Exultation Of Fire

exultation of fire

I'm curious - what made you hate Alden? When did you start hcing him as abusive?

For me, it was probably when I reread the series and started relating to Fitz a lot more. Having Fitz as your favorite character makes it hard to like him.

it's... a lot of things.

but the catalyst for me was that scene in Flashback.

It made me sick.

First of all, Alden knows exactly what Keefe Sencen's family situation is like. And without question or hesitation, for his own purposes, he turned that against Keefe. Used it as a weapon. Called him a son to hit him in the face with the knowledge that he doesn't matter as much as his other kids. That at the end of the day, Keefe is still just a pawn to every single one of his parental figures.

Secondly, I understood something. Crappy people are crappy people. If you're crappy in one area of your life, the crappy-ness is infectious. It bleeds. It seethes. If it's in one area of your life, especially in the way you handle your relationships, it's probably going to be in other areas. More than that. Moreover, in my personal experience, crappy parents are often very nice to kids who are not theirs. This is how Alden treats a kid who is not his. So, bearing all that in mind, I went back and I looked at his kids.

Biana is invisible, hiding in the shadows of her older brother, she's there but she's not, silently held to an impossible standard, and declaring that her scars are a part of her now, like someone told her that she needed to be ashamed of them. Fitz is so perfect there are cracks and he breaks down screaming, unable to handle the pressure. Alvar fricking abandoned everything his family stood for with no remorse and ditched everything to join a terrorist organization. All I see in this are huge, huge, huge red flags.

Thirdly, after this, I looked back on Alden's behavior. And I just. I noticed things.

For instance. He constantly shuts down Sophie. Treats her a bit like a pawn as well. He condescends to her, treats her like she's too young to handle anything, when he is the one who brought her into this. He constantly tries to control situations. He takes on roles that should not and do not belong to him. He is very respected, and has a ton of power at his fingertips. He sent his six year old son into the human world(need i mention all the crap we pull every single day?? how many car accidents??? kidnappings? armed robberies? no??). Labelling Fitz as "the perfect golden child" is like a major red flag. Like uhm hellooo i has questions. His whole family keeps this aura of perfection that the lost cities tries as a whole to embody. Perfection does not exist. But the Vackers are perfect. Who keeps them all in line?

I honestly have more questions than I have answers about this man.

But when I look at him, all I can see, in my head, is--

“No, it’s the definition of caring.” Alden stood and made his way closer, wrapping an arm around Keefe’s shoulders. “You may not be my genetic son,” he said quietly, “but I’ve long considered you part of my family.”

Yeah, screw off, old man. I can see straight through you. Don't treat your kids like that, don't treat Keefe like that, don't treat anyone like that.

And so yeah. It's disgusting behavior, and it shows that Alden will sacrifice people to get what he wants.

If Alden was a good person, and had good relationship ideals and dynamics, this would never have been something he'd have done.

It just wouldn't have been something he'd have done.

So why did he do it? Does he think that it's fine? Does he think that it's normal? Kind?

What else does he think is normal?

*grumbles*

🐍

Bronte teaching Sophie in the book are some of my favorite scenes so I had to draw something for it. hopefully more to come.

more mspaint doodles

I have been seeing a lot of mixed views on TSATS preview chapters. Bear in mind I have not finished the Trials of Apollo but I am aware of what happened. I am not interested in people starting a fight on my post. You are welcome to politely share your opinions but we are not starting a discourse. I am too old and too tired for a fight

Here are my thoughts on the matter:

First and foremost, Nico di Angelo was introduced as a 10-year-old, dorky little kid who got excited about myth-o-magic and wanted to play games. He was a sunshine. Not doom and gloom. He became serious after Bianca died. After he was all alone in the world, being manipulated and enduring trauma. Oh and did I mention he was 10? He was 14 in the Battle of Manhattan. He was still 14 in the Battle against Gaea. He is a child. A literal child who thought he didn’t have a place in this world, and even among his own kind, where he was supposed to be safe, he was ostracised. Nico’s serious, no-nonsense attitude was a result of his trauma because he learned if he didn’t take things seriously, he could die.

Secondly, we always saw Nico di Angelo from a third party perspective. Whether it’s Percy, the Seven, Reyna or Apollo, it was always an external perspective until Blood of Olympus where we actually got a Nico POV. BoO Nico is a very traumatised demigod who never felt he had a place where he belonged. From losing his mother, abandoned by his sister, then experiencing her death, Nico has been ostracised and shunned because of his lineage by the very people he should feel safe with. Nico told Jason that once the war is over he is leaving because he was in a bad place. He never felt welcome. But after the events of the war Nico tries again to stay at camp. He tries to make a home for himself there.

TSATS takes place 1.5 years after the Battle against Gaea. It has been one year since Will and Nico are together. Nico has been at camp trying to get his life together for 1.5 years. This boy is trying to unwind and relax. He is learning and unlearning a lot of things, and as he feels more safe with people his dorky side starts to surface. His inner child never died, he is still there. We see that with that adorable Star Wars conversation. If you have a problem with Nico making dark jokes or being sarcastic, may I raise you: coping mechanism. It’s a coping mechanism a lot of people use and it can be used to mask his own insecurities. Just as Nico is trying to get control of his life again, he is still scared (constantly) that everything will fall apart and he will lose it all. His hyper independence at a young age makes him be sarcastic so people don’t worry about him. Personally, I find Nico acting a bit childish as an act of his inner child Nico surfacing and feeling safe again.

Next, I don’t get the ship wars. You can have your own fights about it but don’t romanticise Nico missing and grieving Jason.

Lastly, this is a children’s book. It is targeted at middle schoolers (unless the rating has changed. Please feel free to correct me). It provides support to all the Nico di Angelo kinnies that it gets better. After all the hell you have been through it will get better, it is okay to ask for help and reach out. I love that the book addresses PTSD, the nightmares and flashbacks. I adore that they’re actually including that in a book for middle schoolers because some kids need to know that they aren’t alone and there will be better days ahead for them.

At the end of the day, this is Uncle Rick and Mark’s Book. They’re the writers and they can do whatever they want.