He had spent over a hundred years trapped in the darkest pits of the underworld, Tortured endlessly and forced to change into something he barely recognized anymore.
He had fought and run and begged and threatened and submitted and pushed until he felt like he had nothing left inside, Nothing left worth fighting for.
In a moment he made what felt like a crazy decision to write a letter and send it out, Of course he didn’t expect much to come of it, Probably much expected the lowly demon to eat it the moment he took his eyes off it, But instead he got a reply.
And then another.
Everyday he found himself watching the sky for more then just the birds and beasts flying over head, Everyday he felt himself fighting a little harder to make it to tomorrow, To read and write.
Through all the hell he’s been through, And the pain and bloodshed, It felt like he was finally at the end of the journey.
So why were his feet frozen to the cold stone? Why did it feel like his chest was going to collapse in on itself? Why couldn’t he steady his breathing or heart rate?
His eyes were locked onto the cool, Shimmering surface of the pool in front of him, The unsanctioned tear between realms that would finally free him from this nightmare.
Finally get him to one reason he’s kept fighting so long for…
He nearly jumped feeling Frida’s hanf on his shoulder, Looking up at her for only a moment before she, In her usual impatient manner, Shoved him through the rift.
It took him a moment to readjust, The air feeling cooler and smelled fresher, The stone beneath his feet still cool but no longer unnaturally so, There were no lost souls to light up the cave but the pool still shimmered just enough for him to see
“… Apollo..?”
( @apollo-is-appalled sooo I tend to get a lil carried away when writing, lmk if I should change anything)
Helios and Apollo having a father son dynamic>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
i love it i love it i love it
Oh why are they so similar? FAMILY
Oh why did they blend into one? PASSING THE TORCH OF SUN GOD RESPONSIBILITIES
Oh why do they both have cattle? BONDING
I don’t know HOW they’re actually related and I don’t CARE because in my mind it’s Helios being the DAD WHO STEPPED UP and since he’s not actually in Epic beyond a statue IT’S UP TO MY INTERPRETATION!
I got a very disturbing Pjo idea after watching TBOSAS trailer and since nudging the people in the Ta server wasn't enough for me, I'm putting it out here.
(Very excited for that movie btw)
TW: Dehumanisation, murder, child death, general things you would see in THG
Okay so you know how THG was inspired by the Thesus and the Labyrinth myth?
And you know how the Games were started to punish the Districts for rebelling?
And, and what army was technically a rebellion? That’s right. The Titan army demigods.
So, what if instead of massacring the Ta kids; the gods put them thorough similar games. I mean Hephaestus TV is a thing, they canonically watch demigods as entertainment. Wouldn't be the first time they made them fight for entertainment either. Remember Bachus?
"After all, if they're so willing to raise up arms against their fellow demigodkind killing their friends and fellow comrades shouldn't be that hard, right?" — Zeus (and Kai thanks for the dialogue)
So those who didn’t immediately joined back the camps gets rounded up and imprisoned somewhere before they got thrown into the arena to fight monsters and eachother to death.
All the while the gods are watching their new family entertainment. Hey, it's free :D
Apollo takes it upon himself to do the interviews (like Ceasar) which half of it has to get censored before it reaches Zeus.
"Hecate, your son fucking bit me!"
"Good." — she's not happy about the situation at all.
Of course, they would group the kids and do more than one run: Prolongs their fun and the traitors's suffering.
Not that all of the kids are sent to fight. The Olympians who have children there are more likely to spare their favourite ones and hold it over their heads for the rest of their life. (And leave the ones they don't like to die)
Sponsorships still happen, it's an effective way to break the comradeship. You're more likely to receive one if 1) Your godly parent is an Olympian and/or 2) You’re more willing to put up with whatever the gods throw at you without a fuss.
The current run is broadcasted to the imprisoned demis as a further way to break their spirits, and so they can see their friends kill eachother, sometimes without hesitation.
The winners gets paraded around Mt. Olympus. They're free now that won the gods's bloody bullshit, right? Wrong. Sure they're being "celebrated" for killing their friends but they're nothing more than shiny trophies. Just props for entertainment :)
Of course, with the way things are broadcasted to the other members of army make it seem like one of their own being treated like a celebrity for turning on them, which further drives wedges between the victors and them.
The winners gets to watch their own run, too. They can't turn on Olympus if they're too busy self-loathing :)
The kids are prepped up before their interviews, a courtesy of Aphrodite (so what if some of her own children are there, they should've knew better than treason), but they’re sent to the arena with basic white chitons. The Olympians get nostalgic all right, they’re old. (And it does make the Ta demis feel even more degraded and patronised.)
The Arena itself is really pretty, too pretty for what's happening inside. I'm talking about polished marble Greek columns, giant statues of the gods, intricate carvings of silver and gold.
[It is of course designed by their newest architect. Not that Annabeth knows what it's going to be used for. They petition for "a shiny arena for godly games" and she does it. Not knowing it's going to be used for demigod bloodshed. She can't be imprisoned like her half-brother Daedalus however, they can't have either of the camps know about what's going on. (Those in Ta who knew her recognises her work, however causing them to think the Camp is on it) So, Hera kindly takes it upon herself to wipe the memory. She needed practice for her future exchange program anyway.]
"Why are you protesting that "we're forcing you to kill eachother" Torrington, we aren't the ones who are holding weapons."
