So How Was Your Christmas?

Because mine was pretty good, which you should be able to judge by the fact that I'm typing this post on my BRAND NEW LAPTOP!!!

(My parents paid for most of it and yet I'm still broke from it thanks a lot technology).

I'm mostly planning to use it for writing and video editing, because those are things where its important that I have space to do it on my own. Doesn't mean I'm not going to be enjoying its handy "Internet" feature, but what I mean is that I am going to be working on this/using it a lot and that's a good thing.

Yep. How are your holidays going?

Boredom Part 2

THE EXTENT OF MY BOREDOM KNOWS NO BOUNDSSSSSSSSS

Remember, in Boredom part 1, how I'd been off school for half a day? And had already gotten so bored that I recorded every part of 96 000 (from In the Heights) just because I had nothing better to do?

Do you remember how in that post I had a brief rant about how Blackout was my newest favourite from In the Heights because it had so many overlapping parts and cool harmonies and everything?

I did the same thing. Only with Blackout. 

It is two minutes shorter. And took me two hours longer. 

Who needs productivity anyway?

And this was just me doing this in spite of the fact that I couldn't find the backing track for it so there's no background music (which makes some of it sound a little odd). But it doesn't even matter because, if I do say so myself, the harmonies are so much more solid in this experiment of mine than in 96 000.

Here you are.

In some places volume is still a bit of an issue because, like I said before, Garageband isn't perfect. 

But this was a lot more challenging than 96 000. And, ironically, I think it came out better. I mean, considering there's no backing track. 

I don't even know why I do this. 

Bastille is a Thing and IT MADE MY WHOLE LIFE

[I wrote this like weeks ago - closer to when it actually happened - but could only finish it now for reasons, so yeah]

LITERALLY

I COULD DIE RIGHT NOW

AND BE PERFECTLY HAPPY

PROBABLY BE SINGING ONE OF THEIR SONGS AS IT HAPPENS:

"I'll come baaaaaaaaaack to haunt you.... memorieeeeeees will tauuuuunt you..."

"I don't want to rest in peace/I'd rather be the ghost that annoys you.... It's Day of the Dead, I'm Indiana Jones here/These coins sit upon our eyes/Pool our funds, we'll pay the boat together..."

For those who have no idea what the friggity is going on right now, me and my friend Anna saw Bastille LIVE IN CONCERT

AND THEY ARE LITERALLY PERFECT

JUST

EVERYTHING

I DIED

AND I ALSO CRIED

AND HUGGED ANNA A LOT

IT WAS A ROLLERCOASTER Y'ALL

They opened with Things We Lost in the Fire and just, if you can imagine like a dark stage and then Dan Smith's angelic voice just breaking the anticipating silence and everything was totally wonderful in that moment.

And just - the bass pulsing in the seats we had and Dan Smith grooving out as he sings and hopping around, like first of all, wow, that's some good endurance to be singing and doing that at the same time, and everyone in the band was just so passionate and it was amazing.

Then they played The Weight of Living Pt. 2 (they never played Pt. 1 which makes me sad but it was still INCREDIBLE) and the light show was amazing and everything was amazing. Just everything. And they even tagged Pt. 2 with the beginning of Pt. 1 and I was like "YASSSSSSS"

And then Laughter Lines.

I don't remember the order after that. But it was amazing.

And they even played a few songs that I hadn't heard before (the funny thing is that all the ones I hadn't heard Anna had so between us we're basically an encyclopedia of Bastille) like The Driver, and something that comes out on their next album which, as Dan put it (in his beautiful voice that makes me glow), "will come out hopefully at some point in the future." And also their cover of No Scrubs with like mixed in sound bites from Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho and, surprise surprise, it's much darker and god I love dark god I love Bastille they're LITERALLY PERFECT.

Sidebar: I really love Bastille's covers. Not necessarily because they're, like, perfect covers of the songs, but because they make the songs really fascinating. They have a gift for completely turning the original intention of a song on its head. My current favourite is their cover of No Scrubs, which is called No Angels because it's mixed in with Angels. What I love about it is that - the song is about class, right? The verses are all talking about "Ugh, look at that deadbeat who lives with his mother and doesn't own his own car," calling these guys "scrubs", and then the chorus is all "I don't want no scrubs, a scrub is a guy that can't get no love from me...." etcetera. And in the original song, these lyrics were completely sincere. But in Bastille's version, while keeping the lyrics completely identical, they've mixed it in with clips of Norman Bates talking about living in traps and tagged it with "Being as in love with you as I am," and suddenly the lyrics are entirely ironic. It's like, they're pointing out how flawed that way of thinking is - to immediately assume that someone who lacks money or opportunity is a bad person because of it - by subscribing to it. I believe my english teacher would call that verbal irony. And I think it's so cool that they found a way to reverse the intention so completely without even changing the words.

They did a similar thing when they covered Miley Cyrus's We Can't Stop. That was my favourite thing for a while, because at first it seems like, oh yeah, this is Bastille's cover of a party song, and then in the middle of it they throw in some Billy Ray: "Don't break his heart, his achy breaky heart, I just don't think you understand....." and suddenly it's about how out of control Miley is and how disappointed her father must be. Once again, unexpectedly flipping the intention of the song, and it's amazing.

But anyways, wow, that was a rant. But I do find it very fascinating. What can I say? Bastille's songs make me want to think about things.

But back to the concert.

It was fabulous. They are amazing live. And Dan's like jumping up and down as he sings and getting so into it. Even when they played Overjoyed (with super cool percussion!), while he was playing the piano, he was like bopping up and down and it was my favourite thing ever.

And at one point he played Oblivion and he was like, "If you've ever listened to, like, two songs on any of our albums, you've probably noticed that we have a few depressing ones. This is one of them. But it'll be better if you all do that cliche thing where you bring out your torches or phones - did anyone actually bring a torch?" (He calls 'em torches 'cause he's British, God they slay me. They slay me like Buffy slayed Sunday. I'm dead.) And anyway we all brought out our phones and waved 'em back and forth for Oblivion and I almost cried. But not yet.

No, the moment I cried was when they played The Silence. And I'm not kidding. I actually cried.

What you have to understand is that The Silence is an important song to me. Even before I'd fully figured out exactly what the words were saying, it had always reminded me of an old teacher of mine, M. Larrivee (qu'il repose en paix). I don't want to get all cheesy here, but let's leave it at the fact that Larrivee was an extremely influential man who made me reconsider the definition of intelligence and of storytelling, both of which are important to me, and I like to think of the song celebrating him, even if that wasn't the original intention.

And then, when I listened to the actual words, I realized that it was, in fact, about writer's block. That it practically pleads me to break through writer's block. So, guess which song I turn on when I'm feeling lost and uninspired about some of my stuff? Guess whose voice urges me to continue and not let the blank page consume me? You guessed it.

What I'm saying is that the song is extremely meaningful to me on multiple levels, and that when the vocals started ringing through that PNE Forum it was a little overwhelming. But, like, in a good way. Sort of in a "I can't believe this is really happening," way. And I got a little emotional. But it was amazing.

Also they played The Draw. I mention it because it's another song that's really meaningful to me (I associate it with depression and things of that nature, and I think it helps me understand a little bit those of my friends that suffer from things like that - they've described similar things to me). And also because, according to Dan, they "tried to be grunge for four days. We failed. But this is what came out of it."

Thank you, Bastille, for failing at grunge. Thank you so. Freaking. Much.

Then, for the end of their first set, they played Flaws, and Dan just goes, "Let's see how far I can get!" And he jumps down from the stage and starts wading through the crowd. This was about the time that me and Anna both simultaneously went "HOLYSHITHOLYSHITHOLYSHITHOLYSHIT", practically stampeded the people in our way and ran down to the floor in front of the stage. We didn't even get close to him, BUT, it got us out of our seats and on the floor, leaving us free to dance like crazy people during the encore.

And what an encore.

They came out, started with Get Home, which me and Anna passionately waved our hands back and forth to. Then, before beginning the next song, Dan goes, "As you may have noticed, I'm not that great a dancer. But for this next song - I know audience participating is lame, but like, if you all want to dance with me and make me feel better. I'll just say, 'Get down!' and you can all get down with me, if you want." Pauses, thinks about it for a moment. "But not, like, in a sexy way."

DAN SMITH YOU PERFECT CREATURE

So then they played Of the Night, and he yelled "Get down!" during the pre-chorus, but instead of dancing, everyone in the crowd just knelt down, because we're building up to the suspense here, and then they hit the chorus and the lights are flashing and everyone's jumping and dancing and it was amazing.

And then, finally, Pompeii. (I totally called it, I totally knew that they'd play Pompeii for their last one!) And it was amazingly fun and everyone was dancing and singing along and it was a freaking blast. The whole night was perfect.

Also, it was Anna's first concert. And, as far as first concerts go, it was pretty freaking incredible.

Bastille are literally perfection personified.

And so, yeah. That was more or less the rhythm of that night.

Sorry for the pun, I just needed a way to fill the silence.

I know, there's another one. It just makes me overjoyed when you listen to my words.

Okay, that's enough, I know. I hope you'll not not show your face here anymore.

I know, they're getting increasingly more desperate. But it almost feels like nothing changed at all.

Okay, I'm done now. Promise.

(When Dan Smith freestyles on the notes and just ohmygodmyovariesexplodedheisaperfectcreatureiwanteighthundredofhim)

Also I got a shirt.

*awkwardly tries to take a picture of the back of the shirt* Basically what's important is that it's a real concert shirt with all the tour dates and ish on the back.

I needed a shirt because we waited in line in the pouring rain and I did not have a rain jacket and so when we got inside I had to strip off my jacket because water was leaking through but when I looked I realized that the water had only leaked into certain parts of my shirt, and basically my shirt was like "LOOK! BOOBS!"

But I was also going to get a shirt regardless. I just, you know. Funny stories.

Bastille is awesome and it was an amazing night, that's basically what I'm getting at here.

Boredom

I have been on winter break for precisely half a day, and I've already gotten bored enough that I created this thing from one of our songs in In the Heights.

Do y'all remember 96 000, from my In the Heights post earlier on? It's always been one of my favourites in the thing (although, now that I've looked into it more, Blackout is thrillingly chaotic, with a lot of really cool harmonies and multiple storylines coming to a head and overlapping lines and ugh I have a real weakness for overlapping lines they just sound so cool. For real, check out Blackout. It is the coolest piece of music to ever be in a musical).

But anyways, I'd gotten bored - I practised all my harmonies and my choreography for the musical and didn't have much else to do, and I was there wishing I could be a cool character like Benny or Usnavi or Sonny because I would totally rock it, even though they're all guys but they are, like, the Holy Trinity of In the Heights for me (even though Sonny barely even really matters, but I love him to death). And then I was like, Well, why the hell not? You be them. All of them. All at once.

And I did.

This is 96 000.... with me as everyone.

I am a goddamned chameleon.

But seriously though.

My Benny was less than on point - I blame my sore throat - and a couple times when I was one of the girls I went a bit sharp because it's in this awkward range for my voice, but I think I should get some props for this. I did this in three hours. And taught myself all the parts. Including soprano, alto, tenor and bass harmonies for the ensemble. Not to mention Benny goes a lot crazier with his singing than I thought he did during the bit where everything's overlapping - I looked in the sheet music and I was like "Excuse me?" and then I listened to 96 000 while paying special attention to Benny and yep, there he goes, doing nothing like I thought he did, but he's basically free-styling it. So I free-styled it. It's not entirely successful, but nor is it ear-bleedingly awful.

Also volume is a bit of an issue. Just, in general. Garageband isn't perfect.

Also, I think I should be applauded for my rapping because damn look at me go.

For those who have no idea how this song goes, the first three minutes or so are fairly straight forward, but it starts getting real interesting after that. That's where the fun stuff happened. Again, I don't think it was a failure either. I think this is a solid B.

So.

Yup. This is what I do when I'm bored.

Happy winter break y'all.

I Discovered Another Show, And This is the Obligatory Post

Misfits.

I tried it out because a couple of my friends recommended it once or twice, and I was finally like, "Eh, I've got nothing better to do." So I watched an episode.

I didn't fall in love immediately. It's not like that. It's not one of those things. It just... it was a well-written pilot, but it was really unexpectedly, um, crude (there's really no denying it, though it mostly only goes back to a single character - thing is, that single character is always talking) and it threw me off-balance, so I had to watch another episode to see whether I, you know, appreciated the fact that it threw me off-balance or not. And it turns out I did appreciate it because I've watched the entire first season in like three days.

Basically, the idea is that there are a few young offenders who were sentenced to community service. Then, on the first day of doing that, they get caught up in this freak storm, and in the lightning strike, they all get powers... powers. But the interesting thing is that the powers aren't all random and super-hero. They're more like... they have more to do with the characters themselves. The characters are basically given the powers that turn their greatest weaknesses and insecurities into strengths. So, the girl who's always self-conscious and worrying what people think about her gets the power to hear people's thoughts. The boy who was bullied and rejected his whole life gets the power of invisibility. The guy who lives in regrets and guilt has the power to turn back time and fix his mistakes. Things like that.

So guess what, guys? It's character driven! Guess what? I have a real weakness for character driven things! Literally every major obsession I've ever had was because of characters, and the relationships between the characters, and them being flawed but understandable and that's basically the driving force of this show.

And there's also action. And suspense. And laughs. And so much sex. Like, a lot of sex. And references to sex. And sex jokes. Because it's British TV, and apparently in Britain you can literally show anything you want on TV. Thanks, Britain!

What I'm really enjoying about this show is that I haven't yet decided whether or not I like these characters yet. I know that sounds lame and contradictory, but I'm loving it. It makes them so much more human. One of the main characters, Nathan, is the comic relief character, right? He makes me laugh all the time and I love him for that. But he's also such an asshole. Such a freaking jerk. Because he's always taking jokes too far. All the time. And he makes me mad. But I love the fact that he has such an obvious flaw, you get me? And so then, when he's vulnerable, I just..... complex characters make me melt inside.

Also he has the cutest face in the history of television and an Irish accent and he's such a freaking goof and god he's such a crude jerk I'm concerned with how attached I am to him.

But just:

Ruth: Grow up.
Nathan: 

Nathan: I'm so pleased to be here. I was such a loser. All the drugs, the sex, *fake laughs*, all that fast food. I was so miserable.
Kurtis:  I hear you. You were such an annoying idiot.
Nathan: 

Don't even try to tell me that isn't a cute face you and I both know the truth.

I just love how wonderfully flawed all the characters are. I'm in love with how it's written. But I mean, you sort of get the feeling that, even though they can be not-so-nice to each other at times (I'm looking at you, Nathan, you don't need to bully Simon all the freaking time he's clearly insecure you asshole) you do sort of get the feeling that, you know, they mean well.

That's pretty much my main weakness. Y'know, flawed characters trying to be good people. I actually wrote a post on it that I haven't posted yet because writer's block is brutal, yo.

But that's the main thing. The characters are just so beautifully, fantastically...... imperfect. And I find myself craving watching them. Because I just, it's so nice to see characters who are realistically selfish, and realistically insecure, but they're trying and it's just good stuff.

Also it's pretty much hilarious. Like, there was this one scene where they needed to distract their probation worker so she wouldn't see something, and they don't even have time to come up with a plan, so Nathan just like jumps out from behind a bush and nails her windshield with a brick while she's standing right there.

Sally: What the hell are you doing?!

Nathan: It's just... pure, mindless vandalism!

Sally: What is the matter with you? Are you mentally deficient!?

Nathan: If I was mentally deficient, I'd have missed. Check that out. Bull's eye. 

And it's basically the funniest thing ever.

But there are also serious moments, like I pretty much almost cried during that first Simon-centric episode, and that was, what, five episodes in? Maybe four? You get into it pretty quickly. And they've all got, like, their own very distinct personalities and it's just really good and well-written. So much so that I have resigned myself to the incessant sex jokes in order to allow myself to enjoy it, and believe me, sex jokes are not my favourite.

Like, I'm not going to deny that the show can be crude and vulgar.... extremely so. But what I like about it is that it's not, like, for shock value. It's not just like "Look how edgy we are, we've talked about masturbation and used the F word 37 times!" It's not like it's delighting in its vulgarity. It seems sort of more genuine. Like, it's just how these people talk, because of the people they associate with and the backgrounds they come from, and I don't know, it just seems justified when it comes from a place that's real. It's about characterization, and staying true to the characters, I suppose, and while incessant sex jokes are not something I tend to respect, staying true to characters despite possible offense taken and flaws and unlikability and things like that........ it's honest story-telling, and that's something I do respect. You see what I'm saying?

It's all about story-telling. That's the point I've managed to dance around for a good six paragraphs. It's good story-telling. And I will always like something that shows good story-telling. I like learning from them.

Anyways. Misfits. Worth watching, man, if you can get past the vulgarity. Really good show. I'm really enjoying it. (Probably not for much longer because the seasons are like eight episodes long and there are only four of them. Curse you, Britain, and your notorious British brevity!)

Yep. So that's a thing. Can't think of a good way to end this post. Just.... thanks for reading, I suppose. Uh. See ya. (It's past my bedtime, okay?)

WORDS WORDS WORDS CONFLICTING EMOTIONS AGH

You see I just finished the book I've been writing since grade seven.

*applause cue, please and thank you*

And I'm sad. But also happy. And proud. But also anxious. And a little lost, because like, this has been my primary project for four years and what on earth am I going to do during science class now?

Do you even understand the rollercoaster of emotional turmoil there is involved in writing the words "The End"? I can't even explain. There's just no metaphor that makes sense.

And every time I tell someone this accomplishment I get the question, "So what happens now? When you gonna publish it?" Etcetera, etcetera.

And the short answer is, not for a while, since the first half is crap, and the even shorter answer is WHO CARES? I just finished writing my second book in my whole life. Allow me to revel in the glory of it for a bit before I get back to work.

And believe me, the next part is the hard part. Ugh.

DON'T CARE. NOT THINKING ABOUT IT. I AM REVELLING. I AM REVELLING SO HARD RIGHT NOW. JUST LOOK AT ALL THIS FABULOUS REVELRY. 

For those who really want to know something about the story, I'll drop a title okay that's it, stop begging me already geez you're coming off as needy.

It's called The Blessing of Aphrodite (as of, like, yesterday. It was called something else for the longest time but I like this title a hundred times better. Funny how things just come to you sometimes).

AND IT'S DONE

REVELLING

In the Heights: First Impressions

So, I'm in the musical theatre course at my school. Fun fun fun, right! And the production we're doing this year is In the Heights. It won a couple Tony awards a few years back, and it all in all seems like a very fun musical.

I've done a lot of research on this one and its story, and I've gotta say, I really like it. If you can imagine a musical that meshes rap and salsa.... this is it. And it ends up sounding super cool. Culturally, it's really interesting, as it's made up of characters who are all from different nationalities, from Dominican Republic to Cuba to whatever, but all connect with the common link of not quite belonging in America. It's really very interesting.

And the music is pretty much to die for.

Now, we've just got the cast list today, and I'm not going to lie - I pretty much have a nothing part. I'm not going to lie and say I wasn't a little disappointed - I was really into Abuela Claudia, this grandmotherly figure who has a couple solo songs and then dies halfway through - but it's still going to be lots of fun. I play one of the gossips in the hair salon, which means I get to take part in one of the funnest songs of the thing (No Me Diga) and I'm also one of the salsa girls (the cast is pretty much split into salsa and hip hop specialists. Apparently my hips don't lie).

But here's what I like about my musical theatre teacher, is that even though I didn't get a lead role, there really isn't such thing as a nothing part with her. She really subscribes to "There are no small parts, only small actors".

Because the thing is, every cast member gets a name and background for their character. I'm Monika, one of the gossips in the hair salon. What this does, is it ensures that everyone in the cast is always acting. If you're given a character, then you automatically have something to do. How would Monika react to hearing that someone in the barrio won $96 000? It stops us from being "of the chorus" and makes sure we're always doing something. This helps in a bunch of ways, so that A) the stage is never idle, there's always something to be watching, and B) keeps us lesser characters from feeling completely useless.

I really appreciate Ms. Roberge for that.

This is going to be a really fun semester.

Also, this is my current favourite song from In the Heights. I just love the way it switches styles all the time, I think that's super cool. Also, it's really fun to sing along to. I can rap along with Usnavi any day. I gots the skillz, homie.

Best part: the whole cast is in this song. Somehow or another, nothing character or not, I will be doing something in this song.

This is going to be so much fun.

Another Rant About Childhood TV Because I Strive To Never Ever Grow Up

As mentioned in this last post, I have been watching Avatar: The Last Airbender. (Read the post for the whole context - it basically explains what that means).

It's just... such a gem. I'm in love. It's so good. Yes, it's a cartoon, and yes, especially in the first season, it can be rather childish at times, but it's so clever and fleshed out and rich and the characters are awesome and I adore it.

And even though some of it is a little childish, the thing about it is that it doesn't diminish the conflict and the stakes stay high. Like, that's artfully done, actually. I have been watching it while my mom pretends to ignore it while playing on her iPad (yeah, she says she doesn't like it, but let's be real here - she may not be as invested in the characters as I am, but she definitely knows what's going on) and I think, though my mother denies it, that we both find ourselves enjoying it. It's just a really good show. It's clever and witty and interesting and thought out and if I could ever have the capacity to create a world like the world of Avatar then I would be damn proud of myself because wow. In-depth history. Distinct, unique cultures. It's kind of incredible.

And also, let's just appreciate how freaking hilarious it is. It only gets funnier as the series continues. Like, there's some stupid stuff - like, when Sokka got high off the cactus water, and they see a mushroom cloud erupt in the distance...

Katara: What is that?

Sokka: It's a... giant mushroom. .... MAYBE IT'S FRIENDLY!!!!!!

But then there's also super clever, super witty, super snarky comedy, and that always makes me laugh too. Like, the character Toph, who is blind (except she sees through her feet, using earthbending - which means she can see great underground, but not so great if it's not, y'know, solid ground) is such a snarker. There's an episode where they've been flying in the desert looking for this ancient building, and they're starting to doubt it exists, and then:

Toph: There it is!

(All the characters get excited and look around, but don't see anything)

Toph: That's what it'll sound like when one of you spots it. (waves hand in front of her eyes)

Toph, you snarky brat, you.

And then there's just stupidly hilarious stuff that wouldn't be uncharacteristic coming from my brain full of crappy jokes, like:

(Team Avatar are at King Bumi's for dinner, then realize he doesn't intend to let them go)

Katara: Let us leave!

Bumi: (while eating salad) ... lettuce leaf?

It's so stupid, but I laughed really hard.

But mostly, just... the world building. They spent so much time thinking about this, I can't even imagine. Each element has its own distinctive culture that's different from the other cultures (Earth Kingdom, Fire Nation, Water Tribe, Air Nomads) and each discipline of bending is different from the others (I looked this up. They actually based the bending on real martial arts. Water-bending is Tai Chi, fire-bending is Northern Shaolin Kung Fu, earth-bending is Hun Gar Kung Fu  - except for Toph, who has a slightly different style due to her blindness, something called Southern Praying Mantis style Kung Fu? - and air-bending is something called Baguazhang. I just think that's super cool, because clearly they were thinking about this when they came up with it).

Actually, just as an example, look at this scene where some kid picks a fight with Aang. Notice how little fighting Aang actually does - he doesn't throw a single blow. That's because, as an Air Nomad monk, he's a pacifist, and as an airbender, he focuses more on evading than confronting. Which is why Baguazhang is such a perfect fit for airbending (there are most definitely some techniques from that in here, though it's subtler since Aang doesn't actually do any airbending in this scene).

It's just a really good story, and really, really well told. You could definitely take some good story-telling techniques from this story, and this is a Nickelodeon cartoon. That's one of the reasons I love it. It just kind of proves that something can rise so far above expectations.

Like, I've said this before, but I cannot exaggerate enough that the world building in this show is freaking incredible. If you're paying attention, you can see the Ba Gua when Aang (the last airbender) starts fighting - he starts circle-walking! You can see the different cultures and the different philosophies associated with each element. They gave each type of bending an origin story. It just seems like such a real world - it clearly was real enough to the creators - and I think that's amazing.

And - something I find admirable - they totally knew when to end their story. I think, especially for a show as popular as Avatar was, that that's a really good thing. It could have gone on for a long time, it could have stretched itself out and become thinner and thinner. Instead it chose to make three concrete, substantial seasons. It was sort of perfect. Left me wanting more, but also feeling really satisfied with how it ended.

And I love all the characters and every episode has substance and it's got a great balance of intriguing action sequences and light-hearted dialogue while keeping the story moving. But there is one thing that I find ultimately makes the show unique. Perhaps this is just me being under-educated in the realm of adventure stories (though I don't think I am), but I absolutely love that Aang, the most powerful bender on the face of the earth, is a pacifist.

I feel like we get a lot of adventure stories where the Chosen One/hero/whatever-it-is is really quick to jump into fight. You know, they have power and they know how to use it to their advantage, and God help the people who challenge them. Maybe I'm wrong about this, and if so I'm really sorry, but I think most heroes we get in adventure stories don't have many qualms about fighting, hurting, and possibly killing bad guys.

That's not a bad thing - it's just a common trope of the genre. And the fact that this trope is so common is what makes it so interesting to me that Aang is not that.

He's a monk. A kid monk, I might add, but that's not even the point. He respects all life (he's even a vegetarian!) and so there was this lovely moral dilemma where he was being told he had to kill the Fire Lord (the Big Bad), when, as a pacifist, he found the idea repulsive. And, if you ever watch him fighting, he very rarely throws any blows. Airbending is about evading, not confronting. I just think that's really refreshing, to have a hero who makes such an obvious effort to not cause any damage. That's not a huge concern in most adventure stories, and I think it makes Aang much more interesting as a protagonist.

I also love that he's a twelve year old kid. Obviously, kid heroes are not entirely new to the adventure genre either, but here's the thing. The difference is that, most of the time, we are acutely aware that Aang is a child. Because no matter how mature he has to get in order to save the world - and he does mature for that task, undoubtedly - it doesn't stop him from remaining a child at heart. For example, while hiding undercover in the Fire Nation, where no one would hesitate to kill him if he was discovered, he decides to throw a secret dance party for Fire Nation school kids because clearly the strict school rules are oppressive. He is such a kid, and I love him for it.

And the best part? This pacifist child is the most powerful bender on the face of the earth. I know I've mentioned this before, but I think that's so cool. Because, especially given the ignorance of youth and how he knows that he's the only one who can save the world, it would be very easy for him to become this power-driven Avatar. But it doesn't happen. He's just so purely innocent, but not naive (or at least, he grows out of his naivete), so inherently gentle, and compassionate, and sensitive, that his power doesn't corrupt him.

I love that. We get a lot of heroes that are all tough and commanding leaders and "Come at me, bro!" A lot of, look at how much I can handle. It's such a different thing to see such a powerful hero be so consistently gentle (which I do believe is probably one of the most accurate adjectives to describe Aang). And I really really like that. It's such a different (and, I think, underrated) style of heroism, and I love that it gets celebrated. It's my favourite thing about the show.

It's just a really, super cool show. It's hilarious and the fight scenes are awesome and the story is to die for and, for a Nickelodeon cartoon, it really took a lot of risks (such as, for instance, making one of the single most powerful characters in the series a blind little girl. Or, having a whole episode devoted to Aang's pet bison wandering around looking for him. There was other stuff too). And I think it's important that we appreciate that in spite of the fact that it aired on YTV and that every time I watch an episode on Netflix I have to sit through the Nickelodeon logo that seems so kiddy that it makes me question my life choices, in spite of this, it is undeniably a very good, intriguing, interesting and very well told story. It was clearly meticulously laid out and carefully planned and really thought through and there's just so much heart to it.

Most of this I never noticed for how remarkable it was when I watched it at the age of eight. Go figure.

Three Quickfire Book Reviews LET'S DO IT!

Because I've been reading endlessly, and I have things to say, but I don't feel like writing long-ass book reviews about all of them so I'm just gonna do a SPEED ROUND. You ready? Let's go!

Book #1: The Maze Runner

The freaking cover always flips up. Like, you put it down 'cause you're done reading for now and it practically opens  on its own. I kept it under like three hardcover, five-hundred-page books for like twelve hours at least, and it didn't even help. How annoying is that? 

Okay, so I bought this book because the movie came out recently, and the movie looked really cool and exciting, so I decided to read the book before I watched the movie. Not just for the sake of being able to pretentiously say, "Ugh, the book was way better, neener-neener look how sophisticated I am," but because watching the movie colours how you imagine the book, and I like having the chance to experience it at least once without that kind of interference.

So, it's like teen-fiction, sci-fi, thriller, post-apocalyptic stuff. You know, the usual.

And I really wanted to like it. Really, really wanted to.

But the overall reaction was kinda more like, "Meh."

For a book that's supposed to be heart-pumping action and suspense and can't-put-it-down, there was a lot of talking. It was pretty much all talking. And usually I'm totally good with lots of dialogue, because characterization is my favourite thing, but dear god. Every character has to freaking vote about every single course of action they take, and every character has to state their opinion individually. It's amazing they ever make any decisions. And, like, the characters are not diverse enough, personality-wise, for the discussions to be really riveting. And then every five chapters or so, just to keep the appetite going, there's sort of a "he knew he was in danger.... and then nothing happened". And I'm not one of those people who need action and explosions all the time to hold my interest - I just said that I generally enjoy dialogue-heavy books - but it kinda felt like the action was only there for exposition for the scenes in which they're voting on what to do about it.

Also, Maze Runner Drinking Game: Take a shot every time the narrator says something like, "He was scared, but he still... [insert death wish here]" Take two if it's, "He was scared, but he still wanted to be a Maze Runner." You would become very intoxicated pretty quickly.

That being said, I can see how the rest of the series could be good. The end of the book was promising. I suspect that this first installment's main problem was that it was almost entirely devoted to setting up the rest of the series. I hold out hope.

The thing is, it was still relatively enjoyable. It just - and this is going to seem kind of abstract, but I can't really figure out a better way of putting it - it lacked heart. This resulted in me not really finding myself being particularly invested in the characters, and that's one of the most important things to me. So.... yeah. Anyways.... onward!

Book #2: An Abundance of Katherines

Fun fact: the original cover was something entirely different. This cover, which is what is currently in stores, was designed by a 17-year-old Nerdfighter, and I think that's super rad.

Yes, yes, I loves me some John Green.

So, as per usual, John Green writes teen-fiction, and it's set in the real world and he creates relatable, realistic teenage characters with relatively relatable problems. Also, it does not lack heart.

I'm starting to think that John Green has a thing with people sharing names. Between this book, which features nineteen Katherines and two Colins, he also co-wrote Will Grayson, Will Grayson, which features, get this, multiple Will Graysons.

Andbutso (to steal a John Green-ism) An Abundance of Katherines is really, really enjoyable. I will never stop talking about how John Green knows how to write intelligent teenagers who are comfortable with having identities, and I think that's awesome. Because that's most teenagers I've ever met, and it's such a refreshing bout of truth when you're always spoon-fed the conformist, materialistic, angsty and obnoxious teenagers everywhere else in media.

I just really love that everyone in this book had a really clear identity, and I especially appreciated that they don't necessarily intuitively mesh, since that description is more or less my friend group in a nutshell. Colin, the child prodigy who's obsessed with furthering his knowledge and with upping his status from "prodigy" to "genius", but can barely hold a normal conversation. Hassan, who defines himself by being funny, lazy and by his religion, Islam. Lindsey, who defines herself by being whoever the situation calls for her to be. And they all have amazing character growth. And I just really enjoyed this book.

This story is all about the characters. I like character-heavy things. If you also like character-heavy things, then I recommend it. I really really enjoyed it. Not as much as Will Grayson Will Grayson, which still holds the throne for my favourite John Green book, but it's up there - taking over second place from Looking For Alaska, which slips into third. It's just good. I promise.

And don't let the complicated maths intimidate you as Colin works out his Theorem of Dumpees/Dumpers. The math itself isn't all that important for understanding the story, but it is super cool that it's based on actual sound mathematics, since John Green happens to be good buddies with a well-respected mathematician. (There's an Appendix at the end that explains it, but I can't really be bothered to read it. But the formula it speaks of looks like this:

which looks really frightening, but also really super cool.)

Andbutso, yeah, it's a good book. Characters are enjoyable, realistic, and developed, and the ideas are cool. Recommend it. Now, onward!

Book #3: The Reluctant Assassin

I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE

Okay, so this book was a total gem that I completely found by accident. I was satisfied that I had all the books I wanted, so I was just waiting for my mom to find all the books she wanted, and I was glancing through the teen section to see what was what, and that's when I spotted the name Eoin Colfer.

For those who may not know, Eoin Colfer wrote the Artemis Fowl series, which I absolutely adore. I've posted a couple loving rants about that series on here. And so when I saw that name on a book in the teen section rather than the 8-12 section, (which is where I still get a good deal of my books), I barely had to glance at the back of the book before I resolved that I had to get it. And with a title like The Reluctant Assassin? I was pretty much already hooked.

Like most books by Eoin Colfer, the book is sort of this mixture of sci-fi and fantasy - though it falls harder on the side of sci-fi than Artemis Fowl ever did. Sci-fi/fantasy, of course, is where my heart will always lie, so it's no surprise that my love for this one is so much stronger than the other two.

So, this is the first book in the WARP series, (WARP being an acronym for Witness Anonymous Relocation Program, if I recall correctly?). Basically, the idea is that the FBI invented time travel, and so now they use it for witness protecting, only instead of hiding them in a different place, they hide them in a different time - specifically, Victorian London.

So I love the heroes of this book - between Riley, the fourteen-year-old Victorian urchin who was raised by a twisted sadistic assassin (and who also happens to be the reluctant assassin of the title), and Chevie, a seventeen-year-old female FBI agent - let's just say, they've both got a fair number of tricks up their sleeves, and the dialogue between them is always entertaining and interesting and they're both pretty awesome, though in different ways.

But as much as I love the heroes, what really shone in this book were the villains. The quality of the villains can make or break a story. Let me tell you, it really made The Reluctant Assassin.

The villains were plenty and fascinating. But of course, though a filthy rich power-hungry killer, and a mob-boss are fair challenges in and of themselves, the main villain was the one that struck the most fear, and that was Garrick, the assassin/magician who raised Riley. Garrick gets especially scary when he gets teleported to the the twenty-first century with super-powers and a detailed knowledge of the technology there.

Just - the villains are suitably scary and the heroes are lovable and have rich histories and the plot is thick and rich. It's just as witty as the Artemis Fowl series was, too, but so much more dark. And personally, I love dark.

It's one of those books that I never wanted to end, but that I also couldn't stop reading. I just really, immediately fell in love with it. It's such a good adventure.

It sure was a good thing that mom took a long time buying her books, or I probably never would have found it. So good.

So, yeah, that was the speed round. I'd say it went pretty well. Maybe I should try doing that more often. I dunno, we'll see.

In the meantime... thanks for reading, I guess. *awkward ending is awkward*

Percy Jackson Thirty Day Meme: Day 30

Day 30: Favourite Tartarus moment

Right, because Tartarus was just a laugh a minute, right?

I don't know. I liked that Percy went all dark when he was in Tartarus. You know, with the manipulating and the killing and the rage and everything. It was nice to see Percy go dark, because that's not a thing that happens to any characters, really, except for Nico, which then proceeded to become his entire character.

Which is irritating.

But back to Tartarus.

I liked the curses.

There was this part where Annabeth and Percy are getting attacked by a swarm of arai, which means curses. Basically, for every monster/bad guy/mythical evil that they killed in their careers - and they killed quite a lot - each mythical evil cursed them as they died. And the arai are the curses incarnate. And they're attacking Percy and Annabeth trying to kill them, so the only option is to fight back. Only they can't, because every time they kill one the curse manifests itself in them. So in the midst of the fight, Annabeth goes blind, Percy starts dying of poison, Annabeth is perpetually separated from Percy, Percy gets an arrow through the heart, and also, weirdly, gets a twitchy eye. Lots of other unspecified stuff as well.

They end up escaping with their lives, of course, but I still thought that was a cool fight, especially since they actually knew which monsters had cursed them with what. (Annabeth goes blind from the time she stabbed the Cyclopes Polyphemus in the eye - Percy suffers from poison because of the time he tricked the seer Phineas into drinking some - Annabeth gets separated from Percy because Percy left Calypso on her island forever - Percy gets an arrow through the heart because he shot Geryon with an arrow through his three hearts - etcetera, etcetera). I think it's cool because it opens the door for Percy's darkness, and also because it's the first really hopeless fight they have, and also because it's like, demanding Annabeth and Percy to justify endlessly killing things, even if they are monsters. It's also the first time Bob abandons them, because the arai convince him for a moment that Percy was never really his friend.

Basically, this scene opened up the door for a lot of interesting threads, and that's why I liked it.

And... I guess that's it for the thirty day meme.

Thanks for putting up with me. :)

Percy Jackson Thirty Day Meme: Day 29

Day 29: Best Seaweed Brain moment

There's one thing that always makes me laugh because it's just so random.

It takes place in the second book of the Sea of Monsters. Percy, using his freakish Poseidon powers, has just rescued Annabeth from the Sirens, who in a fit of desperate curiosity decided that instead of putting earplugs in her ears like a normal person, she'd tie herself to the mast and listen to the Sirens song, because you only live once, right? Apparently the Sirens sing, like, truths about you, and that's part of the enchantment, and Annabeth wanted to hear what they had to say about her. So, surprise surprise, that went horribly awry, and Annabeth dived into the ocean to swim towards the Sirens, which is of course what happened in all the myths. Percy barely manages to save her by diving in after her and manipulating the ocean to keep her safe, and pulls her underwater where the sound is muffled and doesn't have any effect, and then brings her back to the ship.

Nothing Seaweed Brainy so far.

Then, when they're beyond the song of the Sirens, Annabeth starts to explain what it was that she heard, and that the Sirens had revealed to her that her fatal flaw (every hero has one) is hubris. The rest of the conversation goes like this:

Annabeth: My fatal flaw. That's what the Sirens showed me. My fatal flaw is hubris. 

Percy: That brown stuff they spread on veggie sandwiches?

Annabeth: No, Seaweed Brain. That's hummus. Hubris is worse. 

Percy: What could be worse than hummus?

Gotta say, that cracks me up.

Also, just for the record, Percy may not be totally book-smart, but he's definitely not incompetent. I just feel like people have this idea of Percy as this complete bonehead who stumbles head-first into every stupid situation, and the latter half of that is pretty true, but he's actually pretty smart. He just gets outshined all the time by having the smartest girlfriend at camp (although, during The Sea of Monsters, they aren't really together. Might as well be, though). He's got good instincts, good strategies, and he's very good at adapting - and my Conversations teacher M. Larrivee (qu'il repose en paix), would argue that the ability to adapt is true intelligence (that was one of the main things I took from that class, and it definitely isn't untrue).

But the hubris/hummus thing is still hilarious.

Percy Jackson Thirty Day Meme: Day 28

Day 28: Favourite location

From the way the books portrayed it? Rome, in the Mark of Athena. It helps that I've actually been there, seen the Colosseum and all that...

Me attempting to lift the Colosseum. The perspective didn't quite work out. Also, this is not a great picture due to me being a total dork. Also also, I am always a total dork and I would do it again.

I mean, Percy and Jason got to fight a pair of giants in the Colosseum. That's a really great thing to be able to visualize. Also, I think Rome is basically the perfect locale for the Percy Jackson. Full of ancient relics and ruins, but at the same time so very modern. You can track history in Rome. It's really cool.

Which, being the total dork I am, is exactly what I spent most of the time doing.

"This used to be a temple to the Olympian gods, but then Christians moved in and used it as a crypt for so-and-so..." It's really very fascinating.

My favourite location from my own memories that they use in the books is Venice, which by the way I've also been to.

Sadly, this is one of the only Venice pictures with me in it. Sucks that it doesn't really capture the UTTER MAGIC AND BEAUTY that defines Venice.

It really disappointed me that they barely did anything with Venice. There was so much that could have happened, but there was only like one chapter in Venice and it barely described it at all. Sorely under-utilized, especially since Venice is where magic is born.

But yeah.

Percy Jackson Thirty Day Meme: Day 27

Day 27: Your weapon of choice

Like, hypothetical demigod me? Because I'd probably go for the same thing Percy has - a pen that turns into a sword. Although, as a hypothetical child of Apollo, it's possible that I'd prefer the bow and arrow, but.... I don't think so. Sword-fighting is much more engaging.

Can I choose the same thing Percy has? Because I would definitely never lose a pen. Especially if it was a blue pen. That wrote very very smoothly. The only time I've ever lost a pen like that was when I forgot that it was stuck behind my ear.

(I'm apparently one of the only people on earth who actually runs their pens dry. At one point, in seventh grade, we had a funeral for one of my pens because it finally died. It was called, like, Bill or something, and we buried it on top of what I called the Singing Hill at my middle school. ....and you know, when you say it not in your head like that, it kinda makes us come off as a little bit batsh*t insane.)

But, yeah. A pen that is a sword? All the way, man. I realize that's not creative, seeing as it's exactly what Percy has in the books, but COME ON. Percy didn't even know he could write with the thing for like five years. I, at least, would know how to use it.

Yeah.

Percy Jackson Thirty Day Meme: Day 25-26

Day 25: Favourite member from the movie cast

I'm refusing to answer this on the same grounds that I didn't answer the other one about movie casts. Movies of this series are gross.

Day 26: Favourite Titan

BOB!

Yep, this series has a character called Bob the Titan.

See, what happened is that he used to Iapetus, the Titan of the.... west....? I think? Anyways, he sided with Kronos in the Titan War. Then, at one point, as a kind of "Oh yeah, remember when this thing happened but there was never actually a story written about it it just sorta happened..." Nico, Thalia and Percy fought Iapetus in the Underworld, and managed to dip him into the River Lethe, which of course, wipes all your memories. So Iapetus came out completely confused without remembering a thing about his past and so Percy and Thalia and Nico renamed him Bob and made him Hades's janitor.

This is the only series in which something this ridiculous could possibly happen.

Anyways, when Percy and Annabeth get trapped in the Tartarus, they're obviously in danger, being in monster headquarters and all. That's when Bob miraculously flies down to help them navigate and survive Tartarus, because Nico, who, as a son of Hades, visits the Underworld often, always told Bob that he and Percy were friends. So Bob's like, "I will help my friends," and Percy's like, "Oh yeah, but hold on, didn't we leave you in the Underworld and forget about you?" and Bob's like, "Yeah, that wasn't very nice. But whatevs I'm still going to help you out. I much prefer being a peaceful janitor Bob the Titan to being the Titan Iapetus who held down my own father as Kronos cut him up" (the book conveniently forgets to mention which bit they were cutting up - they were severing his man-bits). So, even though Bob wants to reach the not-Underworld and see the sun and stars again, he stays in Tartarus and fends off the monsters and the manifestation of Tartarus himself while Annabeth and Percy escape. We still don't know for sure how that ended up, but it's a pretty fair guess that he probably died.

Also, for a Titan, Bob is kind of adorable. He finds a kitten sabertooth in Tartarus (it's a long story), and he names it "Small Bob" because, like himself, the kitten is a monster, but a good one.

How can you not like Bob?

And, of course, in my own explorations of greek mythology...

...Kronos, I guess. I mean, that's really the only one that matters. (?) Clearly I'll need to do more research on the Titans.

Percy Jackson Thirty Day Meme: Day 24

Day 24: Jason, Nico or Frank?

Not Jason. He only ever started getting interesting when he started getting a sub-plot with Nico. So no.

Nico or Frank... Frank or Nico. Hm. I love them both. How can I choose?

I know them both equally. I like them both equally. And I can't choose the one that needs more love because Frank is sorely underappreciated by every fan ever but Nico is sorely disliked by every single character in the book, so......

I'm going to have to go with Nico.

And now I feel like I'm betraying Frank.

Here's the thing. Everyone already knew that Frank was awesome and dangerous. He's a big cuddly teddy bear (sometimes literally hahaha get it because he can morph into animals) but he's also a Roman to the core. But he's, like, everything that was good about the Roman empire without the bad. You know, he's not prejudiced and dictatorly, even though by the end of the fourth book he kind of has every right to be dictatorly because he's so goddam awesome. But anyways, he singlehandedly took down all the monsters in a city that was being invaded by monsters, and he led four demigods to victory against an army of monsters using terrifyingly awesome son of Mars powers and just being smart. We should all bow down to the awesomeness of Frank Zhang. But he wouldn't like that because he's just a big modest teddy bear. Why don't more people love Frank?

But anyways, I picked Nico. I picked Nico because he is also terrifyingly awesome, but I feel like Nico has to prove himself more to the crew and that made me sad for him. Because Nico, of course, isn't one of the Seven. And actually, a bunch of the Seven didn't even want to rescue him from his being captured by giants because, well, they don't have time to save a kid they don't even know, right? Good thing Hazel, Nico's sister, called them out on their crap on that one.

But I feel like Nico's always automatically having to deal with prejudice against him, because of his being a son of Hades, and that makes me sad. He has amazing powers, but it always just freaks everyone out. He's also from a different century, which is rough, and secretly gay, which is a terrible feeling for him since when he was alive, it was World War II and he was living in Italy under Mussolini. I just hate that Nico has to constantly prove himself trustworthy, and everytime he shows up everyone's like, "Oh, jeez, it's that kid, he gives me the freaky-deakies."

When in fact he's an extremely competent fighter (he didn't get that Stygian iron sword for nothing) and has really awesome powers that have helped them out more than once and he honours his promises to lead the Seven to Epirus even though it was nothing but awful for him, and he had to get through Tartarus alone for crying out loud, so why can't more people see that the reason he's so withdrawn is because he's tired of everyone being scared of him? Gah.

I just have a lot of feelings about Nico.

(He gets a POV in Blood of Olympus I'M EXCITED)

The moment Nico made me go, "Why don't more people like this kid?" was when, as forementioned, Frank was leading the group against an army of monsters. It had been going really badly before, but now it's starting to pick up and they're winning and Frank hears Nico laughing, and when he looks over Nico's smiling and he's like, "That's more like it! Let's turn this tide!"

Do you know how many times Nico has smiled previously? I don't, but I know for certain that I could on one hand. And do you know how many times Nico had laughed? I'll give you a hint - it's less than one.

But he fights for good and he's amazing and awesome even if he is withdrawn and why doesn't everyone on earth just hug Nico di Angelo? He desperately needs a hug. Can I hug him?

Oh, yeah, you know how all that emotional masochism came from my Leo love? The same thing pretty much applies for Nico. I want to hug them both. So much.

Yes.

Percy Jackson Thirty Day Meme: Day 23

Day 23: Piper, Hazel or Reyna?

Hazel. Hazel all day every day thank you very much.

The thing is, I'm not going to fall into the footsteps of a lot of other people and say Piper's useless, because she's not. But she is really annoying. She's so clingy with Jason, and oh, what if I said something wrong to Jason, and wait, what was that Jason just said? She's just so overtaken with Jason and turns it into, like, a major plot point when it should really, at most, be like a detail. Because we all know they aren't going to break up. They don't have any relationship problems except for an unfounded jealousy of Reyna. And Riordan likes to write teenage romance as if they've all found THE ONE, so we all know they're sticking around. So shut up about it already. Learn to use your knife for something besides seeing ominous but vague visions of the future. Do something.

Reyna... I like Reyna. I do. She's strong and regal and so interesting. It's just that, in comparison to Hazel, I don't know her all that well. (She gets a POV in Blood of Olympus, so that should be interesting). That's the only reason I'm not picking her. I don't know her enough to really appreciate all the layers she probably has.

So, yes, I choose Hazel. Because she is strong, but so kind, and she's driven and she's capable of anything and I love her. Plus, I really appreciate that her relationship with Frank is like, yeah, he's my boyfriend, but whatever, I sorta need to fight this evil witch right now so who cares. That's how I think all relationships in most books should be. I mean, maybe without the evil witch. Just stop obsessing, is my point, because booooooooring.

Also, Hazel's the youngest one out of the group, but she's so powerful. She can control the Mist to counter super-powerful evil witches. She's the chosen one of Hecate, she's a daughter of Pluto, she's just really super-duper powerful.

And also, she's Nico's adopted sister kinda (it's a long story), and I think that's absolutely adorable because Nico is soft with no one. Not that he's unkind, he's just... not known for his... gentleness. Except with Hazel. They're so gentle to each other, because they understand each other so well (they're both from past centuries) and they help each other deal with their past and their present and it's adorable and I love them.

I just really like Hazel.

Percy Jackson Thirty Day Meme: Day 22

Day 22: Favourite villain/anti-hero

Are there even any anti-heroes in these books? Everyone's pretty definitely a hero. Except Luke, I guess, but how boring is he?

Oh, well, Clarisse counts too. She's a lot less boring.

And then there's Hades, who kinda counts as both, depending on where you are in the series.

I know I've ranted about misrepresentation of characters in pop culture before, but seriously. Why is Hades always the villain of these movies and books? Because he's the god of the dead? He just drew the short end of the straw, that's not his fault. His brothers, Poseidon and Zeus, got luckier with the realms they got, that's it. I mean, he did technically kidnap Persephone, but in the myths, you never really hear about Persephone complaining about it. You hear about over-bearing possessive mother Demeter complaining about it (which is the reason we have seasons - in fall and winter Demeter mourns and the harvest dies, but in the spring and summer Persephone returns and she's happy again). But by all accounts (except the Percy Jackson series, for plot reasons), Hades and Persephone have a loving, faithful relationship. Hades isn't a bad guy. By most accounts, the villain of greek mythology is a lot more commonly Zeus's penis. It causes most of the death and destruction. (It was a lot of fun exploring Hades's character in my book I'm writing. I gave him a nervous stutter. It was so much fun seeing where that went.)

But anyways.

From the books, I guess I'll say Clarisse is my favourite anti-hero.

She starts out as this stereotypical bully, yeah? Percy Jackson has this thing where there always needs to be a school yard bully somewhere alongside the monsters and giants and things. She's big, she's mean and she's the daughter of the war god. She is the schoolyard bully. But even then, she's not dumb muscle. She's... mean, but competent muscle.

Then in the second book she goes on the quest to find the Golden Fleece. Percy figures automatically that someone like Clarisse will screw it up (plus it involved rescuing Percy's best friend, so no way was he going to miss out on that), so he also went on the quest. He overhears Clarisse talking to her father, Ares, the god of war. And overhears him threatening her. Straight up: Ares is an abusive father. So, yeah, Clarisse has got my sympathy there.

Then in the fourth book, they find someone from the Titan army, a demigod called Chris Rodriguez, who got lost in the labyrinth and nearly went insane. Before he was part of the evil Titan army, he and Clarisse were a thing, and so now she's trying to nurse him back to health as he recovers from the trauma of the labyrinth (it's the general theory that he had PTSD during this period) while everyone else gives up on him. Notable in that this is the first time we really see Clarisse being soft.

Then in the fifth book, we discover that she has a friendship with Silena Beauregard, a daughter of Aphrodite, which is sorta counter-intuitive, given that the Ares cabin is known for bullying, booby traps, hot-headedness and stubbornness, and the Aphrodite cabin is known for.... not fighting. But even so, they're close friends, and so when Silena dies? Clarisse throws it down. She single-handedly takes down a drakon (making no modesty of it, either: "I AM CLARISSE, DRAKON SLAYER!!!! I WILL KILL YOU ALL!") and makes the Titan army retreat, earning herself the blessing of Ares. Damn, girl, you go.

But, yeah, she was an important player in the Titan war, and I think that makes her a hero, even if it is an anti-hero. And she's fun. And interesting. So, yeah. She's my favourite.

Percy Jackson Thirty Day Meme: Day 21

Day 21: Favourite friendship

This is kind of like the last one in that it's based around my own theories and head canons about the characters, but it also, like, textually exists so...

Leo and Piper.

Here's the thing. Leo, Piper and Jason are one of the main trios of the series. Except we're all supposed to really like Jason, because god knows everyone else in the books do. Piper falls for him and Leo gets into a bit of a bromance with him. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for bromance. I live for bromance.

Which is sorta why I prefer Leo and Piper. They're basically a bromance in which one of them is female, and it's terribly understated, because of Piper's much more public and pronounced (and annoying) feelings about Jason.

So here's the thing. The first time we meet Piper and Leo and Jason are they're all at a school for troubled kids. Leo because he ran away from all his foster homes, Piper because she's believed to be klepto. Why's Jason there? He doesn't know. He doesn't recognize them. He's lost his memory. It was taken from him for complicated reasons.

Turns out what happened was that Jason's never actually met them before. All the memories that Leo and Piper have of him being there and being part of their three musketeers were actually just implanted there. He was never their friend before the events of the books.

So, though it's never actually addressed, I'm putting in my own inference. Because if Jason was never there before, then that must mean that Piper and Leo were friends all by themselves. Before Piper got so annoying with her Jason-romance and Leo got shoved away as the third (or seventh) wheel. And although, as I said, this was never outright addressed, you can sort of see it in the way they interact. Leo's always making up nicknames for Piper (among them are "Pipes", for obvious reasons, and "Beauty Queen" since she's a daughter of Aphrodite). Piper's always super snarky to match Leo's general goofiness ("What's my title? Am I, like, captain, or admiral, or...?" "Repair boy." "Very funny, Piper.") They're bragging about each other to their other friends, and they totally trust each other. Not to mention the not-famous-enough moment when Piper found Leo after having been kidnapped by mer-centaurs, she literally dived into the ocean to kiss him on the cheek and that is adorable. And how Leo literally flirts with every single girl he meets, except with Piper. Especially notable in that she is a daughter of Aphrodite, making her totally out of his league A.K.A his type. But he doesn't flirt with her because their friendship is awesome and they're practically siblings.

This is one of the only things in the whole series that makes Piper seem like an interesting character, which makes it such a bigger shame that it's so understated.

The whole thing is understated and underappreciated.

And I adore it to pieces.

Percy Jackson Thirty Day Meme: Day 20

Day 20: A character you like but think everyone else doesn't

Um.... I don't know. As far as I can tell, every character gets their share of appreciation. It would be easier to name a character I dislike that everyone else likes.

Oh, but hold on.

Hahaha.

Would anyone believe me if I said I liked Octavian?

Yeah, I know, the manipulative, treacherous, war-mongering augur of Camp Jupiter who called out Percy as a spy after a day of knowing him, who blackmailed Hazel into voting for him as praetor, who is pretty much the driving force behind the Romans attacking the Greeks. How could anyone possibly like him?

But I gotta admit, I really missed him in the Mark of Athena and the House of Hades.

And I also gotta admit, I was really excited when I heard that he got a POV chapter in Blood of Olympus.

Here's the thing about Octavian. He's really unlikeable. Like, really really unlikeable. Even when he was just a benign annoyance in the Son of Neptune, he was still an ass. But what made him such an ass? Well, it was his dedication to tradition.

He asks Percy for a letter of recommendation to join Camp Jupiter in spite of the fact that A) Percy can't remember anything so how could he possibly have a letter of recommendation, and B) Percy walked into the camp carrying a goddess, is that enough recommendation for ya? But he's obliged to ask anyways. It's traditional.

Yes, he met the Greeks already suspicious of them. They are flying to their camp in a big mother warship, for heaven's sake. To be honest, I'd probably be suspicious as well. And when Leo started firing on the camp (while possessed, but Octavian didn't know that), Octavian, as a Roman, sees that the best defense is a good offense. Attack the Greeks. That's the Roman way, the traditional way.

What you have to understand is that Octavian isn't exactly a demigod. He's a legacy. That means that he's the descendant of a demigod. You don't know by how many generations or whatever, all we know is that he's, by some extent, descended from Apollo. Which means, since his family has had multiple generations knowing themselves as descendants of gods, that Octavian is not new to the Roman ways. It would be a fair assumption to think that he probably grew up in New Rome, since they have a whole city that works as a safe haven for demigods and their kids. All Octavian probably knows is the traditional Roman ways.

Of course, that doesn't excuse the power plays and the treachery and all that stuff. And he's still not a likeable character by any stretch of the imagination. But the more I think about him, the more I find myself willing to understand him. None of the other characters at all seem willing to hear him out about anything, and I think that's a mistake. That's why I'm so eager for an Octavian POV in Blood of Olympus. I want to know what the heck that crazy kid is thinking.

Basically what I'm saying is that the only reason I enjoy Octavian is because I have a lot of hypothetical theories about the way his mind works that are barely, if at all, based on what the text actually said.

I am the master at overthinking things.

Percy Jackson Thirty Day Meme: Day 19

Day 19: Favourite prophecy

The Prophecy of Seven.

Seven half-bloods shall answer the call

To storm or fire the world must fall

An oath to keep with a final breath

And foes bear arms to the doors of death

Partly because the suspense about what it means is dragged out through the entirety of the Heroes of Olympus series, but also because the way it's been written means that it can be interpreted in so many different ways, and I think that's really clever.

For instance, on a first reading, it looks like "storm or fire" will end up destroying the world. But, if you take into account that they're fighting Gaea, the earth goddess, then it could actually mean that "storm or fire" must save the world by causing the world - or earth - to "fall".

Also, what's storm and fire? It's been generally assumed by everybody that "fire" must refer to Leo, since, being pyrokinetic, he's kinda the fire guy, but what about "storm", huh? Jason, son of the sky god, can cause lightning strikes and control the winds, but Percy, son of the sea god, can make hurricanes. Either one of those guys could be storm, as far as we know.

Or - as has been suggested by one of the fans - maybe it doesn't refer to either of them at all. One of the wind gods Jason talks to in the fourth book is known as "stormy" in his Greek form and "fiery" in his Roman form. Maybe it doesn't mean Percy or Jason or Leo at all. Maybe it's referring to Greek or Roman.

And what's this oath to keep with a final breath, huh? Could it refer to Leo's promise to Calypso? Could it refer to Percy's promise to return home to his mother? Maybe something that hasn't come up yet? It could be anything, and it's killing me, because it means that one of the Seven are probably going to die and I am going to cry. (It's really set up so that Leo could be it - he made that oath to Calypso, first of all, and also, if the second line's connected to the third one, then pay attention to the word, "or". It implies that possibly "storm" or "fire" won't make it and if Leo is fire, ugh, this is killing me).

And the fourth line - everyone assumed it was referring to Greeks and Romans joining forces to close the Doors of Death, but as of the fourth book, in which they closed the Doors of Death, it actually referred to even deadlier foes - demigods and Titans, demigods and giants. Percy and Annabeth had a Titan on their side as they fought to seal the Doors, and a giant, which is the race of sons of Gaea that they're fighting, even helped them do it.

What this prophecy actually means is anyone's guess.

And it is tearing me apart.

Bravo, Riordan. Bravo.

Percy Jackson Thirty Day Meme: Day 18

Day 18: Favourite mortal

How many mortals are there in these books? Like, three? Not many.

I mean, I dunno. Percy's mom is caring and loving, but defiant. Love her. Percy's step-dad killed monsters he couldn't even see with his Shakespearean stage-fighting skills, and that's pretty badass, not gonna lie.

But there's really only one mortal that got enough character development and screen-time for me to really like them, and that's Rachel Elizabeth Dare.

She's artistic and outspoken and kind and she's pretty much just made of heart. She actually took off in the middle of her vacation to help Percy and the other demigods fight the Titans, with the price of having to go to some, like, girl's private school "become a proper lady" thing, which was pretty much her definition of hell. And at the end of all that, she became Apollo's Oracle of Delphi, after the position had been cursed by the gods for convoluted reasons that I'm not going to go into.

Also, she pretty much marched up to a battle-ready army of romans unarmed to deliver a message to their praetor, so she's brave as anything.

And to top it off, she once hit Kronos in the eye with a hairbrush.

And if that's not awesome, I don't know what is.

Percy Jackson Thirty Day Meme: Day 17

Day 17: A scene you really missed in the movies

Try everything.

The movies suck, okay? They pretty much botched up everything, and as a result, I live in constant fear that other book-to-movie adaptations turn out as bad (please God have mercy on Artemis Fowl, says the silent but constant mantra in my books-rights-activist soul). Between Percy Jackson and Inkheart.... my heart's been broken too many times. How can someone screw up a book-to-movie adaptation that badly? There is literally a plot with developed characters already written out for you. Don't change the story. Change how it's told. That's the definition of an "adaptation". Why is a teenage girl figuring this out before screenwriters at big movie studios? Ugh.

But with the Percy Jackson movies, I guess the thing I missed the most was Ares.

In the first book, Percy crosses paths with Ares, the god of war, and let's just say he doesn't exactly come out of that with a new friend. First Ares leads him and his friends into a trap for his own amusement, and then he gives them something to "help them" on their quest that turns out to actually frame him for a crime against the gods, and it all boils down to Percy duels the god of war - and wins. That was a ridiculously awesome part of the book that they were absolutely insane to not put in the movie.

Especially because Ares's appearance in twenty-first century America is that of a bad boy biker thug, and I think that's golden.

Percy Jackson Thirty Day Meme: Day 16

Day 16: Favourite minor god

In both the books and greek mythology in general, the answer is the same. Pan, god of the wild.

(Who is, coincidentally, the son of Hermes. What do you mean I have a one-track mind?)

Because A) that's where the panflutes came from, and the panflute is a cool instrument no matter what you say. And B) he could be the most anti-social god, and I think that's hilarious. Like, sometimes he was like all the other satyrs (because he was, essentially, a satyr) with the fluting and the flirting and everything, but sometimes he got moody and anti-social and wanted to be left alone. And if someone bugged him while he was like that, what would he do to get rid of them? He would let out this awful scream that would make them take off running. This was legit a power he had. And this power is where the word "panic" comes from. Pan. And if you don't think that's even a little funny, well, you're wrong.

Pan is just cool, in both the books and the myths. So.... yeah. Also, while I have quite an extended encyclopedia of knowledge about the main greek gods and the demigod heroes and stuff, my knowledge of the minor gods is realllly limited. Like, they had a lot of them, so I kinda gave up on learning all of them. As a result, my knowledge of them pretty much amounts to Pan, Hecate (goddess of crossroads and magic), Hypnos (god of sleep), Nemesis (goddess of revenge) and Nike (goddess of victory), so yeah, not that much to choose from. Does Eros count? I know him too (you'll know him more commonly as his roman name, Cupid). But yeah. Not much to choose from.

But even so

Pan is still awesome.

Percy Jackson Thirty Day Meme: Day 14 - 15

Day 14: Movie dreamcast

I am ignoring this one completely. Nope. Because I suck at imagination-based casting since it takes a conscious effort for me to actually visualize, like, anything (including real life people who aren't directly in front of me - I wish I was kidding). Plus, I pray to whatever god exists that we will not have to suffer through another movie adaptation of any Percy Jackson books. Torturous. Plus, can you imagine the white-washing that would take place for Heroes of Olympus? I mean, out of the Seven, only three of them are canonically white. Then there's a Cherokee, a Latino, a black person, and a Chinese-Canadian. But you just know that in the movie these people would all suddenly become white. Things like that happen all the time. It will almost certainly happen with Artemis Fowl when that moves out of development hell (between having a brown-skinned fairy and having the badass, kill-you-with-my-pinkie-finger Butlers being Eurasian - yup, the white-washing is definitely going to happen). And  it annoys the living bejeezus out of me.

So, yeah, on principle, I am ignoring this one. What's day 15?

Day 15: Favourite olympian

From how the books portrayed them? Hestia, goddess of the hearth. She is, to title drop the fifth installment, the Last Olympian. Keeps the home fires burning and doesn't ask for anything in return. Plus, in mythology, she willingly gave up her seat on Olympus for Dionysus. She's just so kind and royal and untouchable.

In my own explorations of greek mythology, however? Hermes. Hermes all the freakin' way. He is hilarious and awesome in every single myth. I think he's the only Olympian in the history of all myths that manages to just talk his way out of a, shall we say, a disagreement with Hera. What I'm saying is that Hermes is what I strive to be in life. Yep.

I Am Mentally Nine Years Old: Chapter 47

I know, I know, aside from the Artemis Fowl adoration, aside from the Percy Jackson/Heroes of Olympus love, aside from the insistence on rewatching things like the Spongebob Squarepants movie and rereading things like Inkheart (which, for the record, actually gets better with age), I have yet more to add to this strange phenomenon of being a nine year old trapped in a teenager's body.

I have been watching Avatar: The Last Airbender.

I sorta watched this when I was a kid - it used to play on YTV now and then, and what can I say, I dug it. Super-powers, all-powerful evil, impossible odds - it was pretty much everything I loved in all the stories I ever liked or came up with, when I was in elementary school. (Seriously, I had a thing where it wasn't worth it if there wasn't a super-duper-ultra-evil villain.)

And so, more or less on a whim, I found it on Netflix and started watching it again.

And I am completely, utterly addicted.

The thing is, there's so much to this show that I never really fully appreciated when I was watching it as a kid. (I find that's the case with most things aimed at kids, actually, which is why there shouldn't be any shame in enjoying things like that.)

Like, yeah, they have super-powers, and yeah, they're being hunted by a lot of evil, and yeah, the odds are pretty much impossible. But that's like, only scratching the surface of what the story is.

I think the main reason that I missed the levels of it before is that it was kind of one of those shows you had to really watch. You had to see past episodes and understand context, and I have never been one of those people who could consistently watch something, not even now. I've only ever been able to do that when I've been spoon-fed it on Netflix. As a TV watcher, I'm actually pretty pathetic.

But now, with the chance to see it all as it was, in order, with context, just... wow. This - this had a lot of heart and soul put into it, let me tell you.

The world-building is amazing. I mean, this is like freaking J.R.R Tolkien standards when it comes to world-building. There are four nations, (Water Nation, Earth Nation, Fire Nation and the now extinct Air Nation), and they each clearly have their own extremely defined and distinct culture that actually springs from the element it's centered on. It's so cool. Like, you know instantly where they are, because of the way the buildings in the background look, and there are distinct philosophies associated with each nation (such as, the people of the Earth Nation are unrelenting and immovable - like rock - whereas, at least in flashbacks, people of the Air Nation appeared to be rather more light and unconfrontational and even pacifistic.) Actually, it can pretty much be summed up by the fact that it is the Fire Nation, the Water Tribes, the Earth Kingdom and the Air Nomads. Just the fact that they've created it like that already shows you that there is diversity and nuance and layers to these four cultures that they've invented. It's just, it's so cool.

And I absolutely adore all the characters. Sokka, pretty much the only one who isn't some kind of bender (which is what they call people who can summon and manipulate the elements of water, earth, fire or air), never fails to be hilarious, but he's also competent. I mean, it's easy to forget that sometimes because sometimes he does pretty dumb stuff - but he's a fighter and he's moral and he cares and he's usually pretty smart. Katara, his water-bending sister, is awesome as well, just in general. Zuko, the disgraced and banished prince of the Fire Nation, is such a jerk but I feel for him so hard.

And Aang... the Avatar himself. The last airbender left on earth (because of a world-buildingly rich but sorta complicated story that I'm not going to bother to explain). Basically, his entire culture is extinct and he's the most powerful person on earth. He also happens to be this ridiculous, goofy twelve year old kid, which is my favourite thing about the whole show. This is a kid who knows that he's a kid. He also knows that he's the Avatar and has to save the world and stuff, but why should that stop him from penguin-sledding and using Omashu's mail system as a super-slide? I adore Aang so much.

The best thing about Aang is that he is a kid. That is what makes this so great, for me. He's this hugely powerful bender - master airbender, and quickly mastering the other three elements along with it - but he's just a kid. A kid who has to deal with the fact that his entire culture is extinct and that everyone is either hunting him (the Fire Nation) or wanting to use him for something (most of the Earth Kingdom, I think it's fair to say). And also the whole saving the world thing. And this isn't, like, Harry Potter stuff where he's immediately like "Yes, I will save the world I am fine with risking everything what do you mean danger I eat danger for breakfast". This is real, hero's journey type stuff, including the call to adventure, the refusal of the call, crossing the threshold, etc. (Can you tell I've done my research on Campbell's hero's journey? Fascinating stuff, in terms of storytelling). He is a child, and you never forget that for too long.

Which is good. It's not like it's jumping up and down and pointing at Aang and being like, "LOOK AT HIM LOOK HOW YOUNG HE IS FEEEEEEEEEL SYMPATHYYYY" it just sort of keeps throwing in things to remind you. Like, how Aang is consistently, extremely, unironically enthusiastic about simple things, like, "Katara! Look at this airbending trick I made up!" and "Guys, today's the day I learn earthbending! Aren't you excited?" Simple things like that. It's really an extremely well-written show as well as being very well-constructed. Not to mention substantial. There is not a single filler episode that I've seen so far. Everything accomplishes something for either the plot or the characters or both, as well as being extremely entertaining.

Speaking of being well-written, there was literally an episode that revolved around Aang's pet bison and what he'd been doing for the weeks while Aang and Co. were looking for him. And I nearly cried. It was a wordless, wandering animal as the protagonist for twenty minutes and I nearly cried, no joke. It is that well-written.

It just feels so carefully and lovingly put together. How can you not love it? How can you not fall in love with Aang's frequent child-like joy in the midst of a hundred year war that he has to personally put a stop to? How can you not fall in love with the epic fight scenes between the various benders? Katara can whip people with water, Azula can shoot lightning, Aang can basically fly, I mean, the fight scenes are pretty freakin' great. How can you not fall in love with the wit, and the heart, and just, everything? (It's actually so witty. I don't laugh aloud at many shows, but this one, like, all the time).

Also, I know I'm wrapping up and everything, but may I just say that I really appreciate that not everything comes easy to the characters? I mean, obviously conflict is born of stuff like that, but when I said that they have superpowers at the beginning, I was dreadfully oversimplifying what is a really rich aspect of the show. These aren't superpowers. These are martial arts disciplines, (different martial arts disciplines, I might add - firebending and earthbending are shown to use lots of sharp movement and closed fists, while waterbending and airbending are very smooth, open-handed motions) that the characters are often shown working on. Katara talks all the time about how she had to practise hard all the time to master waterbending, and there was an episode dedicated to Aang trying (and, until the end, failing) to learn earthbending. It just makes the show so much more rich and satisfying and I just really love and appreciate what they've done with it.

It's just such a good show. Obviously so much thought and heart and soul was put into making it. It's just such a good story, and such a well-told story. I love it and recommend it to anyone who feels comfortable with finding their inner child - because that is part of the magic, not gonna lie.

Let's just say that the "finding your inner child" thing isn't exactly an issue for me.