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.

Percy Jackson Thirty Day Meme: Day 13

Day 14: Favourite greek myth/mythological creature

In the books, or just, like, in general?

I really loved the way Riordan utilized the dolphin/half-dolphin pirates in Mark of Athena. I thought that was hilarious and accurate.

The myth, of course, was that before Dionysus, after being granted the position of god of wine, pretty much just wandered around teaching people how to make wine and stuff. He was pampered and lived in luxury, so this group of pirates thought he was just a prince and decided to kidnap him. Dionysus was like, "Uh, guys, you know I'm a god, right?" and the pirates were like, "Hah, right, like we've never heard that one before," and so basically, to escape and wreak vengeance upon the pirates and stuff, he turned them into dolphins. But as he was doing this he took sympathy on them, so some of them he only turned into half-dolphins.

And, if we're to follow the mythology the Percy Jackson books put forward, this half-dolphin pirate crew eventually joined up with Chrysaor, who was the son of Medusa who wasn't the Pegasus. (Poor Chrysaor, there are like no myths about him).

But, yeah. I thought that was pretty good how he used that one.

My favourite myth in general is the one where baby Hermes steals a herd of sacred sun-cows from Apollo, like, the day after he's born. And then Apollo's like, "You stole my cows!" and Hermes is like, "Excuse me, I'm just a baby? Like, are you crazy?" And then Apollo chases Hermes all the way up Mount Olympus and then he's like, "DADDDDDDD, HERMES STOLE MY COWS!" and Zeus is like, "Hermes, give your brother back his cows," and Hermes huffs and goes, "Fine," but he still ends up keeping like ten of them or something. And Apollo's about to complain even more but then Hermes is like, "Hold up! You're the god of music, right? Check this out." And he just invents the lyre and Apollo's like "Music! I like music! What cows?"

Hermes is my favourite god. Period. Because every story he's in is like that. Just brilliant.

Percy Jackson Thirty Day Meme: Day 12

Day 12: Favourite quote/scene

There are many. Many. Many. Great quotes, especially in the Heroes of Olympus series. I don't know....

*considers everything Leo Valdez ever said*

...what can I say? I have a weakness for him, okay?

I mean, let's face it, there's one line from these books that I will be quoting pretty much every time the oppurtunity presents itself.

Hazel: What are you thinking?

Leo: I try not to think. It interferes with being nuts.

Tell me that's not a good line.

(Also, this line pretty much directly precedes the scene where Leo has to distract Narcissus and his fangirls, I think that's the fourth time I've brought that up? I really like that scene, okay?)

Percy Jackson Thirty Day Meme: Day 11

Day 11: Saddest character death

Hah, get back to me after Blood of Olympus comes out (it's either Jason, Percy or Leo, like, let's be real. And if Leo dies, I am throwing my book at a wall).

Zoe Nightshade.... Silena Beauregard..... Charles Beckendorf.... Luke Castellan, uh, no, sorry Luke, you were too much of a jerk for the entire series for me to like you for two pages as you died.

I'm going with Zoe Nightshade. It was tough between her, Silena or Beckendorf, but the thing is, we barely know Silena or Beckendorf at all. They get less than half as much screen time as Zoe got, so the thing is, having Zoe die was sadder and more unexpected and just... harder. Yeah.

So, this is of course way back before this Heroes of Olympus stuff happened. We meet Zoe Nightshade, the lieutenant of Artemis, and a general arrogant jerk-ette. Like, I can understand the vow of maidenhood and renouncing the company of boys and everything, because she's the lieutenant of Artemis, but she pretty much can't stand to be in the company of a male at all. She's pretty uptight about it. Even Artemis's brother, Apollo, she pretty much looks down on, so she's just arrogant and superior and ughhhhh.

But then, character development happens!

She learns to respect Percy, despite the fact that he's, y'know, male, and learns to respect Thalia, even though Thalia is pretty much the exact opposite of everything Zoe likes. Basically, Zoe, Thalia, Percy, Grover and another huntress named Bianca (who's Nico's older sister whoops) are on this quest to free Artemis from the Titan Atlas, who has been freed from his burden of holding up the sky and has captured her.

As the story continues, we start to get a glimpse of Zoe's background. Turns out, she was one of the Hesperides, but she helped Hercules on his quest to steal an apple from the garden of Hesperides (and then Hercules promptly wrote her out of the story entirely), so the other Hesperides kicked her out. Which is why she became one of Artemis's huntresses, and also probably one of the main reasons she mistrusts men. After all, Hercules is revered by men everywhere, right? But he wronged her. So, yeah, that's a thing. (Rant alert: Riordan really likes writing Hercules in unfavourable lights even though, in the actual myths, Hercules was pretty much never anything but moral and loyal. Artistic license and everything, but still.)

Every quest has a prophecy to go with it. I don't remember exactly, but I'm pretty sure the one for this quest went like: Five shall go west to the goddess in chains/One shall be lost in the land without rain/The titan's curse must one withstand/And one shall perish by a parent's hand. Hey, for off the top of my memory, that's pretty good!

But anyways, the point is, as a Hesperide, Zoe was the daughter of Atlas. You know, the Titan who captured Artemis. So, she pretty much knew from the beginning which one was going to "perish by a parent's hand". And she went on the quest anyway. Because she had to rescue Artemis. And because she's a badass, brave lady.

So, yes, in the battle with Atlas, they leap into the fight and Atlas delivers a blow to Zoe that's irreparable. They'd defeated the Titan and won the battle, but Zoe's dying. So she dies at her lady Artemis's side, the one she'd been loyal to for centuries, and Artemis turns her into a constellation so that she can always be running and hunting across the sky.

And just -

Ouchies. 

Sadness. I tear up every time.

That is because I am a sucker.

A hopeless sucker.

But things are so much more fun when you let yourself get suckered!

There's that emotional masochism again. Was wondering where that went.

Will Grayson, Will Grayson: Book Review

[I've only been working on this post for three months. My brain was pretty dead for a while there. Stop judging me.]

The cover is so smooooooooooth...

It may have come to your attention that I pretty much only blog about things that I like, so it probably won't surprise you to learn that I really love this book.

Will Grayson, Will Grayson was a book written by John Green, A.K.A Ruler of the Internet, and was also co-written by some guy called David Levithan (I'm just kidding, David Levithan is also remarkable, and to be honest, his half of the book touched me just as much, if not more, than John Green's half). (For those who don't know, John Green wrote about Will Grayson; David Levithan wrote about will grayson).

It is about two kids, who live completely separate lives that have nothing to do with each other, except they're both called Will Grayson. Until eventually they meet, their lives touch, and ultimately, their lives change.

Which makes it sound super corny but you have to take my word for it that this book is utterly engaging and sincere.

First of all, I've said this about John Green and I will say it again about this book as well, he knows how to write teenagers. I'm reading it and I'm like wow, these guys get me. So, yeah, I've touched on that before, and obviously for this book that credit doesn't all go to John Green because again, I was also touched by David Levithan's half, I just wanted to put it out there because it's important to me.

I love the complexity of the book. Not like it's hard to follow, or like it's a complicated storyline or anything, but just, the depth of the characters and the issues they're dealing with and how they interact with each other is just so.... complex. And there's interesting thematic devices used, and there's interesting characterization, and basically, it's just a very interesting novel, from an english teacher perspective.

Interesting characterization example: the book is in first person. So, John Green's Will Grayson writes normally, the way we're used to seeing things written, the way our grade three teachers taught us things were supposed to be written, with proper capitalization and quotes and paragraphs. David Levithan's Will Grayson (if I refer to them anymore, Imma just call them J.G and D.L, 'kay?), on the other hand, doesn't write like that. he writes like this. it's a subtle difference, for sure, because there's nothing else too changed about it except for the lack of capitals. but nevertheless, it's jarring at first. is it jarring for you right now? funny thing is, you get used to it through the book. like, you notice it as an indication that d.l's will is the one telling the story, but it doesn't throw you off in the same way after a while.

the other thing is that his will doesn't use quotes to describe conversations, he just uses the same technique i use when quoting tv shows. that technique being:

me: stuff that i'm saying in a conversation
other guy: stuff that he's saying in a conversation

that's how it's written in the book.

And I'm going to start writing normal again, because when I do that, it just bothers me.

But it's characterization. It's lower-case, it's understated, because that's the kind of person will (deliberately lower-case when describing the character) thinks he is.

And basically, through the story, the two Wills are pretty much tied together through one character, Tiny Cooper, who is described as "not the biggest person on earth, and not the gayest person on earth, but the biggest person who is very very gay". J.G Will is his best friend, and D.L Will becomes his boyfriend.

So, already, homosexuality is a thing. I really love what they did with that. Because it's not like Tiny and Will don't encounter homophobia - they do - but it's not their main issue. They don't care what other people think, and besides, they're both surrounded by people who accept them and don't care about their sexuality (Tiny more so than Will, but that's part of Will's growth, is finding real friends who accept him and don't act like total bitches. Excuse me, is my intense anger towards one of the characters showing?). Which is pretty much all I've encountered in the high school environment. I just think it's realistic, and plus, it's a nice way to avoid the retelling of the "I exile you from my family because you are gay, the power of Christ compels you" type story, because, tragic as that story is, and common as it may possibly turn out to be (I really wouldn't know), it's just not interesting, due to everyone having heard it a thousand times.

But what I find more interesting about Tiny Cooper are two facts that are not interesting separately but more interesting when put together. Fact 1: the story is never told from his perspective. Fact 2: he's the cohesion that ties the entire story together.

He brings J.G Will and Jane together. He brings D.L Will out of his little emo bubble. Ultimately, he brings the two Wills together (and others too...... I spoil nothing). And does he get any appreciation?

...
...

I'll leave that for you to decide after reading it, if you do.

But the thing is, you never really get a look inside his head. I mean, not really. He has a monologue to D.L Will which kinda tells about what it's like to be Tiny Cooper, but it's not really... it's not enough. Which is what makes the character interesting. Tiny Cooper is a significant presence at every turn, and yet, we never get a chance to look through his eyes. The purpose of this? He's character foil. For both Wills, incidentally, although the two Wills are quite different. And yet similar. Have I mentioned this book is kind of complex?

But the fact that he's character foil wouldn't, ordinarily, mean that we don't get a look inside his head, except part of the entire conflict of the story is seeing how the two Wills interact with him. The two Wills, who both try so hard to not care, are tied to Tiny Cooper, arguably the most emotional out of the lot of them (though I think a case could be made for J.G Will, too. HAVE I MENTIONED THIS BOOK IS COMPLEX?)

But, yes. For J.G Will, Tiny is foil for the fact that Will has made a point of not becoming invested in anything that happens, because as long as you don't care, you don't get hurt. And the first thing we learn about Tiny Cooper from J.G Will? Is that Tiny is constantly heart broken from yet another failed relationship. I completely adore J.G's first chapter, his whole bit with the "You can pick your friends, and you can pick your nose, but you can't pick your friend's nose." Well, according to him, he can't pick his friends, as he wouldn't have chosen Tiny, and in fact, he must pick his friend's nose, as Tiny passed out drunk and Will was afraid he wouldn't be able to breathe. Bravo, John Green. Bravo indeed.

But the whole bit, it speaks to how sometimes he and Tiny really just don't get each other, emotionally, but in spite of this, Will still sees him as a good friend. A) I totally understand that dynamic, and B) the fact that they are foil for each other in a lot of ways.... it really highlights both their weaknesses and strengths, and makes the book a lot more interesting.

For D.L Will, Tiny is foil for the fact that Will is always trying to kind of hide himself, and who he is. After all, Will's first impression of Tiny is that he is huge and impossible to ignore and he completely embraces that, after all, as they stroll through the streets with Tiny belting songs from a musical he wrote... about himself (don't worry, it later became about LOVE - it was an important epiphany for Tiny). (He even changed the title from Tiny Dancer - because he's Tiny Cooper - to Hold Me Closer. Subtle, Tiny. Realllll subtle).

But mostly, I just really love.... realistic teenagers. God, we do not get enough of them. They are a pile of emotions, but they're still obviously really smart in their own separate ways, and they know, to an extent, who they are and who they want to be, but they're also discovering it and just, ugh, this book gets me. They talk like teenagers (which is to say, they are actually capable of speaking eloquently) and act like teenagers and it just gets me. (By the way, that's pretty much the main reason that this book isn't going to be turned into a movie. Apparently John Green was told by a Hollywood producer that, "The only thing that people hate more than smart teenagers are gay teenagers." Like, ugh, shut up already.)

Also, yay for post-meds depression representation! As someone with more than one friend who suffers from depression, it's nice to finally see a story that shows what happens after they've got their meds. It's not necessarily happy-ever-after after that. There's still every day coping. Representation of things like that is pretty important, I think.

I just love this book to death. It is smart and funny and rude and in-your-face and I LOVELOVELOVE IT TO DEATH.

I loved it so much I went out and bought my own copy after borrowing it from my friend. Because I just need it to be on my bookshelf 24/7.

Everyone should read it. It is the best.

Just awesome.

12 out of 10 would read again.

Percy Jackson Thirty Day Meme: Day 10

Day 10: Demigods or Titans?

Uh, what?

Demigods. The demigods beat the Titans, remember? There was a five book series about it? There was this whole war? It was kind of a big deal.

Titans have power handed to them and then use it to destroy everything.

Demigods, if they have powers at all (which they often don't) use it to defend themselves and their heritage and, y'know, western civilization. Not to mention that, even if some of their powers are pretty, um, measly, they stand up regardless.

How could anyone pick Titans?

Percy Jackson Thirty Day Meme: Day 9

Day 9: Favourite ship

How is this even a question?

THE ARGO II OF COURSE!!!!

*cracks self up because I'm so hilarious*

Okay, but for real, I don't hate shipping, I just don't do it. I ship a lot of friendships and bromances and stuff. But, like, relationship-relationships? I've never gotten into it. Like, I'll look at a relationship and be like, "Yeah, I get that," but I'm never really like, "OH MY FREAKING GOD THEY ARE KISSING FINALLY UGH MY LIFE IS COMPLETE" and all that fangirly stuff. I get fangirly in different ways.

But if I had to pick one.........

God, I don't know.

Percy and Annabeth are pretty cute, I guess, except that they spend so much time being like "Never ever leave me" that it gets kind of tiresome. Hazel and Frank are cute, but not really anything yet. Piper and Jason are just annoying as all hell. Don't make me rant about that one.

To be honest, this is one of the things about the books that annoys me, is that the author, like, compulsively pairs up his characters. That's the main (but not only) problem with Piper and Jason, is that I was supposed to buy into them being a couple before I even bought into them being, y'know, interesting. Is there a reason they need to be paired up like that right away? Not to mention that when there is a character who isn't paired up with anyone, like Leo, it turns into this whole thing, hence the whole, "You will always be the seventh wheel" going on with Leo. Or Reyna, one of the strongest characters of the series, paired up with no one, but of course that's because she was rejected so many times. Or, if you want a single character, may I present you Thalia Grace, who pledged her life to Artemis, vowing to be a virgin forever, or Rachel Elizabeth Dare, who has to be a virgin for the rest of her life in order to host the spirit of the Oracle. It's kinda like, "Look, if you're not dating by the time you're sixteen, (preferably in a relationship with THE ONE) then you're probably never going to."

Can you tell I'm irritated by this I am very irritated by this. (In a way, if you look at Riordan's actual life, he did marry the person he was dating since, like, grade nine or something, so it sorta makes sense. I still do think he should have taken steps to represent something that wasn't that, though.)

Rant aside, I guess I have to choose one.

I can't choose between Percy/Annabeth or Leo/Calypso.

I know, after I just ranted about how single characters should just be allowed to stay single, but I just really enjoyed the whirlwind Leo/Calypso relationship. Sue me. Mostly because their interactions begin with Leo crash-landing on her island and Calypso's like, "YOU DESTROYED MY DINING TABLE!" and Leo's like, "Oh, I'm sorry, I just got thrown into the sky, built a helicopter in mid-air, had it explode, and then crash-landed on this island, but please! Let's talk about your dining table!" and then end with Calypso stopping Leo's mouth with a kiss and then pulling away and being like, "That didn't happen!" And Leo's just there like, "Okay," with his voice about eight octaves higher than usual. I laughed.

I like Percy and Annabeth for pretty much the opposite reason. They're just so solid. I realize that may not be an attractive trait in a couple from story perspective, but it's what I like about them. They're not just a couple, you know, they're teammates too, and they watch each other's backs and look out for each other and fight together and they just, you know, make sense. Also, Annabeth judo-flipping Percy for going missing for eight months and then Percy laughing and being like, "I missed you too," was pretty adorable, not gonna lie.

There you have it. I can't decide. Like, with Percy/Annabeth we got to watch their relationship grow and everything... but with Leo/Calypso, they're adorable in that they're trying to convince themselves they don't like each other, and it's really amusing. So, you see my dilemma.

I feel shallow for even considering Leo/Calypso but WHAT CAN I SAY I ENJOYED IT OKAY?!

Percy Jackson Thirty Day Meme: Day 8

Day 8: A scene that made you sad

I guess I should have seen this one coming, considering what yesterday's was.

*considers all the scenes Leo's been in*

....what can I say? He's kind of a magnet for sadness.

Oh, yeah, I've got it.

Okay, so, Hazel recognizes Leo from her pre-death life, right? Which is weird, because Hazel's pre-death life was seventy years ago, and Leo's sorta from this century, so how exactly does that work? So, basically, Hazel pulls Leo into a flashback to see if they can figure it out together. First, Hazel shows Leo her memories of Sammy, who, yes, looked exactly like Leo and acted like Leo (only smoother), and Leo's basically like, "Yeah, I see the resemblance, but I still have no idea who that is."

Then, they get pulled into a different scene. In Houston. Where, of course, Hazel never lived. What's going on?

But wait! Leo's family is from Houston. This is a scene from Leo's life.

And at this house in Houston, there's an old man, sitting on the front porch and looking wistfully into the distance. He says, "Hazel...."

And then a young woman comes out with a baby in her arms. "Look, Leo, it's your bisabuelo!"

And then Leo starts crying and Hazel starts crying and I start crying.

Turns out, Sammy is Leo's great-grandfather. This happened when Leo was still a baby. Leo is watching the scene fifteen-sixteen years later, after having killed his mother accidentally with his pyrokinesis and then he starts crying and I scream at the book LEO IT'S OKAY DON'T CRY right before I start crying.

From Hazel's point of view, she is looking at an old man who was her boyfriend in her old life, this old man who blames himself for never seeing Hazel again after she moved, when in fact it was Gaea's fault because Gaea sorta killed her. Sammy looks at Baby-Leo and tells him that he'll be seeing her again and to tell her hello and that he's sorry because it's his fault he never saw her again. Hazel knows it's not. Hazel starts crying. I start crying.

Then they get pulled out of the flashback and Leo looks at Hazel and says, for his great-grandfather: "Hello, Hazel Levesque."

And then I cry.

Percy Jackson Thirty Day Meme: Day 7

Day 7: A scene that made you happy

HAVE I BROUGHT UP THE SCENE WHERE LEO HAS TO DISTRACT NARCISSUS AND HIS FANGIRLS YET?

Narcissus: Who are you?

Leo: I'm the super-sized McShizzle, man!

Because that's still not getting old. What do you mean I've brought that up three times already?

Okay, but for real, House of Hades had a few major gems. Lots of Frank development, because Frank was tragically underutilized in Mark of Athena. Like, there's the scene where Frank gets promoted to praetor so that he can lead this whole roman army into battle against the monsters. Frank Zhang is a beast (literally and figuratively hardy har har get it because he can morph into animals).

But mostly - because it opened up a different perspective into relationships of the Seven and I just really like observing the evolution of the relationships of the Seven - the scene where Leo gives Frank the bag.

Allow me to explain.

So, along with Frank being the son of Mars, and being able to morph into animals, and being more or less a tactical genius, he also kinda has this major weakness where if this piece of firewood burns up, he'll die. It's literally his lifeline. So he brings it with him everywhere so that he can protect it. It's wrapped in layers of cloth and stuff, but the fact is, if that thing caught fire, then Frank's life would be over.

UNTIL

Yeah, remember how I was talking about the tension between Leo and Frank? Because Frank likes Hazel and Hazel was drawn to Leo because of Sammy, and also because Leo sort of has a really big mouth and doesn't know when to shut up and sort of ended up making fun of Frank a lot because he made him nervous, AND OH YEAH, did I mention that Leo is pyrokinetic and Frank has a deadly fear of fire, since his weakness is a piece of firewood? There are layers to their issues.

But, the thing is, Leo comes back from Calypso's island, and Leo has this thing where, if he doesn't concentrate hard enough, he could easily just burn off the clothes he's wearing if he sets himself on fire, so Calypso made him new clothes from fire-proof material. So Leo asked for her to make a bag from the same material, to help save Frank's life.

Throughout the scene of Leo giving it to Frank, Frank keeps on doubting Leo continuously. Leo goes, "Look, my clothes are made from the same material and they don't burn!" And Frank and Hazel are like, "Leo, you can't burn." So, in order to prove to Frank that it worked, he had to set fire to the bag that the wood was in. He's like, "C'mon, don't you trust me?"

And what goes through Frank's mind: of course he doesn't trust Leo. Not initially. Maybe with the ship. Maybe with a practical joke. With his lifeline? Come off it.

But then he's like, oh yeah, Leo's saved my life a couple times. Leo's been willing to sacrifice things in order to get me and his friends out safely. Maybe I should trust him.

So he pretty much just hands over the bag with the wood in it and is like, "Try not to kill me."

Spoiler alert: the fireproof material works. But more importantly:

EVOLUTION OF FRANK AND LEO'S FRIENDSHIP

I WAS SO SO HAPPY JUST

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Because the thing is, up until that point, they had been the weak link on the Argo II. They were the ones that still didn't totally trust each other.

They do now. 

FRIENDSHIPS MAKE ME SO HAPPPYYYYYYYYYYYYY

Percy Jackson Thirty Day Meme: Day 6

Day 6: Camp Half-Blood or Camp Jupiter?

I considered Camp Jupiter for like two seconds, but sorry, my heart is with the Greeks.

Like, I appreciate that Camp Jupiter is super well-organized and clearly thinks a lot about the campers that stay there, and they even have a place for demigods who have grown up. But Camp Half-Blood just seems like a friendlier place in general.

You don't get all that power play stuff like Octavian's doing with Reyna, because they don't have the kids in charge of the whole camp. They have camp counselors, but Chiron is the trainer who runs things. At Camp Jupiter, Reyna alone was in charge of camp for like, eight months. Have a fun time at summer camp!

Camp Half-Blood also doesn't judge their campers for their heritage (godly or otherwise) - sure, Percy was alone in the Poseidon cabin, but it didn't take long for him to make a whole bunch of friends regardless. At Camp Jupiter, he was immediately regarded with suspicion because Neptune (Poseidon's roman form, of course) was generally mistrusted by the Romans (you'll notice even in Ancient times the Romans almost never attacked from the sea). Frank's grandmother worried about Frank going to Camp Jupiter because she worried that he'd be bullied because he's Chinese-Canadian. (I really like this about the books, that even in modern times at a camp based on Rome the author chose not to ignore the fact that the Romans were hugely prejudiced - there's always that underlying tone when they talk about Camp Jupiter). Not to mention how, for the first half of The Son of Neptune, the entirety of Camp Jupiter were just using the Fifth Cohort as punching bags because of something that happened in the 80s. Like, calm down.

I also like that Camp Half-Blood gets necklaces instead of tattoos. I feel like the Rome owns you thing is (accurate, but) uncomfortable.

Not to mention how the campers get to the camps. Camp Half-Blood - a friendly satyr protector leads you there. Camp Jupiter - a wolf teaches you for a few months and then sends you off to find it. Or, if you're real lucky, you get escorted there by a pack of wolves. (This is, of course, playing off the myth of Lupa and Romulus and Remus). Did I mention that you possibly get killed if you show weakness during that time? Fun stuff.

And MOST IMPORTANTLY: Camp Half-Blood has campfires every night. Sing-alongs. Led by the Apollo kids (hypothetically me, if I'm going to Camp Half-Blood). Like at real camp. Like, hey New Rome, you may have government and stability and a safe haven for grown demigods but do you have campfire sing-alongs? No? Then you have failed. 

I just like Camp Half-Blood's overall tone better. Seems like much more fun, but I suppose, in Camp Jupiter's defense, we didn't really get to see that much of how Camp Jupiter really works in general. But my opinion stands.

Because sing-alongs. 

Percy Jackson Thirty Day Meme: Day 5

Day 5: Favourite female character

Slightly more difficult than day 4.

I'm stuck between Hazel and Annabeth. They're both amazingly capable, awesome, kick-ass ladies that are complex characters and just really great. (I love the fact that they can have boyfriends without being like "I LIVE ONLY FOR MY BOYFRIEND" *coughcoughPipercough*).

Huh.

Um.....

Huh.

Annabeth, Hazel.... Hazel, Annabeth. I keep talking myself out of one and choosing the other, and then doing the same thing for the other one. I AM SO CONFLICTED.

I'm going to go with my first instinct on this one, and that is Annabeth, purely because I have six more books of experience with her and know her that much better. Sorry Hazel, I do appreciate you too girlfriend.

When I first read the Percy Jackson series, before all this new-fangled Heroes of Olympus stuff, I always related to Annabeth. Because A) she seemed to be the smart one amidst a cast of characters who, well, let's say that being "smart" wasn't exactly their focus. And B) her fatal flaw is hubris - or, in simple terms, pride. She's one of those people who are defaulted to believe that they could do anything better than the way someone else did it. I was really like that when I first read the series. When I re-read it, however, I found I related to her less and less. Hey, people do change!

But as we finally got inside her head in The Mark of Athena and The House of Hades, I found I went back to relating to her, and beyond that, I found myself admiring her. She struck out on her own to find the Athena Parthenos, and damned if she didn't find it. She got herself out of every bit of trouble she got herself in with a mixture of brains and badassery, which is my favourite combo. Also, would you look at that, she's the only one of the Seven without any special (demi)godly powers, and yet, she's arguably one of the most capable of them. (Although, House of Hades seemed to be determined to make sure it was stressed that every character was entirely capable on their own - perhaps so their teamwork in Blood of Olympus would be that much more powerful). When she and Percy fall into Tartarus, the rest of the team laments that their two strongest members are now gone. As in, Annabeth was one of their strongest members. Who needs pyrokinesis or animal morphism when you've got brains, right?

So, yeah. As it turns out, Annabeth is a much more interesting character when she's not entirely defined by Percy's perception of her (the first five books in which she featured were from his perspective). Go figure, right?

At the same time, she does rely on him. That's part of what makes her interesting. She does have weaknesses. Pride, for one, although whether or not that's ever actually been used against her is a different question entirely. But another of her weaknesses is how much she relies on Percy. Yay for human flaws and wonderfulness.

So, yeah. Annabeth. One badass lady hero of Olympus, alright.

Just a Huge Dump of Music Appreciation

I've been appreciating a lot of music lately, and I think it's important to share because music is important.

Like, we went to Sun Peaks for a weekend vacation, and they had a lot of free concerts going on. So I fell in love with an extremely unknown group called Coloured Sky, which was literally just two guys with a couple guitars and a microphone and they were very very good. I sort of just downloaded their whole album without even listening to it because they were so good in concert. My favourite of theirs is "Realize". Unfortunately they're so unknown that they don't seem to have any videos online for me to link you to to listen to them. :(

But Coloured Sky was opening for another band called The Arkells, who are much better known in general. And they put on, just, a fantastic show. They're clearly very enthusiastic and passionate performers, but none of their songs really stuck out to me as much except

Except for a beautiful piece of art that has a gorgeous chorus that goes like this:

And if you want me to boil it down/All you cynical bastards, get out of town/And if you want me to boil it down/All you cynical bastards/Move a little faster

It's called Cynical Bastards and it's just wonderful and rocking and currently one of my favourite songs. Unfortunately, it's one of the lesser known ones on their album, so again, no videos of it online. :(

But Bastille also released a new album. And y'all know how I feel about Bastille. And I honestly don't think that Bastille could write a bad song if they tried. DID I MENTION THAT I AM SEEING THEM LIVE IN NOVEMBER ASDFJKL I'M GOING TO ACTUALLY DIE OF JOY

Favourite songs from the new album currently include:

Poet, The Silence, Sleepsong, Laughter Lines and The Draw. They are so entirely perfect.

Also, I realized recently that The Silence is actually about writer's block. Can I hug Bastille like all of them at once because it's like they just know my soul and also Dan Smith's voice is a gift from the highest heaven.

Yes, there's more music appreciation, forgive me.

So, I recently heard a few songs by Fall Out Boy. I started with My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark (don't ask me what the title means because I really don't know) and at first I was like "Um, what is this?" So then I had to listen to it again because it had thrown me off-balance and dammit, I had to decide if I liked it for that or not. And then I found myself bobbing my head. And the next thing you know is the next day while I'm making my breakfast I'm playing the song and dancing around my kitchen and um, I pretty much didn't stop dancing to it for like three days. Even as we speak, if it is not night-time I am legitimately incapable of playing the song without dancing to it.

Then the next thing I heard by them was Young Volcanoes. And kind of like the first one, I was like, "Ehhh...." and didn't listen to it again for another week. Then I was in a store and it was playing and I was sort of like, "Yeah, I guess it's not bad." And then I played it at home and I was like, "Yeah, I can appreciate this." And the next thing you know I'm freaking learning it on the ukulele and all the neighbours can hear is me belting "WE ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRE WILD, WE ARE LIKE YOUNG VOLCANOES" and that's pretty much where I'm at. I just love the lyrics. When Rome's in ruins/We are the lions/Free of the colosseums/ I don't know I just really like that line. And also: We will teach you/How to make boys-next-door/Out of assholes. I still laugh at that line.

And FINALLY

The Fields of Athenry, by the Dropkick Murphys.

Look, I've known about this song for a long time, but I finally looked up the lyrics and it gave me shivers. This is especially notable since the band playing didn't even write the song lyrics. In fact, they're just adapting an old Irish folk-song called The Fields of Athenry, which is set during the Great Famine. But they just adapt it in a way that's so KICK-ASS and ROCKING and HARDCORE, and I just have this extreme appreciation for how very, very cool it is to adapt something so traditional into something so... not. And, like, it's not just exploited for it either. It's not like they're sullying the subject matter by changing the tone, right? Because it is a song about famine and prison. It is literally just that hardcore. They did a version of Amazing Grace in the same way. It's really cool.

I mean, listen to this song, they make bagpipes sound hardcore. It's freaking awesome.

And just listen to what the bass and the drums are doing. These guys know how to rock.

Why, yes, my taste in music is ecclectic, thank you for noticing.

Percy Jackson Thirty Day Meme: Day 4

Day 4: Favourite male character

HAHAHA IS THIS EVEN A QUESTION

LEO VALDEZ

HOW COULD IT NOT BE

Yes indeed, Leo Valdez, son of Hephaestus, repair boy extraordinaire, the seventh wheel, supreme commander of the Argo II and did I mention he's pyrokinetic? He's pretty much just made of awesome.

But that's not the only thing. See...

I sort of have this thing where I'm emotionally masochistic.

I just love having feelings, I think feelings are miraculous and what makes us human. So whether or not the feelings are positive, like, that's not as important to me. I just really enjoy having feelings.

And Leo Valdez makes me feel all the feelings.

Like, yes, this is indeed the same character who pulled all that hilarious stuff with Narcissus and his fan club (see Day 2 of the meme). This is the same character who has conversations like this:

Jason: You're not annoying, and you do take stuff seriously, especially your work. I wish I could do half the stuff you do. 

Leo: (rolls eyes) I try very hard to be annoying. Don't insult my ability to annoy. And how am I supposed to resent you if you go apologizing? I'm a lowly mechanic. You're like, the prince of the sky, son of the lord of the universe. I'm supposed to resent you. 

Jason: Lord of the universe?

Leo: Sure, you're all - Bam! Lightning man. And - "Watch me fly. I am the eagle that soars" - 

Jason: Shut up, Valdez. 

Leo: Yeah, see. I do annoy you. 

Jason: I apologize for apologizing. 

Leo: Thank you. 

But then it's also like, oh yeah, remember, this is the kid who accidentally killed his mom when he was eight with his pyrokinesis. Oh yeah, this is the kid who was cast out of his family by his aunt after she called him a diablo (he's Latino, and his mom used to talk to him in both Spanish and English). Oh yeah, this is the kid who ran away from his foster homes six times since he was eight before he was finally dumped at the Wilderness School and picked up by the other demigods.

This is the kid who fixed this huge bronze dragon, Festus, only to have it die during the quest. This is the kid who devoted eight months of his life to building the Argo II, effectively isolating himself from everyone else. This is the kid who was possessed by an evil spirit and fired on the Romans, starting a war.

I just have a lot of feelings about Leo Valdez.

In fact

I have all the feelings about Leo Valdez.

Oh yeah, not to mention that a goddess literally told him that he would never find a place among his friends and he will forever be the seventh wheel as one of the demigods in the Prophecy of Seven.

LIKE LEO IT'S OKAY I WILL LOVE YOU

And what I especially love about Leo is the way he's portrayed to the audience.

Because he's always the comic relief - like, if you're having a serious conversation and need something to lighten the mood, fear not, for Leo Valdez will say something like, "Oh. I mean, suffering? I love suffering! Let's do this!" And I think that people have this habit of imagining class clown type characters as, like, boneheads, but it is very stressed through the books that Leo is an extremely smart and talented individual. Like, where Percy was generally the comic relief in all his books and he was a bonehead who would run without thinking into every fight, Leo lets himself think for a minute and manages to throw together a plan that works. I mean, obviously Leo is extremely talented in terms of building and repairing and mechanics and engineering, being a son of Hephaestus, but I think what defines his intelligence is his ability to problem-solve, which shines pretty brightly every time he's caught in a, you know, a situation.

What I also love about him is that he has very clear strengths, but he's also a flawed human that makes mistakes and he knows it. Like, every one of the character is flawed, but I think Leo is one of the only ones that acknowledges it about themselves. As I was talking about in one of the unfinished thoughtful draft posts, I sort of have a weakness for characters like that.

And also, can we give it up for characters who don't like fighting hand-to-hand? Because he's literally the only one of the Seven that has that weakness. He just, you know, fights in different ways. Generally from behind a control panel. (Although he did once fight a goddess hand to hand once - he only survived because she was the goddess of snow and hahaha, hello, he's pyrokinetic). But I just have this appreciation for him for not being, y'know, the hero-hero that's in every single adventure novel ever.

But, uh, yeah. Leo Valdez. My favourite male character.

I have opinions.

What have I gotten myself into with this meme thing.

Percy Jackson Thirty Day Meme: Day 3

Day 3: If you were a demigod, whose child would you be?

Whew, good question.

I want to say Hermes, because every myth he's in is hilarious and he's for sure my favourite god (god of mischief, hello?) but I don't think I quite line up with that. (He was also the god of thieves, travelers, messengers, commerce, eloquent speaking, hospitality, and athletic competitions so HAHAHA NOPE).

I'm gonna go with Apollo, who is the god of the sun, prophecy, medicine, archery (I think - he and Artemis maybe kinda go hand in hand on that last one?) but with those things, he is also the god of intellect, music, poetry and, well, pretty much everything artsy. He was the mentor of the Nine Muses, who are the goddesses the arts and inspiration (hence the term "I found my Muse" or whatever). So I think that probably makes him closest to me out of the gods.

Is it too self-catering to say that?

Oh well. I'm a writer and a musician and an intellectual, so I think it's a fair statement. Also, judging from the myths, Apollo is very aware of how good he is at the things he's good at, which I can have the same kind of arrogance sometimes. As well as the fact that Apollo clearly has a temper - I mean, every god in greek mythology is pretty vengeful, but Apollo seems to have a thing for curses - and I also have a pretty significant temper, when it's not kept in check.

So, yes. I'm going to say that Apollo is my hypothetical godly parent. Admittedly I'm not very good at telling the future, nor am I very good at being a doctor, but I could probably be decent at archery with practise, and I like to think I'm a pretty sunny person so...

Yes, I have been waiting to make that pun this entire post.

Percy Jackson Thirty Day Meme: Day 2

Day 2: Favourite Heroes of Olympus book

This'll possibly change after Blood of Olympus comes out in October, but as it stands right now -

Book 3, The Mark of Athena.

There are just so many good things happening here. We get to finally get inside Annabeth's head, for one thing, which up until then had never happened before, in spite of the fact that she'd been around for seven books already (the five Percy Jackson books, two Heroes of Olympus). And like, she'd never really clicked with me in the Percy Jackson books - like, I liked her and accepted her character, but it's like, she was less of a person and more of an entity in those books. Which is why thank god for third person omniscience! (Which god do I thank for that? Apollo? One of the Muses?) And now I love her and relate to her and she's just awesome. She's just so much more interesting when A) we're in her head, and B) when she's away from Percy once in a while.

And there's just so much about the book that's freaking hilarious. Particularly, but not limited to, the scene where Leo has to distract Narcissus (and Narcissus's fan club) from his reflection.

Leo: Narcissus is a loser! He's so weak he can't bench-press a Kleenex. He's so lame, when you look up lame on Wikipedia, it's got a picture of Narcissus - only the picture's so ugly, no one ever checks it out. 

Narcissus: What are you talking about? I am amazing. Everyone knows this. 

Leo: Amazing at pure suck. If I was as suck as you I'd drown myself. Oh wait, you already did that. Team Leo for the win!

Narcissus fan: (about Leo) He is funny. And cute, in a scrawny way. 

Leo: Scrawny? Baby, I invented scrawny. Scrawny is the new sizzling hot. And I GOT the scrawny. 

Or the scene where Percy scares a crew of dolphin pirates into thinking that Dionysus will curse them. (Google that myth, it makes sense).

Percy: We are doomed. If you don't believe me, let's check the ice chest! (runs to the ice chest and digs around to find a can of Diet Coke). Behold! The god's chosen drink! Tremble before the horror of Diet Coke!

(Dolphin people begin to panic.)

Percy: The god will take your ship. He will finish your transformation into dolphins, or make you insane, or transform you into insane dolphins! Your only hope is to swim away now, quickly! Save yourselves! It is too late for us! (points to Frank, who has the ability to turn into any animal) Oh no! Frank is turning into a crazy dolphin!

(Frank does nothing).

Percy: I said, Frank is turning into a crazy dolphin. 

Frank: Oh no. I am turning into a crazy dolphin. 

Just golden. Or when Annabeth has to trick Arachne, who takes no small amount of pleasure in killing her, into weaving her own trap:

Annabeth: As I said, I'd love to take your tapestries to Olympus and hang them everywhere. You could rub your craftmanship in Athena's nose for all eternity. But the only way I could do that... No. It's too difficult. You might as well go ahead and kill me.

Arachne: No! That is unacceptable. It no longer brings me any pleasure to contemplate. I must have my work on Mount Olympus! What must I do?

Annabeth: Sorry, I shouldn't have said anything. Just push me into Tartarus or something.

Arachne: I refuse!

Annabeth: Don't be ridiculous. Kill me. 

Arachne: I do not take orders from you! Tell me what I must do! Or... or - 

Annabeth: Or you'll kill me?

Arachne: Yes! No!

Anyways, point is, it's very good at being hilarious.

And then, whoa my god, the tension - and not even just, like, plot-wise. I mean, for sure, they have four days to save Nico from suffocating and also stop Rome from getting destroyed, and Annabeth has to strike out on her own to find the Athena Parthenos, and they have to defeat two giants with supposedly no help from the gods which, by the way, is impossible, so yes, there's a lot of plot things happening.

But what's great about the book is that the two books before were all about introducing the cast. Book 1, The Lost Hero, introduces the Greek half of the Seven: we meet Leo, Piper, Jason and Annabeth. Book 2, The Son of Neptune, introduces the Roman half of the Seven: Frank, Hazel and Percy. Book 3, The Mark of Athena, is finally the book where we're like: "Okay, we know who these people are now. So what happens when we put them all in a room together?"

Answer: some greatness and a bit of tension.

Things I love: Everyone assumed that when Jason and Percy met, since they were the leaders of their respective camps, that they would be all up in each other's faces, like getting in a who's-more-macho-and-awesome competition. What actually ended up happening was they almost immediately started getting super bromantic. And they make a really good team. I love bromances.

Things I feel guilty for enjoying: the tension between Hazel, Frank and Leo. So, Hazel's a child of the 1940s who gave her life to stop Gaea, and then, since the Doors of Death are open, was brought back to help stop Gaea again (kinda like Nico, who incidentally, is her half-brother on the godly side - she's a daughter of Pluto, who is Hades's roman aspect). Anyways, back in her old life she had a boyfriend called Sammy. So, just as she starts dating Frank (SHE AND FRANK ARE PERFECT I JUST CAN'T) she meets Leo, who happens to look exactly like Sammy. Leo has no idea who Sammy is, or why Frank asked him if that wasn't his name, or how it could have anything to do with him if Hazel's from seventy years ago. And he starts getting a crush on Hazel, which is super awkward for Frank because now Hazel's getting all confused, and Frank starts gettin' a real hate on for Leo. It doesn't help that Leo can summon fire, and Frank's life literally depends on a piece of firewood. It also doesn't help that Frank makes Leo nervous, and so Leo tends to hide that with humour, namely by razzing Frank.

Anyway, as it turns out, Sammy was actually Leo's great-grandfather. Awkward.

It was a close toss-up between this book and The House of Hades (Book 4), though. Because there's a lot of good character stuff happening there too. Like, Frank can take on a whole freaking army by himself. And Hazel is capable of anything. And Piper starts to understand her power. And Leo and Calypso meet, which, in spite of how arguably lazy it was to write it the way he did, they're still adorable. But the book was also like, ANGSTY ANGST ANGST DID I MENTION ANGST (at least by this series's standards). So that's why I chose the Mark of Athena instead.

Because

tension and laugh balance

but also

character interaction

character interaction

CHARACTER INTERACTION

*clears throat*

I believe I've made my point.

I just really like observing how all the relationships between the Seven evolve so sue me.

You Were Probably Getting Tired of All Those Thoughtful, Interesting Posts Anyway

So I think it's time for some useless fangirly ones!

It's just that I have like a hundred drafts of posts that are really thoughtful and analytical, but I can't finish any of them because my brain needs a break. I've kinda been writing non-stop.

And what better way to give my brain a break than to do the Thirty Days of Percy Jackson meme, because I have opinions and there's nothing I like better than... having opinions. Except, I think that instead of doing it in thirty days like you're supposed to, I'm just going to do it all in one post. I dunno, we'll see how it goes.

Day 1: Favourite Percy Jackson and the Olympians book 

Easy. The Last Olympian, the fifth and last book in the series, is easily my favourite.

We all know that I love my epic action adventure stuff, and we also all know that if it starts to get real dark, I start to lose interest UNLESS

UNLESS it's tempered with a laugh here and there.

Buffy and Firefly do this beautifully (Whedon's kinda the master), hence my adoration for them, and The Last Olympian does this pretty well too.

Like, it's definitely one of the darkest ones of the series. Beckendorf dies in the first chapter of the book; Silena Beauregard dies a hero after living as a traitor; Percy takes a dip in the River Styx; Percy nearly gives up Hope (from out of Pandora's Box - it's complicated, but that's a thing that exists); we meet Luke's mom, who's been driven insane by a curse of the gods; the gods are losing the battle against the Titans; Luke sacrifices himself after working for the Big Bad all this time... there are a lot of things that happen.

But for a lot of those scenes, and a lot of stuff in between as well, I managed to laugh out loud at least once. Inappropriate, maybe, but how can you not laugh as Clarisse, taking revenge on the drakon that killed Silena, runs around screaming at the Titan army "I AM CLARISSE, DRAKON SLAYER! I will kill you ALL!" Or, after Percy takes a dip in the Styx and proceeds to destroy an entire army of evil skeleton warriors without getting a scratch on him...

Percy: I think it worked. 

Nico: Ya think?

Or as the gods are losing the battle, and Dionysus pulls Percy into "party time" (because, since Dionysus is more or less the god of partying, his presence is invoked wherever there is a party) and warns him about Kronos... while playing Pacman.

Dionysus: The point is, I pulled you into party time to deliver a warning. We are in danger.

Percy: Gee. Never would've figured that out. Thanks. 

(Dionysus glares at him and he loses the game)

Dionysus: Erre es korakas, Blinky! I will have your soul!

Percy: Um, he's a video game character. 

Dionysus: That's no excuse! And you're ruining my game, Jorgenson!

Percy: Jackson. 

Dionysus: Whichever!

The same thing could be said about the other books, though, of course. They all kinda have that tone, though books 3 and 4 are a little angstier than the others. But what I also appreciate about it is that hey, look at my babies, they're all grown up!

Nico chooses to forget his bitterness, at least for the moment, and help the demigods fight Kronos.

Grover is respected enough as a protector and as the chosen one of Pan that he commands an army of nymphs and satyrs against them.

Rachel Elizabeth Dare becomes the new oracle for Camp Half-Blood.

Tyson, my adorable baby cyclops Tyson who, if you don't love you have no soul, commands Poseidon's underwater army of Cyclops, not because he was promoted to that position, but because, in the words of Twisted Sister, We're not gonna take it/No, we ain't gonna take it/We're not gonna take it anymore. (This happened because the palace sorta got, like, bombed while they were eating lunch, and so Tyson was finally like, we've gotta fight and help Poseidon. So he stood up and yelled, "FOR POSEIDON!" but his mouth was full so all the other Cyclops thought he said something else, and they charged into battle with the battlecry "PEANUT BUTTER!")

Percy dips in the Styx in order to have a better chance of countering Kronos (his Achilles heel is the small of his back), NOT TO MENTION how he somehow, unofficially became the commander of Camp Half-Blood during the Titan War. And he does a good job, really.

Annabeth is just as kick-ass as she always is. She really matured emotionally here too, though. Namely, she stops acting like a jealous jerk toward Rachel.

And, hey, Clarisse is actually kind of a pleasant human being for a second or two there, so that's something!

But, yeah. The Last Olympian. Tension to keep you going, laughs to keep you happy, character development to keep you engaged. My favourite Percy Jackson book.

You know, I changed my mind, I think I'll do this in thirty days like I'm supposed to. Just 'cause I can and it's fun. :)