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?