A Hill That I'll Die On Is That Lester Had Way More Character Development Than Percy, BUT That Only Happened

Maybe it's just self-projection, but I honestly don't think that you'd be that sad if I ended it.

I mean, I'm just a random person online. We interact sometimes, we comment and reblog and like, but at the end of the day, we're just names on a screen and we don't even interact that much.

Would you really be that devastated if I ended it? I don't think so.

I'm not sure how I'd feel if you ended it and I don't want to sound like a jerk, but I don't think that I'd be that sad if you ended it. I mean, I would be somewhat anguished for some time, and I'd feel empty if I thought about you for too long, but other than that, I don't know if I'd feel anything. Maybe it's just because I'm not that emotionally attached to things. I'm so sorry if I sound like a bad person, I don't mean to be.

This isn't meant to be edgy or accusatory or anything, just my honest thoughts.

What if Zeus had swallowed Beryl to prevent Thalia from being born.

FIXING THE HUNTRESSES OF ARTEMIS

About the huntresses of Artemis. So, I said in this post that Artemis' Huntresses never grew up and always remained immature children and that in the mythology, her companions aged normally and weren't immortal. And I know that Rick made Artemis' hunt a fun, immortal band of girls just hunting monsters together, which could have been nice, but the way he wrote them, the result was way worse than intended. And I have a solution to fix it (not that he'll ever see this): Make it so that when women join Artemis, they age normally, so that they're not stuck at one age all the time. And if they want to become immortal, they can, but if they want to stay mortal, then they can stay mortal too. It's shown in PJO that Artemis has no problem giving her Huntresses immortality and also taking it away, so this would be no problem for her. And they can be frozen in time at a proper age where they're fully mature. Also, let them be able to go away when they want to-let them try the hunt out, not just have to stay forever and possibly regret it. Let them try it out and see if it's right for them, and them be able to leave. But then how will Thalia be able to avoid the prophecy, you ask? Well, simple. Artemis freezes Thalia in time like she does to her older hunters, making her a 15 year old forever-and when the prophecy is done, then Thalia starts aging normally again. Simple! I just think that it's really weird how Rick wrote the Huntresses of Artemis, having them be literal eternal children hunting monsters which is quite dangerous.

Misogyny against PJO Calypso

I have to say that PJO as a fanbase can be surprisingly biased against Calypso and sometimes their misogyny shows. You have a right to dislike Calypso and how she was written and retconned, but some of the posts I've seen about her are just plain misogynistic.

Calypso doesn't owe her life to Leo just because he rescued her from her island. She doesn't have to cater to him and his desires. She's entitled to live her own life on her own terms.

If she wants to stay back at her school instead of spending time with Leo, if she wants to travel the world with or without him, if she wants to make new friends and hang out with them, she is entitled to all of that and she's not morally bad for it.

Not to disappoint Caleo shippers or anything, but I honestly think that the best arc for Caleo would be for them to break up. Calypso wants to travel the world and make new friends; Leo wants to stay at the Waystation, teach kids and help them. The natural solution? A breakup. It doesn't even have to be messy and sad either-just a simple, amicable breakup, an acknowledgment that they like each other as friends, but that they can't stay together because they just don't work out.

I also think that this breakup arc would be healthy for young children and teenagers who read this because it shows them that not all breakups have to be messy and sad. That you can breakup with someone politely and remain on good terms with them, which makes the readers less apprehensive about breakups.

Just my thoughts, feel free to add on.

Jude and Madoc oneshot (From Madoc's POV)

11 year old Jude looked at Madoc. 'What you want to do is evade the strike.' he said. 'You can't always evade, but it's best to learn how. Your reflexes have to be quick enough-if they strike suddenly, you'll need to jump back and preferably not fall over. I'm going to strike, and you're going to step back.' 'Ok,' she said. He took the sword and struck at her. She screamed and jumped back, tripping over her feet. 'Yes,' he said, smiling slightly. 'That's what you want to avoid.' He would not admit it, but he was growing to love Jude more than Vivienne. She was so like him-fierce, determined, ready to protect her loved ones at all costs. He saw so much of him in her, rather than Vivienne, though he had spent years thinking about the latter and imagining how she could have been if not for her untimely 'death'. Yet it was Jude whom he gravitated to. She had Eva's fierceness, determination and resilience. What he had originally been attracted to. Taryn was also there, yes, but she was more quiet and submissive. It was Jude that he really liked. And it seemed that she growing to love him as well, though she did not feel comfortable with it. He had let her sit on his lap and eat out of his plate, even though he had murdered her parents in front of her own eyes. Jude flushed. 'Sorry.' she said, darting glances at him. 'Um.' 'Let's try again.' He struck at her and this time, she stepped back expertly. 'Good. Now, it's not always good to evade-you're only putting yourself where the blade is not, which might be useful in some situations, but if you want to end the fight, you'll have to strike back. And sometimes, the enemy will be faster than you, or you will tire out and finally be struck. And if you misjudge their timing, you're done for.' She nodded. 'You want to be able to do a simple BLOCK.' he said. 'When your opponent attacks you, you raise your sword and block their thrust. Put the blade between yourself and your attacker. You can also support the blade, like this-' he grasped the blade in one of his hands while holding the hilt with the other. She practiced the block and at the end of an hour, she had mastered it. 'Amazing, Jude! You're a natural.' he said, smiling at her. 'Keep on doing this and you'll be the best swordsman in Faerie.' 'Swordswoman,' she mumbled, then nodded and smiled back at him. One of their mutual interests was sword fighting-well, their strongest mutual interest, actually. They took many lessons outside, sometimes Jude being covered in dirt and sweat after them, much to Oriana's chagrin. Everything was all right now-he might have murdered their parents, but they seemed to have gotten over them and were well adjusted to Elfhame. (Even if they had left for a brief period of time last year. Vivienne had said that they just needed a vacation from Faerie, but Madoc was glad to see that Jude and Taryn were ecstatic to be back. Even if Vivienne was sulky and depressed.) Still, sometimes he felt depressed looking at them. How could he have killed their mother? They were so young, and it had obviously affected them in terrible ways. He wondered if they still cried into their pillows when they slept. Hopefully not. He was delighted with Jude's progress, and, as time passed, hoped to make her into one of the best, if not THE best, swordsman in Elfhame. It was the least he could do, teach her how to survive in Elfhame, for her mother. Eva may not have been a good wife, but he would be a good father to Jude-and to Taryn, and Vivienne. If there was one thing he would do for his dead wife, it would be to raise her daughters in honour and give them a good life. Fate may not have smiled upon him in the Duarte house, but he was in Elfhame, and by the blood crown would he bend it to his will here.

Simon and Jacqueline both died? Unexpected.

I was just reading Death on the Nile, and in the middle of the book I predicted that both Jacqueline and Simon had teamed up to kill Linnet and take her money; I WAS RIGHT-

A smaller tragedy in HOO was that Hazel's golden eyes never amounted to anything. Hazel has golden eyes-Kronos' golden eyes-and nothing ever comes of this.

Percy and Annabeth never freeze when they look her in the eyes, reminded of Luke's golden eyes, Kronos' golden eyes. Pluto never avoids looking her in the eyes for this reason. Her eyes never unsettle anyone-the Olympians or the gods. It's a shame that Hazel's eyes could have been a cool minor detail that caused her more insecurity about her looks, but she could have eventually learned to overcome it and take the golden eyes back on her own accord.

Was Vivienne ever aggressive like Madoc? That her redcap nature, though somewhat tempered by her human nature, played a role in her pre-Elfhame childhood? Was that why their parents and the other adults were so worried, apart from the cat eyes and fairy ears? Do you think that Eva saw Madoc in Vivienne's eyes and shrank from her? What about Justin? Do you think that they homeschooled her to keep themselves safer? Do you think that she was angry and ferocious at Madoc, then saw that he liked it, then tried to calm down and be nicer and go against her fiery nature and not learn battle strategies and swordplay in order to displease him?

Two black jazz musicians with dreadlocks

THE WORLD CAN'T END BEFORE AMOS KANE AND AUSTIN LAKE MEET

Another day, another post of defending Annabeth from haters with stupid reasons. Which is ironic, considering that I've made my fair share of anti Annabeth Chase posts (Though I'm neutral on her).

SOM (pg 3) - I thought I saw a shadow flicker across the glass -- a humanlike shape.

SOM (pg 7) - As I stepped outside, I glanced at the brownstone building across the street. Just for a second I saw a dark shape in the morning sunlight -- a human silhouette against the brick wall, a shadow that belonged to no one. Then it rippled and vanished.

SOM (pg 23) - [Percy realizes Annabeth has been stalking him] “Pretty much all morning.” She sheathed her bronze knife. “I’ve been trying to find a good time to talk to you, but you were never alone.” [ … ] “There’s no time to explain!” she snapped, though she looked a little red-faced herself.

Annabeth stalking Percy in his apartment and school was weird, but it's not mean-rather, that it's creepy and she should have apologised for it (for the trigger-happy Annabeth stans, I don't think Annabeth should apologise for every little single thing, but this was weird and creepy and she definitely should have apologised for stalking someone.)

SOM (pg 32) - [Percy asking about the Gray Sisters Taxi] “That’s outside their service area,” she said like that should be obvious.

There's nothing about this that's mean, only Annabeth telling Percy something in a manner of tone, and we know that he's insecure and an unreliable narrator. She wasn't deliberately or accidentally being mean here either.

SOM (pg 77) - [Percy tries to tell Annabeth about his dream with Grover] She perked up when I mentioned Grover, but when I told her what he’d said, she seemed to get distant again, suspicious. “You’re trying to distract me,” she decided. [ … ] “Oh right! Like Grover would just happen to stumble across the one thing that could save the camp!” [ … ] She rolled her eyes, “Go back to your chariot, Percy.”

There's nothing mean about this. It's understandable for Annabeth to think what she does and Percy isn't affected by this either. You're just being overly sensitive.

SOM (pg 86) - [Percy references the movie version of a myth] Annabeth rolled her eyes. “Oh my gods, Percy! You are so hopeless.”

This isn't mean and Annabeth's not trying to be mean here either. It's a normal thing to do as friends. And the way she says he's hopeless isn't mean either. It's one thing to tell someone that they're hopeless because they don't have good grades and aren't good at school and another thing to tell someone they're hopeless because of what Percy did here.

Also, digressing here-seeing the movie version of a myth is stupid. Annabeth didn't call Percy stupid, just hopeless, but it is still stupid.

SOM (pg 121) - As we came up the stairs to deck thirteen, where the admiralty suite was supposed to be, Annabeth hissed, “Hide!” and shoved us into a supply closet.

When in this scene is she ever mean? She's simply shoving all of them into a supply closet, which is perfectly normal. And in case you disliked the shoved part- it was necessary in this case. It wasn't physically violent. It's one thing to shove someone because you're angry with them, but why she shoved them in this scene was a good reason. There's nothing wrong with it.

SOM (pg 140) Annabeth glared at me, and I started to wish that I hadn't asked her this while she was holding a knife.

Annabeth glaring at Percy isn't mean, especially since he just asked her a very personal question, but I do think that the sentence that came afterwards- 'I started to wish that I hadn't asked her about this while she was holding a knife'-was weird and shouldn't have been written.

SOM (pg 183) 'Come on, Seaweed Brain.' she said.

There's nothing mean about this. The nickname isn't derogatory, it's an inside joke, and it's fine at this point.

SOM (pg 197) - [Percy rescuing Annabeth from sirens] She kicked me in the face, but I held on. Annabeth pummeled and kicked me, making it hard to concentrate.

Annabeth was under the influence of the siren song-of course she wasn't going to act normally! Also, Percy was pulling her away from her dream. It's not surpising that she did what she did, but ultimately, it had no effects in the long run. It's not the same as the judo flip or the gut punch or the shin kick or hitting him in the Staff of Hermes. It's not mean.

SOM (pg 199) She rolled her eyes. 'No, Seaweed Brain'.

There's nothing mean about rolling your eyes. I don't know if you're just really sensitive or you have it out for Annabeth. Also, Seaweed Brain is just a friendly nickname at this point. There's nothing wrong with it.

SOM (pg 236) - [Percy sends Clarisse with the fleece] “Percy,” Annabeth said, “that was so insane.” [ … ] “Percy is too nice,” Annabeth grumbled.

Percy's plan was insane. There's nothing mean about saying that.

Annabeth saying Percy is too nice isn't mean. I'm honestly just shaking my head in disbelief at this point. You're just taking sentences that she's said and calling them mean. I'm convinced that if Annabeth so much as exhaled too loudly, you'd call her mean.

Also, regarding the times Annabeth was mean to Tyson-of course she was going to be! You can toss around shouldn't have been all you'd like, but at the end of the day, realistically speaking, she was never going to have reacted well to a Cyclops.

Also, she got over it. She overcame her fear of them and is friends with Tyson-she even enlisted his help to bake Percy a blue birthday cupcake in TLO!

People like you are why so many people think Annabeth antis are ridiculous fools who are too sensitive. There are valid reasons to dislike and hate her (because no, the two are not the same) but what you're putting in here is just bullshit. You want Annabeth to smile and nod and praise Percy all the time instead of being realistic and imperfect. Please stop this and hate on her for valid reasons if you really want to hate on her.

Every Time Annabeth is Mean to Percy in the Riordanverse

This is something that I’ve been considering writing for a while but didn’t particularly want to put the work into until I was rereading The Titan’s Curse and came across a very specific line that went “She punched me in the gut.” I was so consumed with rage that I immediately began to reread the whole series and marked down every single instance that Annabeth was a dick to Percy. 

One thing to note is that I’ve marked down every instance of Annabeth calling Percy “seaweed brain” as being mean. Friendly reminder that her nickname for Percy means “stupid” and has always meant stupid and will always mean stupid and that just because he’s used to it by now, doesn’t make it okay. 

On that note, this also turned into me writing down every time someone other than Annabeth insults Percy’s intelligence just because I was curious.

Without further ado, I present to you, The Lightning Thief.

(Alternating colors for easier reading)

TLT (pg 57) -  [interrogation of Percy]   The girl with curly blond hair hovered over me, smirking as she scraped drips off my chin with the spoon. [ … ] Somebody knocked on the door, and the girl quickly filled my mouth with pudding.

TLT (pg 64) - [describing Annabeth’s eyes] but intimidating, too, as if she were analyzing the best way to take me down in a fight. 

TLT (pg 64) - “You drool when you sleep.”

TLT (pg 83) - When we reached her, she looked me over critically, like she was still thinking about how much I drooled. 

TLT (pg 85) - She saw me looking, and her expression hardened again.

TLT (pg 85-86) - She grabbed my wrist and dragged me outside. I could hear the kids of cabin eleven laughing behind me. When we were a few feet away, Annabeth said, “Jackson, you have to do better than that.” [ … ] She rolled her eyes and mumbled under her breath, “I can’t believe I thought you were the one.” 

TLT (pg 86) - [Percy is annoyed] “Don’t talk like that!” Annabeth told me. “You know how many kids at this camp wish they’d had your chance?” 

TLT (pg 89) - [Clarisse is hazing Percy] Annabeth looked pained, but she did stay out of it. 

TLT (pg 90) - [Clarisse is hazing Percy] Annabeth stood in the corner, watching through her fingers. 

TLT (pg 92) - Annabeth stared at me. I couldn’t tell whether she was just grossed out or angry at me for dousing her.

TLT (pg 93) - “I’ve got training to do,” Annabeth said flatly. “Dinner’s at seven-thirty. Just follow your cabin to the mess hall.” [Percy apologizes] “Whatever.” 

TLT (pg 123) - [Annabeth sets Percy up to be bait for Clarisse, Percy confronts her] Annabeth shrugged. “I told you. Athena always, always has a plan.” 

TLT (pg 128) - Annabeth still taught me Greek in the mornings, but she seemed distracted. Every time I said something, she scowled at me, as if I’d just poked her between the eyes. 

TLT (pg 147) - [Annabeth has volunteered for the quest] “I’ve been waiting a long time for a quest, seaweed brain,” she said. “Athena is no fan of Poseidon, but if you’re going to save the world, I’m the best person to keep you from messing up.” 

TLT (pg 157) - [Percy is being optimistic] She gave me an irritated look. “It’s bad luck to talk that way, seaweed brain.” [Percy asks why Annabeth hates him] “I don’t hate you. [Percy disagrees] “Look…we’re just not supposed to get along, okay? Our parents are rivals.” 

TLT (pg 169) - She was silent for a few more steps. “It’s just that if you died…aside from the fact that it would really suck for you, it would mean the quest was over. This may be my only chance to see the real world.” 

TLT (pg 173) - [Percy lies to Medusa] “Your head is full of kelp.” 

TLT (pg 185) - [Percy doesn’t know the myths] Annabeth flashed me an irritated look. [explanation of the myth] Annabeth straightened. In a bad imitation of my voice she said: “It’s just a photo, Annabeth. What’s the harm?” 

TLT (pg 194) - [Annabeth wakes Percy after a nightmare] “Well,” Annabeth said, “the zombie lives.” 

TLT (pg 217) - [After Percy jumps off the Gateway Arch] Annabeth stood beside him, trying to look angry, but even she seemed relieved to see me. “We can’t leave you alone for five minutes! What happened?” 

TLT (pg 234) - [Percy asking Annabeth to go with him to get Ares’ shield] “Are you kidding?” She looked at me as if I’d just dropped from the moon. [ … ] “Me, go with you to the…the ‘Thrill Ride of Love’? How embarrassing is that? What if somebody saw me?” 

TLT (pg 234) - [Percy picks up Aphrodite’s scarf] Annabeth ripped it out of my hand and stuffed it in her pocket. “Oh no you don’t. Stay away from that love magic.” [ … ] “Just get the shield, seaweed brain.” 

TLT (pg 239) - [Percy has a plan] “Are you crazy?” 

TLT (pg 244) - [Percy backtalking Ares] Annabeth said, “That was not smart, Percy.” 

TLT (pg 251) - [Discussing what side they’ll pick] “Because you’re my friend, seaweed brain. Anymore stupid questions?” 

TLT (pg 257) - [Grover can only bless wild animals] “So it would only work on Percy,” Annabeth reasoned.

TLT (pg 263) - [Percy trying to get Annabeth’s attention at the Lotus Hotel] She looked up, annoyed. “What?” [ … ] “Hey!” She screamed and hit me, but nobody else even bothered looking at us. 

TLT (pg 282) - [Percy saves Grover and Annabeth from Crusty] “Be faster next time.” 

TLT (pg 370) - [Percy wakes up after almost dying] “You idiot,” Annabeth said.

TLT (pg 374) - She pursed her lips. “You won’t try anything stupid during the school year, will you? At least…not without sending me an Iris-Message?” 

TLT (pg 374) “Take care, seaweed brain.” 

TLT total number of times Percy is called stupid: 10 

TLT number of times Annabeth calls Percy stupid: 7

TLT number of times others call Percy stupid: Gabe (1). Grover (1). Thalia (1). 

Every day, I’ll reblog this post with the next book so keep an eye out for that.