just saw someone say that after toa the other gods surely lost all respect for apollo and that he'll be seen as a joke
I,, strongly disagree
I don't think you guys grasp how truly impressive apollo showed himself to be in those trials
he was meant to be fully mortal, fully. It was a blatant assassination attempt
like, zeus put his all in making apollo as mortal as he could possibly be and the result was a blatant not at all
I don't understand how you can mock apollo for being weak in toa, he was meant to have no power at all, the fact he even does is a testament to his sheer inherent divinity
he had his power and memory stolen and was thrown in a situation meant to counter Specifically Him. at full power
it was unironically an Impossible task
and the fucker did it
IN SIX MONTHS!!?!
I don't think anyone had realized he was willingly crippling himself socially until he effortlessly gained the loyalty and love of everyone he met the moment he stopped holding himself back, because he was plenty liked before, he was actively trying to make himself distasteful and he was still more popular than any of them. What. A. Doozy.
Apollo was put in a situation where he had to show how much control zeus had over him when things got real and he answered that with willing himself back to divinity and sheepishly saying "none at all, really"
au where Hermes burns down Cyllene as punishment for Luke
If Apollo's "involvement" in the second war leads to a six-month-long punishment named Lester, it's weird how Hermes seems to get off scot free for Luke (and honestly, Ares too for the bolt). And yeah, I've seen theories where it states Hermes didn't break the ultimate non-interference laws and therefore was not punished, buT! I think it would make sense if anyone who had any involvement in any war WAS punished, just kept their mouths shut about the details.
so what would be hermes' punishment for luke's actions in the first war? i propose this:
Zues should make Hermes burn down his birthplace. destroy it. wipe it off the map. kill whatever was left of his mother's earthly connections, thereby locking her and her sisters into their celestial forms, never to step foot on the earth again. It's the death of an immortal, and how chilling is that? According to Apollo, there is a power in birthplaces, but for a bastard of Olympus, it is only a stain of a reminder of where they came from.
(putting the rest under the cut bc its long lol)
ig there would be 3 main things that Heremes would take away from this:
showing Hermes that Cyllene is the consequence of his own actions. May Castellan, Luke Castellan, now his mother, who else? Everything he has touched has turned to ash, and any life he has entered has been led to ruin. ig this mindset would also shine a different light on Hermes' deadbeatness, in a way.
1. Enforces the consequences of Zeus' non-interference rule.
Scaring Hermes into inaction by punishing the results of his rare action (giving Luke a quest, speaking to him that literal one(?) time, telling May about the oracle) would also handily explain why the hell he was so absent during the giant war and the entirety of toa. Like, communications are down and messaging systems are in complete disarray, isn't that Hermes' domain? Why the hell isn't he doing anything about it? Well, that's bc he knows what happens when he disobeys, and at this point, he's running out of family to lose.
2. Prophecy is set in stone
This punishment would also unknowingly (to Zeus) create a mindset of the inevitability of prophecy in Hermes. Aka, the literal opposite of what Apollo and his trial's entire deal. Aka Zues' entire deal! !!!This is negative character development for Hermes gang!!!
If we go with the idea that Hermes knew about Luke's fate since he was a baby, and his giving Luke that quest was Hermes trying to change his son's fate... Then it almost sounds like one of the only times Hermes broke his father's non-interference rules was in an attempt to change Luke's fate. But not only did it blow up in his face spectacularly, but if that quest was a fundamental canon event in Luke's spiral into vengeance, then this is a classic tale of a hero meeting his end on the path he took to avoid it.
Not only has Hermes failed to save his son in what he believed was a futile attempt to go against prophecy, but he has also doomed his homeland in his rash actions. By punishing Hermes through Cyllene, it enforces the idea that his ever daring to think he could change fate has inadvertently brought the mountain to its ruin.
Furthermore, Zeus' choice of Hermes' birthplace as the target is uniquely tailored to hit where it hurts the most. A forest fire can go burning on for years, after all, and a mountain of ancient trees surrounded by boundaries of the boundary god could theoretically go on burning forever. After the deed has been done and the entire mountain is up in flames, from that point onwards, Zeus would only have to point to a ruined Cyllene to quell whatever mere suggestion Hermes has of stepping out of line.
3. zues proving to hermes that he is ultimately his father's son
if nympths in the rrverse are physically bound to a certain place, then maia and her sisters would have both their stars in the pleiades constellations in addition to mount cyllene.
Say, would the offsping of a nympth and a god be a minor god themselves? another nympth? a monster? who knows? in reality, their entire existence hinges on mortal belief and how humans perceive them, but parentage still plays a role in how their stories are told. so therefore the only olympian with a nympth for a mother would also reasonablly assume that there is a peice of him, like his mother, is tied to that mountain. weather or not thats actually true doesnt matter, what matters is when cyllene burned and hermes stood at the foot of the mountain and did not burn with it, to him it was the dreaded proof that he was no longer his mothers son. that he has left behind everything good that he used to be, and through his very own efforts, somewhere between his childhood in that cave where he dared dreamed of something greater, he has forfeited what made those dreams worth chasing in the firat place. through his own efforts, he has become something terrible. he has become his fathers son.
.
.
.
all this is to say that rrverse zues may be evil, but bros not uncreative lmao. isolating Hermes through cutting off some of the last of his support system (by his own hands, no less) not only ensures Hermes' reliance on Zeus but also Hermes' reliance and identification with Olympus as a whole. also ensures that when the time comes for Apollo's punishment, there's already a hurt there that's ripe and ready to be dug into.
Apollo's been banished to mortal-hood? oh boo hoo, what a tragedy (compleatly different hc but i think hermes honestly would've had a much easier time adjusting to mortalhood compared to apollo at first, mainly due to the nature of hermes' domains). Oh, Apollo nearly keeps dying as a mortal and is prophesied to perish at the jaws of Python? well, fuck, his head for his crimes is what he deserves, is it not? While Apollo's punishment is a thinly veiled assassination attempt, Hermes' punishment would be to isolate him further.
There was already a jealousy here that could be amplified to the nines post-trials. I think it's due to the sheer fact that Apollo came out of his punishment better off than how he began, divine and golden and shining once more, even though he has defied their father again and again and has acted as an antithesis to everything he once preached. To Hermes, Apollo's death-defying ascension makes the fact that while Apollo effortlessly gets everything, the only thing Hermes has received for his troubles is a dead mother, dead son, and a homeland in ashes.
I saw this post by @apollosgiftofprophecy (hi Alder) about whether or not Apollo should have stayed mortal instead of regaining his godhood, and may I just say I 1000000% agree.
To summarize the post: if Apollo had chosen to stay mortal, his promise to Jason (to remember what it means to be mortal/human) wouldn't have meant nearly the same as if he'd gone back to Olympus. Regaining his godhood allowed him to chose to help people with his full ability and remember his humanity for however long it takes for him to fade.
And if I may add on: Apollo even talks about maybe choosing to stay mortal at some point in the latter half of the series, but eventually comes to the conclusion that to chose to stay mortal would be akin to running away from his problems. And he's right: if he chose to stay mortal, he wouldn't have to face Zeus again and he could shirk his responsibilities as an Olympian. So he decides against it (not that he really ever has the chance to chose). And I just love to take this as a great moment of character development and an insane amount of self-awareness for somebody who started their arc where he did.
But it also got me thinking. And, in short, I came to the conclusion that Apollo must be an idealist simply by the way he views power.
In this case, fiction reflects reality: villains want power. They want control. They want to squash rebellion. And that, typically, is an occurrence we typically only see with villains. Never with the heroes, who rarely want power outside of defeating their enemy. But here we have Apollo, who spends the entire series literally seeking power in his attempt to regain his godhood.
And that has morphed into something really interesting when it comes to representation of power in classical media. More often than not, power is demonized. It's seen as something inherently evil. If a character wants power for themselves, they're likewise seen as evil. Any one of your classical antagonists are going to, at some point in their stories, want power in any which way it presents itself. Voldemort of Harry Potter wanted to live forever. Sauron of Lord of the Rings wanted the Ring of Power. Palpatine of Star Wars wanted control of the galaxy. Zeus wants to rule the Olympians. The list goes on.
On the other hand, in stories where a protagonist seeks power to destroy their opponent, they eventually end up discarding their items of power because they don't want to be 'corrupted'. Harry Potter refused to use the Elder Wand. Frodo destroyed the Ring of Power. Luke Skywalker turned down the Dark Side. Even Percy Jackson declined godhood.
But Rick, in writing Apollo's character, takes an interesting approach and a fun subversion of this trope that I, for one, absolutely love. Previously, he'd written Percy to turn down godhood because he primarily wanted to maintain his humanity. To Percy, being a god and being human are two mutually exclusive concepts. They don't coexist. For Apollo, on the other hand, he accepts power out of a sense of duty, and vows to use it well in the spirit of his promise to Jason. There is no demonization of power. And to Apollo, humanity and godhood are not exclusive concepts. So what does that mean post-trials?
There are two perspectives at battle here. First is demonization: 'power is inherently evil'. But the idea that power corrupts is not necessarily a fact: in my opinion, power in and of itself isn't evil. Yes, it's dangerous, but it's more or less a blank slate. What you do with power, who you are when you have it, is what defines it. And that's a pretty nuanced take, and it comes with its ups and downs, requiring those powerful protagonists to be your most responsible, most dutiful, most kind characters who take up the mantle of power with the full understanding of what it means. Who's to say that you can't achieve power and use it well? So there's the other perspective: 'power is a blank slate'.
Let's look at power from a Zeus vs. Apollo perspective:
Zeus wants power (or at the very least, to maintain his power) as a way of controlling people, squashing rebellion, and maintaining order in the way he sees fit, without any sense of legitimate justice or care for others. It is Zeus' actions that make him evil, not his power.
Apollo, on the other hand, seeks power as a way of solving problems, creating solutions that benefit the greatest amount of people possible, and creating a lasting difference on others to change for the better, just as he did. More often than not, when he reminisces about having power in the series, it's more out of a place of 'this terrible thing wouldn't have happened if I were a god', or 'I could help better if I were a god'. Never once does he view power as a way of controlling or manipulating others. Power, to Apollo, is just the ability to love to the greatest extent possible (re: my meta on Apollo's fatal flaw).
But the interesting thing here is how Apollo views power in general, outside of his own. The idea of demonizing power doesn't even occur to him, despite the fact that he's been the subject of abuse for millennia. What's fascinating to me is the fact that Apollo, having been hurt so often by Zeus' power, doesn't ascribe that same generalization to his own person.
I find that very interesting: abuse does wacky shit to people's brains. By all means, that should have irrevocably changed Apollo's perspective on power as a whole, right? Not if you've learned to view power as something that is part of you, no.
I don't know how other gods besides Apollo view their own power, I actually think it's accurate to say that gods view power as something inherent to their nature. And, honestly, maybe it is. But that's besides the point.
Regardless of whether or not power is inherent to gods, Apollo, throughout his journey, realizes that it must go hand in hand with responsibility and humanity. Power is a privilege. That 'blank slate' perspective is one he learned in his trials, the knowledge that the power he has is something he shapes, and something he has no excuse for. If power is inherent, all of Apollo's wrongdoings are his own failings.
And that's even more interesting when you relate it to his relationship with Zeus. Apollo must likewise know that Zeus' wrongdoings are solely his fault, not a result of his power. It's a fascinating perspective of power coming from somebody who has none, who's been hurt by somebody who has so much. To maintain that optimistic view of power as non-corrosive when faced with your abuser is, I think, the glaring mark of an idealist.
So, what does this mean post-trials?
I think, along the same vein, there is a point where the idealist breaks. They have a glimpse of reality: all is not well. For Apollo, that's at the end of the series where he decides that Zeus is beyond all hope. Take this quote from the Tower of Nero:
Some fathers don't deserve [reconciliation]. Some aren't capable of it.
I suppose I could have raged at him and called him bad names. We were alone. He probably expected it. Given his awkward self-consciousness at the moment, he might have even let me get away with it unpunished.
But it would not have changed him. It would not have made anything different between us.
You cannot change a tyrant by trying to out-ugly him.
More often than not, my favorite stories are the ones where the main character gains power, keeps it, and uses it for good. Aragorn accepted the crown of Gondor. Luke Skywalker chose to train a new order of Jedi. Apollo regained his godhood. And readers of any of my multichap fics know that I love to write this trope as well.
But, much like my mutuals and I have been yelling from the rooftops for LITERAL YEARS, Apollo's story is not over. And once the idealist has 'broken', like we see in the scene above, there's only one way it could go.
To see somebody mishandling their power in a way an idealist knows is corrupt is quite literally a recipe for revolution. Look me in the eye and tell me that the way ToA finished wasn't setting up a revolution. Do it, I dare you.
Regardless, it's safe to say that, at some point, somebody's going to take a look at Zeus and say "you know what? Anybody could do better." Just saying.
The Copollogism Essays - Part 4: Leo's Questions/Seeing Commodus Again
THE RETURN OF THE ALDER ! ! ! ! !
From The Book: Part 1 (The Tent) ~ Part 2 (The Assassination) ~ Part 3 (Lester's Reaction) ~ Part 4 (Leo's Questions/Seeing Commodus Again) ~ Part 5 (The Arena) ~ Part 6 (The Waystation) ~ Part 7 (The Yacht) ~ Part 8 (The Final Moment)
Analysis: Part 1 (Apollo and Commodus as Individuals) ~ Part 2 (Toxic Relationship?) ~ Part 3 (Codependent - Or Is It?) ~ Part 4 (Other Thoughts)
it's copollo time yo
we're doing two different scenes so buckle up buttercups!!
Leo's Questions
“So what’s with you and the emperor?” Leo asked me, his feet pedaling merrily along as if the exertion didn’t bother him at all.
I wiped my brow. “I don’t know what you mean.”
“C’mon, man. At dinner, when Meg started shouting about commodes? You ran straight to the bathroom and spewed.”
“I did not spew. It was more like heaving.”
“Ever since, you’ve been awfully quiet.”
- Chapter 20, The Dark Prophecy
I really want to bring attention to how Leo, in his own roundabout way, tries to find out why Commodus upset Apollo so much <3 These two have a LOT in common, so I think it's fascinating how Leo is the one to reach out and give Apollo an opportunity to talk about what happened.
"Ever since, you've been awfully quiet." Leo says, meaning he notices what is normal for Apollo, and what isn't. And he tries to help!
Don't forget that this is not the first time Leo's met Apollo either - the first time, Apollo suggested killing him (and Hazel and Frank). Now, we the ToA fandom know that was very likely a bluff, but Leo doesn't!
And yet, he still shows compassion, in his very Leo-like way <3
Because let's also remember - Apollo is the reason Leo is alive.
Apollo gave Leo the Curse of Delos, allowing him to survive the fight with Gaea and rescue Calypso.
Apollo and Leo can be something so personal <3
Murdering Commodus was traumatic for Apollo. Something that can help with trauma is talking about it with others. Apollo has with Jo, and now he discusses it with Leo and Meg.
These three - Jo, Leo, Meg - are the ONLY ONES in the ENTIRE SERIES to hear from Apollo himself what went down between him and Commodus. As far as we know, they don't tell anybody else either. It's only them.
“Commodus blames me for his death,” I said.
“Why?” Meg asked.
“Probably because I killed him.”
“Ah.” Leo nodded sagely. “That would do it.”
WHEEZE Leo you and Apollo are MEANT to be friends. humor to lighten the mood? instant friendship, go commit arson together <3
I managed to tell them the story. It wasn’t easy. As I stared ahead of us, I imagined the body of Commodus floating just below the surface of the canal, ready to rise from the icy green depths and accuse me of treachery. You. Blessed. Me.
...and there's the water-related PTSD. ouch.
When I was done with the story, Leo and Meg remained silent. Neither of them screamed Murderer! Neither of them looked me in the eye, either.
Fair reaction, all things considered. I myself wouldn't know quite what to say or do if someone I knew told me how they had no choice but to kill their lover in cold-blood.
“That’s rough, man,” Leo said at last. “But it sounds like Emperor Toilet needed to go.”
LEO !! VALIDATING !! APOLLO'S !! ACTIONS !!
THIS IS GOOD BECAUSE APOLLO NEEDS FRIENDS AND FRIENDS WHO TELL HIM WHEN HE DID THE RIGHT THING !!
IMPORTANT FOR HEALTHY COMMUNICATION !!
THEY ARE FRIENDS YOUR HONOR !!
Meg made a sound like a cat’s sneeze. “It’s Commodus. He’s handsome, by the way.”
I glanced back. “You’ve met him?”
don't sound so eager Apollo lmao i'm joking
“Once,” she said. “In New York. He visited my stepfather.”
“Nero,” I urged. “Call him Nero.”
“Yeah.” Red blotches appeared on her cheeks. “Commodus was handsome.”
I rolled my eyes. “He’s also vainglorious, puffed up, egotistical—”
“So he’s like your competition, then?” Leo asked.
“Oh, shut up.”
*cackling*
let's look at this real quick.
firstly, Meg 100% thinks Commodus is hot.
secondly, Apollo's immediate reaction to finding that out is to point out all of Commodus's flaws, meaning he knows just how flawed Commodus is.
thirdly, Leo teasingly points out his hypocrisy, and all Apollo does in response is "Oh, shut up."
delightful little exchange, with a valuable piece of information in there to boot!
“One thing I don’t get,” Leo said. “Why Commodus? I mean, if this
Triumvirate is the three biggest and baddest emperors, the Roman supervillain dream team…Nero makes sense. But Commode Man? Why not some eviler, more famous guy, like Murderous Maximus or Attila the Hun?”
“Attila the Hun was not a Roman emperor,” I said. “As for Murderous Maximus…well, that’s actually a good name, but not a real emperor. As for why Commodus is part of the Triumvirate—”
“They think he’s weak,” Meg said.
we're going to come back to this.
She kept her gaze on our wake, as if she saw her own assortment of faces below the surface.
“You know this how?” I asked.
“My step—Nero told me. Him and the third one, the emperor in the west, they wanted Commodus between them.”
I wonder what that discussion was like.
Nero: hey uncle for this to work we need someone between us. to keep us from trying to stab each other to death Caesar-style.
Caligula: a triumvirate. excellent. absolutely nothing can go wrong with a triumvirate of the evilest, baddest, most notorious emperors of all time! But who-?
Commodus, exploding out of the nearest river, in a manic rage, screaming for bloodlust:
Nero & Caligula, evilly nodding: oh yeah. that one. that one would do juuuust fiiiine.
in all seriousness though, it really does sound like Nero and Caligula were alive first, and Commodus was added later! Caligula was the first to die out of these three, with Nero being the second - that is, if he killed himself in the RRverse same as historical him. He very well could have already made himself a pseudo-god and faked his death...
Caligula, though, was murdered by his own guard, so he had to have been resurrected - perhaps at Nero's behest? Ooo! Perhaps Nero thought he could get Caligula indebted to him, but underestimated just how...uh...batshit his uncle is, and quickly grew to fear him?!?!
perhaps then leading to a proposition of a Triumvirate, and looking back at the past emperors of Rome...they found Commodus.
I have no idea how they could have found out about Apollo & Commodus until Commodus himself told them, so here's another theory:
Nero and Caligula found Commodus in the Underworld, perhaps trying to track down which emperor to join their Triumvirate.
Now, I have a personal headcanon about how Commodus stayed out of the Fields of Punishment. I even wrote a fic about it.
So this is all STRICTLY headcanon! We are in the thumbtacks and strings zone. Tinfoil hats for everyone!!
In any case, they manage to find Commodus in limbo, and upon hearing his MANY greviences with Apollo, decide he's the one.
“So Nero and the dude in the west,” Leo said, “they want Commodus to be a buffer between them. Monkey in the middle.”
Meg rubbed her nose. “Yeah. Nero told me….He said Commodus was like his Peaches. A vicious pet. But controllable.”
what an interesting why to describe your coworker...hmm.
really makes you think on how Nero, at least, sees Commodus. We'll talk more on Caligula and Commodus in The Tyrant's Tomb.
Nero seems to see Commodus as a tool to use, just like he does with everyone. It's especially interesting how he specifically uses animal metaphors to describe Commodus - even Leo indirectly contributes to this image of Commodus!
A monkey is commonly seen as a wild creature. Then we have Peaches, a very wild nature spirit.
Both of these individuals can be vicious, as Nero said. When provoked.
You know what that reminds me of?
Don't poke the lion.
curious how it's the lion Commodus wraps himself in, and yet he is perceived as this animal that's been brought to heel. A pet, as Meg explains. A predator, even, to draw out and frighten the Triumvirate's chosen prey...
Controlled, with the promise of revenge.
and yet, we must ask him and ourselves - what will happen after that revenge? when his use against Apollo has run out?
nothing good, that's for sure; for the world, and no doubt for Commodus himself.
against even one of the other two emperors, he is the weakest. his only purpose was to be a buffer between them.
to them, Commodus is no threat. not at all.
Seeing Commodus Again
I peeked over the edge of the channel and was immediately sorry I did.
Commodus was right there.
- Chapter 22, The Dark Prophecy
AN EXCELLENT START 10/10 HILARIOUS
Lester sure did have his "Shit, it's my ex!" moment!
Thank the gods, we had crossed slightly behind his throne, so neither he nor his Germani guards saw me. My least favorite Cornhusker, Lityerses, knelt before the emperor, facing my direction, but his head was lowered. I ducked back below the edge before he could spot me. I gestured to my friends: Quiet. Yikes. We’re going to die. Or something to that effect. They seemed to get the message. Shivering miserably, I pressed against the wall and listened to the conversation going on just above us.
“—part of the plan, sire,” Lityerses was saying. “We know where the
Waystation is now.”
Commodus grunted. “Yes, yes. Old Union Station. But Cleander searched that place several times before and found nothing.”
pardon me but HISTORY NUT TIME!
Cleander was the name of Commodus's chief advisor! Well, his second chief advisor, who may have had a hand in assassinating the first one, who at the time had been a close friend of Commodus.
interesting implication that Commodus isn't aware of that. furthermore, it's interesting that Cleander (if it's the same guy) was allowed to return to work despite his MASSIVE FAILURES during his time in Rome.
like. look up Commodus, find his wiki page, find Cleander, click on the link, read about him. absolute DINGUS. look Commodus 100% had a hand in the downfall of Rome, mainly because he shuffled his duties off to other (untrustworthy) people, but BY GOD CLEANDER...CLEANDER WAS A BIG PART OF IT.
he had a MOB ready to tear him apart, and it scared it so much he went running to Commodus to save him. if i remember correctly, Commodus quit literally threw him to the wolves. i might be wrong on that so READ UP on Cleander please and roll your eyes at how abysmally he failed.
good lord how embarrassing.
perhaps he started at the VERY bottom of the ladder. and since Commodus goes through right-hand men VERY quickly, that's how he ended up as chief advisor once again.
before being killed, of course. by our man Lityerses, Reaper of Men.
“The Waystation is there,” Lityerses insisted. “The tracking devices I planted on the griffins worked perfectly. The place must be protected by some sort of magic, but it won’t stand up to a fleet of blemmyae bulldozers.”
My heart climbed above water level, which put it somewhere between my ears. I dared not look at my friends. I had failed once again. I had unwittingly betrayed the location of our safe haven.
Commodus sighed. “Fine. Yes. But I want Apollo captured and brought to me in chains! The naming ceremony is tomorrow. Our dress rehearsal is, like, right now. When can you have the Waystation destroyed?”
Lityerses hesitated. “We need to scout the defenses. And gather our forces. Two days?”
“TWO DAYS? I’m not asking you to cross the Alps! I want it to happen now!”
“Tomorrow, then, at the latest, sire,” said Lityerses. “Definitely by
tomorrow.”
“Hmph. I’m beginning to wonder about you, son of Midas. If you don’t deliver—”
why in chains specifically commodus- i'm sorry i'll see myself out
another very interesting relationship to discuss is between Commodus and Lityerses.
there's some type of stepdad-stepson thing going on here, faintly. it's not focused on much, but reading between the lines (and knowing what we know about Lityerses and Midas) we can conclude that Lityerses, at least, sees Commodus as a surrogate father-figure.
unfortunately, he may be even worse than Midas rip
hmm...hrm...
you know...this makes me wonder. is Commodus perhaps reflecting Marcus Aurelius's parenting style, or could he be projecting what he thought he felt from his father's rebukes and lectures? putting these unreasonable expectations onto another in an effort to make himself feel powerful and in control?
much to chew on here. hrm hrm hrm...
get some damn therapy Commodus.
“Incursion at the front gates!”
Lityerses growled. “I will deal with this, sire. Never fear. Guards, with me!”
Heavy footsteps faded into the distance.
I glanced at Meg and Leo, who were both giving me the same silent question: What the Hades?
I had not ordered an incursion at the front gates. I hadn’t even activated the iron manacle on my ankle. I didn’t know who would be so foolish as to launch a frontal assault on this underground palace, but Britomartis had promised to look for the Hunters of Artemis. It occurred to me that this was the sort of diversionary tactic they might arrange if they were trying to distract Commodus’s security forces from our presence. Could we be so lucky? Probably not. More likely, some magazine-subscription salesman had rung the emperor’s doorbell and was about to get a very hostile reception.
I risked another peek over the edge of the canal. Commodus was alone now with just one guard.
Perhaps we could take him—three on two?
Except that we were all about to pass out from hypothermia, Meg probably had some broken ribs, and my own powers were unpredictable at best. On the opposing team, we had a trained barbarian killer and a semi-divine emperor with a well-deserved reputation for superhuman strength. I decided to stay put.
a very wise decision, Apollo. Marcus Aurelius would be proud.
Commodus glanced at his bodyguard. “Alaric.”
“Lord?”
“I think your time is approaching. I grow impatient with my prefect. How long has Lityerses had this job?”
“About a day, my lord.”
“Seems like forever!” Commodus pounded his fist on his armrest. “As soon as he’s dealt with this incursion, I want you to kill him."
see what i mean by 'going through prefects real fast'? Lityerses dodged a bullet.
“Yes, lord.”
“I want you to wipe out the Waystation tomorrow morning at the latest. Can you do that?”
“Of course, lord.”
“Good! We’ll have the naming ceremony immediately afterward in the
colosseum.”
“Stadium, my lord.”
fun fact I've been to the Colts Stadium for a high school trip.
“Same difference! And the Cave of Prophecy? Is it secure?”
My spine took a jolt of electricity so strong I wondered if Commodus kept electric eels in the channel.
“I have followed your orders, sire,” Alaric said. “The beasts are in place. The entrance is well guarded. None shall gain access.”
“Lovely!” Commodus jumped to his feet. “Now let’s go try on our racing outfits for the dress rehearsal, shall we? I can’t wait to remake this city in my own image!”
Commodus tries on his racing clothes...meaning he puts meticulous detail and attention into his visage...he appears exactly as he wants to appear...
I waited until the sound of their footsteps receded. I peeked over and saw no one in the room.
“Now,” I said.
We dragged ourselves out of the canal and stood dripping and shivering in front of the golden throne. I could still smell the scent of Commodus’s favorite body oil—a mix of cardamom and cinnamon.
APOLLO STILL REMEMBERS THE SCENT OF COMMODUS'S FAVORITE BODY OIL DO I NEED TO SAY ANYTHING MORE
anywho this is why i'm obsessed with giving Commodus those SPECIFIC scents in my fics. always.
though also remember he has roses in his bathwater...(does he still, you think? hmm...)
hey. cardamom symbolizes love, health, and prosperity. cinnamon symbolizes protection, prosperity, and health.
...Commodus. you aren't fooling us.
I can easily interpret this. *cracks knuckles*
you see, the protection part is important because Commodus is trying hard to not only kill, but sacrifice Apollo - doing so will grant him ultimate power, as per Trophonius's prophecy. Thus, granting him protection - from Apollo, and from the other emperors.
Health and prosperity is simple - that's part of what Commodus wants. He wants to be immortal, eternally handsome and hale. He wants to reign in a kingdom of his own, with entertainment to spare.
but even if he manages to get all of that...it won't be enough. because we all know that deep down, what he desires - nay, covets the most...is love.
how intriguing. to gain the power he wants, he must quite literally sacrifice the only person he ever loved.
Today I am here to discuss one of my all-time favorite shots in Tales of Arcadia. It's incredibly brief, and the part that makes it my favorite isn't even really the focus of the shot. It's this:
This shot appears in both halves of the Trollhunters/3Below crossover, and that's because of how telling it is. Up to this point in Trollhunters, Aja and Krel seem just completely oblivious and doofy.
And then we get this look from Krel, and the doofiness doesn't add up anymore. This tiny little shot is key to exposing how intelligent and aware Krel actually is in this moment. It's hardened, focused, shrewd- this look is more Krel than most of what we see in the Trollhunters half of the crossover (In Good Hands). You can build an entire sense of what Krel is truly like under his oddity just from this one little shot of his expression and body language narrowing in on the screen. You can see his royal regality for a moment in the way his shoulders set; you can see in his eyes just how much he's absorbing and comprehending inside.
And wow is that just some truly incredible work from the animators.
Jlaire ❁ The first thing we know about Claire is not that he's a punk/gothic girl, a girl with good grades, something about her family, or something interesting about her. The first thing we know about her is this: she's the crush of Jim. And although in the novels it is shown the reason why Jim has a crush on Claire, in the show it doesn't. And not showing why Jim likes her makes you think that reason is very shallow. You could think "maybe he likes her because she's popular" or "maybe she's attractive for him". And the truth is he doesn't know anything about her at the beginning, so he's just in love with an idea of her. Later in the show, they start talking more and become friends, they decide to go together to a ball, and in season 2, they kiss. My question is the following: Why did they go to the ball together or kissed if Claire didn't show she liked Jim in season 1? Yeah, they talked, and Claire told him they were going to get out Enrique from the Darklands together, but when did Claire show she liked Jim too? Last time I checked, during the whole season, Claire was more interested in the safety of Enrique than in dating Jim. And suddenly, she's in love with him. Damn, I know the show didn't have many episodes to develop the realtionship, but at least they could have worked a little more in them (or at least make them take longer in deciding to date). I've seen other movies where a character had a crush in another character, and those writers handled better that relationship with even less time.
Stricklake ❁ At first, Strickler just wants to talk to Barbara because Jim was the trollhunter, without meaning to really fall in love with her (something he eventually did). But in the second part of season 1, he uses her to manipulate Jim into not hurting him (entwining his fate with Barbara's, which is not okay even if he doubts doing that to her). Later, when Vendel is breaking their bond, Strickler says "Forgive me, Barbara", which, fair, can be Strickler's way of saying "I'm sorry", but it would have been better to directly say "I'm sorry". In the final episode of season 2, he came back to Arcadia (after leaving at the end of season 1) and in season 3 we see them going to talk to Barbara. And he could have made it about her, he could have acted as if he cared about her and her feelings, but I got the feeling that talking to her again was something he did to feel better with himself rather than really apologizing to Barbara for "leaving without telling her" (we all know that wasn't the reason why he neeeded to apologize, but that's what Barbara believed at that moment). Their development during season 3 after that was "okay", but I don't like how they got there. Strickler hurt her and her son, even if he wasn't good at apologies, and even if he wanted to show he was sorry instead of directly saying it, sometimes you need people to tell you they're sorry for hurting you. And Barbara deserved that apology. (Strickler might not be a person who directly says "I'm sorry", but other character I've seen are the same, and some of them did apologize even if it "wasn't in their blood")
Darby ❁ The main problem with this ship is how many times Darci appeared. She wasn't one of the main characters, and she wasn't present in every episode (or almost every episode) like Toby, Jim or Claire. She didn't even have a proper development as a character: everything "important" about her was her relationship with Toby, as if she was there just to date him. Besides, their development is almost null. For example, why did Darci like Toby? She said, while taking of her mole mask, that she wanted him to invite just her to the ball and not other girls (what puts Toby in a bad position because he asked all the girls from the high school to go with him to the ball), but why? Why did she want him to invite her? What did she saw in him, when at the beginning of the show she didn't even pay attention to him? Also, why did Toby like Darci? It's the same problem Jlaire has. Toby didn't know her, and for some reason he fell in love with her. And for what? Because of how she acted being the mole mascot? Sorry, but that isn't believable. And they weren't even friends like Jlaire did! Darby went straight from “students who barely knew each other” to “couple". This ship is more like a way to give Toby a happy ending (to imitate Jlaire and Stricklake) than a naturally relationship. You could blame the number of episodes again for that, okay— but there are plenty of other shows and movies with less screen time that handled romantic arcs so much better.
Staja ❁ This ship at first seems like something interesting: a human ex-bully dating an alien princess, but when you look deeper into it, you see there's a lack of good writing there. Mostly because of Steve (not because of Aja). In Trollhunters, he was a bully who changed and started to be better in season 3, but in 3 Below, the writers just threw away that sub-plot as if it meant nothing and wasn't important. Instead of making Steve try to be better, and keep working in his redemption, the writers decided to make him stupid again, reversing all the progress he did in earlier episodes. They made him a flat character, without giving him the complexity they gave him in Trollhunters, and he went from being "the bully who tries to be better" to "the stupid boy who dates Aja, a princess from another world". The writers decided to make Aja a strong independent woman, and that's okay, but they also should have given Steve a good characterization. And they decided to disrespect him and disrespect what he was trying to be in Trollhunters: a better person. I'm not criticizing the writers for giving Aja a feminist writing, I'm criticizing the writers for being biased towards her and making the Steve (the boy of the relationshi) weaker and more stupid to highlight Aja's character. As I mentioned in another post, writers don't need to make the male character in a straight relationship weaker, more stupid, or useless in order to make the female character stronger, more intelligent, or more useful.
Ps: This is my opinion, and while I accept to have a discussion about what I said, I don't accept people forcing me to change my mind or saying "you're wrong because [X] 😡😡!"
Ps 2: I tagged this as anti Jlaire, anti Stricklake, anti Darby and anti Staja, but to be honest I'm not an anti of any of these ships. I don't hate them, I just don't like how they were handled in the show. I can perfectly read a fic of them because the only media I don't like of them is the canon. Honestly, fic writers are definitely better at writing them than the canon writers were.
Reyna's resignation from her role as praetor is a manifestation of Arthur Schopenhauer's claim from The World as Will and Representation:
"All willing springs from lack, from deficiency, and thus from suffering. Fulfillment brings this to an end; yet for one wish that is fulfilled there remain at least ten that are denied. Further, desiring lasts a long time, demands and requests go on to infinity, fulfillment is short and meted out sparingly. But even the final satisfaction itself is only apparent; the wish fulfilled at once makes way for a new one; the former is a known delusion, the latter not as yet known. No attained object of willing can give satisfaction that lasts and no longer declines…Therefore, so long as our consciousness is filled by our will, so long as we are given up to the throng of desires with its constant hopes and fears, so long as we are the subject of willing, we never obtain lasting happiness or peace…"
Reyna resigns from her role of running Camp Jupiter. This is one of her defining characteristics. She spent her life working herself into this role. She was not destined for the role, as her counterpart, a son of Jupiter was, rather she started as a legionnaire and worked her way to become a praetor. Her will manifested in the desire to climb the ranks via becoming what everyone projected upon her.
We chase what the world mirrors back to us as valuable. As Schopenhauer says, our desires control us:
My whole life, I’ve been living with other people’s expectations of what I’m supposed to be. Be this. Be that. You know?
In turn, her desires pointed toward becoming praetor:
For years, I was supposed to be a good little sister to Hylla in a tough family situation. Then, on Calypso’s island, I was supposed to be an obedient servant. Then I was a pirate for a while. Then a legionnaire. Then a praetor.
She exists, in every stage, in a circuit of desire. Desire to please, desire to lead, desire to command, the list goes on. And yet, each role she assumes fails to deliver lasting peace, so she shifts the target again and again. This cycle of desire is what Schopenhauer describes as the root of all suffering:
No attained object of willing can give satisfaction that lasts.
Once she assumes the position of praetor, she is still engaging with the her Will. Now, it has become a desire to follow the same path as previous praetors:
“But the whole time I’ve been a leader here,” she forged on, “I was looking for a partner. Praetors often partner up. In power. But also romantically, I mean. I thought Jason. Then for a hot minute, Percy Jackson. Gods help me, I even considered Octavian.”
She is never content with what she achieves. Her will is constantly requiring her to strive for more:
Fulfillment brings this to an end; yet for one wish that is fulfilled there remain at least ten that are denied. Further, desiring lasts a long time, demands and requests go on to infinity, fulfillment is short and meted out sparingly. But even the final satisfaction itself is only apparent; the wish fulfilled at once makes way for a new one; the former is a known delusion, the latter not as yet known.
She has existed in the cycle of constant suffering, as Schopenhauer would say. She achieves what she desires, finds it to be unfulfilling, then turns to something new for satisfaction. She exists on a ladder with no conclusion.
When she steps off, when she resigns, she pictures it as a way to find herself:
“It’s for personal reasons,” Reyna said. “Like, my sanity, for instance. I need time just to be Reyna Avila Ramírez-Arellano, to find out who I am outside the legion. It may take a few years, or decades, or centuries.
And yet, her next step is not solitude or inward reflection. it is simply throwing herself back into the circuit.
Her statement that she needs to find out who she is seems like it would be a way to disengage with the will. It could lead to introspection and individuality. It can free her from the roles and expectations she cites as a reason for her resignation.
Yet, her joining the Hunters is not an act of full liberation. It is an escape into another form. It's a structure where she does not have to confront her pain directly. The Hunters offer her a refuge from confronting her romantic longing, but they also relieve her from the burden of choice. She is delaying introspection by joining the Hunters, who practice complete celibacy.
Her words confirm this deferring of choice:
I don’t need a partner…at least, not until and unless I’m ready on my own terms.
She leaves the door open for a partner "on her own terms", and yet hides within the confines of the oath of the Hunters. She does not seek to break the cycle by remaining in the position to reconcile her desire to have a partner eventually, she is avoiding having to face it longer.
She has not broken free from the control of the will. She still exists within the grasp of its power.
I've been thinking about this for a while but like. The gods don't have a human conscience. And I know that's obvious, but the closer you look, you realize that they don't really feel emotions the same way humans do. They don't comprehend time, or death, or love in the same way that humans do. Apollo tells us he's lost track of centuries and forgets that people from thousands of years ago are dead and gone. The gods are incapable of change because they have no reason to do so, and few to no consequences if they don't.
When Apollo is turned mortal he is annoyed, sure. But he has trouble getting the concept of mortality through his head. He's seen thousands of people die- heck, he himself has brought plagues upon cities and set his wrath upon his mortal enemies with no hesitation. But humans to gods are playthings.
And so it isn't until he loses Jason, someone he knows, his half brother, that he understands true loss. He laments Hyacinthus and Daphne, but it was his own godly power that caused their demise- his wrath and jealousy. It was infatuation, sure. But did he really know what love was before he was cast down from Olympus?
Jason doesn't only die, but actively sacrifices himself to save Apollo. This is also moments after Apollo tried yet failed to kill himself instead, and it was in part this failure that led to Jason's death. This is a wound of guilt that eats away at Apollo for the rest of the series, and the lasting effects of grief are shown masterfully in the remaining books, with tears and breakdowns occuring seemingly at random, with overwhelming gratefulness at simple acts of kindness, and with the lingering sense of something missing.
Out of all of the remaining gods, it is probably Artemis who understands grief and other human emotions as closely, since she spends most of her time among born mortals in the human world. When she loses one of hunters, she shares in grief with the rest of her troop. She is in touch with the mortal world, I think, as much as a god can be.
And, as an honorable mention, Hestia- who is used to being overlooked and forgotten but is always ready to offer a smile and a warm meal to anyone in need. I think she understands isolation and loneliness as much as any human, and regularly appears in the mortal world to organize soup kitchens and food pantries for those who are struggling. That's just a headcanon though :)
I hope you enjoyed reading this, I've been itching to get these thoughts out for a while.
