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did a lil animatic of my favourite tsats scene :]

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Do any of you ever wonder if Camp Half-Blood accidentally brought in a demigod of a different pantheon before?

This would be especially hilarious if it happens sometime after The Last Olympian/Heroes of Olympus, where the gods are required to claim their kids quickly.

A whole day passes, and the new demigod needs to sleep in the Hermes Cabin and Percy is furious. Meanwhile, the Greek Gods are pointing at each other and shouting, contacting the most obscure of mini gods. Chaos erupts on Olympus as every deity in Greek Mythology is called upon and interrogated. Hermes hasn't run around so much in centuries.

Hecate sits in silence, fully aware of what's happening, but enjoying the show too much to intervene.

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🤍 "Shadow work" page 20 ;3 🤍💀🤍 Patreon / linktree :D

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thinking about the two (2) times someone says “i love you” to nico in this series

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The Sun and the Star: A Nico di Angelo Adventure (Book Review)

The Percy Jackson series has always been very dear to me even though I just found out about the book series in the early 2020 before the Covid pandemic. Did my obsession with PJO altered my personality too much? Yes, yes it did, to the point that the words “Dam” and “Schist” are permanent additions to my vocabulary. Until now, its influence on my life is very much evident in my speech or way of talking. I’ve picked up a lot of things from various characters, like gaining more pieces for the puzzle that I call ‘my personality’. I think it’s a common thing for readers to just absorb their favorite character/s personality and mix it with their own. Now finding out that Rick Riordan or “Uncle Rick” as well Mark Oshiro, was writing a SOLO BOOK for one of my beloved demigods, Nico di Angelo, I was ecstatic (I screamed) when it was announced. I was anticipating it of course, especially after reading the last book for the “Trials of Apollo” series, I was just waiting patiently for it to happen.

BACKGROUND

The Sun and the Star: A Nico di Angelo Adventure is a stand-alone book written after the events of The Tower of Nero, the last book of the Trials of Apollo series released in 2020. This solo book is co-written by Rick Riordan, author of the entirety of the Percy Jackson Universe, and Mark Oshiro, New York Times #1 bestselling and award-winning Latinx queer author. The Sun and the Star (TSatS) is told in a third-person point of view of Nico di Angelo and Will Solace. It focuses on the relationship of Nico and his boyfriend Will, also known as Solangelo. The book was announced on October 6, 2021. To make sure that Nico’s point of view as a gay person including Solangelo’s romantic relationship to be authentic as possible, Riordan decided to co-write this book with YA author Mark Oshiro. On September 28 of the year 2022, the cover art of the book was announced alongside the official release date which was on May 2, 2023. The cover art of TSatS was done by Khadijah Khatib.

Strengths

One of the strengths of this book is that they did not shy away from any sensitive topics that Nico and Will were experiencing throughout their whole journey together to Tartarus as well as their relationship. The topics about their insecurities, doubts, sexuality, PTSD, and emotions were nicely explored. Mark did a really good job in fleshing out their characters so well, especially with Will's real self finally revealed. These were never the main focus in Riordan’s previous works, which makes it a really nice experience to read through and see a character’s thought process and how emotions are presented as the story progresses. The struggles that my favorite demigods experienced felt really relatable.

Another one of the strengths is that they made their FIRST relationship to be realistic, there was no blind trust on each other. Blindly trusting someone does not always go well including the fact that they were venturing into Greek superhell. Throughout the book, Nico and Will communicated really well, of course there were some misunderstandings here and there but they weren’t even shy in bringing it up about it which is really refreshing! After reading so many stories with problems that can literally be fixed by just TALKING with one another, this book was an absolute blessing.

Weaknesses

If we’re talking about weaknesses, I would probably say the timeline, Nico’s official full name not really existing in Italian, and the horror of the place called Tartarus because it is superhell after all. The timeline of the Percy Jackson Universe has always been a bit confusing since characters made references to shows or movies that were released in the future where the actual setting is set. Nico mentioning and referencing Lil Nas X’s song titled “Montero” in the story set in the 2010’s is very much out of place because the said song was released in the year 2021. The name “Niccolo” does not exist in the list of various Italian names, but it can be seen as a typographical error unless said otherwise. The proper first name for Nico would be “Niccolò”, where stress is present. Lastly, Tartarus, this place was always presented to be one of THE most dangerous places that a demigod or a God would ever step in. I guess I kind of expected more thrill or horror once Nico and Will arrived there (it was probably a terrifying place for them though) just to live up to its name and the whole build up of it.

Thoughts

All in all, I love it with all my heart and soul. I would read it again anytime and any day as long as I have time in my hands. I love how they Tartarus as a metaphor of PTSD, a really witty choice on their part. The characterization of Will Solace outside of other people’s perspective was just so nice to see because he was always described as this cool, calm and collected head of the Apollo Cabin in the previous book. Seeing just how human he is while reading the book made me love his character even more. Another thing I adore is that Nico in the book started to be like his old self before everything became a dumpster fire, which made me cry because it’s so evident that he’s healing and becoming more open and happy! Seeing my favorite pairing have such an endearing dynamic with one another was an absolute blessing. I would definitely recommend it to anyone to read.

[jmaceofspades]

THE SNIPER by By: Liam O’ Flaherty

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types of fic writers

headcanons: every one of your fics is full of your headcanons for the characters, no matter how seemingly improbable said headcanons are. your body of work is a big fuck you to the canon, and the readers are here for it.

pain is weakness leaving the body: you pick your favourite characters based on potential for pain, and how pretty they look while you’re torturing them. while you are capable of happy endings and even the occasional fluff, your readers must wade through an ocean of pain first.

more in character than canon: you have nailed down each character to their essentials, and it shows. no matter what else is going on in the fic, you will not tolerate OOC nonsense. you hate canon because it doesn’t know shit about the characters. fix it fics and AUs abound with you.

fluffy clouds of sugar: you write fluff. you have heard vaguely of pain but do not do business with it. no matter the canon, your fic is as sweet and soft as marshmallow. your readers teeth have long since rotted out. you are working steadily at their gums. some of them are considering making you pay for their insulin.

shameless: you write porn. some people think you only write porn, which is accurate. you will write anything, so long as it’s rated E. you are a bottomless well of filth, an unshamable hydra of kink, always on the lookout for an excuse to write porn.

[jmaceofspades]

A reflective essay about the article: "How I Broke, and Botched, the Brandon Teena Story" by DONNA MINKOWITZ

Not my best work but it doesn't mean I didn't give it my all when writing this essay because it clearly needs some work.

Trigger Warning: Mentions of murder and violence

…..…..…..…..…..…..…..…..…..….…..…..…..…..…..…..…..…..…..….…..…..…..…..…..

After reading through Donna Minkowitz’s essay, “How I Broke, and Botched, the Brandon Teena Story,” a fire of emotions lit up aggressively. No one should ever go through such experiences, he was too young to die just yet, a story left unfinished that will never unfold, all because he could not fit into the mold created by society. Even so, this is the ugly truth that many transgender people face; the hate crimes, the legal challenges, as well as violence. The case shed light on the rise of murder cases and hate crimes against trans people, including how the law does not protect them from various crimes targeted at them.

It’s already a known fact that the discrimination towards the LGBTQIA+ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, Asexual) was much more rampant during those previous years compared to the present day. In various countries including the different states of the United States, same-sex marriage were still banned at that time. The oppression that many people from the LGBTQIA+ community faced during those times were very severe especially with how there was no law to protect them from experiencing such injustices. One of the crimes that fueled the fire to fight for their rights even more was the murder of Brandon Teena. He was one of the many individuals who are part of the community that deserved justice. Brandon Teena’s case exposed the many crimes and discrimination that transgender face in their life, the ugly truth of our society.

Donna Minkowitz, the author of the article that I've read, is an American writer and journalist known for her coverage of gay and lesbian politics and culture. This was not the first article she wrote about Brandon Teena’s case, her previous one was problematic which led her to create a second report addressing her regret. It’s good to know that the author of the article realized her mistake in her previous report. In response to her old report, she delved deeper into these topics, exposing the ignorances, misunderstandings, and the prejudice surrounding the issues concerning transgender people during the 1990’s. With that said, it is evident that there is an ongoing need in spreading awareness, while also challenging the stereotypes that are prevalent in our society. As a cisgender woman, Donna Minkowitz essay adds another layer of depth into it because of the limited knowledge she possesses which she had admitted and how her perception of transgender people are not authentic. However, she soon recognized the fluidity of gender identity, with how gender is not something rigid instead it is a spectrum with various expressions and such.

The case and the article showcased that there is still a lack of understanding towards the differences of gender and sex, how something  as simple as being transgender, which does not fit into what society deems as normal, led to murders of many innocent people. How the law including its enforcers view them as some kind of object rather than a person who just exists, stripping them from having the right to be protected as well as their right as a human being.

[jmaceofspades]

I have already posted this before in my Instagram (@/andyryuasaki) of course but I'm also posting it here so that my works for 21st Century Lit. are all aligned and in one place of course!

Inspired by Sylvia Plath's poem titled "Poppies in October". A poem about how Sylvia's indifference towards the fact that she was still alive after her attempt to end it all. Poppies are not in season in October which led to my interpretation of the whole poem. A poem about life and death, with an ambulance trying to keep her alive as they rescued her. And another thing is how poppies means eternal sleep, a poetic way of saying that one must go.

Since I can't do backgrounds to save my life, Google is a life saver. I hate that I there wasn't any poppy flower brushes, suffering through the pain of doing the flower backgrounds 😭

Character artwork and poppy flower details all belongs to yours truly : @/andyryuasaki

I do not own the ambulance background for it belongs to Creator: Eureka_89 | Credit: Getty Images/iStockphoto

[jmaceofspades]

Can't believe that Rick hasn't tapped the comedy gold mine that is every demigod having to do stupid errands for gods to get any sort of gift or favour... except for Nico, who can get his way just by asking. Not even asking nicely, he can be as much of a little shit as he likes and still get whatever he wants. Give me the Seven finding out that gods will give Nico anything he asks for just because. Everyone else has to do these stupid side quests even when their goals align with those of the god they're trying to win over! The Seven have to sacrifice a ship full of stupid amounts of treasure just to convince Bacchus to bonk a couple giants (who he already wanted dead) on the nose and take all the credit! Percy saved the world twice and still has to do quests for rec letters! And then here comes Nico di Angelo, strolling up to the gods casually and looking at them with his big sad doe eyes and going "Have you considered that I'm baby" and every god he meets goes "Hm, you are absolutely baby" and gives him everything he wants. Leo had to lowkey sacrifice Percy and Annabeth before Nemesis would deign to help him save Frank and Hazel, but she runs into Nico and is like "You want me to save your ass from Gaea's army and ensure you'll survive your imprisonment later? Absolutely, no cost, keep doing exactly what you're doing" and this is fair and balanced behaviour. Can Rick please reveal in Chalice of the Gods that Ares is among the gods who melts into a little puddle when Nico asks him for favours, I would kill to see Percy realize that he had to do a stupid fetch quest into a trap to get a handkerchief just for Ares to make his life harder but Nico can just ask and Ares does shit for him. Because that's fair. I just think it would be very funny!

[jmaceofspades]

And it worked 😭🤣