#i never wanted a scene like the casino scene in the show in the first place

[vicontheinternet]

Proud to say I'm one of the ppl who like the movies that don't want the casino scene from the movies in the show

[sabh0]

What's your opinion on the anime? I find it pretty funny, but I can't say that I am not disappointed to see so many scenes missing.

For exemple, I wanted to see Dazai cry laugh at Chuuya's young mistress act, show that it was a joke shared by both of them, rather than one made to us at the expense of Chuuya. They took a genuinely funny moment and made me cringe SO hard for no reason T^T

God i could go on for hours about how Bones ruined this series. I'm obviously thankful we have an anime adaptation but. Well just compare bsd anime to jjk one or smth and yeah.

I will be complaining more under the cut,,

First the overall writing choices:

-Deleting or changing skk scenes to the point im not even shocked when ppl think these two actually somehow hate each other.

-The way they portrayed Sigma. They deleted half of his personality and backstory. And just speedrunned the Sky Casino arc like if seeing that place was giving them nightmares. No wonder he gets mischaracterized now.

-Tachihara's internal conflict about belonging to either Port Mafia or The Hunting Dogs? Bones never heard about it. It's not like IT'S A VERY IMPORTANT PLOT POINT.

-Akutagawa's whole character in the anime is just 'edgy and angry and bad grr'. In the manga he had some 'kind' or even seelf-reflection moments that were ommited in the anime. Like where he realizes defeating Atsushi didn't satisfy him (ship fight, season 1). Or when he gives files about the orphanage Director to Atsushi and says he won't fight him today because he lost someone impirtant to him. Sskk vs Fukuchi fight?? No scene where Sskk r helping each other walk. Instead we get Akutagwa just pushing Atsushi away. Won't even start on that last smile that looked more like another angry expression.

-THE WAY THEY CHANGED "DAZAI'S ENTRANCE EXAM" INTO SOME CURRENT TIMELINE EPISODES. IT MAKES ME SO ANGRY LIKE. THIS NOVEL WAS SO GOOD. Showing both Dazai and Kunikida's characters and partnership so well. But no. Let's just??? Put Atsushi there. Let's delete the fact this thing happened 2 years ago. And let's delete everything that was actually important about it, too.

-also some changes in the Dark Era arc. Like. Lord. Dazai is so much more emotional in the novel. His expressions r described so well. But the anime either shows him from the back at those moments (him finding out Oda was almost killed by a sniper in Ango's room) or just deletes/changes the thing (Oda dying. This scene is so emotional in the novel. From the description u can tell Dazai was crying/on the verge of it as Odasaku died. But in the anime he looks calm and then we get a far aeay frame and he just. Gets up and that's it yeah.) They also deleted the scene of him visiting Oda's grave.

-The way they rushed seasons 4 and 5. Just to give us an episode that goes further than the manga and has the shittiest writing ever when it comes to skk's plan revelation (im so angry about this u guys have no idea. I sincerely believe that if this episode never came out, the manga would go differently bc there's no way that Asagiri who wrote things like Stormbringer suddenly thought that some dollar store vampire make up will fool a guy who's centuries old and literally lived next to vampires. But well!! Seems like these two speeches Dazai gave weren't important at all and now we can just forget about them yippiee)

I could definitely mention WAYY more examples of that but this is already long af. Like guys. I know u cant fit everything in an animated show. It takes time to make it and all but. Bro. The character's in the anime r so shallow compared to their original versions.

.

Now onto the artstyle of the anime.

Lord. U know? It was actually pretty in the first 2 seasons. The official arts at the time were also really nice to look at.

No idea what happened later. Why did Bones suddenly decide that those ugly turtle smiles r gonna become the main thing in the character design. Why so many fisheyes. Atp sometimes i look at the official art and i go oh lord even i could fix it. It really feels like they draw some characters ugly on purpose now (Chuuya being the main victim for unknown reasons).

Tho i must say they have their moments even now. Some last episodes of season 5 weren't really bad, especially the Meursault part (love them for animating Dazai and Sigma dancing so well. And for that 101 animation. And maybe for the heartattack they gave me with 109 and Chuuya shooting Dazai so many times.)

.

On some other things, i really like the music! Bsd openings and endings never miss,,,

[raelle-writing]

DFF Theory: Non's brother is White

Warning that this post will contain spoilers for episode 6 of DFF, spoilers under the break

One of my biggest unanswered questions about DFF right now is: Who is New? And will he play a role in the series in the future?

We don't KNOW that New will have a role in the series, of course, but he's talked about a lot. he could just be there to identify Non as the lesser child while New is the golden child, and show why Non feels like he can't talk to his parent about his problems...

So, what do we know about New?

1. Based on the family photos shown in episode 5, we can see that New is EITHER a couple of years older or a couple of years younger than Non. Non is in 11th grade, so that would make New either around 19 or 15.

2. We know he's studying abroad and his family is sending him money. We don't know where, or what age he is. It's implied that he's older by the comparison, but it's never said specifically (unless there's an honorific that isn't being translated into English). We also know that New needs a lot of monetary support wherever he is abroad, since Non's mom talks about taking out an emergency loan to send him more money.

So then, IF we assume New is part of the show, who is he? I'm going to go ahead and say he's not Phee because we know Phee is the ❤️, wants to be Non's BF, and he's not abroad.

So who does that leave?

The three people I can think of are Tan, Perth, and White.

Perth might be the most likely because we haven't seen much of him yet, but he IS in the background of some of the casino scenes. And maybe it's possible that Perth plays New, and New is actually not a good kid and is in with a gang but has his whole family fooled, and the reason he keeps having to ask for money is because he's in debt or keeps losing it...

But I don't think that's likely, so that rules out Perth.

Next is Tan, who is probably the most obvious choice. But I don't think the timeline makes sense, considering New would be older or younger than Non and Tan is in the same grade as the other main characters. So unless he was able to fake his name, age, and schooling records it would've been impossible for him to transfer into their school in the same year as the rest. It is possible that he could pull that off, but Non's family is shown to not have money, so I don't know how he could've pulled off faking those records. So IMO, Tan is out.

The last option is White, which I will say, DOES fit the timeline. If Non's brother New is actually younger than him and brilliant, he could be studying abroad in an advanced program, and it might also explain why his family keeps needing to send him money since he wouldn't be able to get a job if he was that young.

White is the youngest of the group since he calls everyone there "Phi" and at the beginning, the friend group teases Tee about "tricking kids." White also shows a lot of capability in tense moments, and is the one who is the best with technology.

White acts scared and cries a lot when the others are around, but when left to his own devices he steals the tape, watches it, finds a gun and steals it. He's also the one who is good with technology. He mentions in the first episode that he'll work on boosting the signal of their walkie talkie, which isn't a simple thing to do. He's good with computers, probably too good for his age.

I think that of all the people who we've seen so far in the show, White is the most likely to be Non's brother. The comparisons are a misdirect, so we wouldn't suspect him. White has Tee (who is the person who has screwed Non over the most so far) wrapped around his little finger from the beginning. He plays up being cute and helpless until the exact moment he needs to be capable, then he's capable as hell.

I'm not sure that New is going to play a part in this series, honestly. But if he shows up, I think White is the person who fits the bill best.

[super-amogio-64]

Did anyone else find the ending to the Disney+ Percy Jackson series really unsatisfying?

The show wasn’t bad overall, though some of the acting felt a bit stiff and I didn’t like some of the changes. They removed a lot of the Cerberus stuff where he is neglected by Hades and just wants to play with someone. Percy and Annabeth were a lot quicker on the uptake about a lot of things, which was fine but removed a bit of the suspense from things like the Lotus Casino (I’m still disappointed they didn’t all get sucked into it like in the book - also, removing the taxi driver calling them Your Highness made me a little sad, though Percy learning how to drive the taxi himself made up for it) and Procrustes (they knew he was Procrustes from the start, and as such never got tricked into trying one of his beds). Other changes I didn’t mind so much (like the scene with Echidna) though I found it really odd how the had the whole thing around Medusa where it was like “don’t judge a book by its cover, not everything that looks like a monster is one�� only to then turn around and go “actually yeah she is a monster”. It felt like it undercut the message a bit. Anyway, the main two issues I had were:

1.) Removing the scene where Percy makes the gods swear to claim their children by a certain age. It REALLY felt like a lot of the show was building up to that scene (Sally making Grover swear to protect Percy, emphasizing the importance of a sworn oath; the MULTIPLE conversations about how unfair it was that the gods treated their children this way; and the fact that it was solidly established that the gods have to obey certain rules) only to have Percy turn around and tell Luke, “hey, the gods are trying their best, okay?” Percy standing up to the gods had a lot more weight in the book, because he made his anger with the way they treated their kids clear to them, whereas in the show he did stand up to Zeus but then actively defends the gods’ actions in his subsequent confrontation with Luke.

2.) Perhaps my biggest issue in the show: Gabe Ugliano. When Percy entered his apartment, and Eddie said “I’m going out, you’re coming in. I should be apologizing to you,” I was fully bracing myself for a scene depicting how abusive Gabe could get. Instead, we got a Gabe Ugliano who is moderately annoying at worst. He’s an asshole to his wife and stepson, but SEVERELY toned down from the book. He’s mostly just kind of a jerk, who Percy and Sally have no trouble standing up to as he doesn’t really do anything but get annoyed when Percy stands up to him and quickly backs down when Sally stands up to him. They even removed the bit towards the end where it is revealed that he had been physically abusive towards Sally, leaving just about everything that makes the character so hate-able out of the show. He’s just… dislikable. That’s it. I couldn’t really bring myself to hate him because he’s just a dumbass. Now, from what I understand, the reason he was toned down was because Rick Riordan himself said that when they first tried to adapt the scene (in a more faithful way) it was uncomfortable to watch, which is fair: I don’t really like watching depictions of abuse (I had to walk out of Love Lies Bleeding, it’s a great movie but it was a bit too much) especially against children. Plus, I understand that this was meant to be a more kid-friendly show. But removing Gabe’s abuse means removing Sally coming into her own by killing him. Instead, Gabe’s death doesn’t feel as deserved, and it happens accidentally. Plus, even though they established that bad smells can mask a demigod’s scent from monsters, they didn’t include the reveal that Sally stayed with Gabe because his scent hid Percy. Again, I understand why they may not have wanted to keep the “woman sticks with her abuser” narrative for a kid-friendly show. But at that point, why even have him in the show? All of his narrative significance has been stripped away, leaving us with a character who adds nothing to the story. He’s just kinda there. They even made him unemployed, meaning the bit where Percy says on live TV that Gabe is giving away free appliances is gone too. TLDR: he isn’t as evil, so it doesn’t really feel like he gets deserved comeuppance when he dies at the end, and on top of that his plot significance is removed, leaving him as sort of a vestigial tail of a character that no longer has any purpose in the story but is still visibly there taking up screen time.

Idk, I liked a lot about the show, but a lot of aspects felt rushed. I wouldn’t mind waiting longer for season 2 if it meant it would be a more complete adaptation of the book it’s based on.

[mayasdeluca]

Wynonna Earp: Vengeance Thoughts

I've watched the special twice now so I've put some thoughts together on how I felt about it. Overall I thought it was really good and Emily did a good job of balancing both appealing it to new viewers who may not be attached to these characters but having a plot that they could be intrigued by and also still going back to the show's roots and making it about everything we know and love with these characters. I'm going to put more detailed thoughts under the cut, feel free to share yours either on the post or by messaging me and we can discuss! And also keep watching so we give it a bunch of views and a good chance to have more than just this special :)

The beginning of the movie starting with Nedley and Mercedes was unexpected but so good. Sad that Mercedes had to be sacrificed right away, Dani Kind is awesome but the way they did that with her body spelling out ‘Earp’ was insane ad fit this show perfectly.

Wynonna walking through the casino to ‘Tell That Devil’ was perfect and gave me all the feels. 

Wayhaught’s first scene was adorable and so them. The Bunny interruption was perfect too. Loved her little involvement lol

I never really liked Wynonna and Doc romantically (Team Dolls all the way) so a lot of their involvement I didn’t really care for (though I do love Tim so it’s hard to not care for Doc completely). Their dynamic has always been sort of odd to me though. 

Wynonna putting on the leather jacket before making her way back to Purgatory was another iconic moment. 😭❤️

All the Wynonna/Waverly/Nicole scenes in the movie were perfect. I wish we had more. Wynonna teasing them any chance she could and Nicole giving it to her right back. The scene when Wynonna just returns home was one of my favorites in the whole special. The stairs comment was my favorite Kat’s delivery of ‘Shut your mouth’ 😂 her comment on the chore wheel “It’s your turn to clean the baseboards…whatever that means in gay’ 😂

Wynonna and Waverly drunk at Mercedes wake and Nicole having to deal with their stupidity 😂 that whole sequence was absolute chaos in the best way

Loved Nicole and Nedley’s heart to heart ❤️ their dynamic is so special and important 

They really put Nicole through hell (as usual) and we got to see her be badass which I love. Also kudos to Kat for doing all this physical stuff while being pregnant. She’s amazing. 

Waverly and Wynonna having a heart to heart in front of the fire just like old times ❤️

The scene of Waverly, Wynonna, Nicole and Doc at the table really felt so right. The four of them are so good together. 

The flashbacks of younger Wynonna to tie in her connection to the villain were really well done and especially the shots of present Wynonna seeing some of it. Great directing choice.

Nicole and Wynonna telling each other the hard truths all while being incredibly entertaining is my favorite thing. And in contrast seeing Doc and Waverley’s relationship is so great too. 

This Black Badge Agent was incredibly underwhelming. A poor man’s Dolls and did nothing for me. I saw Emily’s explanation about not wanting to have too many familiar characters (as a reason why Jeremy wasn’t more involved) but this guy was just..meh. 

The way they just casually dropped a kids mention with Wayhaught only to be interrupted right after…I think it makes sense that Nicole is ready for kids and Waverly isn’t (yet) because she still needs to explore and do things she hasn’t been able to yet but I do hope if they are able to do more that it’s brought up again

Nicole having to save Waverly from a dark goo (again) was a nice touch and I loved seeing that whole sequence (acted brilliantly by both Dom and Kat) Also all the times Nicole said fuck 😂

Wynonna and Doc porch scenes are always so heartbreaking. 😭 I don’t have much of an attachment to them together but Mel and Tim are so good in these kinds of scenes. 

The amount of ‘baby’ mentions for Wayhaught in this special made me super happy 😍

This Wayhaught convo about Waverly needing to go do her thing with Black Badge and Nicole assuring her they can handle it was so good. They are so in love and precious. “I wish I could be the one to show you the world.” 😭 My favorite line. Ugh I want that for them so bad! 

The Wynonna and Nedley convo at the cemetery was so good too. I love that this show/cast can basically put any two people together in a scene and they’re so good together in said scene. 

Wayhaught on stakeout duty up top while Wynonna and Doc handle things on the ground was epic. And then when Nedley joined in…amazing lol

Loved seeing Wynonna being the badass we know her to be and taking care of things in her chaotic way and getting Nicole’s wedding ring back 🥰

I’m still shocked they went there with Doc and killing him but I do think it will end up being temporary if they end up doing more. It’s so sad to do that to Wynonna AGAIN too after she dealt with Dolls dying on top of everything else…stop torturing this poor woman already!! 

It also seemed odd to me how none of them really had a reaction to Doc’s death…wonder if that was supposed to mean something. I’m glad they had Jeremy show up at this point though. 

Wayhaught’s goodbye before Waverly leaves 😭 and Waverly saying goodbye to Wynonna too 😭…but excited for Waverly to have this journey and now Wynonna and Nicole working together…it leaves so much left for them to still do which I like. 

Nedley watching Nicole and Wynonna like a proud dad ❤️ great ending with the last shot being that sign and Earp mailbox...very well done! 

I do wish Rachel could have been involved (I loved her dynamic with Nicole especially in Season 4 and she is so Wayhaught's child) but Emily kind of explained that we'll see why she wasn't involved in the audiobook thing so I'm intrigued by that.

I also was kind of hoping we'd get more of just Wayhaught in general but of course I'm biased since they're my favorite part of the show/series and that we'd get more of them being intimate together but it was a lot more of it being implied (which I did enjoy and found funny especially in the way Wynonna would do it) and I get they only had a certain amount of time but now it's just made me want more of them in general so I do hope we get more now 🤞🏻

[ganeshpnf]

To the anon that sent me an ask about asking my thoughts about the tv show, Im so sorry but something happened and I think it got deleted 😭 But dw I would still answer it here-

So this would be a critism post and I want to make it clear that everyone is free to reblog and comment their thoughts freely, while being kind. Critism is valid and its not rude, but any bad comments or hateful remarks to any actor, especially child actors, would be deleted. I dont like blocking so dont make me please!

Okay to start, I would be so honest and say I did not find the show successful and I did not like it. I would explain all the reasons, but did it make me feel nostalgia a bit? Yes it did. Did it make me cry at the end? Yes :) I would add pros at the end. But first:

Cgi was really bad, I mean that claiming scene would be a laughing stock in a few years. Chimera? Nope- Medusa's hair also looked better in that movie in 2010. Also they avoided showing Grover's legs so much, also didn't even show us riptide's change...They got 15M per episode and if these are the results, then it is a problem. Background of Percy and Ares's fight- so so greenscreen. I wish Disney can take things seriously.

Lighting was so dark, especially for the lighting thief. Which was such a humor filled book and it was way too colorful. Why make it all so dark and lifeless?

Also humor? Way too low for pjo. "But we are not reading Percy's mind!" Yet, there were so many jokes in the books that could have been add, but they didn't. Yes there are some good jokes (pinecone fate) but to the standart, I expected to laugh way more. Its pjo!

Changes? Well to be honest I am a person who keeps book and show separate, I dont think they are the same at all. So I dont complain about the changes at much. But most of the changes were pointless to me and so many things left unsaid. I wish they didn't make Gabe way too soft. Children's show, yes. But then again, what would you do for later seasons if they cant even show Crusty's dead. Sally's real reason to marry Gabe never get explained, why? 4 pearls, why? Missing deadline? Totally pointless. Not mentioning Riptide's name? Chiron might have say it. Love tunnel? Now its a long one. Rick explained they couldn't do spiders and its hilarious, you gotta do sea monsters man- And instead of a chance to see an actual comedy: live on Olympus and Annabeth losing her shit. We get to see such a early scene of Percabeth drama. Why changing one of the funniest scene in the books to drama? You needed more edits for view or smt? Hephaestus falling over to the speech of friendship was nothing but cringe to me. Moving on, Thalia's acting to Annabeth. Why she is not nice to her and Annabeth had to earn her love. The point was Thalia to remember Jason and taking Annabeth under her wings immediatly bcs of it. Medusa's scene- Instead of us laughing to trio's silly behaviours and falling to her trap like little kids would, we get to hear a monster-hero talk. Yay another speech! Ovid's side of the story also bothered me. Greek mythology, why adding Ovid? Just us to sympatize with Medusa. Lotus Casino scene- We could have watch them have fun and going crazy but noo- they had do add more drama with Hermes. Did not see the point of his appearing either. Why is he there? I wanted to see them being children...And wanted to see the magic of the place!

Now if I move to characters, Percy's I know it all side is just annoying and adds no suspense to the viewers. What's the point if he knows everything already? "But his mom taught him!" But guys, remember, the whole point of pjo was: us to learn with Percy! We were learning the Greek myths with Percy, who is new to the world. They go somewhere and Percy immediatly: "You are Crusty, my mom told stories about you!" 😑 What a relief then! You tell us. Percy's sudden bravery at the end? Dude, he has 5 books for that.

Annabeth turning to a stoic child soldier? Suddenly goody-two shoes? Where are her emotions? Her fears? Her flaws? Her fricking love of architecture? She doesnt need to know everything to be smart girl. She had ADHD, she is 12! Ofc she was supposed to fall in traps. We should have watch her blushing as Luke talks, getting all wet by Percy in the toilet, she was supposed to our little girl. She is not just a badass queen yet, please. Give her personality back. Why she only smiled once at the end of the series? And not having a childhood, not even watched a movie? You guys cant be serious- She grew up in chb! She picked up strawberries, she played games and she watched movies when she was little, remember? She was not in legion... She is one of the most emotional characters, should we remind this to Rick and writers? She cries, she has feeling! Dam she was crying when they left Cerberus! She was a trouble-maker, she stole clothes, remember? Her portrayal was awful...

And about the Gods- Just..."He is trying to make them look awful at the beginning" Then why the hell it was only Athena? Almost turning her to second Zeus- Are you kidding me? You make her suddenly a child killer, when in the books she was nothing like that. Why making her worse, when other gods(Poseidon, Hermes, Hephaestus,Dionysus,Ares,Hades) seem way more human and nicer? You cant tell me he tries to make them worse when they are portrayed like that! No sir- Hephaestus is nice enough to release Percy after a friendship speech. Poseidon is suddenly a perfect dad, he is not sorry that Percy is born. Ares is just a dumb twitter bully, where in the books he was threating them to no end. And fricking Hades?! I am sorry but Hades like that- He should have been scary. But no, he is just a lonely cool guy. I thought he softened after Nico. Cant wait for the development now...

Other than that, one of my most important things: vibe. Sorry...Like I said, it was way too boring for pjo. Even that horrible movies had more vibe! Gimme the vibe!

Pacing? Has a problem and I hope they fix it. Episodes being too short? Also another issue.

Now for the chb, I was hoping to see more activity. Why the camp is not full of noisy kids running around, playing hide and seek like in the books, training wild around the areas, camfire and silly songs? Where are our children screaming and being ADHD demigods? Instead they play chess in the cabin- Please, give more life to chb.

Finally, for the things I liked:

Riptide song!!! That song is my favourite thing in the whole show- Like its soo good.

Seeing Sally's struggle to raise Percy. Also a plus for me. Because I was curious. Also adding Poseidon to the scene was okay. I loved that parts.

Young Percy did awesome and he was such a good actor :)

Percy's dreams were good, I loved seeing them. Congrats! Andd, child accurate cast. It was important. But I wish they hurry so then we wont have it anymore 😭

That was it! Like I said, I find it a bad show, as a fan of 12 years. I waited this for so many years. I was dreaming this. But sorry, bad show is a bad show. At least it did give me some nostalgia and it did make me cry at the end :) I hope they improve because it would suck if they get a cancel before season 5. The bad thing is, I feel they knew we pjo fandom wanted a show for years. And they knew we would eat the crumbs. Its just not fair, you know. They would like it anyway, type. They are not taking it as seriously as they should. With that budget, look at other shows with that budget. I know, its still a kids' show. But I dont think its an excuse for them to upset the fans who waited this long...

Thanks for the ask anon! And like I said, feel free to add your thoughts :)

[rosepinks-world]

safe place| Simon Riley X Reader

Summary: After witnessing your first death on a mission, ghost comforts you in an odd way.

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* ✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* ✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* ✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* ✧･ﾟ

Blood.

It was everywhere. It covered the floor it covered your face, your hair, your uniform and it covered Ghost.

A soldier you and Ghost had been working with for the past month was dead.

Blown up by an enemy grenade.

All you could remember was your ears ringing and your heart aching. Ghost had grabbed your arm and you both set off running to the nearest safe house.When you’d arrived you rushed into the bathroom, Ghost followed immediately.

You both began stripping your now blood soaked uniforms and your clothes underneath. You both didn’t really care about being exposed in front of each other. You just wanted to wash off the blood of your dead friend.

But you seemed to want to more.

Ghost was used to seeing people die so he didn’t really care as much, but you were shaking, trying to pull off your uniform as quick as possible.

You were both in your underwear now and he still had his balaclava on. You both stood awkwardly staring at each other until you turned around allowing some privacy for him and he did the same.

You both stripped making sure to not turn around, yet you both wanted to. To just see what one another looked like properly, to know each other and feel content.

You both stepped into the bath still not facing eachother and the water quickly turned red

You tried to hold it in you really did but it was too much, too fucking much.

He heard your slight sniffles and began to internally curse. Fuck sake.

‘I’m so sorry sir, this is so unprofessional.’

Oh god he didn’t even care. Being professional was completely out of the window, you both were sitting naked in a bathtub for gods sakes.

‘This is my first loss on a mission I’m just not used to it.’

He found this rather funny. You two were so different. He knew loss, loneliness and grief better than he actually knew himself whereas you were the opposite. You’d never experienced loss like he had, until now and this was only the beginning.

He tilted his head up and leaned backwards pressing his large back against yours.

It surprised you.

Simon Riley showing affection?

You moved forward as you were still slightly unsettled, but then steadied your breathing and moved back into the contact.

‘I remember my first loss.’ He started.

‘I reacted like you, just less tears.’

You let out a breath through your nose smiling. You couldn’t laugh properly but you wanted to let Ghost know that what he’d said had cheered you up slightly.

‘It’s fucking miserable to say, but you just get used to it.’

You nodded, even though he couldn’t see you.

He then found himself acting with his heart rather than his head. Something he had not done in years.

You just had that affect on him.

He reached down into the now red water and grabbed your hand.

You flinched slightly, not expecting it but when you realised where you were and who you were with you felt safe.

Ironically.

You grabbed his hand back. And you both just sat in the tub for a few minutes.

To anyone else you would’ve looked crazy. Sat in a tiny, dirty bathtub, with blood stained water, back to back naked with your co worker holding hands.

But to the two of you it meant something.

It was a simple unspoken gesture but it made you two feel safe. And that’s all you both wanted to feel, for as long as you could feel.

Safe.

Whilst it seemed like the world around you was burning, you had each other and that’s all you needed.

(reminded me of this scene from casino royale.)

Happy new year!!

[zero-rabbit]

Pirated the percy jackson series and oh my god it is not that good.

Like I get that Rick doesn't like the movies but does he also not like fun?

There are multiple funny and realistic scenes that are cut. It makes Percy and the gang feel perfect and not like 14 year olds on their first quest.

And the casino scene. Is. Bad.

Because Percy immediately notices that something is up and they leave. Which means the Lotus Casino just sucks at its job. If the kid that's been a demigod for a week immediately knows some things up.

And it's not through a bunch of kids wearing outdated fashion (because that requires a character to not look modern in the mystical hotel that traps you) he just knows immediately (and Luke's backstory is given in this episode. Instead of later when Luke is the traitor. Because putting it there makes too much sense)

It is a running theme that Percy knows everything about every threat immediately. Which is stupid. If there is no unknown threat there is no point.

Myths are built on a threat that you do not understand. Especially Greek myths. And to have every character that encounters a threat to figure it out instantly is bad.

Because there is no tension.

There is no how will they get out? How will they win? Because they already know the exact threat they're facing. They already know what exactly to do to win. It feels cheap.

Now the movies are not the best (I don't think they're like the worst thing to come out of the franchise. I actually enjoy them) but at least they were fun.

The Lotus Casino was fun. Sure our characters were being drugged but at least it was fun. Poker face was playing and you could understand wanting to stay there forever.

But by trying to erase the movies completely and not learn what did and didn't work in them the show suffers.

You know how everyone says those that erase history are doomed to repeat it. Well that's not entirely true. By erasing everything from your failure you may have erased the failures shortcomings but you also erased it's strengths.

I have more fun watching the inaccurate movies than the accurate tv show.

Because the movies weren't trying to be the complete opposite of a perceived failure. They were just being some inaccurate fun.

And I think the tv show could learn from the movies. Instead of pretending the movies never ever mattered.

[metalandmagi]

The differences in Aspec representation

(and why variety is important) I didn't know what to title this, but since it's pride month, I wanted to talk about two books that I just read and the different approaches they take to aspec representation....mainly because no one I know would read these and I just wanted to talk about them lol

Book 1: Attached at the Hip by Christine Riccio.

This is a New Adult romcom where our main character, an extremely co-dependent 23 year old woman named Orie competes in a Survivor type reality TV show to prove to her family that she is totally not co-dependent (and you know, to win the prize money and stuff).

This book is what I like to call "accidental" or "sneaky" aspec rep. What the fuck does that mean, you ask? I call it that because the author includes a scene in the book where Orie is talking to another character about her view of romance, and the other character makes the comment that it seems like Orie is demisexual or demiromantic or aspec. And since Orie is not the kind of person who thought to ever google her sexuality, we're kind of just left to sit with that. So even though the main character never calls herself demi, the readers know that she is. And more importantly, the themes in this book are so attuned to the aspec experience it's not even funny.

Remember how I said Orie is co-dependent? Well, the main conflict of this book is Orie coming to terms with being able to do things by herself and struggling with the fear that her family and friends will all abandon her one day because she feels like a perpetual burden or third wheel. She wants to find her perfect fairytale romance, but she has a hard time connecting with people that way, so for a while she thinks it's best to stay with her boyfriend that she clearly feels nothing for, just because she feels like she's supposed to. By the end of the book, Orie feels like she must pivot into being able to do EVERYTHING by herself because she might be forced to eventually. Sound familiar? I can't speak for everyone, but this is something most aspec people struggle with their entire lives. Yes allo people can have this fear too, but I feel like it hits us differently. Because the world doesn't treat platonic friendships as importantly as it should, and because we don't view romance or sex the same way as most people, we are left with that fear of exclusion all the time!

This book is the aspec experience, whether the author intended it to be or not, and it actually hit me much harder than I thought it would because I was completely blindsided by it. It's a super funny, heartwarming romcom, especially for fans of Survivor. I loved it because it made me feel even more seen than a coming-of-age grapple with sexuality like Loveless did. And I don't even know if it was on purpose. I've followed Christine Riccio for a very long time, and idk if she is some form of demi, but her characters and themes (even in her other books) make it seem that way.

Book 2: Aces Wild by Amanda Dewitt.

As you can probably guess, this book is completely, unapologetically ace in its representation. The plot revolves around a group of aspec teenagers who rob a casino in Vegas. Which means that yes, it's basically a modern AU Six of Crows fanfic where the author wondered, "What if Kaz Brekker grew up as the rich heir to a casino empire?"

I promise I don't mean that like an insult, because I actually liked the book a fair bit, especially the writing style. It's hilarious and fast paced, and as someone who is extremely familiar with casinos, this is the kind of book that makes me angry because I should have written it first.

The thing about this book compared to Attached At The Hip is the fact that the characters are aspec is completely irrelevant to the story. AND THAT IS TOTALLY OKAY! AUTHORS DO NOT OWE IT TO PEOPLE TO MAKE EVERY QUEER STORY A COMING-OF-AGE STRUGGLE WITH SEXUALITY! This book is a fun romp, and the fact that the characters are aspec doesn't really make a difference to anything at all. The main character still has a crush, and there is still romance just like any typical YA romcom. HOWEVER, my only real problem with this book stems from the side characters feeling like cardboard cutouts with no reason to feel like they're all friends. Their interactions aren't bad, but the book relies on the fact that our main group is all aspec to convince the audience why they're friends. We get a little bit of backstory about how they're all nerds who met in a chat room, but not much depth to them. There are too many side characters and too few pages for anyone (except the main character) to feel fleshed out. It's because of this that it feels like the aspec rep is sort of...an afterthought. I don't know if the author is aspec (and it shouldn't matter either way) but I don't like it when characters (especially ace characters) feel like afterthoughts. We get enough of that in real life.

But that doesn't change the fact that this is the only book I've read (or media I've encountered in general) where the majority of the characters are aspec. It's a hilarious good time, and this type of low stakes representation is just as important! It's important to show that aspec people exist without needing to fit a "coming to terms with your sexuality" kind of narrative.

So yeah, this was just my excuse to get my thoughts in order, and to try and convince people to read these 😅

[rxyhiraeth]

thoughts on pjo ep 6

also SPOILERS FOR PJO

i’m just kinda getting all my thoughts out on this episode! it was very interesting and VERY different from the books but not in a terrible way! i trust uncle rick with this show and im more so just curious why some things were changed from the books so much, and im sure a lot of these are going to be answered themselves in these last 2 episodes.

i also love hearing everyone’s ideas about what is going to happen from this point on cause ik even book fans are LOST

no zebra moment! i can’t think of any other moments in TLT that would give us time to learn about percy being able to talk to them, so this is probably going to get brought up for the first time with the hippocampi in SOM which actually works out. i would have loved to see this scene, but i can get that it would have taken up a good chunk of time, and for production reasons probably had to be skipped for now or entirely cut from the season.

clarisse?? traitor?? *LOUD INCORRECT BUZZER NOISE* i have my thoughts on why they did this, but also not?? i figured they did this to balance out the conversation percy and annabeth have with hermes about luke in order to take some attention away from it as to not make it TOO obvious he is the real traitor, but also why even have that conversation about luke in the first place then?? idk. i’m not sure if this is something that will be explained or make more sense with the rest of the season, and if not, i hope uncle rick can explain why this choice was made. there are so many choices in this episode that i would love to hear explained as to why they decided on it!

going off the last point, i do feel like they are slightly forcing the luke is the traitor point for the audience. we never got this much about luke in the books while they were on their quest, and even when he was talked about, nothing really pointed in the direction of him being the traitor. maybe im just an idiot but i remember the luke reveal being pretty shocking! i hope they don’t force it too much and allow everyone to guess it before the reveal even happens! maybe this is just me wanting it to be just like the books, but i guess they do need to hint at it here and there in ways the books didn’t?

also am a little weary about the “old married couple” comment. i hope they don’t speedrun their relationship. this is a SLOWBURN i hope it stays this way!

i get not having poker face in the casino. rick HATES those movies and probably wants to make this as different as possible while still being accurate to the books. honestly tho, dua lipa was a good ass choice. i can’t complain about that.

HELLO I HEAR NICO!!!!

also CAMP JUPITER CAMPERS???? MAYBE???

besides being confused as to why the casino scene itself was pretty different from the books, it was a great event regardless. extremely well produced and was so fun to look at and watch for little details with everyone in the background. that being said, i was hoping for a bit more of a montage type scene. percy and annabeth didn’t get to have any real fun like in the books, it was mostly all grover. i don’t really know shit about production of tv shows and such, but i’m shocked the casino scene was changed this much from the book. but uncle rick i trust you wholeheartedly.

i did love them using the casino card to get a taxi to santa monica, but the hermes taxi in this was better. i was giggling the whole time. percy “i fought and killed a minotaur how hard can driving be” jackson my sweet child. and percy running the taxi into the damn wall because he was busy looking at annabeth??? love them so much

the only two things that REALLY confused me as they are changing major plot points:

1: 4 pearls?

2: the solstice is OVER??

the 4 pearls defeats the whole purpose of them arguing about who is going to stay in the underworld. either this plot point is going to change a lot, OR they are going to lose one of the pearls on the way, but if that is the case, what’s the point of giving them 4 if they are still going to end up with 3? i’m assuming it is going to be the former option, as getting 4 just to lose 1 for the sake of it doesn’t make much sense.

solstice??? over??? i’m very confused on this. this feels like it defeats the whole purpose of continuing the quest, but obviously percy is still determined to get sally (king), so we aren’t just ending the quest. i’m curious to see how these two plot points effect the rest of the season and why these were chosen instead of keeping the original plot!

overall i did really like this episode!! obviously it was very different from the book, but we can’t expect this entire show to be EXACTLY like the book. i would love to hear rick talk about a lot of the choices made throughout the season and why they were done. he has seemed very proud of this show and how it has played out, so i trust him with whatever he decides to do with it.

also if you have thoughts on the reasoning behind any of these changes PLS I WANNA KNOW

[rustedpipe]

things that happened on degrassi but i make them about riverdale

they had cheryl say cuckoo bananas one time, zig novak was heraldo, and also vanessa morgan was mike dallas's baby mama so like clearly there's existing connections here. and just like riverdale and degrassi writers-- i love putting characters into situations. so. without further ado..... things that happen on degrassi (tng & next class) that should've happened on riverdale.

betty pelts dodgeballs at jughead during gym class after he is vague about going on a date or not

dolly zoom on archie's face as fred says "your mom is gay"

betty and gay kevin have a fight while filming a fake commercial for unisex cologne for class

^ this with gay kevin

reggie does elaborate business deals with locker trading so that veronica can have the best one

archie sending veronica flowers with a card that says ”you rock! xoxo archie”

jughead choking and needing the heimlich but refusing to let gay kevin give him the heimlich because it would mean gay kevin has to touch him.

betty getting into an actual violent physical fight with blood with a random girl at school

^ okay go watch this video right now you only need to watch like the first minute exactly. the rest is completely optional. i have several scenarios in mind here:

- idea one is gay kevin having issues with fangs for the billionth time and so when in doubt kiss archie? - idea two is something jarchie related either betty or veronica is the dylan here . - IDEA THREE IS DYLAN=JUGHEAD GAY MARCO=ARCHIE. SO WHEN IN DOUBT KISS REGGIE?! - but also. the very first episode of riverdale is veronica so when in doubt you kiss betty. okay like realistically the scene is not like that but i think they shouldve let betty say "so when in doubt you kiss betty." for me personally. she would not fucking say that but i want her to

veronica and jughead go to the college admissions fair while extremely high.

RAS plays a similar role to kevin smith and gives advice to cheryl about being gay

kangs toxic poker game. what more can i say

veronica: as you and jughead’s closest friends- jughead: oh actually i don’t really like you. veronica: SHH!

natasha bedingfield performs at prom. archie gets to dance his heart out and cry a little to unwritten. and pocket full of sunshine woah oh

toni gets so much into vampire books that she makes out with cheryl and thinks about vampires too hard and bites her on the neck (this would be a great reference to vanessa morgan's time on another canadian teen show my babysitter's a vampire and also i think we should let toni be a little crazy for fun)

lgbt mixer at la bonne nuit. nothing crazy happens on the degrassi episode but i just wish it had happened on riverdale. like maybe veronica and kevin sing same love or born this way. (again that did not happen on degrassi just using the fact they did an lgbt mixer at the teen speakeasy as a jumping off point.)

when jughead gets hired by tabitha at pops, he immediately burns down the restaurant. they then go to a casino in niagra falls and get vegas-style married

cheryl adopts a pig (that later destroys her house) instead of coping with being alone

reggie attends a meeting about homophobia brought on by locker room bullying and someone explains the definition of internalized homophobia and he says out loud "im a homophobe" and starts crying

jughead poisons bret with stuff that makes you throw up. this involves cups being switched and a reference to roman history (but in the riverdale version betty supports and enables it)

jughead writes a story about a girl getting stalked who has a protective boyfriend trying to stop it but he makes the ending be that the boyfriend realizes he can never protect her from the stalker so he kills her. and betty is like dude um what that is insane. and hes genuinely like what it's just a story. later jughead ends up still not being able to figure out an ending and burns the script on stage while having a breakdown

they have to build rube goldberg machines for class. it doesnt matter who i just want this to be something

fp and alice wedding where bughead break up and get back together like five times about it

core four smokes weed during 2x14 The Hills Have Eyes (degrassi had an episode where teens were unsupervised in a cabin. Just Like.)

gay kevin does a gay musical production of romeo and juliet.

some film guy that jughead adores comes and does a guest lecture and so in order to impress the guy he smokes weed with chic and makes a terrible insane short film to show said film guy

timeskip jughead does mdma at an artsy party where people are very high and painting with their bodies on the walls and floors. in order to avoid his problems.

gay kevin wears a beret at least once

^ bughead texts

veronica sings triangle tra la le la by patsy cline while in the midst of one of her 'reggie or archie' moments

betty gets really into axe throwing with lesbians (the pretty poisons) in the woods

unfortunately i cannot find a video uploaded of gay tristan performing it but. gay kevin voice riverdale you make drama look! so! good!

veronica trying to tank her father's mayoral campaign by being gay with betty and outing hiram as a homophobe

reggie: for the last time i'm not gay. or homophobic. just missing my best bro....

jughead won't shut up in class so cheryl cuts off some of her hair and then asks jughead to hold the scissors for a sec. and then she raises her hand and tells the teacher jughead cut her hair

beronica has a heartfelt moment about admitting feelings for each other and in the middle of it reggie walks up to them with saddest look on his face and says "am i hotter than archie? be honest. actually don't." and then walks away

veronica comes out to avoid political backlash and the word gets around to hermione who tries to comfort her by saying "no one's gonna believe you're gay. it happens to all powerful women. even hillary"

cheryl and veronica have a fake trial in class over twitter beef

cheryl auditions for a boy part in a play directed by gay kevin. gay kevin initially says no, but cheryl points out that it should be about relating to the pain of the character, not gender. gay kevin agrees and says that he is going to play the part himself because no one understands what he's going through better than him, right?

i'm constructing a reality where fangs is dating gay kevin when he is in the infamous bus crash but instead of dying he goes into a coma. and gay kevin is loyally by his bedside until he snaps like three months in and hooks up with moose. the night he does that, fangs wakes up from said coma.

veronica, speaking to reggie: even though we're a toxic couple, i really miss you and i want our break to be over.

betty has a terrible reaction to weed and someone finds her sadly eating slices of bread from a bag saying “i thought the bread would make me less high but it isnt working”

and finally, and crucially, they should've done a shark in the water style promo for at least one of the seasons. thanks for tuning in.

[heavenbelongstociaran]

me and my wilmon playlist

i like to think of myself as the second coming of christ when it comes to making playlists right, and i have this completely reasonable in length young royals playlist and i feel like i nailed it, in terms of the general vibe of the show AND scene specific themes.

ANYWAY, the reason i'm bringing it up is because i think there are a few songs that are very season specific that are in there.

season 1: visions of gideon by sufjan stevens

I KNOW everyone and their mother would agree that this song is very tragically wilmon.

"I have loved you for the last time

Is it a video? Is it a video?

I have touched you for the last time

Is it a video? Is it a video?"

giving very much episode six, when simon and wille were saying goodbye just before wille left for the palace. even though simon was being reassuring, comforting and encouraging (calling him brave, saying the royal court couldn't force him to do something he didn't want to do), wille (imo) didn't seem to believe him. and i think the way they kissed just made it seem like wille had already made his mind up, even though he said that he wouldn't lie about the video. it felt like he knew he was going to do it, and that it would inevitably be the end of the relationship, hence the lyrics being "i have loved/touched you for the last time."

honourable mentions include:

i'm your man by mitski

on and on by djo

favourite crime by olivia rodrigo

love in the dark by adele

it almost worked by tv girl

hurts me too by faye webster

take me home by pinkpantheress

let light be light by lizzy mcalpine

season 2: crack baby by mitski

gonna start with the honourable mentions first because there are loads:

i loved you by sunday cruise

thursday girl by mitski

why didn't you stop me by mitski

capable of love by pinkpantheress

genuinely, there are so many more but these are the ones that popped into my head as i was scrolling through the playlist.

you know that one saying that's like, "you never know how good you had it until it's gone" or however it goes? that's how season 2 felt.

both simon and wille were trying to recreate what they had or could have had with other people (marcus and felice, respectively) and realised that that would be impossible.

"Crack baby, you don't know what you want But you know that you had it once And you know that you want it back Crack baby, you don't know what you want But you know that you're needing it And you know that you need it bad"

said realisation definitely hurt wille incredibly, considering he said he wished it hadn't happened. it made him realise what life could be like, but he threw that away because he thought he was doing the right thing by denying the video ("protecting" simon). i actually have no idea how to explain this but like, trust me bro.

season 3: too many to name.

heaven by mitski. these fuckers were so in love this season, it was quite sickening (/affection). thinking about season three wilmon makes me want to cry, ignoring their communication issues, and other things that had a negative impact on their relationship.

a part of that by anna kendrick. HERE ME OUT. so, the song is from the movie adaptation of the play "the last five years" and anna's character, kathy, is watching her husband succeed and do all these amazing things in his life and is wondering where she fits into all of it. in season three and maybe the whole series, there's the topic of where the big five fit into the society or positions they're placed in and their positions in each other's lives. wille's struggle w/the monarchy and wanting out, august wanting in (for example).

dark circles by ryan beatty. this has simon written all over it.

casino by ryan beatty.

capable of love by pinkpantheress. goes with what i yapped about regarding season two. whenever they break, or rather when simon breaks up with simon, they seem to feel like this is the be all, end all of everything and that they won't love anyone ever again. in capable of love, pinkpantheress is saying that people pretend that the bond that she has with her love interest doesn't exist, ie people ignoring the fact that simon and wille were together at one point and only acknowledging wille when he got with felice BUT she also says that that doesn't matter, considering everything they went through to get to where they are now. she goes on to say that she'll never be able to love anyone the same way if they were to ever break up and i think that, throughout the series, this has shone through.

ribbons by ryan beatty. https://genius.com/31122186/Ryan-beatty-ribbons/Whos-gonna-hold-you-while-you-sleep-well-its-brave-to-be-nothing-to-no-one-at-all

little faith by ryan beatty!!!!!! (quite frankly, the entire album, Calico.)

general

there are a lot of songs that could encompass the show. capable of love. literally any loyle carner song about struggling with your identity and familial relationships and breaking cycles (polyfilla). sufjan stevens (mystery of love, everything that rises). so on and so forth. but wilmon and the young royals are not one dimensional enough to be described by one or eighteen songs, they're a whole catalogue. that playlist on paper is the most random thing i have ever crafted because fo&o, boygenius and brockhampton have no right to be in the same playlist, but hurt like we did, cool about it and any way want me absolutely deserve to be together; in a cool way, i think that's literally what simon and wille are like: on paper, they don't make sense. the crown prince of sweden, white and privileged and a gay brown boy from a small town who just happens to be an antimonarchist, but if you take that all away, they're two boys trying to find their place in the world, making mistakes.

feel free to give feedback and song recs !!!

playlist links:

apple music: https://music.apple.com/za/playlist/young-royals-but-i-made-the-soundtrack/pl.u-6mo4ZzvSBedVApW

spotify: (i haven't updated it on there in at least six months): https://open.spotify.com/playlist/25Pf9bDFBl6vtXOH9cvJC5?si=0b8a0ff36bb5435e

[dflogerzi]

Okay here goes. My Mikhail Baryshnikov Story.

Full disclosure... I am not a huge fan. I adored Rudolf Nureyev who was not as gifted as Baryshnikov technically when I saw them... but he could enter a stage, strike a pose and he was all art. I was so honored to meet him. He would just hang out and talk to anyone. What a man he was. Soooo... the story will start when I first started seriously dancing. A bit later than most. 

Before I enlisted in the Navy I spent two years as a cocktail waitress at Harrah’s Casino in South Lake Tahoe. I know right? Like who does that? OMG I have a ton of stories about those two years. Anyway, I had always sort of danced. But here is what happened to me. There was a show called Bedazzle, and I had made friends with someone in the show. They actually had a daily ballet class... because, ballet is the root of everything. They invited me, I braved it and showed up. These were professional dancers mind you. And they welcomed me. I went immediately on pointe. We all just paid for the studio time by putting a dollar in a jar and I am not kidding. 

To let you all know... The show moved to Reno and the dancers wanted me to try out and go with them. I chose a more serious path. I have never regretted it. 

So after I got out of the Navy I continued to take classes. And I taught ballet as well. I one day found out about tryouts at the Shrine Auditorium for extra work for American Ballet Theatre. I was going there as if my life depended on it. Ballet mad. So I went, and what.....? They hired me. I did it for three years folks. And loved every second. I have so many stories. But you are here for the funny one with Mikhail.

So here it goes. No wait... I have a funnier story first of when he yelled at me. Yes I got yelled at by him. How funny is that? You have not lived fully unless Baryshnikov has yelled at you. So this one first. I was in a rehearsal for the ballet Sleeping Beauty. There was this scene where we had umbrellas. And we had been told to drop them and close them BEHIND us. OMG. I kept dropping mine and closing it in front of me. I got a Russian chewing out believe me. He was the artistic director and I was not making him happy. ha.

So here is the story of me almost knocking the man down. This was Sleeping Beauty third act. I was dressed in this Marie Antoinette style of gown. I think I was hired those years for my body style. So I had this gown, we got these huge wigs, and then feathers on the top. I would have been welcomed in Versailles. This one performance I was late, blame it on the dresser. At the Shrine there is this small door between the stage and a backstage type room. I think it is where they held banquets once upon a time for the Oscars etc... So I am late for my call and rushing and boom... I ran into Baryshnikov straight in the doorway, in all my towering glory... and he bounced off me. 

So embarrassing. 

I am Forrest Gump. Yep. I have more stories. Forgive me for it. Going to post this and if there is mistakes in spelling etc. sorry. I try to do good work. x

[abooklover]

Rewatching the first two episodes of the Percy Jackson series for like the fifth time like any sane person and just wanted to make a comprehensive (and I mean comprehensive so bear with me here) list of all my thoughts, however unhinged they may be so here goes.

EPISODE 1

Walker’s monologue at the beginning gives such great background and I’m not gonna lie it destroyed me hearing ‘look I didn’t want to be a half-blood’ as the first words. Not to mention the fact that half of that monologue is pretty much word for word from the book which is something I die over whenever it happens

Blackjack looking out for Percy - we love a bit of foreshadowing

The light that comes into the picture when he says things changed when he met Grover. This is literally everything to me, I am so glad even just in the first two episodes they’re showing how strong of a bond they have. Also let’s not forget that they have Mythomagic cards

Sally Jackson (my goddess) imparting words of fucking wisdom - ‘not everyone who looks like a hero is a hero and not everyone who looks like a monster is a monster’

Also her explaining to Percy the story of Perseus (his name sake) - like I am sorry but the centring of the mother/son relationship which only amplifies once Percy loses her is something I don’t know how to explain how much I love (like her even prays to her over his father who is a literal god but we’ll get to that later). ‘hold fast Perseus, brave the storm that was made to break us for we are unbreakable as long as we have each other’ 😭

‘hang on to that, it is a mighty instrument’ - oh yeah it is

Grover spouting scientific facts about bullying - ‘childhood trauma, feelings of inadequacy’ - like he’s written a research paper on it 🤣

Percy and Grover swapping things on their sandwich like they’re siblings

‘I was thinking more like shoving Nancy in the nearest dumpster’ and there mischievous smile afterwards - oh I love you Percy

Grover saying ‘If there’s one thing I know about bullies, you should never stand up to them’ and Percy saying ‘that doesn’t sound right’

I was a little underwhelmed with the whole Mrs Dodds encounter. I don’t know I think I just expected something longer and with the whole drama of Mr Brunner throwing Percy the pen but I think maybe in hindsight it makes more sense cause it’s easier to convince Percy that it didn’t happen

Gotta say that the first time I watched the scene in the principals office I did not even realise Rick was in it but now I can’t not see him

Grover ‘betraying’ Percy was heartbreaking cause you know Grover doesn’t want to do it but knows that he has to and you know that Percy feels like he has lost the only friend he had

Actually really glad that Eddie is a nice sympathetic guy not one of Gabe’s poker buddies

Still disappointed by Gabe - I still think he needed to be a bit more grimy and disgusting (and the way he talks in the scene was just not right for me, don’t know whether it was the acting or the script but it was a no from me). Though Percy’s ‘Losing at imaginary poker’ line was funny

Logical and Sally Jackson. That is all. Just know that I actively sob every time I watch this. Also her sitting in the rain so contentedly will never not hit me, on a personal level knowing how certain things can just provide peace and an escape from life otherwise but also more contextually with her and Poseidon (bottom line: water is the ultimate comfort)

Of course Sally believes Percy and brings him blue candy. Keeping the most important themes of the book. The mother-son bond (which I will to more later) and the blue

I always thought Brunner was pronounced runner but with a b in front of it

D’Angelo’s - yes I will take any peace of nico that I am given (fingers crossed for the lotus casino scenes)

My kin sally Jackson crying in a car while watching her son sleep knowing what lies ahead, nope sorry but I’m not okay and neither is she

‘You fell in love with god, like-like Jesus?’ - oh Percy my love. If nothing else this is who Percy Jackson is.

Percy fully believing that something is wrong with him because that’s what he’s always been told

‘What is he doing here, I don’t want to see him’. Grover and his impeccable timing and panic. Don’t get me started on why I think the ‘You didn’t tell him about me?’, ‘You’re early’ exchange between Grover and Sally is the funniest thing to me.

‘Why is there half a goat in your pants?’ and ‘Why is it wearing underpants?’ - Percy asking the important questions here

I honestly don’t know how they didn’t figure out Percy was Poseidon’s son after the whole Nancy no of it and then Clarissa like it was quite obvious

‘I’m actually 24’ oh Grover we know you bleat when you’re anxious

Sally’s goodbye to Percy - I am a sucker for sadness

I do agree that riptide should be bigger but the only thing I can think is that maybe it’ll grow with him

EPISODE 2

‘You drool when you sleep’ the iconic line. It kinda disappointed me not going to lie.

PETER JOHNSON-pretending to be Percy’s father-PETER-using Percy to break the rules Dionysus introduction and pipeline (oh he is horribly perfect)

‘Yeah but did you’ persassy is in the house and I hope he never leaves (one of my favourite lines and the way walker delivers it is perfection)

Camp looks incredible. I know people have issues with the grandeur of it all but that’s the way things work in the film industry and I personal adore it

And can we talk about Chiron’s injured back leg. Like am I forgetting something (probably) but I don’t remembered him being injured

For those who don’t know, finding out that like is the bad guy is probably gonna destroy them. Charlie bushnell really was like I’m gonna make everyone love me only for them to be crushed (and even though I know I am still gonna hurt - yes I have a soft spot for Luke)

I was so confused when Grover went into the woods and saw the council (it was the only part that I was like what in the world is this, this wasn’t in the books)

Luke being the one the comfort Percy and show him around - oh a genius choice narrative wise but I do miss my girl Annabeth

Introduction to Clarisse was everything - Dior is my goddess

‘Should I try again’ and the resounding ‘NO!’

‘Is there a Greek God of disappointment. Maybe someone should ask him if he’s missing a kid’ - Percy Percy Percy stop making me love you more than I already do like I don’t think my heart can take it

Then Chris’s lovely little tangent and Luke going man why the fuck are you saying this and reassuring Percy - you go storyline building up the loveable Luke (I’m already hurting)

‘They like the smell of begging’ - top teir line

‘You burn what you’re gonging to miss the most’ flash forward to Percy taking this and burning his blue candy praying, not to his father who is an actual god, but to his mother (I cannot handle this, like this kid knows that his mum is the real goddess)

Walker’s voice breaking on ‘well’ - I am sobbing

And the fact that he says he made actual friends - the narrative damning us to inevitable torture

The resentment in his voice when talking about his father - I am so glad they leaned into this

I kinda loved the bathroom scene. And how we are first introduced to Annabeth in this and how she is her blunt self (still don’t know how they could not have known)

Like calling Annabeth his little sister and saying he will always be on her side (I am hurting even more - we never get to see Luke’s perspective in the books and this, this absolutely ruined me)

Pronunciation of Thalia is still going to take some getting used to

Chiron forever in that suit jacket and fence is just not sitting right with me - doesn’t fit the whole trainer of warrior vibe he should be giving

‘Not you sunshine’ - honestly better than seaweed brain

Percy tripping over the branch and Annabeth just standing there and her facial expression (on Leah you are everything)

‘When it’s time he’s going to be ready. I know it.’ Cut to a montage of Percy doing the most 12 year old things possible, including but not limited to flossing (which I thought was kind of out of place and cringe) and petting a random gecko (which I thought was out of place but one of the most hilarious things ever so I’ll give it a pass) while his helmet and weapons lay discarded

Percy I thought you were meant to be proving yourself to your dad to get his attention or something, telling people where the flag is to avoid a fight is not exactly how to do that

Honestly any time Dior is on my screen is a good time - her manic laugh and anguished scream Dior is the moment

Annabeth’s bluntness will always be everything to me - ‘listen, Percy, I’m sorry’ and Percy’s ‘what is wrong with you’ (top five moments of the show)

The reveal - Percy Jackson son of Poseidon

‘I am Sally Jackson’s son’ yeah you tell them Percy (you will always be first and foremost Sally Jackson’s son)

[magnorious]

Review: ‘We Take a Zebra to Vegas’, Percy Jackson Episode 6

***Spoilers Ahead for all books and show. TL;DR at the bottom***

After episode 5 I was starting to wonder if episode 3 was a fluke. Here we have the potential for the only non-book reference I wanted in the entire show: Would Nico cameo in the Lotus Casino?

Small, I know, but book fans were robbed of ever seeing him on screen once already when Titan’s Curse was never adapted and with his massive popularity, I was almost certain he’d be here. The closer we got to the Lotus Casino, however, the more I wanted to be wrong. Almost none of the characters look like they’re supposed to, many of them with inconsistent personalities to match. I went from hoping for a blink-and-you’ll miss it reference with a little scruffy 10-year-old that book fans would be able to tell is Nico by his appearance alone to hoping they’d not touch the matter with a 10-foot pole.

After the absurdly dramatic and angsty episode 5 that was supposed to be semi-dangerous and funny, there was a chance to have both the whimsy and wonder of the Lotus Casino, and the rather chilling escape. Before that, the conversation about conservation in the back of the zoo trafficking truck. There was a lot of opportunity for more quiet character moments as well as the adventure and absolutely no need for more nonsense filler.

Onto the episode and given that Hermes is in the thumbnail, are we all in agreement that he only exists here because he’s played by Lin Manuel Miranda? That’s the reason, right? He barely exists in the first book otherwise.

We start right off the bat with more interesting changes. Instead of IM-ing Luke in some random car wash, they do so in the zoo truck. The scene in the book was funnier, because it existed in the place that it did to be funny and the pay-to-pump water gave a clear time limit. But more importantly – they decided to scapegoat Clarisse… for reasons.

Why? Just why? In the book they spend 99% of their quest accusing the wrong person, Hades, and don’t realize they’re wrong until it’s too late. Everyone in the book was like “it’s Hades, it’s gotta be, his kids were Nazis” (a detail I still can’t believe exists, wow). Chiron said it was Hades, everyone said it was Hades, based on ancient biases that Hades spends the entire series proving wrong. He is the best godly parent by a country mile by the end of Book 5 and all of that groundwork started here, when Hades was just as much a victim of the Master Bolt nonsense as everyone else.

Clarisse is neither here nor there, because the writers didn’t have the foresight to script or film any scenes at camp of this random arrest that’s supposed to be important now. The jump cut from ‘the animals have a plan’ to them stopping traffic on the Vegas strip was funny, but it robbed the scene of the seriousness it should have had. More powers Percy doesn’t get: His ability to talk to horses and horse-adjacent animals.

Once they make it to the Lotus Casino, the script does this incredibly irritating thing where it removes the tension of the unknown from every hurdle they meet. Percy’s trapped alone against a mysterious monster in the book and has no idea how to beat it? Nope, Annabeth exposits all over it. They enter a seemingly-abandoned, mortal waterpark and only get suspicious once it’s too late? Nope, Annabeth figures out immediately that it’s a godly amusement park and they must be careful. Two twelve year olds and a satyr are immediately charmed by the glitz and glam of the lotus casino and get trapped for almost the rest of their time limit for the quest? Nope, Grover exposits all over that, too, ruining the mystery and any danger or threat.

Why?

The show also does the irritating thing where it creates problems just to solve them later and before you go “that’s the point of conflict” I mean it creates meaningless problems through meaningless contrivances, like every horror movie cliche that forces its characters to make illogical choices so they don’t just run away from the horror.

And another irritating thing! Spoiling bigger mysteries before their time: We didn’t learn about May Castellan until book 5. Why is this here? What purpose does this serve? Percy realizing he didn’t even know Luke’s last name for five whole years meant something to him. Seeing Luke’s tragic, mortal mother, after hating him for five years *means something* to Percy and to the readers. The gods damned Lotus Casino was absolutely not the place to discover any of this. Why did they do this?

Also, who tf is Augustus? He’s fine. Grover’s random side quest is fine. Every consecutive episode leaves me more and more annoyed with him, but it’s *fine*.

They do actually forget their purpose in the casino, thank the gods. Or, Grover does. Annabeth continues to give away May Castellan exposition like Halloween candy, smack-talking Hermes in a way that she’d never dare at 12 years old. Hermes is still only here because he’s played by Mr. Miranda. He’s fine, he’s just not Hermes. His “woe is me, loving mortals is so damn hard” speech exists. The sentiment is four books early, but it exists.

I understand why it’s here. They’re trying desperately to capture Percy’s internal conflict over whether or not the gods and his dad care about him, if he should let himself be disappointed presuming that they don’t. Problem is– in the book, Poseidon didn’t send a naiad to give him false promises of a clandestine meeting. In the book, the naiad told Percy there’d be a vague “gift” in Santa Monica, and Percy was never naive enough to think that gift would be his dad.

The entire season so far has tried to give nuance to both sides of the “do the gods care and should they be expected to” argument and it’s just not a very well written attempt. Why? Because it had five entire books to give both sides, and they’re shoving as much of it as they can here like they’re afraid they won’t get renewed for season 2. In doing so, they’ve made a tonal mess.

Once Hermes is gone and done randomly and spitefully sabotaging their quest, Percy, unseen, figures out that they’ve lost time and lost Grover. Also, Annabeth pick-pocketed the God of Thieves? Funny, but no. The script has its weird Mitichlorian moment sciencing lore by adding in the detail that lotus nectar or whatever is pumped in through the air, a question no one had and a plot hole that didn’t exist.

They do manage to keep the fear and unsettling realization that they’ve lost time, but their amnesia is inconsistent and confusing, considering that they overexplained how the casino works. Then they’re gone using a God of Thieves’ Car gimmick.

No Nico, thank the gods, unless he was one of the VR kids in the background. It would have been wonderful to see him in a better script.

In the book, they get instantly dazzled by the food, the video games, the nice clothes, nice suite, all things Percy could never dream about growing up poor. There is no Hermes and he only figures out something’s wrong when he meets other kids displaced from time and has to shake Annabeth and Grover from the illusion. They use their casino cash cards with infinite money to hail a cab all the way to LA and it’s funny.

They create more problems that didn’t need to exist by forcing Percy to drive a taxi and okay, that was genuinely funny. I am shocked, though, that Annabeth’s pride let him drive.

The episode comes to an end with them supposedly by the Santa Monica Pier… in a thunderstorm. In southern California. Odd choice, but okay. I'd say the storm exists because Poseidon's pissed but I really think it's there beacuse "dark and stormy night" fit their new vibe better than bright sunlight.

Maybe in live action it was tricky trying to make him both dry underwater and still plausibly underwater and not just rotoscoped in with a hazy green filter. For all their love of exposition, they never actually told non-book watchers about that, or that he can breathe underwater and control some currents. It’s also supposed to be night time, and yet he’s lit as if it’s high noon far above on the surface – they could have just written the beach scene at noon.

Then the naiad he was supposed to talk to in St Louis drops the bomb that the Summer Solstice deadline already passed, Poseidon got too impatient to wait for Percy after the casino delay, and the gods are now at war.

What the fu…..?

Percy resolves to keep going despite armageddon already happening apparently. She gives him exactly the right amount of pearls that he needs, not three, which would force him to choose, and then cut to black.

—

How is the best part of this episode Annabeth’s completely deadpan and exasperated Dude when Percy asks her not to make fun of him? That, and Percy driving the taxi.

Once again, to all the set designers and VFX artists and costumes and makeup and foley and music and score and everyone in between – you’re amazing, keep up the great work. To the actors, you were given a bad script and bad direction and you did the best you could.

Having just come off watching Game of Thrones for the first time and seeing little Arya, Bran, and Rickon Stark’s actors doing donuts around these three just goes to show that it’s not that child actors’ lack of experience that’s the problem. Heck even Baby Percy is better than these three. It’s how much or how little help they get in conveying what they’re supposed to. These kids were thrown to the wolves.

I don’t watch the teasers and I stay away from all marketing for the show. I don’t know who’s been cast to play any characters we haven’t already seen so what Hades and Poseidon look like are a complete mystery that I do hope pays off.

With two episodes to go they have the following left from the book to adapt: Crusty’s water beds, the DOA studios, the entire trip to the underworld and Cerberus and Hades that took two hefty chapters, the Ares fight, Percy’s trip to Olympus, Luke's betrayal and reveal, and the return home to find Hades had paid his debt.

Suddenly the mini series with an episode to burn in St Louis has to sprint to the finish line.

Maybe if they hadn’t spent ten minutes expositing with Hermes they could have at least crammed in Crusty and the DOA, but it looks like armageddon is already upon us so who knows? They might’ve just tossed out the rest of the book to write their own ending.

TL;DR This show is a mess and this episode actually has me nostalgic for the brevity of the horrible movie because they didn’t even try and it’s fun to make fun of. This is just disappointment stretched out across seven hours instead of speedrun in 90 minutes. The skeleton of the book (mostly) remains intact and to all those who keep saying “at least it’s not the movie,” you’re right. Enjoy.

[help-me-find-a-name-please-lol]

CM HOTCH/REID HEADCANONS

My headcanon about Hotch leaving in Season 12, Reid's reaction, and trying to have it make some kind of sense.

Disclaimers:

This is the first rewatch of the later seasons I've done since it aired on TV, and I've only just finished Season 12 episode 4 (I do, however, know the early seasons ridiculously well).

From LDSK onwards, I only ever really watched it for Hotch, Reid, and the Hotch/Reid dynamic. I didn't really watch it after Hotch left, but caught bits and pieces because my roomates did.

Yes I know why Thomas Gibson left the show and why they had to suddenly wrap up his character. No, I don't condone violence in the workplace. I also never dove deeply into the behind-the-scenes lore of this show, cast and crew interviews, etc etc. This will purely be relating to the show as it was depicted on screen, and my love for the characters as their own entities.

I am not going back to fully source which eps all my observations come from, cos I'm supposed to be working on an assignment rn and CM transcripts are a ducking nightmare. I just wanted to put this idea out there cos I think we all need a bit of self-soothing after the crap they fed us to write Hotch out of the show.

Also fun story I just came back to finish writing this after being interrupted by what I though was someone trying to break into my house at 4am (heard a noise, gate wide open, can't see anyone but damn, scary. My town's big on crime, too). SO my thoughts may now be even more disorganised thanks to the adrenaline crash headache I'm currently experiencing.

So anyway like I said, just finished watching S12E04 Keeper, during which Reid gets a call we don't hear, is visibly upset by it, and takes a bit of prodding to discuss it with JJ and Rossi. He then reveals that he was just told his mother left her care facility on her own and was found wandering confused around a casino. He takes minimal convincing to head back to Quantico and lines himself up another couple of days off to visit his mum (yes I'm Australian, this is how we spell it lol).

MY HEADCANON: This is when Hotch called Reid to tell him that he was going into witness protection and wouldn't be coming back. (Exactly how much was discussed on the phone vs possibly being discussed/explained later in person is of course open to interpretation, but enough for Reid to know Hotch wanted to say goodbye and to not tell the rest of the team).

I know that his mum's issues are an ongoing valid storyline. But this is why it was also a plausible excuse for Reid to come up with on the spot as to why he was upset.

Another thing that makes it entirely plausible that the phone call was about Hotch is the long, significant staring Reid did at Prentiss as she walked away after they discuss what supposedly happened with his mum. To me that could scream that Reid was actually dealing with something team-related, and was already grieving how it would affect the other members of his team that he's keeping it from. He could have gazed down or elsewhere to communicate his worry for his mum to the audience, but he specifically turned and watched Prentiss leave, looking all angsty.

What's a heck of a lot less plausible:

His mum, who has been in care since Reid became a legal adult, suddenly escaping her care facility, despite having been in care for well over a decade and who now needs even more supervision due to Alzheimer's on top of her Schizophrenia. Yeah, escapes happen, but to make it all the way into a casino and being found in a confused state? When this didn't happen before Reid flew up and got her diagnosed her with Alzheimers? Even though she'd been getting some increased freedoms for doing well on her new meds prior to her sudden worsening with the Alzheimer's onset?

Hotch leaving without saying something directly to Reid first. Yeah, I'm a shipper, and I know Hotch has his son to think about, but I call BULLSHIT. Hotch knows all about Reid's abandonment issues and there is no way he'd want to end up on the same mental list Reid keeps alongside Reid's father and Gideon. When Gideon went AWOL, Hotch returned from suspension, despite the fight he knew it would cause with his wife, because "the team" needed him. Then Haley stressed "no, they need Gideon". Fully believe this was all just about Reid (I also kinda low-key believe Haley had an inkling about Hotch's thing for Reid but anyway). Hotch, Reid and Morgan functioned as a team while Gideon was on leave after the bomber case, Morgan didn't even really want Gideon to come back and would not have been that thrown by his absence. Reid however we all know was very emotionally-involved. And it's Reid that Hotch pulls aside to get his head back in the game (and who then gives them a breakthrough in the case shortly after, at Hotch's encouragement). When Gideon had officially left and Hotch addressed the team about it, he mostly directed what he was saying towards Reid, when he said that he couldn't explain why he'd left the way he did, etc. And when Hotch was trying to decide whether he'd take over as section chief after Strauss left, again he was addressing the team but pretty much turned and spoke directly to Reid when he said something along the lines of "if I decide to leave the BAU, you'll be the first to know". He also saw how much it killed Reid to be lied to about Prentiss (and you can see he felt like shit about it during Reid's assessment). This man. Would NOT. Have left Reid without saying goodbye. That's the hill I'm dying on. On top of that, Hotch is always the most emotionally-compromised whenever Reid is in danger, and he knows it (he let Gideon know he was currently a terrible example of "handling things emotionally" while Reid was being held by Hankel, resulting in Gideon's weak reassurance of "We'll get him"; when Reid got on that train with Elle he tried to stop it then immediately went to chat with the sniper; when Reid was in the cult compound he had to hand off negotiations to Rossi; when Reid was protecting Owen Savage; heck he practically yeeted Morgan out of the way when Reid was trying to talk down Maeve's stalker and they heard a gunshot. Etc etc.). And whenever Hotch gets emotionally affected by other things (eg that defence attorney for amnesia/coma guy, or regarding his brother), Reid is the one who can break through that and keep him steady. Reid is VERY IMPORTANT to Hotch and I don't see him hurting Reid in what to him is the worst way someone could do it.

Reid being so chill about Hotch suddenly leaving without saying goodbye. Goes without saying, yeah? But I'll say it. I get that they've been trying to paint him as more emotionally-mature and that he was able to handle Morgan leaving, but it is SO not the same relationship or circumstance and Reid would not have taken Hotch's departure in stride like that. I get that they also wanted the show and its characters to move on as quickly and as apparently unaffected as possible, but it still clearly flies in the face of proper characterisation. Reid is brilliant and back when he was being held by Hankel, I'm sure he could have found any number of ways to communicate with a specific team member at that moment, but he chose Hotch. He knew Hotch would be the only one capable of putting his ego aside at being "picked to die" and to listen properly to the rest of Reid's message. Once he confirmed that his message was correct and that he was in a cemetery, Reid was so sure that Hotch understood his message and would be coming to save him that he let his guard down for the first time. I think he only picked up that gun and shot Hankel with it in the end to just superstitiously make sure that the bullet never did reach Hotch (and to "free" Tobias, or whatever. Either way Hankel wasn't going for the gun or to use Reid as a shield when he turned to face off with the FBI and any of them could have taken him down easily). They've only been getting closer and closer over the years, on-screen and off (Fist-bump anyone? Always standing close together? Plus Reid's been teaching Jack magic tricks and was the one to get him smiling and laughing after Hotch got arrested by SWAT, which you know would make Hotch even more gooey for him). They're 100% an army of 2/hyper-competent power couple (take for instance the way Hotch and Reid were mirrored against Garcia and Kevin when she referred to her own pairing as the President and Vice-President after the bank blew up?) who can probably achieve 90% of the team's success level on their own. That super-serial-killer chick may have talked about Reid losing a "protector" in Morgan, but Hotch has always been the one Reid has come to or looked to. He was pretty distraught about the idea of Hotch leaving to be Section Chief, not that long ago, too. Also, constant super-crush behaviour which I could list but this post is already very long. Reid would not just immediately go "Prentiss is our leader now, this'll be great!". FFS.

Anyway we all know the way they wrote Hotch off was bullshit, hence the suuuper-long monologue to explain everything that's apparently happened off-screen, and yeah he'd totally enter WITSEC without even telling the team (until he decided to resign) when Peter Lewis had already hacked it once and killed the person on it before the team figured out who he was after and got there 🙄. All of it is super implausible. But to me, nothing more so than Reid's poor imitation of shock/surprise and almost total lack of emotional reaction. Him knowing beforehand, because Hotch already said goodbye to him, is the only thing that will ever make me be at peace with this crap from an in-universe POV.

This could all be shot to pieces in the next ep lol, but for now I'm just glad my brain has a way to make sense of it.