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dragonfly0808 · 1 year

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Could you give more squad headcanons? They're never enough ☺️💓

Riven is the heaviest and will use his weight to bother the others, crushing Timmy, Stella and Bloom is they get too comfy on the sofa.

Stella is always getting little gifts for everyone.

Bloom has managed to get Helia to help her make caricature portraits of everyone. Brandon framed his.

Sky, Musa, Nabu and Timmy are the only ones allowed to lay their heads on Tecna’s lap.

Flora and Riven can finish each other’s sentences/roasts.

Aisha will use her Morphix to mess with the others if they bother her too much. Flora is the only one that’s safe.

The headmasters/Guardians/poor Griselda have given up in trying to keep track of their visits and sleepovers. No one knows where they are but they’re pretty sure they are incapable of spending a whole week in their own dorms/beds.

The boys cuddle just as much as the girls and I will die on that hill.

They will usually sleep in trios if they’re squished into beds, the trios go as such: Tecna, Musa and Helia. Timmy, Bloom and Nabu. Aisha, Riven and Flora. Stella, Brandon and Sky. (The couples try not to sleep in the same bed for the third wheel’s/guardian’s sake. Stella and Brandon don’t care and Sky is used to it so they’re the exception.)

The girls have finally caved in and are now also learning Star Wars fights. The guys have memorized plenty of them and are unstoppable. Not a day goes by Bloom doesn’t regret introducing them to Star Wars. Also, she totally got Riven a Darth Vader helmet or a Darth Vader mug or smth. (Riven and Sky have the Obi-Wan vs Anakin fight in Revenge of the Sith down perfectly.)

If anyone starts singing one of Musa’s songs, the others have to obligatory join in with the worst tones possible to embarrass Musa. Extra points for cringey choreo and trying (and failing) to actually hit the harder notes.

They’re known as menaces in the 2 restaurants they frequent because of the amount of food the boys eat (listen, they train for like six or seven hours a day and their teenagers, you know those boys have endless pits as stomachs).

There is so much shit people have overheard from them that, without context is just… everyone in the three schools are convinced the Winx and their boys either secretly run the world or have only survived thus far due to dumb lock and Mom-friends Flora, Helia and Tecna.

Anytime there’s a campfire they bust out a perfect rendition of the Campfire Song from The Lightning Thief Musical. Riven is Luke, Flora is Annabeth, Bloom is Katie, Timmy is Grover, Nabu is Chiron, Musa is Silena and Helia is Percy, the rest join in on the chorus :).

Aisha, Stella and Bloom have bust out a perfect rendition of Candy Store, so have Timmy, Nabu and Brandon.

There’s a perfect divide of extroverts and introverts in the group: Bloom, Flora, Tecna, Timmy, Riven and Helia are introverts. Stella, Musa, Aisha, Sky, Brandon and Nabu are extroverts.

#winx club #winx rewrite #winx #winx headcannon #winx stella #winx bloom #winx sky #winx flora #winx brandon #winx headcanons #winx musa #winx riven #Winx headcannons #Winx headcanon #winx helia #winx fanfic #winx friendships #Winx friendship #winx season 3

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chasingpj · 1 year

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𝐈. 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐮𝐞

“Someone is either having twins or is going to die."

pairing: percy jackson x child of hecate!reader words: 1,929 warnings: none timeline: the lightning thief a/n: finally, the first chapter of the young god rewrite is here! haha, heyyyy. this took way too long. like ridiculously long, and i'm so so sorry. so much happened these last few months. despite it all, i know that i will always return to this story. i can't promise to be consistent, but i will make sure i post very soon. i love you guys and all of your support. it really does keep me revisiting this story. i hope you enjoy this, and don't be afraid to comment! i love hearing what you have to say.

prologue part II

Eager fingers stretch across the keyboard, one by one, to form words, the words into sentences, the sentences into paragraphs. The keyboard was no match for his racing thoughts; every small dent barely satisfied the eagerness in his chest. He could yell at the sky in frustration. Why couldn’t the words just write themselves?

His topic for this lengthy assignment felt unique, equipped with a theory he formulated himself, and he couldn’t contain the excitement of finally documenting his web of ideas. For a while now, the world drowned out around him. No sound or person could get his attention; however, as he marks down a clever thought led to him by her for the first time, his mind wanders.

Florence. The image of her forms in his mind. He visualizes her eyes first. Their green color, how clear they are like moss-covered ponds, and how they droop and pinch at the ends. He can recall the first time he gazed into them, the way they captivated him at first sight. By now, he’s stared into them plenty, and every time, he admired the way they were right at the cusps of both striking and lovely.

She wasn’t his girlfriend. Not yet, at least. She was a friend, a close companion, a like-minded individual that he just so happened to have a major crush on. The side of his mouth quirks upwards. The word crush felt so juvenile but so was his feelings towards her. At his age, he didn’t think he’d find a connection that took him back to the purest form of infatuation from his youth.

He intended to ask for her heart right after the midterms passed. Though, a running feud in his mind questioned whether to ask her when the semester was over. During the summer, they would allow their love to flourish alongside flowers in his mother’s garden. He had fallen in love with the idea but waiting that long didn’t feel right. He knew waiting was stalling the rejection a part of him was expecting to receive.

Another voice in his head told him he was just being paranoid. He’s sure their many outings together had to mean something. Her soft smiles and laughs at his jokes, the tension-filled brushes of their hands. The flirting couldn’t have been all in his head. Right? The idea that he’s misinterpreted it all made him antsy in his seat. It’s enough to release an anxious sigh, and his vision moves upwards to soothe the strain of his neck. His hand rubs the ache, and as he closes his eyes, he suddenly notices a rhythmic creaking.

His mother whispers frantically under her breath, shaky fingers resting on her lips in deep thought. Vincent furrows his eyebrows. It was a rare sight to see his mother so disheveled. Her usually kept hair had wisps out of place, and the look on her face was riddled with torment. She paces again and again, unphased at the bothersome sound of creaking wood or even the harsh thumps of her step. Vincent marvels at how this small woman has such a thunderous stride as if her worry gave her extra weight.

“Um, Mom?” Vincent hesitantly calls, and it’s not enough to catch her attention. “Hello?” He calls for a second time, his voice more pronounced. His mother’s gaze adverts quickly in his direction, and the creaking ends. “Could you not pace? You’re making me anxious.”

“Well, that makes two of us!” Cordelia throws her hands in the air, exasperated. “First, it was the phantom cries—”

“Dad, Mom is losing it.”

“Let her be.” Vincent’s father, Theo, sits back on the loveseat on the younger boy’s right. He waves his hand dismissively, eyes fixed on the crossword puzzle in front of him. After 25 years of marriage, he’s far used to his wife’s paranoia.

“Then the dream where I was in a hospital…. and the geese in the yard! You saw the geese!” Vincent and Theo exchange a look. Cordelia searches for a hint of validation with her frazzled eyes.

“It’s near migrating season, is it not?” Theo points out, scribbling down an answer in the boxes.

“Well, yes… it is, but there were so many! Then, I cracked an egg with two yolks when I was making breakfast this morning!”

“And that means?” Vincent sighs, eyes following her back and forth as if he’s watching an intense tennis match.

“Someone is either having twins or is going to die.”

“Well, let’s hope it’s not the latter,” Theo mutters.

Vincent stifles the chuckle in his throat. “Or you just happened to crack an egg with a double yolk. Not everything is a sign, Mom.”

“I know not everything is a sign, Vincent, but I got goosebumps. Then the candle holder on the altar fell over. Lady Hecate is trying to tell me something. I just don’t know what.” Cordelia makes a beeline for the altar on the other side of the living room. She settles in front of it, adjusting the placement of her offerings with shaky hands.

Vincent sighs, watching his mother whisper a brief prayer for clarity. When she catches her son's eyes, worry flashes in her features.

“Something big is at work here. I’ve asked her countless questions, but the answers are so vague. Last night, I pulled a handful of cards in my divination session with her: The Tower, The Empress, The Page of Swords, The Page of Wands, and The Sun. It all felt domestic, youthful, and transformative.”

Vincent frowns, leaning his chin on the sofa's backrest. Cordelia stares at the tablecloth as if her answer will ascend from it any second now. Suddenly, she gasps, turning to her son sharply. “Have you and Florence—?”

“No! We haven’t!” Vincent groans. He ignores the wave of heat gracing his cheeks and returns his attention to his laptop.

“Well then, what’s all this baby business about?” Cordelia sighs. “Perhaps I’m interpreting it wrong.”

“Perhaps,” Vincent mutters, gaze fixed on the blinking cursor to find his previous train of thought.

“Honey, why don’t you sit down and have some tea? Or you can sit outside and let the neighborhood kids know we’re giving out candy. They always skip our home.” Theo smiles warmly at Cordelia. She sighs once again, her shoulders slumping in defeat this time.

“I guess Funeral Homes are too creepy even on Halloween,” Vincent sighs.

“You know, I’m starting to think that our impressive pomegranate growth in the garden this past summer has something to do with it too!”

Vincent pinches the bridge of his nose, and before he or Theodore suggests Cordelia take up one of their offers, the doorbell rings.

“Maybe your big thing at work is at the door.” Vincent jokes, quickly catching his father trying to hide his smirk.

Cordelia scoffs, fixing her hair in front of the mirror by the staircase. “You both just think I’m a madwoman,” she mutters, trudging downstairs to meet the trick-or-treaters.

There was silence for a while, and both men returned to their tasks before the hysterics. Theo was convinced Cordelia was finally occupied with something, but quickly, his satisfaction curdled into a panic when a wail proceeded to a harsh gasp.

“Mom?”

“Honey?”

The two rise from their seats, eyes widening as the door slams closed. “THEO! VINCENT!”

The calls of their names send their feet moving. They hurry down the stairs and turn the corner through the lounge area. As they appear at the doorway, Cordelia kneels over two golden baskets glowing like lanterns in the darkroom. With glistening eyes, she looks up, her hand over her heart as if it was the only thing preventing it from beating out of her chest.

“Dear Heavens, someone left their babies on our doorstep?” Theo approaches the baskets, kneeling beside his wife. He peeks under the white blankets in need of a closer look to confirm what he’s seeing is real.

“We have to take them to a firehouse,” Vincent gawks, frozen in his spot.

“No! What are you talking about? They’re ours!”

Theo and Vincent exchange glances with each other, pretty sure Cordelia has lost it. As Vincent is about to protest, a choked sob leaves her.

“Lady Hecate sent them; I know it. It all makes sense now.” From Vincent's view, he doesn’t see the letter she’s grasping for dear life on her lap. She shakes her head, “I knew it was her when you brought her into my shop, Vincent. How foolish of me not to recognize my patron in my presence.”

“Mom, what are you going on about?” Vincent kneels beside her. She meets his gaze with a veil of sympathy and presents the letter to him. In gold ink, it shimmered, To Vincent.

“Honey, the babies, they're yours.” There wasn’t a hint of amusement in her tone, but Vincent couldn’t help but scoff. There was no way these two babies were his. It was impossible.

“Is this a prank?” He asks as one of the babies coo and fusses in their blanket.

Cordelia quickly reaches for the child, cradling them until he settles down again. “Lady Hecate has a sense of humor, but I don’t think this is a display. Read the letter.”

Vincent carefully takes it from her, the paper thick in his hand. It didn’t feel like any regular envelope. It was made from a material he couldn’t identify, but its surprising weight is fitting for the heavy news inside. Still doubtful of his mother's conclusions, he opens the letter with shaky hands.

Dear Vincent,

This will come as a great surprise; therefore, I will explain myself the best I can and hope it will be enough. Your mother has been a devotee of mine since her youth, and it was through her did the fates introduce us. My attendance at your presentation was merely an errand; I did not foresee our gazes meeting or our relationship flourishing as it did. It was there I introduced myself as Florence and not by my real name, Hecate. Please do not take the falsehood of my identity as deception. For it was what I had to do to protect you and, as selfish as it may be, to have the room to get to know your soul the way I yearned to.

As for the children on your doorstep, your mother’s suspicions have been right. The twins are ours. They are a physical manifestation of your tender adoration for me and my affection for you. I am confident you and your parents will nurture and keep them well under your roof. You may name and raise them as you please. The only thing I ask is that you see them as gifts, not as burdens. Our time together was unwillingly temporary, and it’s through our twins I could reassure you had a piece of me to keep. Their lives are a lit flame representing our love despite my absence, so please, take your love for me and invest it into them.

As much as I wish to raise them beside you, there are rules I must obey. However, I will never be far. I will watch over your family as I’ve done for over a decade now. Every milestone our twins meet, I will be aware of. I’ll make sure of it. Whoever they become, they will make me proud, and so will you.

Vincent, please take care of yourself. Continue being the wise and gentle man I have fallen in love with.

With lots of love and great apology,

Your Florence

masterlist my lobby: ♡

#yg by xeni #percy jackson fic #percy jackson fanfiction #percy jackson #percy jackson x reader #percy jackson fanfic #percy jackson and the olympian fic #percy jackson and the olympians fanfiction #my writing #pjo fanfic #pjo fic #pjo #friends to lovers #slow burn fic #percy jackson oneshot #percy jackson one shot #percy jackson and the olympians

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uselesslexbian · 8 months

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the lightning thief by rick riordan sentence starters

am i a troubled kid? yeah, you could say that.

i'm going to kill her.

you're already on probation. you know who'll get blamed if anything happens.

it's okay. thanks for trying.

you've been giving us problems.

did you really think you would get away with it?

let him enjoy his ignorance while he still can.

i can't fail in my duties again. you know what that would mean.

why would i need you?

what are you not telling me?

tell me they're not looking at you. they are, aren't they?

i don't want this to be like the last time.

does that mean somebody is going to die?

i hope you lose.

because you don't want me around?

you've been out for two days. how much do you remember?

you drool when you sleep.

can you imagine that for a moment, never dying?

but i don't believe in gods.

not lethal. usually.

i can't believe i thought you were the one.

monsters don't die. they can be killed. but they don't die.

oh, thanks. that clears it up.

you talk in your sleep.

i'm thinking that i want you on my team for capture the flag.

why would anybody want to summon a monster?

i don't belong here.

no maiming.

where the heck did you learn to fight like that?

you're saying i'm being used.

who else would be stupid enough to volunteer for a quest like this?

a lot of hopes are riding on you.

kill some monsters for me, okay?

you want a magic item?

remind me again - why do you hate me so much?

i don't hate you.

i said if you're lucky. you're obviously not.

i can't just leave you.

you have offended the gods. you shall die.

what did you want me to do? let you get killed?

you didn't need to protect me. i would've been fine.

the real world is where the monsters are. that's where you learn whether you're any good or not.

you're pretty good with that knife.

are you crazy? this place is weird.

what's that hissing noise?

i take vitamins. for my ears.

that's admirable. but please, relax.

you would be better off as a statue. less pain.

oh, yuck. mega yuck.

forget it. you're impossible.

you're insufferable.

they're not going to like that. they'll think you're impertinent.

i am impertinent.

they seemed plenty aggressive to me.

how about i take first watch? you get some sleep.

how long was i asleep?

what would you do if it was your dad?

that's easy. i'd let him to rot.

can't we work together a little?

they don't make heroes like they used to.

we can't leave you alone for five minutes! what happened?

it's okay. i don't mind a little attitude.

you can't do that. you can't just threaten people with a knife.

don't you carry a weapon? you should. dangerous world out there.

even strength has to bow to wisdom sometimes.

if he brings his girlfriend here for a date, i'd hate to see what she looks like.

you don't want to insult her looks.

me, go with you? how embarrassing is that? what if somebody saw me?

who's going to see you?

you didn't get yourself killed.

you knew it was a trap.

her death was my fault.

please. i'm not into self-inflicted pain.

i don't know what they'll do. i just know i'll fight next to you.

because you're my friend.

no gift comes without a price.

be faster next time.

the plan. yeah, i love the plan.

no. i'm dead.

you're not dead. i should have known.

i'd wish you luck, but there isn't any down here.

it amuses me not to strike you dead yet.

there can't be a war among the gods. it would be... really bad.

you keep saying "after what you've done." what exactly have i done?

you heroes are always the same. your pride makes you foolish.

you were supposed to die.

i take orders from no one.

i don't have dreams.

he is proud and impulsive. it runs in the family.

obedience does not come naturally to you, does it?

a hero's fate is never happy. it is never anything but tragic.

whatever else you do, know that you are mine.

you can't do this for me. you can't solve my problems.

if my life is going to mean anything, i have to live it myself.

you miss being on a quest?

where's the glory in repeating what others have done?

all the gods know how to do is replay their past.

when i came back, all i got was pity.

the gods let her die.

i've been used? look at yourself.

you must not rush out for vengeance.

keep your eyes open.

i'll be back next summer.

i'll survive until then.

#rp meme #rp ask meme #rp starters #rp prompts #ask meme #roleplay memes #i was impatient--

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sophies-junkyard · 7 months

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Seeing the new PJO content has me thinking way too hard about growing up. Its crazy because it’s like…. I think that chapter of my life is over? Which is a BIZARRE feeling. It’s all pretty stupid to write out but I’m drinking coffee and staring out the window and don’t have class for another 6 hours so lemme scribble some thoughts.

I read the Percy Jackson books when I was the same age as the characters, and so whenever I look back on those stories I sort of… remember them as peers? I remember how much I related to them and looked up to them. It was the first story that ever told me my ADHD could be a gift, and that it made me just like my heroes. It was so, SO important to me. I JOINED TUMBLR for the PJO fandom! I made camp t-shirts and painted necklace beads! I learned to draw because the fanart inspired me. Those books were such an escape for a lonely kid. The characters grew up right alongside me, and eventually got older than me. So when I picture our trio I still picture people… more competent than me? People I would aspire to be. But seeing that trailer and remembering like… holy fuck they were kids. I was a kid. This is a faithful adaptation because they were TWELVE… where did the time go?

It’s just strange because if you scroll back through my tumblr you’ll find a kid who camped out for the release of HOH. Who saved her allowance for a year to get an autographed copy of the Blood of Olympus. Whose eyes would glaze over in euphoria at the idea of my favorite thing in the world coming to screen. At the idea of a new BOOK!! And from Percy’s perspective?? That girl would’ve exploded. This was HER blog! Push a few buttons and you’ll find her!

So how odd is it that… it’s simply not for me anymore. When I saw that the book was set in Percy’s senior year of high school, I had a tiny flash of disappointment. Obviously I can’t relate to an 18 year old, and I felt myself frowning. “Why isn’t Percy for ME anymore?” I wondered. And I immediately felt silly. The answer is because… I don’t need that world anymore.

They’re not making this show for me. They’re bringing it back for the next generation of kids who need those role models and those stories. When I watched the trailer I thought “oh that’s cool” instead of “oh my god I can’t wait!!” Because it just doesn’t make my brain light up like it used to. I’m never going to relate to it like I once did. Ever. And that’s okay because I’m not that kid anymore! Insane.

It’s not like the series doesn’t mean anything to me anymore. There’s a copy of The Lightning Thief on the bookshelf directly across from me. Its smooshed between The Secret History and a level 4000 Spanish textbook. It’s yellowed with age and shredded around the corners. The first sentence has been underlined repeatedly in smudgy mechanical pencil. There are about a thousand folded pages and the back cover is missing. I don’t remember the last time I opened it, but it’s moved with me for years now and I have no intention of letting it go.

Those stories and that fandom shaped me into the person I am today. I wanted to be brave like Percy and smart like Annabeth. I believed it was possible because I saw myself in them, and it turned out to be true. So while it’s sad to know those days are behind me, I’m so SO glad that other kids will get to have that experience. I hope these stories live on for decades to come.

I don’t really know what the point of writing this was. I think I just wanted to have these thoughts written out somewhere. A sort of acceptance that time goes on and things change, ya know? And to clarify: this is NOT meant to discourage ANYBODY from watching the new series or reading the new book. People should absolutely go back to the things that bring them joy, should discover new worlds to escape to, etc. live your life baby! Hell, I’ll probably end up liking everything PJO related that floats across my dash. Nostalgia is a powerful thing. If you read this entire post I hope you have a great day lmao.

#percy jackson #PJO #the lightning thief #rick riordan #annabeth chase #this is my life #heroes of olympus #riordanverse #the chalice of the gods #this one’s for the homies who are feeling a bit old #feel free to let me know if y’all feel the same or if you’ve got a different perspective on all this!#adhd

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magnorious · 4 months

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A Lightning Thief Retrospective, 16 Years Later

Good grief, I am old. *Spoilers ahead*

In the spirit of the resurgence of appreciation for this series, I’m doing a retrospective on the books that single-handedly got me to love reading. No matter how old I get, Percy and co will always hold a special place on my bookshelf and in my soul. 16 years later and I have my own books to show for it.

*Disclaimer, I have read the books multiple times in the interim, but I first got my hands on it, and first fell in love with it, in 2008.

So: The Lightning Thief

The Greek-verse isn’t Riordan’s only series to open with a fourth-wall-breaking element, nor is it the only series to open with a “if you’re reading this, be warned” narrative (Maximum Ride comes to mind) but, at least in the paperback edition circa 2006, the last lines on the first page read:

Am I a troubled kid?Yeah, you could say that.

And I just… it’s so Percy. It’s perfect. You have no idea what it really means on your first read through but sixteen years later after growing up with these books, that line just makes me grin like the little kid that’s still inside.

As I kept reading, I tried my best to remove my “victim of the hellish IB Program, literary analyst” hat. This book spoon feeds you exposition in a really palatable way. We’ve seen the museum scene adapted twice now and while older me thinks that’s really convenient timing, it does a lot of legwork while also being short enough to keep the attention of its intended audience. It is also very, very good at foreshadowing, and setting up major payoffs, for events later in this book and beyond.

“Mr. Brunner” looking at the stele of the unnamed hero like he’d been to her funeral

Luke’s scar in the firelight making him look evil

Percy’s affinity for water and the sea, peeking into Cabin 3 before it’s his

The Fates’ electric-blue (remind you of anyone’s eyes?) string

“Someone summoned it,” Chiron said. “Someone inside the camp.”Luke came over….

Ares’ curse on Percy

Speaking of foreshadowing – prophecies. Since all five books have them, I’m dedicating a section in each review to each one.

You shall go west, and face the god who has turned.You shall find what was stolen, and see it safely returned.You shall be betrayed by one who calls you a friend.And you shall fail to save what matters most, in the end.

The whole point of these things is to drive you crazy trying to figure out what they mean before they play out, making you rotten suspicious and paranoid. The book does go line by line in the end and explains how each element was resolved. It’s both very deceptive, on purpose, but easy to grasp for younger readers. I think the prophecies in Titans Curse and Battle of the Labyrinth are superior, but it does its job well.

—

The whole book, likely intentionally so, with an ADHD protagonist, isn’t filled with fluffy narrative. There’s a ton of one-sentence paragraphs and Percy’s personality always shines through, even from page one, a la Holden Caulfield. Even when it’s an exposition-heavy scene, or just traveling while on their quest, nothing ever *lingers*.

Percy is direct in his observations and his narration jumps about from thinking about some random comment another character made that’s poignant in the moment to funny descriptions of the mythic world, to pitching his two-cents on the matter, expressing his annoyances with Annabeth, etc, all in a snappy and easy to keep up with manner. He doesn’t wax poetic, that’s not who he is and that’s not the story this book is telling.

For anyone intimidated by chapter books (re: me at that age) this book is endlessly approachable. He doesn’t have *too much* personality to be distracting, but he has enough to be more than a reader-insert everyman.

I don’t necessarily believe he’s twelve, but he does have that childish immaturity with his narrating and I forget if it ages with him. Since I brought up Maximum Ride earlier, she’s a child protagonist who does not read like a 14 year old girl, she reads like a quirky caricature written by a middle-aged dude.

**Side note, upon my re-read, it came to my attention that the Disney show inexplicably skipped the cutting of the thread with the Fates scene that is like, foreshadowing for the entire series**

*Side side note, Percy isn’t the one who came up with Wise Girl, it was Clarisse. Chapter 6**

I also forgot just how big a temper Percy has. He contemplates kicking Smelly Gabe in the balls for being mean to Sally, with zero care for the consequences. Not to mention the whole “Gabe would love to give away free appliances” schtick. He’s such a little sh*t and we love him.

For a book that’s largely action adventure, it balances the slower moments with the fight scenes smoother than butter. Percy’s demigod-ness gives him quite a bit of plot armor and excuse to survive these fights as a mostly-untrained twelve-year old without making him unrealistically over-competent.

The world building, at least in my opinion, feels like it looked at Harry Potter and went “I can fix that”. There’s not one cabin of demigods rudely and unfairly and problematically labeled Wizard Nazis, (except Grover insinuating that Hades’ kids were actual Nazis in WWII…. Hmm). The Mist exists to hand-wave away everything mortals aren’t supposed to see. It gets really creative with modernizing these myths and making them more child-friendly, and does a good job at urbanizing it, for lack of a better term. The concept of mapping Ancient Greece onto the US is neat, for American readers, and the explanation of “traveling Western Civilization” makes sense. The Underworld having traffic and toll booths was funny.

It treads the razor-thin line of “paganism is real” as well as it can, I think. It focuses less on “creation of the universe was definitely this” and more “the forces of nature have names and faces,” and sidesteps the giant sinkhole of Christianity and Christian readers with “we shan’t deal with the metaphysical,” and says nothing more about it, or demigods who grew up religious, or the other pantheons (yet). Beyond a throwaway dead preacher who Grover argues likely sees the underworld through his Christian kaleidoscope.

The series also doesn’t suffer egregious plot holes, only some continuity errors (like Blackjack). One that comes to mind in TLT is that if Camp contacted Sally about watching over Percy, Sally knew his dad was Poseideon. So how did the whole “I want to watch over your son cause he’s interesting, hm, can’t put my finger on why. Say, who’s his dad?” never lead anywhere? But it doesn’t break the immersion, certainly not for young readers.

It’s interesting how, looking back after knowing the entire story, how the seeds of doubt are right there, in your face, from the moment Percy learns the gods are real. It’s almost a meta self-fulfilling prophecy how things go so wrong for these characters, it’s so obvious.

SInce it is an adventure, the places they go are all wildly and entertainingly different. The garden gnome emporium, St. Louis Arch, Waterland, the Lotus casino, Crusty’s waterbed store. Each provides their own challenges and take full advantage of “mythology is real”.

Let’s talk about the villains, and how Hades was not done dirty this time. I’m going to presume that it’s bias on part of the characters for the whole “Hades’ kids were Nazis” and it’s absolutely on Chiron for insisting that Hades is the culprit when he sends Percy on his quest. Nowadays, especially with the staggering popularity of Nico, Hades has been pretty well redeemed in the eyes of a casual reader. But I think, at the time it was written, making Hades not the villain here was fantastic. He’s still a god, still a jerk, still dangerous, but he’s not the Devil. He drew the short straw and is an introvert written by salty extroverts.

Luke, for a twist villain (read my post here for a deeper analysis) and Ares as a tool of Kronos worked really well. If anyone got the Slytherin treatment, I guess it would have been the Ares cabin, but… he’s a jerk. His kids got his temperament, thus they are jerks. But even then – Ares was just a tool, a crude hammer swung alarmingly well.

Setting up your series-defining villain as a disembodied voice pulling strings is nothing new, but it comes with the benefit of two thousand years of real-world mythology backing up this entity’s power. Kronos is basically a non-entity in this book, but what he does is effective, and kudos for making readers’ skin crawl with the near-tragedy at the edge of Tartarus (foreshadowing!!!!!).

Something else the book does well is having a very well-written and uniquely motivated reluctant chosen one. Yeah, we’d all rather be demigods than Tributes, but being a demigod has drawbacks that being a wizard doesn’t. They don’t shy away from the risk of kids getting skewered and mauled, even if you don’t actually see it happening. This is dangerous work.

And, Percy calls it out – he exists to be used. That’s all demigods are worth to the Olympians. So, he’s going to use this quest to rescue his mom. He doesn’t give a damn about his dad, he doesn’t care about the looming civil war, doesn’t think it’s even the right thing to do, except to prevent the nuclear fallout that said war would cause.

He’s not one of those whiny “I just want to be normal” protagonists like no child in the history of ever has dreamed of if they were in their hero’s shoes. He’s also not pumped and jazzed and excited about being a demigod. They’re the victims of abusive and absent parents and, for a kids series, I still think such a sobering subject was handled really, really well.

You want to be a hero like Percy. You’re rooting for him from the first page. Discovering all his new powers is fun, daydreaming getting claimed right along with him. It isn’t dated with pop culture references and most of the humor lands (a novel experience that does not last forever, unfortunately). He’s sassy and sarcastic and his in-character ignorance and naivety opens the door for plenty of smooth exposition and letting the reader discover the world through his eyes, without feeling lifeless.

Speaking of personality, his rapport with Annabeth grows pretty decently over the course of the book, from being super catty to getting embarrassed on the tunnel of love ride, as if anyone would really care. They have their spats, but the budding friendship is realistic and she doesn’t feel at all like the girl hastily written in because the author forgot to include one.

She has her faults, but that’s the point. She’s also a victim of godly propaganda, and twelve, and literally burdened with hubris. All three of them bounce off each other well, each bringing different strengths and weaknesses to the trio, building each other up and bickering to tear each other down because, you know – twelve.

—

I read somewhere that the first five books all pay homage to some of the most famous Greek myths. Lightning Thief’s myth is that of the original Perseus with these familiar beats shared by both:

Murdering Medusa via reflective surface

Wrongfully convicted of a crime he didn’t commit and punished by Zeus

Hermes’ winged shoes

Hades’ missing war helm

Obtaining a cool new sword

Rescuing his mom from the Bad Guy

Not dying tragically

Princess Andromeda (the more famous Perseus myth adapted by Wrath and Clash of the Titans) does make an appearance in Sea of Monsters.

The joke people used to make about the fans of the series is that reading PJO does not make a mythology expert, but that isn’t the point. The books opened the door to further research at your own pace and maybe fostered love of a subject and culture you’d go on to study later in life.

This review is about the book, not the show, but it is a disservice to the book to cram nearly ten entire chapters of content, out of twenty-two (156 pages in the ‘06 paperback) into two episodes both less than an hour long. No wonder the premier felt, night and day, far inferior to episode 3. Episode 3 wasn’t sprinting the entire time.

Overall, the missing-persons-turned-possible-child-terrorist subplot stayed its welcome exactly as long as it needed to and every time I think about this book I forget it’s even part of the story. The payoff is really at the end with the free appliances and, of course, Gabe’s just desserts.

The book is absolutely, transparently, the first leg of a relay race, not one of those “I wrote this and it was successful now I have to come up with a sequel” stories and all the seeds of development for the series at large were expertly scattered.

The worst I have to say about the book is this: The constant “Thalia, daughter of Zeus.” There’s at least seven of them across the book and the whole title almost every time she’s mentioned reads a bit strange.

It’s paced excellently, with a few slow beats for good character development in between locations. The foundations of our heroes are solid, all the twists and turns with the true villains and the real meaning of the prophecy was well done. For the book that began a multi-series world of interconnected pantheons with new publications still coming out today, it’s humble and smart and, for a “children's” book, anyone can enjoy it, no nostalgia required.

#the lightning thief #percy jackson #retrospective #pjo #pjo series #pjo hoo toa #review

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theclassymike · 2 years

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Logan Lerman via Ana Corrigan.

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alittlegayhistoria · 4 months

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Zoe Leonard - 'I Want a President' (1992)

“I want a dyke for president…” form the opening lines for the battalion of critical incisiveness and queer radical spirit that is Zoe Leonard’s 1992 piece ‘I Want a President’. Surging forth into the American public realm following the fatal negligence of Reagan’s administration during the AIDS epidemic and the next presidential election run-up, ‘I Want A President’ dared to interrogate the fundamental denial of marginalised bodies, minds and experiences in the political arena. Constituting a poignant position in the broader visual languages of AIDS activism and queer resistance, ‘I Want A President’ broke ground in inspiring and furthering a critical modality of hope. Its impassioned sentences at once demand empathy and humanity from authoritative figures. Leonard’s statements queer the metrics of power that vehemently deny those outside of cis-heteropatriarchal society by providing currency in promoting otherwise silenced voices, and reestablishing their lived experiences as ethically fundamental in the articulation and implementation of policies that account for real citizens.

Functioning as a key catalyst for ‘I Want A President’, Leonard was inspired by the dynamism of fellow lesbian poet and artist Eileen Myles’ presidential bid in the 1991-1992 presidential election, alongside Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Ross Perot. Myles herself charged up by Bush’s lamentations of “the politically correct” (which implied an intended diminution of the voices of women, people of colour and LGBTQ+ critiquing hegemonic political assertions) in his commencement address galvanised an intellectual juncture that scrutinised the supposed impossibility of an openly female, openly queer president in the mainstream American consciousness. Acting in symbiosis to Myles’ work and presidential candidacy, Leonard was (and remains) a prominent and active member of queer activist collectives like Fierce Pussy, and her political praxis and astute artistic sensibilities informed the dissemination and distribution of ‘I Want A President’. Formerly intended to be a statement for an underground LGBTQ+ publication, the piece was printed as a Xerox document and circulated amongst Leonard’s friends, wider queer social circles and activist cohorts. It rapidly rumbled outwards into the wider public space, levying a challenge to the unfeeling political elite through progressive prose that illuminated the standpoints of those most denigrated in American ideology and dogma.

Spanning experiences of targeted violence, poverty, and disenfranchisement, the rhythmic structure of ‘I Want A President’ is arresting in its unflinching engagement with state-enabled trauma interwoven with empathic sentences expressing solidarity with those who continue to survive despite the odds. Grappling with legacies of lethal indifference in institutional engagement with the AIDS crisis, environmental damage bolstered by social inequalities, and sustained acts of gender-motivated attacks, Leonard’s calls and aspirations for a feeling, loving and reflexive leader remain tantamount in the contemporary era. The concluding lines “Always a boss and never a worker, always a liar, always a thief and never caught” is deeply evocative as a searing indictment against acts of blatant corruption and incitement of destructive community tensions by political elites able to evade culpability through immense social privileges. ‘I Want A President’ and its power lies in its calibration of empathy as a lightning rod for action, to make the yearning for difference not a mawkish instinct, but a place of generative resistance against political systems that seek to elicit apathy from sustained deprecation of those who fall outside of the power lines on the basis of race, gender, sexuality, class, ability and beyond.

‘I Want A President’ continues to have vibrant reverberations in contemporary political and queer counterculture. In 2016, it was erected under Manhattan’s High Line, a New York park built upon a disused elevated railway, proclaiming its moving and robust prose to a new public audience in the run-up to the 2016 election which devastatingly saw in the presidency of Donald Trump, reminding us all too much of what ‘I Want A President’ advocates against. Leonard’s powerful work continues to garner creative inspiration amongst queer artists, notably being read by queer rapper and artist Mykki Blanco, directed as part of a film by Adinah Dancyger in 2016, providing a reading that was passionate, imbued with immense political frustration that made its words all the more visceral in the face of Trump’s eventual inauguration. In 2018, the piece was reprinted with 100 copies and distributed in aid of the Treatment Action Group, a community-based think tank producing bold, advancing research into AIDS/HIV and other conditions in the pursuit of LGBTQ+, gender and racial liberation. The timelessness and transience of ‘I Want A President’ is made clear in its sustained relevance in the fluctuations in the national political milieu, demonstrating its significance as a queer cultural artefact that inspires fights for justice across multiple social intersections.

Leonard continues to enjoy a lustrous artistic career, and is now represented by the Hauser & Wirth gallery, where ‘I Want A President’ was celebrated and honoured for its cultural impact and staying power. Translating the piece’s deep insights and challenges against discriminatory political dominance in the British context, one can foster ‘I Want A President’ in expressing their disavowal of political acts devoid of empathy and basic human respect. Namely the state hatred of trans and genderqueer people in the name of political point-scoring, the loathsome class stigmatisation of current prime minister Rishi Sunak in his boasting of defunding what he deemed ‘deprived’ urban areas and the skyrocketing levels of financial precarity and homelessness under a fractious economic system. Leonard’s ruminations and desires in ‘I Want A President’ remain emblematic of the potency of queer activism and eternally vital, in demanding better representation, for politicians that care, that feel, that emote, that dare to think holistically beyond the sinister motivator of unbridled capitalistic power.

#lgbt #lgbt history #lgbt art #zoe leonard #eileen myles

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thegapbetweenmoments · 3 months

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New Muse Ideas!

So here is my consistent conundrum: I like writing things with what I like to refer to as notable supernatural elements. This could be a vampire character (Alicia), a necromancer (Diana and kind of Belle), a time mage (Tom), etc.

The problem with this is twofold. One issue is simply that many people aren't super interested in fantasy based things, which is 100% fair and fine, and why most of the time I just write without the supernatural bits unless otherwise specified.

The other is that even when people do want to write supernatural-ish things, sometimes the vibes don't line up with whatever it is that I made for my characters, which is why it takes a while for new characters to be made even at times like this when I'm relatively active.

SO!

Below is a list of character ideas I've come up with that I'm currently considering. If you see any on the list and go "Ooh! That sounds cool!", please let me know, because that kind of input is super helpful for this process. Doesn't matter if you're a mutual, nonmutual, never interacted before, etc (though more weight will be given to mutuals/people who've interacted before). Just drop a little response and that will give more weight to the idea. Once one or two have been figured out, I'm going to make a new post about FCs, because tbh I suck at picking those, but that is a thought for later!

The list of thoughts (under read more so that I don't take up the whole dash):

Half-devil lawyer (Honestly, this is a character I actually did use for one thread and I enjoyed a lot. I may make this one even if people don't want him, but weight and priority will likely be given to things people actually want. I've always enjoyed devil contracts as plot devices, and he might be just a smidge lawful evil)

Freed djinn nurse (General concept is that she has pretty significant powers that only work if she uses them in response to a wish. She wouldn't have to respond to every wish, and like more nefarious djinn she'd probably try to use the wording of wishes in order to bend things to work how she wants, even though she as a person is not trying to harm anyone. Job as a nurse is essentially so that she can hear wishes that are inherently more benevolent and grant or bend those to do good things)

Rune mage tattoo artist (Essentially, the thought behind this is a guy who can write a long, complicated series of glyphs as a sort of magical sentence on something and activate it to give whatever it's written on an effect. Take this to its logical conclusion and with enough time, this can be used to give magical tattoos to people that give them some type of ability or effect)

Air mage pilot (I mean the usefulness of the power is kind of obvious, but also I think she'd likely own a smaller plane of her own and generally be a bit more chaotic/daring than most of my girls on here, which is a lot of the fun behind this idea for me personally)

Blood Mage Butcher (I like when characters have these powers with crazy amounts of evil potential, who then use them for completely mundane, neutral-to-good aligned things. I think this guy is just passionate about meat and grilling. Probably early to mid thirties with wholesome dad vibes. Maybe not the route most people would go for characters they want to write with, but certainly one I find amusing)

Lightning Mage Art Thief (I'm thinking she shorts out cameras and security fixtures, then just walks up to an expensive piece art and swaps it with a replica, possibly with a nearly invisible hidden signature. Some real heist movie bullshit. Then, she goes back to some incredibly mundane or wholesome day job. Maybe an elementary school art teacher who steals to buy art supplies for class)

#OC ideas #open rp #feel free to let me know!#Thank you in advance for any input offered

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sofyachy · 8 months

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Good Omens 3 Thinky-Thoughts

Now that I've had some time to watch Good Omens Season 2 and go through all the stages of grief (including rewatching repeatedly and dreaming up various fanfiction plots), I'm ready to start jotting down some reflections on S2 and where I think S3 should go. So, spoilers! You know what to do...

Pride & Prejudice

First, the Jane Austen / Pride & Prejudice references in the script are no accident. Alright, I absolutely loved the joke about Austen being a jewel thief and brandy smuggler, and Aziraphale trying to make people fall in love at a ball is a very Aziraphale thing to do. But the references go much deeper.

We can see parallels between the way Aziraphale and Crowley relate to each other with Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy. After being snubbed at a ball, Elizabeth becomes prejudiced against Darcy in subsequent interactions, and "willfully misunderstands" his behavior and motivations even when doing so would go against her otherwise sensible observation skills. Similarly, despite Aziraphale and Crowley's ongoing arrangement / partnership / friendship / oblivious marriage / etc., Aziraphale repeatedly demonstrates his prejudice against Crowley for being a demon. For example: "You're a demon, I'm sure you've fired lots of guns." "You're a demon, you're one of the bad guys." Throughout both seasons, we see examples of Crowley committing good deeds, but Aziraphale continues to see him as the enemy.

Crowley, meanwhile, shares Darcy's difficulty with communication and recognizing that his desires aren't lining up with Aziraphale's / Elizabeth's. Both of them appear to realize their own feelings before their partner's. We see examples of Darcy singling out Elizabeth in social situations long before he proposes to her. Crowley, meanwhile, appears to have something of a silent epiphany in S2 when Nina mentions that other people's love lives are easier to understand than one's own.

After Nina and Maggie tell him that he needs to open up and tell Aziraphale how he feels, Crowley proceeds to do so at the worst possible time -- making his own version of a proposal similar to Darcy's. Neither one of them could "read the room" and only really considered their own needs instead of the other's. Crowley wants Aziraphale to turn down a new job offer that he's obviously ecstatic about because he himself doesn't want to go back to heaven and be Aziraphale's sidekick. He has too much pride for that, and Aziraphale can't see that Crowley's burned his bridges with heaven anyway.

The results of these failures are as devastating in that final bookshop scene as they are in the drawing room in Hunsford. However, Austen's novel doesn't end there, and so I think Season 3 could follow some parallels with the rest of it. We may see both Aziraphale and Crowley self-reflecting and reconfiguring their understanding of who the other actually is. Maybe they bump into each other accidentally after these reflections and see each other in a new light. Maybe the Second Coming of Christ pulls a Lydia and runs off with a demon, and Crowley has to stop them. (I'm laughing as I write this last sentence.)

The Crow Road

Another book that S2 references is The Crow Road by Iain Banks. I haven't read it (though I'm adding it to my reading list) -- though there is a decent analysis of its use in the story here. I think it may have some clues about possible directions for S3 as well.

Talking to God

Season 2 showed us God talking to Job and Crowley's jealousy with him for being able to have that conversation. God asks Job if he can do certain things that we've already seen Crowley do (manipulate lightning, make constellations, etc.). Maybe this is a hint that Crowley already has the qualifications that Job doesn't and will get that conversation somehow. Crowley still carries a lot of baggage about falling from heaven (and Aziraphale repeatedly rubbing salt in that wound can't be helpful). I think it would help him if he could have a chat with God and maybe find some peace with that part of his identity.

Deception

Aziraphale is terrible at deception except when Crowley's at stake. He can see that Muriel is terrible at it when she arrives as a "human police officer," but in the same episode he pretends to be a journalist with no more success than Muriel had. Likewise, he is terrible at sleight of hand magic tricks except when Furfur has evidence that could get Crowley in trouble. At first, I thought there was a pattern with angels in general being inherently terrible at deception, and this would retcon the examples in S1. In S1, Aziraphale first poses as a gardener so he can influence the Antichrist. But maybe this isn't meant to be effective, as he can fool a child but his appearance isn't presented as convincing to the audience. Similarly, we've seen that he can lie to save Job's children from the wrath of God. He only needs to fool the other angels for this, however, and their inherent belief in the goodness of one of their own means that they believe him. At the end of S1, Aziraphale is able to convince Hell that he's Crowley. How could he possibly be convincing about this when he is otherwise so bad at playing pretend? The only explanation that makes sense is that his willpower to keep Crowley safe overrides his angelic need to be true to himself.

Stronger Together

We've also seen that Crowley and Aziraphale are much stronger when they work together than when they're on their own. When they combine their powers to keep Gabriel safe without being noticed by Heaven or Hell, instead of the infinitesimal miracle they intend, they get something exponentially more powerful. It's questionable whether they actually tried to go for the tiny dose of power they said they would give -- I don't think they fully trusted each other to do enough to keep them all safe and could easily have "juiced it" to make up for the other's deficiencies. But the reactions from Heaven and Hell indicate that what they accomplished was worrisomely powerful. It's possible that the reason the Metatron chose Aziraphale to replace Gabriel was to separate the two of them and keep that power in check. In S3, maybe we would see them team up again to wield that power for an even greater purpose.

The Gun

Now, without a better transition, we're probably going to see the Nazi zombies again. We see that they're still around London at the end of the S2 scene in 1941. We also discover that 1941 Aziraphale keeps a Derringer pistol in a hollowed-out book in the bookshop. Following Chekhov's law, that gun is bound to make another appearance. The 1941 scene in S2 ends with A and C (I'm getting tired of typing out their names) hanging out in the bookshop. The zombies know where to find them. Guns can stop zombies. A is the type of angel who would probably bless his bullets and bestow them with special miracle powers. I could easily see the zombies storming the bookshop and A shooting them -- maybe saving C, or maybe accidentally shooting him, too, for the show to really milk some drama. Or maybe we get a callback to the magic show and C catches the bullet in his teeth. In any case, I think we're going to see some gun-on-zombie action.

Other more fanfiction-y thoughts:

Nina and Maggie Summon A and C into a therapist's office for couples counseling. Or maybe Muriel reads a self-help book and tries to do it herself. Crowley tries to take over another patient's session via demonic possession "because it's an emergency" and he absolutely has to rant to someone about what Aziraphale is doing. Please, someone, I absolutely need to read this fic.

#good omens #analysis #good omens 2 spoilers #good omens 3 #fanfic prompt

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