#initial response

[everythingannoyingpjo]

i really don't like how Riordan wrote Octavian in HOO. during SON, it really seemed like he had something planned for him, some backstory or reasoning for his actions, but when he saw the way fans hated on him he decided to just make him a laughingstock. he's supposed to be this powerful guy, Hazel even says so, and he's supposed to be able to talk the senate into almost anything, and yet we don't see any of this past SON. and the hypocrisy for him! with Luke, people forgave him even though he tried to literally destroy Camp Halfblood, gr00med children, and obviously did not care if his own allies got killed. his main reasoning was "I don't think my dad cares about me so I'm just gonna injure and/or off dozens of children!". Octavian does try to destroy Camp Halfblood (which I'm not gonna say is okay, bc it isn't) but he has an actual reasoning! his home had been attacked and the people who did it just ran away with no explanation. yes, Leo had been possessed, but nobody even told Octavian that! so his rage was absolutely reasonable. and he actually cares about his allies. he waits to attack several days to a week just so the onagers would arrive, that way there would be no casualties on his side. plus, it seems like people just ignore the fact that he was manipulated by Gaea and was obviously having a mental breakdown near the end. it's constantly brought up in arguments for Luke like "he was manipulated by Kronos!!" but when a similar thing happens to Octavian, nobody mentions it or seemingly cares.

Note: OP has a negative opinion of Luke and of some fans differing reactions to Luke and Octavian as antagonists. However this is not a fandom complaint or character complaint blog. It is a book complaint blog. This ask was sent before that point was clarified. Please try to limit complaints and discussions to what occurs in the source material only.

Yes, I agree. I tried to make a list of your points below for clarity.

during SON, it really seemed like he had something planned for him, some backstory or reasoning for his actions

It did seem that way. There are a lot of implications behind Octavian and not much fact.

It is implied he was raised in New Rome. This means he was raised in a culture that promoted suspicion of/aversion towards greek demigod culture. (You can see this aversion in the way people/the laeres react to Percy when he arrives at CJ.)

It is implied he has prophetic powers.

It is implied that he is unwell/unstable. It's implied he is being manipulated by Gaea.

It is implied that public opinion of him is favorable.

It is implied he wants to go to war, specifically against greek demigods should they exist, though he should have no proof of their existence.

It is implied that he killed Gwen.

It is implied (in TOA) that he has a connection to the triumverate.

None of this is ever explained/explored/given more detail. Why does he believe Apollo supports him? What is the extent of Gaea's influence on him? Why does he angle for war before the attack on Rome even happens? What does he know and how?

he's supposed to be this powerful guy, Hazel even says so, and he's supposed to be able to talk the senate into almost anything, and yet we don't see any of this past SON.

Given every implication above, he should be powerful, or competent, or at least have the backing of competent people. We never see that. We never know why he makes the decisions he does and how he accomplishes his goals is almost never shown or explored.

Octavian does try to destroy Camp Halfblood (which I'm not gonna say is okay, bc it isn't) but he has an actual reasoning! his home had been attacked and the people who did it just ran away with no explanation.

Octavian was pretty clearly angling for war even before the attack, but certainly that cemented the legitimacy of such an action in his mind. Yet from SoN onwards Rick treats Octavian as a complete joke. Which honestly, I do think Octavian is funny, but I also think the story would have been better if I believed Octavian was a legitimate threat. And I don't because he basically disappears from the narrative at this point except to exist as some sort of omnipresent boogieman. None of his actions, motivations, or reasoning is ever explored. Any shadow of substance he had in the previous books is flattened. He becomes completely two dimensional.

It's hard to even be mad at people for not seeing the legitimacy in his attack when it's the result of Rick completely ignoring his character. After SoN he basically only exists to create a sense of urgency in completing the quest.

and he actually cares about his allies. he waits to attack several days to a week just so the onagers would arrive, that way there would be no casualties on his side.

I mean, this is largely supposition. The narrative heavily implies the wait for the onagers is because he wants to win with overwhelming force. But you are right that his compatriots safety could be the reason he wants to win with overwhelming force! But we don't know, because again, he was never fleshed out!

plus, it seems like people just ignore the fact that he was manipulated by Gaea and was obviously having a mental breakdown near the end.

It's pretty clear he was being manipulated. I think one thing it's easy to forget is that all these characters are teenagers. Octavian is a child. He has been put in a position of responsibility that should be reserved for an adult. It's hard to think Octavian is 100% evil or that he 100% deserves to die. EXCEPT that Rick has prevented us from being allowed to see him as a real person. He has made him feel like a complete caricature of a human being. And even then, it still disgusts me that Rick made his death a complete joke, something to laugh at.

If Rick was trying to say that "people who think this way are a joke" he should have shown us more of Octavian's thoughts. He should have given us the oppurtunity to see the point he was making by laughing at him.

Instead we have the implication that there was more, and no answers. He never even gave Octavian a last name. I do not like Octavian as a character, but everything about how he was written is sort of fucked up.

[katsinspats]

Tragic: Guy you based your entire villain backstory on doesn't even remember you

[ciderjacks]

She’s the most like me

[dukeofthomas]

I find the fact that the confrontation at the end of UTRH is often summarized as Jason asking Bruce to kill the Joker for him fascinating.

Because that's not what happened.

Jason holds a gun up to Joker's head, gives Bruce another, and tells him that if Bruce doesn't do something (shoot Jason), he will kill Joker.

Jason doesn't give the gun to Bruce so that he would shoot Joker. He isn't expecting Bruce to pull the trigger on the clown. He's asking Bruce to do nothing. To be inactive. Because that will still be a choice, and despite having done nothing, everybody clearly agrees that Bruce would still, at least in part, be responsible for Joker's death.

...And to me, this moment is a kind of- microcosm, of the rest of Jason's point. Because after being captured and carted off to Arkham, the villain will escape again, and will kill more people. The only way to truly prevent that from happening would be to kill them; Bruce refuses to do so, and I respect his right to choose such a thing for himself, but it is still a choice, and if we agree that Bruce's inaction during the confrontation would leave him at least partly responsible for the Joker's death, then we must also agree that his inaction in permanently preventing the Rogues from killing more people means he is also, partly, responsible for all of those deaths.

[merakiui]

I headcanon Georgina is head of the Leech family. She's known as a pretty brutal woman but has a soft spot for her sons.

She frequents a hole in the wall known bakery who's cakes and teas are just fabulous. She develops a friendly relationship with a waitress she hit it off with. They gossip for an hour every time she's there. Her darlingsons are a frequent point of discussion.

It's gets too the point your boss wants to tell you to get back to work, but the smile Mrs. Leech gives him is nothing short of menacing as she tells him this is just good customer service leave her be.

One day a bloodied individual is brought to her begging for his life. Saying he'd give her anything. His gambling debts had left him with little else other than a daughter. When Georgina looks at the provided photo it's her waitress!?

... Well who is she to squander such an opportunity.

You find yourself forced into a car on your way home from work. Georgina is there playing up how awful it is to have a father willing to sell his daughter to pay off his debts, but don't worry Mama Georgina will look out for you, all you have to do is one tiny favor and the debts will be considered repayed! You're practically shaking as it's just you and her in an elevator. Once you're at the top floors penthouse you're shoved out, falling into the arms of twins you recognize from her pictures.

Mama leech hits the button to go back to the lobby "Be gentle with the poor thing..." she gives her sons a smile that basically says:

"I want a positive pregnancy test in hand by the end of the week."

Ohhhhh….. orz orz that’s perfect,,,

Forming a bond with her favorite waitress and it pays off in her favor when your terrible father owes a serious debt. She’s so seamless with her motherly manipulation, sympathizing so sweetly to your circumstances, and insisting she’s here to help you. Even though it does nothing to ease your anxieties, considering your father essentially used you as compensation for his debt. >_< for the first time since you met her, you don’t trust the “sincerity” in her smile.

Nor do you quite understand what she means when she tells her beloved sons to “be gentle.” You’re immediately scared. They’re so tall and strong-looking, and their razored grins are too intimidating. You realize what’s happening when they’re guiding you to a bed, promising to treat you nicely just as their mama asked them to~

Suddenly, you’re resisting. You don’t want this! You’ve never had sex before and if you ever were to you always imagined your first time to be full of love and sweetness. This is nothing like this as your legs are pried apart and they tell you you’re cute when you squirm. You’re so scared. This isn’t what you want, but it’s what you must do because you were practically handed on a silver platter to them. ;;;

It’s impossible to hold back your moans, too. You try your hardest, but that just makes them even more determined to unravel you. One of them eats you out with a long, skilled tongue while the other teases your nipples. You cry out when you’re stretched open on a cock that feels too-big, choking on the other stuffed into your mouth. They’re mating pressing you into the sheets to ensure you won’t waste a single drop of cum. >:) that way you’ll be mothering a child or two (or three) in the near-future.

Mama Leech simply adores you. She knew you’d be a perfect match for her darling boys. And it’s a wonderful thing they seem to like you just as much.

[bunnieswithknives]

The soul of Wicked is randomly inventing extremely elaborate relationships between characters who barely interact at all in canon. Also Fiyero is here.

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

We could have had it all...

[First] Prev <–-> Next

[turtleblogatlast]

Something I really like is that April’s constant stream of odd jobs she goes through is somewhat reflected in the boys as well. Like, you have April working at random pizza places or getting a crane license or being fully willing to apply for a job at a place clearly made out of cardboard. Then you have the boys as well who do anything from working as a basketball mascot, building a massive dog park, being waiters, getting a whole band gig at a theme park, etc, etc-

Main difference is that April actively applies for these jobs (and is hopefully paid for the short time she’s in them) whereas for the bros the jobs usually find them (and they practically never get paid.) It doesn’t even stop at jobs either, they just seem to casually amass skills in general.

I don’t know, I like how both April and the turtles are just so ready and willing to do things. Sure, they’re not always good at these things, but they do them readily! In a way, being heroes is just another job (well, more like volunteer work/vigilantism/another fun activity) that they initially took on because of their general sense of “why not?”

They’re very willing and open to trying out new things despite their tendency to revert back to what they enjoy (and how commonly trying new things ends up going wrong), and I think that adaptational interest of theirs really helps them be well rounded in multiple regards.

[everythingannoyingpjo]

I really dislike how Rick wrote Aphrodite and her cabin, they have so much potential in battle but Rick barely ever uses it. They’re usually just portrayed as shallow and vain unless the narrative calls for one of them not to be like Piper and Silena

The really big problem with the Aphrodite cabin, in my opinion, is that Rick is more a "tell" author than a "show" author.

He tells the reader what there opinion is supposed to be. He tells the reader who a character is instead of showing it through their actions. This isn't inherently bad, especially in a book written for a young audience. However, this becomes really problematic when the PoV character says something negative about someone or some group of people. Especially when that group or person is rarely featured in the actual narrative.

Percy and Annabeth frequently make disparaging remarks about the Aphrodite cabin and they never explain why. If you're inclined to think the best of people until given a reason not to this is going to be irritating. It irritated me. And it becomes more irritating when we are given reason to believe the things we are being told are untrue.

The only character we know anything about from the Aphrodite cabin is Silena (in the original series), so let's take a look at what we know about her.

Silena is beautiful.

Silena cares for the camp's Pegasii. (She is the one who teaches Percy how to ride them.)

Silena has some knowledge of magic. (Comes up when Morpheus puts New York to sleep.)

Silena does not hide her emotions. (Grief, anger, joy, she is shown to express all of them freely.)

Silena loves Charles Beckendorf. (She gives Kronos information about Camp after being told doing so would protect him among others.)

Silena gives relationship advice. (To Clarisse specifically, to Annabeth though it's only implied.)

Silena has pink armor.

Silena does not get along with the Hunter's of Artemis. (One of the few times she is eager to participate in capture the flag.)

Silena can charmspeak. (Stated in HoO. Never shown to use it.)

Silena does not like the tradition of breaking the heart of your first love. (Stated in TLH)

What conclusions can we draw about Silena from these details?

Silena cares about others, or at least about their relationships. Her reluctance to break hearts and her dislike of the Hunter's suggests she loves love. :) She cares for animals, or at least Pegasii. The pink armor suggests she has a very specific style and is likely interested in fashion. She cares most about people's survival and, unfortunately, this causes her to be easily mislead.

We are told multiple times in the first series that the Aphrodite cabin cares only about their looks, valuing them above their combat skills. The implication is that they care about their looks more than they do about protecting their camp or even their lives. But nothing about Silena's behavior suggests this is true.

She does care about her looks, but not above protecting others. Helping others in fact seems to be one of her primary motivations. She does not seem to typically enjoy capture the flag, but I don't think someone who doesn't value combat or understand it's necessity would go through the trouble of customizing their entire armor set. Her knowledge of magic suggests she has some experience fighting against magic users or has spent time studying or practicing magic as well.

We are told the Aphrodite cabin is weak, but never given cause to believe it. We are told they are vain, but never shown this to be true either. We could assume that Percy and Annabeth's negative opinions are just that, assumptions based on hersey and rumor. Except that we are almost never given any reason to doubt either Percy or Annabeth's opinions unless their beliefs are in direct opposition to each other. Instead we are left feeling frustrated and confused because the information we are given doesn't match up with what actually happens. It's really stupid.

There's so much more to say about this topic, but I'll leave it there (for now). Needless to say, I agree.

[vesna-v-irkutske]

what is this faggotry byee

i don’t believe reddit posts but this shi so gay i have no choice but to wonder whether it’s true or not

what do you think

It IS true, and I'm not even joking here. A 16 year old boy CRYING over this is just wow... Oh dear. :( 💔 It's not that he's not allowed to cry, of course not, it's just that he didn't cry even during the entire trial, while Artyom sobbed several times (lol), just wow.

[nnnneeev]

thinking about how solomon will react if you shot him down everytime he follows up with a "just kidding." for example....

solomon: welcome back! did you miss me? haha just kidding-

mc: what if i did, huh? what are you gonna do about it? what if i did miss you? no, scratch that. i DID actually miss you. and it's not just today. i missed you on every other single day that we weren't together, so stop asking me that question because you should already know the answer

solomon: oh, i uh--

[pocket-deer-boy]

I’m fully expecting matt’s twitter behavior rn to be an intentional harassment campaign of constantly poking and prodding at trans women until they say something that could potentially be construed as a death threat and then retaliating in full force to attempt to get them banned off of twitter as well. I mean, he really, REALLY wants to interpret these things as death threats.

[blood-starved-beast]

[reductionisms]

math yaoi - ring theory from yaoizine 5!

[ratblazer]

Alright hellblazer nation, with John's birthday on the horizion I'm putting on a little dtiys! Any style, any medium, any interpretation, go wild! There won't be any winners because I'm not gonna have it in me to judge, I just want to host something in the fandom and showcase art from folks here :>

Deadline will be the big man's bday, May 10th. Tag me in/DM anything you draw!

[sadkachow]

i am like The Distortion because i, too, am Me but also Not Me in a way that is extremely difficult to put into words, and because i have an immensely complicated relationship with the sense of "self" and what that actually means, in this essay i will-