no one talks about how rick riordan literally scammed disney
dead ass pjo was that seemingly “normal” kids fantasy series with a seemingly white straight kid saving the world and it’s a fucking success. percy jackson? iconic! ppl fucking love percy and his character and then hoo comes out? everyone is pumped bc everyone is in love with that world. the first book? two main bad ass poc characters. the second book? two more bad ass poc characters! the fourth book and there’s literally a gay character and it’s not like disney could say no. hoo ends and then there’s magnus chase and ppl are fucking pumped bc that’s annabeth chase’s cousin and in the first book there’s a muslim girl and by the second book there’s a transgender and genderfluid character. trials of apollo? a main gay couple in a happy relationship and a fucking bi character. could disney say no? no. literal 10 year olds are reading books with heaps of representation all published by disney. rick riordan played the game. you step in thinking ur just gonna get white cishets and you walk out surrounded by different cultures and rainbows.
tldr; rick started out with the basic pasty white and straight series which got hella successful and used his success to pusblish more books and allow only one (1) cishet and only one (1) white
i doubt he planned it but deadass it would be so funny if that’s what happened
I saw him speak on /writing in the UK right before (or early in on when) his series hit it big. Planned. Definitely planned.
Thousand percent planned. Also Percy? Has a learning disability. RR’s son inspired him to write bc he is ADHD and dyslexic. This was all planned. He is all about inclusivity and representation.
He also makes his books incredibly funny, which is rather rare for YA and makes them more accessible to kids who don’t really like to read. In addition to having loads of POV character who have trouble reading themselves.
For those who’ve been living under a YA rock, this is Rick Riordan:
(this was the gay character in the second series)
(and the trans character in a later series)
Let’s not forget that he has an interest in the mythologies of other countries, but instead of writing them himself promotes other writers through his “Rick Riordan Presents” publishing imprint to do so!
i hate “accurate” shakespeare productions where all the actors are white guys. the reason women didn’t act in his plays was because it was illegal in that time obv due to misogyny, and we don’t want that to carry over. there were characters of colour that shakespeare specifically wrote. for example, othello was a part for a black actor and yet there r MODERN productions of othello where othello’s actor is a white dude in blackface.
shakespeare would be thrilled if he knew that modern productions of his works featured diverse casts, complete with not only female actors, lgbt actors, and actors of colour, but interpretations that have been tweaked to showcase modern issues that black communities, gay people, women, etc. face.
if you want to do something, do it. a midsummer production where they’re all lesbians? a romeo and juliet production depicting racial tensions? a twelfth night production where viola is and is played by a trans women? shakespeare’s ghost will give u a thumbs up. (plus his works are out of copyright so u can do whatever the hell you want with them whether he’d want you to or not.)
Would the Takarazuka all female theater be enough? Cause they pretty much do ANYTHING especialy Shakespeare:
Of course everyone knows of the seven deadly sins, and the seven heavenly virtues. But a less known group resides on earth as humans. Apathy, distraction, procrastination, undecidedness, irritation, anxiety, and depression are the seven unnecessary inconveniences.
joss whedon: loki tortures and murders people for fun, and, despite being the god of CHAOS, is a fascist who says things like “it’s the unspoken truth of humanity that you crave subjugation”
taika waititi: loki is an annoying little shit who day-drinks, puts on theater about himself, and fucks his way to the top
joss whedon: loki and thor are gods, so they always talk proper and posh and in cryptic riddles so for no reason. it makes them seem more powerful and mystical.
taiki waititi: one time when they were kids loki turned into a snake because he knows thor loves snakes and then thor went to pick up the snake and then loki turned back into himself and screamed “yueagh, it’s me!” and then he stabbed thor
Taika Waititi has a deeper understanding of Norse mythological accuracy than Joss lol
It’s because Joss Whedon looks at all mythology and religion through a Christian-atheist lens. You can see it in Buffy and even a little in Firefly too. Even when he writes about other religions and their deities and practices, it still comes back to Christianity.
He wrote Thor and Loki as modern Western Christianity would portray Jesus and the Devil as opposed to how they actually are in mythology or the comics
That…is a really good addition as to why Whedon gets Thor and Loki
wrong and why Taika did a far better job with their
characters/personalities in Ragnarok
Sandra Soapbox Cosplay 