circle date everything icons!

pt 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7

I think if you are finding Percabeth rushed because of the way Percy reacted to hearing Annabeth’s bones break when she hit the ground… you don’t love your friends.

an actual comedy

just because annabeth took priority over the fleece, that doesn’t make clarisse’s reason for needing it any less important and valid btw

RIP Luke castellan you should’ve been at the club

Daniel shares a video of Leah training 🦉

Clarisse and Percy have so much sibling energy this season it hurts.

I just know i'm going to suffer in The Last Olympian when > you know when < if you've read the book.

⟡ aryan simhadri & aleks paunovic as grover underwood & polyphemus at prom

Releasing the pjo series in winter was a great decision. There's something so right about cozying up in your blanket and watching teenagers crash out every week. Exactly the kind of crack i need.

I hold them near and dear to my heart

Your Graces ⚡

Btw I still think it would be a genius idea to have Thalia talk about Jason in the show earlier, it would be heart wrenching and explain why she is protective of Annabeth. This little girl was basically the same age her brother would've been if she had been there to protect him, from her point of view. Of course she is going to adopt Annabeth as her sister and do anything to keep her safe. Of course she'd crash out when Annabeth disappears like Jason did, and tracks her down to the Cyclops' lair immediately. And potentially crashing out again when Annabeth is taken next season. She won't lose another sibling.

Plus, it would be a nice easter egg for the future series, should they ever adapt Heroes of Olympus.

Book Clarisse is insufferable and I love that

First, I need to clarify that yes, Clarisse is a bully, the way Clarisse treats Percy and other people is not okay, yes Clarisse is in charge of her own behaviour. If you don't like Clarisse, you're not wrong.

She's a morally gray character. It's easy just to hate her and say she's an idiot. And considering that this book series is aimed at children and teenagers that would be true, why should I even read this much into this? She can be the villain if you want her to be one.

But to my mind, she's also one of the most ADHD-coded characters in PJO. And as she's around 13-18 years old in the series - still just a child - I have to defend her.

So she struggles most with impulsivity. For instance, we can clearly see her acting without thinking, blurting out information that she should keep to herself, talking when she should shut her mouth and, being impatient etc etc. I feel like her ADHD is seen more "problematic" than tragic and quirky, like Percy the Problem Child goes to Camp Half-Blood and it all "we all have ADHD here, you are not alone anymore!"

But then there's Clarisse and the whole Ares cabin, being the problem children of the camp.

She also has poor emotional regulation, having emotional outbursts, difficulties redirecting once she's upset and, being vefy defensive, as seen blaiming Percy for her own mistake, accusing him of bringing hellhound to the camp, refusing help even when she clearly needs it.

Her social skills are weak. She can't read the room and she bullies others. She can be seen trying to push others and charge at people. In the first 3 books at least she doesn't really have actual friends, even her siblings somewhat dislike her, refusing to help her with the quest and letting her walk with that "You moo girl!" -sticker in her back. Deep down, Clarisse has very low esteem which for sure, can stem from Ares and his expectations but also from her struggles with ADHD!

When the PJO books came out in 2005-2009 there wasn't really this much discussion about ADHD and autism in girls. Now we know better (and Rick Riordan knows better, too). I do think that some of the changes made to her character in the show were intentional, to help people understand her better. In the books she was this disliked bully girl, viewed as stupid and humiliating her was fun.

ADHD isn't always this quirky little trait we sometimes make it seem. No, there are children whose ADHD is so severe, and their behaviour so disruptive that they go in and out of psychiatric wards. It's overpresented in prison populations. I've seen it myself in my work and in my studies, I did 5 weeks of apprenticeship in pediatric psychiatric ward for 6-13 years old and some of them just had a really difficult case of ADHD (and other neuropsychiatric disorders).

I absolutely love Dior as Clarisse, I feel like she captures the very essance of her and she understands Clarisse's motives and struggles very well. I really do like how the TV series has made many new and old fans love Clarisse and understand her better! I've seen how people are surprised that they actually like this version of Clarisse.

But I still have to defend book Clarisse and write this essee of her. Like even Rick Riordan said "I think we are telling the same story but we have the advantage of being able in TV to tell it from different points of view".

Of course there is also more to her character and you can read that her behaviour stems from her being daughter of Ares and his expectation. It's propably more canon. But I feel like if being demigod and warrior makes you have ADHD, shouldn't Ares cabin have the most severe ADHD cases there is? All in all, I hope that the Ares cabin still gets the love and affection they deserve as children even if they might be difficult and pain in the ass sometimes.

Js, with the level of yearning this season I fear for whoever plays rachel elizabeth dare. Whoever it is YALL BETTER BE NICE!

y’all. do you REALIZE how much of season 2 is ripped straight out of the book????

a few of the most contentious issues (that i’ve seen): 1) introducing the Great Prophecy 2) Percabeth 3) changing plot details

okay. fine. i, too, wish we could’ve seen Annabeth “and what” Chase punch Matt Sloane in the face, there’s no denying that. BUT

we got that amazing chariot scene. we got the Stymphalian birds. we got the ironclad fight with Scylla and Charybdis!! i know that the series is not play-by-play out of the book, but the writing reflects the themes and strife of Sea of Monsters so well, especially now that we’re dealing with multiple POVs.

working backward on the list, DO YOU NOT REMEMBER THAT ANNABETH KISSES PERCY ON THE CHEEK AT THE END OF THIS BOOK? and Percy is constantly aware of Annabeth’s mood. sometimes he doesn’t understand her, but he always notes when she’s angry, or sad, or scared. even if he doesn’t know what to do, he seems to know when to push her and when to give her space. he’s an emotionally in-tune king 😌 and just as much as he worries about her, he spends time caring about Tyson and Grover. i’ve said it before & i’ll say it again— Percy just cares, deeply, and clearly states his loyalty to his friends. we just read the subtext because we know what happens (and because Walker Scobell has MASTERED heart eyes). in The Titan’s Curse, Percy cares about Annabeth and Annabeth alone, until another one of his friends is in danger (and then he goes back to worrying about Annabeth). in order to build up that intensity, Sea of Monsters catalyses their friendship from questmates to “i choose you” friends. of course it’s going to be a little more layered. i mean, the boy is struck speechless when he sees Annabeth’s Circe-island makeover. he’s not subtle and never has been.

as far as the Great Prophecy goes, Percy learning about it is STRAIGHT FROM THE BOOK. see below:

“Annabeth twisted her Yankees cap in her hands. ‘Percy, I don’t know the full prophecy, but it warns about a half-blood child of the Big Three— the next one who lives to the age of sixteen. That’s the real reason Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades swore a pact after World War II not to have any more kids. The next child of the Big Three who reaches sixteen will be a dangerous weapon.’

‘Why?’

‘Because that hero will decide the fate of Olympus. He or she will make a decision that either saves the Age of the Gods, or destroys it.’

I let that sink in. I don’t get seasick, but suddenly I felt ill.” (page 167, italics mine)

like, hello accuracy???

sure, they’re pushing Percy’s fatal flaw in this season rather than next, but otherwise all the foreshadowing & groundwork is accurate to the timeline. the writers are adding nuance to the story that the books, in their limited (and unreliably narrated) point of view, don’t discuss. i’m loving that.

Now I haven’t watched or even really interacted with the PJO tv show apart from tiktok edits and cast interviews

But I’ve seen some people take issue with the way they’re doing Percy’s fatal flaw of loyalty (specifically how he’d sacrificed camp for Annabeth). And like it kinda feels like they’re getting mad that they can’t glorify it anymore? Like in the books as I’ve ranted about before, the consequences of Percy’s flaw is centered on him

Which allows it to be spun into a good quality of him, although at detriment to himself. So it’s not as bad as, let’s say, Annabeth. Whose hubris is constantly seen dragging herself AND her teammates down. Percy didn’t have that because his actions due to his flaw didn’t usually affect other people. But now it’s actively harming other people so it’s not as self sacrificing anymore

Which is actually something I like considering it’s supposed to be a flaw not something that can be spun into a redeeming quality. Like yes he will ruin himself for his loved ones however he will also ruin anyone else for them. Unfortunately, this does includes camp/other campers sometimes as he puts his loved ones above everyone else

Anyway take this with whatever care you want, like I said I haven’t actually watched the show so I’ve got like no real stake in it I have no idea what’s going on in there

When i see my really good friend that i would burn the world for talking to her kind of brother that's also kind of the biggest father figure of her life and also kind of her crush but sucks ass