Pjo Gods - Tumblr Posts

This is not my original post it belongs to @caffeinatedflumadiddlebutpjo who deleted their account but it’s so good and needs to be preserved

I like that there is just... A noticeable gap in the gods' under standing of mortal children. Like, Zeus really accused a TWELVE-YEAR-OLD of stealing his master bolt and the only justification I have for this is "Well, Hermes stole Apollo's cattle right after birth so that tracks".

But now I have a theory that the gods don't rediv understand how mortal

children work and that's why they're so blase about sending them to do ridiculous nonsense?

Like...

Zeus: What do you mean 'first word'? Why would they only speak one word?

Artemis: Humans can only cry when they are born.

Zeus: Nonsense. When vou were born you didn't cry. You delivered your brother and then came to me to ask for a birthday present.

Artemis: Humans aren't the same though. They can't walk or talk for many months. When they do speak it is only in small, short words.

Zeus: …that's not true

Artemis: I'm afraid it is

Zeus, under his breath: What the fuck

Later on...

Zeus: Did you know human babies can't speak when thev're tirst born?

Poseidon: that's so sad. Are demigods like that?

Zeus: I have no idea.

Poseidon: Mavbe we should ask around more. Athena was saying something about brain development.

Zeus: Their... THEIR BRAINS AREN'T DEVELOPED?!?!

Poseidon: I guess

Zeus: THESE HUMANS ARE WALKING AROUND WITHOUT FULLY FORMED BRAINS?!

Poseidon: I mean, so are you and I don't complain.

The quest continues...

Hermes: So... you're telling me that human kids don't know how to fend themselves at all? They need to be taught? I mean, fighting, of course, but outside of that???

Poseidon: Yeah, I thought it was like fish

where you just naturally know what you’re supposed to do. But apparently they have no idea and need to be shown everything

Hermes: I... that's awful. Why?

Poseidon: I don't know.

Suddenly all the gods are very concerned...

Ares: You mean to tell me that my kids are probably traumatized from war??

Hermes: That's what the research shows. Human kids aren't supposed to handle that kind of stuff and demigods are more human than we anticipated.

Ares: But... War?

Hermes: Idk what to tell you, bud. I'm beginning to understand why they hate us tho.

Everyone is naturally panicking

Demeter: YOU SENT MONSTERS AFTER MY BABIES WHEN THEY HAD NO BRAINS AND COULDN'T EVEN READ?!?

Hecate: HOW WAS I SUPPOSED TO KNOW THAT DEMIGODS WEREN'T BORN KNOWING HOW TO READ!?!?!

Athena: Our children all have dyslexia.

Demeter: YOU LET YOUR DAUGHTERRUN AWAY WHEN SHE WAS SEVEN! SILENCE!

Athena:…And? She is very mature and had my protection. I'm not like the rest of you. rhave done my researcn on humans and led her accordingly.

Apollo: Think of it this way, Athena. She would have just started losing baby teeth when she left home.

Athena: What?

Apollo: According to my son, they shed teeth. Like, they fall out and get new, bigger ones when they re old enougn. Didn't you know that?

Hades: That's disgusting. Our children do that?

Athena: I... That's not true! Your son is a liar!

Apollo: I AM THE GOD OF TRUTH!

It's a whole thing on Olympus

Hephaestus: Wait, they NEED to eat?!?! It isn't just for fun???

Hermes: What about water???

Dionysus: How do none ot vou know these things. Maybe you all should be camp directors for awhile-

Hades: Eight hours? They need EIGHT hours of sleep? A Day? There's no way NICO Is getting that much..

Dionysus: Oh, are they? Yeah lol. None of them are getting that much.

Aphrodite: Oh my gods... What happens if they don't get enough? Do they become ugly? ARE YOU GOING TO MAKE MY KIDS UGLY?!

Zeus: They're so fragile. Why are they even allowed out of the camp?! Chiron, explain!

Chiron: You... Uh, ask them to do stuff for you?

All of Olympus: *flips a table*

I don't like all of Rick's portrayals of the gods. I get that they're supposed to be inhuman — they are stuck in their ways, unchanging, clinging to "perfection" and the values that have defined them for millennia.

I just think that sometimes, Rick chose the wrong values for them to cling to.

Ares does not value gender; he values war, he values strength, he values bravery. He does not care if you can give birth or not. He does not care for mortal gender values. He cares for what you can give on the battlefield, for what weapons you can wield, for how much pain you can take. He cares for how many punches you can take and still get up, for how much blood you can spit and still fight back, for how torn your knuckles can become and still cave someone's skull in. He cares for how many horrors you can see and still fight, for how much inhumanity you can take and remain human, for how many times you can be faced with your fears and overcome them.

Ares, God of War, The Courageous, Slayer of Men, Protector of Women, does not care if Clarisse bleeds every month, if his children fight all that moves; he cares if she can stare in the faces of her brothers and not succumb to her fears, if they can fight and lose and get back up for another round.

Aphrodite does not value femininity; she values love, she values lust, she values beauty. She does not care if you use dozens of cosmetic products on yourself. She does not care for dolled-up models. She cares for how you love, for how much you are willing to give in her name, for how beautiful you view yourself. She cares for what measures you are willing to take to ensure your love can thrive, for how many insults you can take and still love yourself, for how much effort you feel the need to put in to feel beautiful. She cares for how much blood you will spill to protect your love, for how much love you can give and still have more, for how many obstacles you can see in your way and still love fiercely.

Aphrodite, Goddess of Love, The Warlike, Smile-Loving, Common To All People, does not care if Piper wears dresses or sweats, if her children break hearts as a right of passage; she cares if she will ravage worlds to keep her loved ones, if they will love full-heartedly.

Weapons change. Social values change. Gender roles change. Fashion trends change.

War does not. Strength does not. Bravery does not.

Love does not. Lust does not. Beauty does not.

And is it not that the gods cling to those values of theirs, those aspects of theirs, those traits of theirs so dearly for fear of change?

What even are the ancient laws?

I've been meaning to get around to this one for ages.

Anyways! Good question, guys! Answer: nobody fucking knows. Sure, we have good ideas. The laws are mentioned every now and then as a "oh, no little mortal child I can't help you - that's against the ancient laws. But hey! You can help me."

Let's be honest: the ancient laws, while there might be legitimate reasons for some of them, have transformed into yet another way that the gods hold themselves as the high and mighty overlords of the world, and keep their mortal offspring below them at all costs. But... why? Are the demigods really that dangerous to the gods? The answer: yes, but not to the gods - to Zeus.

Let's start from the beginning and list out everything we know about the laws. I did the hard work, you're welcome:

1. Gods cannot steal each others' symbols of power.

2. A god cannot initiate a fight with a mortal.

3. No direct interference - gods are not allowed to interfere in the lives and ongoings of mortals or monsters.

4. No more than 3 people are allowed on a quest.

5. Harming the sacred animals of a god is forbidden.

And that's it. Those are the only true mentions of the Ancient Laws in the entirety of the Riordanverse (at least, the Greco-Roman books).

And I think we all know what the most important one is. Direct Interference is the only one we see Zeus actively enforcing (or at least attempting to). But why is that? Well, stealing another god's symbol of power and initiating a battle with a mortal are physically impossible for gods, and the ban on harming a sacred animal is very commonly accepted already, as it's a guaranteed way to get your ass whooped. And the rule about having 3 on a quest isn't really something Zeus is going to spare the effort to enforce - starting a quest with more than 3 will typically guarantee that you come home with only 3, if at all.

But Direct Interference is the most interesting law, simply because it's the one that our demigod narrators are affected by the most, either in the ways their godly parents violate it, or refuse to do so.

There's plenty of instances where this law has had quite a bit of impact on the story and relationships. For example, Hermes used this law as a major reason why he could not help Luke or prevent him from raising Kronos. But let's be honest: besides Zeus himself, Hermes might be one of the only gods that actually obey this rule, despite the fact that he wants to break it. Just off the top of my head, I can name an instance in the series where every single Olympian at least toed the line of violating Direct Interference, except for maybe Demeter. And I'm not sure Dionysus counts, since he has contact with his half-blood children because of his position at CHB.

But there's something interesting even about the ways these gods break the law of Direct Interference. In most instances, these interactions with mortals happen when the god is in disguise, or through dreams. And, based on how little it seems like the gods get punished for breaking Direct Interference, we can only assume that Zeus is not aware of when gods talk to demigods via dreams. I mean, he's probably aware that it happens: Apollo, Poseidon, Hephaestus, Aphrodite, Hera, Ares (who occasionally follows the rule, but only as an excuse to not help a demigod out), Artemis (although she is subject to exceptions due to her domain), Dionysus, Athena (I think?), and Hades all do it at least once in the RRverse. I mean, you could also argue that dreams are a more indirect means if interference, but I can also see how that's an iffy argument at best.

So, what does this mean? If there is one thing I know about laws and rules in general is that people tend to break laws if the direct consequences of their own actions don't directly apply to them. Gods would probably respect the law of Direct Interference more if there was an immediate negative effect on themselves, aside from just the punishment.

Think of a law or a rule that people break all the time. Littering, for example. People do it all the time, even though it's bad. But why is it bad? A person who doesn't have a lot of forethought will drop a piece of trash and say 'hey, that doesn't affect me. The planet will suffer and this will be a pain in the ass to clean up, but I'm not the one cleaning it up, so why do I care?' If you don't care about the planet or other people cleaning up your trash, the only reason you have to not litter is that you're afraid of the punishment.

I think the attitude towards Direct Interference is similar. The only reason a god would obey is if they're afraid of the punishment, or if they respect Zeus enough to follow his laws (which, clearly, is not the norm in godly society). And even then, what is a punishment to an immortal being? The only way Zeus punishes gods that really matters to them is turning them mortal - and that's a very rare occurrence.

By that logic, we can assume that a violation of Direct Interference does not actually negatively affect gods all that much. To be honest, it doesn't negatively affect mortals either. Maybe monsters have the short end of the stick, but monsters didn't write the law of Direct Interference - Zeus did. So... why? Why does it exist?

My first thought was the Fates and prophecy - if gods can interact in mortal life without recourse, then it might fuck with the way the Fates operate. But gods have been interfering for the entirety of civilization. If they really had a the power to alter the future just by dipping a toe in mortal life, don't you think it would have been obvious? Even in the RRverse, there are plenty of instances, as I've mentioned, that gods have interfered in a quest, and said quest wasn't severely fucked over because of that interference. Take, for instance, Percy's quest to save Artemis - Apollo intervened, but where were the consequences of that? Where were the earth-shattering effects?

So what gives? Also, I'd argue that the gods would actually obey the law more if they knew it had such a negative effect on the proper functioning of the Fates, especially Apollo since that's his domain. So I'm going to say that's not the case.

So we're back to the first question: why does the law against Direct Interference exist if it has no effect on the gods or the Fates? In all references to the law against Direct Interference in the Riordanverse, never once is it explained why this law exists. Why would Zeus create it if violating it doesn't have some major world-ending effect? Gods are gods: what could make this law so important that it's the only one Zeus makes a true effort to enforce?

Well, it makes sense to me that Zeus would create the law if he's the one who has to bear the immediate consequences of it. Which raises the question: what are the immediate consequences? What reason could Zeus possibly have to separate half-blood children from their godly parents? HMmmmmmmMMMM.

Well, there's another interesting thing about the Ancient Laws: some of them don't apply to mortals. Mortals can steal a god's symbol of power, and mortals can initiate battles with gods. Imagine with me a scenario in which your enemy has an army that is not subject to the same laws you are. Gods are (as far as I know) physically incapable of stealing symbols of power and starting battles with mortals, but what does that matter if they have half-blood children that reach the power of minor gods, like Percy, who can do that for you?

It's a terrifying premise, if you're Zeus. And before you start telling me that I'm going down yet another far-fetched rabbit hole (listen - I always make sense in the end), we've seen Zeus go down this line of thought before, all the way back in The Lightning Thief. Remember???

Chiron said that the reason Zeus blamed Percy for stealing the Master Bolt was because the mines the Cyclopes used to forge the bolts is close to Poseidon's domain, and he thinks Poseidon has it out for him. Now, there's a theory running around the TOA fandom that gods can control how much power they hand off to their children (as seen with Apollo's children, who rarely inherit the power of prophecy, which we're willing to bet is something Apollo is controlling from behind the scenes), and if Zeus knew that Poseidon had had a child, it's possible Zeus thought Poseidon was trying to create a super-child just for the sake of overthrowing him. I'm willing to bet that one of his greatest fears is that an über-powerful child of one of his brothers would be used to steal his symbol of power and then overthrow him. He views demigod children like weapons that his enemies can use because they could be inherently dangerous to the standard structure of godly society. His main fear is somebody with the motivation of Luke having the power of Percy. And what do paranoid kings do when presented with the idea of their greatest fears? Make laws against them.

The only way Zeus could be sure that Poseidon would never intentionally have a child like Percy, then bring him under his wing just in time to start a rebellion against him is to ban that kind of interaction at all.

Counterpoint: you could also say that the law against Direct Interference was a way to protect the mortals against the gods who might harm them or do them dirty. Like getting women pregnant while in the form of a swan. Ahem ahem. Do you get my point, though? It's not like Zeus has any real reason to protect the mortals in this way, since he was one of the main perpetrators anyways, but it is a damn good excuse if he also wanted a reason to prevent a potential revolution led by demigods.

Now, if you'll bear with me for a little bit longer, there is one more interesting thing I'd like to point out: In the entirety of Trials of Apollo, Apollo (a god, obviously) only mentions following the Ancient Laws once. Unsurprisingly, at the time he's mentioning the law against Direct Interference, he's also violating it - when he kills Commodus to save lives, Rome, and for his own peace of mind. So, to me this basically means that Apollo doesn't give two single shits about following laws against Direct Interference.

Connect that with everything else we know about Apollo post-trials: he loves his kids, doesn't want to see them hurt, and is trying to distance himself from Zeus and godly society. Even pre-trials, he doesn't have any trouble admitting that Zeus makes his rules and laws difficult to follow - nobody is good enough in Zeus' eyes. I truly believe, if there's any person who, given the proper means and motivation to overthrow at least some aspects of the Direct Interference law, he would.

Just saying. Feel free to add on if anybody else has more thoughts!

[a masterlist of my other metas]

Percy and Chirons fight Pt.2

Percy stormed into the Ares cabin. Neo approached him worriedly. ‘Are you alright?!’ He exclaimed. ‘I got into a fight…. with Chiron ‘ The Ares kids gasped. neo hugged him. ‘I'm sorry that happened' He mumbled. Percy stayed silent, resting his chin on Neos head. ‘Its not that bad' Percy sighed. Sherman Yang stared at him. ‘Dude, are you listening to yourself!? You got into fight with bloody Chiron. You could be thrown out of camp!’ He said, the others seemed to realize what that meant when they started to frantically nod along with him. ‘I'll talk with Mr.D and see if he can get you out if this' Neo said. ‘I doubt it would work. But you can try’ Percy replied.

Chiron walked through the twisting darkness of the cursed forest. No wonder Zeus had banned people from entering it. Lime colored poison flowed in a river next to him. It would have been a good punishment, but it wasn't deadly, or strong enough even for causing pain. He moved deeper into the trees. A bat flew past him. He ignored it. He approached a hollowed out tree trunk. The inside was filled with a strange violet colored liquid. ‘Finally’ Chiron couldn't help but laugh as he bottled the liquid.

Dinner arrived quickly in Camp half blood. Everything was going normally. Chiron had stored the violet bottle underneath his bed in the big house. Percy was sitting between Neo and Clarisse at the Ares table. Everyone was confused as to why the Ares kids kept looking at Chiron, panicked. dinner ended, and the campers flooded out of the pavilion. Chiron sped of to the big house for some last minute plans. Mr. D was confused, but decided to just go IM Araidne.

The next morning came around, and still, no reaction from Chiron. Percy trained with Neo and Sherman, then Keith and Aria. He only ever trained with the children of Ares now. When he dropped down onto a bench, he realised that there was an unfamiliar woman beside him. She had rich brown hair, and bronze skin. Her eyes seemed gold, with flecks of red within them. She was dressed in a simple white chiton. A smile playing at her rosy lips. ‘Hello Perceus Jackson, my name is Alkippe' She said. ‘Wait…Oh. Like the daughter of Ares from the myths?’ His eyes widened in astonishment. ‘That's me! Dad made me immortal after I was beheaded by Athena.’ She grumbled, giving the nearby athena kids a well practised death glare. ‘I'm sorry for what Hallirhothios did to you’ Percy replied. The guilt and sadness in his eyes showed Alkippe the truth. ‘No need to apologise for something you had nothing to do with, Hippolyte is here too, along with a few others of my ancient siblings like Penthesileia by the way' She replied. ‘Cool! So why exactly are you guys here?’ Percy hoped he wasn't being rude. ‘Boredom, and the reason I sat down on this very comfortable bench next to you was because dear daddy decided he wanted to apologise to you but is took dam awkward to do it himself’ She snorted. He laughed. ‘Sounds like him- Where are you guys staying though?’ He suddenly realised. ‘Oh! Yeah, well we created a secret base! Its invisible to mortal/demigod/centaur/godly eyes, well except some exceptions, like my dad, siblings and you now, so anyways, the base is huge! Its practically a mansion! Its sort of a replica of Harmonias palace on Olympus! Except silver instead of gold!’ She excitedly. Percys green eyes widened ar the thought of it. They continued to chat until a girl approached them. She had ginger hair, that cascaded down her back, she had the same golden eyes with red flecks as Alkippe, but this time she was dressed in a Skulduggery Pleasant t-shit with ripped jeans and red converse. Hippolyte. ‘Allyyyy- Can we spar now?’ She complained. ‘Ugh fine. sorry Percy! Talk to you later on!’ Alkippe laughed as she summoned a spear from thin air. Scarket electricity crackled around it. Percy realised that it seemed to be a running trend in the daughters of Ares. And he couldn't help but smile.

Percy once again sat with the Ares kids. He was between Alkippe and Neo, and across from Sherman, Clarisse and Hippolyte. Clarisse and her two half sisters were in a deep conversation about weapons, while Sherman quietly snuck a few of her potatoes onto his own plate. Percy and Neo chatted about their day to each other. Chiron subtly watched Percy. He couldn't help but smirk as Percy put his glass up to his lips. He gulped down a good bit of his blue cherry coke, before continuing his conversation with Neo. The plan was successful.

The campfire ended in a goodmood. Percy said his good nights to his friends and headed back to his cabin. Just as he shut the door, a sudden burst of nausea entered his body, he dropped onto his knees. He ran to the bathroom when it came again, and again. Time after time, till Percy was in excruciating pain, and with that, he fell unconscious.

‘Percy! Wakey Wakey! Dude! WAKEY WAKEY!’ Alkippe glared at cabin threes door. she tried pushing it open, she found it suprisingly easy. She didn't find him in his bed, nor at the mini kitchen Malcolm Pace had designed. she found herself wondering towards the bathroom. She forced open the door, and to her horror, she found Percy sprawled out on the floor, with a giant claw mark on his back. He had been attacked. Alkippe pulled out her phone and quickly tapped one of her contacts. ‘Thrassa? I need you in the Poseidon cabin. Its Percy. Hes been attacked'.

The lack of Neptune material is an absolute travesty.

You're telling me, the Roman version of Poseidon, does not even get an appearance???

I shall now take upon myself to remedy this.

So

Neptune headcanons:

He's not as volatile as Poseidon. he doesn't get angry or insulted as easily either, but this does not mean he will not respond to you blatantly insulting him. There will be consequences to it.

He is arguably more possessive than Poseidon, especially when it comes to his offspring. He's incredibly controlling of his children's lives, often to a damaging degree. If the phrase "helicopter parent" had a personification, it would be this dude.

He does not give a fuck whether a child is his or from his counterpart. You are his no matter what you say, no, you are not escaping from him either.

To add to the last point, this man was seething when he found out Percy was at camp Jupiter, for the sheer factor of not being able to claim him. He went absolutely batshit crazy on Hera after that. He spent 80 YEARS not having a child, and the second he found out that he does it was ripped away from him.

He doesn't really use a human form. He just can't be bothered with it, why would he? He's just gonna appear to people as a humanoid blob of water and temporarily sends them to the underworld. He unironically throws water on his kids as a form of affection.

Percy both loves him and is scared of him. Neptune is completely unaware of this and just keeps grinning at Percy with his monstrous-looking ass teeth. Percy spends five days asking Poseidon if he has them too after that. (He does, not that he tells Percy, but he does.)

Neptune actually has a decent relationship with his brother, Jupiter. Jupiter regularly visits his brother and they gossip about their Greek sides.

Do tell me if you want another one of these for other gods in the asks! :)