged, and carefully picks up the little friend to look it over. This is serious ! Not the kind of serious he’d been expecting, but saving a little robot dog friend ? Definitely serious.

There are some pieces that have been bent and banged up, but it’s nothing he can’t fix !

“ Where did you find this little guy ? ” he asks, airing a question to fill the silence. Not that he needed it . . . In fact, he’d grown to prefer working in silence. An eternity can do that to someone.

Even by simply turning the android around for a look over, Mark has a plan in mind. There aren’t that many issues that actually need fixing. Those, plus a few minor tweaks to make sure the dog will run comfortably, won’t take too long !

Some of the remaining tension in their shoulders leaks away when he gets to work. Mark seems confident in what he's doing, completely in his own element, and they trust him to get the job done. The Captain sits down across from him and attentively watches as he does his look-over.

They rub their neck in embarrassment, however, when he asks his question. "It was during one of the loops. I'm not sure what planet I was on. He was in a dump heap."

They had seen the banged up robot sitting gloomily among scraps of metal. What were they supposed to do? Not bring him with them? Ridiculous.

"Couldn't just leave him there. I've been calling him Rover, sometimes Apollo 18."