Alice, I Guess

On belay

[aaaaalice]

Fuck it, we're making a pinned post. Not entirely sure what to put on a pinned post, but here we are.

I'm Alice, she/her, I_dunno on AO3. Over 21 is all you're getting for age. I'm very open to asks, please talk to me! It can be fun fluffy stuff or serious writing discussions, I'm good with whatever!

I mostly post about PJO and occasionally reblog something about politics here but I'm happy to yap about other fandoms, including:

- Alex Rider

- The Amazing Digital Circus (but I promise I'm not cringe about it)

- Astro City

- Atomic Robo

- DC

- Dead by Daylight (don't play anymore but I still enjoy the lore and fandom)

- Gravity Falls

- Hades and Hades II (the games)

- Hatchetfield

- Hitman

- Hollow Knight

- Kpop Demon Hunters

- Marvel (especially the Midnight Suns game)

- Owl House

- Pokémon (the main series games, I know fuck-all about the show or movies or spin-off games)

- Stranger Things (yes they botched the ending but I still enjoy the characters)

- Tomb Raider (very casually, I watched the TV show while recovering from my wisdom teeth and know the gist of the games)

[legsdemandias]

Do you think tumblr will ever learn the difference between “I’m defending this person because I agree with them wholeheartedly and I am also like this person” and “I’m defending this person because your behavior is dangerous and you need to stop”

[legsdemandias]

IMO, blurring the lines between “I’m defending them because they’re right” and “I’m defending them because you’re taking this too far” is step numero uno to cutting down the very existence of fair trial and democracy–even in places where saying that might seem a little dramatic. 

Mob mentality is extremely strong in humans and it’s also extremely dangerous. Mobs don’t think things through. Mobs kill and they destroy and they can’t be reasoned with. Someone trying to calm a mob down isn’t someone defending the ~problematic party~ It’s time we re-learn that.

[sunshinemoon3341]

[osillygoose]

drew this like two months ago and totally forgot to post it on tumblr I don’t really remember why i drew Annabeth in a volleyball au but here we are

[reefs-camp-blog]

the jokes about rick forgetting things about his own books and characters, along with the lack of research hes done with the mythologies he writes about, and the most well-known one being the gateway arch feels like the fandom is giving rick a perfect introduction to weaponized incompetence, where he sees that his fans dont care much if he stays true to the mythologies or what hes actually written, and uses that as a chance to not actually worry about any consistancy or mythological accuracy and write whatever he wants no matter what he wrote before or how much actual greek mythology disagrees with him,

and id dare say this could also make fans themselves have much lower standards when finding new books and series to read. so many people in this fandom excuse rick of every single thing he does, which not only lets him get away with more, but also make those fans not actually care about well-written stories that care about whats being written this also could go hand-in-hand with how many books nowadays are promoted by only using tropes and eye-catching things that are usually only talked about in the fandom and fanfiction, instead of giving us anything about the actual plot, again, letting creators get away with more because a lot of fans only focus on the ‘fandom worthy’ parts of the books and what they can make fanfiction out of, instead of focusing on what any of the book is talking about- if theres anything in the book even to talk about looking at the way a lot of these authors write.

im not saying rr fans are the sole reason for this, but it does feel like theres a bit of a connection with how fans treat authors and the books they read that makes it feel like they only care about what the fandom can do and what fanfiction can get them

[aaaaalice]

From 1 to 10, how would you rate Riordan's worldbuilding?

That's pretty hard to rate since so much of the Riordanverse comes from ancient mythology, not Riordan himself. What Riordan did was combine the modern world with the mythological one. And there are... issues there.

- Why is a summer camp the best the gods can do for their kids? Even if they're disallowed direct intervention they should still want their kids to have more safety and experience than a few months out of the year!

- I'm not even gonna get into the problems with the "Heart of the West" thing.

- Hitler being a son of Hades and the US Civil War being Greeks vs Romans isn't just stupid from a historical perspective (and it conflicts with the above-mentioned Heart of the West thing) but it also seems pretty disrespectful to overwrite the real causes of those wars, especially considering how many people irl try to claim the US Civil War wasn't about slavery.

- There's a lot of unanswered questions about how the 12th Legion went from a lost Roman military unit to having a city in California with its own senate.

- Rick makes up a lot of stuff about Rome for the sake of plot convenience, specifically their hatred of Greeks, hatred of Minerva, and hatred of the sea. Greek was the lingua franca in a lot of the empire, Minerva was highly respected, and while it was never their specialty, Romans were more than capable of building and using boats.

But, I don't want to be a total downer all the time, so some things I did appreciate:

- The Land of the Lotus Eaters being a casino in Vegas. Considering how casinos are designed to get you to stay and lose your money, it's a perfect fit.

- The Sea of Monsters being the Bermuda Triangle is cool explanation for it imo.

...is that really all I've got for positive world building? Everything else is mostly just ancient stuff Rick put in a place or combos I don't think we're particularly interesting. Like, Medusa selling statues is such an obvious choice, you know?

So yeah, overall I'd say that the best parts of the world building in PJO by far come from the myths, not Rick. If you want a number... probably around a 3? Lol sorry Rick, maybe make better lore if you want a better number.

[justaz]

thinking of kitty cat annabeth!!!! idk how it happens but the school year starts and annabeth is supposed to be out in california with her dad but she gets transformed into a cat by some monster or something idfk don’t ask me for all the details and she runs to percy and he thinks he’s found this stray and he begs his mom to let him keep her and annabeth can’t tell him anything bc. hi she’s a cat. and she ends up just like living with percy as a cat for a bit and he can’t get in contact with human annabeth and he thinks she’s mad at him and giving him the silent treatment and he’s so pathetic as he vents to cat annabeth that she’s like. aw. my loser. <3. ummmmm anyway someone (godly or nature-ly) tells him like hey. why is annabeth a cat. and he goes. excuse me? and they point to her and undo the spell and she’s finally human again

[aaaaalice]

Lmao they're gonna be so embarrassed. But not as embarrassed as they should be.

[wineinthewind]

personally LOVE how percy states that calypso would forever be his biggest "what if". Like, he never truly gets over his idea that maybe the world would be better if he hadnt came back. maybe he would have been better.

[phoenixystix]

Frank being reduced to a cinammon-roll esque character when he's actually extremely grumpy and cynical for like 90% of his narratives. Yes he's also funny and goofy I'm just saying like Frank's narratives are so cynical they put Percy's to shame

[phoenixystix]

@meaningxmeaning why yes I will elaborate. In addition to Frank being the one who is described as cursing the most often in SON (except for perhaps the horse), for starters, look at this INCREDIBLY long list of grievances:

and this collection of Frank being grumpy, cynical, & sarcastic:

& then I think everyone knows about his Peak hater era in MOA, but here are some gems from House of Hades:

& this is of course not even to touch on the war gods screaming in his head

[helenofsparta2]

The way Percy describes Apollo and Aphrodite is actually really sweet when you stop and think about it for a second.

Like, in Greek mythology, Aphrodite and Apollo are essentially the divine standards for feminine and youthful masculine beauty. And while Percy definitely notices that they're physically attractive (quite often, might i add, my bi king), the details he remembers most aren't really about perfect faces, but about aspects that have more to do with their personality.

With Aphrodite, he obviously describes her as stunningly beautiful, but then immediately afterwards he also says this:

She really was beautiful. And not just because she had a pretty face or anything. She believed in love so much, it was impossible not to feel giddy when she talked about it. (Titan’s Curse, Chapter 13)

Like, I love the fact that one of the things Percy considers most beautiful about the literal goddess of beauty isn't her appearance, but her genuine love for love itself.

And with Apollo, while Percy also repeatedly describes him as very handsome, the detail he keeps coming back to is specifically the way he smiles:

The driver got out, smiling. He looked about seventeen or eighteen, and for a second, I had the uneasy feeling it was Luke, my old enemy. This guy had the same sandy hair and outdoorsy good looks. But it wasn't Luke. This guy was taller, with no scar on his face like Luke's. His smile was brighter and more playful. (Titan’s Curse, Chapter 4)

Despite the battle scars, the Titan’s face was handsome and strangely familiar. Percy was pretty sure he’d never seen this guy before, but his eyes and his smile reminded Percy of someone (…) He remembered the name Leto: the mother of Apollo and Artemis. This guy koios looked vaguely familiar because he had Artemis’ cold eyes and Apollo’s smile. (House of Hades, Chapter 61, Percy)

I just think that's really endearing.

When Percy describes the two gods who literally embody ideal beauty, the qualities that leave the biggest impression on him aren't things like symmetrical features or perfect physique, but the things that reveal personality...

He can be so cute :((

[justaz]

my!! tumtum!! hurts!! so bad!!!!

[mmavverickk]

soon this will be you az you can do it

[justaz]

not yet but hopefully soon. i am in. so much pain. but i am being so brave about it.

[aaaaalice]

[bunpoizonz]

reblog to give a trans woman a yummy burger

[bunpoizonz]

glad i reached my target audience of ppl showing love to their trans gfs/wives through the power of burger

[bunpoizonz]

okay so since making this post i've become the target audience

[bangyababy]

Reasons Why Fans of Color Leave/Don’t Interact with Fandom

Casual racism that is brushed off as “an innocent mistake” or “they didn’t mean it” and then everyone pretending like it didn’t happen and moving on with their day (repeat)

Speaking over fans of color about issues that pertain to them specifically

When fans of color speak out about something that makes them uncomfortable or why that don’t interact with it (usually because of the racial/ethnic bias) they are accused of being anti’s or pro-censorship

Characters of color being used as scapegoats/bashed/plot devices 

Characters of color never getting happy endings/real development

Backlash against characters of color if they do anything other than be a white character’s side kick/best friend

Actors of characters of color being harassed for something their character did or didn’t do

White characters/actors getting all the attention/credit despite the fact that they are a side character to a POC or on the same level as the POC

Fanfic authors patting themselves on the back for writing a “realistic” character of color and it’s just a bunch of stereotypes

Being told that they should be happy they were even included when they call out the above people

White fans crying about persecution/exclusion because their fav character/trope/kink/ship isn’t loved by all 

Fan artists re-imaging characters of color as white/lightening skin tone

Everyone rushing to a white fans defense after a well deserved call out while the fan of color receives hate

Never having a safe fandom space and always having to be on guard with new people/fandoms/chats etc because they’ve been burned before

Feel free to add

[blacktabris]

- fetishization and depersonalization of characters of color (to serve the white character’s narrative)

- (re)writing characters of color as abusive and/or violent to infantilize white characters

- being asked to explain why ___ is racist when it’s been spoken about at length or could be googled

[hadeslittlesouleater]

I will not fall for the propaganda that Nico had a crush on Percy. It was the perfect found sibling relationship. Rick retconning Nico to suddenly have a crush gives me the same vibes as when someone comes out to their best friend and said best friend’s immediate reaction is “Erm, you don’t have a crush on me, do you?”

Gay people CAN have friends without having feelings for them, Rick.

[phoenixystix]

The power-scaling in HOO certainly does have problems, but at least some of them are fandom misremembering.

Frank’s transformation powers, for example, work best when he knows the animal well, when he’s in imminent danger, and don’t work when he’s wounded. He also tells Leo that it’s like bench pressing your maximum weight to turn into a dragon - it’s dangerous, exhausting, he could hurt himself. Those are some pretty strict limitations.

Piper’s charmspeak (and charmspeak in general) is said to work best when the person is attracted to her (gross! So gross! But that is canon unfortunately) and when she really believes what she is saying. It also has a built-in weakness that it’s a fairly common power and doesn’t work on anyone else who can use it or who is just… manipulative (Medea, Circe, Drew, Khione, empousia, etc). This is nowhere near to consistent across all the books and imo her powers are the least thought through (both in the frankly horrifying implications of them for both Piper and the people she uses it on AND for how successful they are). Unfortunately this power does truly just seems to show up as “beautiful women are inherently manipulative and sexually entice their victims” and like WOW do I hate that lol it’s pretty horrifying. But technically that is another problem, the point here is that it was at least set up to have some built-in limitations.

Hazel’s control over metal (at least in SON) is difficult for her to use. She has been practicing it, but she has to concentrate a LOT and she doesn’t have precise control over it. So the question of “why doesn’t Hazel simply deflect everyone’s swords” is pretty simply answered: it’s not easy for her to do, and without precision, this could be just as dangerous as just letting fights continue without interference. Yes, she is able to steer the unicorns by controlling their horns, so maybe she could do something similar with an army - but it seems the herd was stampeding in one direction and all she did was direct them back to the stables. Obviously this is not the same thing as controlling swords that are all going in different directions. Also yes, in theory she could crush people inside their armor, but the only antagonists who consistently wear armor in this series are Romans, whom Hazel does not want to injure and certainly not to kill, and again, a lack of precision could make this disastrous if she attempted to do something simple like "halt person wearing armor in their tracks." Personally, I think what would make it even better is if Celestial Bronze and Imperial Gold were especially difficult for her to control, like maybe twice as hard as regular gems and metals (sort of like how Percy's powers are much more effective in salt water). As for her Mist powers......... yeah I dunno I think these are WAY over-powered lol and it is frankly LUDICROUS to me that Hazel isn't included more in the 'most powerful demigod' conversation lol. I really don't think she needed any more powers as hers were already demonstrated to be some of the strongest in the universe as it was, but alas.

Jason is easy - sure, he can fly, but he experiences altitude sickness (actually wild Rick nerfed him so so badly with this lol) and he can't even technically fly, he needs the "support of the wind" or whatever so it's not as reliable as it would seem. Also it is demonstrated to be EXHAUSTING for him to do this so it really does make sense that he doesn't do it more often. And lightning same thing - like sure, if you hit your target it's great, but if you can't control it, which he doesn't seem to be able to precisely, it's probably smarter to avoid it, especially in the chaos of a battle.

Percy & Nico same thing - their powers are EXHAUSTING to use. Percy in particular is wildly OP in the sense that he's the only one who can actually get healing and energy from his power source - so long as he's in water he's not getting tired or drained, but obviously this is a geo-limited power and so not an option a lot of the time. But again, if Percy is not careful with his powers, then they do more harm than good and he has quite literally almost killed himself in the past from overusing them. & Nico has a very limited amount of dead-summoning and shadow-traveling uses in him before he needs to recharge, reminds me of a video game lol. and again he's shown to almost kill himself if he overdoes it.

Leo's powers are a bit unique in that he doesn't seem to really be exhausted (or at least not like the rest of them) by using them, but I think this is due to the nature of fire - and that's a double-edged sword, because his powers are dangerously easy for him to lose control over. So again, makes sense that he doesn't use them a lot. Especially because he has the built-in feature of being afraid of his own powers, which are consistently shown to make them less-effective in this universe. Leo has to actively concentrate not to burn off his own clothes, and his power is as much of a liability as it is a help (maybe even moreso).

[annabeth-chase-enjoyer]

woahhh hi penny what r u doing here 😁😁😁😁

[aaaaalice]

Ahhhh I love her!!!

[seaacearts]

percy with slit pupils mermaid style send post