5 Reactions To The Percy Jackson And The Olympians Trailer That Are A Whole Mood

line
Move over, Potter.

The Percy Jackson and the Olympians trailer brings Percy and the Greek gods’ story to life in new ways for a generation that’s waited forever.

Related: Percy Jackson is in Its Renaissance Era, and We Love to See It

After wildly successful book-to-screen adaptations like Harry Potter, The Hunger Games, and Divergent, it’s time for Percy Jackson to have the spotlight (and no, we don’t talk about the discontinued movie series adaptation). The long-awaited Disney+ adaptation of the book series, this time with author Rick Riordan heavily involved, dropped its series trailer last August 19 and moved its release date to December 20 of this year.

The series, as it was undergoing development, has been the subject of much media coverage and social media virality the past year. Book readers who have been there since the beginning and new fans alike have been buzzing with anticipation for an age-appropriate, faithful adaptation that will do justice to the young demigod hero’s story. Reactions to the new trailer and an earlier release date have been a mix of overjoyed excitement and emotional expressions of wish-fulfillment.

And no, as someone who’s read the books as a pre-teen and is now 22, I definitely didn’t tear up. Not at all. Nope.

FAITHFUL, DIVERSE CASTING

Riordan and series fans have sung nothing but praises for the diverse and skills-first casting of Percy, Annabeth, and Grover. Walker Scobell of The Adam Project fame was announced as Percy Jackson last year, and Riordan referred to him as having the “perfect mix of comedic timing, sweetness, rebelliousness, snark and heroism” to embody the demigod hero.

The funny Aryan Simhadri was said to have a “mixture of sweetness, humor and internal toughness” perfect for satyr Grover Underwood. Finally, Leah Sava Jeffries is a “brilliant actor,” the embodiment of the daughter of Athena—smart, strong, and courageous. She could break hearts, make people laugh, and have people cheer on her “all in the same scene.” From the actors’ previous works, social media presence, and behind-the-scenes looks at the series, it is undoubtable they’ll do a fantastic job as the main trio.

NOTICING EASTER EGGS AND REFERENCES

Both teaser trailers featured creatures, gods, battles, and Camp Half-Blood come to life. It was fun for fans to notice and call out the series version of something they read in the book, such as Thalia’s tree (spoiler alert: Thalia Grace is a daughter of Zeus that was turned into a tree to save her life), the orange camp t-shirts, the armor, the battle with Ares, and so much more. While book-to-screen adaptations are a mix of hits and misses overall, there is reassurance in Riordan’s involvement and the world-building we’ve seen so far. Plus, it’s always so much fun and excitement in seeing words on a page come to life right in front of you.

PURE WISH-FULFILLMENT

In the trailer, if you listen carefully, you’ll hear a line from Vance Joy’s Riptide, making it canon as a Percy Jackson song after years of fans linking the song to the franchise. The song shares a name with Percy’s trusty sword Riptide. This detail means the series was produced with the fans in mind, and more than that, the creators truly realized what it means to fans who have been there forever, like those who made edits to the song way back in 2016. One can only wonder how those editor fans felt after watching the trailer!

PEOPLE HAVE RUN FAN ACCOUNTS FOR YEARS

Speaking of fans and faith, so many fans of the series who have run stan accounts for the series showed immense elation at the adaptation. I was also part of Percy Jackson Twitter in the early-to-mid 2010s, and I’ve made friends online and offline because of this series. Running a fan account and witnessing all the new releases and developments, from new novels to disappointing movie adaptations, is such a unique, rollercoaster experience. To watch the series, reliving old adventures and seeing new ones as the series goes on, will be a nostalgic, emotional journey that will get us to say, “Hello again, Percy.”

GROWING UP WITH PERCY

The first book of the Percy Jackson & the Olympians series, The Lightning Thief (which the first season of the show is based on), was first published in 2005. It’s been almost 20 years since then, but the series has consistently been relevant over the decades, what with new series being published by Rick Riordan still featuring characters and storylines from the original 5 books.

Chalice of the Gods, a standalone sixth novel to the original 5 books, is even being released this September. All that is to say, Percy’s story has lived on for years, accompanying a generation that is now all grown-up. This new Disney+ series will definitely introduce Percy to a whole new audience, and even a whole new generation. Regardless, we’ll all be seated for this renaissance.

Hype and expectations are sky-high for the adaptation, and hopefully, it will let Percy Jackson’s story live on in a new way in longtime fans, and open up new worlds to people who will have just discovered the magic of the series.

Continue Reading: Shops in and Around Manila Where You Can Buy or Donate Secondhand Books

self-doubt passion

How Self-Doubt Immobilized Me From Pursuing My Passion

line
Ever feel like you weren't as good as you once thought you were?

Doubts kill more dreams more than failure ever could.

I used to be a pretty confident kid. I was the type of person who loved performing on stage, singing in front of the whole school, and dancing as if I knew how to. Growing up, my family and friends validated me and gave me the boost that I needed to try new things.

RELATED: My Accomplishments Are Sus, Am I Experiencing Impostor Syndrome?

I studied at a Catholic school all my life and my mom closely raised me (almost) entirely on her own. Mostly living a sheltered lifestyle, it was when I entered college where I became exposed to a world that was bigger than me. There were people who wouldn’t think twice about humiliating or hurting me. And on occasions, I would realize that I wasn’t as good as I made myself out to be.

That’s when my doubts started to take over my life.

I lost my friends at the end of freshman year. They said I was too bubbly, laughed too hard, and was too immature. Everything I liked about myself became an insecurity.

I was so conscious about what people thought of me to the point that I would hide from my professors during recitation in fear of saying the wrong answer, I started doubting my writing because I felt like it wasn’t good enough for journalism, I quit chorale because my voice wasn’t as powerful as I had thought. The things that I was so sure about no longer inspired me. Up to this day, I still struggle with the same insecurities. At work, I would second-guess my skills, overthink before responding to messages, and I would get discouraged writing because I felt like my self-worth was measured by numbers.

I felt immobilized; like I couldn’t do anything right because I had so many negative introspections. Sometimes, I felt like an impostor even with my achievements and it made me realize that I gave up my aspirations and my passion, purely because I thought I wasn’t good enough.

This feeling reminded me of an encounter with my Anthropology professor back in college. He took recitations very seriously. He was intimidating, wise, and frankly terrifying. I skipped his classes despite wanting to learn from him because I was afraid that he would call me and I would say the wrong thing. Finally, a good friend noticed that I was avoiding his classes. She asked me to stay because we had a paper to turn in.

My worst fear (at the time) happened. He called my last name for a recitation. And as I read my essay in front of the whole class, the paper I was holding was shaking through my trembling hands. When I finished reading the essay, everyone fell silent. I couldn’t tell what was going on in my professor’s head—his deadpan eyes enough to make me return to my seat in shame. Did I get the assignment wrong? Did I misunderstand the lesson? 

Then he started lecturing the class about self-doubt. How often times, we underestimate the power of our mind and the influence of our voice. He looked at me and told me that he would like to hear about my ideas in class more.

Recently, I had the same experience at work. Responding to work messages still gives me anxiety. Asserting myself feels like I’m being a push-over, and with the work-from-home set-up where all means of communication are through texts and emails, it’s easy to be misunderstood. But I’m grateful to have a team that believes in me, supervisors who see my potential, and a family that supports my decisions. I realized that the only one stopping me from pushing myself further is me.

To this day, I’m still working on getting my confidence back up, but I don’t want to feel entrapped by my worries when there are so many opportunities out there. I want to be able to face a challenge with a brave face on and confidently say: I can do it.

I know I’m not the only one who struggles with self-doubt. Sometimes we become so obsessed with not committing any mistakes that we end up not being able to make room for growth. We are so caught up with being accepted and validated that we forget to live for ourselves. It should be okay to be wrong, it should be okay to feel good about the things you love, and it should be okay to not overthink all the time. Do the things you want to do no matter how daunting it may seem. And if at the end of the day, things still don’t go as planned, give yourself a pat on the back for being brave enough to try.