#there is actually a Real Weapon made for this series but said weapon hasn't appeared yet

[the-technorats]

percy series ep 3 thoughts

so you can't rate shows on letterbox'd so i'm going to log my pjo thoughts here: (spoilers for ep3) (watched 27 dec 2023)

oracle scene was funny. for all the show onlys, it seems as though grover is the one kind of being built up as the character who's going to betray percy (at least in the beginning of this ep), which is an interesting choice.

on the action sequences (part 1): i do think the action sequences are pretty lackluster. when i rewatched the percy jackson lightning thief movie, the action and violence and reactions seemed very proportionate - like, the appearance of a horrifying monster actually had impact, whereas i feel like in the show, the pacing and choreography make it seem pretty banal.

the fight with the fury on the bus was uninteresting and didn't seem like much of a fight at all. annabeth's supposed to be quick and athletic and a really skilled knife fighter (skilled enough that she can even use a knife as her primary weapon instead of a sword) but there so far hasn't really been any proof of that. i'm willing to be a lot more generous though because the actors are very young and the target audience is clearly much younger than i am as well, and it's obvious that for those reasons they're trying to avoid violence/body horror/gore. however, the fight scene with clarisse in ep 2 was incredibly well-shot and choreographed, and it had action and movements that felt real and impactful, so i don't know why they don't try to achieve the same things with the other fight/action sequences.

on medusa: i was so interested by the way they were going to decide to portray medusa's story, especially because of sally's comment in ep 1 to percy about perseus being a hero because 'he killed monsters' like medusa: "who said she was a monster?"

i loved em's line: "the gift the gods gave me is that I cannot be bullied anymore," which initially insinuated to me that this adaptation of medusa is the one who was sexually assaulted by poseidon in athena's temple, so athena made it so no man could pull that with her ever again, but then they went with the "athena decided I embarrassed her and needed to be punished" story which i kind of feel like isn't totally consistent with the "gift" narrative? i mean they can be mutually exclusive in that what may have been originally a punishment from a god can be taken as a gift since she has to live with and make the best of it, but when medusa called herself "a survivor" and talked about "bullies" (a term that makes sense in the context given that it's a kid's/middle grade show) i will admit i was hoping it would go a different direction. alternately though if she were a SA survivor i don't know if killing her would have been the right move in the end lmao and ik they had to kill her for the plot.

i do think there was a more overarching message of the importance of understanding the unheard/unrepresented sides of stories as well as the lesson for annabeth that the gods aren't infallible and morally just but are petty and vindictive and cruel and humanlike. so i think the story was dealt with pretty well, all things considered.

on medusa and the action sequences (part 2): again, i think medusa's death scene was pretty anticlimactic. (this is not because i see them as adaptations of equal quality or even on the same playing field at all, but again,) to compare it to the pjo:tlt movie - the movie's medusa fight scene had a lot more impact; the tension and fear and stakes felt a lot more heightened and real while still being quite comedic/entertaining.

cool idea, in the show, using the hat to turn medusa invisible, but again, i wasn't ever actually convinced that the characters felt scared, under pressure, winded/tired after fighting, or even emotionally scarred by the intensity of the moment/having to decapitate someone. while all of the other scenes portray high emotions very impactfully and earnestly (i.e. sadness, wistfulness, loneliness, hurt/comfort), i have yet to be convinced that any of the demigods have been even a little bit frightened of any of the monsters, from the first fury attack at the met, and this unfortunately makes the stakes seem much lower.

while i understand the focus of the show is on character building (mainly through the dialogue), i don't see why the fight/action scenes can't be just as visually compelling and impactful. the emotional tension between the characters and the depiction of each character's internal conflicts, while powerful, can only do so much if the plot itself isn't supporting those developments, and I feel like the addition of the action sequences in the books serves to elevate the storyline to match the emotional stakes. they can tell the story as much as they want thru voice-over and dialogue, but the characters' physical actions represent just as much about the characters and their choices and motivations as their direct interactions with each other. i think maybe some of this stems from not wanting the story to be misinterpreted or to in any way resemble the movies, but you have to trust your audience. you can't just say everything explicitly, and if you do have to, then i don't think a tv show is the right medium in which to tell the story, which is typically my main issue with book-to-movie/tv adaptations.

anyway, while this seems like a lot of criticism, it's really only that one overarching problem that stands out to me. i obviously love the source material and (anyway would argue that i have to love it in order to want to think about it this much) the show itself, and the actors, and this has absolutely EVERYTHING to do with the fact that it's extremely extremely obvious how thought-out, how deliberate every single minute detail is. if there's one thing at all that matters to me, it's creators who care about their work, and this is a perfect example of ones who do.

on tv show percabeth: BRO "I CHOSE HER 'CAUSE I COULDN'T IMAGINE WE'D EVER BE FRIENDS" ???? FUCKING INSANE THING TO PUT IN THE SCRIPT LIKE?? they were NEVER this explicitly antagonistic toward each other in the books holy FUCK i mean. this drastically changes the trajectory and future impact of the slow-burn. the books were strangers to friends to lovers - maybe strangers to annoyances to friends to lovers if we're being generous, but the show is really going for that enemies to lovers arc huh. the fan edits are gonna go so fucking crazy once we start getting toward the final 2 books. and for them to only have one itty-bitty kiss midway thru botl with no emotional catharsis or resolution until the tail end of tlo? we're all gonna be absolutely frothing at the mouth for it when it finally finally finally comes around.

excited for next week!! i've been dying for the st. louis arch scene.

[skittidyne]

It's been two months!! How are you feeling? How are sales going? Have you found a name for a sequel? What can we do to help?

you're very sweet anon!

i just checked the sales (that i can easily access) because i haven't for awhile, and not after that book blog tour i tried, and it only serves to remind me that ingramspark is very confusing with their sales reports.

BUT. if i'm doing my math correctly and ingramspark isn't doing something really stupid, then i've very much broken triple digits on my sales!

not only that, but WOAH NELLY WHAT IS THIS

i... actually don't know what that is. it can't be just my books, because i only have one available through them. but it seems hard to believe that it's #2 overall?? i'm not selling that much. (yet!!) but it makes for a really neat screenshot to take! it also gave me a little gold ribbon on my book thumbnail :'3

i have NOT found a title, and i hate that Very Much, but that's also something i can't ask for outside advice on because holy legality batman.

THAT SAID. here is a list of ways to help your local skitty author with her local guides to the supernatural:

REVIEW. review my books on amazon and goodreads and wherever else you want!

TELL PEOPLE TO BUY MY BOOK! friends, family, libraries, your boss who is cool with queer content and swearing, and maybe your influencer cat who makes more money than you or i will ever dream of!

send asks! i love asks! and again: you're very sweet, anon :> these fill me with warm fuzzies and the support needed to scowl my way through editing for preptober

make fanart! make fanfic! make SOMETHING. i know a lot of people are like "i can't make anything ;O;" but trust me. y'all can. go make natalie's mashed potatoes! make a playlist! make the vorpal sword! crochet a unicorn! hunt an afanc! find a taxidermied jackalope to take promo pics with! talk about it on social media (and tag me; i'll talk back)! everything that fandom does generates hype for a series, and weird things are great.

i'll be looking for beta readers and ARC reviewer/readers in coming months, so do one of those! or both! (i think you can be both? i don't see why not?)

help me figure out a way to get the cool promo pictures i took on my fancy camera onto my laptop because i only just have realized that my stupid laptop doesn't even have a normal-sized SD card port

seriously tho, keep sending asks. questions, comments, liveblogs, predictions, anything! (except title name ideas, because if you come up with a really cool one, i can't use it, and then i'll be peeved i can't use it.)

stream distractible & go my favorite sports team on podcast sites so i can partake of markiplier's onlyfans. that will support me A Lot.