Percy Jackson And the Olympians Part 2

Hello everyone, I’m back with another blog about Percy Jackson and the Olympians and I wanted to say thank you for all the support and if some of my information is off or it’s not going in that much depth it’s because I’m going off the top of my head this is also the 2nd part since I need to divert my Attention elsewhere and if you guess what the 1. book is I’ll give you a cookie. Now without further ado I present.

3. The Battle of the Labyrinth

Characters: Annabeth, Percy, Tyson, Nico, Grover, Daedalus, Tyson, Luke, Kronos, Calypso, Poseidon, King Minos, Rachel Dare.

Ok so we start off the book with Percy attending orientation at his new school where he encounters some demons where during the fight fire is prong across the school which burns down. Percy would’ve been in major trouble if it had not been for Rachel dare the same girl that Percy met at the dam last book. She ends up getting him out of the school. Percy took her back to camp where she began her studies as an oracle. after getting her situated Annabeth and Percy talk to the campers to tell them Lukes’s plan but unbeknownst to Percy Grover was on trial for not finding Pan [ Even though the gods couldn’t even find him but go off] After this they do a war game [ like every book] where Percy is introduced to the new sword trainer [ who i believe was Luke please tell me if I’m wrong] Percy is suspicious of this new sword trainer because you know they are at war with Luke Chiron is so dumb sometimes. Percy and Annabeth find a labyrinth in camp which they believe Luke will use to invade the camp. Annabeth issues a quest to go into the labyrinth to find Daedalus Workshop and close off the route to the camp. Annabeth, Grover, Tyson and Percy go into the maze where they then cross paths with Nico from the book Titians curse who is there to try and resurrect his dead sister Bianca with the help of King Minos. Nico joins Percy even though he still hates him for not keeping his promise which is technically not his fault since she wanted to be dumb but i can understand Nico’s frustrations.

like I beforehand I haven’t read this in years so i only remember the important parts but stay with me now

Percy went on a side quest for Hephateus to kill a group of Monsters in a volcano that ends up exploding which leads to Percy and Annabeth getting separated with Annabeth thinking he died. Percy ends up getting stranded on an island where it Harbors Calypso (Atlas daughter). Percy stays there for about 2 weeks until he is finally able to leave and when he returns to camp, he sees the camp mourning him since they all thought he perished. Annabeth hugs and punches him for living and not telling her. long story short Grover finds pan makes him lord of the wild, Percy fights Luke, Kronos now has Lukes body, and Daedalus is dead destroying the labyrinth.

sorry, there’s not that much information I remember most not all.

8/10

Hello everyone, :)

So, as my first post I decided to rank my favorite book series Percy Jackson and the Olympians and give details about each book. I’ll be ranking them lowest to highest

5. Sea Of Monsters

Ok so the sea of monsters is about of Grover (2nd fav) is captured by a cyclops and Percy and Annabeth go across the sea to rescue him encountering Luke the person that betrayed Percy and the camp and the end of the last book. Where they also met up with allies like Clarissa and Aries (God of war) and had to help them fight a group of enemies (I don’t remember who) but after the help her out they use the sub that Aries gave to Clarissa to go to the island where Grover is being held. When they get to the island, they find Grover in a wedding dress about to get married to the cyclops with the help of Tyson and Clarissa they managed to get Grover out and escape.

Likes: Grover in a wedding dress, Annabeth and Percy relationship growing

Dislikes: Literally everything else. there was barely any character growth for Clarissa. We do get introduce to Tyson Percy half-brother, but it minimizes Percy struggle being the only kid in of Poseidon and in the fight with the cyclops he had barely any importance to the fight also this means the Poseidon broke the taboo again (Hades on top).

this book was a 4/10 for me at least there’s mixed reviews

4.The Titians Curse

I’d say that this had potential because of the characters he introduced like Nico, Thailia even though we saw her last book at the Zoe, Bianca and Paul. You may be asking Paul? Who’s Paul? He is Percy’s step I’m and im glad we got his introduction in this story now we get to see Percy have somewhat of a normal life but let’s get into the summary.

So, we start with Percy, Annabeth, Grover and Thalia going to a school to help out 2 students Nico and Bianca and bring them to camp but there are monsters after them so Percy, Annabeth, and Thalia along with some of Artemis warriors fight them while Grover get Nico and Bianca to safety. During the fight Annabeth gets kidnapped and Thailia, who mind you was also there, blames Percy for her kidnapping. Percy talks to the hunter hoping for help to get her back but he finds out that Artemis has been captured and most likely by the same people.

Bianca talks to the hunters about her joining them which to me doesn’t make sense because that would mean leaving Nico her brother behind but that doesn’t matter right now because after this dialogue Apollo comes in to give them all a ride back to camp, they rest come back they have a prophecy.

Five shall go west to the goddess in chains,
One shall be lost in the land without rain,
The bane of Olympus shows the trail,
Campers and Hunters combined prevail,
The Titan’s curse must one withstand,
And one shall perish by a parent’s hand.

So, they chose to take Zoe. I can understand Thalia I can understand Grover I can also understand that but Bianca? Why her over everyone, even Percy who at this point already battled a god and legendary Monsters, just to choose the girl with no experience and a nerdy brother who knows more about mythology than you. Anyway, the four of them go while Percy follows behind discreetly with a sea creature named Bessie after having dreams about the general. He follows them to Washington DC where he spots Luke following them, so he tells them, and they get mad at him (not Grover though) for following them. They then get attacked by some zombies. Zoe allows Percy to join making it 5 now.

They get to New Mexico where they find a junkyard but before this Aphrodite along with Ares tells him to not pick anything up. Listen to me they said do not pick anything up. Guess what Bianca picks up a figurine she wanted to give to her brother before she leaves him for most likely forever is killed by Talos which breaks the promise to Nico to keep her safe. I blame 2 people and 2 only Zoe and Bianca cause why would you bring an inexperienced first day hunter with you on a dangerous quest and why would you do something so stupid on a dangerous quest and why would she bother giving Nico anything you’re already leaving him behind when you’ve been with him for a hundred years.

After this happened Percy sad since he broke his promise to Nico, but they continue on to San Francisco at the hoover dam where they meet Bessie again and it turns out she has the power to overthrow the gods a manticore who is a servant to Kronos comes almost convince Thalia to join him, but she relents they call Mr. D he comes takes out the manticore.

They are then taken to Olympus where the gods contemplate killing Thalia and Percy since they have the potential to destroy Olympus. So, Thalia decides to become a hunter for Artemis, so she won’t grow up to be 16 while Percy convinces them that he won’t destroy Olympus. Flash forward they get into a fight with Atlas, and they see Annabeth holding the sky with a white streak in her hair. Atlas is also Zoe’s father, so they beat him, make him hold up the sky again and Zoe dies fighting her father, so Artemis makes her a constellation to honor her. They head back to the camp and the relationship between Percy and Annabeth grows and Nico hates Percy since he didn’t keep his promise to keep Bianca safe and it’s revealed that he is the son of Hades in the end.

The end.

5/10

The only reason this rating is so low is that the pacing was very slow, and the character dynamics were terrible compared to the first book.

Part 2 coming soon

The people fate binds you to..

“Accept the things to which fate binds you and love the people with whom fate brings you together but do so with all your heart.”
Marcus Aurelius

Then, this quote was something to hear and not feel. It was surface level and could not penetrate past that point, like a stick of hay trying to poke a hole into a SUV. I thought noticing and accepting the people we are around was common sense. At least, what this meant to me was to have compassion for people. Express your love for them, if you are able/comfortable and want to be in the position of receiving that love back.

Thinking further, I was so in focused on myself and what I was adding to the world. Was I good enough at this? Or could I use more focus at that? I can’t say I remember a single time where I was just sitting with the people fate bonded me to without using my phone or accessing that part of my brain that naturally critiqued itself. Then, I thought this was a good thing. If I found every weak point of my piano skills or read a hefty section of a biology book, I’d be set for life. I’d have the world.

But now, without the people fate bonded me to those big things feel small. Everything I worked toward wasn’t worthless, they just weren’t as meaningful as they used to be. It seems like the time was wasted instead of well spent. What I was adding to the world didn’t mean anything because the world is given to everyone but the people around me were exclusively my own.

I think times like this become a realization. They warp into a picture that you aren’t familiar with but those are all your brush strokes, those are all your handprints. It’s created away from your eye but nonetheless in your favor.

And maybe that’s what life is about. Painting a picture, you cannot actually see or touch, you just have to let who you are be the brush and how you live be the brushstrokes. Living away from my family has let the picture come alive and show itself to me. Who I am, and how I live. It’s not a bad realization of course, because I’m not a bad person. It’s just so strong and haunting that it seems final.

But how can we combat this feeling? Can we become something different than we used to be? Take extra care to show our family that we love and need them and appreciate the support they give us? We don’t have to change in fact we just have to do some inner work. Make goals and plans to reach out to them and find a center. Where we feel peace away from the people the universe put in our space. But before that we have to become better family members. Join in the family board game or volunteer to go grocery shopping with grandma. Braid your sister’s hair while watching her favorite show and talk about the most random things together. Talk about how the shoes hanging on the powerline once belonged to someone and share how they even got there in the first place.

This creates involvement. So that the peace sprouts from something good. It sprouts from effort that energizes your familial bond. That even though we haven’t been the most involved in the past we can strengthen it with good intentions alone. They will recognize this, they will see the frequent calls and letters, they will notice how your room door is open and inviting and how you always greet them in the morning and wish them a goodnight at the end of the day. This, to me, is accepting our loved ones at a deeper range. Valuing the people we’ve looked over, because we need them after all.

Invincible Character Review

This may be a pretty biased review to anybody who doesn’t like superheroes as much as me, but it’ll be ok. I have an unfathomable love for this show, and I need to express how much I love these characters. In my opinion, this is one of the best shows I have ever watched, and I recommend everybody to watch it.

Invincible

Invincible is the main protagonist in the show. His father’s hero name is Omni-Man, who is like superman, just minus a few powers. Invincible has the same powers as his father and the first season is mainly about him learning how to use those powers while still having to fight off villains. I love this character because he shares a huge similarity with my favorite hero, Spider-Man. Just like Spider-Man, Invincible must balance his teenage life with his hero life, and in the show, you can really see the toll that takes on him and how much he struggles with it. Invincible has to balance school, homelife, friends, hero work, and his awful girlfriend (I’ll get into that later) all together. It’s a rare occasion for him to actually fit it all into one day, and that causes him to lose a lot, yet he always pushed through no matter how bad life was for him. That a huge thing I love about Spider-Man and Invincible managed to capture that aspect of being a teen hero just as well.

Omni-Man

Omni-Man is the father of Invincible. He serves as a Superman role on Earth. To the people of Earth, he is an alien from another planet sent to protect Earth from any threats. Though he is an alien from another planet, the rest is a lie to cover up his real intentions with the planet. Omni-Man is not an innocent character by any means. He is actually the main antagonist. In the first episode, he initiates the first step of his true intentions with the planet by doing a horrible thing to some characters introduced earlier in the same episode, whom he teamed up with. His evil status is very quickly shown to the viewers, but obviously a secret for the character. I think the show does a very good job at showing him hiding in plain sight after the tragedy he caused. By the end of the season, he finally tries to finish with the plan but ends up getting “chased” off the planet by his son. As awful of a person he is, you can really see in many moments of the first season that he still has some humanity left in him, and in the second season that is really shown, just in a gross way (if you know then you know.) It really looks like he is going to have a redemption ark, though not as great as Rex, I’m all for it, just will be nowhere near the same hero that he was.

Atom Eve

Atom Eve is Invincibles love interest in the comics and is soon to be his love interest in the show. Her power allows her to change the structure of molecules. So, she can basically make anything out of this air. She just can’t mess with living things. She is a side protagonist that even has her own special episode showing her back story. Her back story shows how tough her childhood was and what she had to go through to become the hero she is now. I love this character because she is an example of no matter how hard you try to help; it might not always go well. She spends the show trying to become a neighborhood hero that helps people not only in danger, but also in need. But sometimes her acts of kindness go wrong, and she ends up blaming herself. There were points where she quit being a hero because she didn’t want to hurt anybody, but she always came back to help save the day. She is yet another example of constant perseverance and I love that for her character.

Debbie Grayson

Debbie Grayson is the mother of Invincible and though she is a normal human without powers, she is still an amazing character in the show. Her character often gets overlooked, but I think she still has an amazing story based on what she has to go through in the show. Most of her story isn’t truly seen until the second season, but the beginning of it takes place in the first. I think she goes through more than anyone else in the show (except for Invincible.) Her character really shows what it is like to be depressed and to feel betrayed. She is the one that originally discovers her husband’s true intentions with the world. She then has to hear him say awful things about her during Invincible and Omni-Man’s fight. After Omni-Man leaves, she is left alone and broken with a son that can’t be there for her due to his hero work. She is truly alone, because most people who know about her husband hate her just as much. She only has one true friend who is just as broken as her. All throughout the second season, it shows her heartbreaking story and how some people can just be left broken with no help. Though she does show some improvement near the end of the season, you can really tell that hole is still in her chest.

Summary

Anyways those are some of my favorite characters from the show and my one least favorite. I hope this made sense to you and seems like a show that you may enjoy. If you already enjoy this show, I am very open to talking about it because I am an Invincible fanboy.

My Commentary on Crybaby.

In this blog I want to talk about Melanie Martinez’s album “Crybaby” one of my favorite albums. The album follows a child/teen named Crybaby and each song follows her story/gives input about her life.

Also note I am going to be talking about the music videos as well because they include details you can’t really get from listening to the songs. And I’m not going to be covering the three songs that are added on the deluxe edition: Play Date, Teddy Bear, and Cake.

*I also put my favorite lyrics of each song at the end of the blog post :3*

First song: Crybaby

The music video starts with the birth of Crybaby, in which her mother is heavily upset with her crying (she was literally just born but ok I guess) and exclaims “Oh God she’s a Crybaby” in annoyance, she also soon lights a cigarette in the hospital room. We also see her holding a wine bottle while attempting to feed Crybaby. In this song we get details about Crybaby specifically her sensitivity, one line entailing “You seem to replace your brain with your heart you take things to hard and then you fall apart.” We also get that she has trouble making friends.

Second Song: Dollhouse TW: Drug use, infidelity and alcoholism.

In this song we get a glimpse into her family life. This song to me specifically discusses the picture of a perfect family they attempt to fake while being incredibly dysfunctional. In this song we learn that Crybaby’s mother is an alcoholic, her father is unfaithful, and her brother is a frequent cannabis smoker. Also, a repeated lyric in this song is “Don’t let them see what goes on in the kitchen” a lyric we learn more about in the next song.

Third song: Sippy Cup. TW: Literal murder.

In this song we focus on Crybaby’s mother and father. We see her mother sitting in the kitchen drinking late at night, we follow her mother through this downward spiral, we also see glimpses of crybaby with angel wings which is important for a theory many people have. But sooner or later we find out that the mother’s spiral is caused by the father not being home and when he does a arrive home, he has a woman with her (presumably his mistress) and when her mother sees them, she stabs them to death (in the kitchen) and after covering their bodies with a tarp. Crybaby soon comes in and sees their bodies her mother then appears behind her putting a rag over her mouth appearing to have chloroform or something on it to knock her out. Crybaby then awakes to being tied to her bed and her mother comes into frame with a sippy cup (presumably filled with alcohol) forcing Crybaby to drink it and the video ends. A lot of people believe that by feeding Crybaby the alcohol her mother is “killing her innocence.” and that Crybaby with wings represents her dead innocence.

Fourth song: Carousel

This song is Crybaby’s first venture into love, I believe this is more of a overall crush than a relationship. I don’t consider this to hold much important story. In the song she describes feeling so far away and just longing to get closer to this boy and mentions her heart being stolen. The carousel is mentioned multiple times, her being stuck on it and even referenced in the line “This horse is too slow we’re always this close.” Furthering the point that she wants to get close to this boy. In the music video also shows her repeatedly trying to catch her crush.

Fifth Song: Alphabet Boy

In this song Crybaby is clearly angry and dissing someone a boy. It’s not clear who the boy is in question, but a lot of people consider it safe to assume that Alphabet boy is the same boy from Carousel. In this song Crybaby is calling “Alphabet boy” out on being self-righteous and full of himself and intern viewing her as beneath him. This is clear in “You think you’re smarter than me with all your bad poetry.”

Little Sidenote: This songs use of literation is amazing and so clever.

Examples:

Always Aiming paper Airplanes At me.

Building me up like Building Blocks just so you can Bring me down.

You Can Crush my Candy Canes but you’ll never Catch me Cry.

And with each new verse that same alliteration starts over in Alphabetical order.

Sixth Song: Soap

In this song Crybaby talks about a new boy she has a crush on and being afraid to say the wrong thing around him. And multiple times referencing washing her mouth out with soap in order to not reveal her feelings for him. At the end we see them kiss and we can assume she has revealed her feelings for him.

Seventh Song: Training Wheels.

This music video follows Johnny (the boy from soap) and Crybaby. We first see Crybaby pulling away from Johnny and then she slowly gets closer to him. Eventually teaching him to ride a bike successfully (without training wheels) once riding own his own we see him ride towards Crybaby who is awaiting a kiss but once he is right in front of her he disappears. The song itself seems to explore the idea of vulnerability within love and by taking off her training wheels Crybaby is fully diving into the risk of getting hurt to love unconditionally.

Eight Song: Pity Party

In this song and music video Crybaby throws some sort of party in which no one shows up. Throughout the video we see Crybaby attempting to keep her composure until towards the end she ultimately breaks at the end destroying the party and the house. Like many songs towards the end, I didn’t really consider this song to have an overarching meaning it was just great storytelling and pushed the plot forward. I do think the incorporation of the scream into the song itself and not just having it in the video is great.

Ninth Song: Tag, You’re it. TW: kidnapping

In the beginning of this music video, we see Crybaby tossing away what seems like party decorations (a sort of callback to pity party). As the video progresses, we see Crybaby being followed by an ice-cream truck that had a wolf (a reference to the big bad wolf). He follows her to a grocery store where a woman with black eyes (possibly foreshadowing to the powers in K-12) hands Crybaby a vile of liquid. When Crybaby goes outside the ice-cream truck is offering free samples once she tries one it knocks her unconscious and the wolf throws her into the back of his truck. I consider this song and the next to not have any overarching meaning, I also want to say that doesn’t mean I think these songs are bad or less than the ones with strong meaning I just think these songs serve more of a storytelling purpose than to spread any specific message.

note about the song: the way it plays with pitch and tone on certain lyrics as a sort of clue that it’s the wolf speaking is a great choice. As it not only still paints a story for people not watching the video but also clues us in on the wolf’s intentions. Example of one of these lyrics include: “I’ll cut you up and make you dinner-You’ve reached the end you are the winner.”

Tenth Song: Milk and Cookies TW: Murder again, but he’s the bad guy so it was cool.

This song follows Crybaby after she had been kidnapped. We see that she is kept in this room with a camera that allows the wolf to watch her from a separate room where there’s a phone next to the chair, he has in front of the television. Crybaby decides to make cookies the wolf watches her until the phone rings while he is distracted, she empties the vile of liquid the woman gave her into the batter. Once he is done on the phone he goes into the room with Crybaby where she offers him a cookie which he takes ultimately killing him and allowing her to escape.

Eleventh Song: Pacify Her

In this song we dive back into Crybaby’s love life. The song follows her as she feigns for this boy’s attention even though he has a girlfriend (I believe they have some type of relationship because of the line “Now I can take her man”). In the song Crybaby is essentially trying to get “blue boy”(it’s what he’s called and he’s literally blue so…yeah) to pick her and stop paying attention to the other girl. The music video follows the same sentiment of her trying to impress which works and they almost kiss until the other girl stands up and flashes (yes flashes, also given the baby theme and the fact they’re in a literal crib this was kind of shocking, and a little icky). But after blue boy gets flashed, he picks the other girl disregarding the connection him and Crybaby had.

The blonde girl is the girl competing with Crybaby not Crybaby herself. Melanie Just played both roles.

Twelfth Song: Mrs. Potato Head TW: talk of body image issues. Music video also shows gruesome footage replicating plastic surgery (it’s not real but still).

This song is very obviously about body image and insecurity as well as touching on plastic surgery, this is clearer in the music video if you don’t pick up on the lyrics. The music starts with Crybaby sitting in front of the television eating cookies and playing with her dolls when a random commercial about blonde wigs (the girl who blue boy chose was blonde) and diet pills. Crybaby stops eating and walks to the bathroom where she puts on a blonde wig and lipstick as well as takes a whole container of diet pills and stuffs her bra full of tissue. She then goes back to the television where a different program begins to play. The program follows a man and a woman in a relationship, the woman is opening up gifts from the man one is a necklace and the next is a coupon/ad for plastic surgery. After some urging, she agrees to under the knife (which we see in gory detail, and I mean detail). After wards she takes off the bandages and it appears she has been botched, the man is visibly (it’s your fault bro but go off I guess). In an attempt to feel beautiful again she cakes her face with makeup, and he gives her a blonde wig (BRO MOVE) after she’s all dolled up, she looks out of the window and sees him giving another young woman flowers clearly flirting with her then program ends. We see Crybaby clearly in shock taking off the wig and taking the tissues out of her bra. This song’s meaning isn’t very hard to interpret it is about how society values looks and how the societal standard for beauty impacts young girls. I love the music videos way of portraying this instead of just shunning plastic surgery overall she shames the idea of changing your appearance for anyone other than yourself.

Thirteenth Song: Mad Hatter TW: I lot of mental health mention: specifically, the use of the word crazy and mentions of a psychiatrist. There’s also a scene where she rips her skin off and it’s a lyric in the song.

There’s also a part where she takes a bite out of a live donut, and it was just kind of gross.

This song has an Alice and Wonderland type vibe. It’s basically just Crybaby embracing her madness. I will talk very briefly about the music video. In the beginning Crybaby is laying on a bad smoking she then proceeds to take a pink liquid and drinks it. This obviously makes her disorientated before she fully passes out, we see two women with black eyes standing over her. After she fully falls into sleep, we follow her dream(?) this is where the Alice and Wonderland feel comes into play. There’s moving food, oversized stuffed animals the whole nine. When Crybaby wakes up, we see that she now also has black eyes then the music video ends. The black eyes again foreshadowing the powers in K-12.

P.S: Sippy Cup’s has also been said to include allegories to eating disorders, but I didn’t go into those, so be weary before you listen.

Favorite lyrics from each song:

Crybaby: “Your hearts too big for your body that’s why it won’t fit inside”

Dollhouse: “Everyone thinks that we’re perfect please don’t let them look through the curtains”

Sippy Cup: “All the makeup in the world won’t make you less insecure”

Carousel: “Right, right when I’m near it’s like you disappear. Where’d you go Mr. Houdini, you’re a freakshow.”

Alphabet Boy: “But you’re not my daddy and I’m not your dolly, and your dictionary’s destroyed”

Soap: “Should’ve never said the word “love”. Threw a toaster in the bathtub.”

Training Wheels: “You’ve been riding two-wheelers all your life. It’s not like I’m asking to be your wife.”

Pity Party: “Maybe if I knew all of them well. I wouldn’t have been trapped inside this hell that holds me.”

Tag you’re it: “Eenie, meeine, miny, mo. Catch a lady by her toes. If she screams don’t let her go”

Milk and Cookies: “Sing you a lullaby where you die at the end.”

Pacify Her: “You don’t love her. Stop lying with those words.”

Mrs. Potato Head: “It’s such a waste. When little girls grow into their mother’s face. But little girls are learning how to cut and paste. And pucker out their lips until they suffocate ha-ha.”

Mad Hatter: “Where is my prescription? Doctor, doctor, please, listen. My brain is scattered. You can be Alice; I’ll be the Mad Hatter.”

Weekly Agenda

Haven’t seen you guys in a while! School has been so busy, and now even my weekends are overtaken by work and assignments. I have a lot of stuff to submit this week, especially before Friday, so I thought I would list them out and explain what they are.

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Refutation Paragraph & Conclusion – I’m writing an essay on King Arthur and his historical references. I am arguing that King Arthur either was not real, or could have been multiple leaders mixed together into one story, with fantasy added for effect by romance writers of the time. I also have to finish up the essay completely by the end of this week, so a conclusion paragraph needs to be done too. My refutation paragraph is due Wednesday. (Or I guess today, if you’re reading this when it’s published.) Also, this is like 40% of my DC Eng. Comp. class grade, so I’m very stressed about it. Hoping it turns out well! To quote a friend of mine, ‘King Arthur is mid.’

17 Page Play – This assignment is killing my vibes, I’m not gonna lie, but I will be trying my best to produce a great play. Writers block is hitting me hard, and I can’t find ways to continue the play past 10 pages. But, I’m going to work on outlining what specifically I want to happen and maybe add in some extra dialogue to enrich the world I’m envisioning. This play is based on something scientific, so I chose Archaeology and focused on Pompeii. This is due Thursday. (So, tomorrow.)

LALALALALALA – If you’re wondering why it’s called this, it’s because I can’t think of a name right now. It’s a story that is supposed to be 2,000-3,000 words long, and has to contain the main character looking back on an event in their life. I’m basing the story on characters I already have, using bits and pieces of pre-written parts of the story (while editing them heavily because the pre-writing was old and not like my current writing style.) I’m a little over halfway done, but again, writer’s block continues to kick my butt. I am hoping I can be fully done with everything before the four-day weekend so I can relax and try to gain my creativity back.

Being a literary isn’t easy, that’s for sure, but I know it’s worth it. I will drag myself kicking and screaming into an A or a B to end this school year, if I have to.

But sometimes, sometimes in those moments of clarity, it’s clear that this is what I’m supposed to be doing. I hope to see you all again soon. ♥

Leo Star™

If you have been at this school in person for any amount of time, you have probably seen a paper origami star laying around somewhere. Not a big one, either. It’s about the size of a quarter, maybe less. They range in colors and patterns from anything you can think of. But most of the time they’re a solid color.

Okay, weird. How did that get there, under a couch or stuck to a wall with tape? Is this some sort of act of vandalism? What horrible masked villain or creature could do such an inhumane thing? Is it some sort of scavenger hunt?

First off, chill with the questions. It’s a paper star. Don’t start getting weird on me, we’re not done with this blog. Imagine I’m snapping my fingers in front of your face to get you to calm down.

Secondly, I AM THAT HORRIBLE MASKED VILLAIN! Cower in fear before me as I raise an army of loyal subjects who will do whatever I say as long as I give them a teeny tiny little paper star!

Oof. Got carried away there, my bad.

I use these stars as a way to ease my anxiety and stress, as well as a way to get my energy out without bouncing off the walls. All you need is a sheet of non-thick paper and scissors. Maybe a pencil if you want to write notes in them. (Also don’t worry I will be providing example pictures so if you don’t understand you can look at them.)

First off, fold your paper in half. Wow! Good job. Cut that line. Now you have two sheets of paper.. Keep doing that until the strip of paper is the width of your finger. The height of the paper remains the same as the original. We are only cutting the paper into smaller strips.

Now you’re gonna need to take the end of that little strip, and sort of bend it towards the right. It will make a shape like a ribbon. Then you pull the end of that little strip through the loop, and it makes a hexagon. (Again, if you’re lost there WILL be pictures shown.) After that, all you have to do is fold over the hexagon multiple times until the paper runs out. When that happens you’re going to want to tuck the end of the strip of paper behind one of the folds of the star, so it looks like it’s just a whole star with no pieces sticking out!

Great job, you made a Leo Star™ and you can even write little messages in the star for your loved ones. Now go forth, my minions.

Critiquing Horror Movies that Locklyn has Forced me to Watch. Pt. 2

-The Nun-

Well, hello again everyone! Today I will be reviewing the movie The Nun. Yes, that nun. The one with the horrifying white face and dead eyes. Also, the first movie cronologically in The Conjuring timeline. Get ready for a whole lot of me crying while watching these. Imagine me with tears running down my face watching this movie- and it will be accurate. Also imagine me clinging onto Locklyn’s arm like a koala.

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First off, never going to Romania. Romania? More like Nomania. (I’m so sorry.) Also, never ever going to set foot in an abbey. Those places are most definitely haunted, no question. The holiest places usually house the most unholy things imaginable.

So, this film takes us on a journey through the perspective of a soon-to-be nun and a priest. They have both been called down to the abbey to investigate the death of one of the nuns there. She had died by her own hands. Nuns don’t usually do this, so it was worth the investment of an investigation.
On the way there, they meet one of my favorite characters, Frenchie. He’s a French Canadian who had found the dead nun’s body and reported it. He tries to flirt with the soon-to-be nun, Sister Irene. He is the comedic relief character.

Anyway, I’m not going to spoil the whole movie; that’s just the beginning. This is also the beginning of Valek’s story, the demon who follows our characters through the Conjuring movies. Let me just say he is MAD. I have no clue why; I assume it’s because he is an ugly demon, but he is pretty terrifying when he wants to be. This movie has a lot of religious symbolism, which continues into the later movies, primarily including crosses. If a demon like Valek decided to torment me, let me just say I would be a believer immediately. Because apparently, if you don’t believe, your trust and faith in God won’t work to dispel him? It’s fascinating, to be honest. I can’t wait to dive into the lore of this series.

Songs that Radiate Arthur Morgan Energy

Red Dead Redemption II was and still is an amazingly groundbreaking game, in my opinion. Our story begins in 1899, taking you across a fictionalized representation of the Western American Frontier. You play as Arthur Morgan, an outlaw in the Dutch Van der Linde gang. The gang is doing their best to escape civilization and return to the old ways of the wild west. Chased at every turn- by government officials, another gang, even nature- our gang is desperate to escape. If you have heard of this game, you probably already know most of this. Some of the songs in this article need explanation, and the last thing I want to do is spoil such a fantastic game for anyone. So please be advised, there will be spoilers ahead! And not small ones either; most of these songs relate to Arthur during the game’s later stages.

Alright, hopefully, that got rid of most of the people who could complain about spoilers. Now it’s time to get into the meat of this article.

5. Keep The Wolves Away – Uncle Lucius

Arthur cares for his family, the gang, more than anything. At a young age, he incorporated into their fray, Dutch practically picking him up off the streets and raising him. He was more than loyal; he dedicated himself entirely to what he was doing and never questioned. Then, things started to turn for the worst. He had put his faith in someone who did not care for his feelings or thoughts. After that point, the gang began to fall apart either by betrayal or false accusations and deaths tied to their crimes. In the end, he did his best to let the others escape the gang unscathed. The wolves he was protecting his family from turned out to have already infiltrated their ranks.

4. Everybody Walkin’ This Land – Paul Cauthen

The unfair world fuels Arthur’s want for change. You, the player, can choose to help anyone and everyone you come across. When you finally visit the city of Saint-Denis in Lemoyne, you meet a man of the cloth. Brother Dorkins. Whether you donate money to his cause of helping the poor or not, Dorkins will ask for Arthur’s assistance in a matter of utmost importance. A nearby fence is holding children as slaves for work. Arthur frees the children, and Dorkin is very grateful and even offers him the donation money as thanks. Doing this mission shows that Arthur indeed does have sympathy for humanity, and this is not the first or last time he will help someone. Arthur can build an entire railroad, help a suffrage movement, and he will make up for his past mistakes as best he can manage if you play your cards correctly. Charles, another member of his gang, needed help aiding the Wapiti Native Americans. Arthur was very close to death when he was asked to help, his sickness taking hold, yet he put everything on the line to help them. Arthur second-guesses himself and puts himself down constantly, but that does not mean the man can’t stand up to help those in need. He knows just how unfair the world can be.

3. Sweet Creature – Harry Styles

Throughout this overlapping and sometimes uplifting story arc, you will be able to visit a woman named Mary Linton. She was Arthur’s former love interest, but their relationship fell through because of Arthur’s attachment to the gang. As it progressed, these missions were one of the most tragic parts of the story (to me). On the outside, he’s a bitter, heartless man. But Arthur has been through enough heartbreak for anyone to realize he is a fully fleshed out, fully realized man. Mary and Arthur spend sweet moments together, and she makes him happy like no other, but when she gave him a chance to run away with her, he didn’t take it. He was so immensely loyal to a ship he couldn’t see was sinking. His vulnerable heart takes the final chapter of the game by storm when he realizes he is dying from tuberculosis and there is no way to stop it. Arthur desperately wants to fix his mistakes.

2. Devil’s Advocate – The Neighborhood

Dutch Van der Linde. A man Arthur considered to be his father after his blood betrayed him. The gang leader, the mastermind behind their plots, and a man overcome by his narcissism. Throughout the game, we watch as Arthur’s loyalty is ripped from him, as he is hurt again and again with no sign of stopping. Death ensues as the gang desperately tries to escape from the world, and the entire time Dutch listens to the devil on his shoulder. He never learns from his past mistakes, always saying, ‘one more, one more time,’ until there is no time left. Even towards the end of the game, Arthur can’t bring himself to lose faith in Dutch. Until everything begins to fall to ruin around him, and he realizes who his true family is.

1. I Gave You All – Mumford and Sons

This song once again reinforces the fact that Arthur was betrayed, wholeheartedly, by a man he loved. But that is not all. Arthur makes the final big sacrifice for his true family, the ones who were always there for him even throughout their problems and vice versa. The last objective of the game, the last mission, is to protect John Marston’s family. A man who he knew he did not treat well. But he knew, even throughout everything, they still had a chance. The others who died along the way did not have a chance, and Arthur viewed himself as dead already. But John, his wife, and his son? They all had a chance. Arthur put the last of his faith into them and made the ultimate sacrifice in the end. Gasping for breath, we watch Arthur’s final sunrise.

Message for the Singles

Hey! I am single and could not be happier about it.

That came very abruptly, but I just love being single. I don’t have any man I have to be worried about keeping entertained. I don’t have to plan to spend time with someone, and this allows me to just go about my day by the beat of my own drum.

In the past, I did have some flings. They were just too much work. Who even has the time and energy? I got better things to be doing. Besides, when in a relationship, I feel like one has to find a new balance that not many people do at all, or well. But, one has to make sure they are not cutting ties with everyone to make time only for their new item. I find this to be an exhausting task.

I want to make it clear though that I am not writing this blog because someone I know has done this to me recently. I am merely stating what I have come to learn. Don’t worry, either! I have not just come out of a relationship and am projecting my emotions on you readers. That would just be a cruel thing that none of us need.

Being single is just so fun. There are no restrictions as to who you can go have fun with or how. Because you are not worried about another person, you can put full focus on your own well-being. After all, being attentive to your own health is not selfish. It is something we should all do.

There is an adage to remember that RuPaul, famous drag queen, always says,” If you can’t love yourself, how in the hell can you love somebody else.”

I love this saying because it really does drive my point home. If you can not even find a way to love yourself, it will undoubtedly be challenging to show love for another. I propose to start doing tasks and setting goals for yourself to instigate self-confidence. Do not get caught up with the ideas or fantasies you associate with being in a relationship.

If you are single and feel lonely or sad about it, try not thinking that way. The state of being part of the single community can be a vessel to improving and figuring out yourself. Find the freedom in the department of singleness.

Let us all singles make this coming week about self love. I hope you all love yourselves already and, if not, are finding the ways in which to do so. Just know, you are not alone in your battles. 🙂