#percy has trauma

[lookingthroughmirrors]

A big issue I’ve just realised while looking at P*rcabeth again, is something I haven’t really seen discussed. I think while a large portion of their relationship was forced by outside perspectives and everyone thinking they should be together, I think another factor that makes it just as toxic is the trauma bond aswell.

I whole heartedly believe that they didn’t stay together after canon because there is no way that is a functioning long term relationship. I think they relied on a connection they thought was there while they were literal children fighting wars, but after that it becomes harder.

I think Percy in particular should’ve stayed single, because I think there’s a lot of things he hasn’t dealt with and needs. He was (heavily implied) to have been abused growing up, he watched multiple friends die and handed Luke the knife he killed himself with (which even with everything that happened there, it would still weigh on him either way), all the pressure that had been put on him to save the world, Sally making the Blofis family after the fact (which again would be hard for Percy, no matter how welcoming, because he never got that like Estelle will). Not to mention all the other trauma over the years. The blame that others put on him (Bianca was the first death he saw, he was maybe fourteen, and he canonically has always felt guilty about it). Boy needs a therapist, and I think being with Annabeth only exacerbated both of their issues.

[dandelion-blues]

Humans are the Real Monsters

Intro:

Sally died, and Percy was left at the hands of the monster, Gabe Ugliano. Iruma Sukuki was forced to work since he could remember by his lazy parents. What do the two have in common? They were both sold to the demon Sullivan!

PJO x Mairimashita! Iruma-kun crossover

CW: Abuse and Violence

Chapter 1, Part 1: A Demon's Grandsons

Percy felt tears leaking from his eyes, his breaths coming out in stuttering gasps. Percy felt despair grip at his chest, a tight weight pressing on his chest. The 12 year old curled into a ball, trying to muffle his breaths. If he heard him, who knew what he would do.

That comforting black swirled around Percy, the shadowy horrors of his imagination reaching out to him. Percy whimpered, his breathing labored. He couldn't breathe. Every breath hurt, and his throat was raw from crying, and his mouth parched with thirst.

Still, Percy did his best to stay quiet because being in the dark was much better than being out in the light with him.

But then that stench reached Percy’s nose, like the rotting corpse of his mother moldy trash and sewer rats. Percy stopped breathing, his heart stopping in his chest.

And then, light flooded his eyes, and he was leering above Percy. A monster disguised in human flesh that grinned with rotted teeth, “Tryin’ to hide from me, brain boy. Yur lucky imma make a lot of money off of yous, and I'm in good mood in all.”

Percy shaked, not daring to speak or breathe. His throat and lungs hurt painfully from the strain.

The monster casted a gaze towards Percy, those eyes without a soul needle and little, and reached out with his meaty hands toward Percy.

Percy gasped and whimpered, trying to get away, but he hit the wall of the closet.

All Percy could see was the hand reaching out to him, and he was screaming in his heead for it to go away.

Please-nomore-stop-stopitplease-I'llbegoodjustgoaway-goaway-GOAWAY!!!

Except the hand reached around Percy’s already bruised throat and yanked him out of the closet, the monster breathing over him. Smelling like beer and cigarettes and rotting food.

Percy whimpered, and the monster laughed, “C'mon brat. I j’st wanna have som’ fun bef’re yous go is all.”

And the hand started tightening around Percy’s throat.

This is it! Smelly Gabe is finally going to kill him, just as he did his mom.

Still, Percy fought to live and clawed out the hand to get off his throat, his feet dangling and kicking in the air. Percy tried to scream, but all that came out was choked muffles.

Black spots dotted Percy’s vision. And Percy’s energy gained. Percy just hopes he sees his mom when he dies.

Except Gabe releases Percy, and the twelve year old crumbles like a puppet with cut strings on the dirty floor.

Percy takes in large gasping breaths, tears streaming down his face.

Percy, however, barely gets to acknowledge the fact that he lived when a jarring pain was felt on his side.

Percy curls up to himself, his body already knowing what is coming next, even as his brain is still trying to get more oxygen.

The monster kicks Percy, laughing at him as the boy whimpers in pain.

“Fucking pussy, can’ even take a lil beating!” The monster screams, but all Percy can hear is ringing in his ears.

Then, the monster crouches down and yanks Percy up from his hair. Percy’s body trembles from pain, but he still manages to glare at the monster.

The monster smiles, “Need more fur the lesson hasn’ stuck yet.”

And the monster slams Percy’s head onto the floor.

Percy blinks black spots out of his vision, his head and body throbbing from pain.

Percy doesn’t know how long the “lesson” continues on for. Everything just came down to pain.

Except, somehow, in the midst of all that pain. Percy heard screaming, and he knew it wasn’t him. Percy didn’t even have the energy to scream. And then everything became eerily silent.

There was no ratting of the ac, or the stomps from the upstairs neighbors, or the whirring of the fridge, or even the monster's sounds.

That couldn't be. The monster is never silent!

Still, Percy didn’t know how long it took him to notice, but eventually he did. When the pain finally subsided enough for him to form coherent thoughts.

Percy blinked through his hazy eyes, seeing an elderly man?

And Percy realized that he wasn’t on the floor anymore. He was being carried.

Percy tried to move, but searing pain swept through him, and he gasped in pain.

He heard someone speak, their words sounded deep and guttural, but somehow Percy found the noise comforting. Then, there was a soft touch on his forehead, and everything went away as Percy welcomed the night’s embrace.

*****

Sullivan couldn't believe that he wasn’t just getting one grandson, but two! To think that two parents (or in one case stepparent) sold their child’s soul for money and on the same day to boot!

And so Sullivan went to collect his first grandson. A fourteen year old named Iruma Suzuki, who was in a rather troublesome situation as he was on a tuna fish boat in the middle of a large storm, with the fish doing their best to crush the boy. And so, Sullivan carted his new grandson off.

He didn’t want to scare the poor boy, but well, he really wanted Iruma-kun to accept him as his grandfather. And so, he made sure to get the best, and only the best for him, pleading for the boy to accept him and maybe just threatening him a little. Not that Sullivan would go through with the threat. Not with his last order...

Still, Iruma accepted! And boy did that boy eat! It’s a good thing too, because the boy was really thin. Luckily, he didn’t seem to have a problem eating Underworld food, and he actually seemed to really like it!

Thus, Sullivan got so into dotting on his new grandson with gifts that he almost forgot to collect his other grandson.

And so Sullivan turned to his deviguard, Opera, and his new grandson, “Alright! I’ll be right back. I just need to grab my other grandson!”

The two sputtered in surprise, though Opera-chan did their best to not show their surprise.

Then, Sullivan just casually teleported quickly away to where his other grandson, Perseus Jackson, was. And oh, that was an interesting name! Very Greek! But those Greeks gods can not have his grandson because he belongs to him now!

Sullivan will be the best, bestest grandfather ever! He won’t just leave the poor boy to fend for himself like the Greeks do! If the boy is even a Greek demigod, anyways! But either way, his new grandchild will be well taken care of!

However, as Sullivan teleported to where the boy lived, he wrinkled his nose when he came to a fifty apartment with beer bottles and cans and rotting food all over the counter tops and floors.

Then, Sullivan turned away and entered the bedroom that belonged to his youngest grandson. And all Sullivan felt was rage. A great white fire spread through his veins, his eyes darkening and his pupils dilating dangerously as his claws lengthening and sharpening and his wings unfurling, casting on ominous shadow as he saw the mortal, who was his youngest grandson’s stepfather punch and kick his grandson. His grandson, who was wheezing and gasping from pain as black and blue marked most of his exposed tan skin.

Sullivan didn’t waste a moment to yank the human off from his grandson, already reveling in his screams as his claws were already bruising the human’s throat like the dark purple ring around his grandson’s throat that he saw.

And, oh, his poor grandson was just whimpering and trembling, not even noticing that his attacker stopped.

Sullivan might be a demon, but even he knew children were species and needed to be protected, and this mortal just beat his grandson like he was worth nothing!

Sullivan’s magic exploded from him. The world went still and silent other than Lord Sullivan, and this human called Gabe Ugliano, as time was completely stopped around them.

“You dare harm what is mine!” Sullivan growled at the human, not caring for when his ears started bleeding when the human heard his demonic voice.

Notes:

Here's another crossover! It seems that both Iruma and Percy will be receiving more care in the demon realms than the human realm.

These fledglings were hurt by the world, and now they'll receive the care and love they deserve.

Next Part

[aroaceleovaldez]

i am once again thinking about Percy and Annabeth and their respective relationships with their step-parents, particularly how the other views the other's dynamic with their step-parents.

Because there's a really interesting subtle thing that we see which is when Annabeth talks about her step-mom to Percy, Percy's assumption is that Annabeth's step-mom is like Gabe. He just presumes that because that's what's familiar with him and based on his own experiences he assumes their situations are similar.

But then when Percy actually meets Annabeth's step-mom (and her dad) he realizes their situations aren't at all the same. He was expecting another Gabe, but instead he just found a genuinely caring family that was just struggling to find their footing with one another.

The interesting thing is that this implies an inverse - especially with what we know about how Percy and Annabeth describe their experiences. Percy doesn't really talk about Gabe ever. To anyone. Grover knows the whole picture there but he's basically the only one of Percy's friends who does. As far as we know, unless Grover told her at some point, Annabeth doesn't know about Gabe. She knows he was a jerk, but Percy out loud doesn't ever really get into details about it. She knows they didn't get along and eventually Gabe disappeared and Percy basically never spoke of it again. Presumably, Annabeth thinks Percy's dynamic with Gabe was like her dynamic with her step-mom, like how Percy had thought their situations were the same. Especially given we know Percy assumed their situations were the same and likely spoke about it as such if it ever came up.

Like. That's such an interesting tiny aspect of their dynamic that never gets touched upon. Annabeth likely doesn't know about this very core traumatic experience Percy endured before they met because she's operating under the assumption that their family just was a little rocky like hers was.

[poppitron360]

Calypso, babes, he’s autistic. This is just how he processes the world. Leave him alone.

[mediumgayitalian]

“Will. Hey.” He reaches out when the medic doesn’t react, forcibly stilling his hands. Even then, he can feel the minute twitches, the fighting he’s doing with himself to keep still. “It can wait until tomorrow.”

“They leave tomorrow,” Will stresses, finally pulling his hands free. “The Romans are early risers, Nico, you know better than anyone, I need this done before they —”

He cuts himself off, too invested in the sprawl of paperwork completely covering the nurse’s station. Under his eyes is almost completely bruised black, not unlike the war paint he wore so long ago, and there’s a grey dullness to him. If he stays in one place too long, he sways on his feet.

“I’m fine,” he says, suddenly, as if remembering Nico is there. He pauses briefly to shoot him a small, strained smile, then returns to his frantic sorting. A red thumbprint bleeds onto the corner of the page of one of the files. He doesn’t seem to notice.

Without straying too far, Nico gathers the supplies he needs. He pulls out a tray to grab some antiseptic, swipes a Pac-Man bandaid off a box on the counter. Arms laden with his spoils, he nudges the half-door open with his hip, setting the supplies down when he’s inside the round desk-station.

“Will,” he says quietly, wrapping his hand around his elbow. He jumps.

“I’m — fine.”

“You’re bleeding.”

He blinks, staring down at his hands; brows furrowing as he notices the several scattered paper cuts crossing almost every finger. Many of them are clotted, scabbed over; dried blood streaking between his freckles and swirling around stark white scars.

“Come here.”

Without protest, for once, he does. He sets down the pen clenched in his left thumb and turns to face Nico fully. In the minimal space between them, his hands shake.

“I didn’t notice,” he murmurs, flinching as Nico soaks a cotton pad and presses it to a cut on the inside of his thumb. Nico can’t quite read the expression on his face, although there’s a choked quality to his voice. “I need to — before they —”

“Not everything is your responsibility,” Nico interrupts. He meets Will’s gaze head on, his own gaze steady, heart breaking at the fragility in his ice blue eyes. “Not everything is your responsibility, Will,” he repeats, firmer this time.

Will’s face crumples. “I haven’t slept in five days.”

Nico closes his eyes. “Gods, Will.”

“I’m sorry.”

In moments like these, Nico hates working for his father.

He had left to relative chaos. Relative, meaning in comparison to what the rest of the eight billion people on the planet would consider calm, camp wasn’t it, but by demigod standards it wasn’t too bad. Several Romans, including Reyna and Hazel, were due to arrive the day after he was summoned by his father, which was a bummer, but he had assurance from both of them that they’d stay long enough to see him. And reassurance from his father that the errand wouldn’t be too perilous. And, lastly, a threat (warning out of love, he would say, but Nico knows a threat when he sees one) from Will to take it easy.

He got back to debris and blood and a flurry of stress — a weapons development disaster, he’d been quickly informed. No deaths, at least not yet, but several in critical condition that were quickly approaching it.

And Kayla and Austin, back at school, and Will in the infirmary by himself.

“Will,” he repeats for the third time, a little more urgently this time. He places a gently finger under his chin. “Look at me a second.”

He regrets asking, almost, when Will meets his eyes, although he immediately feels guilty for the thought. The son of Apollo is so rarely vulnerable, stubbornly intent on carrying the burdens he’s stuck with without half a hand of help. It wears on him, and the proof of the weariness hurts Nico somewhere, deep in his soul; he hates bearing witness to it.

Worse, though, is the knowledge that Will is struggling with it himself.

“Everybody critical has been stabilized,” he says firmly. When Will opens his mouth in protest, he adds, “I can feel it, Sunshine, do you trust me?”

“Yes,” he says, immediately. He snaps his jaw shut. “Yes.”

Nico’s own shoulders slump when Will exhales, long and exhausted. “Good. This —” he gestures to the paperwork — “this is secondary, Solace. I don’t care if they want to leave tomorrow. You need rest, and, hell, if they’re that pressed about it, I’ll make them do the fucking paperwork.”

“Please, don’t,” Will says, laughing feebly. He swiped quickly under his eyes, pulling away, and Nico lets him, if only because his small smile seems genuine, if not exhausted. “The idea of that actually makes me want to puke. I hate paperwork, but I hate anyone else doing it more.”

“Right, right.” Nico nudges his shoulder, something like teasing showing in his eyes. “Heaven forbid someone dot their i’s incorrectly.”

“Exactly.” Will looks so serious that Nico stills, trying to figure out just how anal, exactly, his friend is, before his face breaks out into a wide, genuine grin. Nico’s stomach flips. “I’m only teasing, Death Breath. I don’t actually care if people dot their i’s incorrectly. And I would appreciate the help.”

“I feel like it hurt you to say that,” Nico says, once he recovers from the staggering force of one million megawatts of smile power.

“It did.”

“Also, you implied that there genuinely is a wrong way to dot your i’s.”

“…Of course there is.” Will looks at him strangely. “Maybe I’m not the one who’s sleep deprived,” he muses, reminding Nico that oh yeah, dumbass, Will is actually genuinely sick with how little sleep he’s gotten, maybe fix that.

“Will you sleep, now?”

Will hesitates. “There was a girl with a — skull injury.”

Nico understands immediately. (He saw the mangled mess of Lee’s shroud.)

“Come sleep in my cabin,” he suggests, squeezing his wrist. “I’ll keep watch, and you’ll have some privacy.”

“Okay,” he says quietly. He allows himself to be tugged out of the infirmary, only looking back a couple times. “Thank you, Nico.”

“Anything for you,” Nico responds, just as quiet, and his heart races when Will beams.

[swordoffrivolousthings]

Thoughts about Heroes of Olympus and how it could have been better.

Sometimes I think about what would have made HOO a better series. And I'm not talking about the obvious 'too much focus on romantic relationships' and the lack of usage of certain characters or the dumb ending.

I mean the little things that would change so much (mainly character dynamics but also worldbuilding i.e. Camp Jupiter and Gaia's reasoning)

Some of the points are inspired by @crisisreading and their posts. They are the first I saw raise some of my own points so! part 2

Make the ages vary more in the main cast, trust me

Let Percy, Annabeth and Grover get older by 4-5 years. Let them become adults and find themselves outside the godly war. Let them even finish college, I wouldn't get mad. Let them do anything beside being teenagers.

I promise this would make the dynamics more interesting. Percy and Annabeth will be more mentor figures, than fellow comrades. This would create some distance between some of the them, but ultimately create something fun. Piper would come to see some aspiring female figure in Annabeth (I think this would ether be positive or negative, depending how Annabeth changed as a character over the years, but I tend towards negative). Leo would potentially have someone older to exchange ideas with. Jason would possibly feel intimidated by Percy's vastly superior age, prowess and experience, instead of being able to clash heads with him.

Hazel would have not one, but two that people that would play parent to the others' reckless behavior. (go snort your harmful stereotypes up your ass, Riordan.) Frank, when telling Percy and Hazel about his stick, would possibly find in Percy a kind hand (not that he wasn't kind already, let me explain) and Percy would probably share with him this feeling of vulnerability - not dump it on Frank - about having your life tied to a specific thing. I mean his Achilles heel, with which he would have lived for far longer.

And a whole lot more.

2. Add Grover into the series as a perspective character

You have a new trio dynamic introduced in the first book of the series. Let the original trio interact as main characters and let us see how their relationship has changed.

Grover's opinion on the conflict between the gods and Gaia would be important. He is the Lord of the Wild, and Gaia is the literal personification of the Earth. Let us see his struggle between the loyalty he has to the gods and his friends and his powerful feelings towards protecting nature.

Also, he would act as a protector for the demigods. Because while I enjoy Hedge, he is not enough to keep them safe.

3. Throw the bullshit about Gaia getting revenge for Kronos' defeat out of the way

Gaia, as mentioned before, if the personification of the Earth. One of the first gods to emerge from Chaos.

Gaia can, of course, keep her resentment for the gods defeating the son that freed her from her pain (caused by Ouranos initially). But she is a mother goddess. She should want obliterate humanity because humans are slowly killing her. Painfully. She wants to survive and the only way she sees how if by killing all the humans. She wants to save her children, aka animals, insects, nature, and the only way she sees is bloodshed. Gods are not rational in their anger, no one is. So let her be angry and vengeful and out for human blood.

DO NOT MAKE HER A FUCKING VILLAIN, MAN! Make her an antagonist, but someone's whose ideals are worth taking in and adapting. Kinda like Luke about the demigod and minor god recognition. Where have the themes of the original series gone? Remember, an important theme in BOTL was protecting the environment. It was one of the most important moments when Pan faded. Do not let that go to fucking waste. Especially not now, in the world we live in.

4. Show the effects the war had on Camp Half-Blood. Hint it at Camp Jupiter, when Percy does not have the memories to corelate it with

We've had years since the end of the Second Titan War. How did the gods change the course of events ? (the victors write the histories) How much of Luke's reasoning for starting the war was erased. (hint, all of it.) Show us how much the perspectives were shifted and how much the people that fought in it were made into martyrs and villain, basically becoming caricatures.

Let us feel how much this hurts Percy, Grover and Annabeth. How it had impacted and impacts their trauma, grief and utter horror. The younger, newer campers see them as wonderful, all-just and loyal heroes of the gods. The way they hate it.

Good moment to implement the new cabins for the gods and let the new ones forget that it wasn't always this way. Let Percy's demand to the gods be forgotten, shoved under the rug. The tragedy unfolds, use it.

Since in Camp Jupiter none of the main characters have fought, let us see the subtility. Let the older legionnaires be ragged, scarred. Older and weary, with eyes glassy and suspicious. Have younger recruits have this heavy air around them. They know what happened, what killed most of the older people in the legion.

Have Jason, Hazel and Frank see these things in Annabeth, Grover and Percy too. They realise that oh. oh. these three have fought in the war, of course they would. Show them gain respect for the trio. The same kind of respect they have for the veterans back home.

5. Cut one of the Seven from the prophecy.

I know this seems radical, but it is a symbolism thing, which I think would be more interesting in a world based on Greek mythology.

It is established in PJO that three (3) is an important number: 3 Olympian sisters (Hera, Demeter, Hestia), 3 Olympian brothers (Hades, Poseidon, Zeus), 3 Fates, 3 quest members, 3 Furies, 3 godly realms (the Underworld, Olympus + the sky, the seas). Use this.

Give us six (6) prophesized heroes. It is, after all, the second most used number in the series and a multiple of 3.

I suggest Annabeth. Why? because she has her quest from Athena. Let that be her top priority, while hanging out on the Argo II to get to Rome. Let her bond with the younger demigods and have her possible death be always on her mind. Bring her hubris into play and she would think herself the chosen one, the one demigod child of Athena to survive. This would make her falling into Tartarus with Percy not letting her go more taxing on her psyche.

Show us how she hates herself because she took one of the principal quest members to certain death. She feels like she'd jeopardized the whole saving the world thing.

Cut the Seven to Six and let Annabeth die in Tartarus. Show us why a single-man quest is a death sentence. Why three (3) is such a valuable number.

6. CONSEQUENCES!!!

Jumping straight off the last point.

Change why Annabeth would end up in Tartarus. Make her ignore the string around her ankle because she thing that nothing bad can happen to her now. After all, Arachne is gone, right.

Let this be her undoing. I do not care how she dies, but make her choices, her hubris, be her undoing. Do not let her death up to a chance, a mistake or miscalculation. Show how toxic Tartarus is, because we do not see it enough, but make it Annabeth's idea, the plan by which she dies.

Do not make it Percy's fault. Let him try to do everything to keep her alive, but still failing. Attack his sense of loyalty, his self-esteem. Show how the experiences and her death affect him.

Bring the trauma from the last war back in those chapters, in a place where demigods leave something behind.

To less drastic things - let the others get hurt. Permanently. Show how this life affects and damages people physically, too.

Have one lose an eye, another get horrific scars. Lose a limb, a part of themselves. Do not make it seem like any other could have gotten the same wound.

Tailor them to their character, their pride and their skill. Hit them where it hurts most and let us see how it changes them.

Also, about Leo. Kill him too. The fact that he ended up alive is a deux ex machina. He should have suffered the consequences.

Also also, bring back the fatal flaws. They are missing from the series. Play with them, show why they are important parts of their characters. Bring back ancient Greek fatal flaws, and new ones that make sense in a modern world.

Hurt them because what hurts them is part of who they are. Show us why the Greeks invented tragedy.

7. Age up the target age. Go more young/new adult

I understand that PJO was made for middle schoolers. But the target audience had grown up alongside the characters, and as such they have matured.

This is why I said to age Percy, Grover and Annabeth up further. Leave some distance for the old and new readers to get up and personal with the new main characters. Have them find common ground with the new demigods but have their anchor in the old ones.

Make the readers work to understand and refamiliarize themselves wit the older demigods. Because they've changed.

Targeting a more mature audience allows exploring n. 6. The realistic consequences of living with the fear that something will come and eat you. How just a little mishap could change you for life. (or what has been left of it)

Please do not go grim dark. Show that despite this all, their purpose has not stopped existing. A life exists outside of your appearance or disability still exist, and while it would be hard, do not lose hope.

8. Hope, or lack of its importance in the Heroes of Olympus series

Alongside other callbacks and reinforcements of PJO's lore, where is Elpis (hope)? Why doesn't she appear as a larger theme in the books? I don't know.

Elpis is still in the jar, having been used as a threat of defeat. But now Kronos is gone. Have Gaia use it as s symbol for her own cause.

Make hope Gaia's argument. The most important part of why her cause stands. Gaia is waking now because there is no hope for the betterment of the planet while in human - and therefore godly - grasp. She wants to save the planet, but they, the destroyers, are opposing her.

Hope is what she wants to bring back. The hope that death will not be the end of life, but further evolvement and betterment of all species.

This argument is what the counterargument should unravel. All species? Why are humans considered irredeemable, unworthy of becoming something greater?

Why can't they not coexist and why can't humans learn how to care about the world surrounding them.

Make hope for humanity and for the environment not a question of if they are capable to coexist, but how we can manage that. Humanity and nature are not mutually exclusive, but two halves of the same whole that need each other to sustain their longevity. Yes, nature can exist without humans, but humans can't.

This does not mean that the best way forward is to kill all humans.

There is no need for hope in HOO because there are no greater questions being asked about topics that require hope, because otherwise we would descend into nihilism and fatalism.

9. Give the gods reason to act the way they act, or a look at a greater narrative problem in the series

I may be generalizing, but the gods act erratically and make choices convenient for the plot, as it is, to happen.

Hera: how, specifically, does she know that Gaia is rising and what her plans are. Why is she against Gaia, when the older goddess has a track record of helping the Olympians on different occasions in the myths. Why does she decide to act when she does, how she knows that the king of the giants (whatever his name may be) is coming after her right then.

We don't know.

Athena: we understand why she wants the Athena Parthenos back. Why not force the Romans to give it back. After all, she is a goddess, even if the Romans don't respect her as the Greeks did, she has power and sway over them. Why send her children, a supposedly important part of what brings her glory, to a near-certain death. Is it misguided vengeance, an obsession to get the statue back at all cost, or simple cruelty. These reasons could apply very well to sending the Romans, yet she doesn't.

Zeus: why lock down Olympus? Paranoia, which fair, but you are a King, why wouldn't you look after your subjects? (bc Riordan chose to ignore part of his characterization in the myths and part of his godly domain) (I know kings aren't perfect, but after the last war, one would think he would do everything in his power to stop another one before it begins) Why not seek justice for Octavian's lies, that affect their ability to win the war, and kill/imprison him? Justice is part of his domain, as Zeus Nomius.

I know that we wouldn't necessarily need these answers, but without some of them, some choices left hanging seem to be there only to add to the drama and danger of it all.

All in all, I have many problems with the 'Heroes of Olympus' series. Some of them are nitpicks and personal preference as a high fantasy reader in my free time. Some of them would really add to the story and continue the themes of PJO.

Please ask me if something wasn't clear to you. I'll happily explain further.

If you find something you don't agree with, let's discuss. I'm open to changing my opinions.

[thaliasthunder]

i would have laughed at nico's trauma joke sorry will but im different (traumatized & mentally ill)

[punkeropercyjackson]

I have the reverse of the Cain Instinct.My siblings can do no wrong in my eyes even when they're being huge dickbags and when people are mean to them my reaction is to yell at them to get off their asses or hit them.The Nightwing Instinct?Idk

[danwhobrowses]

For anyone else who is gonna struggle surviving the next 3 weeks with the angsty and tense situation of Callowmoore here's a few things from the last 2 episodes that I feel were underrated and will assist in trying to keep me sane/emotionally stable: - Matching messed up hands built for holding - Fearne nervously playing with her hair as she approaches Ashton - Ashton wanted Fearne to be either the last thing they saw if they died or the first thing they saw when they succeeded - Fearne's admittance corroborates Ashley's 4SD revelation that Fearne is in love with someone in the party but doesn't know how to process the emotions - Fearne wanted Ashton to be happy, while Ashton wanted to feel whole so they would be worthy of the Hells - Ashton twice tried to lead a search for Fearne, and instantly clocking onto Chetney saying he followed Fearne - Fearne making herself look as radiant as possible before giving Ashton the cold shoulder - Ashton only rose to Chetney's provocations until he said 'You hurt Fearne' Use how you will

[writer-room]

You ever just see people talk about the Percy Jackson books and know somewhere, deep in your heart, that none of these people have understood that this is a series made for middle schoolers. And that fandom will very frequently lie to them like, all the time. No, that character probably isn’t ooc, you’re just thinking of what the fandom turned them into. No, this book isn’t a horrible stain next to the others before it, literally all of them were like this. It’s Percy Jackson. It’s cheesy and occasionally makes a very questionable writing decision.

You gotta be in this for the long haul or jump ship my guys. Be cringe and free or be gone

[lookingthroughmirrors]

What do you think about Percy and Nico or Pernico?

(Please no hate, I know people have a lot of opinions and this is simply mine based on my interpretation of the characters and not meant as an attack on anyone)

Hi 👋

I really like pernico, at least in some of the fanfics I’ve seen but I prefer it when they’re older and come back together. I really think the Percy and Nico friendship gets overlooked quite a bit, personally because I think a lot of people see Nico as a kid, and in comparison don’t see Percy like that.

I mean that more so when it comes to Bianca. I’ve seen different takes that it was Percy’s fault, that Percy purposely hurt Nico, that Percy doesn’t deserve to mourn Bianca.

1. I think Pernico no matter when it’s set, needs to address Bianca in some capacity, because it is such an integral part of their arc. I think for Percy there is always a guilt that he’ll have, survivor guilt or otherwise about what happened to Bianca and that should be acknowledged. It is also the first death that happens so directly in front of Percy, and his reaction shows that in comparison to later deaths in botl and tlo. Percy was used as a scapegoat in this situation for Nico’s anger at Bianca’s untimely death (and her somewhat abandonment of him but that’s a whole other thing). I think this is why I like older pernico so much, because often times they’ve dealt with or are dealing with this to some extent and I don’t see how the ship would work without first dealing with this.

2. I think the ship only works once Nico is passed the hero worship and later hatred of Percy. I think Nico has a lot of issues he needs to deal with and that he’d have to be doing that first before pernico could work. Tho I do love doomed relationship fics. I think they’d both have to reevaluate how they view one another for it to work (ie. Percy was a child put in an impossible situation, Nico was the same, the blame game was played, Nico is not one extreme or the other). Moral of the point, they need to sort their individual shit out first, and their issues between each other before a relationship could work, but I really think it would and really love the idea of them being together.

3. In some aspects I think Pernico, after going through points 1 and 2, is healthier than what I know of Solangelo or Percabeth in canon. Now this isn’t bashing but I do think both Solangelo and Percabeth are toxic in ways that aren’t as wildly addressed both in canon and fanon. The stuff with Nico’s powers always bothered me. He’s extremely powerful, and i think he kinda ends up nerfed in later books and things like Will banning him from shadow travelling for his health. One point is I think a child of Hades knows more about shadow travel and it’s affects than a child of Apollo, doctor or not. I also think that Nico had a tendency to overextend his powers in canon, which it’s shown when Percy does the same thing he’s heavily drained, nearly passes out ect. I think Percy would be able to help Nico in exercising his powers, as I think that’s the big issue really. I also think Nico as a character would be very tied to the Greek world and live more in that world than the mortal world, which despite canon I think would suit Percy. I think the whole New Rome College thing is odd, and he’s clearly going for Annabeth. Percy hated school, and I think it’s much more likely he went on to train halfbloods or worked in legion in New Rome than going to university.

(This is so much longer than I intended, sorry)

Overall, I think Percy and Nico (both in a relationship and as friends) have a lot of potential that wasn’t lived up to. There are definitely ways it could be toxic, but not more than any other ship has the potential to be if broken down (Percabeth, Piper and Jason and the fact he had no memory, Solangelo, the weirdness that is Leo and Calypso). Ultimately I think Pernico can prove to be a stronger ship than a lot of others too, because they’ve seen each other at their worst, they’ve seen each other stripped back and raw and grieving and they have seen each other in ways nobody else has. Percy knew Nico before he lost Bianca, he knew that side of Nico. Nico saw Percy through the war, through everything during the last Olympian. He saw him command the river Styx and wasn’t scared (which begs the comparison of Percabeth in Tartarus and Annabeth making Percy feel so bad about a particular power that he wouldn’t use it even when it meant he would die and ultimately had to be saved by a third party). They’ve seen each other grow and change, and that in turn changes people. I truly think once you get past the trauma that taints all their interactions, once they address and move past it, they are much better than many other ships. They seen the worst, and I think with that they’d find it much easier to be vulnerable with one another and show parts of themselves that they don’t show anyone else. I definitely like Pernico far better than Percabeth.

I honestly didn’t mean to write an entire essay on Pernico and my opinions but here we are. If you’ve read this far I hope I answered your question.

[thestarstoasun]

Do you think Will Solace hates the thought of moving out of Cabin 7? Especially after Manhattan? Would he bring his (dead) siblings' belongings with him, unable to let go? He's spent so many years at Camp. It's probably felt even longer to him, considering he's lived through 2 wars and the Trivumate- not to mention Tartarus.

Everyone else being able to let go of Camp Half-Blood, but because of the trauma and pain of losing nearly all of his siblings in the Battle of Manhattan, Will is terrified of leaving. He doesn't want to leave any burdens on his younger siblings or, in his eyes, be the indirect cause of their death.

[aroaceleovaldez]

underappreciated Nico detail that I like - he seems to be an angry crier! very frequently he's angry when he cries and he cries when he's extremely angry. very AuDHD of him. emotional regulation sucks my guy and he's just going through it.

[poppitron360]

Imagine Leo Valdez, having spent most of his life believing he is some sort of Spawn of Satan bc of his unexplained fire powers and what his family told him before they abandoned him, meeting Hazel Levesque for the first time- daughter of the God of the Underworld, a LITERAL Spawn of Satan- who is lovely and caring and an absolute QUEEN (yes, Hazel, slayyy), and thinking: “Huh. Maybe being a Cursed Devil Child isn’t as bad as I thought…”

[nereidaa]

im trying to sort the pjo characters in hogwarts houses and i had a thought about jason in slytherin, cause he's the son of jupiter and stuff, and thalia in gryffindor. i thought like ‘oh they would repeat the black brothers' fate’ and then i was like OH. they would repeat the BLACK BROTHERS' FATE.

just imagine jason feeling lonely. he wouldn't care about what their father said, he would want to be in gryffindor, with thalia, so so bad. and then he died young lol

[allthefunnystuffistaken]

I HAD A THOUGT SO IMMA TYPE IT OUT

ok so like- will RUNS into nico’s cabin looking frantic af. And so obviously Nico’s like “wtf.” And will’s just like “are you okay? No nightmares? Ur fine? You don’t need me?” And at first Nico’s confused bc he hasn’t even slept at this point but then he realized it’s WILL who had a nightmare. It’s WILL who’s not okay. It’s WILL who needs a safe environment. But will won’t admit it. Will feels like he has to be the healer and he can’t ever need healing, including in a mental/emotional way. So Nico plays along. He acts like he did have a nightmare so will doesn’t feel awkward abt it. And ofc will can tell when Nico lies who by this point he understands that Nico is merely pretending, but he’s okay with that. He’s with his boyfriend and he feels safe and now he knows it’s ok for him to need help too.

You’re welcome. >:)