Discoholic 🪩
oozey mess
let's talk about Bridgerton tea, my ask is open
🪼
PUT YOUR BEARD IN MY MOUTH
shark vs the universe
RMH
d e v o n
@theartofmadeline
Andulka
祝日 / Permanent Vacation
❣ Chile in a Photography ❣
taylor price
"I'm Dorothy Gale from Kansas"
Origami Around
No title available
occasionally subtle
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Monterey Bay Aquarium
Alisa U Zemlji Chuda
seen from United States
seen from Singapore
seen from Vietnam
seen from Japan
seen from South Korea
seen from Russia
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from India
seen from T1
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@literallyjusttoa
I feel bad that I’ve kind’ve been jumping in and out with this blog recently, but! I have something new I set up that I hope y’all might like! And that is (drumroll please…..)
Commissions!
I set up commissions!!!!! If anybody wants a piece from me, all the instructions are in this google doc!
I will say right now I’m sadly only able to take USD😔😔. Sorry to all my international friends. I’ll be looking into ways to change that but it might take a while.
But, yeah! Commissions! Yay!
Random sketches bc I'm just vibing rn
something something night changes or whatever
yeah
yeah again
yeah
I think I'm gonna make a reblog chian of all the little phrases and Apollo uses throughout ToA, now that I'm rereading it. Bc like, he has such a unique way of speaking, and I really wanna dig into it, you know? Ok let's start.
He says "heavens help me" instead of "heaven help me" using the plural the same way demigods do with "oh my gods". I'm guessing this is an acknowledgment of other pantheons? Or I'm looking too far into it, I've just never heard this phrase with a plural "heavens" before.
He calls Cade and Mikey "Ruffians" . And he makes fun of the arrow for being Shakespearean.
He also refers to people as "Mortals" a lot here, which I remembered him doing, but now I want to keep track and see if he keeps that up throughout all the books, or if it peters out near the end.
"I thought how amusing it would be if I could make the snake tattoos around his neck come alive and strangle him to death" I honestly love how violent Apollo's thoughts can be sometimes. Like, you can tell he's someone who has done shit like this before.
I also want to keep track of all the little anecdotes Apollo brings up, so we'll start with the guitar contest against Chuck Berry in 1957, which apparently ended with him getting repeatedly stomped on.
"But something told me this was not she" II love how it's the little things that really get across how old Apollo is. Rick could've easily just said "It wasn't her" or something, but instead he had Apollo phrase this in a way that is far more formal, and more reminiscent of the grammatical patterns of old english. Idk it's just really cool.
(Side note that's not connected to Apollo: Meg's glasses are black? I feel like I've been living a lie, I've been coloring them red for years lol)
God his metaphors are just so striking. Like, I can imagine the phrase "Whatever was left of my pride turned into ice water and trickled into my socks" but I don't want to, because that's such a visceral feeling. I like that Apollo inadvertently proving how poetic he is by making the reader as uncomfortable as possible.
I think I'm gonna start crying out "Horrors!" when I'm upset to. I think I deserve that level of drama.
ahh the classic "My blessings upon you!" Again, I love how every little line characterizes him. Either it's overly formal, like before, or subtly arrogant, like here, or both. It's so fun.
I need to write him saying "Sacred Sibyl!" more. Because that is such a fun little term. Rolls right off the tongue, honestly.
I think I'm gonna leave it there for now, but trust that I will definitely be adding more to this later. Bc Lester-speak is so fun to really look into.
Forgot to mention in the last one, but he also calls Sally "Madam" which like, again, so formal but it fits him so well.
He also calls Sally "The Mother of Jackson", which sound like an epithet and I love it.
"I no longer felt as if someone were knitting a sweater inside my chest with hot needles" Hotdamn is this a metaphor. This is awful, but I immediately know exactly what feeling Lester is talking about. He is so good at this and it sucks lmao.
Love that Apollo points out that Percy has "long and nimble" fingers and that "he would have made an excellent musician" Just a cool thing for him to notice. He makes a lot of observations about other people's appearances, and they're surprisingly very non-judgemental. Unless he hates them, then he is extremely brutal.
Apollo recognizes the moonlace on Percy's windowsill, which is interesting bc I need to check but I think that only grows on Ogygia? Idk I gotta fact check that one, its v interesting he remembers what those specific flowers are called tho.
"This will probably involve many harrowing trials with a high chance of death" Apollo I think you jinxed yourself here buddy.
Kind of a follow up to the musician thing, but Apollo is so tuned in to people's body language. Like the whole paragraph where Apollo compares Meg to the mimosa plant is so interesting, bc he has known this girl for like, an hour at most, and he's already paying attention to the way she reacts in a conversation. Also he got hit by his own dodgeball of prophecy, making plant metaphors with Meg this early on.
Side note, I really wanna know what ambrosia nachos look like. Like, which part of that is made of ambrosia? All of it?
"He can dispatch some of you talented fodder- I mean heroes-" I'm not gonna lie, I think this is the worst thing Apollo says in all the books. Yikes man.
"Like billowing plumes from smoke grenades touched by King Midas." How do you come up with this stuff? What a wild description.
Another side note: Meg's earnest enthusiasm about Percy showing off his powers is so cute. Like, she's so excited by the thought of him being like Aquaman. She is the best written child in this whole franchise, honestly.
"My Adam's apple dropped into my chest like a billiard ball." I don't mean to keep focusing on these metaphors, but each one is more cursed than the last lmao.
"Better a god, regulated by the Council of Olympus and with the proper health permits," Who made the health permits, do you think? Was it Athena, or did Apollo just make his own health permits just to give them to himself.
"FYI, the Black Plague was not my fault, I took one century off to lie around on the beach in Cabo-" I love the this line bc like. Nowadays Cabo is known for being such a beautiful tourist spot, but this was the 1300's. So Apollo went to a very much unknown beach by Europe's standards, and just fucked around for a century. It reads so much more like he was just trying to get as far away from his family as possible once you think about it for a second, even tho he's phrasing it like he was at some beach resort.
Another anecdote, apparently Apollo split up the Beatles, and it's one of his four greatest regrets. Damn.
And yet another anecdote: Artemis and Apollo go camping, and Artemis wakes up first (?) and douses Apollo with ice-cold water to wake him up. V funny image.
He keeps mentioning that he's lived for four thousand years. He's done it like three times in the last 8 chapters. We get it Apollo you're old lol.
"Perhaps even jubilant worshipers who would bring me peeled grapes, Oreos, and other holy offerings." I like this line bc I like to think the addition of oreos in this list is only bc so many campers have burned oreos for him over the years, so he now considers it a genuine offering.
One of the most obvious examples of Apollo defaulting to more ancinet-speak, but I love that when Apollo is genuinely spooked by the voice of Dodona in the woods in chp 9, he says "attend me, mortal." Just, the idea of him falling back in to old traditions the moment he's on the wrong foot is so cool to me.
Reading through this and realizing that Meg has to help guide a manic and giggling Apollo who's completely out of it twice in this book series. Cuz he's out of his mind here in chp 9, and then this happens again in TDP at Trophonius. She seems so terrified while doing it too. Ahhh Meg I'm so sorry.
Realizing I also want to keep track of the songs Apollo mentions, so I'm gonna go back real quick and mention "You Send Me" by Sam Cooke, released in 1957, which he mentioned in chapter 2, and "Rise to the Sun" by Alabama Shakes, released in 2012, which he mentions in the opening of chapter 10. Listened to them both, and honestly, they're both great songs! And Rise to the Sun actually fits Apollo really well, I was genuinely surprised.
Going back also makes me realize that Apollo was going to sing an honest to god love song to stop Cade and Mikey. That image will stay with me for years, I think.
Rhea is described as dressing like a "Libyan queen of old" which is interesting, bc I couldn't find any reference to Rhea being an important figure during the period where Ancient Greece had footholds in the region. What's interesting though, is that Apollo definitely was. One of the two cities Greeks established in Libya was Cyrene, and some myths even call the native Libyans the founders of both Delos and Delphi. So like, I have no idea where Rick got the idea of Rhea being connected to Libya, but it helped me learn new things, so that's cool!
Another anecdote: When Apollo drives the sun chariot as a bus, Hermes always sits in the back, because that's where troublemakers sit.
The way Apollo describes his physical state, I'm convinced he's just constantly in excruciating pain. Like, all he does is get off the cot in the Apollo cabin, and he says that his "eyes felt as if they were being microwaved in their sockets." Bestie, what? Are you dying, wtf lmao?
Anecdote: Apollo once attempted target practice in Zeus' throne room. That feels like it might have been a more pointed thing.
Apollo sees Nero in his dreams for the first time in chapter 10, but he doesn't recognize him yet. He spends the rest of the chapter simply referring to him as "The man in the purple suit", "The ugly mauve-suited man", and simply "the ugly man" King behavior, honestly.
I know I made a post about it a while ago, but I still can't get over Apollo's outrageous claim of 33 mortal girlfriends and 11 mortal boyfriends. He has past that in Ancient Greek lovers alone lmao.
Rick does a really good job of writing these long flowing internal monologues for Apollo, only to cut them off with a short sentence that both allows for an easy transition out of Apollo's head and back to the action of the scene, but also simulates Apollo getting distracted in his own ramblings and then abruptly coming back to reality. Like, he goes on for three paragraphs about Nico and will, and then his past loves, and then his embarrassment over sharing his love for Hyacinthus and Daphne, only to end it all off with the short line "I am so confused." and then we're right back into the scene. It's a really great comedic bit, and it does wonders for Lester's characterization. (Also my god does Lester read so much like he has ADHD. Almost more than Percy to me, but then I think Lester's flavor of ADHD is much more similar to my own than Percy's is)
Anecdote: Apollo cosplayed Rocky at midnight showings of Rocky Horror Picture Show. Queen.
Apollo mentions that he filmed the orientation film on "a tight budget in the 1950's" which like, why? Maybe it's mentioned in the supplemental books somewhere, but why would a god ever be put on a budget for something lmao?
"Had I been a god, I would have turned her into a blue-belly lizard and released her into the wilderness never to be seen again. The thought soothed me." One, Apollo she is twelve dear god. Two, I love this as a character moment for Apollo (Stay with me here). Apollo comes from a culture that is so focused on strength and power and violence. The moment he loses control of a situation, he grasps for any way to get power back into his hands. And in these moments, his way of giving himself power is by reassuring himself that he could totally murder everyone here if he wanted to. Killing people is a way to assert control, it's a way that Zeus and the other gods assert control all the time. And there's an implication with Apollo using these lines too. By asserting that he can kill people, it's also an assertion that the people he is threatening cannot kill him. Idk it's just a very interesting way of coping.
Real quick fun fact! Lester describes the Oracle of Delphi in Greece as a "cavern filled with volcanic fumes" but that's not actually 100% correct. The oracle of Delphi in Ancient Greece was actually in the Temple of Apollo, with descriptions from ancient scholars putting her either in the cella or in an adyton that was below the main temple. There was a opening in the ground in this chamber, but it certainly wasn't a cave. Furthermore, the whole idea of Apollo fighting Python in a cave? From what I can tell, this is also not based in myth! Most descriptions of the fight between Apollo and Python that I can find in myth describe Python being coiled around the mountains of the Parnassus range, which is a terrifying image honestly. Just find it interesting that none of the cave stuff is actually a part of the Delphic Oracle. I mean, from what I can tell, the nearest mythologically important cave is the Corycian cave, which has nothing to do with the oracle and is also like a 45 minute drive away from Delphi.
I usually try to read three chapters before rb'ing, but I had so many notes on these two that I'm gonna cut it off here. Also, this has kind of just become pointing out shit I find interesting instead of focusing specifically on Lester-isms, but I'm def still gonna point those out, so the tag will stay. I just have so much to say about my little blorbo, sorry guys.
FINALLY BACK, FINALLY
I completely forgot that dryads served the food at CHB. I was reminded of this fact because Apollo mentions that he's mad because he's too embarrassed to flirt with any of them. Classy, king.
Just an interesting tidbit, Apollo was well aware of what Camp Half-Blood looked like before he and Meg get there, but he mentions that he can't bring up any clear memories of Camp Jupiter. It's just interesting that Apollo has such a larger connection to CHB than he does CJ.
"A father should give more to his children than he takes. I have to admit this was a novel for me." Nice line with some good double meaning. Apollo's never been a good enough dad, and also his dad has never set this example.
Odd that Rick specifically decided to say that Athena brought "Berlitz Portuguese DVD's" to teach the Olympians Portuguese. Just an odd brand drop lol. Also funny that she got the DVD's for the Olympians as Saturnalia gifts.
Once again, Apollo is extremely tuned in to people's body language. He doesn't just notice that Austin starts fiddling with his camp necklace, he also immediately remembers that that's a physical tell that Austin's mother also had. The more I read the more it just seems like Apollo mainly uses people's physical reactions to read them, which makes sense because he does have multiple times where he misreads tone.
Hephaestus regularly builds automatons that apparently destroy cities? Mad scientist core.
A small note, but I really appreciate that Apollo recognizes Meg's swords as Thracian style before he mentions that they are siccae or made of imperial gold. It just makes sense to me that he'd recognize them from their older connection to Thracians first, and then realize their of roman origin.
"She's a communist" line. Classic
No offense to Demeter, sure she's a lovely lady, but it's crazy that she was ever Apollo's favorite aunt when Hestia exists.
Rick definitely stretched some to make the feud between Demeter and Apollo. Apollo says that Demeter got mad at him for dating one of her daughters, Chrysothemis, after she won the Pythian Games. Chrysothemis did exist and won the Pythian Games (The first Pythian Games actually, so Apollo must've been pretty young when this happened) but she was not a daughter of Demeter. She was actually the daughter of the priest who purified Apollo after he killed Python, so like, yeah again Apollo had to have been very young when this happened.
Demeter kids can apparently keep bacterial fungi at bay? Weird little Demeter kid fun fact.
Apollo uses the word "ablutions" instead of just saying he was washing up, which is perfect for two reasons. One, it once again shows he's pretentious as fuck, and two, ablution is specifically the act of ceremoniously washing the body or sacred containers. Which like, of course Apollo describes taking a shower like that.
In contrast to how well Apollo reads body language, he says "If I could trust my understanding of human responses, Meg did not seem thrilled" in response to something Meg said verbally. Yeah, I really think he doesn't get tone.
Yet another uncomfortable metaphor "Suddenly the bacon in my stomach expanded, wrapping around my organs." Why Apollo. Why.
"I didn't want to talk about this with Meg, not until I'd had time to reflect. She had enough to worry about." And he's only known her for about two days at this point. Empathetic king /hj.
Speaking of knowing her for two days, he's already pointing out her habit to shut down emotionally. Observant king /hj
It's interesting that Apollo is immediately suspicious of Meg's step-father. Obviously in retrospect it makes a lot of sense, but in chapter 14 all the information he has is that Meg's step-father gave her the two siccae, and he's immediately criticizing the decision. Something something Apollo has a mistrust of authority and father figures, something something.
Drew my little guy Apollo kid OC dressed like his dad ☀️
Finally got back to being able to draw! I decided to redraw my muse designs, so here’s the gals!
(Also just noticed the typo, Thalia’s the muse of comedy guys mb 😭)
Would you believe me if I said life has still been absolutely kicking my ass 😭. I have a plan! To post more this month but I can’t guarantee it, either way I will def have something by June.
In the meantime! I have a special announcement, the final installment of BSS is being released! Two chapters will come out every week. Thank you to anyone who was stuck with the series all the way to the end, Starry and I are so grateful that you followed the journey, and we hope you enjoy the finale!
https://archiveofourown.org/works/65238208/chapters/167821441
Still on a bit of a hiatus 😥 life has been crazy the last month. But! I wanted to let y’all know that the next installment in Binary Star System has dropped! Ofc, all kudos go to @cows-and-crows, who continues to write absolute bangers.
Check it out here! Any and all support is very much appreciated, and thank you guys for all of the support we’ve gotten so far!
Life got busy and I can't post much rn :(, but here's a sketch I forgot to post of Fen and his spirit friend! Ofc this is from Binary Star System, so check it out if you want more of these dudes.
Some concept sketches and drawings I've done for a character that just showed up in @cows-and-crows and I's fic series, Binary Star System! If you'd like to know who they are, check out the newest fic here! Or start the series off at the beginning here! Very excited for you all to see what is in store :D
I think I'm gonna make a reblog chian of all the little phrases and Apollo uses throughout ToA, now that I'm rereading it. Bc like, he has such a unique way of speaking, and I really wanna dig into it, you know? Ok let's start.
He says "heavens help me" instead of "heaven help me" using the plural the same way demigods do with "oh my gods". I'm guessing this is an acknowledgment of other pantheons? Or I'm looking too far into it, I've just never heard this phrase with a plural "heavens" before.
He calls Cade and Mikey "Ruffians" . And he makes fun of the arrow for being Shakespearean.
He also refers to people as "Mortals" a lot here, which I remembered him doing, but now I want to keep track and see if he keeps that up throughout all the books, or if it peters out near the end.
"I thought how amusing it would be if I could make the snake tattoos around his neck come alive and strangle him to death" I honestly love how violent Apollo's thoughts can be sometimes. Like, you can tell he's someone who has done shit like this before.
I also want to keep track of all the little anecdotes Apollo brings up, so we'll start with the guitar contest against Chuck Berry in 1957, which apparently ended with him getting repeatedly stomped on.
"But something told me this was not she" II love how it's the little things that really get across how old Apollo is. Rick could've easily just said "It wasn't her" or something, but instead he had Apollo phrase this in a way that is far more formal, and more reminiscent of the grammatical patterns of old english. Idk it's just really cool.
(Side note that's not connected to Apollo: Meg's glasses are black? I feel like I've been living a lie, I've been coloring them red for years lol)
God his metaphors are just so striking. Like, I can imagine the phrase "Whatever was left of my pride turned into ice water and trickled into my socks" but I don't want to, because that's such a visceral feeling. I like that Apollo inadvertently proving how poetic he is by making the reader as uncomfortable as possible.
I think I'm gonna start crying out "Horrors!" when I'm upset to. I think I deserve that level of drama.
ahh the classic "My blessings upon you!" Again, I love how every little line characterizes him. Either it's overly formal, like before, or subtly arrogant, like here, or both. It's so fun.
I need to write him saying "Sacred Sibyl!" more. Because that is such a fun little term. Rolls right off the tongue, honestly.
I think I'm gonna leave it there for now, but trust that I will definitely be adding more to this later. Bc Lester-speak is so fun to really look into.
Forgot to mention in the last one, but he also calls Sally "Madam" which like, again, so formal but it fits him so well.
He also calls Sally "The Mother of Jackson", which sound like an epithet and I love it.
"I no longer felt as if someone were knitting a sweater inside my chest with hot needles" Hotdamn is this a metaphor. This is awful, but I immediately know exactly what feeling Lester is talking about. He is so good at this and it sucks lmao.
Love that Apollo points out that Percy has "long and nimble" fingers and that "he would have made an excellent musician" Just a cool thing for him to notice. He makes a lot of observations about other people's appearances, and they're surprisingly very non-judgemental. Unless he hates them, then he is extremely brutal.
Apollo recognizes the moonlace on Percy's windowsill, which is interesting bc I need to check but I think that only grows on Ogygia? Idk I gotta fact check that one, its v interesting he remembers what those specific flowers are called tho.
"This will probably involve many harrowing trials with a high chance of death" Apollo I think you jinxed yourself here buddy.
Kind of a follow up to the musician thing, but Apollo is so tuned in to people's body language. Like the whole paragraph where Apollo compares Meg to the mimosa plant is so interesting, bc he has known this girl for like, an hour at most, and he's already paying attention to the way she reacts in a conversation. Also he got hit by his own dodgeball of prophecy, making plant metaphors with Meg this early on.
Side note, I really wanna know what ambrosia nachos look like. Like, which part of that is made of ambrosia? All of it?
"He can dispatch some of you talented fodder- I mean heroes-" I'm not gonna lie, I think this is the worst thing Apollo says in all the books. Yikes man.
"Like billowing plumes from smoke grenades touched by King Midas." How do you come up with this stuff? What a wild description.
Another side note: Meg's earnest enthusiasm about Percy showing off his powers is so cute. Like, she's so excited by the thought of him being like Aquaman. She is the best written child in this whole franchise, honestly.
"My Adam's apple dropped into my chest like a billiard ball." I don't mean to keep focusing on these metaphors, but each one is more cursed than the last lmao.
"Better a god, regulated by the Council of Olympus and with the proper health permits," Who made the health permits, do you think? Was it Athena, or did Apollo just make his own health permits just to give them to himself.
"FYI, the Black Plague was not my fault, I took one century off to lie around on the beach in Cabo-" I love the this line bc like. Nowadays Cabo is known for being such a beautiful tourist spot, but this was the 1300's. So Apollo went to a very much unknown beach by Europe's standards, and just fucked around for a century. It reads so much more like he was just trying to get as far away from his family as possible once you think about it for a second, even tho he's phrasing it like he was at some beach resort.
Another anecdote, apparently Apollo split up the Beatles, and it's one of his four greatest regrets. Damn.
And yet another anecdote: Artemis and Apollo go camping, and Artemis wakes up first (?) and douses Apollo with ice-cold water to wake him up. V funny image.
He keeps mentioning that he's lived for four thousand years. He's done it like three times in the last 8 chapters. We get it Apollo you're old lol.
"Perhaps even jubilant worshipers who would bring me peeled grapes, Oreos, and other holy offerings." I like this line bc I like to think the addition of oreos in this list is only bc so many campers have burned oreos for him over the years, so he now considers it a genuine offering.
One of the most obvious examples of Apollo defaulting to more ancinet-speak, but I love that when Apollo is genuinely spooked by the voice of Dodona in the woods in chp 9, he says "attend me, mortal." Just, the idea of him falling back in to old traditions the moment he's on the wrong foot is so cool to me.
Reading through this and realizing that Meg has to help guide a manic and giggling Apollo who's completely out of it twice in this book series. Cuz he's out of his mind here in chp 9, and then this happens again in TDP at Trophonius. She seems so terrified while doing it too. Ahhh Meg I'm so sorry.
Realizing I also want to keep track of the songs Apollo mentions, so I'm gonna go back real quick and mention "You Send Me" by Sam Cooke, released in 1957, which he mentioned in chapter 2, and "Rise to the Sun" by Alabama Shakes, released in 2012, which he mentions in the opening of chapter 10. Listened to them both, and honestly, they're both great songs! And Rise to the Sun actually fits Apollo really well, I was genuinely surprised.
Going back also makes me realize that Apollo was going to sing an honest to god love song to stop Cade and Mikey. That image will stay with me for years, I think.
Rhea is described as dressing like a "Libyan queen of old" which is interesting, bc I couldn't find any reference to Rhea being an important figure during the period where Ancient Greece had footholds in the region. What's interesting though, is that Apollo definitely was. One of the two cities Greeks established in Libya was Cyrene, and some myths even call the native Libyans the founders of both Delos and Delphi. So like, I have no idea where Rick got the idea of Rhea being connected to Libya, but it helped me learn new things, so that's cool!
Another anecdote: When Apollo drives the sun chariot as a bus, Hermes always sits in the back, because that's where troublemakers sit.
The way Apollo describes his physical state, I'm convinced he's just constantly in excruciating pain. Like, all he does is get off the cot in the Apollo cabin, and he says that his "eyes felt as if they were being microwaved in their sockets." Bestie, what? Are you dying, wtf lmao?
Anecdote: Apollo once attempted target practice in Zeus' throne room. That feels like it might have been a more pointed thing.
Apollo sees Nero in his dreams for the first time in chapter 10, but he doesn't recognize him yet. He spends the rest of the chapter simply referring to him as "The man in the purple suit", "The ugly mauve-suited man", and simply "the ugly man" King behavior, honestly.
I know I made a post about it a while ago, but I still can't get over Apollo's outrageous claim of 33 mortal girlfriends and 11 mortal boyfriends. He has past that in Ancient Greek lovers alone lmao.
Rick does a really good job of writing these long flowing internal monologues for Apollo, only to cut them off with a short sentence that both allows for an easy transition out of Apollo's head and back to the action of the scene, but also simulates Apollo getting distracted in his own ramblings and then abruptly coming back to reality. Like, he goes on for three paragraphs about Nico and will, and then his past loves, and then his embarrassment over sharing his love for Hyacinthus and Daphne, only to end it all off with the short line "I am so confused." and then we're right back into the scene. It's a really great comedic bit, and it does wonders for Lester's characterization. (Also my god does Lester read so much like he has ADHD. Almost more than Percy to me, but then I think Lester's flavor of ADHD is much more similar to my own than Percy's is)
Anecdote: Apollo cosplayed Rocky at midnight showings of Rocky Horror Picture Show. Queen.
Apollo mentions that he filmed the orientation film on "a tight budget in the 1950's" which like, why? Maybe it's mentioned in the supplemental books somewhere, but why would a god ever be put on a budget for something lmao?
"Had I been a god, I would have turned her into a blue-belly lizard and released her into the wilderness never to be seen again. The thought soothed me." One, Apollo she is twelve dear god. Two, I love this as a character moment for Apollo (Stay with me here). Apollo comes from a culture that is so focused on strength and power and violence. The moment he loses control of a situation, he grasps for any way to get power back into his hands. And in these moments, his way of giving himself power is by reassuring himself that he could totally murder everyone here if he wanted to. Killing people is a way to assert control, it's a way that Zeus and the other gods assert control all the time. And there's an implication with Apollo using these lines too. By asserting that he can kill people, it's also an assertion that the people he is threatening cannot kill him. Idk it's just a very interesting way of coping.
Real quick fun fact! Lester describes the Oracle of Delphi in Greece as a "cavern filled with volcanic fumes" but that's not actually 100% correct. The oracle of Delphi in Ancient Greece was actually in the Temple of Apollo, with descriptions from ancient scholars putting her either in the cella or in an adyton that was below the main temple. There was a opening in the ground in this chamber, but it certainly wasn't a cave. Furthermore, the whole idea of Apollo fighting Python in a cave? From what I can tell, this is also not based in myth! Most descriptions of the fight between Apollo and Python that I can find in myth describe Python being coiled around the mountains of the Parnassus range, which is a terrifying image honestly. Just find it interesting that none of the cave stuff is actually a part of the Delphic Oracle. I mean, from what I can tell, the nearest mythologically important cave is the Corycian cave, which has nothing to do with the oracle and is also like a 45 minute drive away from Delphi.
I usually try to read three chapters before rb'ing, but I had so many notes on these two that I'm gonna cut it off here. Also, this has kind of just become pointing out shit I find interesting instead of focusing specifically on Lester-isms, but I'm def still gonna point those out, so the tag will stay. I just have so much to say about my little blorbo, sorry guys.
I think I'm gonna make a reblog chian of all the little phrases and Apollo uses throughout ToA, now that I'm rereading it. Bc like, he has such a unique way of speaking, and I really wanna dig into it, you know? Ok let's start.
He says "heavens help me" instead of "heaven help me" using the plural the same way demigods do with "oh my gods". I'm guessing this is an acknowledgment of other pantheons? Or I'm looking too far into it, I've just never heard this phrase with a plural "heavens" before.
He calls Cade and Mikey "Ruffians" . And he makes fun of the arrow for being Shakespearean.
He also refers to people as "Mortals" a lot here, which I remembered him doing, but now I want to keep track and see if he keeps that up throughout all the books, or if it peters out near the end.
"I thought how amusing it would be if I could make the snake tattoos around his neck come alive and strangle him to death" I honestly love how violent Apollo's thoughts can be sometimes. Like, you can tell he's someone who has done shit like this before.
I also want to keep track of all the little anecdotes Apollo brings up, so we'll start with the guitar contest against Chuck Berry in 1957, which apparently ended with him getting repeatedly stomped on.
"But something told me this was not she" II love how it's the little things that really get across how old Apollo is. Rick could've easily just said "It wasn't her" or something, but instead he had Apollo phrase this in a way that is far more formal, and more reminiscent of the grammatical patterns of old english. Idk it's just really cool.
(Side note that's not connected to Apollo: Meg's glasses are black? I feel like I've been living a lie, I've been coloring them red for years lol)
God his metaphors are just so striking. Like, I can imagine the phrase "Whatever was left of my pride turned into ice water and trickled into my socks" but I don't want to, because that's such a visceral feeling. I like that Apollo inadvertently proving how poetic he is by making the reader as uncomfortable as possible.
I think I'm gonna start crying out "Horrors!" when I'm upset to. I think I deserve that level of drama.
ahh the classic "My blessings upon you!" Again, I love how every little line characterizes him. Either it's overly formal, like before, or subtly arrogant, like here, or both. It's so fun.
I need to write him saying "Sacred Sibyl!" more. Because that is such a fun little term. Rolls right off the tongue, honestly.
I think I'm gonna leave it there for now, but trust that I will definitely be adding more to this later. Bc Lester-speak is so fun to really look into.
Forgot to mention in the last one, but he also calls Sally "Madam" which like, again, so formal but it fits him so well.
He also calls Sally "The Mother of Jackson", which sound like an epithet and I love it.
"I no longer felt as if someone were knitting a sweater inside my chest with hot needles" Hotdamn is this a metaphor. This is awful, but I immediately know exactly what feeling Lester is talking about. He is so good at this and it sucks lmao.
Love that Apollo points out that Percy has "long and nimble" fingers and that "he would have made an excellent musician" Just a cool thing for him to notice. He makes a lot of observations about other people's appearances, and they're surprisingly very non-judgemental. Unless he hates them, then he is extremely brutal.
Apollo recognizes the moonlace on Percy's windowsill, which is interesting bc I need to check but I think that only grows on Ogygia? Idk I gotta fact check that one, its v interesting he remembers what those specific flowers are called tho.
"This will probably involve many harrowing trials with a high chance of death" Apollo I think you jinxed yourself here buddy.
Kind of a follow up to the musician thing, but Apollo is so tuned in to people's body language. Like the whole paragraph where Apollo compares Meg to the mimosa plant is so interesting, bc he has known this girl for like, an hour at most, and he's already paying attention to the way she reacts in a conversation. Also he got hit by his own dodgeball of prophecy, making plant metaphors with Meg this early on.
Side note, I really wanna know what ambrosia nachos look like. Like, which part of that is made of ambrosia? All of it?
"He can dispatch some of you talented fodder- I mean heroes-" I'm not gonna lie, I think this is the worst thing Apollo says in all the books. Yikes man.
"Like billowing plumes from smoke grenades touched by King Midas." How do you come up with this stuff? What a wild description.
Another side note: Meg's earnest enthusiasm about Percy showing off his powers is so cute. Like, she's so excited by the thought of him being like Aquaman. She is the best written child in this whole franchise, honestly.
"My Adam's apple dropped into my chest like a billiard ball." I don't mean to keep focusing on these metaphors, but each one is more cursed than the last lmao.
"Better a god, regulated by the Council of Olympus and with the proper health permits," Who made the health permits, do you think? Was it Athena, or did Apollo just make his own health permits just to give them to himself.
"FYI, the Black Plague was not my fault, I took one century off to lie around on the beach in Cabo-" I love the this line bc like. Nowadays Cabo is known for being such a beautiful tourist spot, but this was the 1300's. So Apollo went to a very much unknown beach by Europe's standards, and just fucked around for a century. It reads so much more like he was just trying to get as far away from his family as possible once you think about it for a second, even tho he's phrasing it like he was at some beach resort.
Another anecdote, apparently Apollo split up the Beatles, and it's one of his four greatest regrets. Damn.
And yet another anecdote: Artemis and Apollo go camping, and Artemis wakes up first (?) and douses Apollo with ice-cold water to wake him up. V funny image.
He keeps mentioning that he's lived for four thousand years. He's done it like three times in the last 8 chapters. We get it Apollo you're old lol.
"Perhaps even jubilant worshipers who would bring me peeled grapes, Oreos, and other holy offerings." I like this line bc I like to think the addition of oreos in this list is only bc so many campers have burned oreos for him over the years, so he now considers it a genuine offering.
One of the most obvious examples of Apollo defaulting to more ancinet-speak, but I love that when Apollo is genuinely spooked by the voice of Dodona in the woods in chp 9, he says "attend me, mortal." Just, the idea of him falling back in to old traditions the moment he's on the wrong foot is so cool to me.
Reading through this and realizing that Meg has to help guide a manic and giggling Apollo who's completely out of it twice in this book series. Cuz he's out of his mind here in chp 9, and then this happens again in TDP at Trophonius. She seems so terrified while doing it too. Ahhh Meg I'm so sorry.
I think I'm gonna make a reblog chian of all the little phrases and Apollo uses throughout ToA, now that I'm rereading it. Bc like, he has such a unique way of speaking, and I really wanna dig into it, you know? Ok let's start.
He says "heavens help me" instead of "heaven help me" using the plural the same way demigods do with "oh my gods". I'm guessing this is an acknowledgment of other pantheons? Or I'm looking too far into it, I've just never heard this phrase with a plural "heavens" before.
He calls Cade and Mikey "Ruffians" . And he makes fun of the arrow for being Shakespearean.
He also refers to people as "Mortals" a lot here, which I remembered him doing, but now I want to keep track and see if he keeps that up throughout all the books, or if it peters out near the end.
"I thought how amusing it would be if I could make the snake tattoos around his neck come alive and strangle him to death" I honestly love how violent Apollo's thoughts can be sometimes. Like, you can tell he's someone who has done shit like this before.
I also want to keep track of all the little anecdotes Apollo brings up, so we'll start with the guitar contest against Chuck Berry in 1957, which apparently ended with him getting repeatedly stomped on.
"But something told me this was not she" II love how it's the little things that really get across how old Apollo is. Rick could've easily just said "It wasn't her" or something, but instead he had Apollo phrase this in a way that is far more formal, and more reminiscent of the grammatical patterns of old english. Idk it's just really cool.
(Side note that's not connected to Apollo: Meg's glasses are black? I feel like I've been living a lie, I've been coloring them red for years lol)
God his metaphors are just so striking. Like, I can imagine the phrase "Whatever was left of my pride turned into ice water and trickled into my socks" but I don't want to, because that's such a visceral feeling. I like that Apollo inadvertently proving how poetic he is by making the reader as uncomfortable as possible.
I think I'm gonna start crying out "Horrors!" when I'm upset to. I think I deserve that level of drama.
ahh the classic "My blessings upon you!" Again, I love how every little line characterizes him. Either it's overly formal, like before, or subtly arrogant, like here, or both. It's so fun.
I need to write him saying "Sacred Sibyl!" more. Because that is such a fun little term. Rolls right off the tongue, honestly.
I think I'm gonna leave it there for now, but trust that I will definitely be adding more to this later. Bc Lester-speak is so fun to really look into.
Forgot to mention in the last one, but he also calls Sally "Madam" which like, again, so formal but it fits him so well.
He also calls Sally "The Mother of Jackson", which sound like an epithet and I love it.
"I no longer felt as if someone were knitting a sweater inside my chest with hot needles" Hotdamn is this a metaphor. This is awful, but I immediately know exactly what feeling Lester is talking about. He is so good at this and it sucks lmao.
Love that Apollo points out that Percy has "long and nimble" fingers and that "he would have made an excellent musician" Just a cool thing for him to notice. He makes a lot of observations about other people's appearances, and they're surprisingly very non-judgemental. Unless he hates them, then he is extremely brutal.
Apollo recognizes the moonlace on Percy's windowsill, which is interesting bc I need to check but I think that only grows on Ogygia? Idk I gotta fact check that one, its v interesting he remembers what those specific flowers are called tho.
"This will probably involve many harrowing trials with a high chance of death" Apollo I think you jinxed yourself here buddy.
Kind of a follow up to the musician thing, but Apollo is so tuned in to people's body language. Like the whole paragraph where Apollo compares Meg to the mimosa plant is so interesting, bc he has known this girl for like, an hour at most, and he's already paying attention to the way she reacts in a conversation. Also he got hit by his own dodgeball of prophecy, making plant metaphors with Meg this early on.
Side note, I really wanna know what ambrosia nachos look like. Like, which part of that is made of ambrosia? All of it?
"He can dispatch some of you talented fodder- I mean heroes-" I'm not gonna lie, I think this is the worst thing Apollo says in all the books. Yikes man.
"Like billowing plumes from smoke grenades touched by King Midas." How do you come up with this stuff? What a wild description.
Another side note: Meg's earnest enthusiasm about Percy showing off his powers is so cute. Like, she's so excited by the thought of him being like Aquaman. She is the best written child in this whole franchise, honestly.
"My Adam's apple dropped into my chest like a billiard ball." I don't mean to keep focusing on these metaphors, but each one is more cursed than the last lmao.
I think I'm gonna make a reblog chian of all the little phrases and Apollo uses throughout ToA, now that I'm rereading it. Bc like, he has such a unique way of speaking, and I really wanna dig into it, you know? Ok let's start.
He says "heavens help me" instead of "heaven help me" using the plural the same way demigods do with "oh my gods". I'm guessing this is an acknowledgment of other pantheons? Or I'm looking too far into it, I've just never heard this phrase with a plural "heavens" before.
He calls Cade and Mikey "Ruffians" . And he makes fun of the arrow for being Shakespearean.
He also refers to people as "Mortals" a lot here, which I remembered him doing, but now I want to keep track and see if he keeps that up throughout all the books, or if it peters out near the end.
"I thought how amusing it would be if I could make the snake tattoos around his neck come alive and strangle him to death" I honestly love how violent Apollo's thoughts can be sometimes. Like, you can tell he's someone who has done shit like this before.
I also want to keep track of all the little anecdotes Apollo brings up, so we'll start with the guitar contest against Chuck Berry in 1957, which apparently ended with him getting repeatedly stomped on.
"But something told me this was not she" II love how it's the little things that really get across how old Apollo is. Rick could've easily just said "It wasn't her" or something, but instead he had Apollo phrase this in a way that is far more formal, and more reminiscent of the grammatical patterns of old english. Idk it's just really cool.
(Side note that's not connected to Apollo: Meg's glasses are black? I feel like I've been living a lie, I've been coloring them red for years lol)
God his metaphors are just so striking. Like, I can imagine the phrase "Whatever was left of my pride turned into ice water and trickled into my socks" but I don't want to, because that's such a visceral feeling. I like that Apollo inadvertently proving how poetic he is by making the reader as uncomfortable as possible.
I think I'm gonna start crying out "Horrors!" when I'm upset to. I think I deserve that level of drama.
ahh the classic "My blessings upon you!" Again, I love how every little line characterizes him. Either it's overly formal, like before, or subtly arrogant, like here, or both. It's so fun.
I need to write him saying "Sacred Sibyl!" more. Because that is such a fun little term. Rolls right off the tongue, honestly.
I think I'm gonna leave it there for now, but trust that I will definitely be adding more to this later. Bc Lester-speak is so fun to really look into.
Starting my reread of ToA this year, and I thought I'd revisit an old series and do a doodle for each chapter. Do not hold me to continuing this tho lol, I only got 19 chapters in the last time I did this. Still, here are chapters 1-3!
Love revisiting the very, very rough beginnings of Meg and Lester tho. They are so them and I love it.