You know what, I am really interested in how the events of the Titan War will be remembered. Post-PJO, we know the gods began to claim more children which means by HOO, it is likely that most campers did not live through the Titan War. All they have is secondhand stories, because I don’t imagine Percy, or Annabeth, or any other veteran camper would want to relive it.

So what if Percy + Annabeth + Grover’s adventures from PJO became very famous and they hated it? What if the Titan War was portrayed inaccurately after the fact, with people and events being mischaracterized or losing their nuance (as can sometimes happen with wars in real life)?

I think younger campers would idolize Percy as some big, strong hero similar to the Greek tales, even though we know he was not the true “hero” of the Great Prophecy.  Luke would be remembered as a power-hungry traitor, his valid points and good intentions forgotten. The complicated relationship between Percy, Annabeth, and Luke which was explored at the climax of TLO would be reduced to a *dramatic love triangle* (despite the fact it was always inappropriate for Luke to pursue Annabeth romantically)!

Overall, I think the struggles of every veteran demigod would be glamorized by younger campers instead of facing reality, which was a bunch of kids being put through hell for years on end. And I think Percy and Annabeth would definitely chafe at the admiration they feel is misplaced. They would be upset that no one seems to care about the true cause of the war, and wonder what was all the fighting for?

The Case for Why HOO should have had a slightly bigger time jump post-PJO.

Okay, one thing that never sat right with me in the PJO universe was the quick turnaround before HOO. The fact that Percy disappears just a few short months after winning the Titan War means that our heroes do not have enough time to enjoy some peace, and there was realistically not enough time for tensions to brew for the Giant War.

Let's pretend there was a time jump of 2 years. Percy and Annabeth are now 18 years old. They are older, stronger, and have only become deadlier since the end of the Titan War.

In this time, Percy and Annabeth have become even more prominent figures at camp and helped manage the influx of newly claimed campers. Likewise, Annabeth has made great progress in rebuilding Olympus. But there is an undercurrent of unrest and hostile murmurs from Olympus. They begin to notice less and less communication with the gods. Suddenly, Annabeth has a harder time getting access to Olympus to do her work. And the flow of new campers slows to a trickle. The gods are upset at having to abide by Percy's demands and they are fearful of his power, and now there is time to explore this. (Remember he has had the Achilles curse for two years now and only gotten more in sync with his godly side!)

Then Percy disappears and all hell breaks loose. The new timing only adds to the drama, because at this point Percy would have been at the brink of going to college only to have his life derailed again. (Callback to Beckendorf who was also 18 and college-bound but forced to set it all aside.)

Their ages also bring more interesting dynamics to Percy and Annabeth's relationship with the Seven. Being basically adults among a bunch of young teens means that Percy and Annabeth have an even greater leadership role on the Argo II. Instead of having a rivalry with Jason, I think Jason would look to Percy and feel insecure, thinking that he could never compare to what is essentially a war veteran at this point. And overall, I think the Seven would admire Percy and Annabeth but also be secretly afraid that they would suffer the same fate of having godly affairs meddle with their futures.

End of rant! Please comment with your thoughts and further ideas!

How I Think Percy and Annabeth’s “Enemies to Friends” Relationship Should Work in PJO Season 1:

First of all, I would like to say it really bothers me when writers throw in an “enemies to friends” or “enemies to friends to lovers” trope into their story and the basis for “enemies” is something silly. In the case of PJO, the main reason why Annabeth and Percy do not get along at first (this is only the biggest reason, there are others) is because their parents do not like each other.

I would like to make the case that this trope would work much better if it was caused by a clash of worldviews between Percy and Annabeth. We have two characters with vastly different backgrounds, and it really sucks that this wasn’t explored more.

Percy is very street smart. He understands the power dynamics/hierarchies/rules of the mortal world and is able to use these to his advantage. However, he is totally new to the demigod world and struggles against following rules or authority figures he does not respect. This sets him up to be a rebel in the demigod world and make enemies of powerful folks.

Annabeth is well-versed in the demigod world. She has known about her demigod status since age 7 and been involved at camp for nearly as long. In this time, she has managed to build connections with demigods and gods alike. However, she feels little attachment to the mortal world where she has only ever known rejection.

Percy’s home life is marked by extremes. Sally did her best to give him love and attention, but he was also abused by Gabe, written off by the school system, and experienced financial struggles. Percy’s background set him up to be a very loving kid with a strong hatred for injustice. He was abused for years, but still knew what it was to be shown love.

Annabeth’s home life has left her extremely self-conscious and afraid of abandonment. She was homeless and fending for herself at age 7, then was picked up by two teens who could barely help themselves. Then Thalia and Luke walked out of her life too. Annabeth has never known true, unconditional love.

There is just so much to explore here, and I really hope that their initial “enemies to friends” takes advantage of that. Even their “friends to lovers” could be so much more interesting. I imagine their differences being most pronounced during their TBoTL angsty era. Annabeth’s insecurity about Rachel would be a lot cooler if it was less “clingy jealous girl” and more “terrified of being left behind again”. Likewise, Percy would suffer so much during their estrangement because he would have so much love for Annabeth but nowhere to put it. As Aphrodite predicted, not easy indeed. ;)

Anyways! This went on too long but lmk your critiques.

I know it’s all overplayed at this point, but I will never understand: if the Titanic submersible imploded immediately after it lost contact with the surface, then WHO WAS CAUSING THE BANGING SOUNDS.

I actually don’t hate Misty in Yellowjackets. Her younger self is definitely off-putting, but as an adult I find her actually endearing and funny. I think Misty was universally hated because she just didn’t fit in at school and the girls’ time in the wilderness took a lot of cues from their high school experience, so they continued to hate Misty in the woods just because they hated her at school.

Okay, yes she has an obsessive personality, has really weird and niche interests and comes on too strong. But Misty is also one of the more reliable characters on the show. Even in the present day, the women know that Misty can be counted on to help them with anything, no questions asked. So the fact that she has been left out of the loop so much over the years and forced to cope with things on her own, is so sad. We get to learn how each of the survivors suffered and coped after their rescue but not Misty.

I know I’m supposed to hate or at least be put off by Shauna in Yellowjackets but I cannot hate her when she makes her sad cow eyes expression! She sleeps with her best friend’s boyfriend, cannibalizes said best friend/crush(?) and is objectively an absolute nightmare of a girl, but all I can do is support my girly pops.

How could I stay mad at this face: 🥺

An analysis of David in the Last of Us:

Episode 8 took the opportunity to flesh out David’s character and the Silver Lake community and this gave us some insight into this villain’s mentality.

We understand that David thinks he is exceptional. He sees himself as a shepherd along his flock, and a father to his community. However, David feels unsatisfied because there is no one left to challenge him; everyone around him has been broken by him.

I think what attracted David to Ellie (besides her young age) was her sheer power. Ellie is a force of nature and David is surprised that he has met his match in a child. After their initial meeting, he is determined to tame and possess her.

And the way that he goes about this is a study in grooming and manipulation. When they met, David could very easily overpower Ellie at any point, but he lets her think she is in control. He plays nice and draws her in, and the viewer can easily see his past as a teacher of young children helps him in this regard.

From this point forward, David does his best to isolate Ellie and reduce the size of her world to just David and Ellie, hoping that she will give in. When trying to seduce her (*gag*) doesn't work, he decides she isn't worth the trouble and tries to kill her.

What happens next is the turning point where David resolves to take Ellie by force. Something I did not understand on first watch was why David said "no one likes to be humiliated" and "you don't know how good I am" during the burning restaurant scene. Upon rewatch, it makes sense. Ellie has revealed her immunity (what makes her so special) and killed James. She not only pulls one over on David once again, but she has already rejected his romantic advances, further damaging his ego.

The final straw is Ellie setting the restaurant ablaze, directly attacking the center of David's leadership without even knowing it. David is pushed beyond anger and makes the decision to r*pe her right there in the burning restaurant, not even caring that he is putting his own life in danger. This just exemplifies that r*pe is about power and control, not love as he claimed. David has indeed fallen for Ellie, but this is love in its most evil form.

Crying at how Ellie's parental figures (Anna, Marlene, Joel) commit their greatest acts of love for her without her knowing, therefore she has never understood the extent of parental love she's possessed.

Think about it!

Anna (despite being infected and having just gone through an unassisted childbirth) holds out just long enough to ensure Ellie's safety. She makes sure that Marlene will pass on her one possession and releases once she knows that Ellie is in good hands.

It may seem like Marlene abandoned Ellie to FEDRA, but we take for granted that Marlene is in a dangerous line of work. As leader of the Boston Fireflies, Marlene poses a danger to everyone around her. The best way she could keep Ellie safe was to keep her far away (with her enemies no less) and withhold contact.

Finally, most of Joel's greatest acts of love and protection occur without Ellie present. His tearful confession to Tommy, the brutal interrogation of David's men, his demands that Marlene take him to Ellie immediately, and his final rampage through the Firefly hospital are all done without her witnessing it.

Before meeting Joel, Ellie thinks no one has ever loved or protected her and she is wrong. After meeting Joel, she now understands that he cares for her but she will likely never grasp the extent. Ellie believes that she has always lacked for love in her life but in reality she does not even see how much of it overflows for her.

The Last of Us is literally taking up all my brain space right now and I can’t stop thinking about how the entire narrative centers around love. Specifically, it asks: “Would you still love if you knew the ending? If you knew that love could drive you to despair, or make you commit atrocities you never imagined?”

Over and over again, we see people love each other despite the odds and suffer for it. This is explored through the many duos we encounter in the story.

We have the primary duo, Joel and Ellie, but also

1. Joel and Sarah

2. Joel and Tommy

3. Joel and Tess

4. Bill and Frank

5. Sam and Henry

6. Kathleen and Michael

7. Riley and Ellie

In the apocalypse, you know for a fact that you and those you love are more likely to die a horrible death than live to retirement age. And you know, logically, that loving those around you can result in extreme heartbreak that maybe you cannot move past.

Yet love makes life worth living! Do you want to just survive, or do you also want to live?

Our characters suffer because they want to have it all; they want to survive alongside those they love, but this world does not let you have that for long. When their loved ones are threatened, they react in horribly violent or morally bankrupt ways because they believe their love is more important than the world.

And maybe they are right?