#why did he try to make jason percy 2.0???

[twoidiotwriters1]

The Curse of Oenone (Leo Valdez xFem!Oc)

A/N: This is another chapter I was looking forward to post! -Danny Words: 2,549 Series' Masterlist Previous Chapter // Next Chapter Listen to: 'Eight' -by Sleeping At Last

XXXI: I Would Fight Myself if I Could

Percy is on the steps to Cabin Ten waiting for me. Lily and Nico share a look and mumble something about the Big House before turning away. My brother stares at me, and a small smile shows up on his face.

"Purple's definitely your color."

I grin. "You really know how to cheer an Aphrodite up." I pause and reform my sentence. "Former Aphrodite."

He doesn't get up from the steps. "You know when we went to the sea of monsters? When Hermes gave me those gifts?"

"Yeah?"

"I tried to give 'em back at first because he wanted me to help Luke. I told him Luke was a lost cause, he hated the Olympians."

"Did he get angry?"

"He told me no one can quit their family, no matter if you hate each other."

"Bet you didn't believe that."

"He said I would someday. I thought he was trying to sound wise... but he was right."

Percy's looking so defeated even though he just won the war, that I feel like a terrible person. I'm the reason why my brother can't enjoy his victory.

"Do you hate me, brother?" I ask quietly.

He gets up. "I'm trying to say I'll always care for you even if you hate me."

"I don't hate you," I frown. "I've said mean things, but I don't hold them against you, I know you're scared. I'm scared for you too, that's why I did this."

He nods slowly, deep in thought. "I was willing to die for all of you, I can't lie and say I don't understand where you're coming from..."

"We're good," I state. "You know, sometimes I feel like we've been siblings our whole lives, maybe our souls are old friends," I walk past him. "But we're on different paths. Don't make me quit my free will and my family on the same day."

His face gets really serious. "Never. I'm here for you, Birdy."

I smile. "Would you help me, then? I can't stay in Cabin Ten now that I'm the Strategus."

He pauses. "But isn't it against the rules..."

I stare at him with a deadpan expression. "We're siblings, Percy."

"Right," he makes a face. "I need a nap."

After Frank explains that he's been hearing the Roman and Greek versions of his dad shouting inside his head, it makes sense that he was interested to hear more about the voices in her head.

"Maybe we can fix your problem and save Hazel while doing so," Ara's mind races through several ideas. "If you offer a deal to your mentally unstable father, maybe he'll get us a python for Trip's chariot. Ask them if they'd like that."

Frank looks at her begrudgingly, but he closes his eyes anyway. He grumbles and groans for a few seconds, then fixes his posture, still not opening his eyes. "Horatius... Fine. If that's what it takes, I'll prove I'm as good as Horatius. Uh... what did he do?" 

After a second, Frank's eyes open and he looks at her. 

"I hope you're in the mood for a Phorcy's 2.0"

Ara grins. "Always am."

"Get on one knee so I can crown you the Canadian lone ranger."

Ara ties a large shirt over Frank's nose and mouth to protect him from the cow-dogs's poison. She won't even try to call those monsters by their name, she knows she'll get it wrong.

"All set," Ara covers her nose and mouth as well. "Ready?"

"You look weirdly happy," Frank points out while pulling up tiles and searching for roots.

"That's because I'm absurd. It took Jason, Piper, and Leo a week to figure it out," Ara cuts pieces of the roots and stuffs her pockets with them. She's wearing safety gloves to protect her skin. "Sorry you have to put up with me."

"Percy's a lot like you, Greeks are generally crazier," he comments while Ara ties pieces of roots to the belt loops of his pants. "I'll survive."

"That's the first time someone says Percy's like me and not the other way around," she says bemusedly.

Frank chuckles, then shrugs. "So why are you happy?"

"Because we have a plan. I like it when solutions are found quickly, and even more when it's something I can do without help. Well, partially—I sort of need you."

"Thank you," he replies without much excitement. "Now let's hunt some smelly cows."

The monsters might look heavy, but these creatures can run. Ara turns Almighty into a spear and Frank turns into a lion, she climbs his back and holds onto his mane, stabbing the cow-dogs that dare to inch closer.

They run through narrow streets, taunting the creatures with the nasty smell of their roots. Her spear isn't killing them fast enough so she switches to something different: a BB gun. Ara has better aim with a gun than she ever had with a bow, but Michael never let her use guns in camp because he considered that too risky.

She wonders what he'd think, watching her ride a lion through Venice while shooting at an army of cow-dogs. He'd be torn between awe and horror no doubt. Ara thinks about what her younger self would think, and that image comes effortlessly: Little Ara would be whooping and screaming at her to aim between the eyes.

Frank stops near a canal and turns into a human. Ara jumps off his back and keeps shooting. "You want our poison roots?" He screams, slashing through the herd with Hazel's sword. "Come and get them!"

He grabs Ara by the waist and jumps to the canal, turning into a dolphin. The girl holds onto him, but even though she'd been expecting this part, the smelly water is warm and repulsive, and she squirms in disgust.

"This sucks!" She shoots at the monsters angrily. "Nico's in debt for life!"

It feels like an eternity of running and killing, Ara keeps changing Almighty into different weapons to test out its efficiency, and she keeps glowing different colors as well: White, silver, green, and teal (she grew tired after that one, pulled half a dozen cow-dogs to the canal). 

"There!" Frank points at an old wooden bridge.

"Looks weak!" Ara nods approvingly. "Let's go!"

Frank turns into an eagle to make sure all the monsters are still following them, and Ara focuses on shooting, slashing, stabbing, and exploding the monsters with the bombs she had in her Octopi. Frank joins her in human form, pulling her to the middle of the bridge.

He grabs the roots from her pockets and tosses them behind them along with his roots, then he draws out Hazel's spatha. "Come on! You want to know what Frank Zhang is worth? Come on!"

Ara's never used all of her blessings in a row, and it takes a lot from her. Her anger is keeping her standing, she's tired of having to guess whether they'll be wounded or helped—most of all, she's tired of pitying herself. 

Ara likes a good fight, and she enjoys killing monsters, but lately, all she thinks is that she's sending threats to Percy and Annabeth, thinning their chances of survival and getting in their way like she's always done. 

Her actions have consequences, in this world and the next, and the ones around her. All she can do is minimize the damage by not going apeshit. She focuses on achieving their goal even if it costs her a limb, she can't go back to the ship with Nico as a plant and no Hazel, so she'll do whatever Frank tells her to, twist herself into knots if she has to.

The girl calculates all of her moves and keeps an eye on Frank, who attacks the monsters in all the forms he can imagine, animal and human. He's a little frantic too, their strength and patience are running out. 

Eventually, a red light envelops them. There are no monsters left except for one, and Ara yanks Frank backward before he slays it. "You said we needed one!"

"Mars!" Frank yells, eyes wild and angry. "I've proven myself. Now I need a snake!"

The cow-dog jumps at them, and Frank moves Ara out of the way to cut it in half. The monster vanishes in a flash, and in its place, a python lands at their feet.

"Well done," says a voice.

Ara drops her sword. This is Mars, not Ares, she knows the difference because this version looks less stupid. She kneels before him, grateful. Percy would not approve of this, but the girl doesn't care. Ares has always kept her alive, like Clarisse did when they were little.

"On your feet, Strategus," he commands her. "A good leader knows when to hand over the reigns, and when to take control. You've earned my blessing."

Ara feels a lump in her throat but says nothing, she steps back so Frank can talk to his dad. "Father," the boy speaks hoarsely.

"It's natural to feel fear." Ara only heard him speak this warmly when Clarisse killed the drakon. "All great warriors are afraid. Only the stupid and the delusional are not. But you faced your fear, my son. You did what you had to do, like Horatius. This was your bridge, and you defended it."

"I—" Frank gulps. "I... I just needed a snake."

The god smirks. "Yes. And now you have one. Your bravery has united my forms, Greek and Roman, if only for a moment. Go. Save your friends. But hear me, Frank. Your greatest test is yet to come. When you face the armies of Gaea at Epirus, your leadership—" the god bends over, his form glitching from the Roman to the Greek. "Agony!" He moans. "Go! Hurry!"

"Get on my back," Frank tells her. 

Ara does and then he turns into an eagle, grabs the python with his claws, and flies away. 

"You found one!" Triptolemus says delightedly.

"Heal them," Frank drags the python into the room and then moves over to Hazel. "Now."

"How do I know the snake will work?"

Ara yanks the python closer to the chariot, tilts it sideways, and wraps the creature around the broken wheel. The chariot comes to life and starts circling the room.

"Fixed." Ara crosses her arms. "That'll be two healthy children of the Underworld, please."

Triptolemus tilts his head, toying with their worry. "Well, thank you for the snake, but I'm not sure I like your attitudes, demigods. Perhaps I'll turn you into—"

Frank jumps to his feet and pushes the god against a wall. It's only then that Ara notices his physical change. She glances down, her body looks different too.

"Think about your next words," Frank growls. "Or instead of beating my sword into a plowshare, I will beat it into your head."

"You know..." The god's eyes dart between him and Ara, who's glaring at him too. "I think I'll heal your friends." 

"Swear it on the River Styx," Frank presses.

"I swear it on the River Styx."

The boy steps back and Triptolemus stumbles away from him. "Just—just gathering herbs!"

Frank stands next to Ara, taller than before. Before they left Trip's house, Nico the potted plant was the same height as her, now it barely reaches her chin. Both demigods look at each other and Ara whistles.

"You look scary."

"You're small... but a different small," Frank frowns. "Like a bodybuilder that's just getting started. There's a child of Venus in New Rome—"

Hazel coughs and sits up. Triptolemus is next to her, his fingers full of crumbs and greenish matter.  "What—?"

Frank approaches and wraps his arms around her, he could suffocate the fourteen-year-old without even trying. "You're going to be fine. Everything is fine."

"But..." Hazel moves away and eyes him. "Frank, what happened to you?"

"To me?" He looks at himself. "I don't... Uh... I don't... Maybe I can fix it."

Hazel laughs. "Why? You look amazing!"

"I—I do?"

"I mean, you were handsome before! But you look older, and taller, and so distinguished—"

"Mars's blessing," Ara explains. "We both got it, I think."

"You think?" Triptolemus snorts. "Now, if we're done here..."

"We're not done," Frank points at the corn plant. "Heal Nico."

Nico turns back into a human and Ara steadies him before he falls on his face. "I—I had the weirdest nightmare about popcorn." He scowls at Ara, now as tall as him. "Why are we eye-to-eye?"

"You've been a corn plant for two years—"

"Knock it off, Birdy," Frank interrupts her. "Everything's fine. Triptolemus was about to tell us how to survive the House of Hades. Weren't you, Trip?"

"Fine," Trip makes a face. "When you arrive at Epirus, you will be offered a chalice to drink from."

"Offered by whom?" Nico questions.

"Doesn't matter. Just know that it is filled with deadly poison."

"So you're saying that we shouldn't drink it," Hazel says hesitantly.

"No! You must drink it, or you'll never be able to make it through the temple. The poison connects you to the world of the dead, lets you pass into the lower levels. The secret to surviving is... barley."

"Barley." Frank repeats.

"In the front room, take some of my special barley. Make it into little cakes. Eat these before you step into the House of Hades. The barley will absorb the worst of the poison, so it will affect you, but not kill you."

"That's it?" Nico frowns. "Hecate sent us halfway across Italy so you could tell us to eat barley?"

"Good luck!" Triptolemus gets on his chariot. "And, Frank Zhang, I forgive you for threatening me! You've got spunk. And you're brighter than you look, daughter of Olympus! I'd love to see you two get a degree in farming!"

"Not a chance, Trip!" Ara waves him off.

"Yeah," Frank makes a face. "Thanks."

"He's right, you know," Nico tells her. "You don't look smart. Ouch! You're stronger?!" He asks in outrage.

"Be quiet or I'll send you to camp in pieces," Ara warns him.

"Oh, to be mobile again!" Triptolemus exclaims as the garage doors open. "So many ignorant lands in need of my knowledge. I will teach them the glories of tilling, irrigation, fertilizing! Away, my serpents! Away!"

"I kind of regret fixing his ride," Ara mumbles. "We've released a nuance into the world."

"Can't be any worse than what's already out there," Frank sighs.

"That," Hazel says, "was very strange."

"The glories of fertilizing." Nico moves away from Ara and brushes off the corn hairs of his jacket. "Can we get out of here now?"

"Are you two okay, really?" Hazel places a hand on Frank's shoulder. "You bartered for our lives. What did Triptolemus make you do?"

Frank looks at his feet and takes a shaky breath. "Those cow monsters... the katoblepones that poisoned you... we had to destroy them."

"That was brave," Nico points out. "There must have been, what, six or seven left in that herd."

"No." Frank corrects him. "All of them. We killed all of them in the city."

Ara holds Frank's hand to absorb some of his torment. "I told Triptolemus I could fix his chariot, and Frank just did his best to help me."

"You put your life on the line just so we could heal Hazel," Frank squeezes her hand once and then lets go. "We helped each other. I know it's your job, but..."

"My job is to keep you from danger, not to put you in its way," Ara makes a face. "It won't happen again, I apologize."

"Look at that," Nico raises a brow. "That's the second time I hear a sincere apology from you. Maybe those blessings make you grow in more ways than one." 

She thinks about what Hercules said, her ambition feeding on her youth. "How fun..."

"Well," Nico moves toward the exit. "Does anyone know what barley looks like?"

Next Chapter –>

Taglist.

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[introspectivememories]

i think we deserved slightly-unhinged-and-feral jason grace.

[jasonsscar]

The Ingenuine-ness of The Trials of Apollo - an Essay

As someone who has been following every Percy Jackson release since 2012 when Mark of Athena was released, I almost cannot believe it has come to an end. After fifteen books with five books across three series, it has come to an end with Rick Riordan closing the world as we know it (while leaving room for a possible stand alone novel or two in the future). Although I have had my qualms with the Heroes of Olympus story, I was willing to give the Trials of Apollo a chance to redeem itself and allow myself to continue this journey one last time. Upon reading the Tower of Nero, I felt as if the journey did not fully come to a close, due to many factors but the main factor being how Rick Riordan has chosen to not write a story he was passionate about but because he would have rather wrote a story he was hoping to make money off of.

Frankly putting it, Trials of Apollo felt like a rip-off of what Riordan wanted to be Percy Jackson and the Olympians 2.0, but reminding the audience that it was 2.0 constantly. The cameos just so happened to be the only thing that his audience seemed to ever be looking forward to every book and Riordan knew this. Plenty of interviews that he did as each book got released, Rick Riordan has always had a point of bringing up who was going to be making an appearance in each book. The Hidden Oracle was Percy Jackson and the rest of Camp Half-Blood. The Dark Prophecy had the appearance of Leo Valdez and Calypso. The Burning Maze had the addition of Grover Underwood (who the audience hasn’t seen since The Last Olympian), Jason Grace and Piper McLean. The Tyrant’s Tomb had Reyna Avila Ramirez-Arrelano, the Hunters of Artemis and the rest of Camp Jupiter. The Tower of Nero had the appearance of all of the characters in one way or another. Overall, there were very few characters who were new to the series. Even Apollo, who is considered a “fan-favorite” god among the fans is not an original character to this series, having been introduced in Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Titan’s Curse. Nothing felt new and fresh and it is clear that Riordan is clinging onto these old faces that have enraptured his audience in the past to keep them holding onto this new series.

Although the characters were not the only problems that lead to the Trials of Apollo being as unpassionate as it feels. The plot overall was rather predictable from the beginning, hinting to the audience where it was going to lead to by the time the audience arrived at the Tower of Nero, the final book. Though, a fair argument could be set up that a larger scheme was at play within this series. The Hidden Oracle, the first book within the series, sets up that a company by the name of Triumvirate Holdings is trying to take control of all the oracles. Though, upon learning this information, the audience also learns about some information that is linked to the Percy Jackson and the Olympians books from none other than Rachel Elizabeth Dare herself: “... during the Titan War, Luke Castellan mentioned he had backers in the mortal world? They had enough money to buy a cruise ship, helicopters, weapons. They even hired mortal mercenaries… That cruise ship, the Princess Andromeda, was property of Triumvirate Holdings” (The Hidden Oracle 197-198). Just reading this scene alone could get long time readers to believe that something more was coming. The ending to the series was really coming, this could almost be the ending to wars in general, no more battles or even the ideas of quests because they could no longer be funded by this company. Sadly, that was not what happened, rather the plot becomes dry. It follows a direct sequence of events not getting as complicated as it had been in the Heroes of Olympus series (although, Riordan has since learned the Heroes of Olympus was definitely out of his comfort level as an author). 

This of course leads to how the Trials of Apollo as a whole ended. In the Tower of Nero the antagonists, Emperor Nero and Python, have been defeated. After conquering the many trials and the major quests he has been sent cross country to do, Apollo has finally returned to his rightful throne on Olympus, though, feeling out of place after what he had endured in the last six months. With the series having ended and Apollo having learned some valuable lessons during his time as a mortal, a lot feels unanswered. After the ending of the Last Olympian where Percy Jackson asked the gods to listen to their children and maybe take responsibility for some of their actions, they did not change. In the Heroes of Olympus, the gods were asked again to do this, take some responsibility, praise their children yet nothing happened. In the Trials of Apollo, Apollo himself comments on this when he says: “I suppose I could have raged at him and called him bad names… But it would not have changed him. It would not have made anything different between us. You cannot change a tyrant by trying to out-ugly him” (The Tower of Nero 377). This pegs the question, why only change one god’s perspective of mortal lives? The gods still have their issues, everything could have been resolved but was not. The book ends with the possibility of a stand-alone novel with Nico di Angelo and Will Solace after receiving news about a new prophecy for the two of them. Riordan will not close this series and the problems that could be fixed because he knows that it closes off all possibilities for him to continue and make more profit off of it.

Overall, while the Percy Jackson Chronicles as a whole is a rather fun read, I cannot help to be disappointed with the outcome of where the series stands as a whole. It has ended but it never really feels as if Riordan wants it to end. Some can argue that it is because some worlds never end. There is so much to discover but if that is the case, where is the close off then? Where is the satisfaction to the readers who have dedicated so much time and energy for this series? At some point, fans will grow tired and not be as passionate as they once were, because they will no longer feel that same passion in the words written. Instead they will begin to sense how the author is simply writing this all as a gamble for himself and to raise the already large sum amount of money he makes for the books he has written and sold.

Works Cited

Riordan, Rick. The Hidden Oracle. Disney-Hyperion, 2017.

Riordan, Rick. The Tower of Nero. Disney-Hyperion, 2020.

[jacks4eva]

reaction to the lost hero by rick riordan

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

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

let the reactions begin

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

woah electrocution

he’s already got a love interest what

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

piper and leo yes i recognize these names

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

i like leo i don’t like dylan

i love the starwars reference

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

dylan is also racist for smiling-asswipe

we love the cherokee representation

i hate them so much can they please leave

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

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

ofc dylan is a racist monster

danny devito never returned :(

PLS TELL ME THESE REINFORCEMENTS ARE PERCY AND ANNABETH

who is the bulky dude

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

oh so that’s why percy isn’t here

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

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

wow what a first impression “you should be dead”

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

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

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

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

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

Wait a minute

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

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

Aha so I was right it was Hera.

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

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

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

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

Could kill Drew btw.

CALLED IT CALLED IT CALLED IT IM A GENIUSSS

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

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

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

I mean yeah his last name is grace

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

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

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

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

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

King Boreas? uh.

Oo French

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

Danny devito is alive!

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

“Enceladus,” Piper corrected.”

Leo is me omfg

DANNY DEVITO IS BACK

Arrows...HUNTERS OF ARTEMIS PLS?

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

this made me laugh ok moving on

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

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

And Piper agreed.”

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

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

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

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

an exchange of leaders, SO THEY DID SWITCH THEM

The way I called it

I WAS RIGHT AHA

anyways. time to read son of neptune

[thejudgingtrash]

Last but not least: PJO hot takes part IV!

Alright my dudes. I think we’re still in this game for one final round. Anyway here’s wonderwall. And Part 1//Part 2//Part 3!

Percy had actually knowledge about the Greek myths. He didn’t waddle in blindly. Where did y’all even get that?

The new possible Irish myth saga will be PJO 3.0 aka Magnus Chase 2.0 aka The Kane Chronicles 1.2.

Riordan already got the names of gods of that possible saga wrong

Riordan‘s Asian characters only know bitch or bland mode, huh

Stop babying Annabeth for fucks sake. Seriously

How the fuck did Sally afford several private schools for Percy when they were poor as fuck? I guess Gabe had to have a some somewhat decent job but then again playing poker/being a gambler and stealing from your stepson ain’t a cute move

Hazel should’ve been Thanatos‘ kid. To break the classic 12 Olympian mold (yeah Hades/Pluto technically isn’t one but he’s still team major gods) and also to throw the damned Hitler/Pluto aesthetics away

Did any of the kids break their limps or get permanently disabled at some point? Or do they just... die (and mostly stay dead)? I forgot

Where can the kids at Camp Half-Blood actually sneak off to fuck? Percy is legit the only one to claim his own shit as his love bunker. The rest is just fucked I guess or has first hand traumatic pre-college experiences

”Percy cursed“. Literally why, Riordan. Let the kid say fuck. He has earned the rights to do so a long time ago

Did I mention that people lack of basic reading skills in earlier takes? Anyway. Here’s another reminder!

Tbh the gods are egotistical fucks and have killed people for the fuck of it. I don’t see Poseidon being even close to okay with Sally marrying Gabe or Paul

I still don’t understand why Frazel is a thing

Most of you don’t understand how movie production works but that’s okay. Just know that everything inside your head will never be realized and there will be drastic cuts and additions to the books (again)

The electronics not working thing doesn’t even make any goddamn sense? Hermes is the god of the Internet. Does this mean that demigods can use the web just fine but simply can’t call each other? This really came back to bite Riordan in the ass now did it? Wouldn’t it make more sense to use old means of communication once you’re trying to reach more important/godly people or electronics fail in an accute situation?

Turning everyone heteroflexible creates the image that you’re simply liking a character for the fact that they are LGBTQ and not the character itself, just saying. More representation sure, but that itself isn’t a personality trait and shouldn’t be the main focus of a character unless it’s really defining in the story line (Nico‘s arc partially for example)

Tbh, HOO should’ve been aged up mentor Percabeth protecting CHB, with the rest of the gang fucking up Greece with aged Reyna + Nico perhaps. I might post an outline on that AU someday (someone should remind me about that tho)

On one hand you have in depth discussions and people diving into the matter and talking about every nook and cranny and on the other hand people are more then just fine with stereotyping and deflecting. Whut. Okay

Why are people shipping the lie that is Jasper/Jasiper

Stop romanticizing the gods

Dark!Percy is just a cheap way for you to turn Percy into an overpowered asshole and that’s that tea

Being in a relationship isn’t a personality trait, my dear shippers

Riordan‘s timeline is off because the coke rush didn’t last that long

The wasted potential of everything past PJO makes me want to cry

Percy’s fatal flaw isn’t stupid, Riordan just didn’t flesh it out properly which is why there were no real repercussions. A fatal flaw is supposed to be hindering you and not a compliment

The fact that adult people still can’t take jokes about their favorite characters is fucking insane part II

Why the fuck did the Stolls get tossed aside? Bruh. The potential? The stigma as a Hermes kid? They trying to redeem their cabins honor? Imagine one of them as a prophecy kid in HOO (and they’d switch and swap to confuse everyone)? Yes??

Every single one of you that essentially is team poc!Percy because he had a rough upbringing deserves to get slapped. Poverty, abuse, a single parent, etc. doesn’t equate to being poc?!?!? Smells racist just saying

Turning Hazel into Nico‘s sister was cheap af

Stop romanticizing and down playing the myth aspect. Tragedy is essential and will haunt demigods. Thank you, next

Also stop babying Percy

Let’s be honest none of those fuckers make it to college

Annabeth Chase is fucking WHITE part II. She’s not biracial, she’s not ”exotic“, she’s certainly not fucking black. She’s white with a little hint of a tan. That still makes her white. Do you really want to turn her into Ariana Grande 2.0? A fucking botched orange? This is your Annabeth aesthetic? Artists get it fucking right unless you state that you portray her as [spraytan headcanon] which is still fucking cheap let’s be real. Orange Annabeth isn’t part of the kulture

Regardless of the reception of the PJO movies, I’ll never forgive you people for letting Logan Lerman aka the OG white boy™ flop. Throw Tom “lipless but okay booty“ Holland and Timothée ”I missed a few meals“ Chalamet the fuck away!

Tbh a less romanticized version of the camps would’ve been more interesting. I’m still put off by CJ (and also the fact that CHB is a summer camp), but had there been more fights and actual deaths that had happened around the camps due to training, etc. you would’ve understood immediately why demigods dipped before the age of 18. The antithetical nature of sweet summer camp and people dying left and right would’ve been amplified

Did Reyna at some point in time even have the time to breath with all of the shit that went down? Her life is simply 24/7 stressful. I get that she wanted to bounce and no longer be in a tiring and demanding position but the hunters ain’t it sis

It’s okay to admit that fanon artwork or fanfics don’t deserve the webspace they are wasting. But phrase that probably in a nicer way

PJO Calypso wasn’t annoying. HOO & TOA Calypso on the other hand...

Alex Pettyfer would’ve been a better Luke Castellan but Jake Abel did an okay job

Percy isn’t an idiot. You are one for believing so

Riordan corrected the stance that Muslims don’t shower during Ramadan (literally how in the fuck did he come up with that in the first place?!) in upcoming MC books. Can he use the same energy to rewrite HOO tho??

Luke’s portrayals in SoM and TTC were straight up trash

Historically accurate PJO would’ve been everything

Monsters can detect demigods by smell. Camo wouldn’t do jack shit ffs

Jason is still bland and making jokes/pointing that out is more than okay

Omfg accept the fact that characters can have multiple facets all good and bad. Reducing them to one specific trait makes them boring and bland. Also it stereotypes

Getting mad over the fact that Clarisse has a boyfriend is still fucking insane

Not everyone needs to be a fanfic writer or an artist, a theorist or someone that analyzes everything phrase by phrase. As long as you’re in the fandom to enjoy works & discussions and remain on the saner side of the spectrum you’re good. You’re valid. Don’t forget that.

Not wanting to stay in a fandom and merely enjoying some of the fruits/benefits as in art/fics/headcanons is also super valid

PJO Reddit, Tumblr, IG and Twitter are a cesspool of chaotic mess and straight up trash but Tumblr > Reddit >>>>>> IG >>>>>> Twitter

Tbh: just try to enjoy a decent book series. It’s all not that deep

[vmheadquarters]

It’s become old hat for a cult TV show to get revived in some capacity now, but rare is the TV show that gets two different revivals across different mediums. Veronica Mars is that rare show. First, it was brought back from the dead because of a passionate crowdfunding campaign that led to a movie released by Warner Bros. Pictures in the spring of 2014. Now, Veronica Mars is back again with an eight-episode fourth season airing on Hulu starting on Friday, July 26. Where the Kickstartered movie felt haphazard and mildly uninspired, this revival is incredibly well-written and conceived, a return to form at least as good as the show’s second season.

For the uninitiated, Veronica Mars (Kristen Bell) is a hard-nosed private investigator in the Southern California hamlet of Neptune, where the richest of the rich rub elbows with the lower classes. On the original show, airing on both UPN and the CW, Veronica is a high-school student whose dad Keith (Enrico Colantoni) had once been the city’s sheriff before accusing one of the richest men in town of having murdered a teenage girl (who happened to be Veronica’s best friend). After his fall from grace, Keith became a PI, with Veronica as his aide and a sleuth of her own, trying to solve the case of her best friend’s death and figure out who date-raped her at a wild party. Over the show’s three seasons, Veronica graduated high school, solved various murders and other crimes, went to college, had numerous romantic entanglements, etc. The show, created by Rob Thomas, was always at its best in balancing Veronica’s distinctively witty, charming personality with a neo-noir sensibility.

SPOILER BENEATH CUT

And the fourth season of Veronica Mars (I’ve seen all eight episodes) is a remarkable, bracing reminder of why the show is so rightfully beloved. Veronica and Keith are still at Mars Investigations in Neptune, but a lot around them has changed. After the events of the movie, there’s literally a new sheriff (Dawnn Lewis) in town, who’s clearly a good detective despite still disdaining the presence of PIs like Ketih and Veronica. Our heroine and her paramour Logan (Jason Dohring) live together, but Logan, a Naval Intelligence officer, is often away on classified missions. He returns from his latest, at the same time as Neptune celebrates another hedonistic Spring Break season, with a surprising question for our heroine: a marriage proposal.

Veronica can only distract herself from that shocking offer when a bomb goes off at one of the local motels, leading her down a rabbit-hole conspiracy where she and Keith are tasked with figuring out who set off the bomb and why. And, in Veronica Mars form, the question of who the bomber is involves a lot more figures than would be expected. There’s a Muslim Congressman and his rigid family, a true-crime obsessive (Patton Oswalt), a Neptune entrepreneur and his enigmatic fixer (J.K. Simmons), Mexican hitmen, and more.

The era of streaming has made it so even a revival of a beloved show doesn’t guarantee it will feel the same as the original did. As was the case with the show’s third season, the case here doesn’t span the course of 20-plus episodes. There’s also not a lot of side cases for Veronica to investigate, just the spate of bombings and their unique aftereffects, as detailed in the eight 50-minute installments. And unlike in the original series, there are only three regulars in the opening credits: Bell, Colantoni, and Dohring. (This credit choice is interesting because you could make a very solid case that Oswalt, Simmons, and Clifton Collins, Jr., as one of the aforementioned hitmen, have at least as much to do as Dohring does. Oswalt, too, appears in every episode.) A number of the show’s supporting characters from the old days do show up, but often very briefly and sometimes in ways that make you wonder why they’re there to begin with. (As a longtime fan of the show, I was very happy to see Percy Daggs III as Wallace Fennel again, but the character serves very little purpose in these episodes.)

That said, within the first hour, it becomes exceedingly clear that Rob Thomas and his writing staff — including, in a delightfully inexplicable twist, legendary NBA star Kareem Abdul-Jabbar — have an exciting, novelistic story to tell that demands to be told in ways that simply weren’t the case with the recent film. The world has changed in the 15 years since the show premiered, but those changes all are logical within the framework of the new season. Oswalt’s character, who convenes a group of fellow “Murder Heads”, is as solid a way to skewer the rise of true-crime shows, podcasts, etc., without actually turning him into a would-be podcaster. And the presence of a politician of color introduces the inescapable element of how the world looks today. (Though the current president’s name doesn’t get mentioned, there are enough references to him that make you smile at how much Veronica must loathe him.)

Somehow, it all largely works, though a few of the subplots and new characters work better than others once you look at it all in hindsight. The new cast — also including Izabela Vidovic as a teenage girl with a connection to the bombing who might as well be Veronica Mars 2.0, and Kirby Howell-Baptiste as a local club owner — all acquits themselves quite well. Simmons, as an ex-con who seems like the obvious bomber from the outset, is the MVP. He and Colantoni have a loose, lived-in chemistry, as Keith and this new guy try to feel each other out and end up with a shared mutual respect despite being on two sides of the law. But Howell-Baptiste, who some will recognize from a recurring role on the third season of The Good Place (making her time onscreen with Bell even more enjoyable), is a lot of fun too. And Oswalt especially, who’s close to the third lead of the season, proves his dramatic chops in a role that could’ve easily been a source of mockery.

Where the season stumbles (and only slightly) is in its finale, both in revealing the truth behind the first bombing and subsequent bombs set around Neptune as a morbid way to punctuate Spring Break parties, and in revealing what will happen next for Veronica. Being a neo-noir show implies that Veronica Mars can’t ever truly be all sunshine and rainbows — our hard-bitten heroine would likely blanche at such a fate. However, the events of the last 30 minutes of the season, despite technically playing fair logically, feel a bit reverse-engineered (and one specific choice is probably going to alienate a lot of fans).

These spoilery quibbles are just that, though: quibbles. Largely, the streamlined focus on having an eight-episode story spread out over the course of 400 or so minutes makes for the kind of season a streaming service like Hulu must be salivating over: this is an exceptionally bingeable revival, with each episode structured both as its own thing and offering enough teasing excitement for the next installment that you just want to keep watching. More to the point, the story mostly feels true to the Veronica Mars world; it’s the truly singular revival that proves its existence almost instantly and is one of the best TV returns to date.

/Film Rating: 8 out of 10

[meltaren]

Leo Valdez imagine|Fireworks

Yo waddup! Imagine number 2. Again, don’t be hard on me, I’m new with this stuff.. enjoyyyy!

Summary: The reader and her crush Leo Valdez happen to see some colorful fireworks in the night sky.

-any godly parent -no warnings, perhaps some swearing?

—————

The 4th of July. Happy Birthday America yeah. Even though everyone around you was keen on celebrating this wonderful day, you were frustrated.

Why? Well the reason started with ‘L’ and was latino. Yeah! Right guess! Leo Valdez! (Hehehehe)

The adorably funny fire boy never left your thoughts. You couldn’t shut them off, you couldn’t think of something different. You even tried to band Leo from the fucking server. No luck.

Lost in thoughts, you didn’t notice Piper approaching your bench.

“Watcha thinking ‘bout (Y/N)?” You looked up to see her smirking. Did she know? Was it that obvious?

“U-uhm nothing, why?”

“Oh don’t 'nothing’ me! You know damn well what I’m talking about. Wait let me help you remember: does your huge crush on a certain member of the seven ring a bell?” She asked raising an eyebrow.

“Wh-what.. h-how did yo-.. no.. I-i don’t have a c-crush on Leo!” You tried to save yourself, oblivious to your mistake.

“Ha! I knew it! You have a crush on Leo!” And suddenly she started singing. “(Y/N) has a crush on Leo, (Y/N) has a crush on Leo!” A small amount of charm speak, that Piper didn’t mean to release, washed over you and you started to lightly hum to the rhythm. Until you noticed what you were doing and stopped yourself.

“Piper! Stop! Please.. I don’t want anyone to know. It’s already embarrassing enough.” You whined.

“Oh come on (Y/N)! Leo’s a good guy. And i think he likes you back.”

Your heart skipped a beat. I didn’t matter if piper was right or not. Somewhere your hope lit up and, no matter how hard you tried, you couldn’t avoid smiling. As you pictured the both of you together you felt your cheeks lit up and looked away, embarrassed to be seen like this. Changing the topic, you asked something you had wanted to ask her all day.

“So what’s the plan for tonight?”

Your best friend seemed fed up about the change in subject, but quickly forgot that, as she started talking about the plans.

“So at first we wanted to do something in couples. Just the seven… and then we noticed that Leo is the only single… so now we will all just go see the fireworks and enjoy each others company. Why? What are you gonna do?”

You thought about your plans. “I’m gonna do the best thing on this planet. Make myself a huge bowl of popcorn and watch game of thrones. And when I’m done with that, imma grab a bag of chips and begin the walking dead and then imma finish reading harr-” you were interrupted by an unimpressed piper.

“Ok stop” she put her hand on her hip and smiled “you’re gonna come with us. No but’s! It’s decided!”

“But..-”

“I said no but’s! Meet me at 8 in my cabin. And take some clothes with you. And by “nice” i mean NICE, alright?“

You sat there, thinking about your answer. Sure, it was cool having friends and going out with them. But you wanted to finish reading your favorite book.

Then you thought about your crush. Usually you never wanted to be seen by him. It made you think you looked suspicious. But at that moment you didn’t care. So you decided to give it a try.

"8 it is then.” You simply answered. A huge smile grew on pipers face. It made you happy to see your friend like that. You had seen her sad so many times. She was a wonderful person. All of the seven deserved the world. Not to save it. To enjoy it and live a happy life.

But you couldn’t just magically wish them a happy life. Maybe you could just be with them and make them laugh. Even if it meant to skip a perfect Netflix night.

'Le time skip’

All afternoon you were nervous. Regretting your decision, but then catching yourself making inhuman sounds as you were filled with excitement. A ton of emotions washed over you again and again. Some positive and some negative, but they were there.

You decided to try to nit be hopeful. Every time your heart pictured you and Leo together, your mind screamed for the image to go away. It was a fight no one could really win.

Caught up in the show of the battle in your brain, you didn’t notice it was getting late. So you quickly moved to the closet in the cabin of (G/P), trying to find something to wear. Soon you realized though that you were not going to find something in there. So you made the decision to ask Piper for advice.

As quick as possible you walked to the Aphrodite cabin. There were already some fireworks, symbolizing that the fun evening with the group was getting closer and closer. That made your heart skip a beat and your feet walk faster.

Soon you reached the cabin and knocked on the door. Piper opened and didn’t seem surprised by your appearance.

“Didn’t find anything, huh? Well I have ton of stuff. Just come in!”

And so you did. You entered the Aphrodite cabin and were overwhelmed by the smell of oil and sweat, which you found odd. So you asked Piper about it.

“Uhm Piper… why does it smell like in some kind of fabric in here? Isn’t it supposed to smell like perfume and roses?”

Your best friend just turned around and looked at you with the biggest grin you had ever seen.

“Hm.. so that’s how it smells for you!” You were confused and Piper could tell by your face.

“Girl. Aphrodite is the goddess of love, right?” You nodded your head. “Well it should smell like love in here. But there isn’t just one smell of love. Everyone smells something different, because everyone has a different definition of love. Understood? Good. So me for example, I smell the rain after a hot day. Or sometimes the wind in winter. So it smells like Jason basically. Annabeth, she smells the sea, duh… everyone smells something/someone different.” And with that she gave you a second grin. “Which means….”

You stood there in shock. You hadn’t meant to embarrass you. Luckily none of her siblings were there to laugh at you.

“Wh-whatever. Let’s just- let’s just… you know-”

“Calm down!” She laughed, “I have the perfect dress for you!”

“Dress?!” You hated dresses. So you hated what was about to happen.

“Yeah! Look here.” She held out a dress. It was white and had two hearts on it. Both on the chest. You cringed. “Really Piper?”

She looked confused, the took a look at the dress herself and laughed. “Oops! Wrong dress! I apologize!!”

Then her head was lost in the closet again.

The next dress she pulled out, was much better. It was reddish, but a little tighter on the top. From the waist down, it fell beautifully. It convinced you from The moment you saw it.

“Yes.” You said and Piper had a victory smile all over her face.

“Ok now… make up and hair.” She said and both of you moved to the cabins bathroom. You were there for like 30 minutes and when you left it, both of you were ready for the party.

Piper had a white dress and her hair pulled in a ponytail. You had your dress on and your hair was straightened. With only a little bit of make up, both of you looked like natural beauties.

“So… you ready?” Piper asked, clearly seeing how nervous you were.

“Yeah… let’s do this” you tried to get yourself to believe, that everything would be ok. But it was difficult with all the nervous thoughts filling your brain.

“It’ll be ok” Piper said and hooked her arm with yours.

“It’ll be ok.” You repeated and the both of you walked out of the cabin, towards the beach.

'Le time skip 2.0’

It was difficult walking on the beach with a dress. There was a light wind, but the weather was ok. As you approached the others, you could see that you were the last ones to arrive.

To your surprise you could see two more people. They were holding hands.

“Omg it’s Will and Nico! I might not be able to contain my screams.” You said to Piper. You had shipped them since they first talked. It was your OTP, and seeing everyday that it had become canon made your life worth living basically.

“Same girl!” Piper simply said as you reached the other ones.

“Hey guys!” Your best friend said, catching the others attention “I brought (Y/N) too! I hope that’s alright.” You looked at her, with your eyes saying everything. She hadn’t asked them?! What if they didn’t want you there?! What if they wanted some privacy?! What if-

“That’s perfectly fine! The more, the better! Hey (Y/N)! How are you?” A voice spoke and you instantly recognized it as Percy’s.

“Oh.. H-hey guys. Thanks Percy. I’m good! How are you?” Percy smiled at you.

“I’m perfect! Well I’m feeling perfect too of course!” At that Annabeth gave him a quick slap on the arm.

“Oh come on Seaweed Brain. We don’t want (Y/N) to leave because she thinks we are so weird.” She said and looked at you with a sorry face.

You laughed and wanted to say something, but then he spoke.

“Hey (Y/N)!”

“H-Hey Leo! How are you?”

He smiled, and for a moment you think you were gonna fall to your knees. Thank gods your arm was still linked with Piper’s.

“I’m really good, thank you! How about you? Oh wait you answered that to Percy already right? Ugh I’m sorry.” He smiled and looked down. Your knees were definitely pudding now.

“I’m great Leo, thank you so much for asking.” You said and smiled at him.

“Wanna take a walk till the fireworks really start?” He asked and you were wondering how you were still standing.

“Yeah sure. Be right back.” You said the last part to Piper, who was talking to Jason.

Leo and you took of and walked along the water. Your feet were inside, while Leo’s were on the sand only. At first there was silence with some random small talk. Leo had asked you about your day and you repeated his question.

It wasn’t awkward though. You loved to be around him. Sure, you got all nervous, but it was comfortable and you could be yourself.

After some time of talking, Leo turned towards you and stopped walking.

“(Y/N)?” You hummed in response staring at him, waiting for his next question.

“Do you like someone?” He asked and you weren’t prepared for that question, so you blinked and started stuttering.

“Uhm.. I-I.. do you?” You were taken aback by his smile. It was weirdly confident.

“In fact, I do.” He said. You didn’t know If to be happy or sad.

Happy because there was a chance that he liked you back. Sad because there’s a chance that he loved someone else.

You stared at him, frightened of your next question. “W-who?”

“Well she is beautiful.” He started. Your first thought was 'Oh wow.. definitely not me’

“She has (H/C) hair. And beautiful (E/C) eyes. I love when she smiles. It makes my days better. She enters a room and you could think the sun started shining even brighter. I love her so much, I wish she’d know.”

You wanted to scream Don’t tell her! Tell me!’ But obviously that would look suspicious. So you tried for the helping best friend kinda advice. You ignored the pain in your chest and said. “T-Then tell her. I-I think she’d want to know if such an amazing person as you loved her.” It was only the truth. Right as you said that, the fireworks, that you had completely ignored, became louder.

“Alright then” he looked you into your eyes “(Y/N)…. I love you.”

Your brain was on fire.. well it felt like it was. Your cheeks were to 100% as red as your dress.

“Oh my gods.” Is all you could say for the moment. He smiled and took your hand into his.

“Do you want to be my girlfriend?”

“Fuck yes” and he kissed you. It was a tenderly sweet kiss that had you on cloud 16389. After pulling apart, you hugged him. The smell of a machinery filled your nose and everything was perfect.