#riordan needs to stop

[lilislegacy]

when i say percy is one of the only people in the world who will stand up to annabeth or call her wrong, i do NOT mean she’s a horrible person and he calls her out for being one. allow me to write a long incorrect quote scene to show you what i actually mean:

*in some battle, post-heroes of olympus*

annabeth, fiercely in control and leaning over a large map: okay, here’s what’s gonna happen, everyone. we are going to evenly distribute our forces and deploy them in successive waves. we must avoid further division to ensure that each wave remains strong and concentrated on the central target. we are going to systematically weaken their core. once their primary fleet becomes depleted, we will expand our focus to engage secondary targets. we will defeat brute force by gradually eroding their strength over the course of several hours. anyone got a problem with that plan?

everyone in the strategy tent, including the smartest children of mars and athena:

annabeth: that’s what i thought. okay so-

percy: actually, i do

*everyone’s eyes widen in surprise*

annabeth, raising her eyebrows: what do you mean?

everyone: *backing away slowly in fear of her wrath*

percy: i get what you’re saying, and usually you’d be exactly right. but i know these guys better than you do, wise girl. i’ve actually been here and fought a couple of them before. yes, they are insanely physically strong creatures, but you’re overestimating their intelligence and positioning. if we do what you’re saying, they’ll just pick us off little by little. we need to be quick and dirty. force their hand

annabeth, pinching the bridge of her nose: percy, you’re talking about a full frontal assault on their strongest point. that’s reckless. we’ll be outnumbered and overwhelmed.

percy, stepping closer to the map and pointing to the terrain: not if we use their terrain, which i personally know. if we concentrate our forces here and here, we can create the illusion of a weaker center. they’re crazy strong, but much more arrogant than you’re assuming. so knowing them, they’ll all focus on our main assault, assume they have us outnumbered, and put all their energy into trying to punch through. but if we’ve got our best fighters hidden in the valleys, instead of holding back, we can hit them from both sides once they commit

annabeth, her brow furrowing as she considers percy’s plan: we’d be baiting them into a trap. they’d think they’re winning, but the second they overextend, we surround them. they won’t see it coming because of the way their ranks are arranged.

percy: exactly

annabeth: it’s based off the assumption of their own tactical shortcomings, but… it’s brilliant. come here and show me all the pathways, and i’ll plan for the side attacks. do you have any advice there?

percy: nope, i need you for that part

*them working seamlessly together as everyone else stands around in shock*

[ninacarstairss]

CAN YOU TEO PLEASE STOP LOOKING AT EACH OTHER LIKE THAT EVERY OTHER MINUTI OF EVERY EPISODE???

[thaliasthunder]

i was thinking about that taboo around menstruation and how fucking sick i am of it here u have headcanons of the chb boys actively trying to make it easier for the girls when they're on their period bc lmfao who the fuck is gonna stop me

the apollo cabin always gives free pads and tampons to whoever needs them. no matter the day. no matter the hour

percy recalls sally once told him exercise and movement helps w cramps, so whenever annabeth's on her period and they go to swim in the ocean, he makes calm waves just trying to soothe the pain

when piper's on her period leo makes a cup of infusion tea for her he learnt from his momma

thalia rarely visits camp but jason still keeps a kit of pads and tampons for her in their cabin's bathroom, just in case

will asked lou ellen from the hecate cabin to teach him some herbal infusions for his patients' and sisters' period cramps

he came back w plenty recipes of infusions after spending evenings w her

hazel, being freshly out from the 40's, was horrified when she first got hers

she woke up in a stain of blood on her pajamas and sheets in the middle of the night

nico got woken up by the muffled sound of his sis crying while aggressively cleaning her sheets

"...hazel?" "gods, nico! u scared me!" "why are u crying?"

when he tried to get close she rapidly covered the spot on the sheet w a pillow, and what was going on dawned on him

nico knocked on to the apollo cabin's door at 2am

a sleepy will opens up

"she got hers?" "yeah" "let me get u some"

nico comes back to cabin 13 w a little kit of pads w cute lilac flower design in his hands

he calmly got closer to her, hugged her and kissed her forehead

"i'm so sorry" "you've got nothing to be sorry about"

the next morning annabeth and piper calmly explained everything to her. warm hugs and cheek kisses included

no more disgust, no more discomfort, no more shame

the first time nico finally saw a pack of pads unapologetically just existing on hazel's night stand, he smiled

and left a little chocolate bar on her pillow

percy still bickers w clarisse. a lot

still that never stopped him from lending her a sweater to cover the back of her stained jeans when she needed it

leo knows piper has a irregular cycle so he always carries a bunch of tampons for piper in his bag whenever they go on long quests

"fuck i need a tampon" "got'cha"

grover learned to sew and started to make reusable pads

he made a pair for annabeth w little dagger designs on them

and then left a bunch in the apollo cabin, so there's a lovely bunch of handmade washable pads in the period kit for anyone to claim

bonus

percy often went to the store to get sally pads when he was younger

and also used to sterilize menstrual cups in the kitchen

so when estelle reached puberty boy already knew what to do

[essektheylyss]

Honestly, it is so funny remembering that Annabeth Chase's literal, stated, canonical fatal flaw is hubris.

Rick Riordan was like, "This clever, neurodivergent preteen girl believes that she is smarter than the gods, and she will get the chance to prove herself right," and he was correct. 😌

[valewritessss]

I won’t forgive Rick if he leaves out Annabeth punching Matt Sloan in season 2

[allthefunnystuffistaken]

I HAD A THOUGT SO IMMA TYPE IT OUT

ok so like- will RUNS into nico’s cabin looking frantic af. And so obviously Nico’s like “wtf.” And will’s just like “are you okay? No nightmares? Ur fine? You don’t need me?” And at first Nico’s confused bc he hasn’t even slept at this point but then he realized it’s WILL who had a nightmare. It’s WILL who’s not okay. It’s WILL who needs a safe environment. But will won’t admit it. Will feels like he has to be the healer and he can’t ever need healing, including in a mental/emotional way. So Nico plays along. He acts like he did have a nightmare so will doesn’t feel awkward abt it. And ofc will can tell when Nico lies who by this point he understands that Nico is merely pretending, but he’s okay with that. He’s with his boyfriend and he feels safe and now he knows it’s ok for him to need help too.

You’re welcome. >:)

[aroaceleovaldez]

a quick helpful reference guide:

Children's books - Target demographic is generally up to like age 10 - basically elementary school and below, for us Americans.

Middle-grade books - Target demographic is approximately middle schoolers (ages 11-15).

YA (Young Adult) - Target demographic is about 15-20ish year olds, so high schoolers and early college.

There is such thing as "upper middle-grade books" (targeted more towards the upper range of middle grade, so middle schoolers going into high school) and other such more specific intended target demographic age ranges within those groupings.

What these ranges mean is that the books differ in how they present subject matter to be appropriate to the intended audience demographic. Obviously, books geared towards younger kids are going to be shorter, use simpler language, and present concepts in ways that are easier to understand for younger children. As the target age demographic increases, the length, word choice, and presentation of topics will become more complex. The actual subject matter within the book itself is unrelated to this classification system for the most part - the books are graded on what's presumed appropriate for that age-range in terms of how children learn and their presumed literacy and reading comprehension at that age, rather than the topic itself.

Rick Riordan is a middle-grade author, and his books are usually middle-grade - including the entirety of the Riordanverse and Daughter of the Deep. The only exception is The Sun And The Star, which is loosely either upper middle-grade or YA, as Mark Oshiro is a YA author and co-authored it.

[storybookstr4nge]

I bought and read the sun and the star today and..... nobody talk to me rn. I can TELL where mark oshiro pulled through for us. this book is so unapologetically queer, and melded with rick's always wonderful action sequences makes for such a lovely read... it really solidifies Will and Nico's chemistry and history and the wonderful way they love both romantically and as friends.... it never fell into the miscommunication trope even when the boys argued, and instead had them talk it out and be so transparent the whole way through...... it was so cavity-inducing-ly cheesy with just the right moments of incredible fluff and tragedy. I just love them. I love how dorky they are together. two cringe fail (affectionate) losers who are just so so smitten by one another and putting in a beautiful and mature effort towards loving one another the exact way the other needs to be loved. I am just so happy that this book exists within the riordanverse canon

[to-be-a-dreamer]

How am I supposed to be normal when I have to wait a whole week for Grover and Annabeth to learn Percy isn’t actually dead and they didn’t just loose another friend who sacrificed themselves to buy them more time and Annabeth didn’t just loose one of the only people who ever cared about her without making her earn it all because she wasn’t able to see he was tricking her and Grover didn’t break his promise to Sally and do you understand me? That after Percy fell Echidna and the chimera would have come after Annabeth and Grover which could only mean one thing and they had to leave the arch believing they failed? How long do you think they had to wait until Percy came out of the river? How long did they sit beside each other, not saying a word because they failed, they failed again and now they have to finish this quest alone?

[procrastinating-everything07]

Rick really just left us to imagine how this happened (;´༎ຶ u༎ຶ`)

[lilislegacy]

In all these instances, Annabeth is going through a terribly stressful situation, and she’s not afraid to admit that she wants Percy to hold her. The only time Annabeth lets herself be truly vulnerable, and feels truly safe, is when she is in Percy’s arms.

She craves to be held by him. And that doesn’t mean she’s weak, or that he’s stronger than her, or that she relies on him to take care of her. It just means that for the first time in her life, she has a pair of arms to collapse into when she’s scared or upset. And yes, she absolutely does the same for Percy and takes care of him too, but it’s slightly different. Percy has always had his mom to love him and take care of him and hold him. Annabeth, however, had to put walls up at a young age. She learned to never rely on anybody else for safety or comfort, because she never consistently had someone loving her or taking care of her.

But now that she has that, it’s not a surprise that she yearns for his affection. Annabeth is touch-starved in a way that Percy isn’t. And she never feels more loved or more safe than she does when he is holding her. And I don’t know about you guys, but I am so happy that she has that now. Annabeth Chase is a warm, sensitive, and emotional character. And when those parts of her shine through, I think it makes her one of the most realistic characters.

For some reason, I feel like people think that Annabeth, and other female characters, have to be cold and insensitive in order to be strong. But I think that couldn’t be further from the truth! Allowing yourself to be vulnerable takes the utmost strength. Love and trust, and having someone by your side, makes people stronger, not weaker. I personally love that Annabeth lets herself be loved and comforted by her partner. Because she can be “the little spoon” and still be completely his equal. Wanting to be held and taken care of does not make someone lesser or weaker. It makes them human. (And it goes the same with men and all genders). It makes Annabeth one of the most relatable and realistic people in the series, and I love that Rick shows that side of her.

Annabeth Chase is a remarkably strong, fierce, legendary female warrior. She also craves to be held by her loving boyfriend. And those are not conflicting statements.

[artemx746]

Richard Fucking Riordan: And this is the Hunters of Artemis; it’s a group that doesn’t have any romance at all! It’s only for girls though!

Me as an 11yo who was very unsure about their gender Identity but definitely knew that I really did not want to date:

[takaraphoenix]

No, actually, I’ll not just be generally vaguely upset about the framework that pisses me off, I will also be specifically pissed off about the way he’s trying to pat himself on the back and rewrite history.

So having a gay character be brave by coming out and that bravery be an inspiration to other queer characters so they can be brave and come out too is something that comes off poor on its own already - because of the shallow framework that our existence alone is already oh-so brave of us and that others wouldn’t have dared come out if not for Major Queer Character who did it first.

But there is something particularly twisted and nasty about Riordan using this for Nico di Angelo, actually.

Because Nico di Angelo didn’t come out.

Nico di Angelo didn’t get to be brave or inspirational.

Nico di Angelo was forced out of the closet.

Nico di Angelo was outed against his will, in front of others.

Eros forced Nico to come out in front of Jason.

And, quite frankly, the way it was handled further was just as poor. To make this repressed teen from the 1930s, who up until mere days ago was dealing with severe internalized homophobia and couldn’t even admit his own feelings to himself, confess his crush in public, in the middle of camp...

Both of these events really just showed that Riordan is a straight man who doesn’t know this, and didn’t do his research beforehand.

And people just love giving Riordan the benefit of the doubt. Love giving him a pass and clapping him on the shoulder for the inclusion and for trying. And you know what! Yeah, I do love that he includes the gays. I do not think he should get excused for handling representation like shit though.

And this? This is in his newest book? You should think authors grow. Best selling authors should do more research. Get consultants. Stuff like that.

Instead, we’re going back and rewriting history. That forced coming out? Now a moment of bravery and inspiration for others!! Look how great and amazing that is!

Nico di Angelo didn’t get to choose that he was ready to come out, it wasn’t a moment of bravery. Not the kind of bravery that it takes when you are ready to face your personal truth and willingly take the step to own it. It was a moment of fear and desperation. And it was the bravery to face that fear and desperation.

And it really makes me sick to now learn that we’re looking back at it and pretending otherwise, in-universe.

[cabin-3-counselor]

my contribution to the celebration of the renewal for season 2

[too0bsessedformyowngood]

Some thoughts about the Percy Jackson series as a whole (spoilers post episode 7)

First just need to state that I love the show so far, it feels like a faithful adaptation of the books. I don’t care that things aren’t one-to-one because it’s a different medium. The books were completely in Percy’s point of view, we literally couldn’t have a one-to-one without losing a lot or have voice over. It also feels like this show is a new draft for pjo, the writers, and Rick, now know exactly what happens, moments in the future that they can add foreshadowing that wasn’t there in the beginning, but also clean up areas that might have been nagging on Rick for years, you got to remember the first book came out nearly 20 years ago.

Now some grips with the show is pacing and the cutting out of some scenes. I think the main problem with this isn’t even on the show itself but more the industry at this point. It seems that studios nowadays are terrified of making a show longer than 8-12 episodes and the show seems to be trapped in the hole that is kid shows only being allowed to have up to 30 minute episodes. So, when it comes down to it scenes will be cut and pacing will be off. Some scenes are not as noticeable than others, like cutting out the entirety of the pink poodle Gladiola, others are more glaring like the opening to the episode with Crusty’s. That scene seem the biggest so far that there is a problem with the time that they are given in the show and what they have to choose to keep in or cut out. Episode 7 in general felt more brake neck in it’s pacing and each part felt cut short.

I hope that in season two they’re able to fix this by getting longer episodes of more episodes. I still love the show and I’m extremely excited to see the final one next week.