at the end of the day it’s alright to enjoy pjo/hoo/toa/tkc/mcga but it’s important that you realize there’s a lot of harmful representation in these series
we all need to recognize that these representations are harmful and that rick riordan needs to take accountability and apologize for his mistakes. it doesn’t matter if fans “yelled” at him or spoke nicely. the only thing that matters is that issues were brought up to him. he is aware of what he did. he is denying it. he is refusing to apologize for causing harm.
poc fans bringing up issues with the riordanverse is not to be ignored. our voices matter. and if you don’t want to listen to us, don’t write books or make any content with characters that look like us. no representation is less destructive than perpetuating harmful stereotypes
Ah, the hijab explanation. I’ve been waiting for this one! Turn it up!
Hijab can be a complicated thing. I don’t say this to judge anyone for the way they practice it, I personally have had my struggles with it and wore it in the “cavalier” way Samirah is described to be wearing it. That said, there is no rhyme or reason to who Samirah lets see her hair. One day she’s out in public with it on, the next her hair is out. Yes, there are women who do this but you can’t have that and leave it there. You need to address how she feels about that, people don’t wear or not wear hijab on a spur of the moment decision, or on whims. We need to see her feelings, beyond just a “I wear it when I want to, or when I feel like I have to.” “She sees the fallen warriors as her kin” that’s… not how it works at all? There’s a huge place full of people she maybe is best friends with, maybe is acquaintances with, or maybe is a stranger to, and she “sees them as her kin” just because.. they’re fallen warriors? Also, I remember Samirah being in public with her hair out, and then she sees Amir or her grandparents and quickly rushes to put it on, sending the message that they force her to wear it. While forced hijab does happen and is a problem you can’t be so.. cavalier about it. You just toss that line in and pretend it’s natural. Also, by making your one muslim character do that, the one muslim character in prominent children’s media, you’re sending the message that hijab is forced upon women most of the time which is.. not true.
Also, in the past, in many of the shows that feature a hijabi, there is always always always a hair reveal scene. She will take it off a sign of “love” for her boyfriend, show her guy friends to show she sees them as brothers, or even it will fall off her head if nothing else. It’s always explained away with some bullshit like “I only take it off in front of people I care about” that’s not how it works at all! Nobody picks and chooses who to show their hair to. It just feels so intrusive, not only as a muslim, but also as a woman. If a woman has decided that she doesn’t want to show a certain part of her, why do you find it so difficult to just.. leave it be at that? Why is it so difficult for you to accept and realise that some find empowerment in modesty? Or that they would like to adhere to a religious practice? Is it so necessary to take that away, even if it’s from a character? Is it so necessary for the audience to know what her hair looks like? It’s just so clearly fetishizing… It’s so telling to me that, despite it being… relatively well known that hijabi women hide their hair from men they’re not related to, you decided to ignore that and went for the ‘convenient’ route, the one that allowed you to see and depict her hair. And for that very reason, it’s really not progressive at all to have a hijabi character whose hair you can see. Yes there are a lot of different ways to practice hijab, and a lot of different ways that muslim women practice it. But do you know who has a right to talk about that and tell those stories? Muslim women. Women who used to, are planning on, or currently practice hijab. If you want to portray a hijabi character, leave her hair alone.
[I also find a strange sense of irony in the “camouflaging her in times of need” line, like. To many hijabis the point is to hide their hair, and you took that away, but when it came to plot-relevance, you decide that the hijab would be able to hide her from the eyes of others.. okay.]
i hope people know that reblogging posts about racism, ableism, transphobia, etc. on tumblr doesn’t actually do anything lol. if you’re not habitually engaging with these issues in your daily life outside of tumblr, outside the internet, what you DO say or do on the internet doesn’t really count for anything. if you’re just going to read a post, reblog it to make yourself feel like you’re “learning” or “being an ally,” and then promptly move on to the next thing, that gesture is basically empty. there’s no point in reblogging these posts if it’s just touch-and-go. there’s no point in reblogging these posts if you’re not going to do your part in whatever spaces you frequent, in whatever capacity you can, to combat prejudice & bigotry. there’s no point if you’re not also constantly engaging critically with the media you consume, the art you consume, the entertainment you consume. there’s no point if you think fandom and “real life” are separate spheres that shouldn’t interact. there’s no point if you think “callout culture” or “cancel culture” is even remotely a thing. there’s no point if you care more about tumblr discourse than contending with these issues in real life, both the ones that affect you and the ones that don’t. there’s no point if you’re going to treat “media representation” as if it’s the penultimate site of change or the pinnacle of activism or allyship. there’s no point if you’re going to treat gestures & posturing as real demonstrations of solidarity. if you don’t walk the talk, it’s not meaningful
The story has been completed, and now it is time to share it with the world. The Authors have selected twenty individuals to be the first set of Readers. They have been brought together to discuss what they will learn from this fabled tale, as well as other stories they have read in their journeys.
These individuals will be given the chance to explore the different characters in this world and decide which faction their interests best align with. Will they channel the strength of the Adventurers and Warriors or the charisma of the Royals and Sirens? Or perhaps the magic of the Faeries and Witches or the intelligence of the Assassins and Necromancers will call to them instead. Only time will tell.
If you have been chosen to join this first group of Readers, keep an eye out for wayward owls: a letter will be delivered to you from one of the Authors with instructions on how to access the story.
If you have not been selected to join the first wave of Readers, don’t take this story off of your TBR just yet. Applications will be opening again in the future, so the magic of this story can be passed on. Check back for updates and future opportunities. New Readers below the cut!
