Saturday, January 20, 2018

Week 16- Lemon son

I said I wouldn't be able to get my hands on it, but thank the gods because it was staring me in the face on your bookshelf! So I started Magnus Chase: The Ship of The Dead by our good friend Uncle Rick. I have been excited to read this for so long, mostly because I’ve seen a few spoilers online. I'm going to try not to let that keep me from enjoying it, though.

Out of all the main characters we've heard from in the Riordanverse, I think Magnus is honestly my favorite. Sure, Percy is great and funny, but Magnus is kind of like… I don't know if you've heard about this, but there's this meme going around calling Percy “Persassy”. Basically, it just turns him into a diva, and it's hilarious, because it fits his personality. But he doesn't actually act that way in the books (most of the time). Magnus, for me, is like the canon equivalent of Persassy. He's funny, he doesn't care what you think, and he will tell you that you look terrible today, even in the heat of battle. He's funny and relatable, like most Riordan characters are, but, somehow even better. I think part of the reason I love Magnus so much is the fact that he's more realistic than other characters have been. At first, I just said, “oh yeah, he's realistic ” but I couldn't put my finger on why. But when I woke up today, I figured it out.

So, as you know, most of the Riordanverse deals with demigods. One of their parents was never there in their childhood (because they're gods or goddesses) and they were stuck with one parent. I'm not saying there's anything wrong with that, but consider this: a lot, and I mean a lot, of those single parents die. Magnus’ did, but think about his other series. Nico's mom died. Leo's mom died. Hazel's mom died. Frank's mom died (although he did still have his grandmother to stay with). Jason's mom didn't die, but she did ABANDON HIM and leave him to literally be RAISED BY WOLVES. Now look at all of these examples. Nico came to America with his sister even though they had no legal guardian with them because… plot. Leo did get put into foster homes, but once he heads to Camp Half-Blood that's pretty much ignored, and he turns into an independent woman who don't need no legal guardian. Frank, like I said, had his grandmother. Hazel got brought back to life and, while she does seem to have PTSD or flashbacks of some kind every once in a while, isn't much worse for wear. And then there's Jason… sigh. Jason was raised by actual wolves. And despite this, people say multiple times that he is perfect, that he's their golden boy. What the actual heck. These characters went through loss and hardship and seemingly have nothing to show for it.

And then there's precious Magnus, my salty lemon son. When his mom died, his only living relative didn't take him in for multiple reasons, despite basically owning a mansion, and rather than going into the foster system like Leo, he became HOMELESS. As in, living on the streets without knowing when he'd get his next meal homeless.  And even though he's not homeless anymore, that’s only because he is a) dead and b) living in a hotel. Out of context, it doesn't sound that great, I'll admit, but it's something. But the thing is, he may not be homeless anymore, but it is still a part of him and his personality and his childhood. And as a result, Magnus often talks about his experiences being homeless, whether because something happening reminds him of something specific from his homelessness or because something makes him remember how lucky he is not to be on the streets, despite it meaning he has to fight all manner of monsters and gods, etc. His situation was somewhat similar to Leo's, where they were both affected in some way by the loss of their mothers. Leo, however, never mentions or even seems to remember it much based on the chapters from his point of view. It's no big deal. Magnus, however, is a real character with real feelings and memories and morals created by living in constant fear and hunger. So yeah, when a character is consistent (*cough* ese *cough*) and has realistic feelings and experiences, I tend to like them more. And don't get me started on how Smelly Gabe was abusive to Percy but he doesn't ever mention him or get triggered or anything. An abused kid who then has to go fight monsters? Not a good combo.

I was going to mention Chekov's gun, but this is already super long. I'll try to remember to talk about it next week.

Sorry about how long this was! I hope it wasn't boring or repetitive. Here's the art I did:




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