The Mark Of Athena - Tumblr Posts

"‘If you ever leave me again,’ she said, her eyes stinging, ‘I swear to all the gods –’ Percy had the nerve to laugh. Suddenly the lump of heated emotions melted inside Annabeth."

I thought I would jump back on tumblr and start sharing my recent art, in case anyone isn't on IG <3

This passage haunts me any time I try to consider the relationship between Athena and her children, honestly.

The first lesson Athena's children learn is that Athena "is the best at everything" – not because she is but because even you, her child, are not safe to suggest otherwise.

An Annabeth is legitimately afraid in this moment, when she already injured and facing Arachne, the crowning example of one of her greatest fears, that her mother will take offense and intervene.

Not to help her against the enemy but to punish her

An Annabeth headcanon that I have just thought of:

So, you know how she says in TLT that if there is a spider in a mile around her, it would find her? And how, as a child of Athena, she has a deep arachnophobia?

Imagine how awful it would have become after her fight with Arachne in TMoA! Like, my girl fought her, she outsmarted her, she manage to trick her, and she caused that big ass Black Widow to fall into Tartarus after TWO MILLENIA of her avoiding precisely this with her silk and the other spiders' silk.

Like, after that, I just know that it's 100% time worse for her, she already had trauma related to that, now I just know she'll have nightmares and PTSD, and would have a full ass panic attack the second she sees a spider.

And Percy would always be here for her. He will always get rid of those creatures, he would always comfort her, and be here for her. And if anyone dares to make fun of Annabeth for it? Well, the people around would already prepare their funeral.

Thought I had after I saw this post: https://www.tumblr.com/lilislegacy/749053727633227776/i-think-its-a-pretty-common-headcanon-that?source=share

not so friendly reminder that Jason was ready to leave Nico in the Jar

“annabeth fell first” “no percy fell first!” THEY BOTH FELL!!! INTO TARTARUS!!!!!!!

The Subversion of the Mark of Athena

Annabeth’s solo quest is a bright spot within this series in that it completely subverts your expectations for what both Annabeth and the reader thought it would be. Upon a re-read I realized that this quest was the exact opposite of what Annabeth had wanted. Annabeth wanted to prove herself to the gods and to herself instead she is forced into the quest, disowned by her mother, in the end Annabeth ends up questioning her mother’s integrity, and even when the quest is over she is sent against her will into an even more dangerous trial instead of going home to glory. Annabeth has always wanted to prove herself to the gods and in the end she is mad at the gods and doesn’t care for their approval. This coupled with the fact that Annabeth going on a solo quest has been built up since the beginning of the Percy Jackson series makes this subversion fascinating to read.

I Want to Take Time to Talk about What I Love about the Third Books in Rick Riordan’s Quintologies

The third books in Rick Riordan’s quintologies all create massive paradigm shifts within their respective series. In all of the third installments the stakes become real and the heroes are faced with decisions that alter the courses of the series and change the tone moving forward. I want to talk about each individual book and express my thoughts on how they change the status quo of the series and characters as well as what I liked about what was done and how I think they stand apart from the first two entries and set up the rest of the series.

First up is the Titan’s Curse. Many people, myself included, remember this book fondly because this is where Percy Jackson and the Olympians got serious. There were hints here and there about how dark the series could become, but no death stuck until this book and the deaths present carried lasting effects as the series continued. Bianca’s death affected Nico from this point up until the Hidden Oracle where he had finally made peace with what had happened. And even after the quest was over there is a hanging sense of melancholy and foreboding of the losses that had happened and the ones yet to come. This is where it hit that the trials would only get harder and more emotional from here. I really liked that the deaths in this book weren’t cheap and that they weren’t reversed. Bianca’s death had the biggest impact on the story moving forward of any of the death in any of Rick’s series (we’ll have to wait an see the ramifications of Jason’s death, but I think it may surpass this one in terms of personal impact on the characters). Zoe’s death is, in my opinion, the most emotional death in this book and really set the tone for the sacrifices that will have to be made in the future.

The Mark of Athena signalled the start of the seven questing together. This book gave us Annabeth’s solo quest, the beginning of greek-roman relations falling apart, and the iconic fall into Tartarus. This book probably changed the status quo of the series less than the other two books because the stakes were already built up in the two books leading up to this installment, but this book succeeds at building up to the following installments and showing the heroes both what they will have to endure and the trials they will have to face. Unlike the Titan’s Curse there isn’t a sense of mystery and foreboding because you know what trials the heroes will have to face moving forward. We know Percy and Annabeth will have to trek through Tartarus to get to the doors of death and we know that the rest of the seven will have to meet them on the other side, but it’s the fact that this is how it will play out that surprises us. It succeeds because this is the first time Gaea’s threat becomes real, where things don’t work out for the heroes and there isn’t some sense of momentary safety. It ends with the heroes in their most precarious situation, Annabeth and Percy are plummeting into Tartarus and the rest of the seven guided by Nico must find the doors of death, both of which are built up to be the most difficult tasks the half-bloods will have to face. I believe this book does a great job of paying off on the stakes set up in the previous two books and while there isn’t a sense of loss for characters who died it gives us a sense of loss over the fates of Percy and Annabeth, two characters we have followed since the beginning, with the knowledge their suffering is far from over.

The Burning Maze completely changed the tone of the trials of Apollo series and in my opinion for the better. I didn’t really like the Hidden Oracle. I found the Dark Prophecy to be good, but not anything special compared to Rick’s other books. The Burning Maze blew me out of the water. This book gave us the most radical shift in tone and changed the main players within the story permanently. Piper and Apollo change the greatest throughout the course of the story and I was captivated by how much they changed within the span of one book. Apollo, throughout the course of this book, truly learns the pain and suffering demigods go through because of the gods and by the end had resolved to remember what it’s like to be human. This is such a radical shift from the arrogant self-centered character we were introduced to in the Hidden Oracle. There were deaths that changed the characters and I hope carry through and guide the characters actions going forward. I really liked that Grover, Jason, and Piper all came back for this book and it was a really good move on Rick Riordan’s part. While a lot of people are mad Jason died in this series and not the heroes of olympus I really liked the decision. I liked Jason in HoO and having him die after surviving all the trials he was put through by being brought into yet another quest and having him stand up for Apollo in HoO it made it have more meaning to Apollo specifically. It also helped to emphasize the message that the gods are unfair. Jason was put through trial after trial and in the end it was Apollo and the god’s mistakes that did him in and makes Apollo realize that he has to remember what it means to be human in the mythological world. Piper was really compelling in this book and the development she was given in this book alone put her in my top 5 favorite characters in Rick’s mythological series.

🐬🐙🐚🐠Percy Jackson 🐳🐡🐋🐟

Percy: Wise girl said we were having burgers-

Chiron: If Annabeth jumped off a cliff, would you?

Percy: …

Chiron: Percy!

Percy: Well- I- uh- I mean it depends!

Chiron: Don’t jump off of a cliff!

Percy: I mean I wasn’t planning on it.

Chiron: But if Annabeth did you would?!

Percy: …

Chiron: PERCY!