vega

19, any pronouns

[janusstar11]

hiiiii welcome to the brain dump!

first, links to my old blogs::

first acc: https://www.tumblr.com/januslikesbooks

second acc: https://www.tumblr.com/janusmoon11

third and final acc: u are here!

and now, the list. *inhale*

pjo, marauders/harrypotter (fuck jkr), doctor who, tadc, six of crows, heated rivalry, hunger games, good omens, GOT, probably others i cant think of rn but i’ll add them.

[janusstar11]

adult toph.

[janusstar11]

Kinda TADC Ep 9 spoilers?

do i think the ending was very well done and exactly what the show needed? yes. will i be reading every "they escaped the circus" au fics on ao3 anyway? also yes.

[janusstar11]

HELLOOOO and welcome BACK to my rant, this time about PJO szn2

no this is not six months late, what are you talking about?

First and foremost, I'd like to say that season 2 was INFINITELY better than season one. like, it's insane how much better. if anyone cares abt my season 1 thoughts, they're laid out here:

Season 1 Rant

I don't have much to add in terms of specific things i liked slash didn't like, so i'll keep it simple. thoughts:

Thank you to whoever hired new writers.

the writing was the biggest, most obvious problem with season one. like genuinely that was bad. and i didn't notice it in the same way with season two, it was much more natural and honest to the books.

2. fucking LIVING. for the little easter eggs

shoutout sally driving pauls car. shoutout party ponies. SHOUTOUT HYLLA. easter eggs are just generally fun but they also remind me that the writers have actually read and care about the source material. more easter eggs pls.

3. acting ate.

i don't feel like i need to expand on this one. they killed it. all of them. everyone seemed so much more comfortable in the rolls compared to season 1, and it paid off.

IN ADDITION-- i feel like characterization was much better this season. percy was more percy and annabeth was more annabeth and grover had an actual personality. everyone just felt more like real kids being stupid while the weight of the world is on their shoulders. clarrisse was great too, esp with this being HER season. i approve. except--

4. Percabeth is moving a liiiiiitle fast

i just got a lot of whiplash by them. at this point in the books, annabeth has a crush on him but is struggling with trust and identity without luke and also just general teenage girl isms, and percy cares about annabeth but can't really identify why, because he's an idiot 13 year old boy who is in no way emotionally intelligent. if you're trying to depict that, you make them have awkward conversations, or stupid arguments, because again, they're kids full of hormones who don't know how to communicate. and i saw that occasionally-- i really liked the "it only took me two days to see how special you are." i think that was super in character and just honest enough to be adorable and teenagerish while still being serious and full of intent. especially if they were super awkward about it afterward. i DIDN'T like "i'd burn it all down." that's like, a thought that book five percy would have, and not say OUT LOUD until mark of athena. he's not there yet. kinda just seemed like fan service where they lost sight of the character.

that being said, i did really love the siren scene. which leads me to my next point.

5. the plot/content changes actually made sense this season

i mean the biggest and most noticeable plot change was the CCs plus siren combo. at first it just felt like they were running out of time in the season, but i think they managed to compress it in a way that made sense. i also think they were trying to pull a SeasonOneMedusaTypeChange for Circe, which like, okay, but i wasn't astonished by it. i did NOT like that annabeth didn't choose to hear the sirens on purpose. in the book, that's a big characterization moment for her, and i think they sacrificed that for the sake of raising stakes, and it didn't land in the same way. the scene became more about percy's feelings for her and annabeth's mommy issues than about her motivation and need for knowledge. again, didn't hate it, just not what i think was needed there. similarly--

6. the tree change.

i don't hate it. it's definitely a major divergence, especially considering that in the books zeus is a dick but has sort of a soft side for thalia, but i don't think it's out of character. I'm excited to see where it goes and ESPECIALLY how it affects thalia's perceptions with the gods and her subsequent interactions with luke. season three MUST FOLLOW THRU WITH THAT. IT'S A MAJOR CHARACTERIZATION AND INTENT CHANGE. oh, also--

7. Thalia's British?

i mean. okay.

i don't really care. i think it's kinda odd, but who am i to judge (shush). we also just havent seen a lot of thalia yet, so im looking forward to next season for that. but i LOVED the flashbacks.

similar thought-- it is CAST-ELL-EN, not CASTEL-LON

and finally, 8. EFFECTS.

shoutout to the effects department man. the boat scene, holy shit. and the chariot race. and the design of the sirens. and everything about polyphemus' island. it all felt like it feel out of a greek epic, which is exactly what this book is supposed to be (book 1 is a hero's journey, book two is a grecian epic, book 3 is a rogue mission, etc). ALSO, shoutout to the cast for advocating for their character designs. I know Walker was the one who asked for percy to have blood on his face in the final battle, rather than just some cuts and bruises makeup. it made everything so much more intense, and it's like we're seeing the transition into older, more serious percy through that. all in all, the effects were the hero of this season.

anywho, that's all. the whole season was like an 8.7 out of 10 for me, with the episodes being generally pretty uniform in personal rating (another difference from season 1, where my ratings were all over the place). i'm really looking forward to season 3 (WHICH IS MY FAVORITE BOOK OF THE FIRST SERIES SO WHEN I SAY "LOOKING FORWARD" I MEAN FUCKING SCARED) so i'm sure i'll have another one of these to post in a few months.

if u made it this far, tysm for reading!

[januslikesbooks]

HELLO and welcome to my rant about the PJO TV show

in honor of season 2 being announced, here is everything i loved and everything that needs to change.

i would like to preface this by saying that while my overall rating for the season was 7.5/10, the rating of each individual episode vary WILDLY, and there are reasons. even so, i still loved the show and cannot wait for season two.

STUFF I LOVED:

THE CASTING <3 <3 they have my whole heart all of them.

percy and sally's relationship

the little allusions to future books

episodes 1-3 *chefs kiss*

the design of the world and the monsters they looked SO GOOD

the changes to the conflicts and interactions, especially medusa and the tunnel of love

LIN MANUEL MIRANDA

the poseidon and sally scene. you know the one.

the gods speaking ancient greek YES

the fact that poseidons mom is proffessor mcgonnegal lmao

2X RICK CAMEOOOO

the dream sequences

oh golly, the roads gettin bumpy cause i got me some friends--

"i am impertinent" DIRECT BOOK QUOTE HELLO

"guess i'll lose my dessert privileges" DIRECT BOOK QUOTE PT. 2 ALSO CLARRISSE?????

the ares fight. i thought it would be cheesy but nope. massive W

the fact that this is my favorite book series <3

okay. now that that's out of the way.

the main problem was the directing.

series that use multiple directors (different ones for different episodes) are never good imo. when you're building a world u can't have clashing perspectives on what that world looks and feels like. bc of this, most of the season just felt empty. the riordanverse is set in our world, yes, but theres such a specific tone and vibe of this world in the books that was entirely absent in the show. the only time i even slightly felt it was in the first two episodes, and, what do u know, those were both directed by James Bobin, a veteran director of kid and teen shows.

on top of that, the structure was entirely too stiff. each episode was obvious: here is a monster, we know exactly who it is, this is why they're bad, and this is how we defeat them (usually with no fight scene, might i add, even tho there were multiple fights in the book). there was no SUSPENSE. every episode felt exactly the same, even though each monster is supposed to give us a different feeling. the first time i truly noticed this was in episode 5. the lotus casino felt SO flat. i was really disappointed, since that situation offers so many feeling and conflicts, and those were all ignored. AND THE BIGGEST MOMENT IN THE SEASON, the luke betrayal, THERE WAS NO BETRAYAL? percy just FIGURES IT OUT??? the fight was great, but that did not sit right with me.

2) why is this written by millenials omfg (and the characterization was off)

dude. percy jackson saying "period" in a serious context is NOT HOW THAT WORD IS COLLOQUIALLY USED. same thing with "i think we're going to have to be detectives here 🤓". These kids are supposed to be gen z in the show. Did they not get ANY gen z readers? or even just longtime fans to approve that yes, these characters are speaking how they're supposed to? im a gen z kid, and this pained me. this leads into my bigger issue with how the characters were depicted. lets talk abt it shall we!

tell my why annabeth chase wasn't a know it all. shes supposed to be the smartest girl in the room, always trying to prove it, not just to other people but herself too, that she comes off as a bossy know it all in the first book and we love her for it. so WHY was percy the one explaining EVERY SINGLE MYTH. go back and watch it. annabeth doesn't explain a single monster, or myth, or situation, or ANYTHING. i LOVE leah sava jeffries and i know she knows what she's doing, but the writing is entirely against her. tell my why the only times i really felt like annabeth's personality was written into the scene was the candy scene, the "are we under arrest", and at waterland. every other little piece of her was offered by leah, not the writers, so THANK YOU to leah sava jeffries and nobody else.

on the flip side of that, percy knew way too much, and they somehow made him clueless about the wrong things? he explained nearly every myth and monster, but couldn't understand that other people also have a bad relationship with their godly parents. like, he was surprised by annabeth and luke when he found out that the gods didn't care, which makes zero sense since he's so angry about his own dad not being in his life? it's really supposed to be the other way around-- clueless about the myth world but sure about parental relationships. i guess i can sort of see how this character change contributes to the plot, but i don't like it.

meanwhile grover has now been diminished to a comedy relief. the only times he did anything substancial was when he tricked ares, and the conclusion of which turned out to be wrong anyways, so there wasn't even any point. (also the getting percy kicked out of school part, which i don't have any critiques of). justice for grover man.

3) why. why is percabeth like this.

okay.

i love percabeth. i think the kids nailed it. i'm loving the slowburn. but why are they changing the relationship trajectory???? again, a writing issue.

one of the biggest and most important scenes, which is even alluded to in later books, is the oreo scene in the Kindness international truck. Missing. annabeth saying "because you're my friend, seaweed brain, anymore stupid questions?" gone. the suspense of not knowing anything about each other and still choosing to protect each other? not the same at all, because annabeth tells him her entire life story in episode 4, and for what? WRITERS, WHY ARE YOU MESSING WITH PERFECTION.

on top of that, some of the other relationships were just not developed enough. i ADORED the sally and little percy flashbacks-- sally percy relationship is on point. but luke and annabeth? annabeth struggled for the whole series with her brother-like figure, who she did everything for, and the understanding that he's now evil. that's a plotline that's super important to me specifically, and we had almost zero buildup of their relationship. and again, for what? that could have been fixed in ONE scene, just one where they're alone and talking to each other (and also, that could have been where we the audience learn a little about annabeths past, instead of changing her character, who's supposed to be very guarded, so tell percy her whole life story after knowing him for like a week). and THEN, the fact that they just skipped from the betrayal to percy leaving? no emotions? no discussion with chiron?? no annabeth realizing she's lost her brother??? i don't understand it.

also, percy and grover. we didn't see enough of their bromance. i don't have specific recipts for this one, just a feeling. i missed their friendship.

anywho.

MY FINAL STATS FOR PJO SEASON 1:

Episode 1: 9.5/10 (would be 10, but gabe wasn't right)

Episode 2 AND 3: 10/10

Episode 4: 6/10

Episode 5: 8/10

Episode 6: 4/10

Episode 7: 7/10

Episode 8: 9/10

writing this was exhausting. if you're still here, tysm, love u

[janusstar11]

i stand by all of this btw, and i should make another one for season 2

[janusstar11]

SUB TEN DAYS UNTIL A DARKER SHORE HOW WE FEELING CROWS NATION

[janusstar11]

TADC EP 9 SPOILERS AHEAD!!!!!

okay im going to say it. hyperfixating on jax possibly being transfem is stupid. this post is long, but if you're getting mad already, PLEASE READ THE WHOLE MESSAGE BEFORE COMING FOR ME.

imo, the whole point of this show and these characters is to observe how humans interact with themselves and other humans when forced to look their trauma in the face, with nowhere to run. jax is a perfect example of this. he runs and he deflects, realizes he cant, and eventually he consumes himself.

so in a way, trying to assign any type of logical "canon" to these characters is pointless. it's not about who they may become, it's about who they have been and who they are now.

i don't disagree that it's very likely that a lot of jax's internal conflict may be because he's trans, and i think for a trans person, he would be amazing representation of that. i think if that's how you view jax then that's what you got from his arc, and that's all you. you are completely valid in your read of the character.

however, nothing was actually explicitly said that confirms or denies jax's gender identity. all that was said was that he has a complicated relationship with both femininity AND masculinity because of his parents, and implied that he associates opening up about his history as being "soft".

personally, i relate to jax a lot. he's one of the characters that i have truly been shaken by, because oftentimes it was like looking in a mirror. and for me, that insight on his character had nothing to do with gender at all; instead, i saw it as i see it in myself-- him masking the parts of himself that he deems vulnerable with the cocky exterior that doesn't let anything in or out. to me, ribbit putting the bow on him was her saying "you're okay with me, you dont have to wear the exterior, you can be soft, and be silly, and feel the things you haven't allowed yourself to feel." and yes, maybe the thing that he needs to feel is the reality that he's trans, but for me, it wasn't, and that's my perception of him based in my own experiences with similar emotions.

all i'm saying is that maybe jax is trans, maybe he isn't, but specifically with this show, i genuinely don't think it matters. what matters is what YOU got from it. if you're a trans person who saw your own experience reflected in jax, then that's your view. if you're like me, with a fucked up family life and complex relationships with vulnerability and anything other that stoicism, then you might view jax the way i did. all i'm saying is that both perceptions of jax's character are equally vaild, because both messages land.

and just to be clear, the identity of trans characters in other media is NOT UP FOR DEBATE. if it's canon it's canon, and those characters and the representation they provide need to be respected. jax is an entirely different situation because this show is SO specific.

in conclusion lol, im gonna keep using he/him pronouns for jax because that was used in the show, and if you see other people doing the same, then just like, be a nice human and don't jump down any throats. i certainly won't be commenting when i see people use she or they pronouns for jax.

part of the reason this show got so big is because the messaging about trauma and mental struggles and how it affects someone is SO important to people, myself included. for a lot of people it's the first time we've really seen ourselves expressed plainly, without the need for labels or boxes, but just as messy, complex and growing humans with histories and feelings. we have to remember to respect each other's experiences.

love yall, love this show, love this character. if you made it this far ty for reading lmfao

[janusmoon11]

TADC EP 9 SPOILERS AHEAD!!!!!

okay im going to say it. hyperfixating on jax possibly being transfem is stupid. this post is long, but if you're getting mad already, PLEASE READ THE WHOLE MESSAGE BEFORE COMING FOR ME.

imo, the whole point of this show and these characters is to observe how humans interact with themselves and other humans when forced to look their trauma in the face, with nowhere to run. jax is a perfect example of this. he runs and he deflects, realizes he cant, and eventually he consumes himself.

so in a way, trying to assign any type of logical "canon" to these characters is pointless. it's not about who they may become, it's about who they have been and who they are now.

i don't disagree that it's very likely that a lot of jax's internal conflict may be because he's trans, and i think for a trans person, he would be amazing representation of that. i think if that's how you view jax then that's what you got from his arc, and that's all you. you are completely valid in your read of the character.

however, nothing was actually explicitly said that confirms or denies jax's gender identity. all that was said was that he has a complicated relationship with both femininity AND masculinity because of his parents, and implied that he associates opening up about his history as being "soft".

personally, i relate to jax a lot. he's one of the characters that i have truly been shaken by, because oftentimes it was like looking in a mirror. and for me, that insight on his character had nothing to do with gender at all; instead, i saw it as i see it in myself-- him masking the parts of himself that he deems vulnerable with the cocky exterior that doesn't let anything in or out. to me, ribbit putting the bow on him was her saying "you're okay with me, you dont have to wear the exterior, you can be soft, and be silly, and feel the things you haven't allowed yourself to feel." and yes, maybe the thing that he needs to feel is the reality that he's trans, but for me, it wasn't, and that's my perception of him based in my own experiences with similar emotions.

all i'm saying is that maybe jax is trans, maybe he isn't, but specifically with this show, i genuinely don't think it matters. what matters is what YOU got from it. if you're a trans person who saw your own experience reflected in jax, then that's your view. if you're like me, with a fucked up family life and complex relationships with vulnerability and anything other that stoicism, then you might view jax the way i did. all i'm saying is that both perceptions of jax's character are equally vaild, because both messages land.

and just to be clear, the identity of trans characters in other media is NOT UP FOR DEBATE. if it's canon it's canon, and those characters and the representation they provide need to be respected. jax is an entirely different situation because this show is SO specific.

in conclusion lol, im gonna keep using he/him pronouns for jax because that was used in the show, and if you see other people doing the same, then just like, be a nice human and don't jump down any throats. i certainly won't be commenting when i see people use she or they pronouns for jax.

part of the reason this show got so big is because the messaging about trauma and mental struggles and how it affects someone is SO important to people, myself included. for a lot of people it's the first time we've really seen ourselves expressed plainly, without the need for labels or boxes, but just as messy, complex and growing humans with histories and feelings. we have to remember to respect each other's experiences.

love yall, love this show, love this character. if you made it this far ty for reading lmfao