*(The image is from a cartoon: over the garden wall)*

Recently I was thinking about how to build a 'darker' PJO universe while MAINTAINING the essence of PJO? In the sense of being YA, etc. 

Because it's ridiculous to simply say that the gods became abusers and boom, *evil* as always. But here I made this post, at least based on the first books I read, a rough draft for now of what this Dark AU PJO would be like (while still keeping the essence of PJO) - what I structured was that:

 **🏛️ The Nature of the Gods (Yesod vs. Malkuth)**

Greek gods are basically archetypal, inspired by the Carl Jungian - Sandman concept. They moved to the US - not because of the "Western flame," but because the United States, through mass media, feeds the concepts they embody: Aphrodite's love and luxury, Zeus's monopolism, Apollo's narcissistic performance, etc. 

Basically, modern America fuels spectacle, consumerism, and narcissism. They are in the US because the American lifestyle is the *ultimate* *altar* *of sacrifice to their essences.*

The country's driven individualism, combined with the fact that they are universally known names, allows them to also exist in the US. However, the main highlight is that they exist from the "Astral Plane" (Yesod) and above. In other words, they do not anchor themselves in Malkuth (Material World/ Physical Plane.)

So they aren't literally, for example, in the Empire State Building; they are only conceptually there – if you go to the 600th floor, you leave the material world (Malkuth) and enter the astral world (Yesod), which is where Olympus exists.

 ⛺ **The Reality of Camp Half-Blood**

Another point is that there wouldn't be many demigods; just like in the original myths, they are a massive minority. Instead, what exists are proteges, born from a divine relationship with their respective godly patrons. For example, there won't be any actual children of Athena or Hades running around, yet Annabeth and Nico will still exist. *How?*

**For exemple: Annabeth's Case (The Curse of Athena):**

 In this context, Annabeth's father was a protege of Athena - just like Odysseus was. He begged the goddess of wisdom to bless his future daughter with her immortal essence, and so Annabeth was born the way she is (all children of Athena are here born this way, stemming from the hubris of their parents regarding their own legacies).

It is both a blessing and, in part, a curse: a blessing from Athena for granting such a brilliant intellect, and a curse because of the demigod scent she purposefully places on these mortal children, just like the biological offspring of gods would have.  This happens because she punishes the arrogance of believing her intellect can be shared *(and because of this, she psychologically isolates the child from the father's life).* 

 That's why Annabeth ran away: because she realized she could have been a normal girl if it wasn't for her father's choice. 

This is just the concept for Athena and how her "children" are born. They are born mortal, but since Athena only associates with intellectuals, many of them beg for her blessing, mistakenly believing they stand on equal footing with a goddess. So, Athena grants the blessing and leaves that scent behind, forcing upon them the destiny of being hunted by monsters as a punishment. *The other gods, with the exception of Hades, have children biologically, as in the books.*

**Nico & Bianca's Case (The Chthonic Reanimation):**

In Hades' case, since he rules over death and sterility, his "children" are not born through normal biological means. They arise from a tragedy: when a mortal mother loses her baby still in the womb due to a miscarriage, her violent grief and deep denial of the loss create a massive psychological safety anchor into Yesod (Astral Plane)

In desperation, she prays to mercy. Hades, moved by the absolute peak of that mother's agony (and also through Persephone's empathy), pours his divine essence into the lifeless fetus. The child technically "takes birth," but was reanimated by chthonic energy.

Nico and Bianca had one foot in death from their very first breath.

 **⛓️ Legacies, Patrons, and the Divine Loop**

Another point is that, yes, true demigods are extremely rare nowadays here - the cabins are not full. This is because the gods, historically in myth, only fell for the EXCEPTIONAL. They didn't just dip their toes with any random mortal and leave, unless that mortal was the absolute pinnacle of beauty or something equivalent.

 

The majority of the camp members are legacies or ordinary mortals who are capable of seeing through the Mist and use the cabin of their chosen divine patron. Because of this, when a true blood demigod arrive - even for something seemingly ordinary like a son of Hermes (which in Rick Riordan's original work would be the most common thing ever) - everyone whispers among themselves. The kid immediately receives higher privileges, but is also assigned the most dangerous and deadly missions.  

Annabeth herself, for example, **IS NOT a demigod in this context.** The "children" of Athena all share this blessing and curse, the duality of love.

**🔥 NOW, Why do the gods now bestow so many blessings compared to the original Greek mythology? (which I am trying to base myself on more than Rick did)**

Another somewhat dark point in this worldbuilding is that the gods keep having children, even more frequently, as legacies, and distribute more blessings (like Athena's or Hades) *because they use this as a chain to keep the mortal mind bound to their essences.* 

 When they do this systematically, as a tragic consequence affecting your life, family, etc., you are FORCED to read their original myths, tales, and treat them with absolute reverence. This basically serves as a safety anchor because, since they are mortals (legacies, mortals who see through the Mist, and demigods), their beliefs and dreams hold physical value.

 🌊 **The Instinct of Kleos plus Percy’s Shadow**

One last point at the very end is that pure-blood demigods suffer from an instinctive problem with *Kleos*. The more powerful their respective divine parent is, the more this instinct can blind their intentions.

For instance, this would be Percy's narrative arc: when he defeated the Minotaur, he felt *alive*, as if a side of himself he had never seen before had suddenly awakened.  

So much so that when he saw that no one reacted with surprise toward his achievement, he felt incredibly irritable and deeply frustrated for some reason. In this context, his reaction to Clarisse was fueled much more by pure rage; it was a violent fight, not just him being bullied. This was because he wanted to know why they weren't rolling out the red carpet - he felt an internal frustration he had never experienced before, he didn't feel like himself.

Eventually, Percy learns to deal with his Kleos by trying to channel it into loyalty. Meaning, whenever he feels those destructive impulses, he tries to control them by thinking: '*If my friends die, nobody will be alive to sing about me, so help them, you idiot brain!'*

It is basically a Jungian relationship between Percy and his Shadow (the hidden, instinctive, and dark side of the mind) the side of himself that he utterly loathes (the exact opposite of who he wants to be: selfish, arrogant, megalomaniacal, and proud). Eventually, he has to domesticate this over time.  

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So, what did you think of this Dark AU of Percy Jackson? Any suggestions?

[General] Dark Universe: Percy Jackson AU [PJO]