#if you want to show how the gods need demigods and mortals then…

[bakedbananners]

I think any criticism you can apply to Jason being a boring main character could just as easily be applied to anyone else in the Seven because the entire Heroes of Olympus series lacks a strong definitive narrative voice in general

[adastreia-12]

they’re just dead beat parents to YOU. to ME they are unapproachable divinities inherently so far removed from humanity and yet still depending on and participating in it despite it all which is precisely what makes them so messily human. we are not the same.

[isenstar777]

I really hope the rest of the Mighty Nein are involved with this solstice stuff because they could add a lot more nuance to this god stuff

[lady-ashfade]

Our comfort

Platonic!Yan!Camp Half-Blood x Comfort!Goddess!Reader. (Percy, Annabeth, Grover)

—£ Yes I know I haven’t finish the book but I actually couldn’t wait anymore. So, this is me with little knowledge so bare that in mind.

—£ Warnings: Book/show spoilers, Yandere! Behavior, Being bound to a place, Possessive behavior, Obsessive behavior, Manipulation, Characters fighting for the reader’s attention. Short.

You weren’t a known for too long goddess, much younger then rest of the gods. A teenager like age compared to them. It was strange to have more powerful gods look to you for comfort but you love it. As you are the goddess of comfort.

But, as the other gods started to have many demigods you saw how miserable they could get. You hated the fact they didn’t care for their children so you decided to stay at the camp for half-bloods when the time came.

The campers cling to you. You bring a comfort they never quite felt before. It was like a warm hug, like the ones they wanted from their parents.

You couldn’t leave, and at the beginning you were glad to accept that fate.

Almost always you are found surrounded by demigods and they just relax in your comfort. You are the one they go to with every worry in their mind.

Being close to Aphrodite, her seeing you as a sister and a younger child. Stories of your love for one another are still told today, as she gave ideas to the mortals of how great your relationship was. But in reality there wasn’t much to tell.

So her children have a mentality that they are your favorite and because of their mother, they have some sort of claim to you above the others. But that never works because you love the children equally.

The demigods have less nightmares with you around and watching over them.

Ares children fight often for your affection. They will constantly get into fights with others to show they deserve more time with you. Which you always scold them but it never sticks. They kiss their weapons each time to you, like a sign of good luck. Aries children are one of the worsts ones because they get aggressive at times, even with you. But the golds make them stop by punishing them, mostly their father.

Hermes children are hard to explain really. They aren’t aggressive, but they are mischievous. They take their revenge of stealing things from the other campers, pulling pranks. Or trapping some of them up and go straight to you before they can get there. Luke for instance, is always looking around for you and talking about his day. He’s either laying down next to you, or making you watch him train.

Many games of all houses take place just for you.

AnnaBeth, is constantly by your side when she has free time. She scares off people with a glare behind your back, knowing that she could put plan them. She also trains and makes you watcher her and needs your praise. Maybe, somehow you are her older sister. But, sometimes she just chills by your side not saying anything, she’s like a lost duck at times.

Grover however is actually a lost duck. You comfort him when his past missions fail and he loses kids. You are so nice to him and makes him feel special and brave. When he has to leave he keeps a coin in his pocket with your face on it and prays a lot. He’s not possessive much. He’s willing to take what he can get and is just happy to be there. But maybe if someone comes in when he’s “crying” and having you fuss over him then he’ll be a bit mad but never does anything about it.

When a new camper arrives you devote your time to them because they need it a little more. They come into a world they know nothing of, waiting for the parent they hardly know to claim them. You claim them like your own until the time comes.

So when Percy comes you feel something off with him, like he is special and in need of a lot. He lost his mom, taken from the world he knew.

Percy becomes the most possessive out of all of them.

He feels out of place but you are always there to listen to him. It doesn’t help that you follow him to make sure he’s okay. At the beginning you’re both following each other around.

“It’s okay, Percy.” You brush his hair lightly like his mother used to do. “You’ll get claim, and you’ll have glory.” And he doesn’t care if you say that to everyone because you make him feel special. 

Also, you protect the new bloods. So you’ll show up when he gets bullied and just raise one brow and they all back off. Can’t risk making you mad at them.

When Percy gets claimed he’s all alone again, no friends and the campers looking at him funny. Being one of the top threes son isn’t fun or easy. He shares a cabin all to himself.

So he starts to be the worst of them all. Raising his voice when you try and leave him and he manipulates you to stay with him. Can’t you see how alone he is?

He can’t sleep unless he knows your watching over him.

You pick no sides of the war. Your family will figure it out themselves, while you take care of their children.

[murdrdocs]

celeste i need you to pick up what i’m putting down here

luke and ares work together right? now i’ve always imagined that ares looks down on look for being a demigod and ares likes proving to luke that he’s way better than luke is. ares also LOVESSS showing up the little mortal girl he picked up at the bar who he’s also obsessed with and is basically in a committed relationship with. but ares is also very cocky and luke KNOWSSS he’s cocky so luke’s only choice is to find ares’ girl and fuck here because he knows ares is watching

for the first time in a while, luke feels like a child.

twiddling his thumbs, staring at someone who has more power than him (no matter how often luke tries to convince himself otherwise), waiting for whatever form of punishment that is definitely going to come his way.

he's trying to put up a brave facade, staring straight ahead and only letting his eyes deviate to settle on one point. you, casually sitting next to ares along a plush bed settled in the center of a plush suite on the princess andromeda. your legs are folded under you, your tiny night shorts have ridden up, giving luke a perfect view of the bare expanse of your legs. the same legs he'd kissed all over and massaged and threw over his shoulders just last night.

you're tucked under ares' arm, cuddled into his side, perched where you belong.

luke doesn't pay the other man any mind (he's really trying to make out of sight out of mind work for him). instead, he focuses heavily on the hickey you wear. the one he brazenly left along your collarbone hours into the night. a mark, evidence, of the short time you spent together.

eventually, ares clears his throat and begins to speak. his booming voice is one that doesn't allow room to ignore him. his aura is one that incites rage.

"you got something to prove, son? or do you have a death wish?"

luke knows that if ares, the god of war, wants him dead, he's going to die. but that rage sitting deep in his stomach clouds his judgement and tells him that with just two strokes from backbiter, ares would be at yours and luke's feet, leaving you no choice but to run into the demigods arms.

the question seems rhetorical so luke doesn't answer. even if it weren't rhetorical, he wouldn't have answered.

ares continues speaking. he stands as he talks, approaching luke until there is nothing for the son of hermes to do except crane his neck and peer up at his assailant.

"you think you can please her," ares jams a thumb over his shoulder in your direction. "better than me?" that same thumb points towards ares' chest.

yes, luke thinks to himself as images of the way you squealed and moaned under him floods his mind. luke doesn't feel the smirk tugging his lips up until its too late.

ares' laugh is boisterous and exaggerated.

"kid, you wouldn't even know where to begin with her. when it comes to fucking her, i run circles around you."

there's an opening here, one luke would kick himself over if he didn't take it.

he takes a step back, squaring his shoulders as he clasps his hands behind himself, and fixes ares with a glare.

"then prove it."

[inactivewattpadauthor]

Fujin x Fast Food Worker Reader + Bonus

A/N: Making this while I'm at work sitting in drive thru🤧

I was inspired by some Fujin headcanon that mentioned him getting used to ordering Fast Food ~~~~

It was beginning to turn in the evening, nearly the end of your dull shift. It's been quite some time since a customer showed up, but you didn't dare think or say anything about it unless you wanted to jinx the peace.

And God, you didn't want that to happen.

Your manager walks past you as you were leaning against the front counter, doing nothing. The second you make eye contact with her and see that judging glance, you already knew she was about to say something.

"Don't just sit there until you have to clock out, Y/n. Go sweep the floor! And make sure you don't clock out a minute late again! I don't need another violation from the boss!"

"Yes ma'am." You blankly replied, still not moving from your spot as she disappeared from sight.

Your eyes wandered to the glass door, catching something odd in the sky. It was heading your way, and the shape was odd to be a bird.

'The hell is that?' You squinted. 'Is that a guy? How is he running in the air like that?'

Disbelief and confusion drifted your mind, watching as that man entered the restaurant.

You felt more baffled as he had glowing white eyes and the armored outfit he's wearing.

His long white braid also had your notice, but that's just because it looked nice.

The man glanced around the building before noticing you at the register. You stood up straight, instantly, feeling intimidated.

"Greetings there." He smiled warmly at you. "Doing well today, ma'am?"

"I- uhh, yes sir!" You tried not to stumble over your words. "How may I help you… today?"

"Hmm…" The man looked above you at the menu, placing his finger over his chin.

You still couldn't stop looking at his eyes. Why were they like that?

"I'll take one of those small sandwiches, please." His gaze and smile returns to you.

"A cheeseburger?"

"Correct!"

"Would you like some fries with that, sir?"

"Sure! Ooh, and one of those small meals for kids that come in those little adorable boxes!"

"Um, yes sir… Your total is 11.27."

The man nodded before handing you a small pouch. Opening it, you felt something inside you crumple as you see the concerning amount of coins he has handed you…

You just prayed it was the right amount before just putting it in the register and going back to prepare the order.

A few minutes after bagging the order and whispering among the staff about the abnormal customer, you went to him and cautiously handed his food.

"Thank you. Take care of yourself now." He bows to you before heading out. You and a few other employees watched as he started walking in the air pretty casually.

It was silent before one shrugged and spoke, "Meh. Just the average weirdo, I suppose."

~~Back at the Sky Temple~~

"Fujin, I'm not taking it. We, as demigods, do not need consumption. And it looks childish." Raiden pushes away the small, red box Fujin tries gifting him.

"Oh, come on, brother! Don't be like that! These mortals have such amusing cuisine creations!" Fujin chuckles. "Just try it!"

"Fujin!" Raiden growled.

"Please, brother?" Fujin pleaded with more sincerity in his expression, making Raiden give in.

"Fine." Raiden sighed with defeat of his dignity.

Now there the Storm brothers were, sitting at the small table; Fujin eating his burger while watching Raiden sulk and pick at the chicken pieces in the kiddie box.

At least he showed a little interest in the toy that came along with it.

[lo-shouldve-been-an-email]

Why Dionysus was actually clever but got botched.

Okay,this is my first big LO essay so please don’t mind a bit of awkwardness.

The thing with Dionysus is that on paper it’s actually really smart.

Let me explain-

To understand why Dionysus in particular was chosen we need to understand the original myth of his birth,or welll,the original myths.there’s technically two of them but I’ll explain it later-

Let’s start off with the simpler one,aka:

Semele is the mother.

The myth goes like this:

Zeus falls in love with a mortal named semele,and tells her he’s Zeus.

Semele gets pregnant and Hera gets jealous.

Hera turns into an old lady and implants the idea that Zeus might be lying to her about being Zeus,so she must ask him to show her his divine form.

Semele does this and is-unsurprisingly- burnt to ashes,but Zeus saves baby dio and puts him in his thigh until he’s born,by then being upgraded from demigod to straight up god.

Who raises him afterwards depends on the story,sometimes it’s Hermes,sometimes it’s nymphs,and sometimes it’s-you guessed it-Persephone.

So you already have some inkling on why Persephone is raising dio,but oh wait there’s more.

So let’s gets into another version:

Persephone is the mother(?)

Okay,so have any of you played hades?go play it.

But,there’s a character that has an story tied to Dionysus,and people who’ve done a certain side quest might already have an inkling:

Zagreus,the prince of the underworld.

Now,you may be wondering wtf zag has to do with this but I can explain.

Basically here’s the ancient Orphic version of the myth:

Persephone and Zeus have a son named Zagreus.(it’s important to note that hades didn’t really exist at this point or at least he was merged with Zeus,hence why it’s Zeus and Persephone and not hades and Persephone,since yes Persephone actually predates hades)

Zagreus is the golden boy of Olympus and Hera gets jealous.

Hera RELEASES TITANS FROM TARTARUS and they tear Zagreus apart,the part remaining being his heart.

And dio is made with that.

There’s more to the general ancient Orphic origins of Dionysus but that’s just the basics.

I highly recommend overly sarcastic productions video of Dionysus if you want an in depth look at this explaining his origins to his cult.so yeah.check it out.

Why it fails within LO.

I admit,dio is a good reference.

He’s a good nod and a fun idea,it’s just the execution that leads it to having as many positives as a house fire.

First of all,it definitely wasn’t planned from the start.

Other have talked about this but RS has a habit of bullshitting things into the story to reference a real world date.

In this case,dio was supposed to be a Mother’s Day thing,but when matched up to the timeline?well…I don’t know why it’s such a bad decision on Persephone’s part…may be it’s because HER AND HADES HAVE BEEN MARRIED FOR LESS THAN A DAY.

Also the whole thing comes out of nowhere.

Zeus just bust into persie’s house,says he’s giving birth and instead of going to a doctor(Asclepius isn’t the only one,zeus)

Then,Persephone straight up refuses to give him to Zeus AFTER HE GAVE BIRTH and takes the baby for herself because “he looks like hades”.

Never mind the fact he’s literally purple-

After that Persephone realised she’s fucked up and ignores hades,but he bursts in and she explain how she basically kidnapped a child.

And it’s supposed to be romantic.

Anyways,I’m probably gonna make another of these rants soon,just with Apollo,but this is why the dio plot point…frustrates me.

On paper it’s an interesting reference but in the end it just ends up being stupid.

[anaslair]

Hiii, I wanted to give the match ups a try cause why not. I go by she/her and prefer to be matched with a male character, I’m also underaged. Oh and I’d prefer to be a demigod, personally I think I’d be the daughter of Hestia or maybeee Hephaestus or Apollo, idrk 😭. Anywaysss, about me. I loveee music/art/film, really anything creative, like I have a deep appreciation for them and artists. I actually used to go to a performing arts school. I also love nature and appreciate that as well. Like, I love going on hikes when I can and even just looking at the beauty of the nature wherever I am. I’m not really much of a sports person, like I love playing but I wouldn’t do anything professionally. I do martial arts though, which is definitely a biggg passion of mine. As a person, although it doesn’t necessarily feel like it to me, sometimes I’m pretty sure I’m fairly outgoing, at least more than other people I know. But I’m also the type of person to really open up and become more social and talkative the more you get to know me. Oh and final thing, I think I’m pretty books smart but not very streets smart, if you know what I mean. 😀 Anywayssss thanks for reading all of this if you did, it’d be really cool to hear back from you!! 🫶🫶

OKAY HEAR ME OUT!! HEAR ME OUT ON THIS ONE!!!!!!!!!!!

So, it’s not that well known, but Hestia is actually one of the virgin godesses of Olympus (like Artemis and Athena). But!!! We COULD pretend she has kids like Athena does 👀 ✨just because she wants to✨

Like, Athena’s kids come from her mind… maybe Hestia’s could come from her heart? Like figuratively maybe? She’s the goddess of hearth & home so it could kind of make sense? Pls bear with me this will go rlly well with who I’m matching you with so let’s just go with it 🤓

Also the nature thing UGHHH, I always had this head cannon that Percy became a bit of a nature activist after witnessing Pan’s death 😩😩😩 Anyway let’s get to it, I really hope you like this 🫶

Tysm for requesting!!! Have a great day <3

I match you with…

Percy Jackson!!

-Disclaimer-

The requester is a minor and so is Percy at this stage of the books!!

After the second titan war ended, Percy started to value some things way more than he did before it all went down

Not to say he was an ungrateful person, far from it. Percy really did have a heart of gold and often put his loved ones above his own personal needs. Loyalty was his fatal flaw after all

But there was just some things he felt he didn’t pay much attention to before the war, like Hestia for example. The goddess practically lived on camp grounds and he barely even acknowledged her before she saved him when he needed it the most, reminding him what was most important when everything was falling apart during the war

Or Pan. the god of the wild had practically died in front of him, telling him and his friends that the future of nature, of the world they lived in was actually in their hands. Everyone had to do their part for it to survive

He had to pay them back somehow, honor them

So that’s why he was THRILLED when the first Hestia kid arrived on camp after he made the gods promise they would claim all of their kids and send them to camp Half Blood, where all of the gods would have cabins for their descendants

This was his chance to pay back Hestia for her help!! So he promptly asked Chiron to mentor the new girl and teach her what she needed to know about self defense and sword fighting, since she was practically his age and had to survive until now with the mortals without proper training

In fact, how did you manage to do that anyway?

He didn’t really know, but he felt he was the best man for the job. His sword fighting skills were unmatched, only bested by Luke’s

So, not gonna lie. He was kind of waiting to show off his skills on your first lesson and help you with whatever you needed

He told you he would first show you some hand to hand combat moves before y’all could move on to sword fighting, to which you shrugged it out, being cool with it

Too cool even, you seemed super comfortable with it 🧐

“Okay. First, I’ll come at you slowly and you can try and stop the blow however you feel is right. This will be kind of a warm up to start things off. But don’t worry, I won’t actually hurt you, if you feel uncomfortable in any way, please let me know okay?” He said, smiling kindly at you while taking an offensive stance

You nodded, waiting for him to start

He slowly swung at you, being careful to not scare you out

Imagine how completely and utterly bamboozled he was when he found himself lying on the ground, the arm he swung at you now twisted and pressed on to his back, just enough to keep him on the ground

He was like 🧍‍♂️

And you were like 😄 so what’s next?

Bro what the fuck

That was honestly so impressive that when you offered a hand to help him get back to his feet, his cheeks where slightly flushed

He cleaned his throat, fixing his camp Half Blood necklace back into place

“Okay so I guess you’ve got that part covered” He said, giving you his signature sarcastic smirk

You let out a small laugh in response, explaining to him that you actually loved martial arts and that stuff came easy to you

He was completely fascinated, asking you to help him better his hand to hand combat skills after you guys finished

That was the start of a kind of chaotic friendship between the two of you. You helped him better himself in your area while he gave you sword fighting lessons

You weren’t really a fan of it but Percy was so talented and so patient while teaching you that you were winning sparring duels in no time

Y’all were a power duo in capture the flag for sure. You knocked people out and Percy wouldn’t let anyone get even slightly near you with riptide

You knew some strategies in theory from some books you had read and Percy knew how to put them into action

Iconic

You quickly developed a strong bond, getting closer and closer to each other every day

You always ranted to him about art in general, he didn’t really understand most of the things you told him but he always listened attentively, even memorizing some of your favorite artists to get you stuff related to them when he went home for the school year

You often hanged out by the lake, you absolutely loved how it looked when the sun hit it just right, with the trees reflected on it

One time, Percy took you to the bottom of it, putting an air bubble around you both so you could see how beautiful it was underwater

Your eyes shone bright at the view, but you frowned as soon as you saw a couple of plastic wrappers at the bottom

You asked Percy to lower the bubble so you could collect them and properly throw them out at the surface

That made Percy stare at you with such intensity and admiration that you wondered just what the hell you had done to get him looking at you like that

You avoided his eyes, ears tinted red

It was no secret that you had developed feelings for him, he was so sweet and kind

You wondered if he felt the same

Suddenly, his warm hand met yours as he slowly interlaced your fingers together

You looked at him, eyes wide

The smile on his face made his intentions pretty clear

[a-not-so-clean-blog]

Nu carnival boys find out you're a demigod ♦️(Morvay)

Yakumo

You tell him you're a demigod and his first question is if you can help with his grandparents' harvest. His second question is how you handle having power and if you can give him any tips so he's less scared of his power. He feels safe with you and he loves you so much, but he'd love you the same even if you were mortal. He feels closer to you after you tell him and that makes him very happy.

Edmond

He doesn't believe you. Even if you have a great power he is convinced it's magic or something like a Yokai and not something godly. He'll be upset if you misuse your power or “status” in any way, but for the most part he only cares about how you treat him and others. If you use your power to help people that's the fastest way to his heart.

Olivine

Guilt, confusion, blasphemy. He's feeling a lot of emotions right now and honestly is doing a good job handling it considering his very devout religious views. Is dating you idolization? Has he been sinning by being with you? Well, sinning in more than just the physical sense. He cares about you but will need some time to repent and think about the situation. In the end he still loves you and is sure the God of Klein will forgive him. He will be uncomfortable with you using your powers around him though, unless it's to help someone.

Quincy

This changes nothing. God, human, demon, or something else entirely; it doesn't matter what you are once he likes you. If your demigod heritage gives you longevity he will actually be ecstatic though. He's so tired of out living everyone he cares about so if you actually be able to stay in his life that would make him so happy. He long ago lost the dream of growing old with someone, but if you'll let him, he will gladly spend the ages with you.

Kuya

Oh no. Do NOT give him access to any of your power! He is strong enough without the power of a demigod at his beck and call. He's happy that your demigod status makes you more durable and more “fun” to play with. He did have his suspicions for a while but wanted to see how long it would take you to tell him.

Blade

He does not understand religious implications. Even if you try to explain it to him it's not like it'll change his opinion of you. If you know who your godly parent is he will read every book and legend about them and show you all the coolest stories he can find! For him it's a bonding experience, for you he's just being adorable.

Garu

He’ll ask you what it means to be a demigod first. When you tell him it basically just gave you power he thinks it's the coolest thing in the world! He's very sweet about it and will listen to any stories you want to share about your heritage, and will love any part of your demigod abilities you decide to show him. He will never push you to show him anything though.

Karu

“Demigod? Can you eat that?” He will be a little offended when he finds out about your power. He doesn't like the idea of his partner being stronger than him (he doesn't want someone to have power over him). He comes around though if you show him a cool trick or something. He is very easy to win over.

Dante

His ego takes a bit of a hit and he's actually bitter for about a week before he finally relents and goes back to normal. He makes a point to tell you that even if you're a demigod he is still the Sun lord and your superior in Solaria. Even if your power is impressive he prefers that you don't use it. Not just because of his ego but because he's worried someone will take advantage of you because of the powers you have.

Rei

Also doesn't believe you are a demigod. He knows you have great power but he doesn't believe gods exist, so by extension demigods don't exist either. Maybe you're a descendant of a powerful Yokai? Or you've been gifted by the elemental spirits? Either way he refuses to believe you're a demigod unless you can somehow tangibly prove that gods exist, and that you are related to one.

Eiden

He's impressed and amazed, but not surprised. Honestly he's seen so many fantasy things since coming to this world that he expected to meet a god sooner or later. He's just happy that his partner is so cool! Also how many people can say they slept with a demigod! He is definitely going to brag about this.

Aster

Really hope you weren't trying to keep this a secret because once he knows, everyone knows. He is also the type of person Dante was worried about. He will find a way to benefit from your abilities whether you know it or not. He loves the fact that he has a powerful partner though. Is makes him feel that much more powerful.

Morvay

“Oh that's why your c*m is so heavenly!” I can see him making so many jokes and innuendos about it. All with a giant grin on his face. He doesn't really take it seriously. Not that he doesn't believe you, he does, but he doesn't care that you're a demigod. He may use it to brag to Aster though.

[jungle-angel]

Silent Strikes The Lightning (Rhett Abbott x Reader)

Summary: Your husband is a thunder and lightning deity, you yourself sharing the element. The two of you were tasked with protecting young children, a task ordained by the gods and the titans. You just never thought you would have to protect the one thing that meant everything to Rhett

Warnings: Rescue of an infant, Perry being an asshole etc.

Notes: For anybody who wants to, I highly, highly suggest listening to the song "Our Paths Will Part" by Hans Zimmer and also "Lily's Theme" from Harry Potter if you're gonna read this, there's no pressure but both match up really well with the story

Tagging: @floydsmuse @delopsia @sebsxphia @attapullman @callmemana @kmc1989 @bradleybeachbabe @rhettabbotts

You shivered going through those woods to that lonely piece of land that all the Olympians had been watching for months. You squeezed Rhett's hand as he held the lantern in his hand, the two of you cloaked in an unseen veil to be sure no one would see you.

"Shhh, darlin," Rhett whispered when a twig had snapped beneath your foot.

You nodded nervously, afraid to let go of his hand as you approached the shabby dwelling in the distance, the windows still lit. There was a heavy feeling in the air, one you didn't like and one that was particularly strong when you and Rhett went to visit The Underworld. Royal had warned you both, time and again about this place and the people who had lived there.

Perry had been a demigod, one that had been accidentally fathered by Royal when some of his dead, peeling skin had rubbed off on a mortal witch's own hand. Where Perry had been a monster, Rhett was as pure and loving as could be, born of his father, Royal's, love for his mother, Cecelia. Rhett's love for you had been the same, despite a few little demigods here and there, never failing to show you that you were his queen and always would be.

"Rhett we can't, we're...."

"Shhhh, darlin, it's ok," he whispered. "I've got you. I know it's scary, but we need to do this. We're the only chance she's got."

Quietly across the misty fields, you both crept, the chilly air of early spring making the goosebumps on your flesh prick straight up. Rhett made a few flitting gestures with his hand, testing to see if any barriers surrounded that shabby little place. Nothing.

"Alright, c'mon," he whispered again. "Back door."

You and Rhett carefully pushed the back door open, setting the lantern down on the beat up countertop. It took everything in your power to cross the threshold of the door, assured only by the sight of your husband's back.

You silently took deep breaths as you and Rhett cautiously went up the stairs, straining every muscle in your bodies to be as quiet as mice.

"Rhett," you hissed.

"What? Darlin what's wrong?"

"Something......in the back room....."

Rhett could barely make out the form of a woman's foot in the bedroom through the slightly ajar door. Something deep inside told him not to enter, not even if he valued his immortal life.

You both turned back to the room at the end of the hall, a room that was completely bare of furniture, save for a wooden cot in which lay a tiny, newborn infant with a head full of chocolate brown hair, the same as Rhett's. She hardly stirred, all swaddled in her blanket, her pink face scrunched up as she yawned. You and Rhett were in awe of how precious she was, so sweet and so new to this world.

"C'mere Amy," Rhett whispered.

Gently, he picked her up out of her crib, the poor baby starting to whimper as he lifted her to his chest. "Shhhh......shhhhh......it's ok.....it's ok sweet baby.....shhhhh......Daddy and Momma are here.....you're comin home with us......"

From your pocket, you pulled the little purple and gold sachet Cecelia had made for you. It was small, yes, but would hold Amy perfectly. Smaller and smaller she grew as Rhett fitted her snugly into the sachet, resting in it as though she were still in the womb.

"Slip it around you're neck and don't lose it," Rhett told you. "C'mon we've gotta get outta here."

"No one's going anywhere!" sneered a voice.

You and Rhett whirled around to find Perry standing there, his green eyes burning with a hint of ugly yellow. You could feel the hate radiating off him like a fire, cutting deep into you as your hand moved protectively over the sachet around your neck.

"That what ya'll told Rebecca?" Rhett hissed. "Before ya'll sucked the life outta her?"

"Shut up!" Perry snapped. "I loved that woman.......not like you who kept fucking your whore until the gods granted her immortality!"

A loud clap of thunder startled you, your husband's eyes going dark. The hairs on your neck stood up as spider thin flashes showed themselves in his dark blue eyes.

"If you ever call (y/n) a whore again I'll have you fed to every three headed dog in the Underworld," Rhett growled.

"You have no power here....."

Rhett threw up his hand and in a flash, Perry flew up off the ground, slamming into the wall above the door with such a force that a dusting of plaster rained down onto the floor.

"I'm sorry......" Perry croaked. "M'sorry Rhett.....I'm sorry...."

"Perry!" Rhett growled, his voice deep, almost doglike.

"M'sorry.......m'sorry......"

"Don't you fucking say you're sorry to me!" Rhett shouted another clap of thunder echoing throughout the room. "You worthless piece of shit!!"

"Rhett......" you squeaked.

Rhett neither heard nor heeded your words, the thunder and flashes of lightning filling the room with frightening hues of indigo and violet. You could hear Amy crying in the back of your mind, afraid to stay and afraid to run.

Rhett's gaze turned to you, the light still burning in his eyes but his voice calm. "(Y/n) run," he said. "I need ya'll to run, I'll be right behind you."

You didn't want to, freezing a little until a frightening crack of thunder filled the room once again. You hurried out of the room, barely aware of your feet flying across the floors, the electric buzz still on the back of your neck, blindly flying out the door and into the night.

You didn't dare look back, still hearing your husband shouting obscene threats at Perry. The field felt like one long stretch into eternity, never ending and going on and on and on until the woods came into view. You bolted up the path, hurrying and protectively holding onto the sachet for dear life, afraid that some fell beast of the woods would try to grab it.

You skidded to a halt, gasping when you came to the cliff, staring down into the huge maw below. You tried to steady your hammering heart, the blood rushing in your ears as you stared down over the edge, the thin little ribbon of silver river the only thing visible in the darkness.

"Darlin jump!" Rhett shouted behind you. "Jump!"

"I can't!" you hollered back, the tears streaming down your face.

"Then you're gonna have to trust me."

You felt a set of strong hands on your shoulder, pushing you over the cliff edge, your screams echoing in the canyon below. The wind rushed by you, through your hair and the threads of your clothes when something suddenly came up underneath you, something sturdy but soft.

You dreaded opening your eyes but when you did, you saw brilliant golden brown feathers, a mighty screech reaching your ears.

The eagles.

You breathed a deep sigh of relief, knowing you were safe. You looked behind you to find Rhett on the one below, looking up at you, the victory and relief evident on his face.

Off in the distance you could see the sun beginning to rise, the hues of yellow, rose pink and red all rising to greet you both. Yours and Rhett's clothing changed from denim to brilliant togas of dark navy blue, white, gold and soft lilac as the sun began to touch your skin.

There it was in the distance, Mount Olympus, rising high into the gorgeous morning light and all the life with it. Home again you were, safe and out of danger.

The eagles landed you right in the courtyard near the waterfalls. You saw Cecelia in her dark teal toga and Royal, both running towards you, the sickle at his belt, sheathed, but always ready.

"You two ok?" he asked.

"We're ok Dad," Rhett answered, helping you off the back of the eagle. "We're good."

"Where is he?" Royal asked.

"Still in that house," you answered.

"I'll have the animals watch the place and report back," Royal told him. "You manage to get what ya'll went in for?"

"Got her out safe," Rhett answered.

Royal drew his son into a tight embrace. "Glad ya'll are safe," Royal said. "I'll catch the little shithead one of these days. You two go and rest now, your mother and I will take care of the rest."

You and Rhett were more than overjoyed to have Amy as a part of your family in the days after, taking her in as though she were born of your flesh and blood. You and Rhett watched her grow and never more had you and your family felt so complete and so whole, even on the days when her mischievous streak showed, the giggly little girl in her bright pink toga running through the fields to chase after the herd of magic cows that soon became hers. And ever after when Rhett sent a thunderstorm to water the fields below, Amy was sure to run after with the light of a rainbow trailing behind her in the sun.

[gutsybitsies]

no but. after TOA, apollo probably visits Camp Halfblood more regularly, right? And he does it in his Lester form, but he switches so sometimes he's teen Lester, but sometimes he comes by as Grown Up Middle Aged Lester when he feels like his kids need their dad more.

so he's like, bonding with his kids and whatnot, and suddenly there's a Disturbance in the Force, and because he's also driving the sun chariot, he sees that the hyacinth flowers in Cabin 7 have been glimmering and suddenly turned into a very handsome young man in his 20s, wearing a spartan tunic and speaking in ancient greek.

and apollo fucking freezes and tells his kids "okay children you need to improv with me on this" and disappears.

chiron comes out to see what the disturbance is about, and is very fucking surprised to see THE Hyacinthus, who's confused and a VERY overwhelmed. he offers him a place at camp halfblood, not as a camper obviously (he's not a demigod and he's a full adult), but as a camp counselor and a part of the activities board.

and then kayla and austin burst into the Big House making a scene because "CHIRON! We found an injured hero who was being attacked by monsters, he's in the infirmary now!"

of COURSE the injured hero is Lester, and Apollo's vain enough to have his Lester form be in his mid 20s, and have absolutely no pimples, and he gave himself 6 pack before will told him that that's too much, so he settled down for a 2 pack.

Chiron fully sighs before sighing some more when Lester raises up a blood covered letter of employment stating that he was to start here and work as part of the camp staff.

all in all, this was a pretty tame way of courting from an Olympian, but now camp halfblood has TWO gods in there all the time, not that Hyacinthus can tell. Lester throws himself into helping chiron out and also "guiding Hyacinthus" through the wonders of the mortal realm, and Hyacinthus is enjoying the wonders of modern technology (they installed a bidet in the Big House, and Apollo personally paid to upgrade everything).

but whenever Lester makes a move, Hyacinthus is really hesitant, and Lester's like okay well I should one final showcase of my irresistability before confessing! Until Hyacinthus tells him that okay, he's picking up what Lester is putting down, and he's kind of into it, except he doesn't want to get Lester hurt. Because of how he died, he knows first hand how jealous gods can get, and he doesn't want to put Lester in the line of fire of any jealous gods.

meanwhile cabin 7 is in FULL cahoots and trying to wingman their dad as much as possible. even nico's in on it, he accidentally trips and tells hyacinthus that oh no, you need to bring me to the infirmary where lester is at, he is such a good healer!

anyway. just lester pretending to be mortal trying to woo hyacinthus because he feels guilty about causing his death and so he's so afraid of showing up as apollo, and hyacinthus falling in love but he doesn't want what happened to him happen to lester.

GAH

[serenewrote]

"Excuse My Husband" - Hades x Persephone! Reader

You were walking around, looking for your husband, when you heard him and two others. They sound young.

"You give me what you got, and I give you what I got."

"I... I can't give it to you."

"Ah, see, there's a quid and a quo here."

You reach the foyer (?) and see your husband talking to a Demi-god and a satyr. They look past Hades and up at you.

"Excuse my husband."

Hades turns to look at you, in surprise.

"His manners are deplorable."

The satyr bows at you, "My Lady."

"There is no need for that, young Grover. You are here for something, are you not?"

Hades grabs your hand and intertwines your fingers, "The boy and I were about to make an exchange, my love."

You look at your husband in contempt. You shake your hand out of his grasp and grab his jaw, tight. His expression changes, you always make him submissive.

"And what could you possibly be exchanging, husband."

The demi-god walks up to you and gestures to the golden statue by the couch. "My mom. He took my mom, and I want her back, now."

You turn to look at the statue, wait no.. the woman. You look back at the boy, "What's your name, Demi-god?"

"Percy. Percy Jackson."

You let go of his jaw and smile at the Demi-god. He's just a boy. A boy who loves his mother. The mere thought tugging at your heart.

"The woman was going to die and I did him a favor so, he owes me. Surely you understand, my love?" Hades pleads, eyes begging you to take his side.

You hum in understanding, "I see... My love, return this woman to the mortal world, safely."

"My love..."

"Did I stutter, my King?"

You kneel in front of Percy, caressing his face, "I will see that your mother returns without a scratch. I also believe that you don't have what my husband is looking for."

"I am not giving him the bolt."

Your eyes narrow, "My father's bolt? Percy, my husband can be stupid sometimes, but he's not an idiot. We have no use for it, in fact, I am actively against getting involved in my father's drama."

"But who would-"

You call out to Hades, "My Love, a glass of pomegranate juice would be nice."

"Of course, darling." Hades leaves to the kitchens.

"Who gave you that bag, little hero?"

"Ares did."

"My brother is always looking for a fight."

"But a god can't steal another god's symbol of power. plus, what use would Ares have for it."

"Maybe he's helping someone. Someone who craves revenge." You take a moment to think, but no one comes to mind.

"Kronos."

A glass is heard breaking. You and the demigod turn to see Hades. his hand dripping with juice.

"Excuse me?"

"He's got the biggest grudge of all. You all dethrone him and killed him."

"Kronos is in little pieces, trapped in-"

"Tartarus. Something just tried to pull us down there."

Hades sighs, "Ask me for sanctuary."

"What?"

"Ask me, and I'll protect you and your mother.... and the goat."

Percy pulls a pearl from his pocket.

You face Percy again, "How about this, you get whatever my husband wants from you and I'll return your mother, safe and sound. I swear."

Thunder rumbles.

"You just made an oath. Why?"

"I know what it feels like to only have your mom to depend on. Go, Percy. Hold fast and brave the storm."

The young Demi-god looks at you, eyes holding respect and thanks. You ruffle his hair as he drops the pearl and disappears from your sight.

omg, I love this show so much!!! I always hc Persephone as a goddess that holds nothing but love and respect for Demi-gods because they didn't ask to half-bloods and they're still so young. I'm also writing an AU about a goddess that protects and acts as a den mother for the Demi-gods at camp.

Anyways... thank you for reading! Stay tuned for more.

[autism-alley]

augh found my old post abt pjo and disability from before the show came out but it was on ye olde blog so i’m literally just gonna copy and paste, 3, 2, 1—

ok now that i’ve got it on the brain, i want to talk about disability in pjo and specifically how calling percy jackson dumb or treating him as such is not only a mischaracterization, but ableism. as a quick note, i’m keeping this to just percy to avoid having this already long post be even longer, but there are other disabled characters in pjo worthy of discussion, though i hit many of the same points in this post. i bring up percy specifically because he is mostly the character i have seen people treat as stupid.

percy is a dyslexic teen with ADHD who comes from a low-income family, raised by a single mother, and deals with an abusive step-father. i cannot stress enough how much of his character is shaped by that experience, but as hard as it is to single out any one part, i am going to focus on his ADHD and dyslexia. this kid has nightmares of being forced to take tests in a straightjacket as teachers ask him if he’s stupid and withhold him from recess with his peers. he is constantly labelled as “troubled” and blamed for things he didn’t do or aren’t his fault. he is told, over and over again, even from trusted adults, that he is “not normal” (othering him). he bounces between schools. he struggles to make friends. he deals with bullying. he has difficulty studying and reading, even when invested. teachers struggle to connect with him and tend to just give up on him. these are real disabled experiences, and rick does a good job at presenting them in the pjo books. sometimes, it feels like everything is a struggle. you are living inside a system that not only is restricting, but actively works against and punishes you.

in contrast, CHB is a great example of how when environments meet the needs of disabled people, it hugely changes how disabled we are in that environment. demigod brains are hard-wired for ancient greek, not english, and they’re born impulsive, with high energy levels that help them survive battle—but aren’t very good for a classroom setting. but by having them read books in ancient greek, regularly do lots of training/physical activities, and have genuine opportunities to express themselves...they function pretty damn well. percy discovers that while he struggles academically, he is brilliant in combat and capable of saving the world numerous times—he is a hero. do you know how important that message is for disabled children? disabled adults, too? that we can be heroes?

it is here, in camp half-blood, that percy finds a place he belongs, that shows him his worth—finally, somewhere is built to not only include him, but to nurture and genuinely prepare him for the world outside its boarders. however, i think people forget that just because percy functions in the world of CHB and the gods, that does not mean he doesn’t face ableism in the mortal world—and that there is an entire group of people who see ourselves reflected in his character.

i could talk on for hours about how much being disabled shapes percy’s identity and how he interacts with the world—like how percy’s humor revolves around coping with his environment and actually displays a very low self esteem after being looked down upon his entire life. this kid doesn’t even have to say anything and he screams i had a neurodivergent childhood. but about 5-6 years ago, when i was more regularly tuned into the fandom, every time i saw someone call percy jackson dumb or an idiot, even jokingly, i raised an eyebrow, and now that the series is getting fresh coverage from disney+, i have wanted to make this post. so much of this kid’s life and personality comes from being treated like he’s dumb or incapable, so it’s troubling to watch part of the fanbase reflect the harmful parts of this character’s upbringing. i truly hope it does not become common again. it’s also one thing coming from a neurodivergent/disabled person with similar experiences (and even then i personally find it a little uncomfortable), it’s another to be said by a neurotypical/able bodied person.

percy jackson’s experiences make for very important representation, and for people to characterize him as just a goofy, unintelligent guy is not only an insult to his character as a kid who is intelligent, but previously lacked the environment to show it, but also ableist. so in the dawn of the new tv series era, i ask that we cut that shit out. rick riordan did not create rep for neurodivergent and disabled kids for them to be called stupid by the fanbase. even jokingly.

[bigfan-fanfic]

Not Too Fast To See Part 3

Not Too Fast To See Part 3 (Percy and Tempo meet Barry Allen)

Part 1 here! Part 2 here!

It's funny that Barry Allen is supposed to be in Central City, because the two of you passed through it when travelling through Missouri, since Percy has bad memories of the Gateway Arch in St. Louis.

But quickly it becomes clear what Hermes was laughing about - Central City's one of those places that's not only plagued with crime, but also has its own dedicated superhero.

The Flash.

"So Barry Allen must be the Flash." Percy connects the dots pretty quickly. "And the Flash must be like you."

Now, Barry has no idea the two of you are coming. Nor who either of you are.

But there's something weird going on, because neither he nor Cisco nor Caitlin can figure out why the seismic readings in the city are going haywire.

Since none of them can see through the Mist, they can't witness the giant boar attacking the city.

But you, despite being mortal, can.

"Okay, normally I'm used to having monsters in the way, but this is kind of annoying." Percy sighs. "Any idea what we're up against?"

"Well... from what I know, there are a couple of different big porkers in Greek myth. Wait - shouldn't you know this?"

"Hey, do I ask if you know Superman?"

"Fine. Fair point."

You pull Percy along with you as you run, following the surprisingly speedy piggy.

And that's when the Flash shows up.

"Hey! You're like me!"

You grin. "I think you're who we want to see, but... let's take care of the monster first."

Barry balks. "What?"

"Oh, right."

Percy sighs. "Sorry about this-" and focuses, manipulating the Mist so that Barry can see through it.

"I'm Tempo. And this is my boyfriend, Percy Jackson."

"Percy Jackson? Weren't you that kid that got kidnapped and they all thought you were a terrorist?"

Percy pouts. "I didn't think anybody'd remember that."

"Wait, so... is that a giant boar? Is this... what happened to you?"

"Greek myths are real, so are the gods. Trust me, it sucks." Percy gives him the book jacket version."

"I've been able to see them all my life, and I'm not even a demigod. Percy says it's called the Mist."

"Oh, so you being speedy doesn't come from like, winged boots or anything?"

"No, I was in an accident with a lightningrod."

"For me, I got struck by lightning from a cloud formed by a particle accelerator explosion."

"Wow, you're practically twins." Percy smirks.

"Let's catch up after! We need to deal wth this thing. Can you think of anything recently that might've pissed off a god?"

"Uh, they shut down half the zoo to make room for a power plant?"

"Artemis. Does that narrow it down?" Percy asks you.

"Calydonian Boar! Or Aetolian. It's the boar Atalanta killed."

Barry presses a hand to his ear. "Caitlin, Cisco, you listening? No, I'm not crazy, though I might have a concussion or something. Just... figure out how we might be able to kill a giant boar without anyone burning up a piece of wood their life is tied to."

"Hey, you know more Greek mythology than Percy does!" you joke.

Percy smacks your arm but doesn't seem particularly offended.

"Well, there is one idea, but it hinges on your boyfriend here being inhumanly durable."

Percy smirks. "Let's just say I got that covered."

"Well, as speedsters, we could basically slingshot you into the boar, with that sword sticking into it and hopefully killing it."

"Sounds good to me!" you nod. Percy nods eagerly.

Caitlin quickly emerges, summoning Killer Frost to lock the Calydonian Boar in place, while Ralph acts as the slingshot, Percy bracing himself, feet planted on Ralph's chest as you and Barry use your speed to build up the potential energy, stretching out Ralph's arms, until......

You both duck, and Ralph rubberbands back into shape, the momentum transferring to Percy and launching him at extreme speed at the boar!

Percy has his sword held out in front of him, and even manages a turn in midair to get more aerondynamic speed, and executes a flashy forward somersault, leaving Riptide speared in the Calydonian Boar, landing as it turns to yellow powder.

"Gotta say, 'Team Flash, Monster Slayers' has a great ring to it." Cisco congratulates, while Ralph rubs his arms as if they were sore.

It's fun to work as part of a team that has more than three members.

And maybe, just maybe, Barry will finally help you unlock the secrets of your powers...

[adanseydivorce]

arguing over how the godly DNA thing does/doesn’t impact shipping in pjoverse (aside from like, actual siblings obviously) is actually the stupidest thing ever. Just accept that the explanation was half assed / not written in a logical well thought out way but that we as a fandom have no choice but to accept it at face value and see it as a situation that isn’t analogous to the real world. I would say it’s similar to consuming paranormal media where all the main relationships are paranormal x immortal and you have to accept that as a trope of the genre / norm of the world rather than argue about 100 yr age gap vs 2000 year or something, when neither is appropriate and neither is analogous to like a teen show romanticizing a student-teacher relationship in a school setting which is technically less of a gap but sooo much more harmful in how it influences/relates to situations that happen just like that every day in reality (and this isn’t about ships with immortal x mortal like that in this verse necessarily since there are very few of them/it is not the norm, so I get people being uncomfortable with them (I Hate C*leo but my reasons for hating them aren’t necessarily that one)). There’s a false equivalency in trying to make demigod relationships out to be analogous to real life ones in that way and I haven’t seen one argument about this that isn’t blatantly just someone disliking a specific ship and trying to badmouth it and in doing so coming off as a hypocrite.

Like let’s see, ‘shipping Jasicois Disgusting idc what Rick says about DNA people are going to hell for shipping First Cousins 1!1’ okay… do you feel that way about Jercy? If you say yes you also hate that for the same reason do you feel that way about Pipabeth because Athena and Artemis are both daughters of Zeus making them ‘first cousins’ too (and here’s where I think you start losing people because in reality a lot of these arguments are based around the mlm ships but ignore the wlw ones because fandom has a very 2d way of interacting with ships like Pipabeth a lot of the time where sure a fan will say they Like the ship but they’ve never in reality ever given actual thought to their dynamic enough to notice this (also applies to things like arguing about a 1.5 year age gap for other ships like Jasico/Valdangelo maybe Jercy if they actually remember their 1.5 age difference but not being able to catch that Annabeth is also 1.5 years older than Piper because again it’s usually transparent when people haven’t actually payed the attention the female characters and f/f dynamics they pretend to, also 1.5 years is not a serious age gap like 3+ years is when it comes to ya/middle grade but this isn’t about that) And if you are taking the stance that what Rick said about godly DNA is like, a lie (when it is fantasy world-building albeit poorly constructed but still world-building) how are you going to ship Any of the demigods together if your answer is like amount of distances the family tree that’s also a bizarre/weird take because do you think shipping second cousins would be better/less gross/less harmful? Like by ‘Gods do have DNA actually’ logic Zeus is Athena’s father and Poseidon is Zeus’s brother so that makes Poseidon Annabeth’s great uncle and Percy Annabeth’s (As a die-hard Percabeth can’t believe I have to actually type this out to make a point I hate ya’ll for making me have to think about it this much 🤮🤢) Uncle ???!! Similar with Nico to Will and Hazel to Frank. Do you still believe what you originally spoke about? Like unless the take you have is that no demigods are shippable / you hate all ships between them the way these takes operate is Clearly not actually about like activism it’s because you dislike a ship and want to put it down/make it seem like other people should not ship it, be serious, and in the process you actually made everything much weirder and grosser than it needed to be in the first place. 

And like listen… you can just hate a ship! There are always some valid criticisms of ships/dynamics I’m including ones I personally ship in this. You can State your actual reasons for not liking the ship instead of this hypocritical faux-activism. For example I personally dislike Jercy as a ship because I think it’s overrated and boring compared to more interesting dynamics, their relationship could have been a good one but almost all their interactions in the books involved this weird toxic masculinity macho bs that seemed ooc for both of them and I didn’t enjoy reading about them together much. But I’m not going to try and tell Jercy shippers that shipping Jercy is problematic and terrible because they’re cousins or a toxic relationship or something because I have a functioning brain thank you very much! People can go for what I don’t personally like. See it’s very simple. You don’t even have to have reasons like I gave! You can just not vibe with something.

*P*rcicos dni this is not about you! No I don’t think the cousins argument holds weight there anymore than for other ships but their age gap + power imbalance Is troubling in a real world context in a way that doesn’t apply to other ships I mentioned ( Frazel similar in age gap but not in power dynamics, and I dislike Frazel too) the combination of 3.5ish years age gap + Nico having idolized Percy to an unhealthy degree for years/since he was a ten year old child + Percy very much views Nico as a child in his narration in pjo and that means he would never look at him in a romantic light at any point in the future, if you think otherwise you just don’t care or get Percy’s characterization frankly. I don’t support relationships that have such a troubling imbalance in a real world context. (It should go without saying L*kabeth L*kercy Th*labeth and dynamics with super egregious imbalances like that dni again not about you).

Most of the really irritating stuff I’ve seen about this is on twt I just felt the need to write all this out here 

[let-tyrants-fear]

On the Spider Scene

It should have been in the show! It should have been in the show. They’ve made a lot of changes, and most of them I’ve understood, but there was no reason to change this scene. There was nothing new gained. And in fact, I think there was a lot lost.

If they had something they actually wanted to say with the throne of gold storyline, I might be a little more forgiving, but it’s nothing they haven’t already said, and it’s nothing they couldn’t say again later. All I really got from this is that Percy and Annabeth are both willing to sacrifice themselves in order to save each other, but we already knew that from the past two episodes. If they wanted to do it a third time, to really drive it home, they could have brought it back up in the Underworld. They did not need to make that point again.

The show also ignores the fact that the point of the trap is to catch Ares and Aphrodite in order to humiliate them. There are cameras, and the whole thing is broadcasting live to Olympus, and Hephaestus doesn’t particularly care that he’s caught two demigods instead of his original target. Because it’s entertainment. The puny mortals fighting for their lives -- it’s amusing to the gods. Instead, the show loses some of that nuance, some of that worldbuilding.

I did like Annabeth’s speech, about how the gods fight each other and trip over themselves for glory and power, and how she doesn’t want to be like that anymore, but I did not like the placement. I think that, too, would have been better suited in a different scene -- in the zoo truck, or on the way to the Underworld.

I also don’t think it should have been said directly to Hephaestus. I don’t like that Hephaestus was there at all. I think a lot of their interactions with the mythic world so far -- both with monsters and now with gods -- have been far too casual and far too kind, and this was another example of that. I don’t like that Hephaestus just lets Percy go, and I’m sad we don’t get to see Annabeth and Percy working together and saving themselves. (Also, sidenote: why did they dress Hephaestus like the Nutcracker?)

Most importantly, though, they sacrificed an important part of Annabeth’s character. Her fear of spiders. Honestly, they set her up for it so well, too, with Ares’ remark about Annabeth having no fear, and then they just completely dropped the ball. Because the point of the spider scene (or one of them) is that Annabeth has weak points. She has fears. She’s human, she’s flawed.

More than that, though, when the spiders show up in the book, she’s useless. She is freaking the fuck out, her brain is not braining, she is frozen. She comes through in the end, but for the majority of that scene, she is solid dead weight. But Percy has her back.

It’s such a huge piece of their relationship that we just…don’t get in the show. But the spider scene is instrumental to Percy and Annabeth learning to trust each other, to have each other’s backs. It solidifies them as a team, it paves the way for their development over the rest of the series, it sets them up as complements to each other. It’s important, because their relationship is not just “I will sacrifice myself for you.” It’s also “I will take care of you when you cannot take care of yourself.”

And for Annabeth in particular, that’s huge. She and Percy just had this whole conversation in the last episode where she talks about how she had to earn love her whole life, and the show had a golden opportunity to follow up on that with the spider scene. It’s a scene where she has undeniably screwed up. Where she hasn’t been perfect, or helpful, or impressive. Where she hasn’t done anything to earn Percy’s friendship or his trust, and yet he just gives it. So easily. Because for him, that’s how love works, but for her, she’s never had that before.

They could have done so much with that, and they just. Didn’t.

I just feel like we lost a lot of the intricacies of Percy and Annabeth without the spider scene. As well as some of the depth to Annabeth’s character, a foundational piece to their friendship, and further insight into the gods’ mistreatment of heroes. And all we got in exchange was essentially the same point that they made last week.

Also, it’s dumb, but I miss the whole “Thrill Ride o’ Love” thing. I was so looking forward to watching them bicker over it. It’s dumb, it’s immature, it’s silly, but it’s fun, and it’s an element that the show so far has been sorely lacking. This was an opportunity to add some lightness, and they just didn’t bother.