My AO3- LiplessThomas16
Girl (she/her) from Sri Lanka, artist, guitarist, crocheter, animal lover, bookworm, huge daydreamer, french learner, class topper, party animal, world class hugger, bilingualist
becky riordan confirms that the upcoming third season will have less fantasy via threads; questions why fans want to see more action scenes
mind you, the show is categorized in the action, adventure, and fantasy genres
the book series it was based on is also known for having, you know, a a demigod teenager fighting gods, monsters, and other demigod teenagers with a sword? where other demigod teenagers have knives, spears, bows...? where the last book is known for an all out war???
??? how is it unreasonable to expect an action adventure fantasy show to have action, adventure, and fantasy???
"Suprised how many adult fans want to see these kids fight" girl. Trust me when I say more than half your fans are adults who want the nostalgia of reading the series as 12yos again.
This show is slop- barely anyone, especially not the current ipad kids with their overstimulated brains and short af attention spans, are going to sit through this for over 2 seasons. Heck my sister and I started the show for the nostalgia but it was so mind numbingly boring and unappealing to the eye that we didn't even make it to the end of S1.
inspired by this tiktok :) i made the list thinking of all the ways morgana and gwen could have been connected while morgana was in camelot, before she became, well, evil. and safe to say i cried :)
It's Tag Tuesday! If you want to play, post a snippet of one of your current WIPs. If you're not working on anything at the moment, rec one of your older works. Then send asks to 3 people to keep the game going!
Eeep! Thank you! <3<3<3
This is from a one-shot idea I had where Scott's wound from Theo keeps getting worse, and Stiles decides to go on an impromptu road trip to get Kira back to hopefully stop him from dying again. Liam ends up tagging along. And s5 Stiles and Liam trapped in a jeep for a few hours alone... does not go so well.
(This is very half-done and still needs a lot of editing, but hopefully it's coherent)
"Mason stopped me," Liam started again in a much quieter voice. He'd slumped back in his seat too, imitating his posture. "He pulled me away, and then called Scott's mom and sat with his dead body for fifteen minutes."
4 missed calls from Liam's Annoying Gay Friend.
Are you sure you want to permenantly delete this voicemail?
Stiles dug his nails into the sponge of the wheel- revelled in the dents he'd left behind.
"And I know," Liam whispered- the edge in his voice clear even though his words were barely audible- "that if I'd been the one lying dead there instead of Scott, he'd be there too."
Not like you.
Weapons. Trained, tested, forged in steel and fire. Failure is an inevitability that ends in death. Pain should not be felt--it should be recognized, familiar, and inconsequential
Martyrs. In the form of servants and princes, of leaders and underdogs. If blood is necessary, the martyr will lift their hands and offer it all
Shields. Like tempering a sword, but only to bear and not to lash out. Wounds are medals--not symbols of pride, but symbols of worth. A pretty shield is useless; scars mean a job well done
Experiments. Raised on the cold comfort of a lab table. Restraints are only necessary when they're not in their right mind. Is it honorable, to be twisted beyond recognition? Or is it just a necessary evil?
Monsters. Cruelty, caution, and regarding one as a creature beyond reasonable thought is tempering in its own right. But if you keep a leash at the right length, perhaps the massecre won't reach you. One can hope.
Idols. Pretty face, pretty name, pretty hands around their shoulders and throat. There to seduce, manipulate, force any feeling to come to the surface and twist it to their favor. Any genuinity stays locked behind the guilded cage that surrounds their pretty little heart
Trophies. Status and wealth and the traditions that keep someone at their heels, on their knees, to display and serve and decorate one's ballroom.
Sacrifices. Drenched in honorable clothes, prepared and adored and cleansed. The gift of hope at the cost of one's life. Is it taken with no fight? How can you escape the ropes you were born in?
what makes me feel insane about interacting with people who use chat gpt in real life is that i can straight up be like "you know that program lies to you 50% of the time, right?" and they'll just laugh and shrug it off like it's no big deal they're feeding their brains false information because it's trendy. makes me wanna chew drywall.
"Jinx left so Vi wouldn't have to choose between them, she left so Vi could finally be happy"
Is anyone else bothered by the implication that a relatively NEW girlfriend would be capable of making someone just as if not MORE happy than healing their relationship with their sister, who they spent YEARS wanting to make up with?
Me personally, I can get over a bad breakup. But if either of my sisters DIED, or simply chose to actively walk out of my life forever, that would fucking break me. I would not, in fact, move on. And maybe it's different for you guys, but Vi consistently spent an entire season trying to find and make up with Jinx. I don't know what the hell happened in season 2, but her saying "the only thing that kept me going was the thought of getting back to you" about her 7-year prison sentence doesn't sound like "I'll be better off with this girl I've dated for a total of 2 weeks".
Why is there an immediate assumption that any romantic relationship holds just as much if not MORE weight than any platonic/familial one? I'm sorry but why is it even a contest? I'm fully convinced that in season 1, had Jinx not demanded Vi kill Caitlyn- aka take a life, ANY life- and instead asked for LITERALLY ANYTHING ELSE, she'd have done it. Remember what she said? She said they could leave the entire city behind, just the two of them, and never come back. She was ready to leave their home, leave Caitlyn, leave all of it, for Jinx. Because at the end of the day, all she wanted was her sister back. But suddenly season 2 rolls around and it's "Caitlyn makes her happier." When? Where? How? I don't see any scenes of Caitlyn making Vi happy. Oh but she did hit her though, after getting upset that Vi didn't want her to shoot at a kid.
I'm sick of romantic relationships being taken as "naturally" being the priority. Maybe if you're married with kids or something, you'll prioritize your partner over your friends, sure (but if you have kids they still take priority over your partner IMO). But a 2-week-long situationship? I've known people who get ghosted after longer than that. Fucking be real with me.
I'm simply not convinced that Caitlyn should matter this much to Vi so quickly. It shouldn't even be a competition. I genuinely cannot imagine Vi, who's SOLE MOTIVATION in season 1 was Jinx, and who's SOLE MOTIVATION in EVERY UNIVERSE and TIMELINE was her FAMILY, would ever "move on" and "be happier" with any romantic partner. Callous as it may sound, she can always get another girlfriend. There's no replacing her sister.
I actually really love this take because itâs completely true for most of storytelling when it comes to romance. The romantic relationship completely takes over a story and takes priority over any other loved ones.
This is why I get so angry about the Caitvi prison scene, because why would Vi prioritize Caitlyn (who imprisoned Jinx in the first place WITHOUT TELLING VI RIGHT AWAY) in that moment instead of trying to find Jinx as soon as she was able, as sheâs been trying to do for the majority of the show by that point đđ
i have to squint at the timeline a little but i'm a big fan of the idea that percy watched a couple episodes of avatar the last airbender as a kid and tried waterbending and was successful and showed sally all excitedly and she immediately banned the show
when iâm sad i like to think about little prehistoric toddlers tagging along with the adults who are foraging and getting really excited over a Cool Rock or Big Leaf and handing it to a parent to put in the baskets with the Actual Food and the parents having to carry around all their babyâs little Treasures the way modern parents end up with acorns and flowers in their pockets after a trip to the park
As someone whoâs special interest is Percy Jackson, season two is just greatly upsetting.
I had some faith guys, I really did. And while it was better than the first season, it still fell into all the pitfalls that the first season did. I was hoping the last episode would pull the season out of the gutter but it just sealed its fate and made the hole deeper.
I couldnât help but thinking MULTIPLE times during the season âwow, the movie did this betterâ/âthis is nearly shot for shot from the movie.â (See the scene with the Grey Ladies and the taxi as an example for the latter.)
I think the fandom needs to get a grip and actually watch the movie. Sure, the movie changes a lot but it keeps the spirit of the books. On the other hand, the series gets more ârightâ but loses the fun that the books had a replaces it with boredom.
The series makes me feel nothing. Oh Tyson fake out death? Nothing, Percy doesnât act like he cares that Tysonâs dead or just Tyson in general. Chris is a traitor? Wow, who?? I only know that guyâs name. Oh Thaliaâs back and she hates her dad? Weâve been told the whole season sheâd be back so no surprise there(effectively ruining your cliffhanger); and we could do something interesting with this but we wonât because itâs the PJO tv show and it wonât actually do anything cool.
Me and my friends have joked about how itâs like a bunch of robots talking to each other since last season. It only got worse this season. Have yall ever played Genshin Impact? 85% of people talking this season felt like that. Where they stand in a circle, stare at each other, and talk without emoting, no matter what is happening.
Guys. Just because RR approved the changes doesnât mean itâs good??? Stop this Uncle Rick shit because bro does not care
I'm so fascinated by people who seem to believe that analyzing media is somehow taking the joy out of it. Like. Do you not enjoy thinking? Does taking stuff apart and figuring out how it works not give you a hit of dopamine? And you get mad when you see people having fun in this way? What a sad, miserable way to engage with the world.
I saw a video comparing how Percy's water powers are represented in a more interesting way in the movies than they ever were in the tv show and predictably people (i.e show glazers) were throwing tantrums in the comments. Their main defense was that the show was following the progression of the books and those awful movies rushed everything.
I'll throw them a bone here and agree with one thing; Percy wasn't exactly spamming his powers throughout pjo, and the stuff he does in the first 3 books are fairly tame compared to what he does later. But i find this argument it really funny because
a) these people are the it's an adaptation, of course there will be changes warriors. And pjotv being an adaptation for the TV medium, they should find a way to portray Percy's powers in a way that's more interesting than, let's say, a single jet of water.
b) nice double standard you have there, buddy. So now you care about book accuracy? How convenient. The show making Percy say Mark of Athena worthy declarations to Annabeth in every episode didn't bother you? Percy giving the other campers a motivational speech before leading them to a battle to defend Camp â which wasn't supposed to happen until book four, by the way â didn't bother you? So they can rush percabeth and Percy's leadership arc but making him seem powerful and cool as he uses his powers is too much for you?
We all know their real problem is budget, time constraints and what the people behind the show choose to prioritize. But it's not about making Percy use his powers more often; the problem is that, when he does, it looks like shit. And i'm no specialist, but I think a little more creativity, an improve in lighting, and better directing could've easily fixed it.
I'll put the comparisons under the cut.
1) water healing Percy
Not much to complain here. You can clearly see what's going on, they zoom in his cuts and show the water healing him as it passes over his wounds.
2) Percy controlling water on purpose for the first time
Show!Percy actively uses his powers for the first time in waterland to save both him and Annabeth from drowning. I can't make a gif look good to save my life but I turned the brightness and saturation up and its still hard to see what's going on. The scene is dark, there are a lot of bubbles in front of his face. We see Percy extending his arm, then the water moves in what seems to be a jet and... Nothing. Cut to black. Percy and Annabeth are now on land, soaked, and she looks at him and asks "Did just pulled me out of there with that water power stuff?" And Percy answers "I don't know." Now WHY would you do that? Your protagonist uses his powers in purpose for the first time and instead of showing us you have the characters talking about it?
Now with movie!Percy, this happens at the museum, when they're battling the Hydra. This scene doesn't exist in the book but again, neither does the golden chair one from the show.
He needs to get the pearl, but the monster cornered him. Now look at what happens: movie!Percy notices the drinking fountain. You can see the idea forming in his mind. He extends his arm, closes his eyes and concentrate. Boom, the water explodes. He moves his hand towards the monster and redirects the water to form a shield. He gets he pearl and run, then the shield fall apart after he's gone.
Now, maybe there's more water than realistically would be inside a drinking fountain, idk. But it looks cool, and, more importantly, you can see what is happening. You can see his concentration when he's calling the water, and you can see that it worked instead of cutting to black. This is very much in line with book!Percy's narration when he's trying to use his power.
3) using his powers in battle
Show!Percy uses it in the fight against Ares on the beach. Despite the coloring being quite dull (thank you, volume stage) you can see what's happening with no trouble. Percy stands there, glowering at Ares as the water surges behind him in a great wave. There's an effect showing some kind of air pocket shielding him from the impact and the wave crashes against Ares.
It's... Fine. It's pretty much what happens in the book. It could have been more interesting of Percy had made some gesture with his arms or hands to guide the wave instead of standing there and they could have dragged the scene a little longer, but it's fine.
But it's not nearly as visually interesting as what happens in the movie. Again, movie!Percy closes his eyes in concentration, again, he extends his hands towards the water source â a water tower. The water circles the rooftop around Percy, then he moves his arms towards Luke and the water follows his movements. We can see Luke struggling, drowning, then Percy opens his arms and the water receeds, forming an arch around him. Hate this movie all you want, but this scene looks cool as fuck.
4) controlling the waves to steer a boat
Show!Percy does this in the Sea of Monsters to escape charybdis. And here comes the lighting problem again. I get that they are in the middle of a storm, but i need to see what's going on. The first time I watched the scene I genuinly couldn't see anything other than show!Percy standing on the deck aura farming. Later, I increased the brightness on my screen and could see the waves moving in front of the ironclad. I really think they should have made Percy's powers more obvious. I liked the acting here, he was clearly struggling for control against the raging sea but maybe they could, I don't know made the ship spin because of charybdis whirlpool and then righting itself for the few seconds Percy managed to shift the current. Maybe show Clarisse missing a few shots with her Canon then suddenly being able to aim because Percy managed to keep the ship on course before everything exploded. I thought of this in 5 minutes, couldn't anyone involved with the show come up with something similar?
Movie! Percy has an easier task because he's not in the Sea of Monsters and we can see better because there's no storm. But again, the movie makes what he's doing much more clear. He's concentrates, the waves start slowly, then increased intensity until the Princess of Andromeda is rocking against a very agitated sea. Plus, him riding that wave to escape? Very cunty of him.
Now, only compared scenes that had a similar context in the movie and the show. That means left out movie!Percy healing Annabeth and making a Trident out of water and show!Percy accidentally attacking Nancy and the supreme lord of the bathroom incident. While I do like the bathroom scene, with the water coming out of the toilet and hitting the campers, I thought the one with Nancy was a bit confusing. At first glance seems more that show!Percy has telekinetic powers than anything related to water.
I already talked about him on the Ironclad, but another scene that was terrible directed was the one with the sirens. I hate this scene for many reasons, but this one has the same problems of the one in waterland. What do you mean your protagonist is using his powers to save his friend from being devoured and you don't show it? I'm not even talking about the lack of bubble, but why, for the love of god, the camera was focusing on his back?
This is awful. There's a fanart showing that scene from another angle and its so much better. Why didn't they show their faces? Why they were only there for 3 seconds before they decided to focus on the bottom of the ocean? The sirens ate a lot of demigods, we know, we get it! We literally watched a demigod get eaten and circe talked about this ad nauseam just a few minutes before. They didn't have to waste like 10 seconds showing us the junk at the bottom when they could have focused on Percy's powers.
Coming back to people's defense of Percy's powers in the show, if in season 1 he made that giant wave, the natural progression for season 2 should be something equally, if not more, impressive. I liked that Percy's mood affected the water in Circe's Island, but other than that they were even less creative with Percy's powers this season.
There were 2 episodes with fight scenes on Princess Andromeda this season. In the first one Percy was literally flanked by a pool on one side and the ocean on the other. He was getting his ass beat by Allison, he could have used his powers. Instead of him tackling Annabeth out of the way and Allison falling over, he could have washed her away with a wave or a jet, something like this:
Same with the fight against Luke... There was no water inside the coffin room, but again, he was on a ship! He could have used his powers to hold Luke back as he ran with the fleece.
But I really think he should have used his powers in the season finale. They were already pulling shit from botl, might as well go all in and have Percy controlling water to drive the monsters back. I talked here about how it makes no sense that they just cut the scene to black after Percy passed out and didn't show us how Camp drove the Titan Army away. A recent interview revealed that the Party Ponies were supposed to show up as reinforcement and were cut for budget reasons. But they could have easily fixed by changing the order of events. Percy could have impaled the fleece with a spear and tell Clarisse "wait for my cue" or something of the sort. Then he could call a massive wave to push the TA back, and after they were outside of the border, Clarisse hit the tree, restoring the barrier and freeing Thalia. Only then, the lightning and Percy passing out.
It might not be a genius idea but it makes more sense to me than having the TA scrambling away from the tree right before the scene cuts to black and we never see how Camp managed to win the battle.
Anyway, this is too long already. Just my two cents in how they could've done Percy's powers without changing the scenes or demanding a much higher budget. They don't need to reinvent the wheel, just make a few adjustments to improve the show.
Literally so many problems with the PJO show could have been solved if it was a cartoon.
Terrible cgi? Animate it, then it's uniform across the board
Grey, bland "realistic" sets? Animate it, then the Underworld can be as colorful as Wonderland
Actors aging past their characters? Animate it
The "best fitting" actor not looking like their character? Animate it
Percy's sarcastic wit in his narration not translating to screen? Animate some thought bubbles or blurbs, or give him a little chibi like Lizzie McGuire (iykyk)
Stiff fight scenes because they're child actors limited by bad choreography? Hire the team from ATLA or KDH
Lacking diversity in the color grading between the mortal realm and the fantastical mythical realms? Animate it and exaggerate those features
PJO is middle-grade fiction built on wacky mythological monsters, campy puns and humor, whimsy, and some pretty cool battles.
Literally handed to the ideal hypothetical animation team on a silver platter.
But noooo. Cartoons are for children(?!?!) and aren't edgy or dark enough and live action is inherently superior and more Mature.
Meanwhile Disney can throw a billion dollars at a production and yet it still looks like it was filmed on a Disney Channel sound stage.
Lipless Thomas @lostinbooks16 - Tumblr Blog | Tumgag
