Part 2 Of My Ask About Demigod Scents And Technology Because The Previous One Would Be Too Long And Disorganised

Why leave, did I not give you enough?

Madoc was standing in the house once again, reliving his worst memories-Eva and Justin's deaths. The house where Vivienne had vowed to hate him. The house where Jude had screamed at him and hit him. The house where Taryn had sobbed, shaking her mother's dead body, though Eva would never get up again. It was empty. No one had bought it even after 3 years-the deaths still haunted them. It looked normal-a red plastic FOR SALE was mounted on the lawn and the wind chimes jingled in the comforting breeze. He wondered if ghosts existed. Would Eva and Justin be staring at him with contempt in their eyes? He hesitated, just as he had 3 years ago on that fateful day. Oh, how he wished he had grabbed Vivienne and Eva and ran. Would Justin come after him? Perhaps. But maybe he would take care of his daughters first. Madoc didn't know-Justin had been such a strange man. He didn't want to go inside. He didn't want to relive the bloodstained carpet and smell of wet blood.

He swallowed. He was a redcap. He was brave, and he slept at night knowing that he had killed thousands of soldiers. He could go inside and endure the ghosts of the past. He inhaled, curled his hands into fists and stepped inside. Nothing. It was empty, scrubbed clean, like no one had lived inside it at all. There were ornamental decorations and a pleasant perfume permeated the air. All dressed up to make it look flashy and attractive. Nothing could ever attract Madoc to the house, except for the fact that his daughters had run away. Just like Eva. Just when he had thought that they had begun to like him-they had sat on his lap, eating out of his plate, and played Nine Men's Morris with him. Taryn had stopped flinching every time she saw him, and Jude had smiled at him, even coming to have a somewhat twisted affection for him. Vivienne, of course, had not stopped. The weight of her vow would never leave her, and she had been so angry that she could not speak to them for days. Had she guilt tripped them into leaving? Most probably. Though they loved him somewhat, they would never be able to forget their real parents. The ones that he had murdered right in front of their eyes. Blood on the kitchen floor and the heavy smell of blood. He forced his feet to move, up, down, up, down. Into the kitchen where Eva once lay. Into the backyard where Justin's forge once stood. Into the bedrooms- He stopped, inhaling sharply. The beds were clearly made with gray and yellow covers. The room was airy and sunlit, dust motes dancing in the sunlight. A peaceful, drowsy afternoon. Was this where his daughters had slept? Where they had played with each other? Where they had watched, what did humans call it, TV? Television? Eva had told him of it and he had watched the strange pictures dance across the screen. They had watched it together, she laughing, he not understanding but smiling and playing along. He closed his eyes. He opened them again. Any question of them being here was gone, though they might have come for a brief visit. Were memories too painful for them as well? Footsteps made him spin around. Standing there was a woman, wearing a suit that hinted that she might be a-what had Eva called it-a 'real estate agent', someone who sold property. 'Sir,' she said. 'I don't know what you're doing here, but you need to leave, unless you're a potential buyer. How did you get in here?' He hit her on the side of the head and she crumpled. His heart wildly richocheted and suddenly she was Eva. He had killed another person. He stepped back and fell against the wall, screaming into his bundled cloak. Was she dead? His eyes were wild, his heart pounded as he scrambled to find out. No, Eva, please don't be dead- She had a pulse. She was bleeding, but she would be all right. He couldn't stay here. He had to leave-he barely had a few minutes to go back before he would have to attend a meeting. He took her phone, called the police (911, was it?) gave them directions and then stepped out. Suddenly, he didn't want to leave. He wanted to stay here and drink in the memories of a family, torn apart by him, that he had so desperately tried to put back together. And now that they had run away, he might never be able to. He took the silky black horse back to Elfhame. His memories took the form of knives, stabbing into him as he recalled their painful shapes and colors. They took the form of needles, slowly sliding into him as he silently screamed, feeling the cold, sharp pain of memories upon him.

No emotional support and heavy procrastination tendencies, this next year's going to be one hell of a year for me.

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-

Vivienne and Madoc angst part one

So this is what a car looks like, Madoc thought. He had forgotten what they looked like. The models that Eva had showed him were 'old-school' and 'practically ancient', as Vivienne had put it. She had screamed with laughter when he asked about cars, using his fairy terminology.

Heather had politely smiled, but Madoc could tell that she was holding back laughter too. Her trembling lips conveyed as much. Madoc internally groaned. He was banished to the human realm, and he needed to brush up on his already scanty knowledge of it. And Vivienne seemed to delight in showing him how terrible he was at it. Laughing at every single thing he did wrong and condescendingly showing him how to do it better. He grunted in annoyance. 'This baby right here,' Vivienne patted the car, 'is a Toyota. Great model, very nice for a secondhand car, and holds four. Though with you in it,' she added casually, 'it'll probably be quite stretched, so be careful.' Madoc chose to take it as a compliment. His daughter was complimenting his muscular physique that could flatten any of these odd, lightning-speed, roaring vehicles. And anyway, the car was somewhat roomy at the back. He was studiously avoiding going to the house where it had all happened years ago. He would NOT remind himself of that time. Everything was better now. Jude and Taryn liked Faerie, and Vivienne- Vivienne, ironically, had been the only one who hated Faerie. She only stayed there for her sisters, and the moment she got a real chance to, she dropped everything and left to live in the human realm. Madoc had wondered at her loving a human girl. Just like him. And not understand her. Just like him. (And unintentionally hurting her. Just like him. Only this time, they were both well and good, while his hands were bloodstained and Eva lay six feet below). He had wondered how Vivienne would deal with Heather's death, but decided not to point it out. Vivienne was only 20 after all, and when she had lived centuries as he had, she would gain more experience. Oriana had chosen to come with him. What a wonderful woman and wife. Prim, thoughtful, proper, careful to consider he next move. Not like Eva, who was a restless whirlwind and broke more than one rule of faerie etiquette. (But then again, that was why he had liked her.) The human realm, however, was different from Faerie. No servants, no big grand mansions, only their little apartment in the building adjacent to Vivienne's, as she had absolutely refused to get him a flat in the same building as hers. He had already started playing politics with his neighbours and was making wonderful progress. He avoided telling Vivienne about this. Oriana rolled her eyes and shook her head. 'What will you do to the human world?' she had jokingly asked him. Maybe I'll take it for a spin, he thought, just like Eva did with my world. He had asked Vivienne to take him around the city to see what to catch up on. Now he stared at the glowing neon signs, recalling the ones from the 1970s, when he'd travelled around the city. He looked at the small stores whirl by. Vivienne wasn't even driving slowly-she simply drove ahead, telling him about the city and its modern developments. 'My goodness, humans really do evolve fast.' he said. 'I haven't been here since-well-' He fell silent. He hadn't been there since that fateful day-when he had killed Justin and Eva. 'You haven't been there since you killed my parents,' Vivienne said cheerfully. The car sped up. Madoc opened his mouth and closed it again. It shocked him that she said that, even when he had internally acknowledged it. My parents. My.

(Part one, since the whole thing is too long to post)

How would you write PJO and HOO?

What makes Percy Jackson so interesting-being set in America-is also what makes it problematic. Any excuse given for moving the Greek Gods out of Greece and to America would have been bullshit, but combining ancient mythological creatures and modern day culture and technology can also be a really funny gag (Rick Riordan can write comedy pretty well).

I do think that it could be set in Greece and still be interesting, though, so if I rewrote PJO, I'd do a lot of research and set it in Greece and I wouldn't make fun of the culture. Also I would add the children of Greek immigrants.

I'd definitely get rid of the weird sexism surrounding Aphrodite's daughters and cabin in the books.

I wouldn't make Artemis and her Hunt hate men, I'd make them be clueless about men and turn it into a comedy (men do THIS? No wonder you're so behind! We in the wild do [something completely absurd and simply undoable in modern say society that can be done in her Hunt because it's timeless and in the wild] Far superior).

If I could rewrite HOO, I'd get rid of all the sexism and racism entirely. The characters could actually travel over the world and it would be more impactful to focus on how pollution is affecting the world.

OR, to make it an entertaining and intriguing fictional series-FOCUS ON THE POLITICS. HOO is supposed to be for older audiences, for teenagers, right? Well, plenty of people get into politics at 15-16, so focus on introducing them to politics! See my post here (it's not fully finished but it's better than nothing).

Can we just have more of Sophie missing the human world?

Like........maybe she just remembers a band that she used to listen to, her favorite songs.

Maybe she remembers food that she liked, her favorite restaurant and dish, somewhere her family used to go often.

Maybe she's reminded of miscellaneous things from the Forbidden Cities, and maybe she tears up a bit, because she'll never go back, she'll never live there again, not with her family, and her parents will never remember her again, and even if Amy does, it just won't be the same, and she'll have to hide her interactions with Amy, because what if her parents see them and remember?

And maybe Flori whips something up that tastes like Sophie's favorite food, so that she can relive it again.

And maybe Dex builds random things to mimic the items from the Forbidden Cities.

And maybe when Keefe comes back, Sophie will bombard him with questions about the humans.

I know Shannon has a lot going on, but it just seems like Sophie adjusts really fast and doesn't care about the human world anymore. Feel free to contradict me, though.

A hill that I'll die on is that Lester had way more character development than Percy, BUT that only happened because Lester was a jerk at first and then became nice later while Percy was nice at first and nice to the end.

Let Vivienne hate Madoc. Just let her.

Sooooooooooo I just saw some posts saying that Vivienne could love Madoc because she only believed that she would hate him when she vowed to hate him-

and even if that is true............

Let her hate him. Just let her.

First of all, can we have a Duarte sister who doesn't forgive Madoc for killing their parents?

I want to see him face consequences for murdering them, even if he had his explanation for doing so. I want to see him feel guilty about it and not be able to forget it. And Vivienne is perfect for this.

Jude loves him (albeit in an uncomfortable manner) and Taryn seems to have some love and loyalty to him too.

And honestly, I cannot emphasise how awful their parents' murder was for the Duarte girls. They saw it right in front of their eyes, and then Madoc kidnapped them and took them away from the only home they knew back then.

(And if Justin and Madoc can both be fathers to Jude, then the same goes for Vivienne. Madoc's her bio father, Justin's her adopted. He took care of her for 9 years-don't tell me she didn't love him.)

We as the readers are not really affected by it, because Jude barely talks about her parents and their murder, and doesn't express much grief after ten years because she's bottled it up and pushed it down.

But the Duarte sisters are. They knew their parents and they miss them, especially Vivienne who knew them longer and had better and clearer memories of them.

And honestly, Madoc was an awful person for that. He's an awful person for killing two people in front of children. Justin I get, because the guy tried to axe him, but he could have knocked Justin out-don't tell me he wasn't that strong or reflexive.

And Eva? He had no need to kill her at all. He could have grabbed her-AND THERE WERE THREE SMALL CHILDREN RIGHT FUCKING THERE!

It doesn't matter if he had an instant killing instinct. He's still a terrible person for killing Eva and Justin.

And do you know how much it must have affected Vivienne that Jude and Taryn treated their parents' murderer like their own father? Put yourself in her shoes. Imagine the betrayal, the hurt, the fury and pain.

We've been thinking and looking at TFOTA from Jude's perspective for far too long. It's time to dive into other characters' minds and see it from theirs.

Eva and Justin aside-let's go to Oak.

We know that Madoc was going to put Oak on the throne for his own gain, and we know that this would have traumatised Oak. Imagine being a king, having to make so many decisions-and Oak would still have some degree of responsibility, even with Madoc as the regent. Imagine having so many people looking at you for so many things that an adult should handle when you're so young.

Oak would've been traumatized, and you know it. And Madoc knew it too, and he still decided to go forth with the plan.

But where does Vivienne come into this, you ask? Why don't I just post this under a Madoc hate rant?

(I don't hate Madoc).

Because Vivienne knew what I just told you too. She saw Oak who was young, and he was almost 9 then (I think) and she was nine when her parents were murdered and she was stolen away.

And honestly, I'm pretty sure she hated Madoc in that moment. Pure hatred.

She probably took pleasure in forcing him to adjust to the mortal world, though. That must have been nice for her.

I don't think Vivienne loves Heather in the faerie way-she loves Heather in a more human way. (I love Vivienne and Heather so much, you have no idea, as much as some of you love Jurdan). And honestly, good for her. Good for both of them.

And honestly, I don't hate Madoc. It's just that when I think of him with relation to Vivienne, then I really start to hate him. That's all. Feel free to debate with me if you want.

All right, OP, some of this is honestly ridiculous.

I don't mean to be rude and I'm not pro Annabeth Chase, but I need to point some things out.

How is Annabeth being mean to Percy here? She thought that he might have known something about stealing or the solstice. She didn't know that he didn't know. Judging by the information that she has and the circumstances that they're in, of course she'd think that he would know something about it!

Even if she was incorrect, she's not being mean here. And if you're talking about her smirking as she scraped drips off his chin, of course she'd smile-it's a little funny to spoon feed someone and see their expression when they're unconscious.

There's nothing in this scene to indicate anything mean.

2) How is Annabeth looking intimidating being mean to Percy? She's meeting him fully conscious, not just passed out. Of course she's going to look at him now that he's awake and conscious of his surroundings. Of course she's going to take note of him and analyze him. There's nothing wrong with this.

3) That's not mean. That is literally a comment on a fact. Percy drools when he sleeps and she told him so. How is that being mean?

4) As said in the second point, looking at someone critically when you're meeting them fully conscious for the first time isn't mean. Given Annabeth's surroundings and environment and how long she's been there, of course she's going to look at him critically!

5) Just because her expression hardens when she sees him looking does not make it mean or malicious. Actually, it was natural. Annabeth blushes when looking at Luke. Percy notes it. Annabeth is embarrassed when she sees Percy looking and hardens her expression. Logic.

10) Annabeth is........literally staring at him. Just staring at him. Percy says that he can't tell whether she's grossed out or angry-it's never stated or confirmed whether she's angry, and based on her reaction, she's not angry. She's impressed, actually, and she says that she wants him on her team for Capture the Flag.

11) Just because Annabeth doesn't get all sweet and reassures him that no, it's ok, you did nothing wrong, Percy, it's all fine! doesn't mean that she's being mean. She just gave him some instructions and didn't even mock his apology-she just said whatever and then left. None of that is mean.

18) You're taking this out of context to make it seem mean.

Right before this, Percy said that they had her mother to thank for fighting Medusa. He indirectly insulted Athena-that had to hurt for Annabeth. Of course she flashed him an irritated look!

She's not entirely right here, but she's not entirely wrong. Percy couldn't control meeting Medusa, but he didn't notice until it was too late while both Grover and Annabeth noticed. Of course she'd be a little mad.

19) *Sigh*. Ok, this is not being mean. There is nothing to indicate this being mean. It's a lighthearted, sarcastic joke. Nothing malicious or even unintentionally malicious.

22) Once again I ask you what is mean. Was it the fact that she ripped the love scarf away from him? It could have been a malicious object-Annabeth had enough experience to know while Percy didn't. She was warning him to stay away from it and possibly saving him!

23) You are once again taking something out of context!

They were hurtling at a very fast speed and the seatbelts were helping them. Percy, however, told Annabeth to unfasten her seatbelt! Of course she asked if he was crazy!

24) What about that is mean? She's right. What Percy did wasn't smart. Insulting a god is never smart. She stated a fact there.

26) I wondered if I'd find this here after reading the others.

This is a joke. A joke. She's not intentionally being mean-she's just cracking a joke. Percy protests, but he's not even offended by it after that. You are blowing this way out of proportion.

27) The hit here was because he was trying to get her out of her paradise. She wasn't thinking clearly-she wasn't able to think clearly because she was having fun and he was trying to pull her out of it. And it's not malicious like the gut punch at Westover Hall in TTC.

31) She's literally telling him to take care and sending him off. She has a stupid nickname for him-yes, it doesn't come from a good place, but we have to remember that she's literally twelve years old at that point. Of course she'd use a silly nickname like that for him. There's nothing wrong with it at that point in time.

I'm not pro Annabeth. I prefer to remain neutral, but some of this is downright foolish, and it seems like you're just villainising Annabeth at some point for no reason.

If you're going to hate on Annabeth, please do it with sound reasoning and logic. Don't take text out of context to paint Annabeth Chase as this crazy mean girl when she's not.

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.

Rick has a lot of terrible logic in his books, and I wanted to list an example here.

IN Trials of Apollo, Apollo is surprised that Meg is a demigod daughter of Demeter, since Demeter rarely falls in love with mortals and has children.

Ok, if that's so, then explain how she already has THREE other daughters that are all teenagers and are all older than Meg?

That means that she fell in love with mortals in in the span of 5-6 years. That's not rare.

And no, Katie's, Miranda's and Billie's ages aren't explicitly mentioned, but it's pretty clear from the text that they're all older than Meg.

This is just another critical post. Nothing special, just thought I'd point it out since it's been bothering me for some time.