Ares Pjo - Blog Posts

Based on read riordan Ares' guide to parenhood https://www.readriordan.com/2022/11/09/ares-guide-to-fatherhood/

“Ares…is a moron.”

I honestly don’t think that anyone is more amused by the whole “this douchebag decided to try and fight the child of the sea god on a fucking beach” of it all than Poseidon.

[1/2] For @femmefangirl using the prompt; 'Another god joins Apollo on his mortal quest, preferably not Artemis'.

I [ @aj-artjunkyard ] hope you enjoy this gift as much as I enjoyed making it!!

Part 4🫡

Ares

It’s worth saying that I REALLY like him in books I'm sorry

Charlie Beckendorf. I tried to add more Greek features to him, but I didn’t like how it turned out at all, I think I should have made him a much more bigger guy💪

Bianca💞 I really like it, as well as the art (although it is sloppy), it coincided with my ideas

Aphrodite Her image in the book is literally changeable, which really confused me and in general I don’t like the art hahahaha, but she’s cool

Tyson🐬

Haha, I like the way he looked in the film adaptation 🙈, so long hair suits him

And again continued in the next part

Percy’s “you’re gonna find out” to Ares ohhhhh holy shit

(Ik I’m late lmao 💀)

i really wish they kept the ‘Your sword will fail you when you need it most’ line from ares to percy

edit on this cause i just remembered his sword DOES fail him and it’s when he’s trying to fight thorn in ttc right before annabeth falls THATS when he needed it most to save her

PERCY JACKSON'S MISSED MOMENT FOR SELF DEVELOPMENT

Ok, this has been bothering me for over a month now and I need to share it with other people. I really need to get it off my chest.

So, you know Percy Jackson's Greek Gods? Where he narrates the myths in his own way? Well, I wanted to talk about one particular moment in that book-one that involves Ares.

So if you don't know, a son of Poseidon (Halirrhothius) rapes Ares daughter. And then Ares kills him, and Poseidon is furious, so the latter demands a trial for Ares and the first ever Olympian trial is held. In the end Ares is acquitted AS HE RIGHTFULLY SHOULD BE.

All right, to get to the point-

First things first, Rick says that Alcippe didn't like Halirrhothius because, quote direct quote from the book- 'A son of Poseidon? Gross!'

What was the need for this? Really, tell me. There was no need for that, but Rick simply had to denigrate her just because. (cough cough misogyny cough cough)

It goes surprisingly fine for a Percy Jackson retelling until we come to the trial, where the story inevitably goes wrong.

Percy says that a fight between Poseidon and Ares would have been sweet because Poseidon would totally have owned that idiot in a fight.

Perseus Jackson, it does not matter if you say you're not defending your brother. You are actually indirectly defending a rapist by defending your father WHO'S DEFENDING HIM!

And later, he says that even though he agrees that Ares had the right to defend his daughter, he still thought that Poseidon should have beat the snot out of Ares because it would be fun to watch?

Wow, Percy. Wow, Rick. Wow, just WOW.

And you know what the saddest thing is?

This could have an amazing moment for Percy to step back, look at the situation and say, 'Hey, you know what? Even though I don't like Ares, I can't deny that he's a good guy sometimes. And my dad isn't always good, even if he also loves his kids, because he's defending a rapist. That's bad.'

That was a missed moment for self-reflection and character growth! That's what frustrates me so much.

This is probably super late but, Ares is portrayed as sexist and abusive in PJO but he is the only god who hasn’t raped anyone, and he was a great father which you can see when he killed his daughter’s r@pist.

Don't worry how late it is, anon, just send it. I'll respond to it.

AND YES. YES THAT IS WHAT I'M SAYING.

I mean, Percy could have had a great moment in which he acknowledged that his father was less than perfect and bad at times, but no-he had to mock Ares for defending his daughter and say that it would have been awesome if Poseidon had beaten Ares.

I am shaking my head in disbelief. Rick has a hate boner for Ares, I'm sure.

You know, it frustrates me to NO END that Rick keeps churning out these useless novels when he has two goldmines in Percy Jackson.

Said goldmines are-

a) MORTAL PARENTS IN PJO?

And I'm not talking about the Seven's parents and Reyna's and Nico's.

I'm TALKING about Dionysus and his two children Castor and Pollux. What about their mother? Who is she? How did Dionysus get to know her when he was at CHB? Did he date her before or after his punishment? He does say that he has a century to complete before he can go back to Olympus..........

I'm TALKING about Hermes, Travis, Connor and their mother. She must have been REALLY good for Hermes to come back a second time. There's nothing about her. Nothing. Imagine what Rick could write about her?

I'm TALKING about Clarisse La Rue and her mother. Why was Ares attracted to her mother? What is her relationship with her mother? What about Ares, Ms La Rue and Clarisse? Why is Clarisse a year round camper? Is her mother abusive to her? What about Clarisse, Ares and her mother?

I'm TALKING about Drew Tanaka's father. Was Drew born in Japan? Was her father an immigrant? And if she was born in Japan, what kind of discrimination did she face for being a bastard child? What drew Aphrodite to Mr Tanaka?

All wasted potential.

B) WHAT CAMP HALF BLOOD WAS LIKE IN THE EARLY CENTURIES.

All right, go check out THIS LINK.

So I saw ONE amazing post talking about CHB before and during WW2 that my stupid self did not like for some reason. If any of you know where it is, please link me to it.

Aaaaaaaaaand that's it. No one is exploring this absolutely unused potential, least of all Rick. Huh. WHY IS THE PJO FANDOM SO BORING-

If you know tumblr posts that talk about CHB in the early centuries, please send them to me.

Oh my god, ok listen, I need to fucking vent.

I'm rereading PJO and I'm reminded of how much I hate how Rick portrayed Ares in Percy Jackson.

A BULLY? A THIEF? A CRIMINAL?

YOU KNOW WHAT RICK DOES TO ARES? HE TURNS HIM INTO THE BULLY WHO GIVES KIDS WEDGIES, WHO TEASES YOU AND STEALS YOUR LUNCH MONEY.

AND THAT'S FUCKING WRONG, BECAUSE ARES IS NONE OF THAT!

ARES IS THE GOD YOU PRAY TO TO GIVE YOU THE STRENGTH TO FIGHT AGAINST THE BLOODY FATHERFUCKERS AND DICKSUCKERS. HE'S THE GOD WHO HELPS YOU GET UP AFTER YOU BREAKDOWN FROM THEM. HE'S THE GOD WHO MOTIVATES YOU TO FIGHT AND DEFEND YOURSELF FROM THEM.

Percy hates Ares, BUT RICK IS WRITING PERCY!

So either Rick Riordan or his son HALEY RIORDAN (because Rick writes Percy mainly for Haley) hates Ares.

And you know what's so sad?

That this could've been a moment for self-growth from Percy. That he could've looked at Ares, what the god did, and think, 'Hey, I kind of hate him, but he's not all bad. He loves his kids and has done good things. Not everyone I hate is a bad person just because I hate them.'

But no. No, he has to end Ares' section in PJ'S GREEK GODS AND HEROES BY REWRITING ARES' MYTHS AND TWISTING THEM TO MAKE HIS OWN VERSION.

I'm so sick of how Dick Diordan writes Ares. I'm so sick of it. I'm so sick of how he villainizes the crap out of him, because there's no fucking reason to do so.

Same with Aphrodite. I don't know what Rick's fucking deal is. Let the gods be gods.

A potential reason for why Rick didn't make Ares love his children, and an explanation for why he should have

So, in the PJO series, Rick makes Ares hate his children. Or, if not hate, at the very least ignore them and be abusive to them like all the other gods.

And I've always found this an odd choice, because in the myths, Ares really loved his children more than the other gods. He killed his daughter's rapist, who was a son of Poseidon, whom we also know loved his children, and so of course Ares probably knew that Poseidon would retaliate, right? And Poseidon is more powerful than Ares and he could definitely hurt him if he wanted to.

And Ares still kills Poseidon's son anyway, because he raped his daughter Alcippe, knowing that he would most likely be punished for this and he still does it. That just speaks volumes of love when he could've ignored his daughter for his own safety.

He also gives Hippolyta a magical belt that makes her stronger because she's the best out of all the Amazons, implying his pride about it.

He tries to avenge his son Cycnus when Heracles slays him-and Cycnus DESERVES IT, he literally stole Apollo's sacred grove and his offerings, and Ares still tries to avenge his death (they were even riding chariots together when Heracles encountered them, do what you will with that).

And a lot of people say that Rick made Ares neglect his children for the sake of the plot, but here's my counter argument-

Rick should've made Ares love his children TO STRENGTHEN PERCY'S BELIEF IN FIGHTING FOR THE GODS.

Imagine not knowing if you're even fighting on the right side. Imagine wondering if Kronos really was right, does your godly parent care about you?

And then imagine seeing Ares come down and talk to his children and encourage them.

And you're envious that they get to see their parent and you don't, but you also feel that fighting spirit come into you. This man, right here, he's showing that the gods can change, that they're not all bad, that there's something worth fighting for on their side.

(Also cue the angst and comedy of Ares and Percy hating each other and Ares being a good parent to his kids and actually being there for them while the whole Poseidon and Percy shebang goes on).

All right, ok, LISTEN. I don't know who needs to hear this, but I'm pretty sure that some people do. It's ok to hate Percy Jackson because it depicts the Greek Gods in a terrible way. Rick Riordan has the creative license to write them however he wants, but it's still fine to be annoyed at how they're portrayed.

It's ok to hate the fact that PJO wasn't in Greece and that the explanation for why it was in America was terrible.

It's ok to hate the fact that Zeus, Hera, Ares, Athena and a whole lot of other gods were portrayed in a negative light.

It's ok to be furious because Ares is a bad parent in PJO.

It's ok to tear your hair out over the way Artemis and her hunt were written.

It's ok to be angry that Athena had children with mortals when she was a virgin goddess in the myths.

It's ok to be angry that Hades cheated on Persephone in PJO (even if you like Nico and Bianca and Hazel. It's fine to do both).

It's ok to be angry that Persephone and Demeter don't have a good relationship and that Demeter is largely painted to be an overbearing, helicopter mother.

It's ok to resent the fact that Artemis, the former's hunt and Hestia, the goddess of the hearth and another virgin goddess, were portrayed as literal CHILDREN despite there being no reason for Rick to do that.

It's ok to be annoyed with the fact that Poseidon was sanitized when he could've been such a morally gray character.

It's fine to cry about the fact that Aphrodite was largely reduced to a stereotypical, modern cartoonish version of RomANtiC lOvE when she was the goddess of LOVE, not just ROMANCE, SEX AND BEAUTY.

It's ok to like Trials of Apollo but want to smash things because Apollo was depicted as an incompetent dumbass. It's ok to seethe at the fact that Zeus was portrayed as an abusive father to Apollo when in the myths, he was quite loving.

It's ok to do this because PJO is one of the if not THE MOST major media that depicts Greek Mythology. It's basically a Greek Mythology fanfiction MODERN AU. And yes, it's helped thousands of children and adults and made them feel better, and it's almost as popular as Harry Potter for a reason. But it's still fine for Greek people, Hellenistic Pagans and even people who aren't Greek or Hellenistic to be angry with how Rick Riordan is continuously bastardising the Greek Gods and making them look more and more of a joke.

A lot of people who got into Greek Mythology used PERCY JACKSON as their first reference, and while Percy Jackson is a great start for venturing into Greek Mythology- PLEASE, PLEASE BEAR IN MIND THAT PJO GODS ARE NOT AS ACCURATE AS THE ORIGINAL.

POSEIDON IS NOT THAT GOOD.

HADES IS NOT SO VILLANOUS.

ATHENA IS NOT SO COLD AND UNCARING. SHE'S A MAIN PATRON OF HEROES AND RARELY ABANDONS THEM EVEN AFTER THEY'VE COMMITTED WAR CRIMES

DIONYSUS IS NOTHING LIKE HIS PJO COUNTERPART.

ARES IS A GOOD FATHER.

DEMETER AND PERSEPHONE HAD A BEAUTIFUL, LOVING RELATIONSHIP.

HERA IS NOT SO HORRIBLE. SHE HAD HER GOOD MOMENTS

ZEUS WAS NOT THAT BAD IN GREEK MYTHOLOGY AND HE WAS ALSO A CARING FATHER. HE SENT BLOOD RAIN DOWN TO MOURN HIS SON SARPEDON WHO WAS FATED TO DIE.

I know this sounds like I hate PJO, but I really do like the series. It's fine to like PJO and its characters while also disliking how the gods were portrayed. It's ok.

What do you think about Perclarisse?

Perclarisee has been getting a lot of popularity recently. It's not a bad pairing, but i don't think it's best for the both of them given their nature's.

Percy is the child made and matured by war, while Clarisse is the child of war, seeking and living by its principles.

Clarisse probably is the person who most understands what the war has done to Percy and Percy is the person who most understands Clarisse's need for violence and how Ares's hypocrisy affects her so greatly.

They both, despite not seeing eye to eye, mostly have a great respect for each other.

But we come back to the point of healing from their traumas and insecurities. Percy and Clarisse talk in violence and in sparring. They need someone who would keep their pride aside and listen to their problems attentively without calling them out for their misgivings repeatedly.

Moreover Clarisse and Percy have a very distinctly different mindset.

As much as war plagues Percy he is no fan of it. He make not like war but the war likes him and it drives Percy insane.

There will never be a day he will get along with War Gods (but strangely, he is the only one who can say that he understands war more than anyone else) .

If it were upto Percy he would choose to talk his way out of everything because he knows if he fights he will leave nothing but pure destruction in its wake.

Clarisse on the other hand is a child of war. She lives and thrives on it. Violence is her language. She would resort to it each and every time.

She needs someone who makes her want to talk and bask in peace, not someone who keeps feeding into her violence hungry tendencies. (Chris has been perfect in that way. Both he and Silena have shown Clarisse how to manage her endless rage) .

But of course in some strange way if they did become a thing it would be interesting to see how they both change to understand the other and make an effort at changing their ways.

Percy needs to be more upfront about his rage instead of suppressing it while Clarisse needs to put a healthy bind on it and in that way I think they would be the perfect person to teach the other (if they stop to talk and don't just end up throwing hands).

The absolute highlight, however, would be Ares's reaction. Oh, Percy's going to have a blast annoying him. Imagine if Aphrodite and other Olympians join in. (I think Percy would do it just to spite Ares if he could lol aside from the respect he has for Clarisse).

It's a fun pairing, but I think it mostly works as close friends.