Hi everyone! VERY, VERY IMPORTANT!

I have a few things to say.

Firstly, while I don't regret many of the things and the overall plot and characters of the Second Trojan War, Canon or OC, I wrote and finished this story in 2016. I was an English and Creative Writing student in University back then, and I must admit, when looking back and rereading, while I am happy with how a number of things turned out, the rest of them makes me cringe.

It was my greatest on-demand story back then, prior to writing Prince's Angel. I mulled over for ages on how things could have been written better, and I tried to write in a different direction for my other story, Vengeance, Rage and Rebellion. I had a clear plot and plans for a trilogy of the Second Trojan War series. The Players and the Pawns was the first, followed by Clash of Gods and Heroes, before the third, final (and as of yet unnamed) story. Yet I have problems with all of them.

I'm considering a rewrite of everything- in other words, taking everything down and rewriting it- BEFORE YOU PANIC, READ MY REASONS WHY- IT'S IMPORTANT AND YOU CAN TELL ME WHETHER OR NOT YOU DISAGREE!

I had several problems:

Firstly, some characters weren't fully fleshed out. Though in my defence, I must say I had waaayyy to many characters to think of- this was a multi-crossover story, starting firstly in the PJO/HoO (book version) and Avengers (movie version) universe. But it took place in an actual multiverse and I had plans to reveal on how this came to be. Magnus Chase appeared, but I admit, I couldn't afford to put him there all the time, and sometimes he was just plain annoying to write because he could hinder the plot. Yet his canon was as important as the Avengers'. The Kane siblings and the magicians from the Brooklyn House- yes, loved them, but couldn't afford to put them there all the time. Still they were important to the plot, but too many cooks spoil the broth and too many spices spoil the stew. This storyline had the potential to turn into an absolute nuclear disaster- and not even the entertaining kind you see in movies! So yeah, I was bewildered. I barely managed to keep it together.

In the midst of it all, there was also Luke. Now I HAD NO PLANS TO PUT LUKE IN THERE IN THE FIRST PLACE! But I was glad to bring back Beckendorf, Silena, Lee Fletcher and Michael Yew. Still I couldn't use these characters and involve them in the plot the way I wanted to, because already there were so many storylines and so many individual characters (hey, it's the Trojan War all over again, what did you expect?). In the second story, I ended up cutting the Avengers' storyline for a while (or maybe that was because I took too long writing one chapter on the conflict between Olympus and Asgard and their heroes), and I was NOT HAPPY.

Then there was the plot. Oh the PLOT! It ended up good, with all the great destinations. I managed to reconcile the various different storylines and characters' points of views. But I had a problem with the journeys, not the destinations. How they got to a certain point in the plot... Well, in the second story it seemed to rushed, too unrealistic, too busy and all at once. Too many character demanding that they and their actions should be included and involved in the plot. Too many possibilities. To many different scenarios. I couldn't explore every part of the plot I wanted and needed to, because there were too many characters, possibilities and et cetera.

Writers also need a stroke of inspiration, like oil or fuel to get the gears and engines going. Most of the time, I had it, but combine that with all the problems above (and more below), and my mind goes onto a screeching stop. Like a truck in the middle of a highway. It blocks the other incoming traffic and there's a bloody jam. In other words, I get a writer's block, just because the stroke of inspiration and the already existing plot, storyline and characters. Most of the time I manage to reconcile it together, but then I re-read it and WHAT WAS I THINKING?! I get that reaction.

It's too much and all at once, and yet not enough. Not inspiring, not good enough. Maybe I'm being overly critical of my own work, but you can't deny.

Especially when combined with the next reason.

Finally there were the characterisations. Aglaia- I'm mostly (not at all completely) pleased with the way she turned out. But Alex... Not even half as much. His backstory was important, but in the beginning, I had intended him to be an eventual love interest for Aglaia. Then I wondered if it was such a good idea. In the first few chapters of the first story, I tried to make him another Percy-esque figure- almost. Then after writing more stories (like the Crossroads of Something New and Clash), I regretted it.

I didn't want another Percy or another Jason. Or another Leo! I wanted an anti-hero. Someone whose stance was always questioned, whose motives were pure and yet not always pure- tainted even. Someone who had a darkness to him, who loathed being a hero and serving the gods and doing dirty work to save people, but who always got the job done as good as- and sometimes even better- than the hero. Someone who was on the same level as a Big Three demigod (so he had to be one), but wasn't a typical demigod either- he had a disturbing backstory, and many facets to him. He had a reason to hate Olympus yet also to feel compelled to fight with their children, who was capable of terrible things, yet also capable of great goodness. Someone who represented the sorry truth of the Olympians' children. Meg McCaffrey from the Trials of Apollo was once suspected to be a 'feral demigod', and Apollo noted that:

'For children blessed with an immortal parent, they were strangely sensitive about their backgrounds.' (Trials of Apollo).

In other words, he didn't know or care- at least not to begin with. But with the rare exception of Percy, most demigod children either had parents who either:

a) Loved them and took care of them really well, raising them and nurturing them until they were either suddenly killed or got busy. Famous examples: Esperanza Valdez, Emily Zhang and Maria di Angelo- Leo Valdez, Frank Zhang and Nico di Angelo's mothers respectively. And Tristan McClean, Piper McClean's father. Esperanza, Emily and Maria were good mothers who were killed, and Tristan started off as a good father until he got the idea that he could 'protect Piper' from the Hollywood insanity and early poverty of his life by sending her away and rarely seeing her.

b) May have loved them or felt the slightest bit affectionate, but neglected them because there were 'other more important things to do', such as partying, or work. Famous examples: Frederick Chase, Annabeth's dad, and Beryl Grace- Thalia and Jason Grace's mother. They did love their children, but Beryl was way too self-absorbed, egoistic and too busy to put her children first like any other mother. She was always more important than her kids- which was why she was angry when Thalia was frantic about finding Jason and wouldn't comfort her. Frederick Chase... Well, we all know about him.

c) May love them or not, but bitterly resented and even hated them for turning out the way they did. Famous example: Marie Levesque, who blamed Hazel for her curse which put them in such misery and landed them in trouble. Stupid really, as Marie was the one who asked for the curse by her greed, despite Pluto's warnings. In the end she not only destroyed her daughter's chances for a good future in her life (getting happily married, having kids, earning a good lifestyle and income), but she ended up getting her daughter killed because she blamed her.

So no one has ever stated that these parents can be outright abusive. Or truly hated their children. Even Hazel's mother ended up trying to sacrifice her life for her daughter and never truly paid the price. But it sometimes mentioned Alex Fierro's father and stepmother and I thought, there it is. What if we take someone like them, Beryl Grace and Marie Levesque, times it by a thousand. Would their child hate them? Of course. Would they turn against their immortal parents and Olympus? Like Luke?

So yeah, I wanted an Alex like that. A complex, realistic, loyal (to his friends and siblings), brave demigod. But dark, secretly torn and anguished, conflicted and a potentially dangerous character. Someone who had all the danger and potential of a nuclear warhead or Zeus' Masterbolt. Then apart from his terrible background, I wanted something else. Another reason for him to hate the Olympians. I was going to reveal that reason in Vengeance, Rage and Rebellion. Alex's childhood and his sister's murder was reason enough to loathe his mother. But Alex's present situation and his young adulthood was reason to hate his father Zeus, and Olympus. I won't reveal too much, but let's just say, Zeus may or may not have destroyed Alex's chances of finding actual happiness. Another reason why readers will question whether he would turn against Olympus.

As for Alex's mother... Part of the reason Alex hates and mistrusts Zeus and the gods is because he believes- rightfully- that Zeus doesn't give a damn who's going to be his next Baby Mama, as long as she's hot and entertaining. In fact, he doesn't seem to give a damn if his kids have to pay the price, for him being unable to keep it in his pants. After all, he killed Maria di Angelo and a hotel-full of people, just because Hades didn't trust Zeus not to restrain himself just because Bianca or Nico (who were sired before the First Great Prophecy and the oath on the River Styx by the way), children of his disliked brother, might be the ones who decided whether Olympus would rise or fall. And THEN he goes off to break his oath with a egoistic, self-centred, entitled, party-girl starlet... He gets off easy, and leaves his daughter to a terrible fate.

We need to explore the consequences of his actions. And Tartarus, we need to see these not-so-nice parents pay for what they've done. No child-abuser can get off so easily.

Aside from the OC characters, some said I was Avengers' bashing in Players and the Pawns. Then they said I was PJO/HoO character bashing in Vengeance, Rage and Rebellion. While I can't deny Edward and Bella bashing (and the occassional Jacob) in the beginning of Crossroads (they deserved it, many readers and reviewers agreed), I was conflicted about this.

I admit, I have done my fair reading of PJO/Avengers crossover fanfics before writing this, and I was DAMNED FRUSTRATED that they always seemed to show the demigods of Olympus as being inferior- bullied around and pushed by S.H.I.E.L.D the Avengers and so forth. One of my favourite fics was The Meaning of Family. And it's been forever since the writer updated and the last chapter showed Jason (who was against going to war against S.H.I.E.L.D for kidnapping and possibly killing demigods), being knocked out and kidnapped by Thor along with Leo. And then there was the PJO/Twilight fanfic of And the Light Embraced the Shadows- Nico was being pushed around, bullied, harassed and shoved by the Pack and the Cullens (in particular Edward- as if we needed another reason tio dislike him). So I confess, I read all this and being dissatisfied (please don't take offence anyone- as I've said The Meaning of Family is one my favourites), I felt a need to up the ante a bit on the demigods. And reading all the Percy-betrayed fics... Why the heck would the demigods even do that? But I confess I let my imagination and my desire for something very different cause Avengers' bashing (though a bit of bashing is healthy, this was too much), in P & Ps. And VRR, was the opposite: I was trying to cut down on Avengers' bashing but I was trying- frustratedly to bring the demigods up to speed. Why wasn't there a city for the Greeks when Greece was the birthplace of Western Civilisation which Rome admired, envied and eventually copied? Why didn't they invent tech that was up to speed- like Celestial Bronze and Imperial Gold cellphones? With tech like Tony Stark's- that's dangerous.

I'm sorry about the rant. But only you can tell me whether or not you agree or disagree. Of course, a rewrite would mean that all the wonderful or nasty surprises would be spoilers to those who have already read the first and second stories.

So please let me know.

Best regards:

Star-Of-Radiance.