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rosietrace · 2 days

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This is a personal rant about my thoughts on Greek mythology retellings, and just the way Fantasy books and the publishing industry is at this point 🧍‍♀️

I have nothing against Greek mythology retellings, or just anything Greek mythology related in fantasy in general!

However, I have certain gripes about the way Greek mythology is portrayed in media, specifically in the way its interpreted in Fantasy.

[ More under the cut! ]

I love Percy Jackson, and I think that Uncle Rick did a wonderful job at expanding the world and making Greek, Roman, Egyptian, and Norse mythology entertaining and easily digestible for young audiences. Genuinely, he does a better job at writing children's books than R*wling could ever be capable of.

However, as much as I can love PJO as much as I do, I still find certain bits of the world building and character writing as... Very hit and miss.

To start, I don't like the way Ares was written in the series. I can understand that it would make sense for his personality to be that way, because he's the God of War and it helps with Clarisse's character development; but I find fault in it because Ares in the myths is nothing like PJO Ares. (He literally killed one of Poseidon's sons because he raped his daughter, Alcippe, and he's one of the only gods who doesn't hump anything that can breathe in air. At least Ares has the courtesy of asking for consent 💀)

The Gods being the reason behind WWII and Hitler being a child of Hades. All I must say.

The portrayal of the Aphrodite cabin

The fact that Athena can have children. Annabeth, pjo fandom at large, I love you are, but you gotta admit it must've felt weird when you first read the books and you find out Athena — the maiden Goddess of Wisdom — can have offspring. Regardless of the reasoning, I still find it weird 😭 (EDIT: I've now just remembered that it was a reference to how Athena herself was created 🤡 I'm a clown)

I get that the Hermes cabin is also the cabin for the unclaimed, but couldn't have Hestia's cabin worked too? She doesn't have offspring, sure, but it probably would've made more sense for the unclaimed to go to Hestia's cabin so that the Hermes cabin wouldn't be so crowded

This isn't really a world building issue, but I think I should bring it up: I'm not saying this against the Kane Chronicles fandom, but... Sadie and Anubis. Why. Like you can't convince me that no one WASN'T weirded out by that.

Less of a complaint and more of a question because I can't remember if the question was answered in HoO or not, but when Percy told the Gods to start claiming their unclaimed children and be more decent parents (as he should, go off king), did that request apply to the Romans at Camp Jupiter too? Because that's gotta have been confusing when the unclaimed kids at CP suddenly started getting claimed 😭😭

I could go on a whole ass tangent about PJO, but that would make this post longer than it needs to be 😭😭 and any of the points might not make much sense, since I haven't read the books in a LONG time

Off to the YA Fantasy segment... Hoo boy.

The oversaturation of Hades/Persephone retellings makes me SEETHE. Why is it always Hades and Persephone why can't it be something else 😭

I just don't like the “modern feminist” retellings of Greek myths in the YA Fantasy genre, in general. They tend to completely miss the point of the original myth, and it's the case with a lot of Hades and Persephone retellings where they try to paint Hades as the good guy taking Persephone away from her control freak mother, Demeter.

Because that wasn't what the myth was about. The myth isn't a love story, at least, not a romantic one. It was about Demeter's love for Persephone and how much she wanted her daughter back after Hades stole her away. Keep in mind, in the historical context of the myth, the daughters of women in ancient Greece never really get to see their mothers after their engagements are solidified.

If they wanted to make a “feminist” retelling of the myth, they'd have it centered around the love Demeter had for Persephone to almost doom the mortal realm to an eternal winter to get her back.

I love the myth of Hades and Persephone, truly, I do. I understand the appeal it has on people, the appeal it has one me. I can see why people adore the myth in the way they do because Hades is one of the better husbands in Greek mythology (a low bar, but my point still stands).

Personally, I blame Lore Olympus and especially the video of the myth by Overly Sarcastic Productions for the way the myth is portrayed in mass media. And I say this as a former LO fan and a fan of Overly Sarcastic Productions 😭

I'd also want to go into my many, MANY gripes about “Crown of Starlight” by Cait Corrain, but in all honesty? I don't think I can properly convey how much I DESPISE Cait and their book. So I'd highly recommend y'all to check out the videos about Cait Corrain by Reads With Rachel, WithCindy, and Xiran Jay Zhao on YouTube if you're interested in going into more detail about the controversies, especially for those who weren't made aware of it.

I feel like the publishing industry just... Isn't good anymore, after Booktok went viral. Reading has been “hot girlified”, and all Booktok seems to ask when they get recommended a book is: “Is it spicy??”

Reading is like fast fashion, now. It's all based around certain popular tropes that that's how books are promoted now. Not for the plot — or sometimes lack thereof — but for the tropes the book has.

The only thing I can thank Booktok for is that they helped me discover The Cruel Prince. And even then, it's marketed as romance on there, when it's a political fantasy with a romance subplot.

‼️ Woah! A secret bonus section! ‼️

I, personally, don't read — nor do I like — Sarah J Maas. (Especially considering the problematic aspects of her storytelling, character portrayals, and is (apparently, correct me if I'm wrong) a Zionist)

However, that isn't to say that I don't like some of the characters she makes. A lot of them have potential, actually! From what I've seen, I think Nesta, Gwyn, Azriel, Eris, Tamlin and Lucien from ACOTAR are the only characters I actually like, based on what I've heard — and seen — on anything in the SJM critical tag on this hellsite.

And while we're at it, let's discuss the elephant in the room with ACOTAR, right? Rhysand.

By all that is good and holy, I hate Rhysand so much and I think I'd hate him even more if I actually READ the books. I don't get why Booktok is so invested in him when Maas retconned Tamlin's character to make him look better as Feyre's love interest.

Also, from what I recall, didn't Rhysand sexually assault Feyre? And he didn't bother to apologize for it, and justified it with his sad tragic backstory??

I can't with y'all, istg 😭 the fact that “Feysand” is apparently a Hades and Persephone retelling too makes me even more mad about it because it isn't even a GOOD retelling. It just takes away what ACOTAR originally was— a Beauty and the Beast retelling, with Feyre and Tamlin as the leads.

Didn't Maas dedicate ACOTAR to her husband because “He would go under the mountain” for her??? BECAUSE IT CERTAINLY WASN'T RHYSAND WHO SAVED FEYRE FROM UTM, I'LL TELL YOU THAT

I think, out of all the series Maas has made thus far, Throne of Glass is the only one I ACTUALLY kind of like, based on what I've heard. Crescent City seems to be too complicated to understand, and even though I've never read it myself, I miss what ACOTAR could've been. (My hope lies with Nesta, Elucien and Gwynriel, at this point)

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smol-blue-bird · 1 year

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Greek mythology retellings that I like:

We updated this myth for a modern setting while keeping most of the story and major elements of the mythology intact

We made a story loosely based on or inspired by an old Greek myth, and we’re upfront about that

Greek mythology retellings that I don’t mind:

This is an adaptation for laypeople who have little familiarity with the subject matter, so we simplified some things out of necessity

This is an adaptation for children, so we kept it age-appropriate and handled the sexual/gory material in a non-explicit way

This is a ten-minute YouTube video that can’t possibly explain every tiny detail about this extremely complex topic, so we’re gonna stick to the basics

Greek mythology retellings that I loathe with every fiber of my being:

This is the Secret True Version of the original myth that historians have been hiding out of malice, and if anyone tells you otherwise they’re a liar who’s shilling for Big Archeology

The original myth was Wrong and Problematic and you’re Bad if you enjoyed learning about it, but don’t worry, I rewrote it to make it Good

I hate history, I hate reading, I hate the classics, and I especially hate ancient Greece. I did zero research whatsoever for this project and I have no respect for the source material or the field in general, and I’m very proud of that

#i think this is why i’ve always liked Hadestown but I hate those Hades/Persephone romance books #there’s a difference between making a play loosely based around an old myth #that incorporates existing mythology about Hades being the god of wealth/the ruler of the underworld and uses it to make a point #versus writing a romance novel and going NO ACTUALLY THIS IS TOTALLY WHAT THE ANCIENTS BELIEVED #EVERY HISTORIAN IN THE WORLD IS LYING TO YOU BECAUSE HISTORIANS HATE TRUE LOVE #this is also why I never minded kids’ series like the Percy Jackson books or that weird goddess high school AU #using Greek mythology as a framework to write a fun adventure story is cool!#but sitting there and going #UM these myths are Messed Up and hashtag Problematic and I rewrote them so now they’re Morally Okay to Like #is just obnoxious #basically #making not-necessarily-accurate-but-interesting mythology-inspired fiction is fine #but making stuff that attacks historians and archeologists #or spreads misinformation #or makes people feel bad for ever enjoying or wanting to study the original Problematic mythology #is just irritating.#anyway #classicsblr #greek mythology

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pendragonsclotpole · 4 months

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i’ve watched the first three episodes of the pjo series and then decided to wait. ostensibly this is because once season one is done i can binge it all in one go like i read the book, but i have a confession to make. i can’t stand to watch it.

hear me out: i read these books when i was in grade school. tlt? fifth grade. the rest of the original series? powered me through sixth grade and into seventh. hoo? eighth grade and first year or two of high school. i was a baby. percy jackson and his friends were either my age or older than me and doing shit i could not even comprehend.

i’ve seen a lot of discourse online about the changes made in the show and how they don’t align with how some fans remember the books, and i think that criticism perfectly echoes my feelings on this series. when i read pjo, i saw myself in the characters and saw my interactions with people older than me in their interactions with adults or older characters. case in point sally and luke.

i’m gonna have to make another post about my feelings for show!sally vs book!sally (tldr: book!sally reminds me of how i thought of the adults in my life and their complicated relationships with other adults as a kid, show!sally shows me that things were never so clear cut, surviving/being a survivor is mastering how to balance on a tight tope into adulthood, and sometimes the monsters we remember from our childhoods are a lot more pathetic than we ever realized. don’t even get me started on how i spent my whole life thinking of sally as a woman in her late twenties/early thirties with nothing in her life put together. seeing her in the show was a slap to the face for that notion, because sally seems so much older, but also so much closer to my age than percy in terms of maturity if not actually and what does that mean for me?)

but now about luke. jfc he looks so young. i think it was so easy to demonize luke because he was older, described as college aged, and perfect and popular and a mentor. he felt so responsible, so caring that the betrayal from him in tlt felt so much worse because as a reader i inherently related to percy, annabeth and thalia.

but growing up is realizing i’m now older than book!Luke in tlt and if i was faced with the loneliness of not having at least one good parent, i might be just as bitter as him. heck i do have one good parent, and i think i’m just as bitter as him about somethings. i’m older than him and somehow still feel so much younger. and also, show!luke’s actor is so young looking! i didn’t expect that to be such a hard pill to swallow, realizing the actor is actually 19 made me want to roll up into a ball and cry because fuck, did i look that young at 19??? i’m still in my early 20s, but somehow you do so much growth in the span of those years that just blows my mind. it isn’t fair and it feels like loss and at the same time, i think i understand why rick riordan and the rest of the writing/production team made the choices they did. on the one hand, they could have stuck to the books as faithfully as possible and recreated word for word the story we remembered from when we were kids, but on the other hand, they had the chance of portraying the story as it was and now would be now that we’re the grown ups.

i’m gonna finish the season, eventually, but i don’t yet have the emotional maturity to not hate every little change.

#luke pjo #pjo headcanon #pjo #pjo disney+#pjo tv show #percy pjo #pjo fandom #pjo series #pjoverse #percy jackon and the olympians #percy jackson #luke castellan #sally jackson #rick riordan #the mortifying ordeal of growing up #and realizing you are the adult

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captain-peanut110 · 4 months

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Percy Jackson and the Olympians episodes one and two, immediate impressions

Written by someone who absolutely lived those books as a kid and is no less obsessed with them as a grown up.

I will try to avoid spoilers for anything that comes later in the book or in later books in case people who have only watched the show will be reading this, but there might still be unintentional spoilers and there definitely will be spoilers for how the event of the first two episodes went down in the book.

I have been waiting since before the old movies came out, suffered the disappointment of their existence, was part of the collective agreement Lightning Thief had no sequel and am finally ready to see them try again.

I have just finished re-reading the first series and am nearing the end of House of Hades, so all the book stuff is fresh in my mind.

(I also bough the first five and all five Trials of Apollo for only £12 yesterday 🎊🎊🎊 now my tiny London apartment is flooded with books I already have no space for 🤣🤣🤣 so worth it though.)

Episode 1

- seems lovely so far;

- Percy is perfectly himself and the acting is damn decent;

- Little Percy is very cute, but also sort of spooky, make me think of the ocean, no matter what, there is always something eerie about it;

- Nancy is as awful, as she has to be and it is a nice thought that Percy understands she bullies him because of her own issues, yet also acknowledges it is still not okay;

- Brunner is perfect, they nailed his feel and presence 10/10. Why is his horse part not white though? Come on, it doesn’t have to match his skin tone and would have looked super cool, setting him apart from other centaurs like it does in the books;

- The kindly one (what they call Furies in the book) is well done and properly terrifying;

- Sally Jackson is the star, seriously, she is everything;

- Smelly Gabe is authentic enough to smell him trough the screen;

- Super funny that his reward for letting them take the car in the show is a sandwich he never ends up getting at all. At least in the books he got his dips

- BUT!!!!! Wtf with Gabe saying please? And them watching the game together? Why is he suddenly not that terrible??? How could they have decided to give redeeming qualities to this guy??? He is like the definition of awful and there really was no need to make him better in any way.

Initially I did not particularly notice this, because he was disgusting in my eye, yet upon watching for the second time, I replied he repeatedly said please and his conversation with Sally seemed suddenly more like banter than the awful way he treated her in the books. This gives their marriage something to it and makes it feel like there might have been a reason why they got married other than Sally wanting to protect Percy though Gabe's smell. And that is just wrong. Gabe was absolutely the king of awful in the books and he should have stayed that way.

I felt like I had to go back to add this point, because I missed it in my initial watching when I was writing this immediate reaction.

It can be argued that even the worst abusers are not horrible 24/7 and are ofter nice to the people around them from time to time, which makes it even more confusing and hard to leave them. But this does not really fit to the situation here, Gabe had zero redeeming qualities in the book and I can't see why there would be a need to give him any in the show;

- Sally being firmly on Percy’s side is pure gold and absolute parenting goals;

- Blue candy !!!!

- D’Angelo sandwiches though??? Hmmm…

- “Who is Yantsy?” 🤣🤣🤣🤣 Gabe is so dumb, i love it;

- Hades is not satan, they finally got that right! At least I think that’s supposed to be Hades;

- Can’t stress enough how awesome it is that Percy is not an orphan in the books. His relationship with Sally is everything. It is also a whole lot less lazy than just having an orphaned protagonist and also a lot more relatable for the readers;

- I love the scene where Percy is confused and scared, trying to get her to stop, but Sally keeps talking, as if she knows if she does not say it out loud, she will never be able to;

- Sally: “He was a god.” Percy: “You fell in love with Jesus?” 🤣🤣🤣

- Grover is so funny though, I can’t even;

- The Minotaur cgi looks decent;

- And he is wearing underpants!!!

- Bye-bye Gabe’s car;

- Grover is supposed to be unconscious!!! That’s a major point of his later self-torments, the fact that he got knocked out and Percy had to carry him all the way.

I cannot see why he needed to be present for this scene. He doesn’t do much of anything other than having Sully make him swear to protect Percy, although I am not certain what that was emphasised for?

- Sally is badass! Hell yeah for mothers doing mad stuff to protect their babies, super on point and as someone who does have a baby, super realistic;

- Noooo!!! Sally!!! Proper heartbreaking;

- He did not have the sword yet! Or Grover there! And he fought the Minotaur anyways!!!

It was supposed to be the first sing of his endless courage bordering on idiocy and a serious lack in the self preservation department when it comes to people he loves being in danger.

Which ultimately is a super important point in the story. I feel they missed an opportunity to show just how many fucks are absolutely not given when Percy sees somebody dear to him threatened;

- He does still kill him with the horn, not the sword, so I guess I can forgive the sword being there for a brief second. Although it would certainly add more meaning if it wasn’t;

- Show us how he carried Grower to Camp after killing the Minotaur!!! Percy did it all on his own, no help whatsoever! That’s part of what made other campers so interested in him!

- Annabeth!!! My best girl!!!

Episode 2

- Percy’s eyes are so book accurate, a proper proper sea green, I am happy happy happy;

- And Walker is such a perfect fit for the role, it really feels like he is Percy. I can forgive them for not having someone else, who had dark hair, his casting in on par.

Also I feel like nailing his eyes is more important than hair. They are an important part of the character, a reflection of his connection to the ocean.

I can also completely get behind not immediately wanting to dye a child’s hair, so it’s not that important.

I am personally of the opinion, that unless a character’s appearance is a point in the plot, such as relation to a certain someone hinted at trough similarity in looks/belonging to a certain group/coming from a certain place/being singled out positively or negatively because of certain features/etc, changing it doesn’t matter;

A good example is the colour of Percy’s eyes. It needs to be maintained, as they are a reference to his father being Poseidon and him being a child of the sea;

- The same goes for Leah, she has absolute Annabeth energy and is just perfect every step of the way, so the fact that she ain’t blonde doesn’t really matter. It was not a particular plot point in the books and the change will not affect her character in any way;

(If Elle Woods suddenly wasn’t blonde anymore, that would be insane, in Annabeth’s case, it is not that important.)

- Aww, Percy thinks Poseidon is going to be there at camp, that’s heartbreaking :((

- Peter Johnson !!!

- ‘He’s starting with me!’

- For a moment I thought he was gonna say ‘the wine dude Dionysus’ 🤣 that would hardy have ended well;

- ‘Your Highness’ 🤣🤣🤣 Percy is adorable;

- Mister D pretending to be Percy’s dad and trying to get him to fetch a bottle of wine is sooooo funny, I died. Chiron’s face though… 🤣🤣🤣 ‘I could be!’ ‘But are you?!’

And this:

- ‘Son.’

- ‘Dad?’

- ‘Yes Peter!’

- ‘Percy!’

- ‘Exactly’

- And Percy looking at Mr D and thinking: ‘Mom fell in love with and spoke so highly of this guy? He is basically Divine Gabe.’

I will be anything upon first meeting him in the show and hearing the ‘i am your dad’ thing, that is exactly what Percy is thinking. ‘Oh no, my dad is the Less Smelly Gabe?‘

- The Hermes cabin is looking good, the chaos seems very authentic;

- As someone who had been bullied at school for different from other kids, it is a very touching moment, when Percy is sure the Hermes kids are about to start some trouble, but Luke is just so lovely to him instead.

It is honestly every weird kid’s dream to have someone approach them with something kind to say.

And when he says: ‘you are just like everyone else here’, it must have felt so nice for Percy to finally hear something like that, like there is somewhere he can belong as himself;

- Luke, my sweet tragic baby ❤️ i cannot help loving him so damn much;

His underlying wistfulness and hidden pain from not feeling loved by his dad break my heart into a million pieces. And the way he just older-brothers Percy from the beginning is everything ❤️

- But does this show hate blonde people?

Cause Luke isn’t blonde either. 🤣

Once again, great acting, charisma and that feel of Luke’s powerful awesomeness tinted with desolate melancholy was captured brilliantly.

Charles does have that vibe and is great in the role. But I just had to note the ‘nobody is blonde’ thing cause it’s funny;

- More importantly though, WHERE IS LUKE’S SCAR??? That little scrape he’s got on his face is way too small and insignificant to be the unfortunate trophy from a dragon fight.

It looks nowhere near ghastly enough!

The whole point was that Luke was super handsome, but his scar was there like a tear in a beautiful portrait.

Charles is a good looking fella, he could have easily pulled off having a huge scar running across half of his face and still be a ladies’ dream;

- The Dryad with Grover has such sweet motherly vibes;

- Is it me or do Grover’s goat legs appear somewhat skinny?

- ‘Like an old banana’ Damn, Grover. I feel like this nicely reminds everyone Grover is not the human child he appears as;

- I feel like it is more realistic that Percy comes to believe his mother can be saved from the underworld by himself, since it is pretty logical, if the underworld is a place you can go to, you could theoretically bring someone back.

There didn’t really need to be an ominous investigation conducted by Grover for Percy to come upon that idea;

- More creepy ass dreams;

- CLARISSE MUST BE BUFFER!!!

And here I somewhat don’t get it.

Cause Dior looks perfectly buff enough for the part in pictures online, but it almost feels like they made her look smaller on camera, instead of using filming techniques to make her look even bigger.

All I could think while watching those scenes was “Clarisse must be bigger!”. Why does she look so skinny in the show, when the actress has got proper muscles irl?

- Percy being terrible at everything he tries reminds me of Harry trying the wands out and making stuff blow up

- He set the Hephaestus kids’ stuff on fire 🤣🤣🤣 Leo should have been there 😉

- Is there a god of disappointment 🤣🤣🤣

- But you burn the stuff to send a message to the gods, not mortals or dead people. Burnt offerings are only messages to a god they are offered for.

Did Percy misunderstand this or did the makers of the show?

Cause there should be no way for Sally to have actually gotten that message;

- Burning candy and talking to mama hits right home though. Very painful, peak cinema, hurts a lot. Poor little Percy, he just needs a hug;

- Not from a gutter, Clarisse, what the actual?!?!

- Aaaand Supreme Lord of the Bathroom emerges!!!

I just love how good old Jonny outright refuses to harm Percy.

But does this mean Poseidon is the god of toilet water as well 🤣🤣🤣 what about everything that is flushed with it? Would he have power over that as well? Or only clean gutter water?

Also!!! Is Percy immune to ‘the Neptune’s kiss’?

(‘The Neptune’s kiss’ - is an unfortunate occurrence while going number two, when one of them lot falls down into the bowl with a blast and the water splashes back onto your unprotected buttcheeks.)

Cause that would be a seriously cool ability to have indeed;

- Annabeth!!! Always a win for Annabeth!!!

‘i can explain!’ ‘No you can’t!’

Absolutely chemistry

‘Are you stalking me, Annabeth?’ ‘Yes’

- Forbidden kids… hmm.. that’s an interesting way of putting it;

- Annabeth is Sherlock with better social skills? Hell yeah, Percy can be her sword-wielding Watson;

- Their armour looks so good! Like actually pleasant to look at, you can see effort and thought went into the costumes in the show.

Seeing them all dressed up reminds me of the longstanding tradition at Camp Halfblood of running outside wearing a breastplate and underpants when danger strikes in the middle of the night!

I really really hope they show that in this series;

- Percy should appreciate Annabeth standing there silently and waiting for him to get up, since any other classmate from his past would have made fun of his fall and certainly would not have waited for him to get up.

The way Annabeth reacted is decent between two warriors.

She did not mock his fall, waited for him to get up and made no unkind comments about it afterwards.

She did not help him get up, because he does not need assistance with such a minor trouble, which is something Percy will have to learn very soon.

As someone who has been bullied back at school, sometimes standing there silently is the nicest way someone you don’t know very well can react to you embarrassing yourself;

- I love how Annabeth doesn’t flaunt her being better at stuff in Percy’s face, he is the one who says that in a fit of self deprecation.

The writers could have easily had her say something like ‘of course i’m better’, as happens a lot in modern cinema, when characters boast about how awesome they are instead of showing it.

She respectfully listens to his ranting, then simply straightens out his breastplate, which is such an adorable moment between them my heart is going to shatter into a million pieces.

She then proceeds to tell him ‘you don’t even know how you fit into all this’ , basically saying ‘you don’t know how powerful you are’, but Annabeth is being wise.

She knows there is no point in telling Percy how awesome he could be. She believes in him and knows he needs discover his awesomeness on his own.

(I am currently re-reading The House of Hades, about half-ways trough.

Thus seeing cute Percy and Annabeth moments soothes by bleeding heart.

If you know you know, not gonna spoil an ancient book, ahahahha. )

- Yankees’ cap!!! (I know i am way too easily excited to see stuff from the book, but I was a Percy Jackson fan when the first movie came out and i still carry that damage, so cut me so slack)

- Game on! And she absolutely believes in him and never says anything demeaning, that is so awesome.

There is a trend in modern cinema to show characters’ badassness and awesomeness by having them be demeaning and rude to their companions.

This has been around for a while where the guy who was the best at everything was just allowed to be awful to everybody because of it.

Recent it has infected movies with female leads, as if the only way a woman can be portrayed as strong and capable is by being a bully to lesser men around her.

I love what they did with Annabeth here.

She is spectacular, she’s got a great plan, she knows it, she doesn’t have to repeat it.

But she does not need to be compared to Percy to be amazing, she simply is.

She also has faith in Percy and is supportive of him, without being patronising or feeling the need to over-explain.

She is confident he will know what to do when the time comes and believes honestly he will do well.

She does not tell him what to do because she is sure he will know when the time comes and that is a smart way to teach him a lesson about having faith in himself;

- Luke is so awesome, they nailed him! His faith in Annabeth and the way he says ‘Percy’s on it’ with no doubt whatsoever… i am loving it all;

- Percy is authentically adhd, this shit is so relatable 🤣

Petting that lizard is such a banger thing to do, i mean…

- It did not happen in the books like this, but these are such Percy moments, i cannot even 🤣 the main actor was a top choice;

- Closing your eyes and touching leafs or rocks is something I also absolutely love doing, Percy knows what’s on;

- Clarisse’s spear looks nifty as heck.

While I did complain that she needs to be bigger, Dior is perfect in this role. The casting generally is great so far.

She does portray the big bully energy really well;

- I have enjoyed the fight, although wasn’t Percy only supposed to get his power up after he touched the water? (I most honestly don’t remember)

Here it seems the presence of the river so close was enough and I must agree that it does look awesome when he suddenly begins fighting properly;

- And he falls into the water, heals up and is claimed by Poseidon. Precious!

- I am loving the Poseidon cabin vibes, it is just like the ocean. Beautiful and charming, but eerie and mysterious;

- I do not understand why they had to change it from Percy taking the quest immediately with the hidden idea of saving his mother, to his blatantly refusing the quest, only to have Grover tell him Sally can be saved to sway him to go anyways.

I think this was somewhat of a weird choice, but maybe it will matter later on, who knows.

It does fix up the rift between Grover and Percy with the whole Grover lying and getting him expelled situation, but that wasn’t really in the book at all, so…

I guess they wanted to try and not copy the book word for word, but Percy refusing the quest so harshly out of self preservation we have already established he doesn’t have much of seems a little out of character.

Maybe they are trying to emphasise that he would do anything to save his mom, but even without that, Percy would still have agreed to save the world and all, that’s his whole point.

And he did go with the idea of saving his mother in the book, he just didn't Grover to tell him it was possible, he simply refused to accept his mother was dead and was set on getting her back.

He is not a reluctant hero, he marches head first into danger, risks his life to save the world all the time and eats reality shattering prophecies for breakfast. (If you know you know ;)) )

I guess it doesn’t matter all that much.

In the book and the show he agreed to go on a quest in great part because he thought he could to save his mother, it was just presented differently. But I do feel once again they are diminishing Percy’s badassery.

This sweet and wonderful child doesn't need anybody's permission or reassurance, he simply though: 'Wow, there is my opportunity to go to the underworld, my mother must be there, to hell with Hades, I will make him give her back!"

He basically thought she was dead and still planned on getting her back anyways!!!

As we have seem during the duel with the Minotaur, when given proper motivation (or simply when pissed off and/or desperate enough) Percy is absolutely unhinged.

He takes no shits from anyone, god, monster, or whatever else.

It just feels a bit weird to see Percy Jackson yelling ‘no’ to a quest.

And feels like Percy's determination and intelligence are diminished because he did not come upon the idea of saving Sally on his own.

- Also, since when does Percy have a sense of self-preservation, aahahaha he could have really used a bit more of that in the books

Overall 7/10 so far

One point off for the removal of Percy's grand refusal to accept death and his brilliant sneaky plan to attempt bringing his mother back from the underworld while the quest for the Masterbolt provides a valid reason to go there. Seriously, this was perfectly devious in the books. He kept the idea to himself and simply nursed a plan to basically bring his mother back from the dead all on his own.

One point off for Luke’s scar being tiny. Everything else appearance wise is not important cause the actors are great. But not giving Luke the proper huge scar is a cosmetic decision that I do not condone

And one extra point off for Gabe saying please and having redeeming human features, as well as Sally actually wanting to watch the game with him, I could not imagine she would have ever wanted to do anything with Smelly Gabe, no no no no no

All in all, this is great so far, I need more with urgency.

Thank you for reading this much 💚

#percy jackon and the olympians #disney #percy jackson #annabeth chase #grover underwood #luke castellan #rick riordan #riordanverse #percabeth #clarisse la rue #dyonisus #hades #hades is not satan #please for Hera’s sake Hades is not satan and the Underworld is not hell #so far so good

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fearlessinger · 2 years

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I’m suffering so y’all will have to suffer with me

There’s a lot to be said about how Apollo chooses to present himself in this scene.

To begin with, Jason is right: Apollo is trying to make himself look pitiable before his father. The form he’s taken here is absolutely meant to project "hey, I'm your child. Please don't hit me". Yes, of course Apollo would have known that wasn't gonna work, but ingrained instincts are hard to shake off. The fear that Jason sees in Apollo’s eyes here is the same fear that Apollo feels at the start of THO, when just the memory of Zeus thundering “your fault” has him on his knees, begging for his life. It’s the same fear that Apollo will describe 2 books later as he recounts the first time he was confronted by Caligula, whom he explicitly likens to Zeus. There's nothing rational about Apollo's reaction there either, he's just scared out of his mind even though he knows, he keeps telling himself all throughout, that he has no reason to be, that he is the one with the power. All in vain.

But Apollo’s chosen appearance isn’t just a plea for mercy, it’s a show of submissiveness too. It’s Apollo recognizing his father’s seniority and absolute authority over him. It’s Apollo broadcasting "I am small. I am weak. I am bound to your judgement and command. I am most definitely not a threat.” Because to abusive parents, that’s what a child growing up represents. A threat. Adult children are seen and treated as full people with full rights by society in a way that actual children just aren’t. Adult children can make their own choices. Adult children can fight back. There’s a lot to be said about how and when and why certain gods choose to appear as children all through the series, particularly Apollo and Artemis, and one day I will write that meta, but for now let me just highlight that it’s the form of a child that Zeus will shove his son into as a punishment, and that the first time we see Apollo as an adult, fully grown man is at the very end of the series, after he finally shakes off the learned helplessness that kept him trapped his entire life.

Beyond all this though, it’s the CHB t-shirt that I want to focus on. Because it’s not a piece of Apollo’s standard attire (we never see him wear one before this moment, in fact) but it also very clearly isn't for Zeus’ benefit. There’s nothing to be gained for Apollo by making himself look like one of the demigods in his father’s eyes; Zeus does not look upon them particularly kindly even at the best of times. At most, Apollo could be hoping to disappear into the mass of CHB t-shirts gathered on top of the Acropolis. This is, indeed, the explanation Jason settles on, but I think in this case he is mistaken. For one there's like, 7 demigods total there, which seems entirely too few. Apollo would have more luck disappearing among the gods. But also, Apollo’s the guy who at the very beginning of THO already would instinctively put his own extremely mortal body between notorious powerhouse Percy Jackson and danger. No matter what he may say, he’d never actually hide behind the kids.

I don’t think the t-shirt is for the kids’ benefit either. Apollo goes to great lengths pre TOA, and still struggles for a good portion of TOA too, to never show solidarity, never present himself as an ally, never give the demigods the impression he’s on their side. It’s a promise he just does not believe he can afford to make for both his and their sake.

I think he’s wearing the t-shirt for himself. To remind himself of where his true loyalty, where his true priorities lie. To be closer to his children, or at least fool himself into believing he is. It’s a last ditch attempt at self comfort. Apollo knows this will end badly for him, and so he instinctively grasps for any kind of connection he can establish with his kids, the thing he treasures most in the world, the reason why he's gotten himself into this predicament in the first place. He holds tight onto it, onto them, one last time before the pain comes.

#me: why is everybody in this fandom writing whump #me: *looks at canon*#me: oh right #toa #toa meta #rrverse #abuse #child abuse

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airbender-dacyon · 2 months

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Just some quick personal thoughts on Netflix’s adaptation of Avatar: The Last Airbender before it premieres tomorrow.

I know I’ve not been as active the last couple years, especially in the Kataang and AtLA fandom, but I started this blog for Kataang and AtLA and it will always be a blog for Kataang and AtLA. And it’s been a while since I’ve talked about my favorite fandom and ultimate OTP.

First and foremost, I think the adaptation is completely unnecessary (same goes for the HTTYD live-action movie that’s currently being filmed). The story has been told in a visual medium already through its original animated series.

That said, I feel this live-action series will be an improvement over the 2010 film, though that is admittedly a very low bar to clear.

Despite that I feel it’s unnecessary, I do intend to watch it after I rewatch the first season of AtLA. I want the first season fresh in my mind because I’m planning to do some level of a review of each episode as I watch it, if anyone’s interested.

My expectations for the show are that it will be… okay. Somewhat good even. Slightly above average.

From the trailers and clips released so far, I have hopes for some aspects of the adaptation and disappointment and irritation with other elements. It seems like they’ve handled some concepts well (set design, costumes, casting, visual effects, some character bonding moments, expanding upon some of the lore and characters, etc.) while it appears they may have failed to grasp the significance of key plot points and character arcs (Aang is a kid, please let him be a kid and have his fun; Sokka needs to grow as a person; Katara needs to relearn how to be a kid and have fun; Ozai scarred Zuko because Zuko refused to fight him during their Agni Kai, so why is there apparently a fully choreographed fight?).

I’m hoping I’m proved wrong on the rumored issues regarding plot points and character arcs.

I understand there are always differences between adaptations, but some of these things do worry me.

All of this said, please do not attack the cast and crew if you dislike the show. Criticism is fair, but do not go after the people who worked on this adaptation, no matter how much you disagree with some (or all) of the decisions.

And I think most importantly, be kind to newcomers to the fandom and if they liked the show, encourage them to watch the original animated series. We have an opportunity to show people that the original series is worthy of its praise and that any adaptation, no matter how well done, won’t be able to recapture the essence and beauty that made the original series so special.

I say this because it was only thanks to the live-action adaptations of One Piece and Percy Jackson that got me interested in the originals. It wasn’t that I never had an interest in them, but I had other shows/books/fandoms/interests that overshadowed them for literal years. Now I’m planning to read the OP manga and the PJO books once I’ve got some free time. And I imagine I’ll enjoy them both more than the live-action adaptations.

Last, but not least, I’m hoping to see some bonding between the main trio and especially hoping the Kataang friendship is strong. I doubt there will be any indications of anything romantic, but if they at least handle Katara and Aang’s friendship well, it will serve as a foundation for any romance in potential future seasons.

So, these are my ramblings.

If anyone is interested in me reviewing the episodes, let me know and I’ll try my best to write them up when I get a chance.

In conclusion, be respectful of the cast and crew, be kind to fandom newcomers (and please do not incite ship wars), be open-minded about the show if you watch it, but also do not be afraid to critique the adaptation.

#Dan Rambles #NAtLA #Kataang #This turned out to be longer than I expected #Fingers crossed that at its worst the show will make me apathetic rather than outright irritated #I doubt I’ll get angry unless they make some real dumb changes #But we shall see

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darkcrowprincess · 4 months

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*Don't like don't read. Post hate and I'll block you*

Female characters I can't stand(both books, movies, anime/cartoons, and TV shows). Reminder I am a female and this is my personal opinion.

Annabeth Chase from the books Percy Jackson/Heroes of Olympus series.

She is toxic, mean, abusive(both physically and emotionally), jealous and automatically is rude to anyone romantically liking Percy even before she's even in a relationship with him. She is a know it all but not in a good way. Prideful, and looks down on people especially when their mortals or monsters. The monster part I get. But still. Yes she has a tragic background, but I still don't like her. Especially since the books treat her flaws as female empowerment and not actually flaws that she needs to work on.

2. Amity Blight from the Owl House

I just find her boring honestly. Especially in the later half of the series when lumity gets together. I love Luz's character, she's my favorite. I just don't like her. Plus she never had a proper redemption arc for being a bully(and yes she was one, she was honestly more interesting when she was a bully). I'm glad teens have their lgbtq representation. I'm bi myself. I just really don't like her or the ship Lumity.

3. Katniss Everdeen from the hunger games

Both books and the movie. I just don't like her very much. I love Lucy Gray Baird from The ballad of songbirds and snakes book and movie. But her, just no. She's part of the reason why I never fully read all the books except the prequel and the first one.

4. Mcu's version of Wanda Maximoff

I never read the comics. But the movie version of her. Oh boy I can not stand her. Especially since I'm team Iron man. She willingly joined Hydra. She helped make Ultron, she took a town hostage against their will and never faced consequences for it. She set the Hulk on innocent civilians. She messed with Tony's mind! She brought Vision back to life against his will and gaslight him when he got close to the truth. She tried to kill a child so she can play pretend with someone else's kids. She killed tons of people for very selfish reasons. Yet she acts like the victim all the time.

5. Amy March for Little Women 1994

Mostly because I'm petty and I wanted Jo and Laurie to get together. Plus she's so annoying.

6. Bella Swan Twilight Saga

Both books and Movies(no hate to actress Kristen Stewart though, I love her in the movie Spencer) she is such a boring character while also being incredibly selfish character at the same time. More so in the books(though I'm team Jacob and a Jacob Black defense squad member).

And those are all the female characters at the moment that I can't stand. There's probably more but I can't remember right now. Sorry if you like these characters. This is just my opinion so let's agree to disagree.

#my thoughts #annabeth chase #amity blight #katniss everdeen #mcu wanda maximoff #amy march #bella swan #Don't like don't read. Post hate and I'll block you #female characters I can't stand

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angel-maybe-alive · 1 year

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Harry Potter is a Brand

(long post)

So I never understood why Harry Potter was so popular when I was growing up, being honest I always thought about it as a pretty average book it wasn't very original or groundbreaking, my theory was always that harry Potter popularity was tied to the successful movie franchise it created.

But this explanation wasn't great either, yesterday I watched a video (the consumerist dystopia of harry Potter) and it just explained why Harry Potter was so popular but also why we probably won't have a new harry Potter

Harry Potter is a brand, not a book, but a brand.

To explain this I will use Percy Jackson as an example, Both Percy Jackson and Harry Potter were released close to one another with the same public in mind children and teenagers but despite it's similarities between them Harry Potter went down to history as "THE" 2000s children's book series while Percy was it's less popular cousin for weirder kids, the more of the underground option.

And the reason for that it's because Percy Jackson was not a marketable media.

Think about it what can you sell about Percy Jackson, we have the camp half blood tshirts (single design orange shirts with a pegasus print) the camp bead necklace (leather necklace with normal beads) no parent will be that comfortable buying their kids a imitation of a bronze sword,or knifes, or shields, the only other marketable objects are Percy's pen (described as a normal ballpoint pen) Anabeth's invisibility hat(normal Yankee hat) Luke's winged shoes(converses) and That's pretty much it, of course one could sell specific cabins t-shirts but it's both not book accurate and also there's twelve of them.

Percy Jackson doesn't have symbols like harry Potter does

Now compare this to harry Potter where any object has a magical version, a expensive magical version, they aren't just jelly beans they are magical jelly beans with gross flavors so is also a gimmick toy, the chocolate frogs aren't just chocolate they come with collectibles like a kinderegg, they don't use pen they use feathers, harry don't fly in a average broom it's a special broom with golden letters and a fucked up handle, and wands that can be sold as the most unconfortable to use pens, and potions bottles that can be used to sell perfume, and symbols, the deathly hallows, Harry's scar,the death eaters symbol, they can be used in anything, necklaces prints patches.

And of course the biggest cash cow of them all the houses, special little color coded factions that not only are extremely present in the books but also are a way to express how you want to be perceived, red and gold lions if you want to be perceived as brave, light grey and blue crows for the intelligent ones, black and yellow badgers for the friendly ones and silver and green snakes for the bad boys.

You can put those colors in almost anything and sell it, not just book accurate uniforms scarfs and robes, any piece of clothing in general and shoes, backpacks, bags, Sandals, nail polish, special edition of the books, eyeshadow palettes, school books,planners.

I live in a touristic town, we have a railroad and some palace looking hotels and years ago some guy just make a of brand harry Potter experience, basically middle class kids can pay for a weekend in this hotel that looks like any other hotel in town but because they put around colorful flags, you can arrive via the very old normal looking railroad, and they are separated by the colors and you can participate in cringe quidditch roleplay (running around a field with a broom between your legs) he rips those suckers of hundreds just for the vague idea of Hogwarts houses

And this is the real magic of Harry Potter, while in Percy Jackson magic takes the form of average things for plot reasons and therefore aren't really appealing to sell, in harry Potter average things get a magical expensive version that you can buy for your full harry Potter experience.

And this is also why we will not see something like harry Potter again, even the most popular books these days arent as marketable as harry Potter was, you can seel clothes with symbols of your new series, flags and what not, and maybe action figures but you can't monetize every aspect of it like Rowling did

This of course without talking about the toys, toy wands, brooms, collectable dolls etc

Because Harry Potter is also very family friendly for anyone ages 0 to 100 can have harry Potter merch, house themed baby clothes and full nurseries based on the houses, toys plenty of them, uniforms, fake acceptance letters, wands specific wands, a theme park of consumerist nightmare where you can enjoy fake magical beer and buy plushies of real not magical animals or just the houses animals plushies with scarfs, a wedding/sweet sixteen/quincianera all themed around this book.

Game of thrones made a lot of money with the westeros houses merch but it's mostly clothes for adults they can't seel a lot of toys or children merch based on the murder, incest, rape book series and tv show

Bridgerton have special themed balls and that's it

And with many modern fantasy books focusing on being gritty gloomy and adult they can't also sell as well as Harry Potter did

So at the end of the day Harry Potter was never really a book, it's a marketing strategy, a trendy aesthetic and it's a good one, and it was always supposed to be one.

And this makes me think about the concept of "I can't give up harry Potter" people because it makes me wander do people really miss Harry Potter a pretty average book with not a very original concept (hero's journey+Magic school a thing that was already done+British rich kids boarding school) or do they miss the rush of serotonin of buying and consuming more and more merch about this series about having their whole aesthetic based on those books.

And maybe this is why I personally never felt as connected to harry Potter, and when Rowling fucked up I could so easily drop it, as a broke kid in a third world country harry Potter was a tease to me, like any toy brand it was a torture really, I wanted those things I wanted the wands and the robes and the scarfs and the jelly beans, and I was so jealous of this girl on class who had a personalized hogwarts letter and I couldn't avoid feeling like I would be"less of a fan" because I didn't owned anything Slytherin themed and I never even got to buy the books (read them by the library)

So in the end looking back maybe this was the answer why despite how many other bookish people I knew talked so much about this book when I really sat down to read it, it felt lacking, because once you strip away the Hogwarts roleplay the merch the personalized houses the color coding and the magical world you can buy, the magical world brand.

Harry Potter it's just a average book.

#anti jk rowling #anti Harry Potter #Harry Potter #is it a magical world #or just capitalism #what stage of capitalism is #to cosplay british boarding schools?#jk rowling #its interesting #to look back at it

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mixedkid-matchup · 1 year

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you do not have to answer this!! I'm using you to confess my dubious feelings for the Percy Jackson series bc you also expressed like some weird feelings about it, and I kind of thought the series was untouchable bc of how much everyone I see fawns over it, and I have GOT to get this off my chest to someone who might get what I'm saying. But I have major issues with the writing/premise/series bc it's just feels so deeply colonized and it's bothered me since it FIRST came out and everyone in middle school and high school was reading it and teachers were assigning it. Like the whole premise for the Greek gods being in the US is that they follow Western "progress" and it completely disregards all the amazing things Indigenous did and our way of life, and also removes the importance of place-based culture for both Greek stories and Native peoples (like okay all the Greek stuff moved to the U.S. but wth happened to all our spiritual figures?? The story completelya cts like Native people weren't here and didn't have complex beliefs and ways of life connected to the land, and the gods were just free to take over here with no issues). As a mixed Indigenous kid it just rubs me wrong in all the worst ways and the academic systems love affair with Greek and Roman stuff and Rick Riordan's sheer popularity has been forcing this stuff in my face foreveeeerrrr 😭😭 I was surprised to see your tags about the fandom being weird before too tho since I don't interact with it, so I hope you don't mind this ask and just know I kinda feel the same way!! Ok thanks bye sorry for the rant.

BRO I HAVE HAD THIS RANT ON HAND FOR A LONG TIME ITS OKAY!!!!!!!!!

I THINK IF HEARD ABOUT THIS ACTUALLY. but you explained it way better. like when i first read percy jackson ok fine i was 11, i obviously caught onto the ableism and such but i did not catch onto this until i thought about it when i got older. you're super right. the whole thing about ww2 being caused by demigods was the weirdest shit ever i literally did not remember reading it until i read lightning thief again last year. why did hitler need to be child of hades. THAT IS QUITE LITERALLY HOW PERCY DESCRIBES HADES WHEN HE SEES HIM. LOOKING LIKE HITLER. then what you're saying how they move with the places that are the most progressive and basically take over..... like it's just ..... incredibly misplaced and insensitive.

but about the fandom being weird (its literally encouraged by riordan's book tbh), in heroes of olympus, hazel is a black girl from lousiana in the 1930s?? or 40s idk anyways i think she dies and then nico brings her back. whatever, everyone draws her lightskin and with orange hair, and super skinny, (which she's from louisana. shes darkskin and does not have "caramel" hair i hate white men sometimes.) and shes like 13 btw and in a relationship with frank whos like 16. weird as hell and everyone thinks theyre so sweet. and also rick cannot write meaningful young women. and especially not girls of color. like its WEIRD how piper is portrayed as some pick me girl she constantly feels the need to express shes not like the Aphrodite girls. and rick had to make it weird with aphrodite anyway by making them a whole stereotype of snobby boys and girls who love putting on makeup. they had drew, an asian girl & counselor of aphrodite, straight up mean to piper bc she likes jason. like for no other reason. drew only wants to participate and go on the quest because of jason. and other stereotypes like making leo, latine, be super flirty.

and lets really talk about how annoying annabeth was about the blondes are dumb stereotype because, girl we can talk about misogyny and people not letting you do things because of it, but lets also talk about how you are TWELVE, and the blonde stereotype is tired. i never liked annabeth, she was really tone deaf as someone whos half black. OH AND FRANK. they had this weird ass arc where they implied he was fat because of lack of confidence? like when he got confident he, lost weight... because of a blessing of mars? i dont even know.

like as i get older its more and more annoying to see it. i literally rolled my eyes when i saw rick talking about colorblind casting when people got mad about annabeth. he could of said anything else. how this could reconceptualize annabeth's arc around misogyny and now racism. and purposely alter her character to fit this new black annabeth. but no. people treat colorblind casting as a pinnacle of progressiveness.

#theres probably other stuff i didnt hit like the way the girls are literally fighting over jason for no reason #anyway in carter and sadie's situation its more of. like. no research.#like sure genetics are crazy but like. sadie is not gonna have straight blonde hair #shes not gonna have blue eyes 9/10 #and people are WEIRD ABOUT IT #draw her with brown eyes and tan skin and curls before i lose my mind #also again. shes like 13 and in a relationship with a 16 yr old #its so weird how they make the black girls in weird age difference relationships #also. how carter is drawn with black features and brown skin and curly hair but they dont extend that to his sister.#its weird. why do black girls have to be lightskin.#mixed matchup tag

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frenz-of-frey · 1 year

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Thank you, Riordanverse Fandom!

I joined fandoms in my 30s, y'know? I'm part of this awkward generation which belongs to the 2000s but didn't get internet and social media young enough to be part of the group culture. When I was hungry for Young Adult books, I had the hardest time finding the good stuff! My friends didn't read like I did. The tiny school library didn't come with instructions or suggestions. Sad!

I loved and re-read HP over and over as a kid! Then in my 30s I decided, y'know what? Do-over! I'll read all the YA books, new and old. Indie and popular. I didn't have the internet or a or a fandom back then, but I have resources to feed my passion now!

The PJO fandom. Percy Jackson. Rick Riordan. The Riordanverse. The urban fantasy, action-comedy, mythology-inspired world is the ultimate fandom! Disclaimer: I don't idolize authors or idealize their content. I don't have to love it all to feel I belong as a fan of literary art!

Writing is an art and that art has power over society, for better or worse. So, in a world that objectifies people and creates systems that discriminate, I want to read fictional characters who subvert the norm. Magnus Chase, Alex Fierro, Blitzen and Hearthstone, And the many neurodivergent demigods of the PJO series represent a strength and hope I never felt in older children's books. (Maybe Roald Dahl?)

The world is unfair. This fandom can be a platform to stand on to hope for better! A future is coming where books don't normalize sexism, ableism, or whiteness, and call it a "trope".

Books change lives, fandoms create worlds.

Magnus Chase And The Gods Of Asgard created a possibility in my mind. The fandom is a platform that says: yes, this is fiction, and also it's real. Because the readers say so.

This is why today I changed my blog to frenz of frey. This fandom gives me hope that through the anxiety, depression, chronic health issues, injustice, identity crises, etc. I have a platform that feels like home. Thank you, Riordanverse.

#riordanverse #pjo fandom #fandom #heroes of olympus #percy jackson #percyjacksonandtheolympians #magnus chase #magnus chase and the gods of asgard #persassy #percabeth #soleangelo #fierrochase #blitzstone #pjoverse #pjo disney+#percy jackson disney+#mental health #anxiety

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eolewyn1010 · 5 months

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Reading Percy Jackson TLT was an ordeal for me 1 - Writing

Now, as a disclaimer in the name of fairness, I only ever read The Lightning Thief and none of the Percy Jackson series beyond that, so my experience with Rick Riordan's writing is limited (and I'm not planning to change that). It's also a distorted experience because I didn't read the original - I read a translated version, and I often noticed that it wasn't the best translation. For example, whoever was responsible was apparently incapable of translating an imperative mood, crippling quite a lot of dialogue. So I'll give Riordan that: I have probably not seen the best of his work.

That said, I massively disliked this book. Yes, even within the boundaries and rules of Kids' Fantasy. I won't tag this to the fandom because it seems nigh impossible to find anyone who so much as tolerates negative criticism of Percy Jackson. I've been called brain-damaged for not liking it, which is certainly a mature take. But I will feel better listing it all down that one time, getting it out of my mind, so here we go.

These dialogues are weird, these people are weird

I constantly catch myself thinking, "no one talks like that??" Even taking the translation aspect into account, a lot of the dialogue sounds just stilted. After the bus crash, some of the passengers are described by Percy as literally running in a circle yelling "We're gonna die" - no one behaves like that. It's a funny, over-the-top imagination that would fit in a cartoon, and it completely breaks with the serious tension of the preceding scene, and with my suspension of disbelief. People, even hysterical people, don't do that seriously. It feels like a scene in a theater play.

It appears equally forced when Annabeth apparently mutters to herself as she walks away from Percy: "Mission... Poseidon? ...[some cussing]... need a plan..." And I sit there like: Really? You mutter that to yourself? I can believe that you mutter a curse to yourself, but this "shreds of sentences" thing? Why would she talk to herself in the first place? So Percy can randomly hear some incomplete thoughts? No. It's to tease the readers. Riordan, you shouldn't make me aware of the author's presence all the time. Annabeth never talks to herself otherwise. It isn't even a character thing for her. And made out like this, it's so unnatural.

Same goes for Percy talking in his sleep... apparently very clearly and comprehensibly, so that Annabeth can piece together what he's been dreaming of. Except. People who talk in their sleep? They mumble. They hardly get a cohesive sentence out. How am I supposed to believe that this is playing in the real world? These people don't behave like people.

And one more thing that struck me as odd: A description of Grover with "his eyes narrowed; there was fear in them." Hm. Have you ever tried to look afraid with your eyes narrowed? It isn't actually that easy. When people are scared, their eyes widen. Tell me when you can narrow your eyes and get your expression not to look angry, not distrustful or doubtful, but afraid.

Is this plot ever going anywhere?

So, it's one thing that this structure of quest-hopping isn't how I personally like my books. A bigger problem seems to me that it's lacking coherence. Most of the kids' stops on the way and monsters to slay have nothing to do with their mission. Why is all of this so disconnected? Did we learn anything new from the Medusa adventure, from the episode with Echidna?

And at times, it feels like the plot is artificially prolonged. This is really bad in the beginning when no one can be arsed to tell Percy what the hell is going on. Neither Chiron nor know-it-all Annabeth can just give him a straight answer to anything. Which, Chiron comes off as plain gaslighting Percy at his human school when he denies that Percy just fought for his fucking life, and Annabeth? Percy even lampshades it; at one point he's like, "as if I was supposed to already know all that." Well, HOW IS HE SUPPOSED TO KNOW THAT WHEN NO ONE OPENS THEIR FUCKING MOUTH? And the one time that Annabeth actually wants to tell Percy something, she gets interrupted by a random outside occurence that isn't even important. Can anyone get this shit moving already?

The worst foreshadowing since Stephenie Meyer

I wish Riordan would stop slapping me over the head with Dead Herrings (aka Red Herrings that don't work the way they should). Telling me something very specific and then going "Nooo, it's couldn't possibly be that highly specific thing!" will not redirect my thoughts the wrong way; it will just make me wait jadedly for the moment when, oh, such surprise, it turns out it was exactly what you thought of first.

"Oh, Percy can do funny things with water and the only thing he's good at is rowing - who could possibly be his father!"

"This lady is surrounded by scared-looking statues and we can't see her eyes - who could she possibly be!"

"This statue looks like my uncle - what a weird coincidence!"

"Dude keeps telling Percy to put on the flying shoes - wonder what he's on about!"

Honestly, it feels very condescending. My friend said the book is written for 12-year-olds, but does Riordan know that 12-year-olds aren't idiots? It's not a good idea to treat your readers as being dense.

Inconsistent worldbuilding

Do we ever get a reason for Grover eating literal garbage? Oh, I know, the extra-diagetical explanation is a joke I'm not in on and that frankly enrages me (later more on that). But in-universe we are never told how he's capable of chewing tin cans without cutting himself to shreds. We're never told how he can digest that shit. If you have to make this a thing, Riordan, at least make it work!

Camp Half-Blood is... eh. Okay-ish? Riordan doesn't know the first thing about Ancient Greek architecture, and it comes back to bite him with Annabeth. But for now, I have questions about the strawberries. How are they growing so well when they never have rain over the valley? Like. Plants do need water. And there's no reason why Dionysus and his kids should be able to make them grow well, none. Dionysus isn't and has never been a god of nature, ever since he separated from Pan (and Pan IS a separate character in this book). The only plant he has a connection to is fucking grapevine. I can buy that he can make grapevines grow, but everything else should be under the jurisdiction of Demeter and her children. Who are allegedly largely unimpressive, but we'll get to that. Also. All strawberries? Nothing but strawberries, ever? Monoculture is ruining the soil, y'know. That camp should be on dead ground within a decade or so.

Then again, Percy also claims he hasn't eaten anything unhealthy ever since he entered the camp. And then counts, "grapes, bread, cheese, lean barbecued meat." No strawberries then? Anyway, my point is: This isn't healthy. It's a very reduced diet - a balanced diet for 12-year-olds, still growing and physically very active 12-year-olds, requires more than that! How do the kids in the camp not all have deficiency symptoms?

I'm not sure how the disappearing monsters work. Body parts can just randomly stay behind as the spoils of war? Who decides which parts? Riordan wanted Medusa's eyes to still do their work after Percy slays Medusa, because the eyes still working is part of the Perseus myth that he's processing, but that really doesn't roll with "the body just disappears when the creature is slain." Like, what. Why wouldn't her head just disappear with the rest of her; it's a part of her body? Can just the head disappear instead and randomly leave the body behind? What are the rules here?

And there's the bit with "does this actually play in the real world?" again. Because when they wander the forest, Grover complains that they cannot see the stars because of the pollution. Which. This red sheen over the sky shouldn't be a thing in the middle of a forest. This is not how light pollution works, unless they are close to a city, in which case, why are they sleeping in the forest? Or is Grover trying to tell me that there were no clouds before environmental pollution? (Granted, I don't know why they went into the forest in the first place and didn't just sleep at Medusa's shop...)

In a similar vein, why is the police looking after Percy as a criminal suspect and not as a missing child? When a 12-year-old disappears, who in their right mind goes, "he could have murdered his mother"?? Why isn't the reaction, "something really bad happened to them both; we need to look for them both!", but "we need to look specifically for this kid because he has definitely done something terrible to his mom"? What is that for an outlandish approach to a missing kid?

This is a Very American Perspective (and it doesn't work)

Now, telling me that the USA are the center of Western civilisation is obviously extremely subjective, and as a non-American, I'm probably not supposed to agree. That Chiron goes on to declare the nebulous future "fall of Western civilisation" this huge, apocalyptic catastrophe and in the process sounds like a whiny rightwing politican - okay, that's me being cynical. But this really fails as soon as the Olympus and the Greek gods get in on the equation. I cannot imagine any place in the world that's less into pagan polytheism than the USA. The Greek gods aren't revered there, or if they are, it's by very small groups.

So, if Riordan's train of thought is "they are revered by whatever name; they may have different names, but it's always the same gods", then we get into a real conundrum with the multitude of pantheons in various religions. Because the gods in different religions are very incongruent in what functions and personalities they have. It already fails with the Greek-to-Roman transference - close as these two mythologies may be, they don't work in 1:1 accordance (something which Riordan heavily misrepresents, but I'm not going into that here). So, if the modern USA are so central to Western civilisation that the gods moved the Olympus and the Underworld and everything there, how did the gods' personalities and powers not massively shift over the millennia; how did gods not disappear and appear and merge to fit more contemporary notions of God / gods? Are they completely unperturbed by mortal developments and mindsets? Then why would they ever change anything, including their location?

Speaking of Greek and Roman gods... I really enjoy the action scenes. Riordan is good at writing action; it's fun. So. It ires me that I got completely ripped out of the scene by Percy randomly spouting Latin curses. Why Latin? What does that have to do with his prodigious propensity to Ancient Greek? Why. Why does Riordan keep mixing up Roman with Greek mythology, one language with the other? They are very distinct!

Chiron at one point describes the cooperation of gods with mortals as "the dawn of the Western civilisation". This is funny, as Western civilisation hit a real low after the fall of the Roman Empire (and yes, I'm focussing on Europe in this part of my argument - there was no Western civilisation in America before the late 16th century). And it stayed like that throughout a large portion of the middle ages. The civilisation on a roll until about the 11th century was what we'd today sum up under "Arab". They were the big scientists, the big architects, they dominated the trade, they spread all over the place; it was a whole thing. Yet of course gods of Western civilisation cannot be worshipped in Fez, in Tunis, in Granada, in Baghdad, in Alexandria - so where were they in the meantime? How did they not disappear while Christianity became a thing? They were not being worshipped anymore; the majority of people alive in the Western world weren't aware there had ever been other religions in Europe than Christianity because translating the old texts into modern languages was something Arabian scholars did early on, but it was a late fashion to Christians.

"The Second World-War was a war between the children of Zeus and the children of Hades, and the losing side (aka the Nazis and their allies) were the children of Hades." ... There are certainly ways to help kids approach the very complicated layers of politics and social aspects regarding the World Wars. This isn't one of them, and I curse Riordan in the tongues of a thousand historians for the paragraph in which he summed it up like that. This is how you're explaining fascists? "Oh, they're the children of Hades, so I guess they're just born evil." This is just vile.

The weird implications of fantasy creatures being treated as animals

Percy doesn't want to walk behind Chiron because he thinks the dude would just randomly take a literal shit on him. Toilet humor is funny, you guys! Except this isn't a horse, no matter how often Percy calls him one. The nymphs aren't trees. Grover is not a goat. It's one thing to integrate features of these because we're talking fantasy mix creatures, but they are still sentient and sapient on a human level! In case of Chiron, he's hundreds of years old and a wise guardian and teacher to Percy and others. Why are we always accompanied by the implication that they are, in some capacity, animals? That's just plain old Fantasy Racism. Stop dehumanizing people you yourself have established as people, please?

Grover is the most present non-human character in this book; so he's the usual victim of this. I cannot count the times Percy calls him a goat boy, or just plain a goat. He is not. A goat. He's a person. I'm supposed to believe he is Percy's best friend. Why does Percy talk to or about him like he's holding him in contempt half the time? Why does Annabeth? She's been living with intelligent non-humans since she was seven! They make fun of him, they dismiss his warnings and instincts as "whining", even though he turns out to be right. They don't treat him seriously, they aren't friendly, they hardly do more than scold him, boss him around or roll their eyes at him.

We still get the other side of the coin

Despite the former problem, Riordan manages to be contemptuous of humans, too. People inside the camp, Annabeth most of all, but Chiron (in a softer way) as well, and eventually Percy and Grover keep talking down at humans. Chiron says the reason why Percy's sword can't kill humans is because "mortals aren't important enough." You know, I would have been fine with "it's to protect humanity" or something; I didn't need a complicated justification for how this sword works. But it would have been nice to not get the most disparaging version that makes icky humans out to be a lower class of life! "Not important enough"? With all his talk of the precious Western civilisation, Chiron should know that mortals are vital to the immortals. No humans, no gods.

Funny thing is, Annabeth repeatedly describes mortals als blind and stupid because they don't know of the mythological goings-on. I thought that was the Mist(TM)? So, what is it? You are magically protected from being perceived as being and doing supernatural stuff - then it isn't the humans' fault, is it? - or people are just stupid and self-censor in their heads. Then why bother with the Mist. The Mist existing and being explained makes me wanna yell at Annabeth to stuff her high-and-mighty attitude. Granted, the Mist isn't too internally consistent. It hides centaurs randomly galloping across the landscape in plain sight of humans, it hides the furies, but it doesn't hide Echidna and the Chimera. I would have liked an explanation for that.

Harmful stereotyping

So. Riordan really hates dog owners, doesn't he? What was with the pink poodle? I mean, I got it; the owners are terrible - that's why he has an unfitting name and why he ran away. But Riordan has to hammer me over the head again. They dyed the doggo pink. Oof. And then Echidna. Here's wondering if Riordan ever depicts a dog owner as a decent person who treats their dog well.

But I take a vastly bigger issue with his consistently hateful depiction of step-parents. Now, Evil Step-Parents(TM) are a well-worn fairytale trope. And Riordan just... never questions it. Personally, I hate it. If it's a step-parent, they're abusive; no exceptions. Percy's stepfather is beating his wife, Annabeth's stepmother treats her as a freak and isolates her from her siblings; it's all very on-the-nose. Only once, I wanna read an acknowledgment that step-parents are just people, and they are as likely to be good people as everyone else. In fact, someone who decides to take a partner who already has a child usually has to internalize that fact at first and accept that this child is going to be a part of the relationship in some capacity. Can we not shit on non-biological parents all the time?

In that context, Annabeth's biological father being a lousy parent as well looks odd, granted. It's definitely something different than Percy's angelic mom. Is Riordan telling me that Athena just has a bad taste in men? Or is that more shitting on humans?

Oh boy, and he loves him some fatshaming. And no, it isn't just "this fat character turns out to be evil", it is "every single character described as being overweight is a negative character in some way, plus depicted as someone with really poor hygiene, plus just generally physically revolting. Go on, re-read the Echidna scene. Tell me that he doesn't go out of his way there to hammer home just how obnoxious and repulsive she is before she turns out to be a monster. How many unflattering words can he squeeze into one paragraph? Why would a kid care? Why does Percy even look at a complete stranger long enough to study how bad her sense of fashion is? Other big characters include Dionysus (more on him when I talk about Riordan's takes on mythology) who's... not evil, but mean-spirited and grumpy and contemptuous and constantly pissed-off. And Gabe, the stinking, ugly, abusive stepfather who literally lives among trash and is so unsubtle that he complains to his wife's face that he didn't get her life insurance because she showed up alive. Gabe Ugliano, because he's ugly, you see? Rick Riordan is funny. He's also trying to beat me to death with an anvil. And showing his ass, because a lot of domestic abuse is way subtler than that.

Ugly = evil is a shorthand that Riordan keeps reusing - and that his hero has weirdly internalized! And don't even tell me of a judgy 12-year-old as an unreliable narrator - because the narrative keeps proving Percy right. Ares' ugly daughters and the ugly girl at human school are brutal bullies (I mean, Annabeth keeps insulting and bullying Percy, but she's pretty, so it's fine when she does it). That Medusa looks elegant and refined and "must have been a beautiful woman once" makes Percy trust her, but the moment he stops trusting her, she starts looking monstrous. It's really lazy characterization.

Also, a fun little detail from Camp Half-Blood: The phenotype of people with sharp noses? Is associated with troublemakers. Uh-huh. I'm comfy with that. That doesn't sound anti-Semitic at all. ... FUCK THIS. Riordan, stereotypes like this are HARMFUL. Do. Your. Research.

An afterthought

Does Riordan have any faith in his own writing? Because the one time I'm sold on a dramatic moment, he ends up subverting it. I'm all, "Percy's falling towards the river! Monsters! Everything is panic!" And then the new chapter starts, and the moment falls flat. Because Riordan doesn't hold onto the fear Percy feels in that moment; he makes him snark about it in hindsight. It's really not a good idea to set up an emotionally captivating moment and then make fun of it.

#I'm not gonna tag this as Percy Jackson because the fandom would have my head for it #personal opinions #this got way salty #got this out of my system #books

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felixantares · 8 months

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Thank you for the tag @allalrightagain 💚

Hardcover or Paperback? I'm just taking LT's answer but yes, ebook! I can use dark mode, write as many notes as I want, and something about reading on the small screen tricks my ADHD brain into thinking I'm not actually reading a whole book. To answer the actual question, paperback.

Bookstore or Library? Libraries! So many free books, and the librarians can find you pretty much anything you want! Also if I said bookstore my librarian mother would materialize behind me and end my entire existence (but my answer would be the same regardless).

Bookmark or Receipt? I mean receipt or scrap paper if I have it, but I'll be real i'm a terrible awful person who has very few issues dog-earing a page.

Standalone or Series? Typically standalone, but if a series is really good then it can win me over. All my favourites are series (Percy Jackson, Harry Potter) but I've also read so many series where I feel like the story and themes gets lost or muddled over too many books. I've had more consistent success finding well defined stories with standalones.

Nonfiction or Fiction? Oh easy, fiction. I read to escape reality, why on earth would I want to read about reality?? I mean I do like research but only with a goal in mind. Non-fiction just for the fun of it? No thanks.

Thriller or Fantasy? Fantasy, all day every day. It's the D&D obsession shining through, I think.

Under 300 Pages or Over? Over!!! I set my ao3 search functions to sort by word count and if it's under 100k I gently place it in my marked for later list for when I want a 'light easy read' 😂 I'm way more likely to be interested if you tell me a book/fic is over 250k (or however many pages that is equivalent to).

Children’s or YA? I like a few kids books for the nostalgia, but I mostly read YA.

Friends to Lovers or Enemies to Lovers? I'm giving up and just quoting LT here because I agree 100% and couldn't say it better: "Friends. Enemies can be fun too, but I love the layers when you get into friends to lovers. Enemies to friends to lovers or friends to enemies to lovers or other permutations of Messy can be even better."

Read in Bed or Read on the Couch? I mostly read on my bed because my roommate tends to keep youtube videos running on the TV while he does various crafts around the house (right now he's painting a mirror frame with really pretty flowers!) but if we're just chilling listening to music then I like the couch better. We've got about 30 plants in our living room and we can open the balcony door when it rains and it's lovely.

Read at Night or Read in the Morning? I mean, the morning is definitely safer. If I start reading at night I'll never put the book down and I won't sleep, but if I start in the morning things won't get done. It's lose-lose.

Keep Pristine or Markup? Markup. This is why I have digital books, so I can write essays in the notes section. I once had to tape a piece of paper inside my book because there wasn't enough room in the margins for my notes.

Cracked Spine or Dogear? (this part is mostly for LT but I have a copy of OotP where the spine is also cracked so bad you can't read it!! samsies!) But uhhhh both? I do try to take care of my books, but I don't have many and the ones I do have are my favourites that have survived the various purges of many moves, so they're all very beat up with cracked spines and dogears and notations everywhere 😂 I call it a sign of a well-loved book. I'm pretty sure my copy of HBP lost its cover at some point and I hot glued it back on.

Tagging: @girl-with-goats @luxuriousmalfoy @gloivy @venom0usbarbie

#tag game #felix talks

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killerandhealerqueen · 9 months

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Thanks for answering my ask. If you don't mind me asking (again), can I ask, what are your top 10 (or top 7) favorite media (can be books/ manga/ anime/movies/tv series)? Why do you love them? Sorry if you've answered this question before......Thanks....

Not at all!

Alright, top 10 favorite media...

1. Killer and Healer (cdrama)

I've explained many times why I love this drama and to sum it all up, it's one of the greatest love stories I have ever fucking seen in my life and they have set the bar too god damn high in terms of relationships, communication, everything

2. Lord of the Rings Triology Extended Edition (movie)

Can't go wrong with the Lord of the Rings. Love the Lord of the Rings. It's such a good movie

3. CSI: Miami (tv show)

My favorite of the CSI franchises. I've seen every season, and at least every episode at least twice (maybe more). I just really like police procedurals and this has always been one of my favorites

4. Percy Jackson (book series)

You cannot go wrong with the Percy Jackson series now, come on. It's fucking Percy Jackson.

5. The Kane Chronicles (book series)

Now this is also written by Rick Riordan but instead of Greek mythology, it's Egyptian mythology and as someone who wanted to study egypt mythology and be an Egyptologist when I was younger, this shit appealed heavily to me. Still does. Love this book series

6. NCIS: New Orleans (tv show)

Out of the NCIS franchise, I like this one the most. I think it has the best cast, the best cases...I don't know, I just like this one the best

7. Hawaii Five-0 (tv show)

I never got the hype when I lived in Hawaii (yes, I was born and raised in Hawaii, no I'm not military or a missionary kid, I was born there) but once I went to the mainland for school, I started watching it and I understand why everyone really liked it. Also McDanno...great couple. I love their relationship

8. HiGH&LOW: THE WORST X (movie)

My favorite of the HiGH&LOW movies. I don't know what it is about this one but it's just...it's just my favorite. I think the characters and the relationships were all great and it was able to build off of the previous movie HiGH&LOW: THE WORST. And most sequels don't really work but this shit worked. And it's good. And the fighting? I'm an action girlie and these movies have some of the best fight scenes like ever

9. The Fiery Priest (kdrama)

One of my first kdramas that I've ever watched and oh my god. It's both funny and serious and the concept of the whole drama is just hilarious. I have never cackled so hard while watching a drama before. Love this drama

10. Danger Zone (Tdrama)

Oh my god, this drama. Oh, it's one of the only taiwanese dramas I've watched but holy fuck is it dark. It's so good but it's so fucking dark. It's another police procedural but the relationships in the dramas are really good. But it is not a drama you watch late at night. It's not. But it's so good

#sass answers #adine edition #top 10 favorite media

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darklingichor · 11 months

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Big Red Tequila, by Rick Riordan

As I sit here, I am fifteen minutes early for my tattoo appointment, I left my book at home, and I don't have anything on Kindle I want to read. So, why not write about a book?

So, I read Percy Jackson when I was in college. I don't remember what introduced me to it, I think I was given the first book for free, and I like Greek mythology so I thought, why not?

I liked it a lot, I loved that it dealt with dyslexia like it did, the story was awesome and so well written. I quickly read the rest of the series and loved the whole thing. The writing style really respected the reader.

I found out recently that he also wrote detective fiction, and that the first one was available from the library.

New series ho!

Tres Navarre is an unofficial PI who, at the open of the story, has moved back to his home town of San Antonio after ten years of living in California. He has done this to reconnect with his high school sweetheart Lillian. The two had been exchanging letters for months and had decided to try and make another go of it. Tres left San Antonio at the age of 19 after his police chief father was murdered. A murder that was never solved.

Him moving back to town has ruffled more than a few feathers, and all hell slowly breaks loose.

I liked this book, it's gritty without being grimy, Tres is funny and interesting. Of course an unofficial Texan PI who uses Tie Chee for defense, has an English PhD and a cat who eats enchiladas would have a hard time without a sense of humor and a worldview just left of center.

The mysteries are a bit convoluted and I figured both of them out by the halfway point. The pacing made this a little frustrating because I alternated between enjoying Tres's train of thought, and wanting to yell: "C'mon, man! It's *right there!!*"

Weirdly the most entertaining part of this book was the internal argument that it inspired.

When Tres gets back to town, quite a few people are annoyed, pissed, or down right enraged that he dare move back. And not all of them turn out to be involved with the plot.

The analytical part of my brain was going: "This is far too exagerated, this many people would not care that he left or that he came back."

But the part of me that grew up in a small town was going, yeah, that tracks.

Now, San Antonio isn't a small town, but the author seems to be going for the prodigal son returns thing and so, the community in which Tres is moving feels small.

One minute I would be thinking, "This is getting ridiculous, does no one move away in this universe?"

The next it would be "... you know, I could kind of see this happening on a tiny tiny scale if I ever lost my mind and moved back to my hometown." Not the threats and getting beaten up stuff, but more like the few people who acknowledged my existence, as a kid, being snide and sarcastic.

It was an interesting reading experience.

#books #book #book blogging 2023 #Big Red Tequila #rick riordan #mystery

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internetgremlin · 2 years

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Annabeth Chase

Whatever you think this is about to be, shut the fuck up because it's not that.

I don't make tiktoks, and I don't know if this is trending as much on tumblr as it is over there but the reaction to Leah being cast as Annabeth Chase in the upcoming Disney+ Percy Jackson series has been explosive, to say the least, and after nearly a week I think I've finally collected my thoughts enough to say my piece.

Absolute disclaimer: Comments, reblogs, whatever are fine. But don't come for me. I'm not here to spread hate and I most certainly am not here for fights so DO NOT try to start one. I've been in two minds about saying anything at all for a while but I feel like I need to put pen to paper if you will, and at least journal my thoughts a little.

So, here goes.

When they first announced Leah's casting I was... feeling some feelings, and I'll admit I wasn't initially filled with joy.

But let me tell you WHY.

I am a white cisgender female with blonde, CURLY hair. Emphasis on the curly.

In the early 2000s, curly hair was highly unfashionable and having pin-straight hair was in. I HATED my hair. My mum has very thin straight hair and had no idea how to take care of mine. I grew up crying as my hair was brushed dry, the only hairstyle I knew was a 100% frizzy ponytail. For every slightly formal thing I did from school photos to attending weddings, my hair was straightened. Even at the hairdressers, they used to wash and straighten my hair before it was cut, so it never looked right once I washed it and it sprang back. For years I used harsh chemicals and all sorts of nasty products in attempt to tame it. I straightened it for school every morning for 18 months as an early teen, I don't even want to think about how much damage that did.

Of curly-haired role models and main characters, in books and movies and media, there were few. I think Hermione Granger is the most obvious, but also characters like Mia Thermopolis from The Princess Diaries. But for every single curly-haired main character I got to see myself in, that I could relate to and pretend to be, there was always one thing that happened. They had a makeover, and their hair was brushed and washed and STRAIGHTENED, and then, all of a sudden they were seen as beautiful, desirable women.

I grew up thinking that I would only be seen as pretty, beautiful, or even as a girl at all when I had straight hair. (is it worth mentioning I was frequently misgendered from a baby up until about 15 because my hair was always short or scraped back into a low ponytail/bun?)

And then I read Percy Jackson and I met Annabeth, who looked like me. She was a white girl with curly blonde hair and she didn't give a fuck. She is ruthless and clever and fierce and wise and she is my hero. I adored her and I wanted to be her and throughout 10+ books she appears in she never has a straightened out makeover. Percy sees her as beautiful from Day Fucking One and he values her always, and for the entire person she is rather than one trait or another predominantly.

When she has her 'makeover moment' on Circe's island in the Sea of Monsters she still has curly hair but it's described as shiny and tamed and Percy sees her as beautiful but 'not her' and 'not right'.

So you can imagine when the only character I've ever truly connected to and felt represented by was changed, it was a blow and the 12-year-old inside me was devastated.

But I'm an adult. Curly hair is not an inherently white trait, and there are far, far more little black girls who have suffered with managing and loving their hair far worse than I have. For every white main character who has curly hair, even if she has a makeover and it's straightened to be desirable, where are the black characters with incredible natural hair? I'm not even listening to the Hermione argument here.

I'm an adult, this show is primarily for kids. I do not need to be represented in this show. I have the books, and I had my childhood and it's time for well made, representative and inclusive media to take the stage. It's time for all the little girls with or without curly, difficult hair, white or black to be able to take something from this incredible character.

And look at Leah, she looks great. From the trio picture released you can see it already works. I can already see her proving everyone wrong and that girls are as much the heroes as boys are, giving endless attitude and calling Percy Seaweed Brain, I can already see her virtually glowing as she talks about battle strategy and architecture as if it's perfectly normal for a 12-year-old.

I trust Rick Riordan with this series. So far Walker has proved himself to be the perfect fit for Percy, and I know he would never do us dirty on any of the characters. His statement rings completely true, it's not about how much an actor looks like a book character, but how well they can bring that personality to life that makes it.

So to anyone in the fandom, especially to adults like myself who used to enjoy the series as children and teenagers and are excited for it to be brought to our screens *properly*, if you're not okay with Black Annabeth and Desi Grover then you need to take a long, hard look at yourself buddy, because that ain't about 'representation' and 'book accuracy' and you fucking know it.

Also, it's a tv show. Don't take things so seriously.

And, one final mama bear note, THESE ACTORS ARE CHILDREN. Sending racial abuse to anyone is horrific, but these are LITERAL KIDS. Don't fucking abuse kids, come on.

tldr: surprised but excited about further casting for the PJO series and anyone who has an issue with the actors' race can go fuck themselves.

(image not mine but look at these babies, I would die for them)

#percy jackson #annabeth chase #grover underwood #pjo #pjo series #pjo disney+#rick riordan #leah jeffries #walker scobell #aryan simhadri #percy jackson casting

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