History Literature / TheTrialsOfApollo

* RealityEnsues: Calypso has been stuck on Ogygia for a ''[[{{Understatement}} long time]]'' - 3,600-ish years[[note]]To be specific, 3,568 years[[/note], as she herself mentions - mainly weaving, gardening, and other tasks besides the occasional demigod-hero heartbreak business. So while she'd jump at the chance to leave, explore the world, and experience normal things... it takes some getting used to, particularly since she's no longer immortal or has access to her former powers, and a normal demigod life typically involves constant danger. The sudden absence of the former, plus having to adapt to the latter, has caused friction between her and Leo in numerous ways, though they still care about each other and are working through it.

* BroughtDownToBadass: Despite being reduced to a mortal form, Apollo still possesses strong magic in his music , and his archery skills are still fantastic (though pathetic by his standards). He also heals abnormally quickly, and has been able to summon some of his godly powers in times of great duress.

* MindRape: Done to Meg. Also Apollo, but it leave him as a super forgetful UnreliableNarrator.
* {{Minimalism}}: ''The Hidden Oracle'' compared to pretty much every book in the whole Riordan universe. The events are mostly confined in a single location (Camp Half-Blood) with little adventures and more interaction between established characters, fewer mythological beings/monsters present, and the theme is more grounded and humanistic compared to the CosmicDeadline-prone fantasy of previous books. [[spoiler: It even features a human being as the main villain.]] "The Dark Prophecy" follows suit, restricting the events to Indianapolis, with the Waystation acting as the main hub. "The Burning Maze" may be the one to subvert the trope, in the end, as [[spoiler: the revealed prophecy refers not only to Camp Jupiter, in California, but also the need for Apollo and Meg to go south, assuming the pair will be covering both locations in the span of a single book]].

** "The Dark Prophecy" takes this up a notch, as apparently [[spoiler: a prophecy in iambic pentameter is way worse than a limerick. Combined with the Shakespearean sonnet, and we get one big massive OhCrap from the god of prophecy himself. These are also given rarely, as every character who has heard a prophecy at least once in their life time--including demi-Titaness Calypso (who is older than Apollo)--react in surprise at the sheer length of it]].

* RealityEnsues: Calypso has been stuck on Ogygia for a ''[[{{Understatement}} long time]]'' - 3,600-ish years, as she herself mentions - mainly weaving, gardening, and other tasks besides the occasional demigod-hero heartbreak business. So while she'd jump at the chance to leave, explore the world, and experience normal things... it takes some getting used to, particularly since she's no longer immortal or has access to her former powers, and a normal demigod life typically involves constant danger. The sudden absence of the former, plus having to adapt to the latter, has caused friction between her and Leo in numerous ways, though they still care about each other and are working through it.

** The Hephaestus TV in Livia the elephant's habitat is on a channel called ''[[Series/TheRealHouswives The Real Elephants of the African Veld]]''.

* LukeYouAreMyFather: A variant closer to "Father, You Are Luke's Father". A child informs their parent that they (the child) has a sibling the parent didn't know existed.

** LukeIMightBeYourFather: Then again, [[spoiler: Trophonius]] (known child) has it out for [[spoiler: Apollo]] (parent) and only claimed [[spoiler: Georgina]] (unknown child) [[ExactWords as "my sister"]], so it's unclear what exactly is going on.

* LukeYouAreMyFather: A variant closer to "Father, You Are Luke's Father". A child informs their parent that they (the child) has a sibling the parent didn't know existed. [[spoiler: Then again, Trophonius has it out for Apollo and [[ExactWords only claimed Georgina as "my sister"]], so it's unclear what exactly is going on.]]

** In ''The Dark Prophecy'', he complains about having to swerve the sun chariot to avoid running into Chinese celestial dragons, and Jimmy is from a different godly pantheon.

** After they come back from milking the cows in the Waystation, Josephine says that they seem to like Leo, to which he replies, "All da cows love Leo!". This references a time he changed the billboards in Times Square to read "All da ladies love Leo" in ''The Demigod Diaries''.
*** Also, in the same scene, Apollo has to be reassured that the red cows in question are only being used for milk. If he found out about about what Geryon had been doing in [[Literature/PercyJacksonAndTheOlympians ''The Battle of the Labyrinth'']], he'd be pretty upset.

* FauxHorrific: Apollo and Rachel are horrified when the prophecy is finally given... in a ''limerick''! Apparently, only the worst prophecies are in the form of limericks. Which leaves something to be said when the next prophecy comes in the form of... ''[[spoiler: a Shakespearean sonnet in iambic pentameter]]''! Which is way worse!

* GodsNeedPrayerBadly: A variant, Apollo explicitly mentions in his narration that this is more or less how the universe runs (and why he can be AWOL from his duties as sun god - other mythologies can pick up the slack, on top of the scientific reasoning), the deities of this verse will fade away if no one remember them or the culture of which they are tied to is gone. [[spoiler:Also exploited by the Triumvirate, a trio of emperors who made such a historical impact that they can remain in the world despite that they should have died thousands of years ago. Nero mentions that he almost faded completely during the Dark Ages, before making a comeback thanks to the Renaissance.]]

* ItsAllAboutMe: Apollo. Two of his children's immediate reaction to seeing him mortal is to wonder if this is going to affect their existence and/or supernatural talents, as well. Apollo lauds them for keeping their priorities straight.

* {{Minimalism}}: ''The Hidden Oracle'' compared to pretty much every book in the whole Riordan universe. The events are mostly confined in a single location (Camp Half-Blood) with little adventures and more interaction between established characters, fewer mythological beings/monsters present, and the theme is more grounded and humanistic compared to the CosmicDeadline-prone fantasy of previous books. [[spoiler: It even features a human being as the main villain.]] "The Dark Prophecy" follows suit, restricting the events to Indianapolis, with the Waystation acting as the main hub. "The Burning Maze" may be the one to subvert the trope, in the end, as [[spoiler: the revealed prophecy refers not only to Camp Jupiter, in California, but also the need for Apollo and Meg to go south. Assuming the pair will be covering both locations in the span of a single book]].

** Thalia recalls how the Hunters of Artemis lost a lot of lives during the war with the Giants, and Apollo remembers when Artemis learned of this.

* WhyDidYouMakeMeHitYou: A flashback in Dark Prophecy reveals [[spoiler: Nero did this with Meg.... implying that The Beast came out and killed her dad.]]

** In ''The Dark Prophecy'', he complains about having to swerve the sun chariot to avoid running into Chinese celestial dragons, and Jamie is from a different godly pantheon.

* BroughtDownToBadass: Despite being reduced to a mortal form, Apollo still possesses strong magic in his music , and his archery skills are still fantastic (though pathetic by his standards. He also heals abnormally quickly, and has been able to summon some of his godly powers in times of great duress.

** YMMV if either of those skills count, as there are hints they might be "merely" 4000 years' worth of muscle memory and experience working for him. It's also been said in the series that ordinary mortals ''can'' use magic if they know how, so it's possible Apollo is just using mundane mortal magic. On the other hand, he does heal quickly (recovering from broken ribs in a day or so), and at the end [[spoiler: regains his super-strength momentarily.]]

* BroughtDownToBadass: Played with. Despite his mortal form, Apollo can sometimes summon godly powers. For example, his music is beautiful enough to literally drive people to tears, and his archery skills are still fantastic (though pathetic by his standards).

** YMMV if either of those skills count, as there are hints they might be "merely" 4000 years' worth of muscle memory and experience working for him instead of divine magic. It's also been said in the series that ordinary mortals ''can'' use magic if they know how, so it's possible Apollo is just using mundane mortal magic. On the other hand, he does heal quickly (recovering from broken ribs in a day or so), and at the end [[spoiler: regains his super-strength momentarily.]]

** Britomartis is the goddess of hunting and fishing nets. She extends this into any man-made contraptions built for these purposes (such as bear traps and elaborate booby traps), as well as safety nets both literal and metaphorical.

** YMMV if either of those skills count, as there are hints they might be "merely" 4000 years worth of muscle memory and experience working for him instead of divine magic. It's also been said in the series that ordinary mortals ''can'' use magic if they know how, so it's possible Apollo is just using mundane mortal magic. On the other hand, he does heal quickly (recovering from broken ribs in a day or so), and at the end [[spoiler: regains his super-strength momentarily.]]

** Thalia recalls how the Hunters of Artemis lost a lot of lives during the war with the titans, and Apollo remembers when Artemis learned of this.

** YMMV if either of those skills count, as there are hints they might be "merely" 4000 years worth of muscle memory and experience working for him instead of actual magic. On the other hand, he does heal quickly (recovering from broken ribs in a day or so), and at the end [[spoiler: regains his super-strength momentarily.]]

* LukeYouAreMyFather: A variant closer to Father, You Are Luke's Father. A child informs their parent that they (the child) has a sibling the parent didn't know existed. [[spoiler: Then again, Trophonius has it out for Apollo and never outright identified the sibling as Apollo's child, so it's unclear what exactly is going on.]]

* {{Minimalism}}: ''The Hidden Oracle'' compared to pretty much every book in the whole Riordan universe. The events are mostly confined in a single location (Camp Half-Blood) with little adventures and more interaction between established characters, fewer mythological beings/monsters present, and the theme is more grounded and humanistic compared to the CosmicDeadline-prone fantasy of previous books. [[spoiler: It even features a human being as the main villain.]] "The Dark Prophecy" follows suit, restricting the events to Indianapolis, with the Waystation acting as the main hub. "The Burning Maze" may be the one to subvert the trope, in the end, as [[spoiler: the revealed prophecy refers not only to Camp Jupiter, in California, but also the need for Apollo and Meg to go south. Assuming they pair will be covering both locations in the span of a single book]].

** "The Dark Prophecy" takes this up a notch, as apparently [[spoiler: a prophecy in iambic pentameter is way worse than a limerick. Combined with the Shakespearean sonnet structure of ABABCC, and we get one big massive OhCrap from the god of prophecy himself. These are also given rarely, as every character who has heard a prophecy at least once in their life time--including demi-Titaness Calypso (who is older than Apollo)--react in surprise at the sheer length of it]].

-->'''Apollo''': (I know that's a cliche, but he really ''was'' literally all three).

* FauxHorrific: Apollo and Rachel are horrified when the prophecy is finally given... in a ''limerick''! Apparently, only the worst prophecies are in the form of limericks.

* {{Minimalism}}: ''The Hidden Oracle'' compared to pretty much every book in the whole Riordan universe. The events are mostly confined in a single location (Camp Half-Blood) with little adventures and more interaction between established characters, fewer mythological beings/monsters present, and the theme is more grounded and humanistic compared to the CosmicDeadline-prone fantasy of previous books. [[spoiler: It even features a human being as the main villain.]] The second book might subvert this, though, since world-traveling is once again introduced.

* TheProphecy: It's the lack of these being issued that's a major concern this time around. The Python that Apollo slew millennia ago was resurrected during the second Gigantomachy, and subsequently took control of the Oracle of Delphi while the Olympians were embroiled in their Greek/Roman schism. Prophecies are a driving force in greek mythology, and by extension the Percy Jackson world, and no quest can be issued without one. Without any form of guidance from the prophecies, the Olympians and their allies are essentially left stumbling in the dark without any idea of what to do or what enemies they may face.

* LukeYouAreMyFather: A variant closer to Father You Are Luke's Father. A child informs their parent that they (the child) has a sibling the parent didn't know existed. [[spoiler: Then again, Trophonius has it out for Apollo and never outright identified the sibling as Apollo's child, so it's unclear what exactly is going on.]]