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Sunday, September 28, 2014

Blood of Olympus Predictions #3

This is my third Blood of Olympus predictions post. You can find my first two here and here. The book coming out soon! I'm so excited. In this post I'm basically going to lay down my final theories. Who I think is going to die, what the prophecy means and what I think is going to happen. Then, after the book comes out, I'll see how many of my predictions turn out to be true.I also have links to the nine YouTube videos that include clues about the Blood of Olympus, and I'll share my thoughts on those.

Clues:

Clue #1 HAZEL: "Hazel stuck the point of her Spatha under Nike's chin. 'Explain.' Her voice was harder than Leo had ever heard. 'Which of us will die? How do we stop it?' 'Ah, child of Pluto,your magic will help you cheat in this contest but you can't cheat destiny. One of you will die. One of you must die.'"
Clue #2 JASON: "Jason knew he shouldn't look, but he couldn't close his eyes as Juno went supernova revealing her true godly form. Pain seared Jason's mind, his body burned away in layers like an onion."
Clue #3 LEO: "It was a long shot. If he failed it would crush him, not just emotionally. It would physically crush him."
Clue #4 PERCY: "Jason had never met this particular giant, but he'd heard stories. Polybotes. The giant shook his dreadlocks and a dozen serpents swam free, each one was green with a frilled crown around its head. 'Basilisks.' 'Indeed, son of Rome,' the giant said, 'But if you'll excuse me, my immediate business is with Perseus Jackson. I tracked him all the way across Tartarus. Now, here in his father's ruins I mean to crush him once and for all.'"
Clue #5 PIPER: "Aphrodite's words came back to Piper. 'You must bridge the gap between Roman and Greek, my child. Neither storm nor fire can succeed without you.' Aphrodite had warned her of what was to come, told her what Piper would have to do to stop Gaea. Whether or not she would have the courage, Piper didn't know."
Clue #6 REYNA: "She couldn't tell her friends how much she feared ghosts or why she feared them The whole reason she and her sister had run from San Juan all those years ago, that secret had to stay buried.
Clue #7 NICO: “The god Favonius had warned him in Croatia, ‘If you let your anger rule you, your fate will be even sadder than mine.’ But how could his fate be anything but sad? Even if he lived through this quest, he would have to leave both camps forever."
Clue #8 FRANK: "Frank ran out of arrows. He changed into rhinoceros and charged into battle, but as fast as he could knock down the giants they got up again. Their wounds seemed to be healing faster."
Clue #9 ANNABETH: "'That's my point,' Percy said, 'We don't know what's down there. I'm going with you.' 'No,' Annabeth put her hand on his arm. 'The giants want our blood. The last thing we need is a boy and a girl going down there together. Remember, they want one of each for the big sacrifice.'"

The Prophecy:

Seven Half-blood shall answer the call
We know what this means.

To storm or fire the world must fall
This is my favourite line in the prophecy. The two leading theories about it are that "storm" and "fire" refer to specific demigods or to the Greek and Roman camps. I don't think that this line refers to people. I can't really explain why I think that, I just do. If it were to refer to people, though, I like the idea of Frank being fire instead of Leo.
I like the camps theory better. I think it is probably true. The reason I say this is because it fits directly with what that random God told Jason (I can't remember his name and I'm too lazy to look it up).
Other possible theories: Storm and Fire refer to Gods?
The other part of this line is "the world must fall". What does "the world" mean? I think it means Gaea. That makes most sense. Whatever storm and fire are, one of them will probably be the thing that defeats Gaea in the end. The fact that the prophecy feels the need to mention both storm and fire makes me think that both will try to defeat Gaea and only one will succeed. If storm and fire means Roman and Greek, then perhaps this means that one of the camps will defeat Gaea. Which doesn't really makes sense, but whatever.
Could "fall" have a different meaning than we think? I doubt it. The prophecy says the world must fall. If that means Gaea, that's good news. If not... what could it possibly mean? The prophecies have always come true in the past, but is it possible that the seven demigods might be able to change fate?

An oath to keep with a final breath
Most important question: Whose oath? Probably Leo's. That's the most obvious one. I can't really see it being anything else. I like the theory that Leo will have to choose between saving Calypso and staying alive. I have only read House of Hades once, so I don't feel like I can make any guesses as to who else this line might refer to. It is possible, of course, that the oath in question has not been made yet.
Question: Does this line mean that the person mentioned will have to die in order to fulfill their oath or does it mean that the person will die because they did not fulfill their oath? It sound more like the first choice.
What does "final breath" mean? Does it mean death? I can't think of anything else it could mean. Maybe, instead of the oath-maker dying to fulfill their oath they must kill to fulfill their oath?

And foes bear arms to the doors of death
We know what this means. Or do we?

Who will die?

I don't think any of the seven will die. The reason? No one dies in Percy Jackson. Sure, there were a few deaths in The Titan's Curse and The Last Olympian, but none of the very main characters died. This is a children's series.

That said, I do think that there is a possibility one of the seven will die. It is possible for this to happen in a children's book. Who is the most likely candidate? If I were writing the book, I would kill Leo. But I don't think Rick is going to do that. Leo is the fandom's favourite and besides, he deserves a happy ending. Okay, they all do. But if Rick had to kill one of the seven I think he would kill Frank or Hazel. They're not Percy and Annabeth. They haven't been in the series as long. And I can see one of their deaths meaning something. I personally hope Hazel doesn't die. If I had to choose between them I would kill Frank.

So, what about other characters? I don't think Nico will die. I don't think Nico should die. If he dies, I will be pretty mad, and not because he's one of my favourite characters. He isn't. I've never liked him much. But I think he is too important of a character. It's kind of difficult to explain. It would just be... wrong if he died.

I think Reyna is more likely to die than Nico, but I really hope she doesn't. I want her to continue to lead Camp Jupiter.

I don't think Coach Hedge will die, but you never know.

None of the main characters from the first series will die (like Grover, Tyson and Rachel). No one can kill of main characters if they aren't main characters anymore.

I don't think Octavian will die, unfortunately. But you never know. We might get lucky.

Clue Predictions:

Clue #1: A goddess says "One of you will die. One of you must die." That means one of them will die, right? Yes. I think so. Gods have always been right with their prophecies in this series. So, does this mean one of the seven will die? It certainly sounds like it. Of course their could be several ways around this. As in Hazel's case, dead people can come back. It's possible that one of the seven will die and become a god, or something like that. Or maybe Nike isn't talking specifically about the seven demigods. One of you must die. One of who? It probably refers to the seven, though. That makes most sense.
"You're magic will help you cheat in this contest but you can't cheat destiny." What contest? Does this just refer to the war with Gaea and the giants or is there some actual contest that Hazel is cheating in?

Clue #2: No, Jason. Not again. Is this a dream? I mean, if it isn't, that means Jason dies, right? I find interesting that Juno makes an appearance. Is she going to help them kill the giants? I don't really have any good theories about this clue.

Clue #3: What is Leo trying to do? Maybe it has something to do with Calypso.

Clue #4: Another Percy vs. Polybotes battle? Awesome. This clue doesn't really tell me anything interesting.

Clue #5: "You must bridge the gap between Roman and Greek, my child. Neither storm nor fire can succeed without you." This really does make it sound like "storm" and "fire" mean the Greek and Roman camps.
It sounds like Piper will play a major role in the last book. Aphrodite told her what she had to stop Gaea. That means that Piper will be the one to stop Gaea, unless, of course, she fails. But I don't think she will. OIt sounds like Piper will have to make some sort of sacrifice to defeat Gaea. Jason's life, maybe? Piper's own life? I'm very excited about this clue. Maybe after Blood of Olympus the fandom will stop saying Piper is useless.

Clue #6: I have no idea what this clue refers to. I'm not even going to make any guesses. One questions: What ghosts is Reyna talking about?

Clue #7: Why would Nico have to leave both camps? "If you let your anger rule you." Nico's fatal flaw is holding grudges. Will this have something to do with Blood of Olympus?

Clue #8: This clue doesn't really tell us much. Except that the giants are healing faster. Hmm...

Clue #9: I can't really get anything new from this clue. Only one question. Go down where? Where are they?

Random Note: Are all of the seven going to have chapters in Blood of Olympus? I don't think so. Nine POVs (The seven + Nico and Reyna) is a lot. So who will have a POV. We know for sure that Leo, Jason, Piper, Nico and Reyna do. Is it possible that Percy and Annabeth won't have chapters? Maybe their major part to play in the story is over. In clue #9 it is unclear whose perspective we're hearing from. It sounds like Annabeth. But it could be Percy. Or it could be someone else watching the two of them.

Saturday, September 27, 2014

Doctor Who Series 8: The Caretaker

 SPOILERS!!!!! Read at your own risk.

 I really enjoyed this episode. It was funny and interesting and it helped develop all of the main characters/ I'm really happy to see more of Danny Pink. I wonder if he and the Doctor are going to become friends and if he is going to become a companion. I'm trying to figure out his Myers Briggs type. It was also fun to get a look around Coal Hill school. And there's a really cool new monster in the Doctor Who universe!

There was another Missy reference, finally. We got some more information. I'm not even going to try to make any theories about her.We'll have to wait till the last episode to figure everything out.

Clara was a really important part of this episode. She is already my favourite companion but I'm liking her more and more as each episode goes by. I wonder if the plot arc is going to have something to do with her. Maybe the plot arc will have something to do with Danny.

I like Courtney Woods. She reminds me of young Melody Pond. I hope she makes another appearance.

List of series 8 episodes so far in my preference order:
  1. Listen
  2. Deep Breath
  3. Into the Dalek
  4. The Caretaker
  5. Robot of Sherwood
  6. Time Heist
The next episode is called Kill the Moon. I'm really looking forward to it, and I think it will be one of my favourite episodes of series 8.

Saturday, September 20, 2014

Doctor Who Series 8: Time Heist

SPOILERS!!!!! Read at your own risk. 

I was disappointed in this episode.I think the idea was a good one, but it was just too short. This episode joins the list of episodes that would have been 20 times better if they were double episodes. Everything just happened too quickly. The characters were all underdeveloped. This is, sadly, my least favourite episode of series 8.

I was so excited about the new villain, but she was barely in the episode for five minutes. The Teller was such a good idea, but, again, the episode wasn't long enough to tell us very much about it. I think I would have really liked Saibra if she had had more than two lines.

I honestly don't really have anything more to say about it. So I'm going to make a list of all the Doctor who episodes that should have been double episodes: NOTE: This list does not include episodes that I wish were longer because they were so awesome and I want more of them.
  • A Good Man Goes to War
  • Let's Kill Hitler
  • The Wedding of River Song
  • The Angels Take Manhattan
  • Nightmare in Silver
  • The Name of the Doctor
  • Time Heist
You may notice that all of these episodes are from Moffat's era. In fact, that's the thing I dislike most about Moffat's era. There aren't enough double episodes.

I'm hoping that I will like the next episode more, and I think I will. It's called The Caretaker. The Doctor becomes the caretaker at Coalhill school. I'm excited to see more of Danny.

Sunday, September 14, 2014

Doctor Who Series 8: Listen

 SPOILERS!!!!! Read at your own risk.

Everyone expected this episode to be one of the scary ones, but it turned out not to be, really. I am at the same time disappointed and glad about that. Some of the best scary episodes have been my favourites (Midnight, Blink, Time of Angels/Flesh and Stone). This one ended up being more of a "timey wimey" episode than a terrifying one. It's very Moffat, and I know some people don't like that but I love it.

I love the glimpse of the Doctor's childhood. And Clara is just becoming more and more important in the Doctor's life. Now it seems like she may have made him what he is. One question: How did Clara get to Gallifrey? Isn't it supposed to be timelocked or something?

I also really like the idea of the episode, a creature that hides. Even if, in the end, the creature never existed, it's a cool idea. And, about that. So, basically there are two possibilities. One, there was never any creature and all the strange things were just created by the characters imagination, or two, there really is some hidden creature that follows us all the time. I like the idea of the former better, but it seemed more like the latter. The reason I say this is because of the thing underneath the blankets. That couldn't have been a child playing a prank. That just doesn't make sense. How would a child have left the room suddenly like that in a flash of light? How would they have gotten into the room in the first place?

One of my favourite things about this episode was Danny and Orson Pink. Danny is rapidly becomming one of my favourite Doctor Who characters.

In conlusion, Listen has become by new favourite episode of series 8. I'm not sure if any of the next few episodes will be able to top it, but we'll see. Twelve is currently my second favourite Doctor (after Ten), Clara is now my favourite companion and series 8 might become my favourite series yet. I'm very happy.

The next episode is called Time Heist. The Doctor and Clara apparently attempt to rob the most secure bank in the universe. Sounds fun. I'm excited to meet the new villain.

Friday, September 12, 2014

Soul Mates Edit

I tried to put pairs in here that were as different as possible. Some of them are romantic relationships and some of them are friendships. I could not, unfortunately, find and f/f pairings for this.


Thursday, September 11, 2014

My Opinion: The Top 25 Awesomest Characters #9

I've written eight "Top 25 Favourite Characters" lists before, as it changes often. Here are the links to my first eight:

My Opinion: The Top 25 Awesomest Book Characters

My Opinion: The Top 25 Awesomest Book Characters #2

My Opinion: The Top 25 Awesomest Book Characters #3

My Opinion: The Top 25 Awesomest Characters #4

My Opinion: The Top 25 Awesomest Characters #5

My Opinion: The Top 25 Awesomest Characters #6

My Opinion: The Top 25 Awesomest Characters #7

 My Opinion: The Top 25 Awesomest Characters #8

25. Sadie Kane from The Kane Chronicles
24. Suzy Turquoise Blue from Keys to the Kingdom
23. Donna Noble from Doctor Who
22. Jem Carstairs from The Infernal Devices
21. Neville Longbottom from Harry Potter
20. Tessa Gray from The Infernal Devices
19. Gandalf from The Lord of the Rings
18. Sabriel from Abhorsen
17. Tris Prior from Divergent
16. Will Herondale from The Infernal Devices
15. Katsa from Graceling
14. Guinevere from BBC Merlin
13. Rose Tyler from Doctor Who
12. Hazel Levesque from The Heroes of Olympus
11. Katniss Everdeen from The Hunger Games
10. Amy Pond from Doctor Who
9. John Watson from BBC Sherlock
8. Merlin from BBC Merlin
7. Martha Jones from Doctor Who
6. Luna Lovegood from Harry Potter
5. Annabeth Chase from The Heroes of Olympus
4. Clara Oswald from Doctor Who
3. Hermione Granger from Harry Potter
2. Sherlock Holmes from BBC Sherlock
1. The Doctor from Doctor Who

Monday, September 8, 2014

Shadow and Bone, John Green and Other Updates

This post is basically just about what I've been reading and watching recently.

I read Four: A Divergent Collection. I thought I might find it difficult to get into because I read the rest of the series so long ago, but I actually really enjoyed it. Tobias is a great character and I am more than ever convinced he's an ISFJ.

I also finished the Shadow and Bone series. I liked it, thought it wasn't my absolute favourite. I was really absurdly happy about a random thing that happened in the last book. I'm planning on doing a "YA Epic Fantasy" post soon, once I read a few more series.

I have been reading the Old Kingdom series by Garth Nix. I read Sabriel, which I enjoyed and I have also read Lirael, which I enjoyed even more (even though the end was a bit predictable). I am going to read Abhorsen soon.

I have also read a bunch more books by Agatha Christie. I don't know when I'm going to stop reading Agatha Christie, but it won't be soon.

I read Silver Shadows by Richelle Mead. The Vampire Academy/Bloodlines books aren't really the type of book I generally read, but my friend loves them so I read them. The fifth book (or eleventh, depending on whether or not you count Vampire Academy and Bloodlines as the same series) was okay. The ending (while exciting for Sydrian fans) was a bit annoying, in my opinion. I really enjoyed the re-education stuff, though.

I am currently reading Looking for Alaska by John Green. I finished An Abundance of Katherines the other day. I enjoyed Katherines, thought it's realistic fiction and that will never be my favourite. It had math in it, which was fun. Looking for Alaska is good too. I'm going to read Paper Towns next. I put all the John Green books on hold at the library and they all came at the same time.

I am very close to finishing the TV show Merlin. I have three more episodes left. I will post a lot of Merlin stuff once I finish.

Saturday, September 6, 2014

Doctor Who Series 8: Robot of Sherwood

SPOILERS!!!!! Read at your own risk.

While I didn't enjoy this episode as much as the first two, it was still fun. The Doctor meets Robin Hood! And... they don't get along very well. I was disappointed that Missy wasn't in this episode, but oh well. There was the "promised lands" reference.

We did get to see more of the new Doctor's personality, which was nice. I still think he might become my favourite Doctor. Clara was also really great in this episode. She is now my favourite companion.

This episode left me with a question. Was Robin Hood a robot or not? It wasn't very clear. I personally think he was not a robot. But I might be wrong.

Next weeks episode looks like it's going to be one of the terrifying ones. I'm looking forward to it, and to see more of Danny Pink.