#I should read some books on the Apollo missions

[keepingthepeaceinouterspace]

History book club is a lot of fun because sometimes you walk into the room and someone is talking about how they were part of the crew that picked up Apollo 8 after they landed in the Pacific

[ghostreviewer]

The Sun and the Star by Rick Riordan and Mark Oshiro

4.5/5⭐️

CW: spoilers

I literally got out of school the day this book came out and went to the store to buy it. That’s how excited for this book I was. I was like, no, this has got to be the hard cover and I need it now. So that’s the backstory of how excited I was for this now let’s get into the review.

In all, it was a good book. I really liked the story line of Nico and Will going to go save Bob and them growing as people along the way. So you know what, for plot, I really liked it. There were a few things though that I wasn’t that big of a fan of. The first being it didn’t feel like I fit the target audience, now I now all of the Percy Jackson books are YA or middle grade, they’re targeted to that younger audience but this book felt like more of the older fanbase was interested in it. Which is good and well, but because it is still in the lower YA age range is felt off. There were so many things that could’ve happened, the main thing I really wanted was more of Nico’s trauma of his first time in Tartarus brought up. Mainly because so much of the fanbase forgets that he was the first to go into Tartarus, alone mind you, and now he’s back again. And it was just, there were so many times I felt like Rick/Oshiro could’ve added something, maybe having Nico’s internal monologue speeding up, showing he’s freaking the hell out because it’s just just his life on the line, Wills’ is too. How if Will is off somewhere Nico is freaking out because he’s about to go back to his worst nightmare. The first time he was in Tartarus it was a suicide mission but it was only him down there, now a suicide mission with his boyfriend? I feel like he should have been freaking out more.

I did like how Nico and Will worked through their relationship a bit and grew, but Will never really had the spotlight. It was more of the Nico show with Will on the sidelines. A lot of people tend to just see Will as Nico’s boyfriend, and honestly I was hoping that this book would give Will his chance to shine and ya know, be fucking badass. And I know he wasn’t doing to hot because he’s a son of Apollo and they’re in the deepest part of hell, but I wish he had more times being shows as competent and cool and his own person.

We had a lot of Will freaking out and needing to lean on Nico for support, which makes sense and all, but I do still wish there was a spot where Nico just broke and had to lean on Will for support. Show how he had done his best to compartmentalize his first time is Tartarus to the best of his abilities but now being back he just can’t and he needs to lean on Will but is reluctant because Will is going through his own struggles.

I will say though, I did like the fight with Nyx and it wasn’t about them defeating her, but getting Bob back. The Cocoa Puffs being a manifestation of Nico’s struggles are cool, but it feels weird for some reason. Like, oh yeah here’s all of your trauma as little anamorphic animal things and you’re going to take them with you. It’s a little strange. And again, getting on that boat and then leaving would have been just a great time for Nico to just break because holy hell he’s just survived he’s worst nightmare a second time.

Now, I have this rated high because I did like it. It had a few proofreading mistakes and I wish some things were written for a more mature audience but I recognize that this is a younger YA series that isn’t trying to traumatize its readers. For a long time fan of the books that is on the older end I might not recommend this book (although if you really like Nico and Will go for it anyway because it is so much fun to see them have their own thing). For a younger reader though I would definitely recommend reading this book, it’s not super hard to read (none of the Percy books are) and it explores characters that in the past were more side characters.

[thebitchforjemcarstairs]

I'm assuming (again pls correct me if i'm wrong! :D<3) that ur fav shadowhunter character is Jem!

Would you mind indulging me as to why u love him and his character arc throughout the series? 😊

I am finally attacking this question. I took some time answering it because I wanted to give it justice. Now, bear in mind, that it’s been a while since my last read of TID/GotSM, and I forgot a lot about the series. I will try to give my best answer (and probably come back to this when I will do my huge reread of the whole series before TWP). 

First, I want to clarify that Jem is one of my favourite characters in the series, but not the only one. I could write the same about Will and Tessa. Like, I’m a real herongraystairs trash and the main reason why I continue with the series. I don’t know why, but they stuck with me. I think it’s assumed that Jem is my only fav because of my username, but no, the username was a joke that stuck, and I don’t mind, because I am his bitch, and it made CC giggle when I told her, and according to her, aren’t we all😭

Now, before going to the essay, I would like to say contrary to a lot of the fandom (who like Jem or dislike him), I do not think we have a lot of him. I think he is the most present character, yet, we still know so little of him.

Hear me out, he is the only protagonist with zero POV, in his series, (we got Cecy’s POV in CP2, and she arrived in the epilogue of book 2). Even in GotSM, which is supposed to be a book about Zachariah, and his mission to find the lost Herondale, he still gets sidelined to follow the stories of other characters (Matthew, Anna, Tessa, Celine, Jace, Alec, Livvy and Janus). Zachariah is used as a vehicle to tell us about the other characters' stories, and sometimes we get a glimpse of what he thinks and feels. I would argue that the only real story where we dive into his head, and get to know him is Learn About Loss. Add to the fact that in TID we only see him through the eyes of Will and Tessa, yeah, he’s the character with the most cameos with Magnus, yet what do we know about Jem, other than he is the 3rd person in a love triangle, Will’s parabatai, and Tessa’s second love interest, AND that he is the kindest, selfless character in the series? Practically nothing. 

Like I said above, in TID, we only see him through the eyes of Will and Tessa, who literally see him as this perfect, angelic person. Tessa because she arrives at the institute after 6 weeks of torture, and is in need of kindness and friendship, and eventually falls in love with him. And then we have Will, who sees Jem as his opposite, everything that is pure and kind, and everything that he is not. And because of the inevitable death of Jem and his curse, this bond is what keeps him alive, and he will cherish it like hell (one day I will write an essay on the terms and conditions Will put on his “curse” when he was a kid). So yeah, we have a series written through two protagonists, who see the third as this precious thing, that needs the utmost protection against the world, but also against themselves; see Tessa once she arrived, she started talking about finding cures and defending him against Will, in CP1: 

-      “You should,” Tessa said softly, “think about the way the things you do affect Jem.”

Will rolled his head back against the leather of the chair and regarded her. He looked drowsy and tired and beautiful. He could have been some Pre-Raphaelite Apollo. “Is this a serious conversation now, Tess?” His voice still held humor but was edged, like a gold blade edged in razored steel.

Tessa came and sat down in the armchair across from his. “Aren’t you worried that he’s cross with you? He’s your parabatai. And he’s Jem. He’s never cross. 

“Perhaps it’s better that he’s cross with me,” said Will. “So much saintlike patience cannot be good for anyone.”

“Do not mock him.” Tessa’s tone was sharp.

“Nothing is beyond mockery, Tess.”

“Jem is. He has always been good to you. He is nothing but goodness. That he hit you last night, that only shows how capable you are of driving even saints to madness.”

“Jem hit me?” Will, fingering his cheek, looked amazed. “I must confess, I remember very little of last night. Only that the two of you woke me, though I very much wanted to stay asleep. I remember Jem shouting at me, and you holding me. I knew it was you. You always smell of lavender.”

Tessa ignored this. “Well, Jem hit you. And you deserved it.” […]

“No, you don’t,” Tessa cried in frustration. “Do you think he cares about the danger? Do you? His whole life has been destroyed by this drug, this yin fen, and there you go off to a warlock den and drug yourself up as if it doesn’t even matter, as if it’s just a game to you. He has to take this foul stuff every day just so he can live, but in the meantime, it’s killing him. He hates to be dependent on it. He can’t even bring himself to buy it; he has you do that.” Will made a sound of protest, but Tessa held up a hand. “And then you swan down to Whitechapel and throw your money at the people who make these drugs and addict other people to them, as if it were some sort of holiday on the Continent for you. What were you thinking?”

“But it had nothing to do with Jem at all—”

“You didn’t think about him,” said Tessa. “But perhaps you should have. Don’t you understand he thinks you made a mockery out of what’s killing him? And you’re supposed to be his brother.”

Will had whitened. “He can’t think that”

“ He does,” she said. “He understands you don’t care what other people think about you. But I believe he always expected you’d care what he thought. What he felt.”

That is just an example, but the whole series is like that when it comes to Jem. Them defending him to each other when they fuck up, or defending him against the world, because for them he is that almost angelic person. And that’s cool and all, but what about him as a person? As a whole entity, and not an addition to the other two. (but then I read TLH, and TDA, and I think CC does not know/or doesn’t want to write the three separated from each other, but that is for another discussion, because these three always come in a package deal, and can’t be separated, I guess)

Now, that this is out in the clear, let’s get to the question, why is he one of fav characters? Well, for everything we don’t see, and know about him. And from the little we can get of him in the books. The minimum info on him is so freaking interesting, it just pushes us to read between the lines and do a lot of character study, (academic style) to get to his head.  

Even though the surface-level reading of the character is that he is very kind, empathic, helpful and selfless. Now, that’s normal because Jem is a very discreet character, and in contrast, we have Will, who is very loud, very look at me (because of his curse). At some point, Tessa observes that Jem is like the owner of a very annoying dog. So, in a way, on a first read, he is kind of overshadowed by funny/clown Will. However, the man is funny as hell: 

-      “Jem gave her a wistful look. “Must you go? I was rather hoping you’d stay and be a ministering angel, but if you must go, you must.”

“I’ll stay,” Will said a bit crossly, and threw himself down in the armchair Tessa had just vacated. “I can minister angelically.”

“None too convincingly. And you’re not as pretty to look at as Tessa is,” Jem said, closing his eyes as he leaned back against the pillow.

“How rude. Many who have gazed upon me have compared the experience to gazing at the radiance of the sun.”

Jem still had his eyes closed. “If they mean it gives you a headache, they aren’t wrong.”

-      “A demonic worm,” said Jem, pausing to peer cautiously around a hedgerow. “A great serpent. Would that help your inappropriate humor?”

He is also very eloquent when he wants to be (see Lily in GotSM), in his proposal, his apology to Tessa in CP2, him comforting Charlotte in CP2, etc…

And we also see his flaws, in the series, but there is no emphasis on them. His selfishness. Now, I know, he is a teenage boy, who knows that he is dying, but in that scene in CP2 when he threw Yin Fen in the fire, with no regard for the other members of his family, and how they do not want to lose him. We can also read that he is a very scared person. One because of the trauma he went through, but also because he will not live for a long time. Ex: his rushed engagement to Tessa.

This leads to one flaw we rarely talk about when it comes to Jem, which is his insecurities. His insecurity over his body, hell, even in After the Bridge, which is 100 years later, he was still insecure about his scared body. His insecurity about not being enough to Tessa, and that she deserves the best like his crazy consumption of Yin Fen to be perfect for her in CP2. 

And all of this could have been explored if we had his POV. It would have added depth to his character. In TID, he is a teenage boy who is trying to survive in a country so far from his own. I would have loved to see his feelings over his trauma. I mean he saw his parents die, was tortured, and is still being tortured by what is keeping him alive. I would have loved to see his feelings about being in a way abandoned by his family (Elias) in a foreign country. Being alone at twelve, with no support system. Navigating his new life as a child, the mental and physical toll of having to take the Yin Fen in order to survive, but also how it will eventually kill him. The mental toll of believing and defending his only best friend who was fucking it big during that time, (same for Will, and how mentally draining it must have been to know your only best friend is dying as a child, especially after witnessing the death of his sister but that is for another post). I wanted to see his insecurities regarding his body, in contrast with the body of Will, especially because they are living in a very able-body culture, and how being a Shadowhunter is all they have, and their noble cause. I wanted to see his feelings of how limited he is physically compared to the other Shadowhunters of his age, and how he felt about the critics and remarks the other said about him. And when he was engaged, his feelings about not living for a long time with Tessa, and only giving her little. 

 And later in GotSM, I wanted to see how he felt about his life as a silent brother, and how he was cheated of his death. How he was present in the life of his loved ones, yet not very. I wanted to know how he felt when Elias said that he did not want him to be part of his family. 

Anyway, this is getting too long. But, yeah, my love for Jem is for all that is not written, and what we can deduct from the multiple rereads of the series. I will probably come back to this post when I reread everything, and add stuff to it. 

[the-technicolor-whiscash]

me reading your posts about astronaut history (i literally do not know anything at all but am drawn in by your thoughts and read all the posts all the way through)

Thank you lmao I know too much about the early astronauts and have no one to subject to my knowledge so I bring it here. I cannot deny i definitely have a little bit of a parasocial thing going on there but unlike many who blindly deify these men I at least acknowledge that many of them were extremely flawed (which speaks to why so many of them got divorced because they were workaholics riding death machines for a living) and while i greatly enjoy learning about them and poking fun at them, I will be the first to admit that some of them should not be admired for anything other than the work they did. Alan Shepard was a total dog who cheated on his wife obsessively (and he was also kind of a bitch if you didn't play his game right), Buzz Aldrin's a notorious shithead who was a raging alcoholic and even the other astronauts couldnt stand being around him, Jim Irwin was an abusive husband before having a religious experience on the moon and becoming an evangelical, and several of them went on to become republican politicians. These guys were a product of their time and their upbringing. Nearly all of them were former military test pilots. None of them were good at expressing human emotions except for maybe Alan Bean (whose artistic spirit caused him issues in the astronaut office but resulted in some of the most beautiful space artwork) because they effectively had the emotions beat out of them by the nature of being a test pilot and watching up to 50% of your coworkers get turned into ground beef.

The early astronauts were an interesting crowd in a totally unique time in human history. That's why I like learning about them, learning about their dynamics, their personalities. Do I think I'd be capable of being friends with many of them? Absolutely not. Truth be told I get on pretty well with former military folks but what I can't stand is an ego. These sons of bitches had egoes that stretched up to the moon and back. And part of the issue is that the astronaut selection process back then was looking for the all-american boy (preferably with a degree in engineering) who just so happened to have a personality capable of being stapled into a capsule with as many as two other dudes for a week or two with no private toilet. I am extremely glad that we've moved beyond that in our astronaut criteria and have gone on to hire people who can express human emotions. And also gay people shoutout to Sally Ride for being the first known queer person to fly in space (even though she wasn't out at the time she flew). We may not have gotten the first man in space but we did beat the Russians on gay people in space so I'd consider that a space race victory.

Oh also don't take my word as gospel here much of my knowledge comes from firsthand sources which have a certain degree of bias from whichever astronaut has chosen to write a memoir to capitalize off of the last successful thing he did in his life because he figured it could net him a little cash (Buzz has done this many times, Fred Haise has done it most recently albeit with a fair bit of success because at least his book is pretty funny) and every single one of these guys has a different description of events depending on the angle he's coming at it from so while I try to read as many different perspectives as I can, outside of video/audio footage, official documentation, and mission transcripts you are never going to get 100% of the story from just a personal account. That's part of why i read the transcripts I didn't even know about the piss tube problems on Apollo 7 because as far as I can remember Wally didn't even mention it in his memoir but it takes a prime seat in the transcripts. But that's also a point of view you should take to all historical research there is never just one perspective and each perspective outside of the genuine technical facts has biases and opinions one way or another.

Anyway this got long but I'm glad you enjoy my carefully curated astrodrama

[campercabeth]

Awesome! Thanks! Feel free to answer privately out publically, doesn't matter to me! So my nephew really struggles with knowing who or what is important and what's extra so he gets bogged down. Who are the main characters (and can I trouble you for a short summary of them, some spoilers are okay!)? Who are background/extra characters that can be given a very brief description (e.g. Mrs so-and-so: a boring teacher). What myths should I tell him about before he reads the book, and what ones are good enough to just read in the text?

Hello hello again! Buckle up! :)

Putting it under a read-more for those who don't want to scroll past a (potentially) long list. This does include major spoilers for the series as a whole. Feel free to describe these things or keep them to yourself for your own future reference down the road as y'all read!

I very well might forget things and add on to this after I post this. It's off the top of my head, but I'm writing out things and people that I can remember!

Main characters:

Percy Jackson: son of Poseidon and Sally Jackson. Eventually the hero of the prophesy and boyfriend of Annabeth Chase.

Annabeth Chase: daughter of Athena and Fredrick Chase. Invaluable support to Perseus Jackson, and his best friend throughout the series (minus Grover), and eventual girlfriend.

Grover Underwood: satyr. Life's mission is to find Pan.

Secondary characters:

Luke Castellan: son of Hermes and May Castellan. Has own arc we follow as the books progress.

Thalia Grace: daughter of Zeus and Beryl Grace. Comes back to life in a later book. Will she/won't she be prophesy child? Who knows?

Nico di Angelo: son of Hades and Maria di Angelo. Brother of Bianca and baby boy who has done nothing wrong in his life ever. Jk. Except for the war crimes and lying (one of those is a lie). But we love him anyways!

Chiron: centaur/mentor for CHB as a whole. Tends to stay out of action for the most part.

Rachel Elizabeth Dare: mortal friend of Percy Jackson, has a larger role later on in the series. Namely books 4 and 5.

Sally Jackson: Percy Jackson's mother and lover of Poseidon. A good momma who tried her very very best to help her son as she was able growing up.

Gabe Ugliano: Bad. Mean. Ugly. No. We do not like him here in this household. Rat. Stinky man. Ew.

The gods:

Zeus: Percy's uncle, King of the Gods, heavens, Olympus, skies. Father of Thalia. Symbol of power is thunderbolt.

Poseidon: Percy's father. King of the Sea, earthshaker, father of monsters. Symbol of power is trident.

Hades: Percy's uncle, King of the Underworld. Father of Nico and Bianca di Angelo. Antagonistic but not bad character. Symbol of power is helm of darkness.

Hera: Meet in book 4. Helpful at first, but antagonistic. Wife (and sister) of Zeus.

Athena: Annabeth's mom, Goddess of war, arts and crafts, rivalry with Poseidon and to a lesser extent, Percy. Do not antagonize at ALL. You will not win.

Mr. D: Trapped at CHB as punishment, God of Wine, revelry, insanity. Doesn't like Percy for forever, but does soften up as the series goes on.

Hephaestus: don't see much of him. Helpful on book 4, God of metalwork, blacksmiths, etc.

Hermes: Messenger God. Son of Zeus, Father of Luke. Loves his son, cannot help him.

Demeter: don't see much of her. Goddess of agriculture and grain, harvest.

Apollo: Twin brother of Artemis, god of Archery and the Sun. Helpful, if annoying.

Artemis: Twin sister of Apollo, god of Archery and the hunt. Maiden Goddess.

Ares: Antagonistic and annoying. God of (bloody and violent) war. Wants to start chaos to laugh.

Aphrodite: Goddess of beauty and love. Though love plays a role in the series as a whole, she is barely seen in the series.

As for some of your other questions, I really just recommend letting him get into the story and decide if he wants to continue on reading the myths and such. I can't even begin to try and say that Rick did a great job at research, but he did try, kind of. You don't want to overwhelm your nephew with so much info that he decides it's too much of a hassle to try and enjoy these books as books, you know? The PJO series is one very near and dear to my heart, and I've been reading it since the OG series was coming out. It was my intro to Greek and Roman myths, and I think it's a pretty good one, all things considered. If he has any questions about where myths came from, I've heard that theoi is a good jumping off point, though parts of the myths might need to be toned down a LOT to explain to him. Greek myths as a whole are pretty messed up. Currently, I've been reading the Iliad and the Odyssey, both by Homer. There's also the Percy Jackson wiki, which has a lot of spoilers, but might be good for your own personal reference?

Basically I'd say try to sift through the myths by googling them, and decided on how you would like to relate that info to him, if that makes sense. A lot of the way that Rick presents things is... lacking, but as I said earlier, it's an okay jumping off point. Feel free to reach out if you have any more questions! :)

[parttimesarah]

Well, @spotforme AND @roseg96 have now tagged me in this “get to know you” tag, so I suppose now is the time!

Fav ship: Nandermo for “Should Really Happen” and PatCap for “Probably Won’t Happen But Would Be So Cute!!!” reasons

First ship: I wasn’t big into shipping when I was younger, I just kinda rolled with what the media gave me, but maybe I’d say Captain Picard and Dr. Crusher in Star Trek TNG…

Last song: Go! by Public Service Broadcasting (cuz I’m an Apollo mission nerd)

Currently reading: This is How You Lose the Time War by Amal EI-Mohar and Max Gladstone (reading physical book for a book group with my Discord fam) and The Night Masquerade by Nnedi Okorafor (book three of the Binti series, listening to the audiobook).

Last movie: The Menu (2022). It was full of very pretentious characters that I hated (but in a way the film wanted me to) and really made me want a cheeseburger…

Currently watching: Nothing currently on the go, but might be starting a re-watch of Black Books with one of my friends soon and I’m watching a lot of booktube vids and Boston Bruins games…

Consuming: Water with black cherry Mio +Caffeine, or, if I’m feeling like spending money, Arizona diet green tea 🤌🏻

Currently working on: I have a healthy backlist of HH GIFs I want to make, but I love reading, so I’m trying to balance things out. Stay tuned for future GIFs though. THEY ARE COMING! I promise!

Time to tag some folksies. Don’t hate me and feel free to ignore if you like! @shamebats @deliciousnecks @evilferretoverlord-blog @patcaps

I hope you got to know me!

[arthurdrakoni]

Voyage by Stephen Baxter imagines a world where NASA commits to launching a manned mission to Mars by 1985. This is my review.

I’ve often said that good things come to those who wait, especially when it comes to audiobooks. 2021 saw Voyage, along with the rest of Stephen Baxter’s NASA Trilogy, released in audiobook form. So, I finally got a chance to listen to it. 

Voyage takes place in a world where John F. Kennedy survived his assassination attempt. Although, it did render him paraplegic, and Mrs. Kennedy got killed in the crossfire. The Apollo 11 landing is a success just like in our world. However, Kennedy challenges NASA to land a manned mission on Mars by the 1980s. The novel follows an ensemble cast of NASA employees as they work to meet Kennedy’s challenge. 

I’d had the chance to listen to the full cast BBC radio adaptation, but I’m glad we finally have an official audiobook of Voyage. The audiobook use a single narrator, Kevin Kenerly, but he manages to carry the story quite well. 

I should begin by discussing the structure of the novel. It alternates between two points in time. One section begins with the launch of the Ares 1 mission in 1985, and follows its voyage to Mars. The second section begins in 1969 with the Apollo 11 landing, and follows all of the work that went into creating the Ares mission. Eventually, the second section gets to the launch of Ares 1 in 1985, thus bringing the two segments together. We know that Ares will ultimately fly, but it is the journey, not the destination, that really counts. Baxter certainly manages to keep things interesting. What sacrifices will have to be made, and what challenges must be overcomes, so that Ares can fly? 

Baxter includes a lot of technical details about the spacecrafts, but it never feels dull or dry. We also see a lot of the behind the scenes details of space missions; negotiations with Congress, contracting with manufacturers, etc. But this too manages to sound quite interesting. 

You get the sense that Baxter wishes that NASA was better funded, and that manned space flight was more advanced. He definitely wishes we’d been to Mars already. However, he knows that this would come at quite the cost. 

One consequence of NASA’s commitment to putting astronauts on Mars is that several space probes are cancelled to free up funds. Viking, Mariner 10, Pioneer 10 and 11, Pioneer Venus, and the Voyager probes are all cancelled. This leads to an ironic side effect. Astronauts walk on Mars by 1985, but humanity’s knowledge of the solar system, including Mars, is much lesser than it is in our timeline. 

Apollo 16 and 17 also got canceled to free up funds. Apollo 15 got canceled, but the crew of 15 flew on Apollo 14, so I guess technically Apollo 14 got canceled, but Apollo 15 still happened. Apollo 13 disaster still happened, exactly as in our world, so that mission was a scrub. Apollo 17 is especially rough, because that was the only mission where scientists got to go to the Moon. 

So, yeah, Baxter makes a good case that maybe it is for the best that thing turned out as they did in our world. Still, wouldn’t it have been something if we’d made it to Mars by 1985?

Despite everything, it feels so satisfying when Ares 1 launches. There’s only one chapter actually set on the surface of Mars; most of it is devoted to preparation for setting foot outside the lander. I know some people didn’t like that, but it makes sense from a thematic perspective. It’s right there in the title. This is a book about the journey, not the destination. Not just the interplanetary voyage of Ares 1, but all the work that happened back on Earth to make it possible.

Have you read Voyage? If so, what did you think?

Link to the full review on my blog: https://drakoniandgriffalco.blogspot.com/2022/01/book-review-voyage-by-stephen-baxter.html?m=1

[writingwithfolklore]

Two Alternate Character Creation Techniques

Last month we talked about creating characters and using that as a jumping off point for plot (read here!). The method I already shared is my personal favourite that works best for me, but we all work a little differently and there are tons of ways to create character, so I’d like to share a few more with you today!

These methods are also from lessons in screenwriting, but work just as well for novel writing, and I hope if the last method didn’t click for you, one of these do.

Method One:

The first is from a book I’d strongly recommend if you’re at all interested in screenwriting, called: "Screenplay: The Foundations of Screenwriting" by Syd Field. He says there are four things that go into the making of a good character:

1. The characters have a strong and defined dramatic need

2. They have an individual point of view

3. They personify an attitude

4. And they go through some sort of change, or transformation

So what do all these words mean? I’ll tell you!

Dramatic Need is what your main character wants to achieve during the course of the story. It’s essentially another way of saying objective. This is what drives them, their purpose or mission or motivation.

If your character’s dramatic need changes in the story, such as if something goes so wrong in their initial goal they’re forced to have a new one (the example used is in Apollo 13, the initial dramatic need is to get to the moon—then the oxygen tanks blow, and the new need is for them to come home safely.), the change would usually happen around the first act turn (which we talked about here!)

The second point, point of view, refers to your character’s belief system. Thoughts, feelings, emotions, memories, etc. Field says POV is acquired through personal experience, so if you’re struggling with this step, explore their backstory! A character’s past, relationships with family, childhood, education, is all going to influence how they see the world. Bias also fits into this category.

Attitude is how the character expresses their POV. It’s their way of acting or feeling that reveals their opinion. According to Field this is an intellectual decision, a judgement, almost always conscious. Are they optimistic or pessimistic, good or bad, liberal or conservative, right or wrong? This is the flavour that makes characters stand out from each other, their outside behaviour that reveals the inside. (And remember characters don’t always show what they’re feeling inside. Contradiction between how they feel and how they act often reveals more about them than if they were to just tell you.)

Change/transformation is easy, this is their arc! We talked all about arc in the last method, and that can still apply to this one. Using what we know about our characters now, what kind of transformation do they need to go through? Every character needs an arc, every method should include transformation. Without an arc, we don’t have a story—that remains consistent throughout all forms of character creation.

Method Two:

The second method is the simplest of the three, but still just as effective. It only requires the creation of four things:

1. A defining psychological characteristic

2. A paradox

3. Humanity

4. A flaw

The first step is what we typically think of when we’re creating characters. The defining psychological characteristic is the one thing that molds the character. It’s essentially the ‘concept’ of the character. Optimistic, flirty, rude, anxious, sweet, could all be a defining characteristic. It’s the word we think of when we think of that character.

The following steps allow us to add a bit of depth to this character. Starting with a paradox, which is the way that defining characteristic will fold back on itself. For example, under what circumstances would an optimistic character stop seeing hope in the world? Would an anxious character go outside their comfort zone? Would a sweet character snap? In Nemo, Merlin is an anxious character who would never leave his home—until his son is kidnapped, and that’s his paradox.

Humanity is what connects the reader to the character. The reason we empathize with them, what makes us maybe not always like them, but understand them. For Merlin, his humanity—the reason we understand why he is the way he is, is his tragic backstory, when his wife and children were all killed except for Nemo. We understand his protection over his only son left, and why he may feel threatened by the rest of the ocean.

Lastly, a flaw, the way that initial defining characteristic could destroy them. Following the Nemo example, Merlin’s anxiety causes him to be too restrictive over his son, which strains their relationship and makes Nemo act out. Merlin must allow Nemo freedom and room to grow up, or risk losing his son forever. This is often that defining characteristic taken to the extreme, the sweet character gets taken advantage of, the optimistic character can’t face negativity, the rude character loses their friends. What about their characteristic could harm them?

I tend not to use these methods because I find it a bit harder to spring off from here to create plot, but they are just as valid as any other, and if they work for you, that’s great! What’s important is finding what you connect with, what gets the words on the page—there is no superior or inferior way to write, so I challenge you to try out all three methods and see what clicks best.

Good luck!

[algumaideia]

An analysis of Octavian

This post was actually going to be an explanation of why I think Octavian is an antagonist, but not a villain. But it ended up being an analysis of his character. 

SPOILERS

And as always feel free to disagree with me, just be respectful. 

Sorry, because it wasn’t well-written, I’m incapable of writing good texts. 

Backstory

I think it is important to say that since we don’t have any information about his backstory most of the thing said in this part of the review are what I think is his backstory. It is a mix of the facts stated in the books, the way Octavian acts and my interpretations. Besides the things I’ll make clear that were said in the books, the rest is not canon. And you don’t need to agree with me that this was his backstory.

His family is one of the richest of New Rome- In the books he also seems to act without fearing the consequences while taking the privilege/money of his family as garented. Octavian acts like someone that is seeking attention. It is so weird how he just do whatever he wants without fearing consequences when his family is right there in New Rome. For that to happen I think or his family neglects him or they are those kind of people who think the children can do no wrong and are all my baby didn’t do that. But I think that if they were the latter, they would be more present in Octavian’s life, but they are never there. 

He is an augere and feels very proud about it. I don’t think there is too much to add about it besides that I think he likes to be an augere because it makes him important and necessary.

No one likes him and this isn’t something new. In Son of Neptune, Hazel says half of the camp hates Octavian and most of his friends are bought. So, Octavian is a lonely child. And he is aware of this. He is a bad person, people dislike him for a reason. But it seems people have been disliking him for some years and he is a child. According to his wiki he was 10 years old when he came to Camp Jupiter for the first time, and he spent his tweens and teens years in a place where people did not like him. I don’t think this was a good place to grow up.

He is really smart and manipulative. I think that those traits are a little inconsistent. Because in the beginning of the SoN Percy says how Octavian is really good at manipulating people with words, but then in the ending of the book and in MoA everyone is shutting Octavian up. Isn’t he this kind of master of words, how he isn’t answering people back? 

We also know he’s been at camp jupiter for quite sometime. I’ll talk about it in another part of the post.

He is anemic and mentally ill. I’ll talk about those things in the Camp Jupiter, Treatment and Ableism parts. 

Other thing that I would like to say is that this post is not an attempt to ignore the bad things Octavian did and pretend he is not a bad person. It is just me trying to understand his better and show why in my opinion the fandom hasn’t treated him fairly.

Camp Jupiter

Camp Jupiter sucks and it does for a lot of reasons. Some of them being the fact they have a city full of adults and most of them were demigods trained in the camp, which means they have trained adults but instead tweens and teens are the ones who fights. Hazel said that if Percy dishonored the legion they both would be executed. Hazel also says that sometimes people die in the war games. There is also the fact that people are dying all the time in missions/wars. The Camp Jupiter also expects perfect behavior for its demigods, to them all know the rules and to do not commit mistakes and I don’t have adhd but this doesn’t seem to be a good place to people that has the disorder. There is too much preassure to do not do any wrong, apperently no emotional support and the punishments seems to be crazy. It’s not a healthy place to a chldren grow up.

Other point is how they value physical strenght, hand to hand combats and offensive approache more than a lot of things. Frank said how he wasn’t treated well because he was an archer, and this was seem as cowardice. Octavian is anemic, he doesn’t have physical strenght or energy to be able to fight. The only way to be respected in Jupiter's camp is to be a good fighter, and he cannot be that because of his illness. As I said Octavian is someone that is often seeking attention and validation by his peers, and I think that this is why being an augere is something so important to him. He cannot make himself important in the traditional way and by being an augere he is necessary to the camp. People cannot just dismiss him. He buys friends, he manipulates people, he becomes a centurion, he is always dominating the senate. He makes himself impossible to be neglected. 

Yes, Octavian is power-hungry. Yes, he is bad. But a lot of things he did during Heroes of Olympus was just Roman things (he was also mentally ill and his mental health was getting worse in each book). When Hazel says that Octavian will kill Percy if the greeks atack New Rome, but in the next sentence she says that Romans take oaths very seriously. However it is all written like it is Octavian being a horrible person. But it is not. The Romans are very harsh with their punishments, they seem to be violent, physical. When Octavian says the Romans should fight the greeks, he is just acting like a Roman, like someone who was raised in a enviroment that encouraged violence responses.

Treatment

Octavian wasn’t treated nicely by the narrative and other characters. I mean, this guy was the centurion of the first cohort and an augere. But no one seem to respect him. No one enters the legion without him saying yes (I know it is acording to what he sees) but he is treated like he isn’t important. He is the one that is responsable of saying what the gods wants, but no one seems to have problems mocking him. I mean fi he decides to give you a wrong information about what a god want you are dead. 

Hazel said how “obsessed” with the sibylline books Octavian and it was framed as him being irrational and dumb. But in the end he was right, if the legion listened to him Ella would have been save way sooner. But no, it is just Octavian being  “obsessed”.

Percy acts like Octavian doesn’t have any prophecy powers, but he saw the lighting in the Jupiter Temple. Then when Octavian is mad because there are three preators he acts like he is overreacting, and Jason and Reyna do nothing. And this is weird because it was made very clear that rules are very important to Camp Jupiter. 

When he decides to attack Camp Jupiter he is always villified and not seem as a mentally ill boy that has been getting worse doing the Roman thing. 

He is always dismissed, mocked, villified, ignored.

And the fact Luke was treated with sympathy, but Octavian not. Luke, who tried to kill Percy, a childre, a lot of times. Luke, who used Annabeth feelings and emotional attachment to manipulate her. Luke, who was 19-22 years old and groomed Silena, who was 14-18 years old. Luke, who poisoned Talia’s tree. Luke, who had no regards for Grover, the satyr that saved him. Luke was treated with sympathy. But not Octavian. Not the mentally ill child who was losing the touch with reality during the series. Not the guy who was just doing what he was raised to do. 

I mean, I don’t even like Octavian and I cannot stand it.

Gwen

Guys, Octavian did a lot of bad things but killing Gwen wasn’t one of those thing. It is so no sense for a lot of reasons. 

As we talked before he is anemic and he is also smart. This intelligent man, that is full aware of his physical limits, thought it would be a good idea to get in the midle of a chaotic fight? I don’t think so.

Some pages before that Percy hit Octavian and he fell like a straw man (according to the text, the first time I read it I thought he fainted). 

Octavian always makes things because of a purpose, he isn’t just being mean because. He does bad things because his actions will give him something. Killing Gwen wouldn’t help him with anything.

Frank for some reason decided to look to Octavian during that mess and that doesn’t make any sense. He is in the camp for a month at this time the guy should’ve already known that Octavian doesn’t battle, he only commands. He saw Percy fighting for a couple of seconds during the war game and was already able to say how he fought.

Octavian was without his knive, but just minutes before he fainted, he could have lost it when he fell.

Frank said that Octavian seemed interested and not worried. But this is not enough to blame the guy, this is not enough to assume anything execpt that maybe Octavian has low empath. 

Greeks

Octavian was a roman. To the romans the greeks didn’t exist anymore, and they were the enemy. 

So, a random greek shows up, spends some days at the camp, becomes preator, and two of your most important gods appear and give a lot of attention to this greek. This is really suspicious. This greek also says that the romans should work with the greeks so they can defeat Gaea. And why you should trust this dude? He doesn’t show respect for the Roman culture. Then this huge war ship appears and this suspect greek guy says that they all come peace and the romans should not attack. Obviously you don’t believe it, and what happens they attack! As the good roman you are, your answer is to attack the greeks back. 

The romans answers things with violence. This is why Reyna asked if Annabeth was a roman after the judo flip. This is why Hazel said she and Percy would be executed if he did a mistake during his period of probatio. Octavian was being roman. He was trying to protect and revenge his Camp against a long time enemy. 

Not saying everything he did about it was logical, but this is because of his upbringing and his mental health. 

Goals

I think it is really interisting the fact that Octavian main goal was to be a hero, not more powerful. Apollo didin’t say Octavian would become preator, he said Octavian would save New Rome. 

I mean, since Octavian wanted to be preator and then became the pontifex maximum, so the logical think it would be to him wants more power. But no he wants to be a hero. A hero is someone that is respected, admired, liked and even loved. All the thing Octavian isn't. Don't get me wrong, Octavian is a bad person, there is a reason people dislike him. But he is also a lonely child that is hated by most of the camp.

Ableism

Octavian is often described as crazy, mad, insane. In his first appearence Percy said Octavian had madness in the eyes, and this was the way of the narrative warning us he was one of the bad guys. He is obviusly mentally ill, his mental health is obviusly getting worse, but everyone ignores it. Everyone ignores it, execpt when they are describing how insane his laugh is, how crazy he looks, how intense his gaze is. Everyone ignores it, until they need to remind us he is one of the antagonists. 

Ending

The ending was terrible. 

Octavian was obiously having a psychotic break, he was stumbling, laughing “in an insane” way, and he didn’t realize his jewelry was in fire. And then what happens? Michael Kahale, the person he most trusted, his problaby only friends appeared, saw the situation and did nothing.

Octavian didn’t kill himself. He didn’t know his clothes were tied in the onager. It wasn’t a sacrifice. It was an aciddent. 

Nico stopped Will Solace who was trying to warn it because some “deaths are inevitable”. Nico, also a mentally ill character saw Octavian in the vulnerable state he was and did nothing to help him. And when Nico was seeing Octavian lunch himself to the sky he thought that this was a relief. No one was sad, no one thought this was a tragedy, no one cared. Octavian was dead and that was a relief. 

The guy was so desperate to be the hero and no one even cared about his death. It is horrible.

Another sorry for the weird tense of the text.

If you want to read this is my post about Octavian and Azula and how their mental illness were treated differently.

Best regards,

Me. 

Ps. We need to start talking how the way Bryce was written was ableist.

[thejudgingtrash]

Can you explain to me how Rachel was annoying in the series?

Well, I’ll try to keep myself short for this one (lol no, this took an hour to write). Also, let’s not forget that they’re all kids, but I’m basing this off from when I read the series as a fourteen year old because my opinions haven’t changed much (for better or for worse).

I’m not the biggest fan of Rachel. I have to admit that portrayals of her by Simi, Kit, Logan, Apollo and all the others helped to shape her into something cooler than what she had been in my foggy memories but I actually went back to take a look in the books (well, TTC + BOTL so far) to refreshen my mind about events that have happened.

Also, you should browse through @blackjacktheboss's blog as she’s a) hilarious and b) says whatever I say in like a single sentence lol. But your ask is about me and my opinions so here we go:

What I didn’t like about Rachel was that she’s rude and bold (DON’T GET ME WRONG, I love that in female characters!!!), but she doesn’t have Annabeth’s excuse of survival of the fittest (literally running off as a traumatized seven year old) and introducing us into the world of the Riordanverse.

Percy was on his way, had shit to deal with and Rachel pretty much interrupted him from the get-go and thought getting her answers was more important than letting Percy just rush forward. Yes, this is Rachel’s entrance into the series and the net Riordan threw into the sea, to make us little fish adapt to her. But it still didn’t sit right with me, probably because I would never interact that way.

I get why she did that, but it’s the way how she did it that’s just making me go ???

Even if I was seeing weird things, I wouldn’t set out to distract/interrupt someone who is incredibly busy to get my way. Rachel’s dick move seems like a Karen boomer type of thing to pull off, but guess that’s up to you.

If I were her, I’d either film/try to photograph the monsters via phone (if that’s possible) or internet stalk enough to find the other person (note: despite Riordan’s stupid rule of not being able to use phones, demigods still can use computers/the internet, I guess). Percy was national news like a year or two ago in the timeline, so it shouldn’t be that difficult to find more stuff out about him, even in like 2008 or so. Let him have a spot on Perez Hilton's shitty gossip blog, for the OGs reading this.

Annabeth was used as a tool of exposition to introduce us to CHB, the demigod life and how things roll around there. She barged into Percy’s mission as a nuisance first but a necessity second in TLT.

However, in comparison to Rachel, Annabeth was transformed into a fully-fledged protagonist within a span of a chapter or two. Rachel needed another separate book after her first appearance, so we don’t just know Annabeth better, we know that she’s an important constant throughout the story as of Rachel seems… almost random? Is she truly necessary as a character?

This doesn’t come from a shipper perspective, this is coming from a character design perspective and adds to the feeling that the way she has been introduced to me as a reader just seems off.

Yes, BOTL makes sense with her as a reborn Ariadne, but technically Sally could’ve done the job as she’s a clear-sighted mortal as well lol. Then again, Sally is an adult, went to college, had a job, was unfortunately probably working it up with Paul, did the cha cha slide with him and had overall better shit to do.

Then Rachel as the oracle, which is just super weird in general. Wasn’t Apollo himself responsible for issuing prophecies in the OG myths? Or did he both, have the oracle of Delphi as his spokesperson and issue important stuff to Team Olympus? Am I mixing things up? I’m getting sidetracked, my bad.

Either way, this oracle gig might be the only time I’d say Rachel might be important in the future (badum tzz), but Riordan fumbled the bag in the follow ups series so there’s that. Did she even appear in HOO? Can’t remember and also don’t care.

Rachel is used as one out of three choices in regard to his love life that Percy can make. Calypso literally got introduced into BOTL and was admittedly Percy’s biggest what if… But the general gist doesn’t sit right with me. We have three possible routes with Percy and the others:

Rachel: somewhat normality in the mortal realm

Annabeth: the danger and thrill of the demigod life

Calypso: ambrosia and nectar. a hint of immortality

(On one hand, literally why but on the other hand, mad props for Percy who has literally three romantic leads in the same book.) I’d cancel one of them at least out and since Annabeth isn’t going anywhere, I’m taking Rachel. Sally could literally been Percy’s anchor to a normal mortal life as she had intended until it didn’t work out anymore when he became twelve and his monster alerting scent grew stronger.

Calypso and Annabeth would’ve been the perfect opposites where each of them had a strong case. The demigod life within the realms or mortal or the demigod life ascending to Olympus/immortality. Sounds cooler and is way simpler. Three people is way too much, this truly feels like a shonen anime harem thing and it’s defo not my cup of tea (and while some Annabeth sideships aren’t my thing (Lukabeth go cry in the corner, no one likes you, WTF, Connabeth you fugly), it’s super unfair that Annabeth solely has Percy (fuck off Luke) to rely on in regards of romantic endeavors).

Rachel almost feels redundant? The option to walk away from all of that… which isn’t really true as Rachel really tries to push and insert herself into the story the very first time we meet her? But that’s just me, I’m certain that others are saying they’d kill off Annabeth or kick Calypso (I mean yeah) into the curb.

Big ALSO:

Why does Percy need another white and uber-rich love interest?

I semi-joked on Dez’ post (@sawasawako) with this response about Annabeth needing to keep up with powerful Rachel, but the core still stands.

We already have an affluent Annabeth (granted, we don’t know exactly how the Chase’s riches are divided, whereas it’s clear that Rachel can just make anyone drop dead by saying who she is. Annabeth needed that weird lotus casino credit card to make that happen, so Miss Harvard Legacy doesn’t wield that Dare schmoney. Also don’t think Annabeth can just up papa’s money and go…? Idk).

Why do we need another person needing to upstage this?

Like Rachel has to triumph in regards to standard and prestige as if it were a badly written Jane Austen AU. For what reason…? Why not make Percy friends and acquaintances with someone who comes from a normal household for once, not super rich brats (Piper, Annabeth, Rachel, technically the Graces with their TV starlet mother amongst others).

Moreover…

Important question: why should Percy actually be impressed/attracted to that? He’s dirt poor and has been sent to (boarding) schools filled with stupid rich people since he’s been twelve, probably even younger than that. As if that’s the very first thing Percy would look out for or be wowed or something. He’s used to rich douchebags. I think he’s more surprised that someone used their money for his benefit for once and not to crash daddy’s new Mercedes again.

Like seriously… Rachel did that weird art project thing in BOTL with her covered in gold and posing like it’s a super normal thing to do? Even for rich snobbish kids standards? That sounds weird to me. I don’t know, maybe Riordan’s been streaming the new Gossip Girl reboot on HBO Max on repeat and thought this girl is on fiyah (performed by Alicia Keys).

Rachel trying to separate herself from her money just comes off as super hypocritical when she’s using the very same funds to finance her lifestyle. I get it, trying to make amends and make a difference with the damage you have done but... your father still doesn't give a shit about the environment or YOU, sweetie. Kick him in the balls for once! Then you can go out about your art projects.

The concept of Percy having friends in the mortal realm is cool, but why does Rachel almost have to compete with Annabeth with her wealth and art stuff?

No seriously, the comparisons are constantly there, out and about. Roaming freely on the finest grass, needing to be feed delicious locally sourced carrots and stuff.

Annabeth is Athena’s kid. Athena is the goddess of wisdom, weaving, justice, warfare yada yada and arts and crafts. So definitely something which would affect Rachel, right (someone write that Athena messing with Rachel because she can AU and tag me please!)?

Annabeth wants to become an architect which translates to fancy building designer who is driving engineers like Leonardo Eugenio Valdez Cortes insane irl because the maths and physics don't work like that in the working field trust me I'm an engineer, which could/should be considered an art form.

They even shared some common ground while talking about architecture and design in BOTL!

Furthermore, they both share broken homes with absent parents (granted that all demigods go through that). Wealthy families at that as well. Shitty fathers that don’t care about their daughters well-being. Rachel however, is super powerful and influential in an unseen level in the mortal world. She isn’t like Matt Sloan (?) who truly messes up by destroying shit to get his father's attention, but she’s still in that circle and can easily demonstrate that. Making deals with her father and what not. We rarely see Annabeth doing that. Did y’all forget the fucking helicopter Rachel brought along in TLO?

Pan saying Rachel is just as important as her father has multiple meanings to me…

(Sidenote: I do think it’s hilarious that Annabeth is jealous/annoyed of Rachel that her remarks were she’s cute right and Percy went??? Or when Tyson said Rachel’s pretty? Or that time when Annabeth actually defended Luke and his weird behavior (because Kronos was slowly taking over, don’t forget that kids!), because f that rich artist nepotism kid that Rachel seems to be, right?)

Another note: Percy thinks Rachel is annoying in BOTL for a while and it took a while for him to admit that and he spent way more time being annoyed/jealous (for once, Lordy) at Luke for him to even notice lol.

I guess it’s really hard for me to exactly pinpoint what’s bothering me. I believe Rachel's persona just doesn’t seem to hit right, because it feels like a knock-off Annabeth who just simply isn’t a demigod, yet has two cool powers, but in even richer who still needs to be part of the story for exactly what reason?

The jumping around from the richest in the series to the poorest in the series is kinda bothering me as if the middle class doesn’t exist, like I’ve stated earlier. Why didn’t Riordan mix it up with Rachel, giving her more nuance the minute they met, not towards the end? Have her be Percy’s platonic friend from the get go. No weird oh wait she is kinda cute in the middle bullshit.

This kinda drifted more into a Perachel vs Percabeth essay, which really wasn’t my intention. Don’t worry kids, I’m criticizing Annabeth (and her stans) enough already.

And I do think that others in the fandom have softened my views on Rachel as a person like I’ve stated in the beginning. So friendship!Perachel is popping! But I do think that there are some valid points that I’ve made.

Also not gonna lie, Rachel issuing the new prophecy in TLO kinda dampened the end of PJO series but that’s more Riordan’s fault than hers.

TLDR: I’m just not a huge fan of this overbearing, uber-rich, excessively flaunting being that Rachel sometimes displays. She’s flawed, she’s broken at times, has a semi-interesting background story (although it has been done over and over again throughout the series and should be changed up for once) which is great, but it is still annoying.

We don’t need an anti-Annabeth who feels like a weird caricature of the real Annabeth.

Also if this seems super incoherent, repetitive, or whatever, I'm sorry, massive headaches + mental health going down the goo lagoon does this to ya, I hope I made somewhat sense!

[vemuabhi]

Disney Romance - Tangled in the Stars - 200 followers special

Hiii ! Thanks a lot for letting me choose 💕 I would like Tangled with female reader and my Sabo boy 🎂 - @pure-kirarin​

A/N : Hey Kirarin chan!! Thanks for the brilliant idea of the 200 followers event. I hope you like this cringe story of mine. Please don’t have any high expectations on it, I may not reach them. I enjoyed writing this story a lot. Please forgive me for any mistakes.

Pairing : Sabo X Fem! Reader

Word count : 2.3 K

Warnings : Angst, fluff, happy ending

Your team were given a mission to infiltrate the base of a well-known Merchant, who was also a kidnapper. To set free all the people who were kidnapped and to hand him over to the revolutionary was your work. But… it felt like, it was already an assigned mission. Brushing the feeling aside, you took on the mission without asking anything else.

Luckily you people achieved success because of your planning. It felt like… it was the first time, your plan was actually implemented, without any ruckus or chaos. But why? Thinking about this, you felt your heart clench and your eyes started to well up.

“Y/N! What happened”, asked Koala as she came towards you. You wiped your tears with your shirt sleeve and gave her a smile. “I feel happy because we completed the mission without any… havoc”, you said trying to brush off the topic.

She kissed your cheek and said, “Aww you are so cute. Btw, we have a break for 3 days before we set sail”.

“Oh that’s great. Do you think there is any-”

“LIBRARY AROUND”, she completed your sentence before you could, making you chuckle. “There is one beside the railway station but, what are you going to read about? The Cursed castle?”, she asked you gaining your complete interest.

“Cursed castle? What is it?”, you asked curiously. Koala raised her eye brow and asked you, “What? You don’t know about that castle? There are so many rumours about that castle”.

“No, can you tell me about it?”, you tugged at her shirt and she closed her eyes and started to think.

“Actually, I’ve heard that there is a place in the forest, where there is a one tower castle. Everyone said that the castle is absolutely beautiful but it is cursed. If an individual steps into the castle, they get cursed”.

“Where is the castle and What is the curse?”, you asked her but she shook her head no and continued, “Sadly, I know nothing more about it”

“Oh… Now I have a even more interesting reason to take a tour of the Library, Thanks Koala”, you said getting up from your place.

“But, what about our shopping, HEY Y/N!!”, she wined

“Rain check”, you said closing the door behind you earning a sigh from her.

You walked quickly towards the library as your heart started to beat faster with each step you took. It was as if you needed to know about it or… like your life depended on it. Reaching the library, you walked quietly into the section of myths of the place. Looking around the shelves about the cursed castle, you found nothing about it. You tried to read and search for anything similar to it, but you found nothing.

“Excuse me, it’s the closing time”, an old woman, who was apparently the librarian, said to you. You looked at the clock and it was 11 pm. Getting up from the place you bowed to the lady and started to walk. Then a closed section of the library caught your eye.

“Sorry mam but, why is this place closed?”, you asked the librarian. She looked at the section and said, “From the time I started working here, it has been closed and no one is allowed in there”.

“Oh… Okay, I’ll leave now. Thanks”, you said and exited the place. After 15 minutes the old lady came out of the library and closed the door. As soon as she left the place and making sure no one was there, you made your way towards the door and opened the lock. Oh c’mon, this lock was a child’s play in front of all the locks that you opened before. Looking back and closing the door silently, you turned the lamp which you held and proceeded towards the closed section. ‘No Trespassing, closed for now’, was written on the door. You raised an eye brow and opened the door as you smirked.

‘The door would be broken by now, if this was read by-’, your thoughts stopped. ‘By whom?’, you thought as you felt the same pain in your heart. You clenched your fist and started to look at the books. They were mostly about the place’s history on the dark side and also the war plans used in the past.

‘Should I give up?’, you thought but again you felt a sting in your heart, as if you were supposed to search for it. You looked at all the books but couldn’t find even a similar book regarding it. You placed the books as they were and turned to leave the place even though your heart felt like it was crying with pain. Just as when you were about to leave, a painting caught your attention.

You went towards it and lifted your lamp to see it clearly. You saw that, it was a painting of a castle. ‘A one tower castle’, you thought as you saw the painting even more carefully. There was a full moon in the sky, the waterfall in the background. The sky was filled with so many stars and when observed carefully, there you saw a guy, with blond hair staring at the stars. For some reason, your heart started to beat faster than usual looking at the man in the painting. Suddenly the man moved and went inside the castle. ‘What the hell? Did he just move?’, freaking out, you took a chair and climbed on it, to touch the painting.

As your hand came in contact with the painting, you got dragged into it. You screamed as you hit the hard surface.

“Ouch! What the…”, you said as you placed your hand on your back and looked around you. It was a beautiful room, coloured with royal gold and had red carpet on the floor.

“WHO ARE YOU?”, you turned towards the voice of the person. Your (eye colour) orbs met with black orbs of a man with blond hair. He was lean and tall, also had a scar on his left eye. Your heart started to beat faster as you looked at him as if you already knew him.

He gulped as he clenched his fists and asked again, “How did you come here? Who are you?”, you blinked your eyes and got up quickly. “I have no idea how I got here. I was in a library looking at a painting one moment and then suddenly I got here”, you said and looked around.

“What happened? Why are you crying?”, he asked you. You didn’t even notice that you were crying till he mentioned, wiping your tears, you said, “It’s.. It’s nothing, I just felt like, you were familiar”.

He exhaled and nodded. “I feel the same, as if we met before, but I don’t know you”

“Is that so… What are you doing here in this castle?”

“I… I think I am the owner of this place. I can’t go out”, he said looking down.

“Oh… Can you show me the exit?”, you asked him hoping to just leave the castle.

“Exit? This place has no exit. I searched but couldn’t find”, he said to your surprise. ‘What the hell is this new problem’, you thought as you looked around.

He walked towards the window and leaned his elbows on the window sill. Looking at the stars he said, “You can’t find it. You won’t be able to. I also want to leave”

“Didn’t you ever think about escaping?”, you asked him as he continued to stare at the sky. “I don’t know. When ever I think about it, I get the question of, why I should even leave?”

‘I don’t know what is happening with this guy but… I guess if I involve, I’ll definitely be in a big problem’, you thought

“That’s pretty lonely stuff right there. What is your name? I’m Y/N by the way”

“I…”, he turned towards you and continued, “Sabo… yeah, Sabo is my name”.

“Oh okay then Sabo, even if you don’t wanna go, I intend to leave. My friends are waiting for me”, you said, ignoring the fact that your heart was beating faster because of him, as if he was the answer, but… to what?

“Friends?”, he asked

“Yeah, So, Sabo… wanna escape if you have a chance?”, you asked him. Why do you want him to come with you? What is this blond man having this effect on you?

“Can I? Are you sure that I can?”, he asked clearly wanting to know the answer.

“Yeah, how about jumping from here for starters sake?”, you ask him but he shakes his head no.

“I tried. I got back here again”, he sighed and continued, “I even tried to destroy the castle but nothing happened to it. It feels like, its mocking me for being the strongest”

He again looked out the window and said, “I don’t know if it’s a riddle that needs to be solved but, I feel like the stars are trying to say something. But I can’t understand what”. You look at the stars and then you see that, some stars are in the shape of the letter ‘J’. You walked towards the window and stood beside him. You remember teaching someone about constellations before. But… who was it?

“You… you are correct. The stars… It’s a constellation”, you replied to him and he perked up with curiosity. You observed the constellation and your hunch was correct. Pointing towards the stars, you said, “See, its looking like a letter ‘J’ if you observe”, he keenly observed and yes it was a visible to him.

“Yes, so what does it mean?”, he asked you and you continued, “Its Scorpius, according to the Greek mythology, it represents the deadly scorpion that kills Orion, the hunter, who was really proud of himself for his hunting abilities. Once there was a hunter, Orion, bragged to kill the animals of the world, but Apollo, sky god, didn’t like his attitude, so he sent a scorpion, who would end the hunter, Orion”, he placed his hand on his head and closed his eyes tightly.

“What happened?”, you questioned him.

“It… it just feels like… someone used to talk with me about constellations before. But I can’t seem to remember”, he admitted and then enquired, “So, why do you think the stars were trying to convey it?”

“I may be wrong but… I feel like, the castle is like the hunter. You said that, it was mocking you. But I feel like, it can be destroyed”, you ended as you took Sabo’s hand in yours and walked towards the centre of the castle. If you weren’t so concentrated to destroy the castle, you could’ve heard how loud Sabo’s heart beat was getting.

You observed that, the celling indeed had designs of Scorpius and Orion on it, with a star between them. Pointing towards it, you said, “Lets aim the star between Orion and the Scorpius”. Without hesitating, Sabo nodded and you both aimed at it and placed a single hit. Suddenly, the castle started to shake and cracks were forming quickly.

“I think we did it”, you said and then gasp suddenly, you felt Sabo pick you up like a princess and run towards the window. “We don’t have all day, Lets jump”, he said before jumping. You hugged him tight and he also did the same.

After you two tightly held each other, you didn’t feel any ground hit you. You both opened your eyes and you both were in the dimly lit, library room, where you were searching for the book and found the painting.

You looked up and saw that, you were still holding Sabo… Sabo, your boyfriend, whom you forgot about.

“Sabo? Why did I forget you?”, you asked him tears threatening to fall from your eyes, as he looks at you. He exhales and looks around the place and then at you again.

“Y/N! Its you. Its you!”, he exclaimed as you hugged you tightly. Pulling back he kissed the tears on your cheeks.

“Why did I forget you? It felt like no one remembered you? You were the one who was assigned this mission. How did this happen?”, you wine and sob at the same time.

“When I reached this place, the merchant wasn’t in town, so we decided to wait to catch him and free the new kidnapped people he would bring with him. But I got to know about this cursed castle and infiltrated this library to find book, that you’d like to read about it. Then I broke this door open and tried to bring the painting to you. Then got stuck in it”, he wiped the tears again from your cheeks and continued, “I didn’t remember anyone from this world, but I swear, I missed you. Thankyou for coming here and saving me, Y/N”, he said as he leaned his forehead to yours.

“I… I missed you too. I felt like there was something missing always. I used to cry without any reason”, you sobbed as he nodded and apologised for making you cry. You both exited the library after a while and headed towards the room you were given, still holding hands.

“You know, we found the merchant and freed the people who were kidnapped. For the first time no one messed up my plan”, you said to him only to receive a chuckle in return.

“Is that so. I hope its enough for this life. Get ready now because, your plans will be disturbed again”, he said making you laugh.

After reaching the room, you and Sabo cuddled next to each other as you both tried to sleep. You both kissed goodnight and slept. The next day, everyone were shocked to see and also remember Sabo. They were so confused at the incident and couldn’t figure out why they forgot about Sabo. You both never mentioned about the incident and the cursed castle painting was destroyed thanks to you two. He was the answer that you were looking for.

XOXOXOXO

I hope you liked it! Thankyou for reading. I am no expert in all the constellations. I just did some research on it. Nothing more. Sorry if I made any mistakes.

Like and comment your feelings.

Follow for more!

[yeoldontknow]

Back To The Stars: Primis

Author: @yeoldontknow​ as part of The Fault of Light collaboration with @j-pping​ Pairing: Chanyeol x Reader (oc; female) Genre: astronaut!au; space travel!au; mars mission!au; soulmate themes; romance; smut; heavy angst; themes of abandonment Summary (this installment): Chanyeol is 11 years old the first time someone walks on the Moon. He is 11, and already he feels his life is changing. Rating (this installment): G Warnings: none; chanyeol is just a cute beybey with his big ears and big eyes and big heart and big excitement and i made myself terribly soft for someone who doesnt really like writing children :( Word Count: 4.2K

masterlist

JULY 20, 1969

It’s the biggest televised event since the coronation of Queen Elizabeth.

At least, that’s what his teachers tell him. 

He struggles to understand the magnitude of their words, finding it terribly difficult to wrap his mind around the concept that Kings and Queens could still exist. It seems very fanciful, this idea, but he likes that some kind of magic still seemingly exists within the world. Having spent so long ensuring his best grades are on mathematics and science, keeping his father placated, he feels reassured that there is some truth to fairy tales - a new Queen stepped into power; the books on his shelves are true even if he does not understand why, even if he was not alive to witness it.

Even if his family was still in Korea, so far removed from the pomp and circumstance of this celebration he doubts his parents even remember the significance of such an occasion.

Cuddling into his mother’s side, Chanyeol presses himself deeply into the couch, and listens intently to the anxious chattering of his father as he turns the dial of the TV. It is one hour past his bedtime, and already his eyelids feel heavy with sleep, but he and his sister have finally been allowed to witness the secret activities of adults after they have been tucked into their sheets, and so he listens, not wanting to miss any details. Lips set in a small pout, he nods in time with his father’s pauses, hoping this makes him look mature and astute, wanting, more than anything, to be encouraging.

This is the single most important moment of his career, he says, and Chanyeol hums, aware that his father has been a mathematician his whole life, presumably always, the concept of a career so far reaching and permanent he knits his brow together as he tries to fathom it.

This is precisely why he brought the family to America, and therefore this evening is momentous and personal. Chanyeol was very small when they immigrated to the country, but he distinctly remembers the terribly long boat journey and the way his mother always looked pale and slim under the dim lighting, lips pressed into a tightly shaped grimace that never managed to smear her lipstick. He enjoyed the spray of the ocean as he hung over the railings, and even now he can recall the faint droplets of mist on his fingers; the sort of refreshing happiness that still makes him release a giggle, recalling the faint bubbles on his skin, and his mother hugs him to her side tightly, pleased by the sound as she presses a kiss to the crown of his head. 

He remembers the journey, and while he still does not yet fully appreciate why they are here, he knows his mother likes this house more than the other, and that it made his parents happy enough to provide him a sibling. This kind of enthusiasm is something he understands quite well. At eleven years old, he thinks everything should carry this kind of excitement, and so it is nice to see his father finally allowing the tone of it to saturate his words, not just his actions.

And tonight, this is the most excited his father has ever been. 

Slowly, and with careful footsteps, his father backs away from the television, doing his best not to introduce any static by interfering with the antenna behind the box. The barely contained apprehension and exhilaration in his joints keeps his limbs remarkably still, even as he relaxes into the reclining chair without truly relaxing at all. Leaning forward on his knees, he adjusts his glasses on the tip of his nose and releases a slow, almost silent sigh. Chanyeol releases his own deep breath, hoping he sounds just as serious and invested.

'How come you're not there, Papa?' he questions, looking between his father and the television.

For months, he has been working late, coming home with deep set bags under his eyes long after supper has been cleaned and put away. It strikes him now that his father came home relatively on time today, joining them for dinner without eating, talking in large, complicated theories and figures that has his mother nodding in interest. Kicking his feet against the couch excitedly, he wonders if, maybe, he will see his father on the television.

'They don't need me there,' he explains, getting off the chair to turn the volume up. 'I helped with only some of math, some of the planning. Essential people are there to provide emergency support.'

'Oh,' he hums airily, and his mother chuckles, pointing at the screen for him to pay attention.

Muffled voices speak over an insignia he can only just make out. Low and gruff in their authoritative urgency, they confirm a rotational degree that has his father releasing a grunt of confirmation, seemingly pleased by the number. Over and over, he traces the shape of the logo with his eyes, its blurry letters arched elegantly above a rocky landscape. CBS news broadcasters talk amongst themselves in between command announcements, narrating a screen they confirm to be an animation, and Chanyeol’s eyes bug slightly, having been convinced the rocket was entirely real. A countdown clock depicts twelve minutes and twenty-seven seconds until touchdown, the rocket releasing a blast that has fire streaking across the screen. 

Wiggling out of his mother’s hold, he leans forward and points. 'What's that, Papa?'

'Those are the thrusters,’ he says quickly, though he does his best to keep his voice gentle, doing his best to educate. ‘They help with getting the rocket into orbit for landing.’

Transfixed, he stares at the screen and reads the numbers in English. Recently, his teachers praised him for his excellent reading skills, and he takes his time forming the words with his mouth and tongue, ensuring there is no trace of his natural accent. 

‘Velocity is 4,000 F.P.S,’ he recites, folding his hands in his lap, proud that he can pronounce numbers so well in his second language. ‘Altitude is 45,000 feet. That’s higher than Mount Everest, Mama,’ he says, offering her an informative smile as he, too, adjusts the glasses perched on his nose.

‘Is it?’ she asks, sounding surprised. Keen to hear more, she leans close, regarding him expectantly.

‘Yes,’ he nods seriously. ‘We just learned about it in geography this week. This is higher by about…’ Knotting his brow together once more, he quickly does mental math the way his father taught him to, converting kilometers to feet, counting diligently with his fingers. ‘By 15,900 feet,’ he finishes confidently.

‘That’s very high,’ she affirms, looking at the television in wonder. ‘And some very large numbers. You did well.’

‘Well, I am eleven,’ he chastises, because she should know that he is old enough to manage the digits and carry his zeros well. 

Still, it bothers him that he does not have a proper scale to understand how high these numbers are in physical metrics, and he quietly makes a plan to create this with his own hands by collecting popsicle sticks his sister discards after her snack.

Focusing his attention back to the screen, he sees that it has changed, the animated rocket moving over the rocky landscape, and now he can finally see the words clearly. The land below the letters is dotted with black holes, some areas brilliantly smooth and others, craggy and mountainous. It is unlike any place he has ever seen, and he casts a sidelong glance to his Atlas in the living room bookshelf, wondering if he missed a page, a country, or, perhaps, if he has not studied the section on the sea closely enough.

'Apollo 11,' he reads out loud, cocking his head to the side as he racks his brain for a country with this name. 'Where are they going?'

To no one in particular, his father smiles. 'That's the Moon.'

‘The Moon?’ he exclaims, incredulously. Sitting up straight, he casts his father a bewildered expression, feeling the tips of his ears growing hot in anticipation. ‘This is the Moon landing? We’re watching the Moon Landing? That’s what you’ve been working on? Why didn’t you say anything?’

‘I couldn’t tell you what I was doing.’ The explanation is curt, brief at best, and pressed between the pauses on the television. ‘It was classified. Besides, isn’t this a nice surprise?’

‘No, it’s not,’ he protests. As he speaks, he hears his voice become filled with the emphatic and insistent cadence it adopts when he has been scorned or told that he is wrong when he knows he is right, and while he can hear it happening, knows that this kind of indignant protesting will result in his being scolded, he simply does not know how to stop. ‘Everyone knows someone is going to the Moon. It’s all anyone has been talking about at school.’

‘Yes.’ The nod of vague acquiescence he receives makes his hands grip the cushion of the couch, the tips of his fingers taking on a curious tingle, swollen with adrenaline. ‘But I couldn’t have you telling everyone your father was involved, could I.’

Chanyeol shakes his head vigorously, lips parted in slight dejection. ‘I wouldn’t have told anyone.’

Finally turning to look at him, his father peers at him knowingly over the rim of his glasses, one eyebrow arched in warning. In this false sense of quiet, Chanyeol is filled with the overwhelming sense that he is treading on dangerous waters, his overzealous nature getting the best of him - a habit he has and, at such a young age, is still learning to manage. Silence is difficult, makes his skin hurt when he is this passionate, this eager, finding it impossibly difficult to calm his abject disquiet at being denied information. 

Still, his father’s watchful brow is admonishing enough, words drying in his throat as he crosses his arms over his chest with a quiet huff. 

Falling back into the couch, he frowns and settles back into his mother’s side. ‘Okay,’ he mumbles, doing his best not to sound dramatically despondent. ‘But only just Rodney. He’s my only friend, and he’s here all the time anyway.’ 

Turning his attention back to the television, his father effectively puts an end to the conversation. ‘Just watch.’ 

It takes less than six minutes for his sister to fall asleep, shoulders slumping as she curls in their mother’s lap, tiny hands gripping her shirt for comfort. She breathes evenly, peacefully, and while Chanyeol does long to join her, steadily growing more tired the longer he stares at a terrain that looks precisely the same from all directions, something in his belly keeps him awake, far more alert than he usually would be. He can hear it in the voices of the announcers, the way they say just enough, never too much, mystified just the same by the words of the commanders. 

As time passes, he latches on to certain phrases, words that normally would not go together but sound remarkable when said within the same breath. 

Fuel Monitor. Approach phase.

His vocabulary books have not yet taught him some of these words, but he recalls, very distantly, hearing his father muttering numbers and ratios alongside these phrases late at night while hunched over the dining table. Sometimes, when he would sneak down from his bedroom in the late hours of the night for a glass of water, Chanyeol would see him curled over in his chair, scribbling notes in the dim light of a desk lap. At the time, they sounded musical, like lullabies he might have been rehearsing to help his sister fall asleep.

Now, he chastises himself for not having paid attention to the way they are heavy, powerful, curving around his tongue as they take hold of parts of him he did not know existed. They cling to him, burrow down into his marrow and settle, not unlike roots.

Wondering how they would sound coming from his mouth, in his voice, he mumbles to himself, silently letting them escape on his exhale, trying them on for size. All at once he feels terribly important, the sudden weight of responsibility impossibly great, and so he returns to simply watching, feeling as though he has rushed himself somewhere he is not yet ready to be, but wants just the same.

When the countdown hits zero, he expects a cacophony of noise, and inwardly prepares for an eruption of joy so volatile he thinks the earth may crumble. It is finished, so therefore everyone should be celebrating its completion, but still his father remains seated - though, he is hardly in his chair at all. Over time, he has inched forward on the cushion, preciously balanced on the edge as he presses the palms of his hands into the fabric of his slacks. 

Everyone seems to be waiting, and so he decides to wait too, the tension in the room feeling not unlike the threat of loss. Wringing his hands together, he squirms restlessly, room so quiet he wonders if anyone is even breathing, if even the men on the news have decided to stop the air in their lungs, oxygen unnecessary now that men have learned to walk through space. 

Eventually, after what feels like an impossibly long time, he hears it:

“Houston, the Eagle has landed.”

In one swift motion, his father leaps from his chair, hands clutched at his sides in fists and eyes latched on the screen as his mouth opens, uncertain if he should laugh or cry or both all at the same time, a guttural noise of unprecedented awe. His mother lifts one hand to her mouth as she laughs, the fervor of her amazement jostling him gently, their determinedly poised expression of triumph somehow wondrously loud. Outside, beyond the picture window of the living room, he can hear other families celebrating, some brought out into the street to set off firecrackers; the magnitude of their excitement a thunder that rolls through the night sky, victorious in nature and marvelously unifying in its breadth.

Craning his neck up and back, he glances out the window to the night sky and studies the moon, her paltry light and her enduring solitude, and he shifts against the couch cushion to get closer. Nestled deeply into the inky black of the night, the moon is not yet full, little more than a sliver of light he thinks could be his fingernail, a piece of him etched into the sky. Never in his life as it appeared so close, the surrounding shadows doing little to mistake her shape for smallness, so near to him now he imagines he could reach out and touch it. He tries to picture it, the bodies of people walking along the surface as he holds it in his hands, tries to imagine them, their figures moving through the light, but sees nothing, just the rise and fall of her light, the craters and the white. 

When he looks back at the broadcast, once more the scene has changed but this time the animations and projections have completely disappeared. Now, it is simply the Moon - the Moon and its landscape, inching ever closer as the rocket made its descent. A small notice in the corner states that footage comes with a delay, and therefore he is seeing, now, what he should have been seeing several minutes ago. He falls into them the same way the rocket seemed to fall slowly, delicately, to the surface, as though he was there, as though this secondary, retroactive landing is all his own.

Gripping the edge of the cushion, he finds there is something profoundly compelling about the surface of the Moon, and all its vast emptiness. Though there is nothing, it seems there is an ever present something, an itch at the back of his mind that feels perplexingly like delight and disappointment at the same time. 

‘How come we’re only seeing these now?’

Looking to his father for just a moment, he hopes there is a reasonable explanation for why he should only be receiving this information now. Now, when there is likely so much more to be seen, so much more to know, and so much he is unable to see, doing his best not to feel heartbroken at the prospect. 

‘It takes time for the image information to come back to Earth,’ he explains evenly, having finally reclined back into his chair now that the great work has been completed. ‘It takes time for Mission Control to receive, process, and broadcast them.’

It is logical, he knows, but still it is not enough. He thinks nothing will ever be enough, ever again. ‘Why?

Chuckling, his father releases a sigh. ‘Light has to travel between Earth and the Moon, and our technology just hasn’t caught up with light yet.’ He pauses momentarily, falling quiet in that dreamy way Chanyeol admires when his father is about to say something profound, something that always makes him feel like puzzles are the embodiment of bliss. ‘It will, though, one day.’

Chanyeol likes that idea, the notion that something, anything, could move alongside beams of light. Sometimes, when his mother lets him set up the tent in the backyard, he takes his flashlight and his binoculars out and points them to the sky, hoping for a better view of the stars. The beam from his flashlight reaches upward, higher than his own arms can stretch, far past the trees and up into nothingness. It always seems to happen in an instant.

‘How fast is light?’

His father hums, considering the question. ‘Think about it this way,’ he begins, still sounding far away, immersed in his thoughts. ‘It takes light from the Sun eight minutes and seventeen seconds to reach Earth.’ Chanyeol’s eyes widen, acutely aware of the vast distance between the Sun and the Earth, and the way his parent’s Buick could never go that fast - not even the boat they took to get here could compete. ‘Imagine moving that fast.’

His attention moves back to the lunar surface, eyes still wide as he studies the deep craters and the way the black of the sky beyond is somehow even more black than the one he sees beyond his window. This black is infinite, all consuming, and he has the creeping sensation that if he were to reach out to touch it, his very hand would disappear. Swallowing thickly, he stares at it, mystified, trying to recall if the monochrome of their television has ever been so dark. 

“It’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.”

A laugh erupts from his father, the loudest his laugh has ever been and his mother simply shakes her head, voice having fled perhaps to where the stars are hung. Chanyeol watches as his father laughs and claps his hands, a myriad of emotions walking over his face with each exhale of breath. 

‘Whose voice is that?’ he asks, wanting to know who made his father so happy.

‘Astronaut Neil Armstrong.’ 

Astronaut. This is a word he knows, one his classmates have been saying repeatedly over the last three days. The first time he’d heard it, he returned home and went immediately to his mother’s English dictionary, searching for a better definition than the one his peers have provided. 

Astronaut. A noun. Added to English lexicon in 1929, a date not too far reaching in the past, a date that reminds him of sepia toned white linen clothes and Japan. A compound of Astron and Nautes, Greek for Star and Sailor respectively. Popularized in 1961 due to America’s space travel program, now meaning space-traveler. 

He likes Star Sailor better, but up until this moment he had no frame of reference for the application, no sense of who would do such a thing, or how. Astronaut Neil Armstrong has a rich voice, one that he likes listening to, clear toned and full of good humor. Apprehension waits at the back of each of his words, every word he says a first, every step he takes a first, everything about Neil Armstrong is first.

‘I could do that,’ he whispers to no one, just for himself and the sky.

Gripped by his sudden jealousy, by Neil Armstrong’s voice, and the way he must wait, impatiently, for several minutes just to see something new, he seemingly both forgets his parents are in the room with him and wishes, simultaneously and all the way into his blood, that it was him on the Moon and not Neil. He doesn’t want to wait to see it all, he wants every moment to be filled with this kind of enterprising discovery, this kind of relentless adventure. It is not enough to see the high contrast of black and white on the screen, because he knows, as though he has always known, the world beyond is so much more colourful than this. 

Sometimes, when he goes camping with Rodney and his parents, they sneak out of their tent long past bedtime and look up at the stars - the sky dotted endlessly with blots of light. In the shimmer of night, the light has colours - the sky a deep purple, the stars a mix of red and blue and yellow, sometimes even green in their hue. Surely, the view from the moon must be just as brilliant, and Chanyeol hates that he is not seeing it, not really, not for himself. 

It’s when Neil Armstrong begins to jump that things begin to change, the lines between himself and the astronaut blurring altogether. In the low gravity of the Moon, the scene fades from the surface of the moon to something new entirely, the broadcasters laughing incredulously at the sheer silliness of it. Neil Armstrong takes long strides, lifting off the balls of his feet and jumping forward, landing gently on the surface before repeating the action.

Everyone is laughing. Neil’s voice is full of childish glee. His father presses his head back into the cushion of the chair, eyes closed as though welcoming a rapture. Beside him, his mother swallows her laughter, afraid of moving too much and waking his sister. Chanyeol thinks the whole world might be laughing in unison, bonded by the pure euphoria of this moment.

But he is excluded from this. He is not euphoric. He is ravenous.

Chanyeol rises to a stand, convinced now that he is just the same as Neil and, because there is no difference, he should not have to wait to touch the Moon himself. 

Moving through the living room with fast strides, he is reminded of his mother’s rule that there is no running in the house. He’s not really running, he thinks, moving at a speed just below the true definition of running, passing through the kitchen to the sliding glass door and into the back yard. Behind him, his parents are calling out, demanding that he come back to the couch. But he ignores them, eyes trained on his singular goal.

Summer’s trampoline is set up in the center of the soft grass, just beyond the patio. A consolation for their lack of a pool, he spends most of his days bouncing while his sister watches from the side, head craned upward to watch him soar. He’s been tremendously silly, he thinks, spending nearly the entire month of June and into July attempting a back flip when he should have been doing this.

Hippity hoppity.

Climbing onto the trampoline, he takes off his slippers and socks, tossing them over the side and into the grass. His mother lingers in the doorway, calling for him to come down and come back inside, but he doesn’t listen. Chanyeol jumps, bracing himself and bending his knees for each landing so he can gain more height, more speed. With each rise and fall he keeps his eyes trained on the Moon, the sliver of light that looms ever closer, growing more bright the longer he looks. At his highest point, he reaches out his arms, letting his hands trace its edges, before falling away, slipping away back to Earth. 

If he gets close enough, he is certain he could grab hold of it, certain that he too is defying gravity, the laws of science that his father so often lectures him about. Putting more force into his knees, he jumps again, his mother’s voice a scolding bark of annoyance and irritation - claiming that he will break the trampoline, that he will hurt himself, that he will wake his sister and other neighbors. 

Let them see, he thinks. Chanyeol wants them all to watch as he grabs hold of the Moon and refuses to let go. 

Because, why shouldn’t it be him?

Hippity hoppity.

Author’s Note: this originally was intended to be part of the much larger one shot, but as i was writing i felt that it kind of stood alone as more a prologue than anything else. this moment is not referenced again in the full story, but it does set up a lot of information about chanyeol, why he goes to space to begin with, and will be reflected in a different scene within the full story. @j-pping​ and i both agreed it suits the series best as a prologue so i hope you enjoy it ;--;

Research Notes: i watched the archival footage of the Moon landing from NASA and CBS news archives. the quotes italicized were actual words said during the landing. neil’s famous quote is actually ‘one small step for a man [...]’ however due to delay and dropped frequency the word was lost - this is also why most commands and answers were four words at max. the original news broadcast was done in technicolor, however owning a TV in technicolor was still not entirely common in the 60s and become more prominent in the early 70s, hence why Chanyeol watches everything in black and white. if anyone reading this is an astrophysicist, im doing my best to research everything featured in this story to precise accuracy but if something is wrong im sorry and please let me know :(

tag list: @delightpcy​ @noellestrash​ @falsemagic​ @wonderlustlucas​ @junkfoodwriting​ @taestfully​ @heatofmyexoheart​ @5am-rainyandgrey​ @dont-have-fear​ @cloudyhaechan @pimolalola @ahgishaman​ @softly-savage-mint-yoongi​ @yehet-me-up​ @lamichellee​

[mcmactictac]

Hi 🙋‍♂️

What do you think about jasons death ? In my opinion it made sense because it made the emprrors seem like a true threat but in the other hand i wish his character arc had been finished before that . Jason was suppossed to be a Bridge between greeks and romans and yet we barely See him in that role.Also i would have loved to See platonic jiper .... .....

Oh I have SO many thought about this I’m so glad you asked.

Here’s the thing. Jason had the potential to be a really interesting character in hero’s of olympus, but a lot of it was tossed to the side because there was so much other stuff going on with the plot. I know everyone complained about how boring he was and how he did literally nothing. Although his character has amazing potential, it was never going to be properly explored.

The one thing they could do to Jason’s character to make him more interesting and sympathetic is kill him off. Although it frustrates me that his death is really only there for Apollo’s development, it made his character more interesting. I feel like it adds threats we don’t usually see with demigods.

Within the first series they talk a lot about how demigods usually don’t make it past like 20, but then no one really dies beside in the war. I think Jason’s death is a good way to show that accidents happen on quests, even the most qualified and put together person can slip up, can lose and can die just as easily as everyone else.

I know I personally found Jason’s character the most interesting in the burning maze because he’s given something he wants. He’s in school, he’s not in a relationship with Piper so his character arc centers around himself, not around his relationship, and he wants to rebuild camp Jupiter. He doesn’t just have a goal he has to complete, he has something that he WANTS.

This makes his death hurt way more because Jason really hasn’t had anything he cared about for? His character was very responsibility and mission driven, so to see him focus on something for himself only to have it ripped away? Very interesting. It makes his feel ty more impactful because it wasn’t the end of his arc, he had things he wanted and like he wasn’t DONE. And he wasn’t expecting to die like he was on a quest

That being said because I am petty. Blood of olympus had very low stakes for me. The climax was over pretty quickly and although I know it’s a children’s book like. No one actually “dying” felt like a cop out. The whole series has been building up to that with the promise someone is going to die and then Leo has an anticlimactic “death” before coming right back. I wanted to see one of them get like. A really rough ending I guess? Obviously I love them all and I wouldn’t want any of them to hurt but like. To spill the blood, someone should have died. Someone should have sacrificed themselves to protect someone else. And it should have been a clear death, a permanent there’s no coming back where you see the body. When I read the book I assumed Rick didn’t do it just because it’s a children’s book and since we get POV’s from everyone it would be kind of graphic for kids to see that character die but like.

If we were going to properly kill someone, I wish we did it in hero’s of olympus. Although I think Jason’s death sets good stakes in trials of Apollo, he really didn’t get much to work with character wise. He should have been killed off In his own series where he was one of the people who was SUPPOSED to die. It would have been better for his character since we could have the POV’s of Piper, Leo and people who are really invested in him, not just Apollo.

Now I have many many thoughts about where Jason’s character should have gone especially since everyone in HOO had such interesting backstories that were just kind of thrown away and not talked about again. Like. (Tw for suicide skip to next paragraph to avoid it)

I wanna talk about Percy and his clearly suicidal tendencies. How quickly he gave up once they landed in the river, how much he struggled when he was “drowning”. I wanted to see him have some ptsd from that. A percy who can’t stay long underwater because it sends him into a panic attack. Same with Frank he had so much potential with that stick and it was just. Not there. Now correct me if this did happen I haven’t read the books in a while but I want to see a Frank who lights it on purpose, to try and save other people. Frank who screws up on a big mission, gets people hurt and sits on his bed with a lighter in one hand and the stick in the other. He was responsible for so many deaths he thinks, shouldnt i die a bit too? I know these are dark topics for a kids book but I think it’s important to talk about them and expose them to the concept so they feel less alone if they have that.

An Annabeth who’s tired, and done, and DOESNT have all the answers anymore. Shes an anxious kid who keeps losing everything, and she can’t always keep everything together. At some point, she should have cracked. Lost control for a bit and broke down, before putting the pieces back together. It’s not functional to keep being that high strung all the time. A Hazel who is terrified of herself, who won’t touch other people because her mother would say things like “you ruin everything you touch”. A Hazel who has to address and unpack the trauma from being a young child forced to care for her bad mother, dealing with her own problems and coping with her literal death. That’s way too much for a 14 year old to handle and be as stable as she is. Especially after getting thrown back into the mortal world.

A leo who has to fight the urge to run away. He’s been running for so long, when things get bad on the Argo he runs down and packs a bag. And he goes to run because he learned he just makes things worse, no one wants him and they’ll all be better if he just leaves. But this time someone stops him. Percy is there and he helps Leo because he’s been there before. And Percy doesn’t try to trap him there, if he needs to go he needs to go. But he lets him know that he’s valued here and this isn’t a place he needs to run anymore. Leo who finally feels safe for the first time in years who silently goes back downstairs and unpacks his bag. He sits silently and cries on his bed because he feels SEEN. A Piper who struggled more with her sexuality!!! I would have loved to see the POV of a child of Aphrodite who thinks she might like girls too. Piper who isn’t Just “Jason and Piper” or “Leo and Piper” but Is just PIPER. Her character isn’t tied into everyone else’s, and is given a chance to be her own person, explore herself,

And a Jason who is his own. Not just a leader or a figurehead but just JASON. Who’s allowed to have a personality, to explore, figure out what role he wants to have. A Jason who isn’t rooted in duty anymore, but wants to live his life. Jason who lives for himself, not for other people.

But we were never going to get that, so yeah I think it was a good but tragic end to his character. Makes him more likeable, gives him a final little bit of personality before writing him out. But yeah!! Thanks for asking!

[juleamarson]

Theory time

Was Nico erased from the Big profecies?

This one will probably make absolutelly any sense, but...maybe it does??

I've seen some people talking about Nico was crucial in both Wars and he wasn't in neither profecies.

In all the 15 books, 12 profecies (if my calculations are correct). Nico only apear in 3 of them.

The first one as ghost king, where everybody thought was about Minos, but it was Nico.

In this quest Hera admits letting Nico out in purpose, and I think she said something about he doesn't fitting in CHB, but i'm not sure.

He should at least have an profecy about bringing Athena Pathernos. Anything about he leading Percy to Achiles's curse also should be good. Like... Nobody predicted that?

Other thing I realized was: Nico gave Percy Achiles's curse, Hera take it away. He cannot be known as the boy who leaded Percy to this curse if he don't have this curse anymore.

And you can't say he doesn't have a profecy because he's from another time, in MoA he apear in one.

But when he's the hero, the leader, when it's his "quests" he doesn't have one.

Saying that Hera erased his profecies is also saying she have a power over the Oracles, but she's a powerfull godness, can't she control wich profecy come out?

Now some stuff about Tower of Nero:

But unlike Python, she can't control the Fate herself, that's why his quests kept happening.

Hera is also known as very manipulative between the mortals (Ex: when she made Dionysus's mother made Zeus show his divine form to her, causing her death).

It's such a coincidence that 'another' profecy with Nico as protagonist was ereased (or he tried). Will tried to keep Nico away from Apollo's quest. Will hided the lines about Nico.

Plus: those lines was send by Delphi, trying to run away from Piton, also Hera was so busy with grief about Jason's death.

And then, at Rachel's house, Meg ask if he doesn't like cows, he don't say he likes cows.

I also would like to say about that theory about Hera being a homophobe or heteronormative at least.

This theory says Hera joined her hero (Jason) with a lesbian (I'm not bi ereasuring anyone, this just make way more sense to me) because that's what a perfect couple should be, StRaIgHt.

According to this, let's go back to House of Hades:

And there's a lot Hera could have done to manipulate Nico to feel himself not part of both camps.

Because like ??? Are you saying Nico, a mith'o Magic nerd would never heard about Patrochiles, Apollo and Hyacinthus, Sapho? Apollo and Hyacinthus was my confort couple for years.

He obviously searched about it, he knew about Zefiro's story before coming, he tried to talk to him before that mission, but Zefiro only appear when Hera's hero is with him.

Zefiro also said Apollo and Hyacinthus where just friends. A HUGE LIE. Why did he lied? Did he tried to erase Apollo's sexuallity? Or maybe some olympian godness is trying to give him a warning that only straights are olympians?

Anyway. That was my conspiracy theory about another reason to hate Hera but probably will never happen because it's not likely to Rick do this.

But yeah, thank you for reading until here and I'm sorry for what you just readed lol

[sainedeparam]

okay so: one book and one song for 7 oc's your choice and why!!!

Flor i am so sorry because this took me forever to answer 😭😭😭 i really had to think about what fit best and i ended up changing the “one book” to “one quote from a book” since i struggled with that but here we go. Under the cut because it ended up being too long akshsjsksl

One Song

Tate Cerati • Believer by Imagine Dragons

First things first // I'ma say all the words inside my head // I'm fired up and tired of the way that things have been, oh-ooh // The way that things have been, oh-ooh // Second thing second // Don't you tell me what you think that I could be // I'm the one at the sail, I'm the master of my sea, oh-ooh // The master of my sea, oh-ooh

No thoughts, just vibes with this song. I don’t really have a reason why I chose this for Tate other than vibes. It just felt so… him, if that makes sense.

Brynn Delvaux • Born Ready by Zayde Wølf

I don't believe in no devil // 'Cause I done raised this hell // Oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh // I've been the last one standing // When all the giants fell // Oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh // I won't shiver // I won't shake // I'm made of stone // I don't break // Start me up // Open my eyes // Turn me loose and you'll see why // I was born, born ready // I was born, born ready // Staring at the pressure now // I won't quit, not backing down // I was born, born ready // I was born, born ready

I like powerful women. The type of women that are feared by everyone. And this song best describes the kind of vibe I was going for when playing her route in WTNC.

Ryder Vesta • Centuries by Fall Out Boy

And I can't stop 'til the whole world knows my name // 'Cause I was only born inside my dreams // Until you die for me, as long as there's a light // My shadow's over you 'cause I am the opposite of amnesia // … // Some legends are told // Some turn to dust or to gold // But you will remember me // Remember me for centuries // And just one mistake // Is all it will take // We'll go down in history // Remember me for centuries // (Hey yeah, oh hey, hey yeah) // Remember me for centuries // We've been here forever // And here's the frozen proof // I could scream forever // We are the poisoned youth

In my head this is a Villain Theme Song and he’s cocky enough for this to fit him. And this is also to implement the fact that Ryder could never really become a Vigilante, let alone a Hero. Even if he’s dating a Hero, he will always will be a Villain and I love that for him.

Amaris Voight • Control by Halsey

I'm well acquainted with villains that live in my head // They beg me to write them so they'll never die when I'm dead // And I've grown familiar with villains that live in my head // They beg me to write them so I'll never die when I'm dead // I'm bigger than my body // I'm colder than this home // I'm meaner than my demons // I'm bigger than these bones // And all the kids cried out, "Please stop, you're scaring me" // I can't help this awful energy // God damn right, you should be scared of me // Who is in control?

I was listening to this song while I was thinking about what I wanted to do for Amaris’ future. There is sort of a complexity of whether this means her talking to the citizens she’s meant to protect, her talking to Nathaniel + Areum or just her talking to herself. You can’t just have the amount of power she does while not being able to fully control it and not be wary of her.

Kavan Vekany • Stronger by The Score

Set me on fire // Set me on, set me on fire (whoa, whoa-oh) // I'm still alive // I'm still ali- I'm still alive (whoa) // Bet you didn't think that I'd come back to life // Higher, faster, everlasting // Bet you didn't think that I'd come back to life // Higher, faster, never-crashing // Bet you didn't think that I'd come back to life // Stronger // (Stronger, stronger, stronger, stronger) // Bet you didn't think that I'd come back to life // Stronger // (Stronger, stronger, stronger, stronger) // Bet you didn't think that I'd come back to life // I do this with conviction // I write truths and never fiction // My disease is what you fed // I can't stop with my ambition // Like a missile on a mission // I'm a force that you will dread-ead

If The Exile was a series or movie, I can envision this song being played while at the end of Chapter 3, or maybe Chapter 4 since that’s when we maybe talk to Syfin + Trystan + Our Family.

Benjamin Blackwood • My Demons by STARSET

Mayday, mayday // The ship is slowly sinking // They think I'm crazy but they don't know the feeling // They're all around me circling like vultures // They wanna break me and wash away my colors // Wash away my colors // Take me high and I'll sing // Oh, you make everything okay, okay, okay (okay, okay, okay) // We are one and the same // Oh, you take all of the pain away, away, away (away, away, away) // Save me if I become // My demons

This is just basically him asking for help, I just haven’t decided if I want this to be romantic or platonic in terms of he’s asking for help from.

Kai Morgenstern • Lovely by Billie Eilish & Khalid

Thought I found a way // Thought I found a way out (found) // But you never go away (never go away) // So I guess I gotta stay now // Oh, I hope some day I'll make it out of here // Even if it takes all night or a hundred years // Need a place to hide, but I can't find one near // Wanna feel alive, outside I can't fight my fear // Isn't it lovely, all alone // Heart made of glass, my mind of stone // Tear me to pieces, skin to bone // Hello, welcome home

Kai and her complicated one-sided relationship with the supernatural world. There’s a reason why she has a really high Resistance Stat.

One Quote

Tate Cerati • Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz

“Another secret of the universe: Sometimes pain was like a storm that came out of nowhere. The clearest summer could end in a downpour. Could end in lightning and thunder.”

This ties to the moment he found out the truth about Daphne, and Alex. How everything just shattered for him in the blink of an eye. It also ties to other events, like finding out what happened to his mother and during the battle when Daphne dies trying to save him. It's just him not expecting an outcome that would destroy his life, in a sense. The kind of outcome where he has to live with that knowledge knowing there is nothing he could have done to change it.

Brynn Delvaux • They Both Die At The End by Adam Silvera

“Sometimes the truth is a secret you're keeping from yourself because living a lie is easier.”

I headcanon that she had her suspicions about what Hunters really were. I mean you can't really be that strong and still be human. But keeping it to herself and not investigating further was better than to face the truth because being just like the kind of creatures she was taught to hunt was too much for her to handle. Even after she learns the truth during the story she is still in a bit of denial.

Ryder Vesta • The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

“Usually we walk around constantly believing ourselves. 'I'm okay' we say. 'I'm alright'. But sometimes the truth arrives on you and you can't get it off. That's when you realize that sometimes it isn't even an answer--it's a question. Even now, I wonder how much of my life is convinced.”

I told you about what his childhood, and how he came to be working for the Phoenix Organization, so this fits into him questioning Phoenix and his upbringing. Trying to figure out whether what he was told about his parents abandoning him were true or not, and thinking about what he would do if it weren't. The slow process of finding the truth, thinking that he's okay until it hits the point where he realizes he's actually not okay and not knowing if he is actually strong enough to go against the person he was loyal to.

Amaris Voight • Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz

“Sometimes, you do things and you do them not because you're thinking but because you're feeling. Because you're feeling too much. And you can't always control the things you do when you're feeling too much.”

Every decision she made after waking up were based on feelings so they are a bit questionable even if they're not exactly bad, like not reaching out to Nathaniel and Areum. But it also fits in terms of her abilities. She has sort of learned how to use her abilities and has trained in order to be able to control her powers but she still doesn’t know the extent to what she can do so sometimes when she’s feeling too much, she can’t really control her abilities and the outcome of that is not always pretty :(

Kavan Vekany • The Burning Maze (The Trials of Apollo, #3) by Rick Riordan

“Pain is an interesting thing. You think you have reached your limit and you can’t possibly feel more tortured. Then you discover there is still another level of agony. And another level after that.”

After reading the new update, this just fits him so much. Everything he had to go through after [redacted], especially whatever they did in order for him to not be able to fully transform anymore? He’s known pain like never before, and you know it’s bad when even i think it’s too much lmao.

Benjamin Blackwood • Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

“He was not happy. He was not happy. He said the words to himself. He recognized this as the true state of affairs. He wore his happiness like a mask and the girl had run off across the lawn with the mask and there was no way of going to knock on her door and ask for it back.”

He grew up thinking that there was only one way of doing things, his father’s way. It never really hit him until he got older. For the majority of his life he just kept on doing what he was told because he thought it was the right thing to do and because he wanted his father to be proud but he was never truly happy. He never stopped to think about that feeling until later on.

Kai Morgenstern • They Both Die At The End by Adam Silvera

“I've spent years living safely to secure a longer life, and look where that's gotten me. I'm at the finish line but I never ran the race.”

My favorite girl, who hates life in NMC and being a Keeper in general. She wasn’t exactly “safe” or “cautious” when doing things before the events of kotsam but her life was never in danger, she had everything she wanted. And then, in the form of one car crash and almost being killed, he future just went down the drain and in the span of 2 years (so far) she has had so many near death experiences. She’s just so tired at this point.

[good-and-colorful]

why do spacex suits look so dumb

This is probably a lot longer than the answer you were looking for but I started reading about them and got really angry and this happened. Sorry.

tl;dr: It’s entirely fashion over function.

Our first article gives some details on the suits, as well as this flattering side view:

The suits, to SpaceX’s credit, do have some pretty useful features:

- There is only a single umbilical that connects to each astronaut’s seat, so that the amount of time spent fiddling with hoses and wires is minimized. It’s not a perfect picture of redundancy, but I get where they’re coming from, both from a convenience standpoint and a fast emergency egress standpoint.

- Like the Boeing suits, the glove fingertips are touchscreen compatible. SpaceX worked with the astronauts themselves to develop this feature to be as user-friendly as possible.

- The ugly neck thing and the helmet shape are meant to give the astronaut better range of motion in their head. (Credit here to SpaceX for sticking with a harder helmet design, where Boeing decided that head protection was not a priority and went for the fully soft helmet).

- They are heat resistant, form-fitting, customized, and have built-in hearing protection.

So I suppose they get points there. [1] 

But then there’s this part:

In 2016, Elon Musk reached out to a Hollywood costume designer to create these suits. He actually held auditions; this was the guy that made the coolest looking helmet. That was the criteria for a spacesuit designer. The winner, Jose Fernandez, admits to not even knowing what SpaceX was when he was hired. 

And if that bothers you a little, this will bother you more:

“[Fernandez] ended up working with Mr. Musk for six months to design the suit, which was later reverse engineered to meet space travel requirements. The tuxedo associations are not an accident.” [2]

The last part is in reference to an earlier note that the spacesuits look like they were designed by Tony Stark for James Bond on the Starship Enterprise.

So if that has you fuming, welcome to the club. During that six months, Elon kept stressing that they should look like tuxedos. That was his sticking point: they needed to look nice. 

A lot of the defenses for this process mention that the Mercury suits were painted silver for the same reason. While yes, the silver was so that they looked cool on TV, that was the last step in the design process for those suits. FIRST you glued them together, sewed in the zippers, fitted the padding and hooked up the life support systems. You tested the things endlessly. THEN you painted them silver. 

Most of these articles take a few paragraphs to dump on the NASA suits, calling the orange launch suits “duds” and “pumpkins.” They refer to the Apollo EVA suits as “Michelin Man” suits. They praise Musk (and Boeing for that matter) for creating suits that are an homage to the romance of human spaceflight and a nod to the history of the fashion industry. One goes so far as to mention that they accentuate the “idealized human warrior body.” Which article? Oh, just the New York Times. [3]

Now, I love talking about the spirit of exploration and the greater meaning of human spaceflight. But there is a place and a time for that: it’s when the astronauts have landed safely, the mission is complete, and we can celebrate our accomplishments. It is NOT when we are designing and building the hardware that will take them safely up and bring them safely home. 

If these people did any research into the suits, they would understand that those “pumpkins” are meant to be high-visibility for safety. They would see that the bulkiness of the Apollo EVA suits was because they contained life support systems, communications, a camera mount, a Mary Poppins amount of pocket space, and a waste collection system. That thing needs to act as a small spacecraft for the duration of time a person spends on the lunar surface. It needs its own cooling system, it needs radiation protection, circulation, traction, a sun visor, drinking water storage, back pressure tanks for the oxygen system. It needs to support the weight of its own backpack. If NASA wanted the things to “look nice” we would still be on the ground.

Plus, tell me this thing isn’t beautiful in its own right:

NASA and the Air Force have always prioritized safety in their designs. If you had uttered the phrase “idealized human warrior body” in the presence of any NASA employee from 1959 through the shuttle program they would have dropkicked you into the south Atlantic. 

NYT drops in this comparison to try to illustrate their point. They cite the “pop culture comic con continuum” of NASA’s suits (while somehow also bashing them?), but look at these things:

Those Mercury suits were carefully assembled by a group of old ladies with glue pots. Yeah, they look a little clunky. It was 1959. We were in the middle of a politically-fueled race to space. There wasn’t time to call up Hollywood and take care of that pesky pressurization issue later. That picture almost didn’t happen, simply because there were more important things to be done at the time.

The suits on the left were designed by a Hollywood costume designer under the instruction of a spoiled billionaire whose only goal appears to be maintaining his Twitter following. That is not a nod to the “magic of space exploration.” These men don’t look like they’re going to space. They look like grade school children walking to the bus in the rain. 

This obsession with sleek design is further illustrated in the chest of the suit: 

I see the worm logo in the center, the meatball on the left shoulder, and the American flag and the astronaut’s name on the right shoulder. And that’s generous: earlier designs left the chest entirely blank. The Shuttle launch suits tell a different story: The NASA meatball, the astronaut’s name, and the mission patch design are displayed prominently on the front of the suit. The American flag is on the left shoulder, allowing it to be displayed non-mirrored. You look at the Shuttle suits and you see that it’s so-and-so flying Expedition Whatever. You look at these things and all you know is that they’re SpaceX. If every part of this design is as intentional as they make it out to be, Elon sure is a self-centered asshole hell-bent on putting himself in the history books. Patches on a suit should not be seen as “detracting from the aesthetic” of the design. If anything, they’re an integral part of it. 

Plus the boots are stupid.