Here’s a (non-exhaustive) list of essays I like/find interesting/are food for thought; I’ve tried to sort them as much as possible. The starred (*) ones are those I especially love
also quick note: some of these links, especially the ones that are from books/anthologies redirect you to libgen or scihub, and if that doesn’t work for you, do message me; I’d be happy to send them across!
I am reaching out on behalf of my dear friend, Mohamad S., who is facing one of the most challenging times of his life. Mohamad is 37 years old and left his homeland in 2015 in search of a safer and better future. He’s a kind, hardworking man, and his small family has always been his greatest priority.
Living abroad, Mohamad has recently endured unimaginable loss and financial strain. Amidst the ongoing conflict in his homeland, his mother passed away, leaving behind his sister and her five young children—the last remaining members of his immediate family.
As the situation worsened, Mohamad managed to help his sister and her children escape to safety in Egypt, covering their immediate needs and securing a temporary refuge for them. Since then, he has been fully responsible for providing everything they need to survive during this transition.
In his efforts to support his family and cope with this devastating loss, Mohamad has found himself deeply in debt. To make matters even more difficult, he recently underwent knee surgery, which limits his ability to return to work for the foreseeable future. This has made it even harder for him to manage his financial responsibilities and the pressing need to provide his family with a stable future.
Mohamad is now working to bring his sister and her five children to join him in Belgium, where he hopes they can find stability and opportunity after all they’ve endured. This transition, however, requires significant resources that he is currently unable to meet alone.
For privacy reasons, we are not sharing Mohamad’s full name, as he has chosen to keep his identity discreet. While he initially refused the idea of asking for help, I couldn’t stand by and watch him struggle alone. I insisted on doing this for him because he deserves a chance to overcome these challenges.
Your contribution will help Mohamad repay the debt incurred during this difficult time, cover ongoing living expenses for his family, and assist with the costs involved in bringing them safely to Belgium.
Mohamad has been a good friend of mine for years, and I’ve always admired his resilience and generosity. Any support, no matter the size, will make an incredible difference in helping Mohamad and his family rebuild their lives after these painful experiences.
Thank you for reading his story and considering helping a man who has always done everything he can for his loved ones.
honest to god Annabeth had the realest crash out ever w/ Rachel because by the time Rachel helps out Percy and Annabeth with the quest in botl this is after Percy’s blown up Mount St. Helen’s. So imagine this from Annabeth’s pov: you finally kissed Percy and then he dies, no wait actually he didn’t die, and while you’ve been off mourning him, he refuses to say where he’s been for the past weeks but you know. you know exactly where he’s been. and now he and Chiron are telling you that you need help on your quest, and who does Percy think you need help from?? Oh. Of course. The mortal girl. His “friend” that you didn’t even know he had until she just showed up that day you and he were supposed to spend together…. yeah no I would’ve lost it. Annabeth sweetie you could’ve been even meaner and it would’ve been an under-reaction honestly.
“ao3 should have an algorithm” ao3 should continue only giving me exactly what I ask for which happens because I know how to use the search, sort, and filter functions
“Hazel is so underrated” “Jason is so underrated” Y'know who actually is underrated? FRANK. ZHANG. He was one of the main pov’s in THREE of the HoO books (SoN, MoA, HoH) and yet I never see anyone talk about him (Even in the series he’s so underrated, like I think the only people that acknowledged that he’s powerful asf is Jason and Percy)
the biggest thing thalia and percy have in common is not their being a child of the big three gods. but their unmatched adoration for annabeth chase. because listen. these two will fight each other any chance they get. but the second you speak ill on their girl. it’s on sight.
And Grover. Thalia and Percy (and Annabeth too) have literal T-shirts with the saying ‘Grover Underwood Protection Squad’ (they also have another one saying 'If found, return to Grover Underwood’). When Juniper and Grover started dating, she recieved one hell of a shovel talk with Percy casually mentioning how trees require water to live, Thalia literally zapping a leaf in her hand and Annabeth just staring at her.
We always talk about Percy creating a hurricane in tlo and not even realizing it, but we never talk about grover turning the second strongest titan warrior into a MAPLE TREE
friendly reminder that normal is a myth. everyone has issues they’re dealing with. and there’s a place you need to go, where you belong. where the things that make you different, are the things that make you special. special like your father, yes percy you are special. like food the colour blue, all the things that make you you, are the things that will make you strong. so be strong 🫶🫶
Everyone is talking about how shocking it was that the Apollo cabin left the battle of Manhattan with only 3 survivors, but it’s so much worse than most people realize. Camp Half-Blood starts with somewhere around 100 campers in “The Lightning Thief.“ They start the battle of Manhattan with only 40 campers. Which, not great, but they were missing the Ares cabin, so that doesn’t seem so bad, right? THEY ONLY HAVE 16 CAMPERS BY THE TIME THE DRAKON SHOWS UP. They left camp with 2 buses full of hopeful demigods, but by the end of the book, the survivors don’t even fill up half of a bus.
Paul uses one of those razor blade subscription services and, since it’s cheap, sends Percy at New Rome University a spare pack every time he gets a delivery. Percy keeps a MUCH cleaner shave than Paul does, who kind of keeps it scruffy. Unfortunately, one time, there’s a shipping error as Paul’s package is lost in the mail, so nobody gets razors.
Percy doesn’t consider it much initially, but as days go by without a shave, he starts to build up stubble - something incredibly uncommon for him. People turn their heads and tease him a bit until the stubble grows into a shadow, grows into a beard.
Suddenly, nobody teases Percy. They give him a wide berth, and on more than one occasion, a younger New Roman called him “Sir” reverently. Now, when Percy delivers some Classic Snark during a lecture or between classes, it’s not met with snickers and eye-rolls. It feels scathing in a way it never had before. Now things that Percy pokes fun at are corrected, and people nod along to his comments as though they were suggestions - no, expectations.
Sure enough, people relax a bit when some new razor cartridges come in, and Percy shaves again, and things go back to normal. Percy isn’t sure why people acted odd for a week or two there. Then Annabeth, who (tactfully) avoided kissing him for that duration, points out, “You look a lot like your dad.”
