Not on the Patreon, but I assume from a bit of browsing this sub that these are a few:

1. Carl is "going primal".
   
2. Carl will die for the crawl to stop forever.
   
3. Agatha has/is a brain worm and works for the Valtay Corporation.
   
4. Carl's dad will become a dungeon boss.
   

My own theories that are probably mentioned before:

1. Carl's Doomsday Device and the Bolt of Ophiotaurus will be used on Floor 9 to kill a god.
   
2. Katia will die on Floor 9.
   
3. Quan's celestial robe will be looted/traded to one of the warlords of Floor 9.
   

This is the post n°2 of a bigger theory. Here

The Geocentric Pantheon of the Gods of One Piece, a set of main characters using corroborative myths and legends from Aztec, Hindu, Greek Mythology, and Astrology:
In Part 1.1 of This theory, I showed how each main character could correspond to a main celestial body in a Geocentric model and how these celestial bodies are tied to Aztec, Greek or Hindu myths that inspired the characters created by E.Oda.This post will study the myths of 4 more characters Gods of One Piece (Mother Earth, Imu's Stolen body, Shanks and Teach) in addition to the 3 characters previously studied (Luffy, Enel and Imu's true personality).

Part I - Post/Subpart n°2:

Content for this Post:
The Case of the Earth Goddess
The Case of the Saturn God (Teasing)
The Case of Venus as the Morning Star, Shanks
The Case of Venus as the Evening Star, Teach and his twin(s)

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The Mother Earth creature = The Earth Goddess

​

Character:	Mother of Humanity
Associated Real or Hypothetic Celestial Body :	Earth
Associated Greek divinity:	Gaia
Associated Aztec divinity:	Cōātlīcue / Tlaltecuhtli
Associated Hindu divinity (Navagrahas, Vasus, Dikpâlas):	Bhumi (Prthivī) / Pārvatī
Associated animal (Manga + Mythology):	Earth monster / Sea monster: Turtle or Whale
Associated mythological animal (Potential Zoan shape / ancient weapon partner):	Aspidochelone or Leviathan: Kurma, the world turtle Jörmungandr, the world serpent
Associated Constellation/Zodiac sign:	Cetus
Birth Place:	Redline / Sea Floor / Earth-core
Birth Date:	Unknown but a long time ago

She is the most speculative character in the list and is hard to corroborate. But there is still some hint left by Oda and the revelation of chapter 1069 was the turning point:

• Oda's note of Volume 62: "Apparently, if you trace the roots of peoples' DNA, our blood all leads to a single woman from a looooong time ago in Africa. [...] Theoretically speaking, such a person must exist. The beginning of humanity. The mother of humanity!"
• Mother Earth is finally confirmed in the manga and she is the embodiment of the Sea itself.
• Celestial dragons, as Rob Luci underlines it, are probably connected to the Primordial mother since they are considered like the gods who created this world.
• Part 3 will develop on this but Laugh Tell or Mary Geoise is probably kind of a paradise of abundance with an equivalent Eden garden, and a Sunlight Tree Eve to nurture children or humanity. Combine with the knowledge of Dr. Vegapunk about the factor of lineage (DNA), It is a place that offers special conditions to enable the recreation of humanity/life.
• The Mother of humanity is probably blessed with a long life expectancy like the giants of One Piece and the legends surrounding the Onis that dwelled in underworlds like Tamoanchan or like the Greek Giants locked down in Tartarus after the Gigantomachy. This idea could depict this character as a primeval creature that infanted the ancient giants.
• The geography of Grandline could be The classical symbol of the Ouroboros in disguise depicting a snake in the act of eating its own tail. This symbol has many interpretations, one of which is the snake representing the cyclical nature of life and death, life feeding on itself in the act of creation.
• Another possibility would be to link the mother of humanity to a terrible Goddess of creation. This would relate the character rather to the myth of Tiamat or Tlaltecuhtli as it symbolizes the primeval sea/earth monster of Aztec mythology (sometimes called Cipactli the earth monster) an embodiment of the chaos that raged before creation. It is considered the source of all living things and had to be kept sated by human sacrifices which would ensure the continued order of the world, or she would cease her nourishment of the earth and crops would fail.
• The legend of the churning of the Ocean of Milk (Samudra Manthana) developed in post-Vedic literature is itself inextricably linked with Kurma, the world turtle (as the base of the churning rod) and involves other sons of Kashyapa: the devas and the asuras who use a giant Naga serpent as a churning rope to obtain Amrita, the nectar of immortality.

​

Imu's body = God Saturn's stolen body

Information without explanations is given as a teaser (details in Part 2.3):
All these Gorosei theories are wrong because Saint Jay Garcia is just a decoy and not the real Saturn but rather Satan, a.k.a the surbodinate of Imu the Devil itself (see parts 2.2 + 3.2). Instead, the World Nobles (including the Five Elder bodies) are related to the Natural moons of Saturn, and thus are related to the Greek Titans: Imu's body = Cronus, 5 Gorosei members = Theia, Themis, Mnemosyne, Phoebe, Tethys, Doflamingo = Prometheus, Corazon = Epimetheus,...
Instead, I believe, as suggested by Nina2119 in her theory that Oda has planned a 4th Ancient Weapon that will be related to Imu. I will demonstrate this in Parts 2.1/2.2 & 3.8 with many corroborations.

Character:	IMU’s stolen body thanks to Ope Ope no Mi (Former Great Kingdom ruler's personality)
Associated Real or Hypothetic Celestial Body :	Saturn
Associated Greek divinity:	Cronus / Tyche
Associated Aztec divinity:	Tezcatlipoca
Associated Hindu divinity (Navagrahas, Vasus, Dikpâlas):	Shani / Revanta / Virūpākṣa / Lakshmi or Gautama Buddha
Associated animal (Manga + Mythology):	Snake (Master) + Flying Horse (Mount)
Associated mythological animal (Potential Zoan shape / ancient weapon partner):	Shesha (Vasuki) / Seraph / Titans + Chimera / Cherub / Unicorn
Associated Creature in the Manga:	Mother Earth + Space satellite (see Part 3.8)
Associated Ship in the Manga:	Bege's Close Encounters of the Third Kind ship
Associated Territory in the Manga:	Mary Geoise + Marine Institutions + Space
Associated Semi-divine Buddhist race & Manga equivalent:	Nagas (Vearth's statues) + Kumbhanda/Guhyaka (Celestial Dragons)
Associated Constellation/Zodiac sign:	Capricorn the Sea goat
Associated astrological traits of the corresponding celestial body:	Discipline, patience, responsibility
Birth Place:	Earth's underground / Skylands
Birth Date:	"?"

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Morning or Evening Planets?

The Ancient Egyptians and Greeks believed Venus to be two separate bodies, a morning star and an evening star. The Greeks used the names Phōsphoros, meaning "light-bringer" or alternately Ēōsphoros, meaning "dawn-bringer", for the morning star, and Hesperos, meaning "Western one", for the evening star. Though by the Roman era they were recognized as one celestial object, known as "the star of Venus", the traditional two Greek names continued to be used, though usually translated to Latin as Lūcifer and Vesper.

​

Shanks = God Venus as the Morning Star

Character:	Shanks "Red-hair"
Associated Real or Hypothetic Celestial Body :	Venus as morning star (Dawn)
Associated Greek divinity:	Phōsphorus / Dionysus
Associated Aztec divinity:	Tlahuizcalpantecuhtli / Xipe-Totec
Associated Hindu divinity (Navagrahas, Vasus, Dikpâlas):	Ishana / Aruna
Associated animal (Manga + Mythology):	Bull / Snake
Associated mythological animal (Potential Zoan shape / ancient weapon partner):	Nandi / Lūcifer
Associated Constellation/Zodiac sign:	Taurus
Birth Place:	Somewhere on West Blue
Birth Date:	03/09

As an adjective, the word "phosphorus" is applied in the sense of "light-bringing" and "torch-bearing" as an epithet of several gods and goddesses notably the god Dionysus who pine torches and the day. Fortunately, Shanks's behavior and depictions are strongly related to these 2 Gods as well as their Aztec equivalents Tlahuizcalpantecuhtli (for Phosphorus) and Xipe Totec (for Dionysus).

• Tlahuizcalpantecuhtli is an Aztec God representing the Morning Star Venus, his name means "dawn lord", this god plays a significant role in the creation of Tonatiuh (Luffy representation) the Fifth Sun in the Aztec creation narrative as one of the four gods who kept the sky up.
• Like Phosphorus & Tlahuizcalpantecuhtli, Shanks is strongly related to dawn and has a strong bond with the personification of the Sun, Luffy.
  • Indirectly, thanks to or because of Shanks who brought the Gomu Gomu no Mi, Luffy became Nikka the sun God.
  • The coming of the dawn is also reflected in the passing of the Straw Hat and its symbolism of sunrise (for instance the way the straw hat in Shanks's hand follows the trajectory of the sunset in the picture):
    • Uniting Roger, Luffy and Shanks, the bearers of such a hat with their same goal to bring up the truth, Joy, and festivities, and bring back sunshine to the world. This links the hat, to its catholic counterpart the Saturno (also known as Capello romano) making Roger (Red cloak) kind of a Cardinal or a martyr (also in red clothes) and Redhair Shanks (Black cloak) kind of a Priest or Apostle (also in black clothes), waiting for the arrival of their messiah, their Pope (Johannes Paul II in the picture) in white clothes: Nika/Luffy who will birth a new dawn for the world.
  • After Luffy ate the Gomu Gomu no Mi, Shanks becomes a spiritual father, and a protector that often carefully takes the news of his "protégé" or follows the evolution of his bounty and eagerly awaits the day they will be ready to meet.
  • Shanks saves Luffy on several occasions, such as when he came to Marineford to stop the war allowing Luffy to escape with Law or literally save his life against the lord of the Coast.
  • Finally, Shanks association with light or dawn could explain why he always tries to recruit Marco "the phoenix" when he sees him [1] [2], the phoenix being a creature of the light.
• Dionysus was regarded as the God of wine, festivity, ritual madness, religious ecstasy, and freedom.
  • Shanks seems to have "a close relationship with alcohol: (a.k.a Alcoholism)" or with dubious festivities almost like a form of ritual and always manages to incite his talker to eventually drink with him [1] [2] [3] [4]. Either when he is celebrating with Mihawk or he is bargaining with white beard (even though it may just be a tradition for hospitality since Shiki did the same).
  • Shanks displayed ecstatic madness and prowess during his duel against white beard triggered maybe by the effect of their beverage. Shanks displayed ecstatic euphoria when he learned about Luffy's first bounty.
  • Shanks traveled with the Pirate King Gol D. Roger, reputed to be the freest person in the world of One Piece.
• Dionysus is depicted as a beardless, half-naked, effeminate long-haired youth much like Shanks's appearance.
• Dionysus was also a god of resurrection (had been himself resurrected twice), vegetation, and fertility, and was strongly linked to the bull, or the horned snake. He is also associated with trees according to one of his epithets "he who runs among the trees".
  • Similarly, in addition to Luffy's depiction as a monkey, Shanks has another monkey in his crew named "Monster" [1] [2], a creature who usually lives in trees.
  • Similarly, Shanks's figurehead ship is a Horned Snake and the Red hair pirate's Jolly Roger oddly resembles a bull's head (just for comparison here).
  • Concomitantly, the Taurus Zodiac sign is a Venus-ruled sign along with Libra and could relate Shanks to the Ophiotaurus or the Hindu deity Nandi, the Mount of Shiva and the guardian of Mount Meru (the sacred mountain and residence of the Gods) which could foreshadow Shanks as the guardian of Reverse mountain where he will meet Luffy at the ends of the New World since Luffy could be the personification of an Avatar of Shiva (Nataraja).
• The Aztec equivalent of Dionysus, Xipe-Totec was a life-death-rebirth deity, god of agriculture, vegetation, goldsmiths, liberation, and renewal. Xipe Totec connected agricultural renewal with warfare.
  • Shanks's interventions are linked to warfare and liberation, as his arrival put an end to the Summit war on MarineFord or Aramaki's disruptions on Wano.
  • Shanks's quest to claim the One Piece's treasure could link him to Goldsmithing.
• He flayed himself to give food to humanity, symbolic of the way maize seeds lose their outer layer before germination and of snakes shedding their skin. He was sometimes depicted with a yellow shield and carrying a container filled with seeds.
  • Equivalently, the container filled with seeds becomes the devil fruit that he brought to Luffy to disseminate the seed of revolution and freedom for a new era of prosperity with plenty of food. While the flaying becomes his willingness to sacrifice himself for others, as he lost his arm to protect Luffy or took the blame for Elegia's destruction to protect Uta from her guilt.
• He is often depicted as being red beneath the flayed skin he wears, likely referencing his own flayed nature. He frequently had vertical stripes running down from his forehead to his chin and across his eyes.
  • These physical traits resonate with Shanks's eye scar and the color red associated with him (Red hairs, red pirate crew, a ship called the Red Force).

​

Teach = God Venus as the Evening Star +

Teach's Evil twin(s) = New Moon God (if only 1 twin) or Gods of Eclipses (South lunar Node & North lunar Node) (if 2 twins)

Character:	Marshall D. Teach "Black Beard" (Multiple personalities): 1-Physical body twin personality (Marshall) + 2- Parasitic twin personality (Xebec's clone)
Associated Real or Hypothetic Celestial Body :	Venus as evening star (Dusk) + New moon (1 twin) or Lunar Nodes (2 twins)
Associated Greek divinity:	Hesperus / Zagreus + Hecate / Janus
Associated Aztec divinity:	Xolotl / Tepeyollotl + Metztli
Associated Hindu divinity (Navagrahas, Vasus, Dikpâlas):	Nirriti / Rahu + Trishira / Ketu
Associated animal (Manga + Mythology):	Dog + Hippo
Associated mythological animal (Potential Zoan shape / ancient weapon partner):	Cerberus / Vesper + Namazu
Associated Constellation/Zodiac sign:	Libra + Draco (Head +Tail))
Birth Place:	Somewhere on Grandline
Birth Date:	08/03

In opposition to Shanks, Teach is the personification of Venus as the evening star also known as Hesperus for the ancient Greeks, but also Xolotl for the Aztecs and he is probably related to Nirriti in Vedism.

• Xolotl is the canine brother and twin of Tlahuizcalpantecuhtli. Tlahuizcalpantecuhtli as the morning star acts as the harbinger of the Sun's rising (rebirth) every dawn, and Xolotl as the evening star acts as the harbinger of the Sun's setting (death) every dusk.
  • In this way, Shanks act as the protector of the sun (Luffy) from its journey in the underworld a.k.a from its death to its rebirth on Grandline Shinsekai.
  • While Teach act as the extinguisher of the sun (Luffy) during its journey in the Sky from its birth (rising) to its death (setting) on Grandline Paradise.
• As chance would have it, right before Luffy's entry through Grandline (Reverse Mountain), he encountered Teach during the Jaya arc who was willing to terminate Luffy's adventure for its bounty and met him again, right before entering the New World, during the Summit war where he almost died. Concurrently, Luffy on the verge of death was saved by Shanks during the Summit war and was later, during his journey into the New World defended by Shanks from Aramaki's bad intentions.
• Similarly, Teach has a rival relationship with Shanks as the two seem to be perfect antagonists.
  • Teach does not seems to be connected with dawn but rather to dusk/darkness and the Crescent Moon. This dark/demonic side of Teach is again in perfect opposition with Shanks and his angelic / Luciferian / bringer of dawn side. They also happen to be the same five volumes: 25, 45, 59, 95, and 96. One has never appeared on a cover without the other, and I doubt that's a coincidence.
  • Teach seems to be on a similar power level with Shanks, as he managed to inflict a scar on Shanks's face.
  • The two often appear concomitantly, dealing with similar events in their own ways, like during the summit wars or against the New Supernovas Kid and Law. Since Blackbeard's personality is the complete opposite of Shanks.
    • Blackbeard is very patient and careful, choosing to lurk in the shadows until the perfect opportunity presents itself. To kill Whitebeard when he is weakened by his fight against the Marine or lurking the arrival of one of the exhausted supernovas after their fight against Kaidou to steal their Poneglyphs and their Devil fruits.
    • While Shanks act and play fair, asking if Kid's crew is at its full potential before their fight acting rashly and without a plan only when he foresees danger for the people under his care.
• Similarly to Xolotl who is the God of misfortune:
  • Teach acts as an enforcer of doom, as an encounter with Teach often ends on a tragic note ending White Beard's life, and Thacht's life, except for Luffy whose crew was fortunate enough to escape their fate thanks to the Knock-up stream.
• Similarly to Xolotl who is the God of monsters & deformities. Similarly, the BlackBeard crew regroups a lot of evil and ugly characters.
• Xolotl is also the God of twins:
  • A popular theory is that Blackbeard was able to consume two Devil Fruits due to a parasitic/conjoined twin, especially the Craniopagus parasiticus kind picturing Teach as a man with a face on the back of his head similar to the legend of Edward Mordake or Quirell with Voldemort. Making Teach like Stussy (credit to Goji for the idea) a failed clone of Rockdemort D. Xebec, which turn Teach's body into a case of Human Chimera or Vanishing twins, carrying the genotype (DNA) of several people or multiple hearts inside its body to receive the soul of other devil fruits. One of the Hearts was imbued with a part of Xebec's soul when Xebec probably asked Linlin to use the power of her Soru Soru no Mi on Teach's body to ensure "Xebec's will" will carry on even if he is killed.
    • When Zoro referred to Blackbeard as "them" in Jaya, Blackbeard had his back turned to the Strawhats at the time.
    • the fact that Teach is known to never sleep, is probably because when one twin is resting, the other is awake and vice versa.
    • When Ace stated that Teach has already lived two lives / or lived twice as long as him depending on the translation, it may be a hint towards this dual personality theory.
    • The fact that Blackbeard uses the Yami Yami no Mi, only with the back of his body, being the only part coated in "darkness". This extends even to the outside (back) part of his arms or fingers but oddly never on the inside (front/palm) of his hands. While, when he uses the Gura Gura no mi, his fist is close, which means that the power is coming mostly/only from the palm (the inside) of his hand.
    • or when Blackbeard attacks the guards of Impel Down, the darkness appears to come from the back of his head only when other logia use their entire body instead.
  • The 1st twin:
    • the numerous reference to the number 3 (3 beard braids, 3 guns, 3 heads on his jolly roger), could come from the mythical entity that inspired the character for the parasitic twin in the back: Hecate an ancient Greek Goddess of night, witchcraft, the Moon, necromancy, and boundaries between life and death often depicted as three-formed or triple-bodied. This twin is probably the true captain of the Blackbeard Pirate, (being the one (given the corresponding number of teeth) that decides whose pirate is worth being part of the crew like shiryu) and consequently has decided the shape of his trimorphic jolly roger or to place the 3 guns at his belt when the other twin probably decided to put a bottle of sake instead.
    • Like Hecate, this twin is then associated with the moon, the darkness with his Yami Yami no mi, and potentially to the underworld as guardian of entrances between the realm of the dead and the living (similarly to the watchdog Cerberus, whose function was to prevent the living from entering the underworld, and the dead from leaving it), which could explain Teach ability/knowledge on how to bring the soul of devil fruit demons back into a non-original eater body like the Gura Gura no Mi of White Beard into his twin body. Similarly, Xolotl was commonly depicted as a dog-headed man and was a soul guide for the dead. Metztli is the Aztec god of the Moon and the night.
  • The 2nd twin (The genuine personality of the body), is not directly linked to the darkness or the moon but to the earthquakes as per the Gura Gura no Mi and unlike its twin counterpart, he is not linked to the dog or Cerberus but rather to the Behemoth who can generate earthquakes and is inspired by the shape of the Hippo much like Teach himself:
    • I believe this character is inspired by the Greek deity Zagreus an underworld doppelganger of the God Dionysus. Above, we showed that Dionysus is the myth behind Shanks, which make Zagreus and Dionysus arch-enemies like Shanks and Teach. Zagreus is usually considered the son of Hades (Imu) and who was dismembered by the Titans (World Nobles of God Valley) and reborn (as a clone inside Teach's Body).
    • From the Aztec mythology viewpoint, this second twin could then be related to Tepeyollotl, the god of darkened caves (Hachinosu), earthquakes and Canids (his proximity with canids zoan type devil fruit like Katarina, ...). Or related to Xolot itself as the God of motion and earthquake too.
  • From the Indian astronomical standpoint: Rahu and Ketu denote the points of intersection of the paths of the Sun and the Moon as they move on the celestial sphere. Therefore, Rahu and Ketu are respectively called the north and the south lunar nodes. Eclipses occur when the Sun and the Moon are at one of these points, giving rise to the understanding of swallowing of the Sun and the Moon by these entities. Rahu is responsible for causing the Eclipse of the Sun while Ketu for causing the Eclipse of the Moon. Making Teach the direct rival of the One Piece character representing these celestial bodies: Monkey D. Luffy for the Sun and Enel/Imu for the Moon. Additionally, Svarbhanu (Rocks D. Xebec inspiration), an asura, disguised himself as a deva (World Noble) and tried to drink some amrita (Elixir of Immortality) himself (probably during the God Valley incident). Surya (the sun god) (Roger inspiration) and Chandra (the moon god) (Garp inspiration) alerted Vishnu (Saturn/Imu inspiration) to this deception. Vishnu then decapitated Svarbhanu just as he is about to swallow the nectar, leaving his head and decapitated body immortal. Later, his head became known as Rahu and the beheaded body became known as Ketu.
• In Vedism, Nirruti is a dark-skinned deity with a large body and draped in yellow garments but also has a terrific appearance with ill-looking eyes, a gaping mouth, and exposed teeth. This is extremely similar to Teach depiction. The comparison does not end there, as Nirriti personifies death, or decay, and is often depicted riding a man or a donkey like Teach when he faced Law.
• Finally, the Libra astrological sign matches Teach' rational, and yet detached decision-making.

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For the next set of characters (Mercury, Mars, Jupiter) continue here, to navigate to another part of this theory, please refer to the hyperlinked table of contents here.

[Discussion] The Titan’s Curse by Rick Riordan (Percy Jackson & The Olympians) Chapter 15: I Wrestle Santa's Evil Twin through Chapter 20: I Get a New Enemy for Christmas (END) Chapter Discussion
“There was a lot I'd wanted to say to Annabeth, but Athena had taken the confidence out of me. I felt like I'd been punched in the gut.
I do not approve of your friendship with my daughter.”
Welcome, readers! Our time comes to a close once again! This our final discussion for The Titan’s Curse by Rick Riordan, Book 3 in the Percy Jackson & The Olympians series. Today, we will be discussing the second of three sections of the novel, from Chapter 15: I Wrestle Santa's Evil Twin through Chapter 20: I Get a New Enemy for Christmas (END)
There are chapter by chapter summaries of the section down below. Answer any of the discussion questions below you want. Remember: only talk about things that occur in this section. If you’ve decided to read ahead past Book 3, feel free to respond in the Marginalia where discussions of any kind can be posted. Hope to see you in the discussion!
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Here is a link to the schedule. This is our final discussion of Book 3! I hope you enjoyed it!
Feel free to respond to all of the discussion questions or a few! Enjoy the chapters!
- Rogue
Chapter Discussions:
Chapter 15: I Wrestle Santa’s Evil Twin
Thalia is terrified as the winged statues fly them over the Sierras towards San Francisco. Percy told the group about the weird girl who could see through the Mist. Percy realizes his mom could see through the Mist as well. After being dropped off, the group set off to find Nereus, the old man of the sea which Zoe remarks to just ‘follow the smell’ Percy is disguised as a homeless man and checks the homeless around the pier. Eventually, he encounters a homeless man that smelled sea bad, who could only be Nereus. Despite his old appearance, Nereus is strong and holds fast to Percy, who tricks Nereus into dropping into the sea. Nereus transforms into different sea creatures to attempt to get rid of Percy, though it doesn’t work.
Eventually, Nereus agrees to answer Percy’s question, which he uses to ask about the monster Artemis was hunting, which Nereus reveals is Bessie, the serpent cow Percy saved, called the Ophiotaurus. In ancient times, prophecy promised if the Ophiotaurus was sacrificed and its entrails given to fire, the one who did it would have the power to destroy the gods. Suddenly, Thorn the manticore shows up, vowing to defeat the group. Thorn reveals that Kronos had brought Thalia back to life in order to sacrifice the Ophiotaurus and bring down the gods on her sixteenth birthday. The fight begins and Grover tells Percy to get word to camp. Percy sends an Iris message to camp, which Mr. D answers. After some back and forth, Mr. D summons his god power to break minds and summon grapevines to bind and destroy the manticore and the guards. He ends the message. Zoe points out their next destination; the garden of the Hesperides, her home.
Chapter 16: We Meet The Dragon of Eternal Bad Breath
The group quickly realize that they won’t make it to the garden by sunset, which is the only time the garden can be entered as the Hesperides are the nymphs of the sunset. Grover and Bessie the Ophiotaurus use Bessie’s water travel ability to travel back to Camp Half-Blood so Chiron can get the creature to Mount Olympus. Percy sacrifices the lion skin coat in order to ask Poseidon to protect the pair in the water. Thalia leads the trio to Annabeth’s dad’s home. They explain that Annabeth is in trouble and they need a ride to Mount Tamalpais. They also meet Annabeth’s step mom who insists they need to help Annabeth. Dr. Chase offers to drive them but also says that his plane would be faster, though it only seats two. Dr. Chase ultimately stays behind, the adventure being too dangerous.
The trio drives to the bottom of the mountain, through the mist, Percy spies Luke’s cruise ship, parked below the mountain. The car is destroyed by a lightning bolt and the trio manage to escape, going further into the garden. They spy Ladon, the dragon guardian, around the tree of golden apples. Against the wishes of the other Hesperides, Zoe wakes Ladon to distract him as Thalia and Percy make their way up the mountain. Zoe follows behind after escaping Ladon. At the top of the mountain, where the ruins of Mount Othrys, former palace of the Titans, is rising. Apparently this mountain, the Mountain of Despair, is where Atlas used to hold up the sky. Now Artemis holds it in his place. The General reveals that he is Atlas and Zoe’s father.
Chapter 17: I Put on a Few Million Extra Kilograms
Artemis forbids Zoe from taking the burden of the sky from her. Luke urges Thalia to call the Ophiotaurus to her, even summoning a pool for it to appear in. Thalia fights Luke, while Zoe and Percy attack Atlas. Percy is out of his league against Atlas and realizes that he has to take the burden of the sky from Artemis. He frees her and takes the sky on his shoulders. It's the worst pain he’s ever felt but his plan works as Artemis fights Atlas with Zoe. In his mind, Percy hears Artemis warn him to be ready, as Artemis knocks Atlas back under his burden. Thalia manages to defeat Luke and kicks him off the cliff, broken. Annabeth’s dad appears flying out of the clouds with his plane, firing bullets at the monsters from Luke’s ship, amazingly turning into dust. Zoe collapses, poisoned from her fight with Ladon. Artemis summons a silvery sleigh pulled by reindeer. Everyone gets on and they fly off.
Chapter 18: A Friend Says Goodbye
They land at Crissy Field where Dr. Chase meets them with his plane. He and Annabeth hug and talk. Zoe is dying. She is honored that Percy carries Riptide. Zoe’s body disappears and appears in the sky as a constellation. Artemis has to get to Olympus for the meeting to let them know what happened. Blackjack shows up with some Pegasi and the group fly to Olympus, leaving Dr. Chase on the field. Annabeth insists Luke is not dead and can be saved from Kronos. The group of Pegasi fly right up to Mount Olympus.
Chapter 19: The Gods Vote How to Kill Us
The Pegasi drop them off at the doors to the throne room. The group enters and sees the twelves Olympian Gods in their full giant forms. Bessie is in a magical sphere of water and Grover is giving a report to Zeus of what happened. Artemis gives her thoughts and wants the heroes to be rewarded. Athena and Ares both believe it’d be safer to destroy Thalia and Percy before they can be sixteen. The gods also think that Bessie the Ophiotaurus needs to be destroyed, though Percy points out trying to control prophecies doesn’t work and destroying the Ophiotaurus because of what might happen is like Kronos eating his kids because they might overthrow him. Artemis insists that they must be rewarded, though she first mentions she needs a new lieutenant. Thalia promises herself to Artemis’ service, no longer a part of the prophecy. The gods agree to protect the Ophiotaurus with all their powers. The gods throw a party for the heroes. Posideon confirms Luke is alive. Athena appears to Percy and says she doesn’t approve of his friendship with Annabeth. She vanishes and Annabeth and Percy dance the night away.
Chapter 20: I Get a New Enemy for Christmas
Percy calls Tyson who says he’ll visit over summer. He also calls his mom who’s hanging out with Paul Blofis. Percy asks if she’s happy with him, which she is. Percy goes back to Camp Half-Blood. Grover spreads word of his encounter with the power of Pan which spurs the satyrs into action. Clarisse has bad news from her secret scouting mission. Percy reveals Luke is alive according to his father. Chiron knows Luke will attack Camp Half-Blood as they’ll want to destroy the tools of the gods first. Nico runs in, looking for Bianca.
Percy tells him what happened to his sister and gives him the statue from the junkyard. Nico is angry, revealing he’d been having dreams and he knows she’s being evaluated by the judges of the dead in the Fields of Asphodel. The skeleton soldiers come out of the forest. Percy begins to fight them off but Nick summons a crack in the ground to the Underworld and destroys them, sealing the crack. Nico runs off, saying he wishes Percy had died. Percy trips on the statue Bianca stole, a statue of Hades, lord of the dead. Percy tells Annabeth and Grover about Nico’s identity as a Son of Hades, saying he takes on the prophecy, but keeps it from Chiron, just saying Nico ran off. Later, Grover has a vision of the god Pan saying I AWAIT YOU.

Evil Team themed after the Titans Team Leader: Kronos: Dark Type Lieutenants: Atlas, Rhea (secretly helping the player), Phoebe, and Hyperion.
First Gym: Dionysus: Normal type Pokemon: Pancup, Holepop
Second Gym: Hermes: Flying type Pokemon: Peckoot, Cutphal, Reglure
Third Gym: Aphrodite: Fairy Type Pokemon: Onix, Frogurt, Royalant
Forth Gym: Ares: Fighting Type Pokemon: Skelmet, Kickrow, Boarchop,
Fifth Gym: Artemis: Bug Type Pokemon: Stalyre, Famihop, Vespiquen, Pegafly
Sixth Gym: Hephaestus: Steel Type Pokemon: Pyroar, Cyloth, Granbull, Liftrane,
Seventh Gym: time of day dependant, missed gym leader available in post game Demeter: Grass Type Pokemon: Wyrdeer, Pangoat, Thornplyta, Dunguk, Applin

 Hades: Ghost Type Pokemon: Charow, Applin, Maidagaunt, Hootspook, Cerberowl 

Eight Gym: Apollo : Dragon Type Pokemon: Tyrannogon, Titagon, Stratogon, Taroagon, Infragon
Elite Four: Hestia: Fire Type Pokemon: Rapadash, Charmera, Thirvul, Glarclops, Clopclang, Mudray,
Elite Four: Athena: Psychic Type Pokemon: Hootsight, Pardrap, Uneye, Finortune, Tapegy, Arbok
Elite Four: Poseidon: Water Type Pokemon: Shellee, Meroldier, Argust, Tidull, Captnose, Torterra
Elite Four: Hera: Ice Type Pokemon: Shiverhen, Eyegus, Milktank, Yofreeze, Blizagon, Aborown
Champion: Zues: Electric Type Pokemon: Kilopine, Raigon, Bravery, Joltalin, Nimbele, Amproch
Pokedex: 1 Hipoppy (grass starter, Wooly Rhino/Hippo inspired) 2 Rhilypad (evo of Hipoppy) 3 Reedoceros (evo of Rhilypad, adds ground 2nd type) 4 Coalf ( fire starter, Colchis bull, Minotaur inspired) 5 Belobull (evo of Coalf) 6 Minoforge (evo of Belobull, adds steel type) 7 Sparatan (Water starter, water rat, spartan, nutria) 8 Nutrilanx (evo of Sparatan) 9 Leonidria (evo of Nutrilanx adds fighting type) 10 Peckoot (Route 1 bird owl flying type) 12 Hootsight (Peckoot evo, pyschic Athena symbol) 13 Hootspock (Peckoot evo, ghost Hades symbol) 14 Holepop ( Route 1 "Rodent" Polecat Badger) 15 Badden. (Holepop evo normal/ground) 16 Tiant (Tiny Ant Route 1 bug, puppa stage) 17 Mediumidons (Tiant evo, Myrmidon, worker stage) 18 Guyant (Male Mediumidon evo, soldier ant stage add fighting type) 19 Royalant (Female Mediumidon evo, queen stage add fairy type) 20 Laepup (Regional dog normal type, Laelaps inspire) 21 Orthwoff (Laepup evo, 2nd head Orthrus inspired) 22 Cerberowl (Orthwoof evo, Cerberus, add dark type) 23 Hedgawatt (Pika-clone, electric normal hedgehog) 24 Kilopine (Hedgawatt evo, porcupine electric poison) 25 Echo-at (Regional bat, Echo/Minyades dark flying) 26. Miny-sound (Echo-at evo) 27. Sisyrock (Sisyphus ground type "geodude replace") 28. Rollphus (Sisyrock evolution) 29. Crackgades (Rollphus evo, add rock clashing rocks) 30. Litleo ( regional, steel/fire nemian lion) 31. Pyroar (litleo evo) 32. Stantler (Regional grass/normal Cerynein Hind) 33. Wyrdeer (Stantler evo) 34. Kicklet ( piglet normal fighting) 35. Boarchop (male Kicklet evo Erymanthian boar) 36. Sowpunch ( female Kicklet evo Crommyonian Sow) 37. Cutphal (Stymphalian bird, Skarmory pre-evo) 38. Skarmory (cutphal evo , flying/steel) 39. Ponyta (Mare of Diomedes, fire/ dark) 40. Rapidash (Ponyta evo) 41. Amasting (Amazon grass lady, grass) 42. Pricklezon (Amasting evo) 43. Thornpolyta ( Hippolyta, add fighting 2nd type) 44. Janiface (Janus, ground type.) 45. Headon (Janus evo, Geryon add fighting 2nd type) 46. Cuteobra (Medusa Fairy, ground) 46. Beautite (Cuteobra evo) 47. Goriper (Beautite evo, Poison ground, blessed and cursed forms) 48. Grimer (Poison grass regional Augean stables) 49. Muk (Grimer evo) 50. Stableunk (muk evo poision rock) 51. Staglyre (Cerambus, stag beetle, lyre, bug fairy) 52. Combee ( Melissa, bug flying) 53. Vespiquen (Combee female evo) 54. Honeyhive ( Combee male evo, bug ground honey pot/ Bee Hive) 55. Gatpony (Gatfly/ Pegasus Bug Flying) 56. Pegafly (Gatpony evo) 57. Rufflet (Regional, Zues's Eagle, Flying Electric) 58. Braviery (Rufflet, eater of Prometheus's liver) 59. Frostchick ( Peacock chick, Ice flying, Hera's symbol) 60. Freezter (Male Frostchick evo, ice psychic) 61. Shiverhen (female Frostchick evo, ice flying) 62. Harpury ( Harpy, flying/water) 63. Sirenury (Harpury evo, Siren) 64. Furytress (Sirenury evo, flying/dark) 65. Eyegus (Psychic / Ice, Argus) 66. Skiddo ( Grass) 67. Gogoat (Skiddo evo) 68. Pangoat (Gogoat evo, grass ground, Pan) 69. Burrotaur (Onocentaur, spade fighting ground) 70. Centatrench (Onocentaurevo, centaur shovel) 71. Surfshot ( centatrench waterstone evo Iothyocentaurs water fighting) 72. Bouffalant (regional, poison ground, catoblepas) 73. Ashleaf (Dryad grass) 74. Shellave (Nymph water) 75. Winday (Anemoi flying) 76. Uneye (Graeae sisters/ Fates psychic) 77. Grifluff ( Baby Griffin flying normal) 78. Chirage ( Grifluff evo, Chimera, flying fire) 79. Meowth (Regional, normal ground Sphinx) 80. Persian (Meowth evo, ground psychic) 81. Coltick ( hippalectryon flying normal) 82. Roostallion (Coltick flying fighting) 83. Fowlflow (Hippocampus normal water) 84. Mustwave (Fowlflow evo fighting water) 85. Calfoam (Ophiotaurus normal water) 86. Tidull (Calfoam evo ground water) 87. Kidool (Capricorn normal water) 88. Horntide (Kidool grass water) 89. Fishot (Merfolk water) 90. Meroldier (Fishot male evo add fighting) 91. Finortune (Fishot female evo add pyschic) 92. Skullapendra (Skolopendra dark water) 93. Skelmet ( Spartae, ghost ) 94. Riblate (Skelmet evo) 95. Armograve (Skelmet evo ghost fighting) 96. Crobright (Corvus, Apollo flying) 97. Dolmatey (Etruscan pirate water normal) 98. Porpirate ( Dolmate evolution) 99. Captnose (Porpirate evo, water dark) 100. Lapris (regional, water grass) 101. Argust (Lapris evo, Argo.) 102. Krabby (water) 103. Kingler (Krabby evo) 104. Pancup (normal Dionysus panther) 105. Vinether (Pancup evo, add grass type) 106. Troody (Trojan horse grass, psychic) 107. Nickit (Regional, Teumessian Fox, dark fire) 108. Thievul (Nickit evo) 109. Bronztrot (Hippoi Kabeirikoi steel type) 110. Totbot (Talos steel fighting) 111. Colosust (Totbot evo Collosus of Rhodes) 112. Munchlax (regional, lotus eater, grass normal) 113. Snorlax (Munchlax evo) 114. Charow (Charon ghost water) 115. Chopclang (Empusa fire steel) 116. Maidagaunt (Philinnion ghost, fairy) 117. Turtwig (regional grass water, island sciron) 118. Grotle (Turtwig evo) 119. Torterra (Grotle evo) 120. Magikarp (regional automaton water steel) 121. Gyarados (Magikarp evo) 122. Ravegle (Phoenix fire flying) 123. Cluckslash (Ares Rooster fighting) 124. Stabcrow (Cluckslash evo) 125. Paroostie (Stabcrow evo flying 2nd type) 126. Regalreal (Alcyoneus, water flying) 127. Ducklett (Regional Apollo symbol, pychic water) 128. Swanna (Ducklett evo) 129. Kricketot (Regional Bug grass muse locusts) 130. Kricketune (Kricketot evo) 131. Locustra (Krickrtune evo bug dark) 132. Vullaby (Regional flying fighting Ares symbol) 133. Mandibuzz (Vullaby evo) 134. Liftrane (steel flying Crane Hephaestus symbol) 135. Calket (Milktank pre-evo ice normal) 136. Milktank (Regional, Hera symbol) 137. Mudray (Regional, fire ground Hestia's symbol) 138. Mudsdale (Mudbray evo) 139. Weaverqueen (Arachne spider psychic bug) 140. Tapegy (Weaverqueen evo) 141. Disccharge (Discus, Olympics electric) 142. Shock-put (Discus evo Shot put) 143. Joltelin (Shock-put evo Javelin) 144. Smoliv (regional, grass psychic, Athena symbol) 145. Dolliv (Smoliv evo) 146. Arboliva (Dolliv evo) 147. Ekans (Regional Erichthonius pyschic poison) 148. Arbok (Ekans evo) 149. Draeggin (revive from Egg fossil ancient "eevee" dragon egg evo of every type, dragon type) 150. Firake (Draeggin Firestone dragon fire evo Helios's Dragon) 151. Infragon (Firake evo) 152. Wavyn (Draeggin Waterstone dragon water evo Ketos) 153. Vortegon (Wavyn evo) 154. Thundra ( Draeggin Thunderstone dragon electric evo Draco) 155. Raigon (Thundra evo) 156. Glacephis (Draeggin Icestone dragon ice evo Scythian Dracaena) 157. Blizagon (Glacephis evo) 158. Fortung (Draeggin Twisted Spoon dragon psychic evo, Ouroboros) 159. Taroagon (Fortung evo) 160. Arauchi (Draeggin spell tag dragon ghost evo Kampe) 161. Skelagon (Arauchi evo) 162. Terrorasque ( Draeggin black glasses dragon dark evo Manticore) 163. Panicgon (Terrorasque evo) 164. Flufapuk (Draeggin silk scarf dragon normal evo Python) 165. Furagon (Flufapuk evo) 166. Pupaborus (Draeggin silver powder dragon bug evo Pryausta) 167. Cicadagon (Pupaborus) 168. Toxilisk (Draeggin Poison Barb dragon poison evo Hydra) 169. Smogon (Toxilisk evo) 170. Nimatrice (Draeggin sharp beak dragon flying evo Amphisbaena) 171. Stratogon (Nimatrice evo) 172. Garnamat (Draeggin Hard Stone dragon rock evo Basilisk) 173. Gemagon (Garnamat evo) 174. Helmepent (Draeggin Metal Coat dragon steel evo colchian dragon) 175. Kniteagon (Helmepent evo) 176. Dirtler (Draeggin Soft sand dragon ground evo Cerastes) 177. Mudagon (Dirtler evo) 178. Obelotan ( Draeggin Roseli Berry dragon Fairy evo Ladon) 179. Titagon (Obelotan) 180. Dracorex (Draeggin Dragon Fang pure Dragon evo Drakken) 181. Tyrannogon (Dracorex evo) 182. Barbernaga (Draeggin Black Belt dragon Fighting evo Ismenian dragon) 183. Besergon ( Barbernaga evo) 184. Cloracoatl ( Draeggin Leafstone dragon grass type Demeter's dragon) 185. Amazogon (Cloracoatl evo) 186. Cyloth (Revive form tusk fossil Cyclops Mammoth fire steel) 187.Glarclops (Cyloth evo) 188. Pardrap (Revive with neck fossil Girafarig ancestor Camelopard psychic rock) 189. Sableye (regional, Amethyst rock dark Dionysus) 190. Geoglare (Sableye evo) 191. Onix (regional fairy, rock Aphrodite coral) 192. Corallix (Onix evo, fairy rock) 193. Snubbull (regional fairy steel Hephaestus) 194. Granbull (Snubbull evo) 195. Applin (Regional Pomegranate Persephone, grass ghost) 196. Appletun (Applin evo Hades/Winter form, sweet apple) 197. Flapple (Applin evo Demete Summer form, tart apple) 198. Houndour ( regional hellhound fire/ghost) 199. Houndoom (Houndour evo) 200. Gothita (Regional Night Sky Polaris Nyx, Pyschic Dark) 201. Gothorita (Gothita evo, Consellations) 202. Gothitelle (Gothorita evo, Moon Phases Astrology) 203. Frogurt ( Frozen "Greek" Yogurt pokemon Fairy Ice) 204. Yofreeze (Frogurt evo) 205. Marastem (Marathon/Fennel fairy grass 206. Fenneline (Marastem evo) 207. Tiarafrost (Ice crown ice ghost) 208. Aborown (Tiarafrost evo) 209. Nimbele (Nephele electric fairy 210. Voltox (Io Auroch Electric Normal) 211. Amproch (Voltox evo, Electric Steel) 212. Parispet ( Paris Trojan War fighting rock) 213. Hecturret (Parispet evo) 214. Circeror (Circes Sorcerer psychic water) 215. Calwitcho (Circeror evo Calypso) 216 Icsoarus (Icarus flying bug) 217. Dedalas (Icsoarus evo ghost bug) 218. Narsunkis (Narcissus ghost water)
Constellation Pokemon, only catchable after you get a Gothitelle and show it to the Astronomer in the Athens themed town. He gives you a star map, that helps leads you to pokemon or items to evolve previous stages:

1. Virgilent ( Virgo Artemis Fairy Fighting)
2. Libringo ( Libra Flamingo Pychic Flying)
3. Scorpopult (Scorpio Catapult Bug, Rock)
4. Cratron (centatrench sagistone evo, chiron/sagittarius artillery, fighting fire)
5. Caprinami (Horntide evo water rock)
6. Dromorius (Aquarius Camel water ground)
7. Eelces (Eel Pisces Water Dark)
8. Ramries (Aries Ram Fairy Grass)
9. Taurecane (Tidull evo water wind)
10. Castlox (Gemini twin monkey fire water, Castor Pollux)
11. Kraggly (Kingler evo, Cancer)
12. Leroar (Leo, Electric Fire)
13. Starriursa (divergent Teddiursa, fairy normal)
14. Ursanova (Starriursa evo, fairy dark)

Heroic Pokemon, you receive a Novlous after becoming Champion for post game.

1. Novlous (Novice Hero, Iolous normal fighting)
2. Herocles (Novlous evo, when you lv up after defeating a Pyroar, Hercules steel fighting)
3. Percilade (Novlous evo, when you lv up after defeating a Goriper, Perseus poison fighting)
4. Jasonaut (Novlous evo, when you lv up after defeating a Armograve, Jason water fighting)
5. Thesyrinth (Novlous evo, when you lv up after defeating a Minoforge, Theseus fire fighting)
6. Odyssequest (Novlous evo when you lv up after defeating a Troody, Odysseus physic fighting)
7. Bellerfought (Novlous evo when you lv up after defeating a Chirage, Bellerophon flying fighting)
8. Atalantrace ( Novlous evo when you lv up after defeating a Fenneline, Atalantra grass fighting)
9. Anklelles (Novlous evo, when you lv up after defeating a Hecturret, Achilles rock fighting)

Legendary Pokemon 242. Maiarth ( Box legendary, Gaia Grass Ground) 243. Urasphere (Box legendary, Uranus Flying Electric) 244. Tartapitus (Box legendary, Tartarus, Dark Ghost) 245.Ptonolus (legendary quatro horse, Southern wind Nolus Ptolemy Egyptian flying fire) 246. Seleurus (legendary quatro horse, Eastern wind Eurus Seleucus Mesopotamia flying electric) 247. Lysiboreas (legendary quatro horse Northern wind Boreas Lysimachus Mongol/Rus flying ice) 248. Caezarus (legendary quatro horse Western wind Zephyrus Cassander Roman flying grass) 249. Aeolxander (Charioteer of the winds Aeolus Alexander the great flying fighting) 250. Monstidna (Echidna legendary monster duo fairy dragon) 251. Typhonster (Typhon legendary monster duo dark dragon) 252. Charybdmaw (Charybdis legendary navigation duo water dragon) 253. Scyllajaw (Scylla legendary navigation duo rock dragon) 254. Handalotcheire (leave Monstidna and Typhonster in the Daycare, egg, Hecatoncheires, steel dragon)
Muse Legendaries 255. Calliomuse ( Calliope epic poetry muse fairy pyschic) 256. Cleomuse (Cleo history muse fairy ground. 257. Eratomuse (Erato love poetry muse fairy water) 258. Eutermuse (Euterpe music muse fairy grass) 259. Melpomuse (Melpomene tragedy muse fairy dark) 260. Polymuse (Polyhymnia sacred poetry mise fairy stone) 261. Terpsimuse (Terpsichore dance muse fairy fire) 262. Thalimuse (Thalia comedy muse fairy grass) 263. Uranimuse (Urania astronomy muse fairy flying) 264. Orcheus (Orphues fairy ghost, cave unlocks near 8th gym after encountering all 9 muses)
Mythical 265. Vindra (Vine Indra, Dionysus India pilgrimage)

In ZA 8, we finally figure out how Cerberus replenish their orders. which took forever for us to find out how they do.
but now i wonder if anyone has a master list of how all the orders of fae replenish their orders and even though some haven’t been officially announced of how they do, i want hear how y’all think they replenish their ordepowers
here is the list of fae TAENIA (Parasitic Orders) Vampire Siren MUTATIO (Mutating Orders) Dragon Manticore Griffin Cerberus Pegasus Werewolf Nemean Lion Hydra Caucasian Eagle Chimera DIVISUS (Spliced Orders) Minotaur Medusa Centaur Cyclops Sphinx Harpy
EXTINCT ORDERS Hydra Kraken Phoenix Arian Dolphin Empusa Ophiotaurus

I asked myself a question about fanfictions where Annabeth leaves Percy. It seems to me that Annabeth has another fatal flaw in these fanfictions: and it is the search for power, that is, she would do anything for her own ends, even betraying. In the books she is seen in Hercules and in Thalia: in Hercules when she flirts with Zoe for the golden apple and Thalia when she is tempted by the power of Bessie / Ophiotaurus. Am I the only one who thinks so?

It's a sea monster, so shouldn't Poseidon be able to sense it, or at least locate it? Why send Artemis to find a seacreature, when you have the literall god of the seas on your side? That's just really bad planning on Zeus's side.

Exactly what the post says. I’ve categorised the scenarios by timeline divergence and I’ll be using the fandom starting date of 2006 to simplify this, with everything pre-TLT being divided into three eras. Also I’ve excluded MC and KC because honestly I don’t remember them well enough.

Ancient Times-1899 (Scenarios 1-4)

• What if Athena was born as a man? - Due to the prophecy that Zeus and Métis’s son would rule Olympus, Zeus decides that Atheneus (working name) is too dangerous. Now Atheneus tries overthrowing his father because you can’t escape prophecies. Huge sequel story potential about the future of the Riordanverse.
  
• What if Poseidon won the contest for Athens? - various ancient happenings are changed, perhaps ending with a different course history took where everyone in America speaks German or something.
  
• What if Hades became the god of the sea? - this story can be set in either ancient times or during PJO and explores how Hades and Poseidon’s domains being swapped would affect things.
  
• What if Percy fought the Giants the first time around? - Percy gets to hang out with Hercules, Dionysus and maybe other ancient heroes. Maybe it’s time travel, maybe he was just born in Ancient Greece. Who knows?
  

1900-1987 (Scenarios 5-8)

• What if Bianca and Nico were killed by Zeus? - Hades wages war on Zeus and Apollo, making the Cold War an actual global conflict rather than a bunch of smaller conflicts in a trenchcoat. There’s a few people active around this point I can think of who would make interesting protagonists, such as a young Hal Green, Daedalus, Zoë, Emmie and Jo, a young Coach Hedge and… Franklin D Roosevelt, I guess.
  
• What If Luke Castellan was a Big Three kid? - Luke is the hero of the prophecy in a separate conflict and chooses Raze, making himself king. Three years later, he has to fight Kronos, Gaia and the Triumvirate as the king of the gods while commanding heroes like Percy, Annabeth and Thalia who can be the other Olympians, I guess. Basically we just see what Luke would be like if he was king independent of Kronos.
  
• What if Michael Varus was successful? - Alyconeus is defeated and the legion is much more powerful by the time Kronos comes knocking. Alternatively, this is just a prequel about how Michael Varus failed and died.
  
• What If New Rome wasn’t racist? - Shen Lun doesn’t get pushed out of the legion and Frank’s family all goes to Camp Jupiter, meaning that Frank is now a huge deal politically because everyone in his family is the most powerful legionnaire of their generation.
  

1988-2005 (Scenarios 9-14)

• What If May Castellan never tried to become the oracle? - Luke is a good guy and so he never runs away and meets Thalia, story can go multiple ways from there.
  
• What If Nero adopted Annabeth? - Nero brainwashes Annabeth and she dissembles the demigod side of the Titan WaGiant War from the inside as a spy.
  
• What If Nero didn’t adopt Meg? - Trials of Apollo goes way differently as Meg isn’t a double agent and arrives at CHB at age 12 naturally with no Nero-related trauma.
  
• What If Thalia made it to Camp Half-Blood? - Thalia survives and the timeline is different. Similar to the May story where the prophecy happens early.
  
• What If Juno took Thalia instead of Jason Part One? - Focuses on Jason’s experiences at Camp Half-Blood in the shadow of the year-older Percy Jackson.
  
• What If Juno took Thalia instead of Jason Part Two? - Focuses on Thalia’s more aggressive upbringing as a legionnaire. Who knows, maybe her desire for power makes her go the Octavian route and become a fascist.
  
• What If Percy was the child of a primordial god? - you can have it be any god but my favourite is Tartarus, and Percy’s powers are similar to Strange Supreme’s from What If…? episode 4 where he does monster shapeshifting stuff. Now Percy’s evil and really powerful and we can poke fun at fanfiction, having an everyone vs a power tripping Percy story.
  

The Lightning Thief (Scenarios 15-20)

• What If Percy did steal the Master Bolt? - Kronos works his magic on Percy and now he it’s like a mystery story at Camp Half-Blood where Percy has to hide his secret. You could extend this into a What If…? miniseries of its own where Percy does all the things Luke does in canon, culminating in Percy vs Annabeth during The Last Olympian.
  
• What If Percy sacrificed himself to Hades? - in the Underworld Percy doesn’t leave Sally and the world ends because of Ares (arguably what should’ve happened considering Percy’s fatal flaw). Now we get to see what the Big Three war would’ve looked like.
  
• What If Echidna did something? - Echidna is one of the few characters in the series who never gets comeuppance, she just leaves the story. In this story Percy escapes her but she tracks him down and kills him later, getting the Master Bolt from the bag. Now Echidna has the Master Bolt and she decides to take Olympus on her own. This is inspired by how What If…? redeemed villains like Ultron and The Collector.
  
• What If Percy joined Luke? - this is possibly the most predictable option in this book but Percy joins Kronos and we see how that would’ve played out.
  
• What if Ares didn’t fall for it? Ares kills Luke and takes both the bolt and the helm. This time instead of Echidna it’s Ares who decides he’s going to conquer the world. A few of these stories are pretty much just so the gods can have cool fight scenes.
  

Sea of Monsters (Scenarios 21-25)

• What If Percy didn’t become friends with Tyson? - Percy and Annabeth go on the quest alone and it goes differently somehow idk it’s been a while since I read Sea of Monsters.
  
• What If Annabeth became evil? - Annabeth buys into Circe’s propaganda and becomes a witch. Maybe you can even find a way to have Percy be turned into a girl in a way that isn’t transphobic and now they’re both evil girlbosses who can fight Kronos but as evil witch people instead. Hell, maybe that’s the difference: What If Percy was trans and Circe believed in trans rights?
  
• What If Clarisse listened? - Clarisse listens to Percy, Annabeth and Tyson and the team never gets separated. Probably won’t have crazy long-term consequences but the story of Sea of Monsters plays out a little differently.
  
• What If Percy kissed Annabeth? - after the chariot race Percy has the confidence to kiss Annabeth back and now the rest of PJO plays out while Percy and Annabeth are dating.
  
• What If Percy listened to the sirens? - instead of Annabeth, Percy hears the song of the sirens and he’s a lot more emotionally intelligent about stuff from then on. However, it comes at the cost of Percy and Annabeth’s relationship not being as strong due to him not seeing her vision.
  

The Titan’s Curse (Scenarios 26-32)

• What If the Manticore kidnapped Percy? - the quest to save Artemis now has Annabeth instead of Percy and we get to see her do The Titan’s Curse.
  
• What If Percy destroyed Talos? Percy dies in the scrapyard which leads to something idk. Maybe Thalia destroys Olympus with the Ophiotaurus and now it’s similar to the earlier Big Three Luke story, where the new gods under Thalia’s command fight Kronos. Or maybe, fun idea, Annabeth does that and Thalia makes the choice to join her.
  
• What If Annabeth joined the Hunters? - super obvious one, Annabeth leaves and Percy is sad and now he’s a little more unhinged. Also he probably starts dating Rachel.
  
• What If Percy and Thalia fought? - the oracle doesn’t intervene and we can just have a short ten or twenty page story where they properly fight each other. Or, if you want a longer story, one kills the other and now we have an everyone vs Percy/Thalia story.
  
• What If Rachel wasn’t mortal? - Rachel gets cut in half and Percy has to deal with that now as well.
  
• What if Frederick destroyed the world? - When Frederick fires his guns they miss because of how old they are. One of the bullets hits Atlas who drops the sky, flattening Socal. This means that Percy, Annabeth, Thalia, all of New Rome and Kronos’s army are all dead.
  

Battle of the Labyrinth (Scenarios 33-38)

• What If Percy stayed on Ogygia? - yeah this is super super obvious, possibly even more so than Percy joining Kronos. I don’t feel like I need to go in-depth explaining this one.
  
• What If Briaries agreed? - Briaries leaves Alcatraz and now the team has a ridiculously powerful hundred-handed one just hanging out with them.
  
• What If Annabeth ran away with Luke? - I don’t like having so many “what if x character went bad” stories but I also have 100 slots to fill so I don’t feel too bad about it.
  
• What If Percy took Sally into the Labyrinth? - this is inspired entirely by a fic whose name eludes me but the concept is simple, rather than Rachel Percy instead decides that the optimal clear sighted mortal to bring is his mother.
  
• What If Pan did return? - this can be kind of a commentary on human nature to want something to come save them. Pan returns and things turn out for the worse somehow and the moral is that we have to do things ourselves.
  

The Last Olympian (Scenarios 39-44)

• What If Percy became a god? - yeah, of course this is one. This is possibly the biggest one.
  
• What If Percy stayed in the ocean? - Percy stays in the water place (is it called Atlantis?) and helps fight Oceanus. Presumably the world ends because of this but before then we get some cool underwater fight scenes.
  
• What If Percy went on holiday with Rachel? - another “the world ends” story but this time it’s a holiday comedy story before the apocalypse happens.
  
• What If Hades wasn’t a jerk? - Hades decides to pop out of the underworld early and he helps defend Olympus. - I hate how Hades gets knocked over by Percy in the Underworld fight scene after he bathed in the Styx. I get why he was, to show Percy’s power, but as a Big Three god he should be a devastating force and I think he deserves an episode where he just lets loose and messes up the Titan army.
  
• What If Percy didn’t give Luke the dagger? - writing What If scenarios for The Last Olympian is so boring, because they’re basically already written. Kronos wins and we get to see what his world would be like, maybe with a resistance of surviving D-list heroes.
  
• What If Gaia played her hand early? - in the invasion force are the members of Gaia’s forces we know are active (Alyconeus, Orion, Arachne) and Percy and Annabeth have to adapt to that.
  

The Lost Hero (Scenarios 45-49)

• What If Hera took Annabeth? - Reyna is the main character of The Lost Hero.
  
• What If Jason didn’t have amnesia? - Jason knows everything and is a lot more scheming about the Greeks, Annabeth goes on the quest to keep him in line.
  
• What If Piper didn’t wipe Tristan’s memory? - I’m not sure how this would affect the timeline but now Tristan knows about the gods. Maybe he leaks it to the press and the world now knows about demigods, it’s What If…? it’s not like it needs to be wholly thought out.
  
• What If the Romans attacked early? - maybe they find Hera at the Wolf House, maybe Leo kills Jason in Medea’a store and they find out. Regardless, the war breaks out early and because Hera’s now got a headache Percy is lost until the war is over
  
• What If Leo became a god? - Leo, neglected and upset, goes with Khione and is now a bad guy. Now they have to find a different seventh member: Nico, Reyna and Nyssa being the obvious choices. Because Leo’s on the other team, a different demigod has to kill Gaia - presumably Percy, Frank or Jason.
  

Son of Neptune (Scenarios 50-55)

• What If Gwen stayed dead? - somebody, presumably Percy or Frank, works out that Octavian killed Gwen and kills him. Now it’s them versus the world.
  
• What If Percy walked on water? - Percy walks over the Little Tiber like he did in The Last Olympian, meaning he’s still got the curse of Achilles. This is how I think Heroes of Olympus should’ve been but what’s done is done
  
• What If Hazel was resurrected as a bad guy? - Hazel, spiteful at Hades and the judges of the dead, joins Gaia and serves as an antagonist to Nico, who outside of Midas and Bryce Lawrence doesn’t get many of his own villains. Both of these characters get to have a story they’re at the centre of. Alternatively, we can do the same story but with an evil resurrected Bianca who doesn’t opt for rebirth and it’s about Nico and Bianca’s relationship.
  
• What If Gaia didn’t value Percy? - Gaia calls Percy’s bluff lets him drink the bad gorgon’s blood and the quest gets completely derailed.
  
• What If Hazel wasn’t cursed? - I know this should be in the 1900-1987 section but I figured that this story is so connected to Son of Neptune that it may as well go here. Hazel lives out an idyllic life in the forties and marries Sammy, meaning that now later on Leo is descended from both Hephaestus and Pluto. Idk how genetics work but I think it’d be neat.
  
• What If Frank died? - Frank’s firewood burns up and now he’s dead. Reyna then has to fill in for the seven.
  

Mark of Athena (Scenarios 56-60)

• What If Leo didn’t bomb New Rome? - Leo doesn’t get possessed and the camps don’t try to destroy each other. Rare story where things go better than in canon.
  
• What If Annabeth destroyed the Legion? - Annabeth agrees to Reyna’s terms and goes back to San Francisco. Unfortunately for the Romans, Annabeth is a genius and is able to effortlessly dismantle them from the inside. It’s Annabeth wish fulfilment, which I feel like we need more of.
  
• What If the ichthyocentaurs did want to meet Percy? - Poseidon/Neptune sees Percy go to Camp Fish-Blood and remembers that they don’t pay their taxes. This can be a shorter story, think five or ten pages, where a mad Poseidon shows up and just throws a temper tantrum. This is mainly because we basically don’t get any Poseidon content after PJO, something I find criminal.
  
• What If the fight in Kansas didn’t suck? - Bacchus gets tired of Percy making fun of him and drives him crazy for a couple minutes. Why? So that we get a proper Jason versus Percy fight where Piper isn’t stopping them and they’re not possessed, it’s just the two strongest demigods in America pummelling each other. Maybe we can see them actually using their powers and tactical prowess other than just flying at each other.
  
• What If Tartarus went differently? - I’m not going to make these separate ideas so here they all are: Percy goes to Tartarus alone, Annabeth goes to Tartarus alone, all the seven except Percy and Annabeth go to Tartarus or just nobody falls into Tartarus. Not really a change to Mark of Athena but it does technically happen in that book so I count it.
  

House of Hades (Scenarios 61-66

• What If Piper learned how to manipulate the Mist? - Piper, with the powers of charmspeak and Mist manipulation becomes the ultimate gaslighter
  
• What If Leo never landed on Ogygia - Khione doesn’t send Leo to Calypso and freezes him like Jason. With Leo available to help fix the ship after the attack Jason doesn’t stay long enough to make up his mind about being Greek, not to mention Leo’s plan in BoO being changed
  
• What If Frank was paralysed by the katoblepas? - Similar to the Percy vs Thalia scenario, this is a short story about Hazel shredding through Venice because she never really gets to flex her powers. Also if you wanna be cool you can have Hazel become buff like Frank does at the end.
  
• What If Annabeth didn’t stop Percy? - Akhylys… dies? Is turned into gold dust? Anyway, Akhylys is killed and an upset Nyx just kills them both. Now the doors can’t be closed.
  
• What If Percy and Annabeth stayed behind? - Bob and Damasen go to the surface to help against the giants while Percy and Annabeth die in Tartarus (or maybe they live, who knows?)
  
• What If Percy gave Tartarus a heart attack? - Percy completely explodes the heart of Tartarus and temporarily stops the circulation of the underworld rivers, meaning that carnage breaks out in the underworld. I like this one because it can be about a team of dead heroes in the underworld stopping it from falling into anarchy while BoO is ongoing. Imagine the squad of Zoë Nightshade, Achilles, Amelia Earhart and Henry VIII versus a bunch of evil shades.
  

Blood of Olympus (Scenarios 67-75)

• What If Jason killed Gaia? - Octavian misses his accidental kamikaze so Gaia is only weakened, not killed. Jason catches Gaia and they finish the battle one-on-one.
  
• What If Piper didn’t charmspeak Kekrops? - another short action story, this time the seven launches a guns-blazing assault on the Acropolis rather than a sneak attack. They’re not successful but it’s very entertaining to initially read as it’s an all-out offensive rather than the surprise attack.
  
• What If Leo didn’t take the physicians’s cure? - Leo decides that the cure is better suited for somebody else and that he will make a true sacrifice. However, he still wants Calypso freed so he leaves a message behind with the astrolabe for somebody to free her.
  
• What If Percy bloodbent? - Percy unlocks his most narratively lame power yet - bloodbending - by stopping his nosebleed from touching the ground. Gaia doesn’t rise because of this
  
• What If Annabeth vetoed the seven? - Annabeth decides that the heroes can’t afford to waste time and heads directly to Athens rather than taking the long route. The story fails at the end with a fight between the seven and Python at Delphi
  
• What If Frank recruited his family? - Frank, probably with a little help from Piper’s charmspeak, convinces his family in Pylos to help them fight Gaia. Now there’s a squad of experienced, slightly racist shapeshifters helping the team out
  
• What If Hazel waged war on the giants? - Hazel collapses the caves under the Parthenon in an attempt to circumvent Leo’s sacrifice. An alternate take on the fight at the Parthenon where Hazel gets to go crazy and demonstrate how strong she is
  
• What if Reyna stayed with Hylla? - Reyna decides to help her sister kill Orion. Orion dies but Reyna is heavily injured and their strategy has to change
  
• What if Nico saved Octavian? - Octavian isn’t on the suicide missile and serves his time. Now either Apollo confronts him in The Tyrant’s Tomb or Octavian escapes and is now a major villain in Trials of Apollo
  

The Hidden Oracle (Scenarios 76-81)

• What If Apollo didn’t go to Percy? - Apollo feels embarrassed and decides instead to head straight for Camp. It probably doesn’t go well.
  
• What If Meg turned Apollo in? - Rather than send them to Camp Half-Blood, Nero decides that the Grove of Dodona probably isn’t a big deal and brings Apollo in right away, becoming the sun god.
  
• What If the Neronis destroyed Camp Half-Blood? - Hestia’s Hearth is destroyed and they have to relocate Camp Half-Blood. Story about Percy, Nico, Chiron and eventually Annabeth once she gets back building a new Camp Half-Blood somewhere.
  
• What If Apollo didn’t swear on the Styx? - his entire quest is less deranged because he doesn’t have a broken oath hanging over him.
  
• What If Zeus punished a different god? - maybe it’s Hera, maybe it’s Aphrodite, maybe it’s Apollo and Artemis. Regardless, Trials of Apollo is way different.
  
• What If Percy did go on the quest? - Percy is on the quest and he’s pissy all the time. Make this one really miserable and end badly so people stop saying Percy’s being selfish by not going.
  

The Dark Prophecy (Scenarios 82 and 83)

• What If Apollo absorbed the prophecy? - Apollo gets the prophecy juice in him rather than Meg.
  
• What If Lityerses didn’t defect? - I’ll be honest, I don’t really remember what happens in TDP. This might be important, it might not.
  

The Burning Maze (Scenarios 84-87)

• What If Piper died? - Piper sacrifices herself on the boat.
  
• What If Grover kept going on the quest? - Grover decides that he’s been hitting the grind long enough, he can last a little longer. He’s pretty strong, I feel he’d be helpful.
  
• What If Hedge kept going on the quest? - Hedge dies to save Jason and Piper. Fast forward a couple decades and it’s like Top Gun: Maverick where Apollo is Maverick and Chuck Hedge is Rooster. Have an independent story set in the future about Apollo atoning for Hedge’s death.
  
• What If Apollo absorbed Helios? - Apollo is now more powerful and unleashes his anger. Maybe he becomes a villain due to his grief or something.
  

The Tyrant’s Tomb (Scenarios 88-93)

• What If Tarquin won? - the What If scenarios where the villains win I find are the laziest (ignore how many I’ve done), but this one is fun because now it’s a zombie story. The heroes here can be characters who are a little darker than your A-listers, heroes willing to get their hands dirty and actually kill. Think Nico, Reyna and Meg.
  
• What If Reyna stayed in the legion? - We don’t know what this will look like long-term but maybe in a couple years we’ll know how this would play out as the hunters have no Reyna.
  
• What If Frank stayed dead? - Frank doesn’t out-will the Fates and he stays dead. Again, no idea what this’ll look like long-term.
  
• What If Hazel fought the emperors? - Hazel and Frank swap places on the battlefield and she’s the one to fight alongside Apollo. Because the fight was in Caldecott Tunnel and Hazel is good at tunnels I figure that this is a fight she just straight-up wins. Also, Hazel deserves a badass fight scene, she still hasn’t clashed blade-to-blade in a fight centred around her.
  
• What If Lavinia and Peaches went rogue? - Lavinia and Peaches team up to fight some enemy idk. Maybe they solo Nero.
  
• What if Apollo called a different god? - Maybe Jupiter, maybe Mars, maybe Bacchus. Regardless, the fight plays out differently until the fleet fires the Greek fire and the legion is destroyed.
  

Tower of Nero (Scenarios 94-96)

• What If Grover told Percy and Annabeth that Jason died? - rather than just kinda forgetting about it, Grover tells Percy and Annabeth the bad news and they go on a 3-demigod hit mission to destroy Nero. PJO fans love fan service so they’d go crazy for this.
  
• What If Apollo fell into Chaos? - Zeus now has to appoint a new Olympian and it’s a political drama where a bunch of gods campaign for the spot. Contestants include Bellona, Hades, Hecate and somehow Percy gets dragged into this. At the end, Hestia wins because ofc she does.
  
• What If Rachel was a double-agent? - Rachel gets mind controlled by Python using Delphi powers and betrays Apollo. Look, it’s hard making What If scenarios for the final book, okay?
  

Gag Scenarios (Scenarios 97-100)

• What if Clovis was the main character? - Clovis goes through the events of PJO failing upwards, messing things up but having it turn out well in the end. It culminates in Clovis becoming a god at the end of The Last Olympian
  
• What If seven horses answered the call? - in this timeline the heroes of the prophecy are Chiron as the leader, Blackjack, Rainbow, Tempest, Arion, and then you can mix and match for the last two. Choices include: the zebra from The Lightning Thief, a unicorn, a robotic horse from cabin 9, a demon horse from the underworld and my personal favourite choice - Jacqueline Black, a female black pegasus in reference to how Blackjack was originally a mare.
  
• What If the demigods went to the Olympics? - if you shift the timeline a little you could have The Last Olympian take place during the 2008 or 2012 Summer Olympics. In this timeline Kronos’s evil plan is to win the Olympics and all the best demigods from both camps get entered in the sports they’re best at. The final battle could be fencing but I think it’s funnier to have it be something like table tennis between Percy and Kronos.
  
• What If Hitler ran the Triumvirate? - Hitler, Hirohito and Mussolini become gods because of fascism being terrible and overthrow the Triumvirate. Apollo’s main villain is now Hitler.
  

Bonus 101st scenario

• What If the multiverse teamed up? - A collection of protagonists from the other scenarios team up. My pitch:

The team is Atheneus, Roman!Thalia, Greek!Jason, Witch!Annabeth, Buff!Hazel, whichever Olympian got punished in place of Apollo, Chuck Hedge and God!Clovis all teaming up to fight either Son of Tartarus!Percy or Herald of Kronos!Percy
If you made it this far, congrats! Feel free to write any of these up if they catch your fancy, I’d love to read them!

I made a list of all characters in the Camp Half-Blood Chronicles who are mentioned by name. Please let me know if I missed anyone!

• Percy
• Lester
• Annabeth
• Leo
• Meg
• Piper
• Jason
• Hazel
• Frank
• Nico
• Grover
• Hedge
• Reyna
• Chiron
• Tyson
• Thalia
• Will
• Rachel
• Clarisse
• Luke
• Calypso
• Dionysus
• Arion
• Mrs O’Leary
• Connor
• Ella
• Sally
• Octavian
• Hera
• Arrow of Dodona
• Austin
• Gaea
• Lavinia
• Apollo
• Blackjack
• Hemithea
• Iapetus
• Josephine
• Kayla
• Peaches
• Dakota
• Zoë
• Ares
• Bianca
• Crest
• Nero
• Artemis
• Kronos
• Lityerses
• Luguselwa
• Silena
• Travis
• Commodus
• Medea
• Poseidon
• Sherman
• Tristan
• Athena
• Aphrodite
• Argus
• Zeus
• Hermes
• Mellie
• Nyssa
• Paul
• Beckendorf
• Cecil
• Enceladus
• Aloe Vera
• Caligula
• Don
• Ethan
• Hades
• Kelli
• Malcolm
• Miranda
• Agamethus
• Daedalus
• Ephialtes
• Georgina
• Harley
• Hephaestus
• Herophile
• Hylla
• Jake
• Juniper
• Khione
• Otis
• Terminus
• Alice
• Billie
• Chiara
• Chuck
• Demeter
• Joshua
• Julia Feingold
• Olujime
• Polybotes
• Python
• Damien
• Drew
• Eidolons
• Ellis
• Hecate
• Incitatus
• Minos
• Ophiotaurus
• Paolo
• Polyphemus
• Tarquin
• Chris
• Clytius
• Gwen
• Holly
• Hunter
• Hyperion
• Kinzie
• Laurel
• Michael
• Porphyrion
• Prickly Pear
• Screech-Bling
• Zethes
• Alcyoneus
• Alecto
• Atlas
• Briares
• Calais
• Damasen
• Guido
• Gunther
• Jacob
• Larry
• Leila
• Leneus
• Lou Ellen
• Michael Kahale
• Nike
• Paulie
• Periboia
• Pollux
• Sssssarah
• Thanatos
• Vitellius
• Aemillia
• Agrius
• Akhlys
• Akmon
• Arachne
• Britomartis
• Bryce
• Butch
• Cumaean Sibyl
• Deacon
• Frederick
• Gabe
• Garius
• Katie
• Krios
• Kymopoleia
• Lucius
• Ma Gasket
• Manticore
• Marie
• Nanette
• Nyx
• Pasiphaë
• Passalos
• Persephone
• Phoebe
• Rebutia
• Stan
• Stheno
• Tantalus
• Tartarus
• The Arai
• The Fates
• The Meliai
• Thoon
• Trophonius
• Valentina
• Vincius
• Achelous
• Alaric
• Antinous
• Bobby
• Boost
• Cassius
• Celyn
• Chrysaor
• Clovis
• Colossus Neronis
• Eddie
• Estelle
• Eurytion
• George + Martha
• Geryon
• Grandma Zhang
• Gray
• Grr-Fred
• Heracles
• Hestia
• Julia
• Kampê
• Lacy
• Lee
• Lupa
• Lycaon
• May
• Megara
• Michael Varus
• Mitchell
• Mr Dare
• Nosoi
• Oracle
• Oreius
• Orion
• Pete
• Phineas
• Prometheus
• Rhea
• Silenus
• Styx
• Terrel
• Tisiphone
• Triptolemus
• Typhon
• Vercorix
• Wah-Wah
• Zephyrus
• Agave
• Amax
• Aphros
• Areca
• Beryl Grace
• Bob
• Bombilo
• Boreas
• Bythos
• Cade
• Charon
• Cholla
• Click-Wrong
• Decibel
• Dylan
• Echo
• Esperanza
• Euryale
• Florence
• Flutter
• Gregorix
• Grunk
• Hagno
• Hank
• Hank + Chuck
• Harpocrates
• Hasdrubal
• Helios
• Herbert
• Hippias
• Hygeia
• Icarus
• Iris
• Janus
• Karpoi
• Kekrops
• Keto
• Macro
• Marcus
• Maron
• Midas
• Mikey
• Millard
• Mimas
• Minotaur
• Mrs Chase
• Naomi
• Narcissus
• Nereid
• Nereus
• Notus
• Otrera
• Peak
• Pegasus
• Phillip McCaffrey
• Phorcys
• Porkpie
• Reginald
• Reverb
• Rhea Silvia
• Sammy
• Sciron
• Serephone
• The Graeae
• The Muses
• Thomas
• Tiberinus
• Timbre
• Vortigern
• Woodrow
• Achilles
• Aelia
• Aeolus
• Amphisbaena
• Amphitrite
• Antaeus
• Ariadne
• Asclepius
• Blackbeard
• Bobby + Matthew
• Caelius
• Castor
• Charybdis
• Chimera
• Christopher
• Circe
• Cleander
• Cocalus
• Creak-Morris
• Daphne
• Delphin
• Doris
• East River
• Echidna
• Emily
• Eris
• Eros
• Esther
• Eurus
• Eurymachus
• Flange
• Fleecy
• Geras
• Hippolytos
• Hudson River
• Hyacinthus
• Hypnos
• Ida
• Jane
• Jules-Albert
• Koios
• Leontocephaline
• Leto
• Lulu
• Maria
• Medusa
• Michelangelo
• Money Maker
• Mrs Dare
• Mrs O'Leary
• Nancy
• Nemesis
• Pan
• Parthenos
• Pater of Mithras
• Perdix
• Pompona
• Pranjal
• Procrustes
• Rufus
• Scylla
• Shane
• Shel
• Sphinx
• Staphylus
• Sump
• Talos
• Tammi
• The Hesperides
• The Sirens
• Theseus
• Torque
• Triton

I'm a somewhat recent returner (Few months) and noticed a lot of folks struggling with current guides and missing some things that I found to be extremely important for a new or returning player. I happened to write down what I wish I knew going through the lost and confused stage over the last couple of months. For general purpose newbie guides this one is pretty good and mostly relevant. Some of the information in this list is also in this guide. For whatever reason I've noticed a lot of people missing it however. Here's my list in no particular order.
1: Grab a linkshell from the linkshell concierge ASAP. You can take one per day - any you wish - and equip up to two at a time. For non FFXI / XIV players a linkshell = guild. Very large linkshells exist and a huge portion of public chats have moved to these linkshells. I strongly recommend doing this before RoV 1-9 where you fight Ophiotaurus. He is the newbie destroyer. Shameless plug: Odin Server - DKOB linkshell
2: You can convert sparks and unity accolades into 2 million gil per week (combined). Buy Arch shield and sell it to a vendor. For accolades, purchase Prize powder and vendor it. You can spend 100,000 sparks and accolades per week. Resets Sunday.
3: I would recommend not buying i117 spark gear that a lot of guides recommend. Sparks when just returning or coming back are very hard to come by and one of the only sources of gil you have starting off. Instead you can buy i119 gear (weapon and armor) for around 13,000 bayld total. You can turn those copper vouchers you've been getting from RoE into 1k bayld each. You only need to do the very first few missions of Seekers to unlock the gear. Vendor 1, Vendor 2
Alternatively here's a good gearing guide to skip the sparks with.
4: After you get the Bayld gear, try to find an ambu group or simply just do ambuscade. If you're antisocial like myself, you can solo a full set of basic ambuscade gear in just a few hours doing v2 ambuscade - very easy (Maybe higher, depending on the month and how much research you do). Note: During peak hours some people frown on soloing due to limited instances. Do what you gotta do, but do try to get a group that is newbie friendly! Solo this has 2 options from the ambuscade vendor. Items purchased with hallmarks, and items for total hallmarks. The total hallmarks option are unlocked and free to claim once you reach that amount in a given month. This gear will be your bread and butter for awhile. Unlike the i119 bayld gear, it has accuracy which you will need to get far better XP in places like Reisenjima or lower level Apex monsters (with some upgrades / accessories). If you plan on doing enough Ambuscade to get the +1 options it might be wise to save the NQ (No +1 in the voucher) in case you plan on leveling an alt that month. Otherwise, one of the options (Voucher or Token) is free for a full set each month so it's not a big deal to just use the NQ on your main job.
5: Only characters 45 days or older can see this one. You may have to complete Tutorial > basic > "Exploring the trove" first. In your RoE quests check Content > AMAN Trove. Do as many of these as you possibly can in a given month. 5 silver vouchers turns into a Mars orb. That Mars orb can potentially be worth many millions of gil or save you a lot (20mil or so) of gil upgrading your ambuscade weapon to the highest tier. Trove is very simple to do, and you can simply bank the vouchers + Free orb till you're ready to gamble.
6: On that note also do Quests > Other > Monthly objectives. All characters should be able to see this. These award 10 deeds of heroism each. You might not be able to get them all done in your first month or two but you can definitely get most of them done. The rewards work similar to 'total' hall marks. You can claim everything up to the total amount you've earned. This unlocks things like a free pulse weapon (Fairly hard to obtain, expensive to buy for a new player, needed to upgrade your ambuscade weapons to max) or one of (if not the best) healer trusts in the game.
7: Even if you don't plan on touching it for awhile - make sure to both zone into your Mog Garden once per day (do the initial tutorial) and spend your Imprimaturs once every couple of days. These are needed to prevent hitting time gates locking your progression later on in RoV / Seekers content. Hint: You can go to the Task Delegator inside the building in Western Andoulin (G-7) and select the mission type "Frontline Support" once progressed in the Seekers story enough (Not far needed). Select the furthest zone away that you have a waypoint to and select between 1 and 3 imp's to use. I just use 3 as the bayld difference for one at a time is typically not worth it. Simply teleport directly to the camp in the target zone, talk to the NPC next to the waypoint, waypoint back and turn in. There are ways to min/max this better, but for now just make sure you have less than 15 imprimaturs as that is the cap. They generate one every (6: I think) hours real world time.
8: Use this guide to figure out where to level and when. I disagree with some of the level ranges, but following it exactly will get you to 99 without too much trouble.
9: Buy a warp ring with conquest points ASAP. Also purchase an Empress band. Note: This can be refilled once per tally period (Couple of days to a week or so, off memory) by trading it to the guard you bought it from. It will consume some conquest points but they are basically free and you should not worry much about spending them on things like this.
10: Unlock your Mog Sack and Mog Locker as soon as you are able. This is a free 30 inventory out in the world each and is upgradeable to 80 each. Note: You can purchase Gobbiebag (EG; Inventory space upgrades) via the quests here or by purchasing a Stew from your mog house while the Mog Gardens campaign is going on. Note: Some people price gouge gobbie bag quest items and the items are often very easy to obtain. Look them up as you go.
11: Do Domain Invasions once per day (Rarely twice, if you get less than 100 points). This amounts to going to either of the Escha zones, or Reisenjima, and basically hitting a boss. Usually its just a zerg. Zone in, talk to the silt vendor, select "Receive Elvorseals" and then accept the teleport to the boss. Summon trusts and hit it when it spawns. Don't stand behind them, stand to the side. Note: These spawns every 10-15 minutes in a rotating fashion. Your unity chat boss should announce where the next one is going to be with a 10 minute warning. The rotation is Reisenjima > Escha - Zi'tah > Escha - Ru'anne. You can get a maximum of 100 points per day and purchase very useful armor / weapons / accessories / sellables in Norg with them.
12: voidenjoyer (lol) summarized this better than me. Accumulate voidstones via a passive process ASAP.
Hopefully folks will chime in with other tips and tricks in the thread. If you think something should be added to this OP please let me know. Happy hunting!
Here's another tips and tricks thread.

I made a full episode list for every book in PJO and HOO. Most are 8 episodes but some are smaller because not quite as much happens in them. I merged SoN and TLH. Tell me what you guys think. I didn't really include dreams just actual events. The dreams would go next to their corresponding parts.
The lightning thief 8 episodes

1. Everything up to killing the minotaur
2. Meeting CHB/ Capture the Flag/ Claimed and getting a quest
3. Oracle to killing Medusa
4. The Gateway Arch
5. The whole Ares arc
6. Crusty, Lotus casino, all that stuff. Ends with Cerberus' snarling face
7. Everything in the Underworld
8. Fight with Ares and conclusion

The Sea of Monsters 6 episodes

1. Everything up to killing the bronze bulls
2. Tyson getting claimed/chariot races/Clarrise getting her quest/ talking to Hermes
3. Up to Hydra getting exploded
4. Ship explosion/Circes island/ Sirens
5. getting the Fleece
6. Getting it back to camp

The Titans Curse 6 episodes

1. Up to Annabeth falling
2. Biancas choice, capture the flag, a quest Percy decides to escape CHB
3. Up to killing Nemean lion
4. Flying Pig/Bianca dying
5. Dam problem/Ophiotaurus safe
6. Fight with Atlas

Battle of the Labyrinth 8 episodes

1. Getting back to Camp/Meeting Quintus
2. Everything up to actually setting foot in the Labyrinth the second time.
3. Janus/Hera/Jailbreak/Labyrinth stuff. Ends with them exiting into Geryons ranch
4. Everything at Geryons ranch
5. Sphinx/Hephaestus/Labyrinth/Mt. St. Helens eruption
6. Calypso/New guide/Beating Anteous/ Escaping Labyrinth
7. Awakening Kronos and seeing Pan
8. The Big battle

The Last Olympian 8 episodes

1. Rachel/Princess Andromeda/Poseidon's palace/ burning Beckendorfs shroud
2. Styx arc-Above world
3. Styx arc-Underworld
4. Initial fighting, breaking bridge
5. Everything up to and including beating Hyperion-Pigs/Prometheus/Hyperion
6. Silena dies, and Clarisse comes, party ponies, getting driven back.
7. Getting up Olympus, having trouble, almost dying. Ends when Poseidon comes to fight Typhon.
8. Beating Kronos and conclusion

​
The Lost Hero/Son of Neptune 12 episodes

1. Grand Canyon and getting to camp TLH
2. Seeing camp, getting a quest, and getting Festus/ finding Bunker 9. TLH
3. Defeating Gorgons, Carrying Hera, losing invulnerability, meeting Reyna SoN
4. Boreas TLH
5. War games and getting a quest. Also meeting Nico.
6. Medea and Midas TLH
7. Quest up to Percy drinking gorgons blood
8. Hunters and Mount Diablo TLH
9. Amazons and Laistrygonians
10. The Wolf House and unraveling the mystery TLH
11. Freeing Thanatos and beating Alcyoneous
12. Big battle

Mark of Athena 8 episodes

1. Reunion, eidolons, Kansas
2. Narcissus and Eidolons out
3. Charleston
4. Everything up to and including kicking Hercules's butt.
5. Chrysaor
6. Archimedes and Annabeth's quest (Up to defeating Mithras people).
7. Nymphaeum and Annabeth's quest (Up to actually getting to Arachne)
8. Otis and Ephialtes and the rest of Annabeth's quest

House of Hades 8 episodes Reyna's journey might come in dream form-not sure.

1. Hecate and Kerkopes/Starting Tartarus journey
2. Katoblepones/Meeting Bob and Rest stop.
3. Sciron, Cupid, Arai and Damasen. Shows Reyna accepting mission.
4. Khione and Ahklys. A small snippet of Reyna's journey.
5. South Wind, Calypso, and Nyx. A small snippet of Reynas journey
6. In the House of Hades up to Hazel and Leo getting separated/Getting to the Doors of Death. Ends with Tartarus getting up. Small section with Scippio dying.
7. Defeating Pasiphae/Everything else in Tartarus. Reyna and Diocletians temple.
8. Defeating Clytious and Conclusion. End of Reyna's journey.

Blood of Olympus 8 episodes.

1. Ithaca/Pompei/ Octavion's rise
2. Nike/Meeting Hades and Lycaeon
3. Sparta/Orion's trap
4. Kymopelia/Beating Bryce
5. Twins and Asclepius/Leo tells Frank and Hazel his plan
6. Getting to CHB with the Parthenon and defeating Orion/ Getting to Athens, and getting trapped (Before gods arrive)
7. Sabotaging Octavions army and beating the Giants when gods arrive
8. Battle with Gaea/Conclusion.

The seventh century chronicle of Fredegar (written no later than 660 AD) claims that the Merovingians - the kings of the Franks who unified Gaul in the late fifth and early sixth centuries - were descended from a chap called Merovech. The story goes that Merovech's mother was a Frankish queen who was walking by a beach when a "beast of Neptune" that had the appearance of a "quinotaur (basically another name for an ophiotaurus)" abducted her and she later gave birth to her son, Merovech. No subsequent chroniclers mention this story, indicating it was not widely believed, though people did think there was something special about the Merovingians that, until Pepin the Short (the father of Charlemagne) deposed the last Merovingian king of Gaul/ the Franks in 751, no one challenged the dynasty's right to rule.
Dan Brown uses this to claim that the Merovingians were descended from Jesus Christ. To jump from Fredegar's account to such an wild theory as this, of course, requires an insane level of mental gymnastics only a tinfoil hat conspiracy nut can manage. But, lets imagine here that Fredegar really was telling a true story which, in the Riordanverse, he could easily be. Perhaps it would require less of a suspension of logic to suggest that Merovech was an Olympian demigod and that his son Childeric I (d.481) and his grandson Clovis (466 - 511) and all subsequent Merovingians were legacies.
At a very superficial glance, Fredegar's story looks like the story of Zeus and Europa. But note how it says that this happened at the beach, just like when Poseidon first met Sally Jackson back in 1993 - the beach is, understandably, his default place for seeking out mortal lovers. And unless Zeus was being incredibly clever and secretive about it, he wouldn't go disguised as a beast of Poseidon, nor do I think would Poseidon allow him into his realm. So I think we have good reason to think that, in the Riordanverse, Merovech would be a demigod son of Poseidon and his descendants legacies. This in turn would mean that Percy would be the half-brother of Merovech and the great-uncle of Clovis, one of the most successful kings of the Franks.

In every book cover I have seen of the Titan's Curse Blackjack is always on the cover and I find that absolutely hilarious. I'm not gonna argue how big of a role he played in TTC because we can argue HE DID seeing as he was the one who alerted Percy of the Ophiotaurus and helped Percy sneak into the quest and brought them home in the end.
Yet there are so many other moments that totally could've taken precedence and they instead chose the comedic black pegasus and I LIVE for that.
I love Blackjack with all my heart, that crazy horse.

10 plankton
work at a Krusty Krabs restaurant it is certainly not a roach the plankton is a ownership of a chum bucket
9 hagfish
most deep sea hagfish can feed on a carcasse to order to clam kill his sperm whale's husband sea fly
8 morag
morag can inlcudes his a Nickelodeon's animated feature 61st Netflix film loud house movie
7 mouse
mouse can feed on its a wood and pesticide food that can causes of its a mouse trap
6 Henry phantom (dark Henry Danny phantom)
unlike a Danny phantom the first epic movie that will find the monster Cerberus trap an its a police vehicles however Henry Phantom gets angry most of a then they called a dark Danny to rule his word to kill his superhero Danny Phantom
5 shadow buffalo
regions of a shadow monsters most shadow buffalo most species of a its male mythical monster they called a ophiotaurus
4 the wolf
wolf find his a flooded palace to leave his snails on his den mostly the male wolf are the 1st ruggrats villain who are a mammals after a wild dog hyena mouse and Vietnam V Wendigo however they walked a forest to enters a coral can crab can reach inside that clam their is a back of a lair the female arachnid they called a spider
3 Spongebob Sandy Mr Krabs Patrick and Squidward
the creation of a lava the wrasses who are a invertebrates and animals such as a barrel sponge water vole spider crab starfish and coloosal squid they are a built some anti characters to misbehaves a bikini bottom
2 mad scientist
creation of a Nickelodeon's animated TV show jimmy and the space pals however the mad scientist to create museum as a animals to attack on a people
1 hyena
the hyena is a 1st ruggrats canid that includes a wild dog the hyena againsts a wolf to attack a people at a rug ledge the male colossal spotted hyena to kill the people as he is a cameo of his a Nickelodeon's sitcom film ruggrats movie the return of a wolf

Everyone really seemed to enjoy the first two installments of my Riordan Retrospective, so I think I’ll share the next two. Combining two into one post worked last time, so we’ll do it again here.
To recap, this is my look back at the works of Rick Riordan. That means Percy Jackson, it’s sequels, and its spin-offs. It’s less of a formal review, and more of a casual look back. Also, given the nature of this retrospective, and that we’re discussing books three and four of the original Percy Jackson series, there will be spoilers. So, consider yourself warned.
Now then, let’s jump right in with a look back at book three, The Titan’s Curse
It's Christmas Vacation, but there's no rest for Percy Jackson, the demigod son of Poseidon. Along with his fellow demigods Annabeth Chase and Thalia Grace, the newly revived daughter of Zeus, he's on a mission to locate a pair of newly discovered demigods. During the mission, however, Annabeth is kidnapped by an manticore. Worse yet, the goddess Artemis is also being held hostage. An important meeting of the Olympian Council will occur during the Winter Solstice, about going to war agains the Titans, and Artemis could prove to be the swing vote. It's going to take everything Percy and the gang have got to brave to fearsome odds to get Annabeth and Artemis back in time.
The Titan's Curse is often considered to be a turning point for the Percy Jackson series. I think that, all things considered, that's a fair assessment. We're introduced to several characters who either leave a big impact, or go on to play major roles later in the series. We also get set up for events and plot-points that play a big role later in the series.
Once again, given the nature of these retrospectives, there’s going to be spoilers ahoy, so just keep that in mind as we move forwards.
One of the big changes that comes with The Titan's Curse is that it marks the first time we witness characters die "on-screen", and two main characters at that. Granted, previous book have discussed demigods getting killed, but always in reference to the past. This time, however, Plot Armor is not guaranteed from the get-go. I does deliver the harsh, yet still true, message that sometimes even heroes die in the line of duty. It also serves to up the stakes and makes thing a bit more interesting, as everyone's survival is not a forgone conclusion.
Now then, let's talk about those characters. First up we've got Bianca di Angelo. Despite only making it about halfway through the book, she leaves a huge impact on the series. Her death proves to be a huge source of motivation for her brother Nico. Speaking of Nico, Bianca often catches a lot of flax for her decision to join the Hunters of Artemis, but I think she deserves more sympathy. She's been looking after Nico for quite a while by the time Percy and company find them, and she's only twelve-years-old.
Well, physically, she and Nico have been in the Lotus Hotel since the 1940s, but time passes slower in the hotel than in the outside world. Point is, she definitely loved Nico, but she was just a kid herself. She knew that he'd be safe and cared for at Camp Half-Blood, and the Hunters would be able to give her the freedom to just be free and actually be a kid, just like she'd always wanted. Plus, she knew that she wouldn't be saying goodbye to Nico forever, just goodbye for now. Granted, that's not how things played out, but I can at least understand her thought process.
In other characters, we've got Zoe Nightshade. She makes it almost all the way through the book before she bites the dust. Bianca's death has more long-lasting impacts, but Zoe's death makes more of an immediate impact because we've spent the whole book getting to know her. She also helps expand the worldbuilding. For example, we learn that she's one of the Hesperides, the daughter of the titan Atlas. However, the reason she never made it into the mythology books is because Atlas disowned her for helping the hero Heracles. I liked how it gave the impression that, while all of the Greek Myths are true, they might not all be completely accurate accounts of what happened. It's a clever way to handwaving any discrepancies; well, that and the fact that consistency was never a strong point of Greek Mythology.
Next up, in important characters, there's Annabeth's dad. Throughout the first few books, Annabeth has had a strained relationship with her father. So, what's he like when we finally meet him? He's goofy and silly, but he also clearly cares about Annabeth, and he's there for her when the chips are down. Now, consider that Percy is goofy and silly, but also cares about Annabeth, and is always there for her when the chips are down. Studies have shown that women often uses their fathers as a template for choosing a husband; the same holds true for men using their mothers a templates for choosing a wife. This isn't an Oedipus Complex, or anything like that. It's more that these kinds of people often bring with them the comfort of familiarity and feelings of safety.
I guess what I'm trying to say is, maybe one of the reasons Annbeth became attracted to Percy is that, subconsciously, he reminds her of her father. On a similar note, I like to think that Percy's mom was a bit like Annabeth in her younger days.
So, there is that supercool scene at the climax where Mr. Chase rides in on a World War I biplane, and shoots monsters with Celestial Bronze bullets. However, that scene raised an interesting question: why don't demigod use guns. Now, from a Doylist, or out-of-universe point-of-view, the explanation is probably that sword fights are cooler to read about than gun fights; though that is subjective. It's also possible that, given Riordan's political views, he simply doesn't like guns and doesn't want to glorify them.
Okay, so what about the Watsonian, or in-universe, explanation? There could be quite a few reasons. It could be that swords are more reliable than guns; gun need to constantly be reloaded with bullets and might jam at critical moments. There's also the question of how many bullets it would take to kill a monster. On the flip side, it only takes one or two bullets to kill a demigod. Perhaps the thinking is that it's best not to give the monsters any ideas. Curiously, in The Heroes of Olympus, the Camp Half-Blood arsenal is mentioned to contain a shotgun, so maybe it just hasn't occurred to anyone yet?
In other speculations, let's talk about the Ophiotaurus. First of all, hats-off to Rick for not underestimating his audience. The Ophiotaurus is definitely not a creature most people would think of when listing creatures of Greek Mythology. Now, Percy convinces the gods to spare the little beast on the grounds that it is wrong kill it for something it might do. It probably didn't hurt that the gods were also having a very similar conversation about whether or not to kill him at this time. Perhaps, however, Percy's motives weren't as altruistic as they seem. By this point, Percy is more than aware that the gods can be major pricks when they want to, and that demigods are often powerless to do anything about it. So what if he saved the Ophiotaurus to use as a potential Sword of Damocles if the occasion ever called for it?
Don't think he wouldn't go through with the ritual. If there one thing you should never do, it's mess with Percy's loved ones. He'd probably use it as an absolute last resort, but if he were pushed far enough, I believe he'd go for it. Though, I concede, this is all speculation on my part.
To a certain extent, The Titan's Curse follows the pattern set by the previous books. Like the previous books, someone significant to Percy has been kidnapped and he needs to rescue them. In The Lightning Thief it was Mrs. Jackson, in The Sea of Monsters it was Grover, and this time it's Annabeth. Similarly, whereas last time we got The Odyssey 2.0, with a bit of Jason and the Argonauts, this time much of the action is inspired by the Labors of Heracles. Percy and the gang battle the Nemean Lion, our heroes hit ha ride on the Erymanthian Boar, and holding up the sky is, of course, the titular Titan's curse. In the previous book , we also got the Stymphalian Birds and the Hydra. We also get some more of this in The Battle of the Labyrinth, but we'll talk about that next time. Like I've said, it ties in with the theme of history/mythology repeating. We also got other cool monsters, such as the Spartoi.
All of that having been said, The Titan's Curse also diverges from the other books in that it is clearly setting things up for later books more so than before. For example, we get the first few sparks of Percy and Annabeth's eventual romance, as well as set up for the eventual war with the Titans. We're also introduced to characters like Nico and Rachel, who play major roles in subsequent books.
The audiobook version was as excellent as always, and the Hoover Dam scene becomes even funnier. If you're reading the text, it's obvious that the characters are saying things like "the dam snack bar" or "the dam bathroom". In the audio version, it sounds slightly racier, as though they're saying "the damn snack bar" or "the damn bathroom". I knew what the joke was from the start, but it's fun to pretend, and I love Uncle Rick for including it.
Let's now take a moment to analyze the book covers. First, we'll start with the original . It's very purplish-blue, and we see Percy and his pegasus Blackjack atop the Chrysler Building. Fun fact, when Blackjack was first introduced in The Sea of Monsters he was described as female, but in all subsequent books he is described as male. It is unknown why this is, probably just a typo that never got corrected, or something like that. We see some vines from Mr. D attempting to stop the duo from going to Washington D.C. When Rick first showed this cover to some kids to promote the book, he had a memorable experience where a kid shouted out "Percy's riding a war moose!" because of how fat Blackjack looks.
Moving on to the new cover , we see Percy and Blackjack front and center. In this version, Blackjack decidedly does not look like a war moose. In the background we see the Golden Gate Bridge, since the climax takes place in San Francisco and thereabout. It also notable I contrast to the previous covers. The first two covers had very dark and ominous color schemes; this time, however, the colors are bright and triumphant. Curiously, the books are numbered using Roman Numerals, even though the Romans don't appear until The Heroes of Olympus.
Next up we have a look back at book four, The Battle of the Labyrinth .
Percy Jackson is feeling a bit down about having to go to freshmen orientation in the middle of summer. His mood doesn't exactly improve when he's nearly attack by a pair of empousai. Percy soon finds himself back at Camp Half-Blood, where there's trouble brewing. The war against the Titans is drawing closer with each passing day. Worse, the Labyrinth of Daedalus is back, and one of its openings is in the middle of Camp Half-Blood; a perfect sneak entrance for the Titan army. Percy and his friends are going to have to brave the twists and terrors of the Labyrinth to find Daedalus and get him to close the Labyrinth once and for all.
As I've stated many times before, but I'm going to state it again, there will be spoilers of plenty beyond this point. Turn back now if you don't want anything spoiled. Now with that out of the way, let's talk plot.
As the penultimate book of the original series, some serious shit goes down in Battle of the Labyrinth. This is, of course, in order to set things up for the final book, The Last Olympian. The changes that The Titan's Curse started only continue to mount in this book.
Perhaps the biggest shocker was when our heroes finally find the god Pan. Grover's entire character arc has been based around finding Pan and convincing him to come back and save the wild. However, Pan has grown so weak that he no longer has any will to live. Still, he passes his spirit to Grover and friends and encourages them to keep fighting the good fight, and defend the wild. Again, this has been what Grover's entire character arc has been building towards, and you can just feel how absolutely crushing this was to him.
And yet, even with this crushing blow, Grover still dusts himself off and soldiers on with his new. I think it really goes to show how strong-willed Grover is, and how many people often underestimate him. To me, Pan's death was even more shocking than Bianca and Zoe, because it showed that even gods can die. Granted, this does raise quite a few questions. For example, Pan claims to be dying because wild places are being destroyed. Problem is, there are huge swaths of America that contain wild and undeveloped lands; that's not even getting into all the places in other countries with wild and untamed lands.
Now, let's change gears slightly. Throughout the Percy Jackson series there's always been a bit of a subtle environmental message. For example, there are a lot of times that Percy winds up in a river and will remark on how polluted it is, and of course there's Grover's occasional commentary. There's also a couple other occasions that Percy will note the ways humans have effected the natural landscape. You get the message, but it never gets too preachy. This contrasts nicely to how Riordan would go on to tackle other serious topics, but again, we'll get to Magnus Chase eventually.
It is also in this book that we get an explanation for how Athena has children, despite being a virgin goddess. Apparently, they're created from thought when Athena finds a mortal mind that matches her own. So, I guess you could say that a child of Athena is literally a brain child. Admittedly, it does seem a bit odd that Riordan took so long to get around to explain this, given that Athena having children would raise most mythology buffs' eyebrows. I think it is a good and clever explanation. It also had the benefit of expanding the pool of goddess mothers beyond just Demeter and Aphrodite.
Speaking of children of Athena, let's talk about Quintus. It was certainly an interesting dynamic to have an adult demigod be one of the major characters. In fact, this is the first, and only, time in the original series that we see an adult demigod. It has been strongly implied that most demigods get killed by monsters before reaching adulthood. Though, admittedly, this is somewhat contradicted by how many famous historical figures are mentioned to have been demigods. It does seem like a bit of a missed opportunity that we never got to meet any other adult demigods. What sort of wisdom and perspectives could they have offered to Percy and company?
Of course, we can't talk about Quintus without discussing who he actually is: Daedalus. It's mentioned that Daedalus was a son of Athena, though this is purely an invention of Riordan's. Then again, the myths were never very consistent, and as I mentioned in my retrospect of The Titan's Curse, it's implied that not all myths are accurate accounts. Hephaestus more or less says as much when Percy meets him, so there's that. His major character arc is learning that wisdom and book-smarts aren't the same thing. As Annabeth points out, children of Athena are supposed to be wise, not just clever.
There's a bit of early installment weirdness, as TV Tropes would put it, at play in this book. The biggest offender being when the characters encounter Janus, a purely Roman god with no Greek counterpart. The Roman gods and demigods didn't appear in full until the sequel series, The Heroes of Olympus. I suppose it can be excused somewhat, as it is possible that Riordan hadn't workout all the lore and/or plans for sequel series. Though, if nothing else, Janus serves as (possibly) unintentional foreshadowing for what was to come.
I probably should have brought this up before, but a lot of the characters' names are actually pretty significant. They either nod to their parentage or reveal something about their personality or motives. For example, we have Nico di Angelo, son of Hades. In Italian, di Angelo means "of the angels", like how when someone dies they're often said to have become an angel. Theologically speaking, this is inaccurate, but you get the point. A very fitting name for a child of the god of the dead, especially one who was originally from Venice. That brings us to Ethan Nakamura, son of Nemesis, the goddess of justice and balance. In Japanese, Nakamura means "middle village", or to put another way, neutral. He also wears an eyepatch over one of his eyes, due to it having been stabbed out, bring to mind the old saying "justice is blind". Ethan is also notable in that he is the first child of a minor god we are introduced to. His entire motivation is based around the fact that the minor gods, and by extension their children, get no respect. The minor gods don't have thrones on Olympus, nor do they have cabins at the camp. Their children as forced to bunk with the Hermes campers.
Just a side note, just why didn't the minor gods have cabins? I can understand not having thrones, but no cabins for their kids? Children of minor gods aren't exactly rare, and even taking into account how bad the gods were about claiming their kids, surely, they'd need somewhere to sleep at the camp? Was there some rule that said only gods with thrones could have cabins? I'm getting off track, let's get back to talking about Ethan.
You get the impression that, at heart, Ethan is a good kid. However, his circumstances forced him to join Kronos' army in hopes of bringing justice to the minor gods and their children. It's related to one of the things that makes Luke such an effective villain. A lot of the things he says do have at least some legitimacy to them. There also a really great scene where Percy is on Ogygia and is having dinner with Calypso. He ask how she could have sided with the Titans during the Titanomachy. She replies that they were her family and she felt obligated because they're her family; then she asks if that's really so different than why Percy fights for the Olympians.
Percy himself have a pretty significant name, but we'll get more into that when we get to The Last Olympian. In more on the nose names, we've got Rachel Elizabeth Dare, who is a redhead. I liked the way she factored into the plot, and showed that mortals who can see through the mist can still do cool things even without demigod powers. I also enjoy the fact that the other characters didn't get derailed just to make Rachel look more competent. Annabeth's plan for finding Daedalus wasn't without merit, she was just looking at things from the wrong angle. This contrast very well with a similarly scene in the later books, but we'll get to The Blood of Olympus eventually.
Also, let's take a moment to appreciate how, when faced with the newly revived Kronos, Rachel tossed her hairbrush at him without a second thought. Even Kronos himself was a bit impressed that she was so bold. Don't think I've ever brought this up before, but I've always thought that The Mist was a really cleaver way to explain why most regular mortals don't notices the mythological goings on.
Leaving aside names, let's talk about the Labyrinth itself. It was actually a pretty great way to get the character across America in the blink of an eye. My only minor criticism is that it seems like it could have gone a bit further. For example, why not have it take the characters to other nations? Granted, the gods are currently living in America, so that probably explains it. Still, it does seem like a bit of a wasted opportunity. Interestingly, The Trails of Apollo would later confirm that, yes, that Labyrinth can go to other nations. I will also add that I loved how the scene with the Sphinx satirized standardized testing.
As a side note, in this book we finally get some scene set in Riordan's native Texas. I bring this up because, as of the posting of this article, he's never set any of his book in San Antonio, the city of his birth and where he spent most of his life. We've got scenes set in San Francisco, where Riordan lived for many years, and Magnus Chase is set almost entirely in Boston, where Riordan currently lives. We've also, in other books, had scenes in Houston and Austin, but not San Antonio. It just seems odd that San Antonio has yet to appear in any of Riordan's books.
As usual, you know I'm going to plug the audiobook version. It was just as excellent as all of the other audiobooks in the series. The only minor criticism I had was that Jesse gave Ethan an Asian accent, even though nothing in the text suggests that this is the case. Like I said, just a minor point, it is still a great audiobook.
In other things that you know are always do, let's analyze the covers. The new cover features a group of buildings that eventually turn into the Labyrinth. Looming over it menacingly is Kronos; at least, I'm fairly certain that's him. If you look closely you can see our heroes on the run.
The old cover features crimson red as its primary color. We see Percy pearling into Kronos' sarcophagus, which is overflowing with energy. Below, we see a miniature version of the Labyrinth and miniature representations of some of the major stops in the novel.
Well, I think that wraps it up for now, just one minor order of business to attend to. Technically, The Last Olympian is the fifth book in the series, however, there is short story collection set between it and Battle of the Labyrinth. This collection, known as The Demigod Files, will be the focus of the next edition of The Riordan Retrospective. Not only is it chronically set between books four and five, but it actually plays a pretty significant role in the sequel series, The Heroes of Olympus.
Link to the original retrospectives on my blog are here, but they’re just the same as what is here.
The Titan’s Curse: https://drakoniandgriffalco.blogspot.com/2017/10/riordan-retrospective-titans-curse.html?m=1
The Battle of the Labyrinth: http://drakoniandgriffalco.blogspot.com/2017/10/riordan-retrospective-battle-of.html?m=1

So I've been making something of a mental list of possible returning and new monsters on top of who we know from promotional material and who or what in western mythology they represent, and here are some results of mine (speculation ahead):
Malzeno, Vampire Shogun Ceanataur, Grim Reaper Odogaron, Hellhound Lagiacrus, Loc Ness MonsteOgopogo or the Leviathan Thunderbird Werewolf Dalamadur, Jormungandr Agnaktor, Salamander Zamtrios or Velkhana, Jotun Kirin, Unicorn Fatalis trio, Christian Dragons Icthiyo/Ophiotaurus Najarala, Horned Serpent or Coatlicue Medusa Vaal Hazak, Hades or other keepers of the dead Nakarkos, Kraken Behemoth and Ziz of Hebrew Mythology to go along with Leviathan Nerscylla, Arachne Nef-Garmat, Anubis Dire Miralis or Zorah Magdaros, Vulcan among other Volcanic deities Alatreon, Elemental Namielle, Neptune
There are some others tinkering around in my head but these are some I felt would be the best matches given the theming of Sunbreak from what has been told to us