Crowned with Ivy

I know I have seen some people say that they felt defeating Gaea should have taken more of a team effort with all the seven or at least that it should have taken more than a chapter. And those things I can understand and agree with but I really love that it was ultimately Leo (although Octavian may have helped?) that finished her off.

The reason is because at the end everything, what will truly destroy our planet/Earth is a supernova. Sure humans/things can disrupt our planet and hurt our planet, but what will actually cause our planet to die is a supernova. And that is what happened at the end of Blood of Olympus.

As Jason describes "Leo grinned, which was unnerving in the flames, his teeth like molten silver ingots" and "Festus became an indistinct ball of fire in the sky -- a second sun -- growing smaller and hotter." Leo, together with Festus, created a mini supernova that destroyed Gaea aka the Earth. I just personally love this, because the sun collapsing is what ultimately will destroy our Earth and is what destroyed Gaea.

I thus headcanon that Leo now unnerves the gods because, while he may not be as strong as a demigod like Percy, he has shown the ability to be/create a mini supernova. And the Sun exploding one day/the earth being destroyed will ultimately be the gods end as well. Leo's action, while saving everyone, reminds them of gods own inevitable future. It's one of the few times they understand the mortal sense of dread for the end. Thus deepling unsettling them.

They find his power threatening because it's not necessarily a "I will win every fight" type of power, but the kind of power that is "I can end every fight" even if it's at the cost of himself (thus him not really winning).

I have written an idea before about what a Leo & Jason book/series could look like but I felt like my idea didn't completely mesh with the Riordan style and there were a few aspects that I felt didn't have enough of a logical cause to the start the chain of events I was imagining. BUT THEN IT HIT ME! So without further adieu, my idea or pitch if you would for a Jason and Leo book series (like two or three books).

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The gods want Leo Valdez dead. Well not all the gods anyway, but enough that mount olympus is in what some would refer to as a gridlock. You see after the events of ToA, the world is now in a state of relative peace which gives the gods time to reflect. While some gods are grateful for powerful demigods who have saved the world, others have become fearful of their power. If these kids can destroy Kronos and Gaea, then they could defeat the gods just as well. This fear begins to spread amongst gods, minor and major, causing tension between the gods who favor the demigods and those who think of them as too dangerous.

There is one demigod that they are particularly afraid of/focused on, the one with the most direct hand in killing Gaea, Leo Valdez. Leo is the focused on because of Thanatos's dismay over his resurrection and Zeus's disdain for the physician's cure, created by Asclepius, being used.

Leo's power is also kinda unprecedented for a demigod, (Mr. Mini Supernova), that isn't the child of the big three. So some of the pantheon, like Zeus and Thanatos, want to send him on an impossible quest that will almost guarantee his death. But other gods, Hephaestus, feel like Leo should be given a reward for what he has sacrificed and done for Olympus.

These gods have not only singled out Leo due to his power but also because his father is relatively outcasted and doesn't have many people in his corner. While some gods are also frightened by the surviving children of the big three, like Percy, they know they won't get enough support to do anything to harm them due to who their parents are. Thus making it easier to go after Leo.

This leads to The Offer.

The gods who want to get rid of Leo come up with an offer that they believe will kill him but can be disguised as a type of reward. An offer that they know Leo won't refuse and would allow them to hide their real intention. They offer to bring Jason Grace back to life if Leo is able to complete a set of (basically impossible) tasks.

They offer this to Leo during the solstice celebration, presenting it as a huge gift. He can see some gods clearly are unhappy with this proposal though, including his father. While Leo is very skeptical and knows this could be a trap, he has been struggling with grief over Jason and knows that if he denies this opportunity then he will always be thinking about "what if". So he agrees.

Hera, however, makes an adjustment to the trials in an attempt to help Leo. Jason will get to aid him on these trials. She wants to see Jason get a second chance and is willing to take a bet on Leo.

Leo learns pretty quickly that this is a quest designed to kill him but he is stubborn and so he won't go down without a fight. Plus he gets to spend time with his best friend.

Jason starts out incorporeal but the more they got through the trials the more his physical form begins to return to him. Jason realizes this is a set up and is afraid of what will happen to Leo so Jason is doing his best to help. He gets mad at Leo though when he finds out that Leo figured it could be a trap but agreed to it anyway.

Throughout the book/series a few gods also offer help to Leo, however many do it as a way to actually try to ensure he will fail, especially after he had been succeeding. Thus a major part of this series is Leo trying to discern who is actually trying to help him. (with some, like Apollo, being more obvious than others).

Some of the minor gods feel conflicted about whether or not to help because while they are kind of afraid of Leo, and don't really want another of the big three's children to return, they want Jason to complete his task of building them shrines. Jason's knowledge of the minor gods becomes very critical in this story.

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Important notes:

General themes are dealing with grief, self esteem problems/self acceptance, and the feeling like you have control in over your own life and decisions.

I think this plot works well because the gods in Greek myths have actively tried to set mortals/demigods up to die like Jason (the original), Hercules, and Psyche. I think it would bring up a more interesting dynamic in this universe were the gods more cruel nature gets brought up. I feel like they have to be slightly afraid of these kids at this point.

In my mind Leo and Calypso break up at the beginning of this series. I just felt like their relationship doesn't seem to work well and the seem to be constantly bickering but not in an endearing way. I don't hate Calypso though, I just don't feel like their relationship works well. I feel like he would also hesitate more to do the quest if he is in a relationship. (or maybe him taking this on could be the last straw that breaks them up permanently)

I would like for this to be Valgrace but it doesn't necessarily have to be. I personally feel like they could slowly fall in love over this series and thus a slow burn friends to lovers situation. However it could just work as someone who just really wants to save their best friend.

Others, such as the other of the 7 and Nico, would show up but they are limited in their ability to help Leo. Nico is very angry though because he sees this for exactly what it is and is terrified that he is about to lose another friend.

I think this series would give Leo more time to mature and deal with his insecurities which I felt were never completely resolved. It would also be nice to see him deal with before getting into a relationship.

This story can either end tragically, with Jason staying dead and Leo also dying, or it could have a happy ending with Leo saving Jason.

I know some people feel like if Jason got revived then it would defeat the purpose of his sacrifice but I think by making it incredibly hard to revive him and also having Leo or Jason ending up with permanent damage (loss of limb or eyesight), it doesn't feel like they just magically got everything they wanted and thus still sacrificed.

I know part of the reason for Jason's death is to show how dangerous the life of a demigod is and how they are often short lived but I feel like that point won't be missed if he's brought back in this way.

Recently I have been thinking about the likelihood of us getting a HOO series and I feel like we got a 40% chance. I feel like Rick Riordan would be down but I am not sure if Disney would be willing to commit. But it largely depends on the continuing success of the PJO series and how much Disney believes HOO would make it money.

I also think they would make changes to the plot like they have done for the PJO series so I have been brainstorming what I think they would change as well as what I would like to see be changed.

I KNOW THIS IS A LONG POST BUT STICK WITH ME HERE!

This is how I image Leo and Jason could realistically end up together in the books in a way that doesn't involve changing anything Rick has already written, ie no change previous relationships or any of the plots of the previous book series.

The overarching theme of the book/series would be choice, working of self esteem problems/self acceptance, and the feeling like you have control in over your own life and decisions.

Beginning of the Book/Series:

-The book/series would start out from Leo's point of view. I think we would learn about more of his current struggles including: him still grieving Jason, his relationship problems with Calypso, him not sure if he really enjoys mortal school like Calypso does, and potentially some issues with his fire powers which he had previously believed he had full control of.

The Downfall of the Calypso and Leo Relationship:

-At some point in the beginning Leo and Calypso would officially break up. I believe this would be because :

1) Leo's deteriorating mental health

2) Calypso being in the real world and seeing what normal relationships look like, realizes that what she feels for Leo is more similar to familial love. She discovers that the Curse didn't actually mean she had to always fall in love romantically but rather fall in love in any capacity, (including familially). I believe she would explain that she tried to be romantically involved despite this realization because she cared so much for leo but realized that it wasn't working out or healthy for either of them.

3) They both wonder if the only reason he wants to be with her is because he feels like she's the first one who really gave him that kind of attention and if it had less to do with it actually being Calypso he was in love with.

4) Calypso wants to try being single for awhile and rediscover herself before returning to have relationships.

(I personally like this because I think that one issue people tend to have with recent Riordan series is that it feels like someone needs to have some big reason to be single, like joining the hunters. But this would fix that that because she would just be choosing to be single for herself for awhile while not swearing of relationships forever).

Leo would be upset about the breakup at first but then he would have some introspection and realize that maybe it was for the best. I think he would even feel slightly relieved since it was lowkey stressing him out before.

Leo would call Piper about his breakup and learn from his talk with her that she had broken up with Jason. While he knew that she had moved on with Shel, he hadn't realized that her and Jason had actually ended things between them. I think he would feel very mixed about this because while he understands Pipers reasons, I think he would feel bad for Jason (hoping that he knew how loved he was he died) and some small part of him feels slightly happy that their relationship didn't work out. The latter part he instantly feels bad for and pushes down (to be later brought back up and reevaluated)

Leo Trying to Figure out What He Wants for His Future

Leo struggles more than he thought he would at Mortal school. And while there are aspects he loves about it and things he really enjoys about Indianapolis, something feels off. I think there would be a lot of frustration for Leo in this.

I believe it would make sense for him to regress a LITTLE (emphasis on a little, we don't need a reset) to be more like the version of himself that we saw on the Argo II, at the beginning of this book/series. This would be caused by his grief and current personal struggles which I think would make sense narratively. Leo would feel frustrated that, while he was able to outsmart death, someone like Jason died before he got the chance to live the life that he only just started to be able to choose for himself.

Leo, due to general grief, ptsd from his own sacrifice and insecurities may be struggling with his fire again. I think his control of his fire could be an allegory for self acceptance. Before the end of HOO he had almost full control but his control is waning and he has to relearn how to use it. This would be a great opportunity to showcase the raw power of his fire in a similar way Percy has insane abilities due his control over water.

I think Jo and Emmy would help him work out some of his feelings and guide him to make choices for his own happiness.

Leo would decide that he wants choose his own path forward and that Jason also deserved that. Somehow (whether through something Jo and Emmy said or from another Demigod friend) he would get the idea of bringing Jason back from the dead, afterall didn't he also cheat death?

During either the winter or summer solstice the God's invite the 7 minus Jason to finally honor them now that everything has been relatively calm. It is during this celebration that Leo asks to bring Jason back from the dead, shocking everyone.

The Gods can't simply bring back Jason though, making Leo remind them of the story of Orpheus and Eurydice. They point out that Orpheus failed. Leo brings up that he still had the opportunity though and if he was given the opportunity, then he wouldn't fail.

They come up with either a quest or just offer him trials closer to what Psyche went through in order for him to bring Jason back to life. (this opens up a call back to the Cupid seen from HOO in the future).

Hera is a big supporter of Leo in all of this because she wants to see Jason brought back to life. I also think Apollo who feels guilty for Jason's death supports this plan.

Next Phase of the book:

Leo has to go through a series of trials to bring Jason back to life, just like Psyche had to go through to prove her love for Cupid. This could happen just over a course of a book or over the course of a series.

Unlike Psyche, Jason and Leo would have to go through some of these trials together. This would help develop their relationship which would ultimately result in a romantic relationship as well as it would help Leo more with his self esteem as Jason would help encourage him and show him that he is good working in a team.

I think we could begin to get point of views from Jason, which would help develop him more. It could give the reader insight to his time in the afterlife and him processing his own life. I think we could learn that he felt like in the afterlife he learned more about himself and what he wished he could do, making him want more than ever to be alive for so he could live the future he dreams of. (Yay development for Jason)

Throughout the trials, Leo regains his control over fire with the help of Jason and even learns new techniques. I would love a moment of Leo being powerful and realizing that people are looking at him with awe and fear the way they looked at Percy and feeling in disbelief that anyone could see him that way.

Even though Jason would be with him for a large part of the Trials, I think it would be a great way for Leo to process his grief (which he always ran from as a kid) and for Jason to see how his death impacted others and to finally feel like he has somewhere to return too that he really belongs (with Leo).

I think the final trial could be the Orpheus and Eurydice style of leading Jason out of the underworld. It would be the ultimate test of Leo's own self-esteem to trust that someone would follow him/choose him.

General Notes:

Both boys struggle with belonging and I think that a book/series could tackle that issue for them as well as provide the opportunity to go into the concepts of choosing your own destiny (as both boys were kind of previously ponds in the world of gods).

I think that this wouldn't take away Jason's sacrifice because they would still struggle immensely to bring him back to life. I also think one or both the Boys should be partially disabled after these trials. 1) more disability rep is always great 2) I think it still shows they are sacrificing something, that bringing someone back from the past has a price.

Because both Orpheus and Eurydice and Cupid and Psyche have a sight related aspect with Orpheus turning back and seeing Eurydice and Psyche looking at Cupid when she was specifically told not to, this story needs something sight related. The sight aspect is what made me connected the two myths together in the first place. (Maybe Jason loses his sight or something idk)

I recently reread all of PJO and HOO and while reading HOO I begun to remember issues with it that I had with when I read it the first time as a teenager, especially in regards to the Lost Trio. This time around though I realized that my issues with the lost trio's dynamic would have improved if Jason and Leo were end game.

Piper Situation:

Piper's possessiveness over Jason always felt weird to me but if she would have realized sooner that maybe her feelings were more multiplated by Hera then she thought, and thus backed away from the relationship, I think that would have made a lot of sense. Then she would be hyper focusing less on her romantic relationship and could then develop more as an individual. I also feel like her and Jason's friendship should have been more developed and was kinda lost to their strange romance.

Also, in my opinion, it would sort of make Piper and Leo become foils to one another. Piper was kind of doing the "not like other girls thing" and Leo was also comparing himself to other guys, especially when it came to relationships. It would have been interesting for them to both see that part of the reason they are doing this is because they are also attracted to the same gender and work through some internalized issues. It is also expected that the beautiful daughter of Aphrodite would end up with the powerful son of Zeus but I feel like Uncle Rick could have subverted that expectation and made a compelling story of Jason actually ending up with the son of Hephaestus who is often considered ugly and undesirable.

Also, as someone else has previously said, it would just be funny if the one person who is not in a relationship by the end of HOO is the daughter of Aphrodite.

Jason Situation:

I feel like Jason's ability to develop relationships with other people in the series was overshadowed by his relationship with Piper (though that is an issue that Rick has in general in HOO and writing couples). If Jason, Piper, and Leo had more time to be single at the simultaneously, I feel like these friendships could have been deepend. Which in turn would have given Jason more time to develop as a character.

Thus why Valgrace would have fixed this issue: I honestly think Rick would have taken more time to develop a relationship between Leo and Jason then he did with Jason and Piper. I think if Jason and Piper had broken up during the series, we would also have time to read about Jason's processing of this which could have led to him reevaluating his relationships with others as well.

I think it would have also made for a more interesting scene with Cupid and Nico. While the scene should still be focused on Nico, I think that moment could have sparked (hehe) something in Jason and made him look more internally afterwards which could have led to an even more interesting connection between him and Nico. I think that it could have made the Nico Jason dynamic more complex and make for a more compelling connection. (Dont get me wrong though, I love Ally Jason, he's great).

I think more time focusing on figuring himself out would have been nice in general though.

Side note: I lowkey think that Hera/Juno would actually be into the leo/jason pairing. The boy that is her champion ending up with the other boy that she feels like she has a claim over (who is the one that she recognized as being the one likely to save them all in the end). I feel like she would see them together as her own weird success, her chosen two being together would reinforce her own glory in her mind (especially if the two of them ever got married).

Leo Situation:

I feel like Leo was always overcompensating for something with his obsession for finding a girlfriend and if it turned out that he was always running away from the fact that he was into (or also into) guys, then that would have made more sense to me. I think Jason is the perfect person for him to come to this realization because, as seen in the Lost Hero, he wants to dislike Jason on some level but can't because Jason is a good person and challenges the negative self image that Leo holds about himself.

I think it would have been interesting to if Leo was slightly envious of Piper because of his feelings for Jason, which could play a part of some slightly tense dynamic between the two as they are the son of Hephaestus and daughter of Aphrodite. Just for them to realize that they were both going through the same internal struggles, allowing them to bond and get even closer.

I also feel like his fleeting crush on Hazel was unnecessary and would have instead been kind of funny if Frank was reading it as Leo being into Hazel and Leo being like "buddy, I am into a man." and Frank being like "Oh..".

Calypso Situation:

I wish the dynamic between Calypso and Leo was different because it always kinda off and when I read it, I really thought Rick was gonna make a twist that Calypso (while cursed to always fall in love) didn't have to necessarily fall in love romantically but just fall in love in any capacity. Because it would still be just as much of a curse to feel like someone was your family just for them to leave and never see them again. I felt like their dynamic worked more as siblings who love each other but get on each others last nerve. And it really made me feel kinda yucked out when I saw that they were always kinda struggling when they returned.

If they had the twist of her discovering familial love then 1) Leo still would have made his promise to her to go back to save her and 2) Leo would still feel less lonely because he would have found someone who does care about him in a way that he hasn't had before.

I also feel like if I was Calypso and I was cursed to fall in love with people forever, when I got free I would want time to find out who I am and take a break from romantic relationships.

General thoughts:

I ultimately think that a lot of the couples shouldn't have really ended up together until the closer to the end. Percabeth, my beloved, had a whole series to develop together as friends which made their relationship very believable to me and satisfying to read when they finally came together at the end of PJO.

You know, the whole show don't tell thing.

But I feel like in HOO Rick felt that everyone had to be coupled up and it stunted a lot of dynamics in my opinion. I think Hazel and Frank still largely work (though I think Rick should have made her the same age as Frank) as a couple earlier on but even then I feel like it would have been more developed.

The second chapter of the AtemxYugi post DSOD fanfic I have been working on has been posted. It's called Ra's Light on AO3. I'll post a snippet of the chapter here:

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“I must keep fighting! I still believe in the heart of the cards” said Yugi, choking out only the final word, as the pain from the battle flared again. 

He could feel it, he was fading and fast; fighting an uphill battle just trying to keep his eyes open but it would appear that his fate was sealed. “Please no.” thought Yugi as his body crumpled over. If he lost like this, would Atem be disappointed in him? The idea of that alone was haunting him as he began falling, the millennium puzzle hanging heavily on his neck.

Suddenly, in a blinding flash of light, Yugi could feel life force regenerating. But his life force wasn’t the only thing returning, Yugi could feel his other self’s spirit reuniting with him. Enveloped in a blanket of warmth, for the first time in six months Yugi felt whole again. Before even opening his eyes he could see the light surrounding him through his eyelids. When he finally opened his eyes, Yugi saw beautiful yellow and orange light surrounding him and flickering like a flame. It was as if he was standing in a solar flare. 

“This can’t be, the Pharaoh has returned!” Diva exclaimed. 

Without even uttering a word, Yugi and the Pharaoh moved in sync, summoning the Dark Magician Mahad to end the duel once and for all. It was like the two of them had truly become one person in that moment, their souls completely aligned. 

With Diva finally defeated, the world around them was restored and their loved ones were returned to their rightful place. With a smile the two of them touched the puzzle and separated, coming face to face with one another after so long. Overwhelming emotions hit him all at once. Waves of joy and sorrow crashed into him, drowning out all his thoughts. Yugi wanted to pinch himself, he didn’t think Kaiba’s plan would work, not wanting to give himself any hope just to be let down. While losing his own ability to speak, the Pharaoh found his. 

“Aibou, you’ve done well. I know it probably hasn’t been long since my departure but I can tell you have grown so much.” Atem said with pride as he looked at Yugi like he held the sky up. 

“I can’t believe you are really here. I - I’ve really missed you Atem. I hope A’aru is treating you well.” Yugi struggled to get out his words, but he knew he had to as he could sense that their time was fleeting.

“I am well, I have finally been reunited with my family who have been waiting for me for so long.” Atem smiled but seemingly hesitated before adding “Oh Yugi, I miss you so dearly. Not a day goes by that I don’t pray to the gods that we may be reunited when the time comes for you to cross the Duat. Though I do hope that your time won't come too soon. I want you to live a long and fruitful life, you deserve it.”  Atem looked at Yugi with conflicting emotions, joy and misery swirled in his eyes, with some other emotion that Yugi couldn’t quite name. 

Atem opened his mouth again to continue but decidedly closed it before giving Yugi a smile tinged with longing.

Yugi could tell that the Pharaoh wasn’t telling him something and wanted to ask before thinking better of it. After all Yugi was also keeping his own secret, his love for Atem was held close to his heart. Some things are better left unsaid, especially when letting it out in the open would only cause more harm than good. 

“Well I earnestly hope that the gods are merciful and that this isn’t the last time we get to meet. I would really love to get to know you as Atem, the Pharaoh of Egypt, not just my Yami.” Yugi huffed out a little laugh, earning a more genuine smile from Atem. 

“My time here is now coming to an end, Aibou, I must return to the field of reeds. But this time I will be destroying the Millennium items, thus freeing the poor souls trapped in them as well as preventing any more disasters like today.” Atem took one last good look at Yugi before decidingly adding, “I won’t say goodbye, because I believe the gods will hear my pleas just as they did today, when I could feel you slipping away. So instead, I will say see you later.” 

Grief filled Yugi’s lungs, making it hard to breathe let alone speak, so instead he gave Atem a small nod and one final smile. Taking his nod as acceptance, Atem touched the eye of the puzzle and just as quickly as he came, he vanished. This time in a trail of light rather than the blazing fury he arrived in. As Yugi watched he felt something shifting inside him, perhaps it was the despair of losing Atem again Yugi thought. 

Yugi could only take a deep breath after that before an overwhelming burning sensation overtook him. It felt as if every nerve was on fire, currents of electricity humming throughout his body. In a flash everything was bright again rendering him unable to move as an awful pain ripped through his eyes. He felt as if he was being flayed alive. 

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So I posted the first chapter of my fic on Ao3. It's called Ra's Light. The first chapter is just a prelude with nothing directly talking about Yugi or Atem yet, but the next chapter will be focused on Yugi. I already have most of that chapter written, so I will try to finish that and get it edited by tomorrow.

Ok, I have received a lot of encouragement to try and write this fanfiction. So I will be giving it my best shot! So for all of those looking for a Post DSOD/Ancient Egyptian AtemxYugi fic, this is for you.

Look out for a fanfiction called the "Light of Ra" on ao3 in the next week or so! I will begin to draft out the first chapter, which will be kind of like a background info chapter. I am not sure how long it will take me to get out chapters since I am newer to writing but hopefully it won't be more than a week to get out the first part.

If for some reason I really struggle to get the fic written or I feel like I am unable to do it justice, I will post the full outlined notes document. That way if anyone is really interested, they could get closure in case I don't finish it. But I will try my very best to write it and get it out there! I have a feeling this will be a long fanfiction based on what I have outlined so far.

I'm not a writer so I myself would never create this fic, but I have like an 8 page google doc outlining a fanfic about Yugi actually being the reincarnation of someone named Heba in ancient Egypt. The very basic general premise of the fic (wrapped in a nice bow aka more thoughtful language) is the following:

After the events of Dark Side of Dimensions, Yugi begins to develop divine “light” powers linked to the Egyptian god Ra. These abilities draw the attention of Apophis, the god of Chaos and Darkness, who disguises himself as a charming Egyptology student named Khalfani to manipulate Yugi and seize his power.

As Yugi’s magic awakens, so do the long-buried memories of his past life as Heba, a boy created by Ra as Atem’s destined partner and counterpart. Heba was meant to help Atem fulfill his divine destiny, but Apophis’s interference twisted their fates, leading to tragedy that now threatens to repeat itself.

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