Okay, we all know being a demigod is a shit position. Its scary and gets you killed in really nasty ways. But I feel like being a Big Three Kid has to be the shitiest position in all the shit positions.
Like, imagine being Thalia Grace. Your dad is king of the gods, lord of the skies. Led a war to get rid of a tyrant. And the only thing you get is his scorned wife AND brother, who both try to kill you (with one technically succeeding), a drunk of a mother, and brother who you thought was dead. Oh, wait, he’s not dead! No instead he was used as an offering to appease your dad’s wife and help fight in a war and prevent mass destruction.
Or maybe you can imagine being Percy. Son of the sea god, the stormbringer, the earthshaker. You get to live with a disgusting, abusive man for around 6 years. Who smells like literal shit. All because your scent as a demigod is too strong, BECAUSE of who your father is. You see things that you aren’t supposed to see and do things that people can’t do and go years thinking something is wrong with you. That your the problem. Then you get to the one place where you’re supposed to be save. But! Here is the kicker! You’re not! Your uncles hate you and you’ve been accused of stealing a symbol of power. A series of events that will kick off a war, and guess what. You’re a center point for it. Welcome to Camp Half-Blood.
Mhm, but then there’s Hazel. Daughter Pluto, god of the underworld and riches. But that doesn’t really change anything does it? She’s still living in 1930s America, in a red state. One where confederate flags still hang if you go deep enough into the city. She go to a school where the kids are supposed to be just like her! They still don’t like her tho. She’s got no idea who your father is, only that he left her with a parting gift. Only it’s not really a gift. Sure, she can pull rubies and diamonds from the earth, all worth millions. But anyone who’s ever gonna touch it will die. She lives with her mother, a woman gone so mad with greed it kills her. And Hazel, by the way. Laying dead Alaska, inhaling oil. But it doesn’t end there! She can’t have her mother suffering for eternity, can she? The answer is no. Hazel gets to spend the next 70 years in the Fields of Asphodel. It still doesn’t end! Because when she’s brought back to life, she gets to fight in a war against giants, her sad story seemingly never ending.
Nico’s a son of one of the Big Three, one of the most ancient and most powerful. But most people look at him as something bad, something not worth taking a second glance at. Something too look away from, mostly. He’s from the 30s, spent years in a magical time casino with only his sister at his side. She doesn’t stay for long though, she dies soon after they discover their heritage. And he doesn’t remember his mother much, a name without a face. A face without a name. He survived an attempted assassination at 2, though it wouldn’t be the only time his was life was threatened. He clings to his sister, even though she’s dead. He’s the son of the god of the underworld, is he not? There had to be a way, and there is. Only she won’t talk to him, she seems more concerned with communicating with the guy who got her killed instead. She chooses rebirth, and he decides to lay it to rest. She’s not coming back, and he has a war to fight in. (He gets stuck in a jar and forcibly outed a few years later, but that’s a lot to get into for now.)
Jason Grace is a pillar of New Rome, their golden boy, their American boy. He’s a son of Jupiter, a natural born leader. He’s been at camp for as long as he can remember, he wants to be praetor soon. He’s had a rocky start, but maybe he’ll be one of the lucky ones. Retire a veteran and live a long life with Reyna in New Rome. Only that never happened. He has no idea where he is, there’s a girl holding his hand, and she’s cute but it feels wrong. They get attacked and people come in and call him a Greek demigod, familiar, yes, but still wrong. It doesn’t feel right. It doesn’t put things into perspective the way it does for Piper and Leo. He’s goes to a quest to rescue Hera, the name sounds wrong. He nearly dies but at least he remembers who he is. He spends the next 6 months trying to get back home, even though he isn’t too sure on where or what home is. He gets there, eventually, but it doesn’t stop there. He’s dragged on quests and battles and fights in the war but at least he survives it, he’s still there. Apollo needs help, he and Piper give him aid. He gets dumped. He doesn’t get to he a veteran in New Rome. Not with Reyna, not with Piper, not with anybody. He doesn’t get kids or grandkids. No, he gets shot down, another demigod buried.
You could be any one of them, really. Pick your poison, but I guarantee you won’t like any of them. Spending years trying to find a place where you belong, where you feel safe. Only for it to never come.
Percy, who, if you really look at the books, isn’t really all that well liked until he’s at least 2 years into camp. Only to then be sidelined because the courages, brave, fearless daughter of Zeus is back from the dead. Nico, the son of one of the most feared and hated gods. Who has death written all over him, who excludes it so much animals can smell it and humans can sense it, who’s been ostracized and pushed off to the side since he was 10. Hazel, who was treated like disease as soon as she stepped foot on camp soil. Who’s gone her whole life looked as something that’s cursed, that will only bring misfortune, a bad omen.
Shit positions, all of them.
59 notes
·
View notes
Things I won't forgive the fight club movie for regarding the character of Marla Singer, entry C:
The manic pixie dreamgirlification of her own struggle with life and death. The narrator gets to have a serious issue driving his alienation but Marla gets her cancer removed so her pithy statement about the tragedy of death being that she doesn't fall over dead randomly is just a bit Offbeat And Interesting And Edgy haha! She's a real tourist, really, nothing ever stated to be wrong about her. Sure she overdoses. Sure you can see she's got a shit life. But she doesn't get backstory. She doesn't get a life beyond fun little statements that, when her own reason for saying and thinking them is removed, mostly just reflect the narrator. In the book, it is very, very clear. Marla does what she does because she has cancer and is afraid of The Slow Death. The Wasting. The Struggle. By taking that away you even reduce her suicide attempt. It puts it all in this context of nothingness. Sure, you can assume a depth, but I don't think we should be uncritical about the fact that they chose to remove it. Marla Singer is more than an object that bothers the narrator out of the support groups and gets fucked by Tyler Durden. Marla Singer is a person in her own right in the book, and in the movie she's just... not.
58 notes
·
View notes
How did the Wonderbolts find out/react to Spitfire and Rainbow's relationship?
Ok I will focus on Fleetfoot here because otherwise it'll be too long. I ended up drawing a few panels but can't finish them right now, so I'm giving you all the sketches.
I hc Fleetfoot to know Spitfire the longest right after Soarin. They're close friends (Fleets considers Spitty her best friend even) and even though she's got a pretty intense rivalry with Rainbow, they also started a close and intense friendship after Rainbow joined.
Fleetfoot considers her friendship to both to be very special.
The scene in question happens during some holiday, general WB vacation, or just a weekend. It's one of the AUs where Spitty and Rainbow start dating and get closer while still in the WBs.
At some point they don't want to stay at home and want to show physical intimacy in public instead of acting like friends. But both being well known (especially Spitfire) immediately excludes all bigger and nearer towns. They can't just go out and hold hands and kiss without the press immediately writing about it and it ending in a huge scandal for the Wonderbolts.
They end up spending this specific date in a small village which hosts some minor festival that day. It's tiny, not that well known and is perfect for them. People don't recognize them outside of their uniforms and signature outfits.
It's pure happenstance that Fleetfoot is at the same no-name festival, visiting either an old friend or having to spend some time there due to some family issue.
She notices the familiar, colorful hair in the corner of her eye. The hair is a lot more vibrant and visible in the up-do Rainbow wears - a bit foolish of her to not wear a cap like Spitfire. But Rainbow being able to test, investigate and discover her own femininity in the safety of their private time is a big part of her. Plus, Spitfire also didn't think it would be a problem.
From the outfit, Fleetfoot wouldn't have guessed it's really Rainbow further down the street. But she recognizes her hair and laughter immediately. As for Spitfire, even with a hat and glasses, she'd recognize her a mile away as well.
It's a bizarre scene for Fleetfoot and seeing them kiss feels like a gut punch. At this point she's often tried to push Spitfire to go out and at least have some sexy flings, some fun nights with nameless girls instead of her just drowning in WB work. Spitfire always dismissed her, saying she can focus on romance later when she can actually date someone in private and not have the press nonstop on her heels.
Similarly Rainbow always denied liking someone and wanting to focus on being a great Wonderbolt member, being the newest addition. The most Fleetfoot got out of her, was doing silly "Smash or Pass" games the nights out after training or a big event.
Fleetfoot would never even have guessed that either would be interested in anyone, especially not each other. And seeing them in front of her seems is like a dream. She feels like she's seeing two completely different people in front of her and not her friends: Rainbow with her more delicate and feminine attire than usual, and Spitfire who's acting a lot more flirty, soft and seductive instead of her serious, rough or dudebro-joking attitude as captain.
Fleetfoot considered her relationship to both as special. She's not just "a friend" and that's the first reason why catching them in the act affects her this deeply.
The second reason is that she takes the Wonderbolts, their reputation, and especially the team bond just as serious as Spitfire. Seeing them involved romantically goes not only against the Wonderbolt code and rules, but would raise red flags even if it was allowed. There are a gazillion reasons why trouble could and - in Fleets' eyes - would follow. Can either separate work from relationship? Can they stay neutral? Will there be favoritism? Will Rainbow start to slack off? Will she distract Spitfire form her duties? Will there be silent grudges in the team? Will the team and performance suffer?
Fleets is usually pretty outgoing and wears her emotions on her sleeve. This time she swallows her anger and other complicated emotions and keeps quiet. The desire to just go up to and confront them is big - but she doesn't want this to end in a catastrophe for the team. Also she feels Spitfire could talk and explain herself and Rainbow out of it - probably playing it all down since Fleetfoot doesn't even have evidence.
So Fleetfoot waits for now, hoping to observe and collect evidence she can use against them once her judgement day comes. She's still convinced this is bad and will hurt everyone in the long run. But even with a very close eye on them, she doesn't notice anything.
Their performance doesn't falter. They're both as motivated to be peak Wonderbolts as ever. There are no noticeable longer or romantic touches. No special eye gazing. Rainbow gets no special treatment, quite the opposite - Fleets wonders if maybe she gets more criticism and work than the others (which is 100% the case. Spitfire does overcompensate a bit in her attempt to hide their relationship)
She doesn't see them meet up in a romantic way. She never sees a kiss or romantic gesture again. And even when she spies on them when they think they're all alone, they don't act differently to regular teammates.
There are days where Fleetfoot wonders if her mind way playing a trick on her and that she saw two other people that day. Only sometimes though.
And with time moving on and her not seeing any bad consequences, her emotions towards this secret mellow out and transform into a different, more empathetic nature.
There is more going on and some follow-up with Fleetfoot and Rainbow which also covers Rainbow's insecurity about feminine clothing - but it's a long post already. I might want to doodle something for it as well, when that time comes.
27 notes
·
View notes