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.