Olympians Quotes

She led him past the engine room, which looked like a very dangerous, mechanized jungle gym, with pipes and pistons and tubes jutting from a central bronze sphere. Cables resembling giant metal noodles snaked across the floor and ran up the walls.
"How does that thing even work?" Percy asked.
"No idea," Annabeth said. "And I'm the only one besides Leo who can operate it."
"That's reassuring."
"It should be fine. It's only threatened to blow up once."
"You're kidding, I hope."
She smiled. "Come on. ~ Rick Riordan

You start seeing all of the athlete profiles on NBC, and whenever the Summer Olympics come up, I feel like I share the same experience with the Summer Olympians. ~ Lindsey Vonn

Whoever approaches these Olympians with another religion in his heart, searching among them for moral elevation, even for sanctity, for disincarnate spirituality, for charity and benevolence, will soon be forced to turn his back on them, discouraged and disappointed. For there is nothing here that suggests asceticism, spirituality, or duty. We hear nothing but the accents of an exuberant, triumphant life in which all things, whether good or evil, are deified. ~ Friedrich Nietzsche

In a way, it's nice to know that there are Greek gods out there, because you have somebody to blame when things go wrong. For instance, when you're walking away from a bus that's just been attacked by monster hags and blown up by lightning, and it's raining on top of everything else, most people might think that's just really bad luck; when you're a half-blood, you understand that some devine force is really trying to mess up your day. ~ Rick Riordan

The cyclicality of hard alternating with easy plays out not only in the day and the week but also across training cycles and even across years. Think of Olympians who take an easy year or two in their quadrennial cycles. Check that there is variety across your training at every level, from the cooldown after a hard workout to the easier year after a particularly tough season. Active recovery, both in easy workouts and in easy days, introduces variability to training. Remember Carl Foster's finding, outlined in Chapter 4, that athletes can adapt better to a greater overall training stress when it is variable instead of monotonous. Make the easy days really easy so that the hard days can be truly hard. If you can rein in your effort on your easy days, you'll have room to push a little faster or a little longer on your hard days, yielding a much bigger fitness reward than simply muddling through with easy days that are too hard and hard days that therefore become too slow or short. ~ Rountree Sage

Something was wrong with Luke," Annabeth muttered, poking at the fire with her knife. "Did you notice the way he was acting?"
"He looked pretty pleased to me," I said. "Like he'd spent a nice day torturing heroes."
"That's not true! There was something wrong with him. He looked ... nervous. He told his monsters to spare me. He wanted to tell me something."
"Probably, 'Hi, Annabeth! Sit here with me and watch while I tear your friends apart. It'll be fun! ~ Rick Riordan

It was the heaviest thing I'd ever felt, as if I were being crushed under a thousand trucks. I wanted to black out from the pain, but I breathed deeply. I can do this. ~ Rick Riordan

The Olympians were a reminder that there was always someone better than you, so you shouldn't get a big head. ~ Rick Riordan

Annabeth," he said hesitantly, "in New Rome, demigods can live their whole lives in peace."
Her expression turned guarded. "Reyna explained it to me. But, Percy, you belong at Camp Half-Blood. That other life - "
"I know," Percy said. "But while I was there, I saw so many demigods living without fear: kids going to college, couples getting married and raising families. There's nothing like that at Camp Half-Blood. I kept thinking about you and me ... and maybe someday when this war with the giants is over ... "
It was hard to tell in the golden light, but he thought Annabeth was blushing. "Oh," she said ...
"I'm sorry," he said. "I just ... I had to think of that to keep going. To give me hope. Forget I mentioned - "
"No!" she said. "Gods, Percy, that's so sweet. ~ Rick Riordan

Erre es korakas, Blinky!" Dionysus cursed. "I will have your soul! ~ Rick Riordan

What exactly did you find in Atlanta?"
Frank unzipped his backpack and started bringing out souvenirs. "Some peach preserves. A couple of T-shirts. A snow globe. And, um, these not-really-Chinese handcuffs."
Annabeth forced herself to stay calm. "How about you start from the top - of the story, not the backpack. ~ Rick Riordan

I love to read and you should read percy kackson & the olympians the last one the best ~ Rick Riordan

You said your mom is the goddess of balance," I reminded him. "The minor gods deserve better, Ethan, but total destruction isn't balance. Kronos doesn't build. He only destroys. ~ Rick Riordan

I'd missed Annabeth probably more than I wanted to admit. ~ Rick Riordan

It isn't easy being a brilliant inventor, always alone. Always misunderstood. Easy to turn bitter, make horrible mistakes. People are more difficult to work with than machines. And when you break a person, he can't be fixed.
-Hephaestus ~ Rick Riordan

Poseidon raised his eyebrows as they shook hands. "Blowfish, did you say?"
"Ah, no. Blofis, actually."
"Oh, I see," Poseidon said. "A shame. I quite like blowfish. I am Poseidon."
"Poseidon? That's an interesting name."
"Yes, I like it. I've gone by other names, but I do prefer Poseidon."
"Like the god of the sea."
"Very much like that, yes. ~ Rick Riordan

Percy's thoughts: I don't recommend shadow travel if your scared of:
A) The dark
B) Cold shivers up your spine
C) Strange noises
D) Going so fast you feel like your is peeling off
In other words I thought it was awesome ~ Rick Riordan

What? You run? Coward! Stand still and die!
Percy had no intention of doing that. ~ Rick Riordan

I nodded, looking at Rachel with respect. You hit the Lord of the Titans in the eye with a blue plastic hairbrush. ~ Rick Riordan

[Materialism] seeks the primary and most simple state of matter, and then tries to develop all the others from it; ascending from mere mechanism, to chemism, to polarity, to the vegetable and to the animal kingdom. And if we suppose this to have been done, the last link in the chain would be animal sensibility - that is knowledge - which would consequently now appear as a mere modification or state of matter produced by causality. Now if we had followed materialism thus far with clear ideas, when we reached its highest point we would suddenly be seized with a fit of the inextinguishable laughter of the Olympians. As if waking from a dream, we would all at once become aware that its final result - knowledge, which it reached so laboriously, was presupposed as the indispensable condition of its very starting-point, mere matter; and when we imagined that we thought matter, we really thought only the subject that perceives matter; the eye that sees it, the hand that feels it, the understanding that knows it. Thus the tremendous petitio principii reveals itself unexpectedly. ~ Arthur Schopenhauer

We still should have enough time to reach Rome."
Hazel scowled. "When you say should have enough ... "
Leo shrugged. "How do you feel about barely enough?"
Hazel put her face in her hands for a count of three. "Sounds about typical for us. ~ Rick Riordan

Leo drummed his fingers. "Great. I should have installed a smoke screen that makes the ship smell like a giant chicken nugget. Remind me to invent that, next time."
Hazel frowned. "What is a chicken nugget?"
"Oh, man ... " Leo shook his head in amazement. "That's right. You've missed the last, like, seventy years. Well, my apprentice, a chicken nugget - "
"Doesn't matter," Annabeth interrupted. ~ Rick Riordan

The first lesson every child of Athena learned: Mom was the best at everything, and you should never, ever suggest otherwise. ~ Rick Riordan

Olympians are the product of the Movement, and to get them to the stadiums, pools and playing fields, it takes the actions of legions of people who might not be Olympians. ~ Bill Toomey

Wisdom's daughter walks alone - "
"Ella!" Frank stood suddenly. "Maybe it's not the best time - "
"The Mark of Athena burns through Rome," Ella continued, cupping her hands over her ears and raising her voice. "Twins snuff out the angel's breath, Who holds the key to endless death. Giants' bane stands gold and pale, Won with pain from a woven jail. ~ Rick Riordan

Percy looked at Coach Hedge and Frank. "A trap?"
"Probably," Frank said.
"She's not mortal," Hedge said, sniffing the air. "Probably some kind of goat-eating, demigod-destroying fiend from Tartarus."
"No doubt," Percy agreed.
"Awesome." Hedge grinned. "Let's go. ~ Rick Riordan

Former Olympians also get paid to make appearances. Many of them won their medals in an era when Olympic success didn't go hand-in-hand with financial success. ~ Mary Lou Retton

If not for the horses, Piper would've died. ~ Rick Riordan

Bad pony-men! BOO! ~ Rick Riordan

Anybody have any money?"
Frank checked his pockets. "Three denarii from Camp Jupiter. Five dollars Canadian."
Hedge patted his gym shorts and pulled out what he found. "Three quarters, two dimes, a rubber band and - score! A piece of celery."
He started munching on the celery, eyeing the change and the rubber band like they might be next. ~ Rick Riordan

I turned and faced the Olympians.
"We need a shroud," I announced, my voice cracking. "A shroud for the son of Hermes. ~ Rick Riordan

Hope survives best at the hearth. ~ Rick Riordan

Percy, we're going to Polyphemus' island! Polyphemus is an S-i-k ... a C-y-k ... " She stamped her foot in frustration. As smart as she was, Annabeth was dyslexic, too. We could've been there all night while she tried to spell Cyclops. "You know what I mean! ~ Rick Riordan

BOOKS BY RICK RIORDAN PERCY JACKSON AND THE OLYMPIANS The Lightning Thief ~ Rick Riordan

Nothing can be surprising any more or impossible or miraculous, now that Zeus, father of the Olympians has made night out of noonday, hiding the bright sunlight, and ... fear has come upon mankind. After this, men can believe anything, expect anything. Don't any of you be surprised in future if land beasts change places with dolphins and go to live in their salty pastures, and get to like the sounding waves of the sea more than the land, while the dolphins prefer the mountains. ~ Archilochus

The Ancient Games are relatively obscure to most Olympians, but to understand just what the Games are about, it is really necessary to investigate the roots and the meaning that has transformed culture and society for so many years. ~ Bill Toomey

My participation in the Art of the Olympians is a natural extension of my athletic career. I find creating a piece of art in many respects mirrors my long jumping efforts illustrating that hard work and inspiration will always be the foundation for success. ~ Bob Beamon

A hero can go anywhere, challenge anyone, as long as he has the nerve. ~ Rick Riordan

Percy says be talked to a Nereid in Charleston Harbor!"
"Good for him!" Leo yelled back.
"The Nereid said we should seek help from Chiron's brothers."
"What does that mean? The Party Ponies?" Leo had never met Chiron's crazy centaur relatives, but he'd heard rumors of Nerf sword-fights, root beer-chugging contests, and Super Soakers filled with pressurized whipped cream.
"Not sure," Annabeth said. "But I've got coordinates. Can you input latitude and longitude in this thing?"
"I can input star charts and order you a smoothie, if you want. Of course I can do latitude and longitude! ~ Rick Riordan

I could have killed you."
"Or I could have killed you," Percy said.
Jason shrugged. "If there'd been an ocean in Kansas, maybe."
"I don't need an ocean - "
"Boys," Annabeth interrupted, "I'm sure you both would've been wonderful at killing each other. But right now, you need some rest."
Food first," Percy said. "Please? ~ Rick Riordan

My mom choreographed the top Olympians; she's really the queen of ice in her world, so I kind of get my directorial bug from her because she's really good at telling people what to do! ~ Hayley Kiyoko

Apollo stepped forward. His fiery armour was so bright it was hard to look at, and his matching Ray-Bans and perfect smile made him look like a male model for battle gear. ~ Rick Riordan

… the countryside and the village are symbols of stability and security, of order. Yet they are also, as I have noted, liminal spaces, at a very narrow remove from the atavistic Wild. Arcadia is not the realm even of Giorgione and of Claude, with its cracked pillars and thunderbolts, its lurking banditti; still less is it Poussin's sun-dappled and regularised realm of order, where, although the lamb may be destined for the altar and the spit, all things proceed with charm and gravity and studied gesture; least of all is it the degenerate and prettified Arcady of Fragonard and Watteau, filled with simpering courtier-Corydons, pallid Olympians, and fat-arsed putti. (It is only family piety that prevents me from taking a poker to an inherited coffee service in gilt porcelain with bastardised, deutero-Fragonard scenes painted on the sides of every damned thing. Cue Wallace Greenslade: '… "Round the Horne", with Marie Antoinette as the dairymaid and Kenneth Williams as the manager of the camp-site….') No: Arcadia is the very margin of the liminal space between the safe tilth and the threatening Wild, in which Pan lurks, shaggy and goatish, and Death proclaims, from ambush, et in Arcadia ego. Arcadia is not the Wide World nor the Riverbank, but the Wild Wood. And in that wood are worse than stoats and weasels, and the true Pan is no Francis of Assisi figure, sheltering infant otters. The Wild that borders and penetrates Arcady is red in tooth and claw. ~ G.M.W. Wemyss

Aphros nodded, a glint of pride in his eyes. "We have trained all the famous mer-heroes! Name a famous mer-hero, and we have trained him or her!"
"Oh, sure," Leo said. "Like ... um, the Little Mermaid?"
Aphros frowned. "Who? No! Like Triton, Glaucus, Weissmuller, and Bill!"
"Oh. "Leo had no idea who any of those people were. "You trained Bill? Impressive. ~ Rick Riordan

Katy was neither a Methodist nor a Masochist. She was a goddess and the silence of goddesses is genuinely golden. None of your superficial plating. A solid, twenty-two-carat silence all the way through. The Olympian's trap is kept shut, not by an act of willed discretion, but because there's really nothing to say. Goddesses are all of one piece. There's no internal conflict in them. Whereas the lives of people like you and me are one long argument. Desires on one side, woodpeckers on the other. Never a moment of real silence. ~ Aldous Huxley

And yes,Percy,of course they are now in our United States. Look at your symbol,the eagle of Zeus. Look at the statue of Prometheus in Rockefeller Center,the Greek facades of our government builidings in Washington. I defy you to find any American city where the Olympians are not proeminently displayed, in multiple places. Like it or not-and believe me,plenty of people weren't very found of Rome,either-America is now the heart of the flame. It is the great power of the West.And so Olympus is here.And we are here. ~ Rick Riordan

You are okay?" he asked. "Not eaten by monsters?"
"Not even a little bit." I showed him that I still had both arms and both legs, and Tyson clapped happily.
"Yay!" he said. "Now we can eat peanut butter sandwiches and ride fish ponies! We can fight monsters and see Annabeth and make things go BOOM!"
I hoped he didn't mean all at the same time, but I told him absolutely, we'd have a lot of fun this summer. ~ Rick Riordan

Percy and Hedge lay on the deck, looking exhausted. Hedge was missing his shoes. He grinned at the sky, muttering, "Awesome. Awesome." Percy was covered in nicks and scratches, like he'd jumped through a window. He didn't say anything but he grasped Annabeth's hand weakly as if to say, Be right with you as soon as the world stops spinning.
Leo, Piper, and Jason, who'd been eating in the mess hall, came rushing up the stairs.
"What? What?" Leo cried, holding a half-eaten grilled cheese sandwich. "Can't a guy even take a lunch break? What's wrong?"
"Followed!" Frank yelled again.
"Followed by what? Jason asked.
"I don't know!" Frank panted. "Whales? Sea monsters? Maybe Kate and Porky!"
Annabeth wanted to strangle the guy, but she wasn't sure her hands would fit around his thick neck. "That makes absolutely no sense. ~ Rick Riordan

You should always be sorry for being in love with someone. Because sometimes, they return the favor. And after that you can do your best, but you can't really control how their feelings might get hurt. ~ HecateA

Aside from cutting off her head, though, I didn't really mean to kill her."
Granuaile laughed. "You know I'm on your side, but to an objective listener, that sounds like a less than convincing argument. ~ Kevin Hearne

Butch hesitated. "Annabeth's okay. You gotta cut her some slack. She had a vision telling her to come here, to find a guy with one shoe. That was supposed to be the answer to her problem."
"What Problem?" Piper asked.
"She's been looking for one of our campers, who's been missing three days," Butch said. "She's going out of her mind with worry. She hoped he'd be here."
"Who?" Jason asked.
"Her boyfriend," Butch said, "A guy named Percy Jackson. ~ Rick Riordan

My only thought was to keep him away from Annabeth. ~ Rick Riordan

At the end of the warehouse was a dais constructed from pallets of books: stack of vampire novels, walls of James Patterson thrillers, and a throne from about a thousand copies of something called The Five Habits of Highly Aggressive Women. ~ Rick Riordan

She wore an A-line bridal gown with a V-shaped neckline while Apollo playing Bach's Air on the G string. ~ Tai

Piper and Hazel were ready to go, but first Annabeth turned to Percy, who was leaning on the starboard rail, gazing over the bay.
Annabeth took his hand. "What are you going to do while we're gone?"
"Jump in the harbor," he said casually, like another kid might say, I'm going to get a snack. ~ Rick Riordan

The 'Great Walk to Beijing' was a fundraiser for my cancer center. It was a three-week trek with fellow cancer 'thrivers,' including celebrities ranging from Joan Rivers to Leeza Gibbons and Olympians. ~ Olivia Newton-John

You're Dionysus," I said. "The god of wine."
Mr. D rolled his eyes. "What do they say these days, Grover? Do the children say 'Well duh!'?"
Y-yes, Mr. D."
Then, well, duh! Percy Jackson. Did you think I was Aphrodite, perhaps?"
You're a god."
Yes, child."
A god. You. ~ Rick Riordan

Coach Hedge grumbled as he tended their wounds. How come I never get invited on these violent trips? ~ Rick Riordan

When he pulled away, he smiled kindly at me. I felt so good, I'll admit I teared up a little. I guess until that moment I hadn't allowed myself to realize just how terrified I had been the last few days.
"Dad-"
"Shhh," he said. "No hero is above fear, Percy. And you have risen above every hero. Not even Hercules- ~ Rick Riordan

Rachel: They asked me a lot of questions about you. I played dumb.
Annabeth: Was it hard? ~ Rick Riordan

I love Greek Mythology, wish there was a TV series, like being human or smallville, but with the series based around Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Holla Mayne! ~ Rick Riordan

Whoa," said Nico as he climbed off the bus. "Is that a climbing wall?"
"Yeah," I (Percy) said.
"Why is there lava pouring down it?"
"Little extra challenge ... " - Percy ~ Rick Riordan

Percy was getting tired of water.
If he said that aloud, he would probably get kicked out of Poseidon's Junior Sea Scouts, but he didn't care. ~ Rick Riordan

Awkward. Sorry."
"Don't be," Sadie said. "I'll rather enjoy bashing my brother's face in. ~ Rick Riordan

And," Annabeth continued, "it reminds me how long we've known each other. We were twelve, Percy. Can you believe that?"
"No, he admitted. "So ... you knew you liked me from that moment?"
She smirked. "I hated you at first. You annoyed me. Then I tolerated you for a few years. Then - "
"Okay, fine."
She leaned in and kissed: him a good, proper kiss without anyone watching - no Romans anywhere, no screaming satyr chaperones.
She pulled away. "I missed you, Percy."
Percy wanted to tell her the same thing, but it seemed too small a comment. While he had been on the Roman side, he'd kept himself alive almost solely by thinking of Annabeth. I missed you didn't really cover that. ~ Rick Riordan

Hazel!" he yelled. "That box! Open it!"
She hesitated, then saw the box he meant. Te label read WARNING. DO NOT OPEN.
"Open it!" Leo yelled again. ~ Rick Riordan

Why would Roman gods want to date Chinese Canadians? ~ Rick Riordan

Would Grandmother scold him? Would she say, "Frank! Thank the gods, you've come. I'm surrounded by monsters."
More likely she'd scold him, or mistake them for intruders and chase them off with a frying pan. ~ Rick Riordan

Frank held up the Chinese handcuffs. Keep it simple. ~ Rick Riordan

The young girl looked at me, her eyes colder and brighter than the winter moon. "I am Artemis," she said. "Goddess of the Hunt. ~ Rick Riordan

And do you know what a full-fledged war would look like, Percy?"
"Bad?" I guessed.
"Imagine the world in chaos. Nature at war with itself. Olympians forced to choose sides between Zeus amd Poseidon. Destruction. Carnage. Millions dead. Western civilization turned into a battleground so big it will make the Trojan War look like a water-balloon fight."
"Bad," I repeated. ~ Rick Riordan

Please, Percy ... change your clothes. You smell like you've been run over by an electric horse. ~ Rick Riordan

Piper had a new entry in her top-ten list of Times Piper Felt Useless.
Fighting Shrimpzilla with a dagger and a pretty voice? Not so effective. ~ Rick Riordan

I think of the friendships I've strained, the generosity I've exploited, the bridges I've torched. Do as the heavens have done, forget your evil; with them, forgive yourself. There may be hope for me yet. ~ Anthony Ervin

[Iris] squeezed his hand. Don't lose hope, Frank. Rainbows always stand for hope. ~ Rick Riordan

…you know how hard it is to be utterly, drop dead gorgeous," she said, twirling that shiny instrument of torture she liked to call her hair. ~ Tai

He'd learned years ago it was better not to dwell too much on who was related to whom on the godly side of things. After Tyson the Cyclops adopted him as a brother, Percy decided that that was about as far as he wanted to extend the family. ~ Rick Riordan

Charlie ... " Silena's eyes were a million miles away. "See Charlie. ~ Rick Riordan

He just summoned the dead with coke and cheeseburgers ~ Rick Riordan

Annabeth: Hey, Seaweed Brain. Percy: Will you stop calling me that? Annabeth: You know you love it. ~ Rick Riordan

It seemed weird calling a teenager 'sir' but I'd learned to be careful with immortals. They tended to get offended easily. Then, they blew stuff up. ~ Rick Riordan

[Piper] rushed to get dressed. By the time she got up on deck, the others had already gathered - all hastily dressed except for Coach Hedge, who had pulled the night watch.
Frank's Vancouver Winter Olympics shirt was inside out. Percy wore pajama pants and a bronze breastplate, which was an interesting fashion statement. Hazel's hair was all blown to one side as though she'd walked through a cyclone; and Leo had accidentally set himself on fire. His T-shirt was in charred tatters. His arms were smoking. ~ Rick Riordan

Hazel squinted. "How far?"
"Just over the river and through the woods."
Percy raised an eyebrow. "Seriously? To Grandmother's house we go?"
Frank cleared his throat. "Yeah, anyway. ~ Rick Riordan

As Hazel marched down the hill, she cursed in Latin. Percy didn't understand all of it, but he got son of a gorgon, power-hungry snake, and a few choice suggestions about where Octavian could stick his knife. ~ Rick Riordan

Hazel frowned. "Why that one?"
"You don't see the ghost?" Frank asked.
"Ghost?" Nico asked.
Okay ... if Frank was seeing a ghost that the Underworld kids couldn't see, something was definitely wrong. ~ Rick Riordan

You both passed out," Percy said. "I don't know why, but Ella told me not to worry about it. She said you were ... sharing?"
"Sharing," Ella agreed. She crouched in the stern, preening her wing feathers with her teeth, which didn't look like a very effective form of personal hygiene. She spit out some red fluff. "Sharing is good. No more blackouts. Biggest American blackout, August 14, 2003. Hazel shared. No more blackouts."
Percy scratched his head. "Yeah ... we've been having conversations like that all night. I still don't know what she's talking about. ~ Rick Riordan

Stand your ground!" Stheno yelled. "I've got free samples! ~ Rick Riordan

Hope," Frank grumbled. "I'd rather have a few good weasels. ~ Rick Riordan

Marvelous," she said. "Tell me about this tapestry."
Arachne's lips curled over her mandibles. "Why do you care? You're about to die."
"Well, yes," Annabeth said. "But the way you captured the light is amazing. Did you use real gold thread for the sunbeams? ~ Rick Riordan

New lesson class ... most monsters will vaporize when sliced with a celestial bronze sword.this change is perfectly normal, and will happen to you RIGHT NOW if you don't BACK OFF! ... CLASS DISMISSED! ~ Rick Riordan

I mean, she looked good. Really good. I probably would've been tongue-tied if I could've said anything except reet, reet, reet. ~ Rick Riordan

Did someone just call me the wine dude?" he asked in a lazy drawl. "It's Bacchus, please. Or Mr. Bacchus. Or Lord Bacchus. Or, sometimes, Oh-My-Gods-Please-Don't-Kill-Me, Lord Bacchus. ~ Rick Riordan

Percy?" Annabeth gripped his arm.
"Oh, bad," he muttered. "Bad. Bad." He looked across the table at Frank and Hazel. "You guys remember Polybotes?"
"The giant who invaded Camp Jupiter," Hazel said. "The anti-Poseidon you whacked in the head with a Terminus statue. Yes, I think I remember ~ Rick Riordan

How do you greet a god? If there's an etiquette guide for that, I haven't read it. I'm never sure if I'm supposed to shake hands, kneel, or bow and shout, "We're not worthy!" I knew Hermes better than most of the Olympians. Over the years, he'd helped me out several times. Unfortunately last summer I'd also fought his demigod son Luke, who'd been corrupted by the Titan Kronos, in a mortal combat smack-down for the fate of the world. Luke's death hadn't been entirely my fault, but it still put a damper on my relationship with Hermes. I decided to start simple. "Hi. ~ Rick Riordan

Percy blinked. So your brother is a winged horse. But you're also my half brother, which means all the flying horses in the world are my ... You know what? Lets' forget it. ~ Rick Riordan

Still? I have never understood why helping mortals made Zeus so angry."
"Tell me," he said, "who gives better offerings, a miserable man or a happy one?"
"A happy one, of course."
"Wrong," he said. "A happy man is too occupied with his life. He thinks he is beholden to no one. But make him shiver, kill his wife, cripple his child, then you will hear from him. He will starve his family for a month to buy you a pure-white yearling calf. If he can afford it, he will buy you a hundred."
"But surely," I said, "you have to reward him eventually. Otherwise, he will stop offering."
"Oh, you would be surprised how long he will go on. But yes, in the end, it's best to give him something. Then he will be happy again. And you can start over."
"So this is how Olympians spend their days. Thinking of ways to make men miserable. ~ Madeline Miller

At the front window was something that looked like a machine gun with a cluster of barrels. "Rocket launcher?" he wondered aloud.
"Nope, nope! Potatoes. Ella doesn't like potatoes."
"Ella! Where are the others?"
"Roof. Ogre-watching. Ella doesn't like ogres. Potatoes."
Potatoes? Frank didn't understand until he swiveled the machine gun around. Its eight barrels were loaded with spuds. At the base of the gun, a basket was filled with more edible ammunition ...
"They have cannonballs," Frank said, "and we have a potato gun."
"Starch," Ella said thoughtfully. "Starch is bad for ogres. ~ Rick Riordan

This is Buford," Leo announced.
"You name your furniture?" Frank asked. ~ Rick Riordan

You carry the hopes of humanity into the realm of the eternal. Monsters never die. They are reborn from the chaos and barbarism that is always bubbling underneath civilization, the very stuff that makes Kronos stronger. They must be defeated again and again, kept at bay. Heroes embody that struggle. You fight the battles humanity must win, every generation, in order to stay human. ~ Rick Riordan

So ... these Pillars of Hercules. Are they dangerous?"
Annabeth stayed focused on the cliffs. "For Greeks, the pillars marked the end of the known world. The Romans said the pillars were inscribed with a Latin warning - "
"Non plus ultra," Percy said.
Annabeth looked stunned. "Yeah. Nothing Further Beyond. How did you know?"
Percy pointed. "Because I'm looking at it. ~ Rick Riordan