#i've read the books so i know sally is okay i just can't remember HOW and i'm flailing all over the place about it ok

[honestlydarkprincess]

chewing glass at the idea of something happening to the fourth pearl and percy, a twelve year old child, having to choose between finishing the quest, preventing war, and saving the world or saving the one person he loves most in the world

[nighttimeebony]

My reactions, thoughts, and predictions that I had while reading Percy Jackson: The Titan's Curse. At least the ones I bothered to write down. Spoilers below the cut. Also, fair warning, this one is way longer than either of my previous reaction posts. I had a lot of thoughts.

EDIT: part 1, part 2, part 4, part 5

I feel I should mention that the Percy Jackson books have objectively the best chapter titles

The mental image of Sally driving Percy and his friends to get their ass beat like it's just an after-school sports club is hilarious to me

Ooh, Thalia has hypnosis wind

So Thalia didn't age while she was in that tree? Because I remember she was much older than Annabeth at the time of her death, but now she, Annabeth and Percy are all the same age. Huh. Okay then.

NICO DI ANGELO!!! I've heard about you! You're gay! And he has a sister! Oh I am delighted and ready to love them!

Thalia insulting Grover's music taste.

ANNABETH IS TALLER THAN PERCY

Aww, Nico defending his sister.

OH SHIT, IS THORN A MANTICORE??!???!!

"They're not dolls! They're figurines!" Sure, sweetie.

CALLED IT

Bianca is great.

Oh my God, Nico, you beautiful nerd! XD

HUNTING HORN?!!?!!! SILVERY ARROWS?!!?!??? IS IT ARTEMIS?!!!! PLEASE TELL ME ITS ARTEMIS!!!!!

HOLY FUCK, ARTEMIS'S HUNTERS!!!!!!!

Zoë Nightshade is easily the most badass name I've ever heard in my life.

ARTEMIS!!!!!!!

Please tell me Annabeth is okay. I will not be okay until I know that she is

Oh my God, Nico! XD Also, chill, Percy, he's just a baby.

"Besides, I hear they rebuilt the cabins you burned down." Excuse me, what?!

Percy, leave Bianca be! Besides, you don't even know her! She can be a badass warrior hunter lady if she wants. What even are your hang-ups about Artemis's hunters? They saved your life.

Oh, wait, that's right. Camp Half-Blood needs more people to keep it protected. That's right.

Good for you, Bianca, but I can't say that I would ever leave my little brother to become an immortal virgin. No offense to them, but girl, your brother needs you. You may have a new family, but you're all he's got.

Oh, I love Artemis calling Apollo her annoying brother. Do we get to see them interact? I pray that we do.

Grover simping for Artemis is so valid.

Thalia thinking Apollo’s hot is so valid.

Apollo being an obnoxious kind-of hippy going through an anime phase is the greatest idea anyone has ever had. He's so stupid, I love him.

Apollo's comment about pretty girls turning into plants reminded me of the myth about the time where one of his boyfriends turned into a flower after he died. Hyacinthus. Because we cannot forget that Apollo is canonically bisexual. If Rick Riordan doesn't (at some point) acknowledge how gay ancient Greek mythology is, I'm going to riot.

Dating must be really weird at Camp Half-Blood. And between demi-gods in general, right? Because, technically speaking, they're all kind of related to each other. I guess it just works differently since the gods aren't human, so there's not the same case to be made about genetics and the potential for incest. Or maybe that only applies to kids who have the same god parent. Like how Percy sees Tyson as his brother. I’m wondering if the kids from other cabins feel the same way. Like, do kids from different cabins consider themselves siblings? Does Annabeth see the other kids from Athena’s cabin as her siblings? What does the dating scene even look like at Camp Half-Blood? Is it considered scandalous to date other members of your own cabin? Or do some people think it’s taboo or whatever to date other demigods in general? I don’t need sleep, I need answers!

Ohhh. Okay. So apparently Thalia has aged while she was in the tree, just very slowly. So if Percy is 14 and Thalia can pass as an 8th grader like him, and she should be somewhere between 12 and 19, if I had to hazard a guess, I'd say she's about 15 or 16.

Oh, hey, I was right. Thanks, Apollo.

Aww, poor Thalia. Lol. I was the exact same way when I drove for the first time. Literally had a panic attack on the spot, and I wasn't even controlling the Earth's temperature.

Yay, Tyson! I was worried we wouldn’t see him again until, like, the last book or something.

Aww, it’s so sweet that Tyson wants to see Annabeth. And it’s adorable how cool he thinks she is.

Wow, Luke really is an unbelievable bastard. Annabeth is smart, she was smart to question him, but when the rocks started to fall, her instincts drove her to protect Luke, because even though he’s an unbelievable bastard, Annabeth still can’t help but harbor positive feelings for her. For the longest time, he was family to her and she loved him, so of course those feelings are still there, even if she knows it’s illogical.

Wait. Annabeth is holding up the ceiling of a cave, which Percy acknowledges that she shouldn’t be able to do. So… is the cave ceiling actually the sky? Like how, in Greek mythology, the sky is held up by the titan Atlas? In the mythology, Heracles trades places with Atlas holding up the sky while Atlas helps Heracles complete one of his twelve labors, and when Atlas is about to leave, Heracles tricks Atlas into taking back the sky before bolting. Like how Luke tricked Annabeth into holding up the cave ceiling before leaving her alone to hold it by herself.

Okay, Grover, chill out with the stalking, bud.

I guess Grover and Annabeth take turns getting damsel-ed. Last book was Grover’s turn and this book is Annabeth’s turn.

Don’t worry, Percy, I forgot about that scarf too.

Okay, not liking how the Hunters are portrayed. Because when Artemis says to give up love, she only means romantic love, which is clearly not the only kind of love. Greek mythology practically invented the concept of differentiating and identifying different kinds of love. The Hunters should know that, but the way they act towards the other campers is really… I dunno, gross? They act like their way of life is the only way that matters, which is super fucked up coming from the people that follow Artemis.

“I wondered if there was any way I’d looked that ridiculous when I’d first arrived.” Percy, that was literally only two years ago, get off your high fucking horse. XD

Thalia static-shocking people when she’s annoyed is golden and I love her.

Oh, fuck.

OH, FUCK!

Oh, we love the prophecies… Yayyyy.

Okay, guessing time. Artemis is chained to a rock, which immediately made me think of Prometheus, the titan that gifted fire to humanity and was punished by Zeus to be chained to a rock and have an eagle eat his liver every day for eternity. But then the Oracle mentioned that one must withstand “The Titan’s Curse,” which could be another reference to Prometheus, but I don’t think so. Because in the myth, Heracles killed the eagle and freed Prometheus from his punishment, so I’m pretty sure it’s not that, but you never know. Then I remembered Annabeth and my prediction that she’s currently holding up the sky like the titan Atlas, and the Oracle said that “one must withstand.” Admittedly, my knowledge of Atlas and his mythos is shaky at best, and I don't remember him ever having a "curse", but I guess holding up the entire sky is about as "cursed" as it's possible to be. And the Oracle saying that “one must withstand” makes me think that something happened to Atlas, so now someone needs to hold the sky in his place or else the sky will collapse to the earth and the world will end, or something like that. So that’s my prediction, that someone will need to hold up the sky in Atlas’s place for the rest of, well, forever. I don’t have a guess as to who it could be, though.

Also, someone is apparently going to die. And be killed by their god parent. Awesome… Super looking forward to that inevitable heartbreak… I hope it’s not either of the di Angelo kids, but they’re both new characters, and I know Nico becomes more important later (purely by accident and through pop culture osmosis), and since I had no idea that Biance even existed until I started reading this book, I am terrified that that means Bianca is going to die. I pray that I am wrong.

Wow, Thalia is petty and I’m kind of living for it.

I love that the Stoll brothers are basically Greek Fred and George Weasley.

Wow, Zoë’s kind of a bitch. She won’t travel with Percy because he’s a boy, and apparently Grover doesn’t count as a boy because he’s a satyr. Super fucked up.

You know, Artemis did have male Hunters. It didn’t happen often in the mythology, but there was a pretty famous male Hunter of Artemis named Hippolytus. The thing about Artemis’s Hunters isn’t that men weren’t allowed to be Hunters, it’s just that men typically didn’t choose to be Hunters, because one of the reasons why Artemis’s Hunters joined her in the first place is because Artemis protected the women in her care from the sexist constraints placed on them by Greek society at the time. The reason why men didn’t typically become Hunters is because they didn’t need the same kind of protection and escape from Greek society that women did. And Artemis didn’t hate men on principal, she hated the fact that men were the ones who used their positions of power to discriminate against and abuse the women in their society.

Aww. Grover’s such a sweetheart.

I love Sally.

Percy has so many damn Dreams™ and nightmares I have to wonder if this kid ever sleeps.

Apparently Percy knows the names of the pegasi, which is adorable to me. And this one is apparently Blackjack, which is a great name for a horse.

Aww, I want a baby serpent cow.

Aww, Nico. He's precious and I love him. Protect this child at all costs

Oh, I know about Ariadne. Theseus ditched her on an island after she helped him navigate the labyrinth and kill the minotaur. That's how she met Dionysus. I'm pretty sure they got married not too long after.

Aww, Dionysus and Ariadne are still married. That'd be kind of sweet if Dionysus wasn't such an asshole.

Yup, I know about Medea too.

Did they really just give Dionysus the Snape treatment? He hates all heroes on principle because one of them was cruel to his wife? He thinks he’s justified in harassing children because they’re training to be heroes, and he thinks that all heroes suck? Wow, dude. Get a life.

Oh, cool, Bianca’s forgetting things now. Nothing sketchy or sinister about that, I’m sure.

Is the General the titan Atlas? If my earlier theory was right, then he's gotta be.

Excuse me, teeth?! Plant them?!

Oh, wait! I think I know what that’s talking about. In Jason’s myth, he had to yoke a field with the teeth of (if memory serves) fire-breathing oxen. I don’t remember what planting the teeth did, but I’m guessing it wasn’t anything good.

HAH! Saber-toothed tiger kitties popped out

The General talks about mortals the same way I talk about fanfiction and anime

OH FUCK THE NEMEAN LION

“Sometimes mortals can be more horrible than monsters.” Truth.

Wait… what’s going on with Bianca? There’s something fucky going on with her memory.

“‘Bianca,’ Zoë said. ‘How long ago…’ Her voice faltered.” FOR FUCK’S SAKE, RICK!

Ain’t no way this friendly homeless guy isn’t some kind of hell monster.

Oh. I stand corrected. Not a hell monster. Probably a god. The gods love disguising themselves as old people to test mortals

The Mountain of Despair. Sounds fun. I wonder if this is the mountain Prometheus was chained to, since it’s powered by titan magic and all that.

Ladon… I know that name. I recognize that, but I can’t for the life of me remember his myth or anything about him.

*in reference to one of Percy's dreams* Oh, wait. Is this Jason and Medea?

Oh, nope. It was Zoë. I figured she had some kind of bad break with a boyfriend or something, but I dismissed it at first because I figured she was too young. But I guess if she was around during ancient Greek times, that sort of thing doesn’t matter.

Oh, hey! I once visited Cloudcroft, New Mexico! It was a nice little place.

“I was never very comfortable talking one-on-one with girls anyway…” Okay, Percy, you and I both know that is a lie. Annabeth is, like, your best friend.

"'Bianca,' I said. 'That hotel you stayed at. Was it possibly called the Lotus Hotel and Casino?'" Oh no.

Seventy years?!

Oh, fuck.

99% sure Aphrodite is the one in the car.

WAIT, HOLD UP! IF BIANCA AND NICO WERE BORN MORE THAN 70 YEARS AGO, THAT MEANS THEY WERE BORN BEFORE THE BIG 3'S OATH, RIGHT?! SO DOES THAT MEAN MY THEORY ABOUT HADES BEING THEIR GOD PARENT IS RIGHT?!?!??!! OHHHHHHH, SHIIIIIITTTTT

"When she smiled at me, just for a moment she looked a little like Annabeth." AHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Aphrodite is the patron goddess of shippers.

What the hell, Aphrodite, chill, lady.

"You act like it was real." Percy, this is Greek mythology. Every single star/constellation was either a person or an animal before this whole mess.

"It... it was for Nico. It was the only statue he didn't have." OH MY GOD!! ToT

"If anything happens, give that to Nico. Tell him... tell him I'm sorry." WHY??!!?!?? LITERALLY DON'T!!!!!

"Here we were in the desert. And Bianca di Angelo was gone." WHAT THE FUCK?!!??!!! WHY DO YOU HATE ME!???!!??

No, but please tell me she's not dead. The prophecy just said "lost", not dead. And there's no body, so she could still be alive. Rick hasn't killed anybody yet, Bianca cannot be the first. I refuse.

The Hesperides! That's why Ladon sounded so familiar! He was the dragon!

"'But--' Gurgle, gurgle, the naiad spoke in my mind." RICK!!!!!! FINISH YOUR GODDAMN SCENES FOR ONCE!!!!! THIS IS THE KIND OF STRESS AND ANTICIPATION THAT MAKES PEOPLE LOSE HAIR!!!!

I like that Grover, Percy and Thalia actually listened to Annabeth ramble about her special interest enough that they can just recall random facts like that. It's an adorable little friendship detail, but also fucking sad. I miss Annabeth.

Hah. "Dam". Let these kids swear. They deserve it.

"'Nah,' I said. 'Not that high.'" Aww, Percy's a good friend.

Hah. Statue fucking.

Oh no! Is Bessie the monster! No! But she's so cute!

PLEASE DON'T KILL THE BABY COW SNAKE

"'This is Atlas's mountain,' Zoë said." LET'S FUCKING GOOOOOOO

"'Yes,' Zoë said bleakly. 'Atlas is my father.'" THE GAME JUST FUCKING CHANGED

*after finishing chapter 18* ......... Fuck, man.

Wait, why isn't Hades a part of the Twelve Olympians? And why haven't we heard any mention of Demeter's demigod children? I can't remember the last time the Demeter Cabin was even mentioned, if it ever was.

Well, I guess Thalia joining the Hunters is a pretty roundabout way to have the prophecy be about Percy.

"But I will be watching, Percy Jackson. I do not approve of your friendship with my daughter." Well, then you're gonna hate what happens later.

Aww. Percy and Annabeth have matching battle scars. Sort of. Still sweet.

Oh, no, Nico.... Baby.....

"It was a statue of Hades, Lord of the Dead." OH FUCKING SHIT

"A son of Hades." OH FUCKING SHIT

HOLY SHIT, PAN HAS ENTERED THE CHAT

[notebookmusical]

Hi! I'm so sorry I haven't replied. It's been such a a long and stressful week for me and I just didn't have time. How are you? I hope you're well and doing good! :)

Okay that makes sense..my sleep schedule can be so off and probably not normal to other people haha. Some days I am up all day and don't sleep at all or just a few hours but sometimes I sleep a lot and it makes me more tired the more sleep I get too. Idk if that makes sense but it's so true and just depends on the day I guess. Like it's easier for me to stay up if I have to get up early haha.

Hopefully I can have time to watch eras this weekend and I totally get that since you're going to another show. However she is on a break right now and it will be nice to enjoy before a new album comes out since it celebrates her career. I'm also hoping to watch Poor Things too since Emma Stone is my other favorite and she won the Oscar for her performance! Oh what did you think of the Mean Girls movie? I can barely remember it now but it was okay to good and I see a lot of gifs of it on here so I think a lot of people generally liked it. It always makes me somewhat happy when people appreciate movie musicals even if the Broadway version is still better.

The vinyls were put back on her store and idk which one to get. I really liked the Albatross cover but it's also white like the original and I'm thinking the black dog since that one was totally different and black and it's a song I am more excited for. Plus my sister likes black and I will probably get the original one maybe a cd later. Did you see the explicit tracks for this album? Did it change your opinion on any of the songs? I am curious about it but we also don't know if it's just her saying shit lol. Midnights also had a lot of explicit songs too, like six but only I think two said fuck so idk. But still..they were not the ones I would have guessed or thought of, like the title track or loml or I Can Do it with a broken heart or Florida. But Daddy I love him makes sense though, cuz it just feels so Lana to me, or maybe that will be Fresh out of the Slammer. Also what do you think about the whole but Daddy I love him quote from the little mermaid as inspiration? I think it's a stretch and probably had nothing to do with the song but idk! I do kinda agree with the Florida or I Can Do it with a Broken Heart predictions though I guess. We will find out very soon! Where are you going out of town? I've read that people usually like to go hiking or out of town to listen to new albums but I just listen with my sister around midnight. Do you have anything fun planned?

Invisible has always been one of my favorites too. I get that about question and my sister explained how it's supposed to be but I will never go out of my way to hear it lol. It reminds me a little bit of Body Better too maybe along with Outdoor Pool. I totally see that about normal people though. I thought I heard that Sally Rooney announced a new book too. I think what bothers me about it is that it just feels like a 1989 vault track or something and some of them were even better than it lol. Although when we ranked Midnights the first day, I somehow put it in the middle and not last so it shows how first impressions can be waywrong. Omg I can't believe I got them all right but you had pretty general least favorites. I can't believe Dorothea is your Ieast favorite though, especially if you like country Taylor. wanna know what your most controversial least favorite is haha, like how I said I don't like Babe or the Moment I knew and Illicit Affairs.

I really liked Ariana's album actually. At first, I wasn't that impressed but it grew on me and now I really love it. We can't be friends was also my favorite and stood out on my first listen! My other absolute favorite is Imperfect for you. I loved the music video too which recreated scenes from the eternal Sunshine movie. Have you watched it? It's one of my favorites. But she also called the album a concept album and I didn't see much more of the eternal Sunshine theme in the album either. I also agree with her lyrics and saying stuff, but it might be exaggerated and boy is mine is a bop lol. It does make me curious about Taylors album and if it will be a similar chill pop vibe or something different. Also the fact that they both broke up with long term relationships but have already found someone new which I think is an interesting parallel. I didn't care for Bleachers album either when I first heard it but it also grew on me. Call me after midnight was also one of my favs too. I also finally listened to Renee Rapp, Chappell Roan, and the new Kacey Musgraves album. I think that will have to grow on me too, but I will be listening to Beyonces albums this week waiting for her album. March has not been that great haha but I think the stress of the last few months is mostly over now. I don't have any plans for the rest of the month. What about you? Thanks for the love..I missed talking to you! 🩷

hi friend!! i'm doing well! i'm going out of town for two weeks in early april, so i might not respond to you until i'm back !! i hope your week is going better and that you have a good april until we get to chat again!! 🤍

have you seen poor things yet? i've heard really good things but i do not think it is a movie for me! still curious to know what you think of it though. i didn't love the mean girls musical movie — i think most of my initial thoughts/criticisms carried through. i'm still surprised that bebe wood (gretchen) wasn't cady; her voice is beautiful. i know that mean girls the musical is just ... mean girls the musical and not some great work of literature but taking away it roars really messed up a lot of things, i think? just like what separates cady from every other girl is ... not there. the jungle motif is cut down. i really missed the more is better scene — they could've had a conversation instead of singing (again, why would you cast people who can't sing in a musical!!!!!!) but i think that the more is better scene is really important for cady's growth and development as a character/it's a wake up call and a turning page and not having it made it feel very weak. anddddd i think that aaron/cady needed more ... chemistry? more moments? idk. i missed the mathletes song! i probably won't ever watch it again. i recently rewatched the les mis movie and it's really interesting to see how much my opinions of it have changed over the years. i definitely enjoyed it a lot more this time around, although i still have opinions that haven't changed (russell crowe is terrible) so i wonder if i'll still be a # hater of the mean girls musical movie ten years from now or if that'll change.

i never cancelled my order and i think i'm too lazy to deal with all the variants, so i'll just stick with having the original TTPD vinyl + cd. which is fine. i just hate the variant "limited edition" thing. it feels very ... greedy. i know variant collecting is a thing! that's not my issue. i just wish she'd announce all of them at once instead of doing the limited 3 day sale thing. i didn't see the explicit tracks!! i've been out of the loop lately 😭 i'm going on a trip with my extended family, so i will probably lose a lot of my sanity and will be very very thrilled to be back home. it is too much family time in close quarters! but that's okay. it'll be fun to see everyone. i'm already missing my dog though :( i just have a lot going on this week and then the week after i'm back (which is also when TTPD is out) for new albums i usually just get cozy in bed and listen! nothing special! sometimes i'll write down my thoughts in a notes app! i'll be back by then though, so it'll be fun! 🤍 and that's the day before record store day, so a treat!

yes!! sally rooney did announce a new book! i still need to preorder it, but i'm waiting to see if she'll offer signed copies here in the states! i'm super super excited for it. i dont know if i have any super controversial least favorite taylor songs — wait actually i do: i am just not a rep girlie.

i watched the ariana grande music video but have never watched eternal sunshine! i did see a twitter thread of parallels/comparisons though! i liked some of the kacey musgraves album but i think it'll also be one that grows on me! i've been so busy lately running around that i've neglected my 365 albums in 365 days challenge. oops! i'm also going to have to load some albums onto my phone for when i'm away ...

sending lots of love! hoping you have a good week + that you get a chance to rest! will miss talking to you 🤍