Storm of the Gods (Areios Brothers #1) by A. R. Braun

The Greek Gods returned 30 years ago after centuries of dormancy after they were drained in the big battle against the Titans. They have set up their new land in California.

Derek is a scion of Ares, carrying the legacy of his powerful war god sire, along with his brother follow their role to capture and defeat dangerous monsters. And capture over rogue scions

Including the heir to the mysteriously missing Athena and four other powerful Scions. But as he gets closer he realises things are far from simple and world changing devastation could follow him making the wrong choice. But does he dare oppose Ares? Can he even oppose him? Who can fight the god of war?

Greek mythology! I am sold. Sold sold sold. Throw me some good ol’ ancient god mythology and I’m always one board. Doubly so when you get all the research in place and go all out for the research pulling in figures like Cassandra and random Greek monsters (so many Greek monsters) and generally working on their characters while adding a heavy dash of original concepts as well? Sold sold sold

So we have a world where after several centuries of dormancy after fighting the Titans, the Olympians have woken up and are back. And Not Amused that humanity has sort of forgotten them or, at very least, has stopped worshipping them. Since the Greek Gods are not exactly known for their humility, gentle persuasion or generally not being capricious, short tempered and seethingly insecure jealous sex maniacs, this did not go down well.

The Greek gods chose their territory - California - and divided it between themselves as new regions for the new Greek nation state. It is inferred that the US objected to this. It’s also heavily inferred that Zeus was having None of that and there’s something of a detent between “Neo Vasileio” and America

This is one element about the world building I like - we have that excellent balance between giving us lots of information so we know what is happening in this world, who is who, what the stakes are, what powers are being thrown around, etc etc but not so much that we’re inundated with unnecessary facts. Even though I kinda really really want those facts. I want to know what the reaction was with the greater world. I want to know exactly what Zeus did. I want Zeus and Hades and Apollo to be more than extremely briefly appearing characters. I want to meet all the Greek gods who have territory that we haven’t met yet - Artemis, Aphrodite, Hermes, Poseidon, Demeter, Haphaestus, Hestia, Hera, Perseophone. I want to learn all of this

Fear the Walking Dead, Season 4, Episode 13: BlackJack

Morgan and the truckers are all still looking for the mysterious man who had the Truck before them, all of Morgan’s friends, Quinn world peace and some really good drugs

June not just wants to find John but she has definitely had a full blown conversion to the Morgan Cult.

James is not a fan, referring to the truck as an “airport shuttle” because of all the extras they’re grabbing. Althea is somewhat neutral but wants to find Quinn because he has her truck and she’s obsessive about it. Sarah and Wendell are kind of mellow because they’re kind of mellow about everything. They’re also great fun with their points for killing zombies, casual rogueish approach to the apocalypse, low key competence and general fun

It’s nice to have characters approaching the apocalypse with a casual amusement. I also like that Wendell proves he is quite capable of defending himself while James clearly isn’t (and learns strongly that Wendel is not incapable because he uses a wheelchair).

And they find one of the Dirty Woman’s written on zombie which leads to a walky talky conversation with her. It’s what we expect from her filthy weirdness. People are strong when they’re alone and stabbing people in the face for the last cookie in the world but helping people or needing help or accepting help just makes you super super super weak and shameful. I mean is she actually against all co-operation? Because any kind of co-operation requires a level of help. Does she think everyone should be a wandering loner?

She also reveals she knows Morgan was big bad and scary in the past so he needs to be so again.

Morgan’s not doing that. And to double down on that by burying the graffiti zombie because… well he’s almost a parody now. Ok Morgan, I get that you’re all good and fluffy now but, what, 90% of the entire world’s population is actually dead (though we are kind of assuming that. For all we know isolated islands are fine. Hey, maybe it’s confined entirely to the Americas) he’s going to be digging a whole long time. In fact you may cause more environmental damage with the holes than just leaving the bodies to rot. Morgan has a big speech about how they will continue to meet and help everyone

They spend a little while reflecting on how nice the guy - known as Polar Bear - who set up this trucking network was. Wendal and Sarah are sure he’s alive - they have standards. They wouldn’t steal from someone who couldn’t manage alone. Awww aren’t they nice.

Sarah and Wendell still aren’t entirely on side with riding to the rescue and Sarah even begins to draw a blade on Morgan … which he deals with in 2 seconds with his stick. Sarah and Wendell quickly realise Morgan has 10,000 levels of badass more than them and decide they have absolutely no objection with going where he wants to go - especially since Althea can drive the truck

Wynonna Earp: Season 3, Episode 8: Waiting Forever for You

We actually have Wynonna and Jeremy spending social time! Playing pool and Wynonna being very very distracting by describing how she once gave birth on that pool table. Which was likely messy

As Jeremy says, this is probably why no-one plays with them. They also talk love life with Jeremy worried about getting close to Robin with all the death in their lives with Wynonna advising him to just embrace it while he has it. But in comes Charlie and Wynonna tries to avoid him because she’s been ghosting him - Jeremy throws her to the wolves and attracts his attention before running away.

There is Awkwardness but Charlie and Wynonna are now back on. This includes a date in Purgatory’s fanciest restaurant. A diner. With breadsticks and knives that look like swords (this is Wynonna’s definition of classy and she and Charley are just really cute). Wynonna has a lot of self-depreciation and doubt because of the Earp curse but Charlie is clear he’s ready to run into the fire of her life for her. Even if he isn’t fully aware of the supernatural yet,

Jeremy and Robin are invited to a big gay dinner by Waverley and Nicole which sounds like a very fun night out and Jeremy and Robin are excited talking about it except… Doc

Kate tried to leave Doc a captured human to eat… and Doc angrily refuses because he doesn’t belong to her, isn’t her’s and can do his own hunting. She’s super sad because he was her’s once. She also worried because her tarot woo-woo tells her that Bulshar knows she’s there.

Doc probably should have listened far more to Kate because he goes into the woods and attacks… Robin

Yes, I thought Robin was dead. But no, Doc controls himself and takes the heavily bleeding Robin to Jeremy

Amazingly Jeremy doesn’t see “I bit your boyfriend but managed not to kill him” to be a plus and demands Doc leave. Knowing he’s a vampire, Jeremy understands Wynonna’s break up. Jeremy is not happy. He hasn’t got to bite his boyfriend yet

He goes to interrupt Wynonna’s date to explain what just happened - so she and Charlie decide to shelve dinner in exchange for some staking action while Jeremy and Robin go to the Big Gay Dinner.

Staking action doesn’t mean Doc - oh Charlie uses a holy water soaked whip to trap Doc in his bar, so he won’t interfere while Wynonna goes to see Kate. They argue a lot about who is the most special person to Wynonna when they’re interrupted...

Bulshar has also been up and about - and has raised his wife Constance. She’s a burned, dismembered zombie, but she has been brought back from death and freed from the salt flats.

She now gatecrashes Doc and Charlie. Charlie duly freaks out at the sight of the blackened zombie - and frees Doc so he can use his sudden super strength to knock Constance down (waaaait, I thought vampires in this didn’t have super strength). They plan to drop her in the well where all inconvenient people are abandoned on this show. I hope no-one is drinking from this well. While they bicker, Constance escapes and steals Doc’s car - which was her car originally

They try to follow her on foot but Doc’s bloodlust overwhelms him: Charlie has to knock him out to save himself from being eaten and Doc co-operates

This involves lots of guns pointing at each other because it’s time for a dramatic confrontation with lots of snark and with Kate being super snarky and fun. And Wynonna accusing Kate of magically seducing Doc while Kate retorts that she cannot be blamed for Doc’s choices (and how sexist it is). She decides to explain her past in a series of nifty flashbacks

Killjoys, Season 4, Episode 8: It Takes a Pillage

Johnny is getting all sexy (because he always is) ready to go home to Telen, where D’avin and run with Jaq. Dutch is staying on the ship because Johnny knows Telen and she’s kinda still avoiding D’avin because things are awkward

For more awkward there’s a “silica storm” coming which translates as “Sandstorm on Crack” i think, so they all have to hunker down and hide from it or DEATH

D’avin is already on the planet lamenting that Jaq’s aging ended at teenaged years because he’s super bored and super whiney. They’re heading to the family bunker where they find an unwelcome resident - Johnny and D’avin’s terrible terrible father.

He tries to insist he’s a much better person after he had his encounter with D’avin in Khlyen’s body (long story). I think he’s lying. But they’re stuck with him because of the whole silica storm thing.

D’avin is looking for something and actually leaves his dad with Jaq for a while as he searches. Which I don’t buy, not for a second. D’avin has just abandoned Dutch and Johnny with nothing but the clothes he’s stood up in because he worried about the kind of influence Dutch would have on Jaq. We know his father abused his sons, we know he was the worst parent ever - and D’avin’s going to even let him share the same room as Jaq? I don’t buy this. This gives the old man chance to give a very edited version of their past - how he “talked” to D’avin and he left to join the army to “become a man” and stop getting into trouble and giving Jaq odd ideas about how families separate

D’avin is looking for money his mother left him and Johnny for emergencies - but their father has already found it, stolen it and drunk it. D’avin’s pretty furious with his awful dad. He especially objects to him saying “I didn’t raise you that way” while snapping back “You didn’t raise us”

Well done D’avin for holding his feet in the fire.

So, being awful, granddad sends Jaq to fetch some tools - which turn out to be in a dangerous place. Where Jaq gets grabbed - thankfully it’s Johnny. Unfortunately there’s also Hullen behind him

Quick family reunion - Johnny and his dad get on even less with Johnny trying to hold his Killjoys status over his dad to prove, contrary to what his dad says, he has actually amounted to something. His dad doesn’t believe him. His dad is awful.

D’avin takes the chance to tell Jaq the truth about why he left: dad was abusive, used to beat Johnny constantly and D’avin got beaten trying to get in the way. One day he fought back and his dad, being the sheriff, told him to join the army or he’d arrest him.

He’s such a class act.

He adds that the army definitely didn’t make D’avin into a man, and leaving his family is not necessary to achieve manhood.

We have some more family drama (where D’avin somewhat undercuts Johnny’s defence of what he has achieved and how he totally isn’t travelling around getting drunk and getting in trouble because he kinda still is) interrupted by a Hullen attack and them managing to capture a Hullen and having to follow their dad’s plan: have to confront the Hullen. Fleeing to the ship will just get them hunted down. Johnny has to take Jaq to safety

Except Jaq uses his special Hullen powers to predict this will end so badly - and tells Johnny about his shiny powers. His prediction is true because granddad hasn’t been paying attention, charges the Hullen shooting them repeatedly in the torso, ignoring D’avin and getting captured

A third option appeared - Charlie. She’s an old friend of Johnny’s (a very good friend judging by the greeting kiss) and the current sheriff. They apparently had a wild youth together but she grew up and matured… with a definite implication that he didn’t.

They gather an unconscious D’avin for more reunions and gather the captured Hullen for questioning. They want Jaq. who they call “The heir” and “the beginning of everything and the end of you” which is ominous. Then he dies because of inconvenient suicidal prisoners.