Chapter 0: The Quest Begins
Welcome to Podcast of Poseidon!
In this brief episode, co-hosts Darien (she/her) and DJ (he/him) cover why they're starting the show and how they fell in love with mythology. And they almost manage to explain why they're reading a children's book series!
About Us
Podcast of Poseidon was created and co-hosted by Darien and DJ Smartt. It's edited by Darien Smartt.
Our music is "Athens Festival" by Martin Haene. Our cover art is by Audrey Miller. Find her on Instagram @bombshellnutshellart
Find us @PoscastOfPoseidon on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. Find all of our episodes and episode transcripts at PodcastOfPoseidon.com.
Transcript
Darien: I’m pretty sure if you were a Percy Jackson kid, you are now a Lore Olympus adult. Like, that’s a fact. You are spending those coins every month.
DJ: [Laughter]
[Theme music]
Darien: Hey, welcome to the show! This is Podcast of Poseidon, a podcast for mortals, monsters, and myth-lovers alike. I’m your co-host, on loan from the Hunters of Artemis, Darien Smartt. Joining me is my co-host and brother, hailing from Cabin 15, DJ.
DJ: That’s me. How’s everybody doing today? I hope you’re doing wonderful. Cabin 15 is Hypnos, so I’m pretty fucking tired. [Laughter]
Darien: This is what we’re calling Chapter 0. And we’re basically just gonna lay out some groundwork for what you wonderful listeners can expect. First and foremost, as DJ has already pointed out, this is going to be an explicit podcast. So we’re gonna curse, we're probably gonna- Mostly it's going to be us talking about Greek mythology for a big chunk of this.
DJ: And Greek curses.
Darien: Yeah, and Greek curses!
[Laughter]
Darien: And lots of that stuff can be pretty not safe for work, when it's not in the nice sheen of the Percy Jackson series. More importantly, I do wanna be able to call Zeus a fuckboy whenever I feel like it.
DJ: I mean, they don't portray him like that in the books, but.
Darien: That's what this show is going to be about! We're gonna be reading the series and just kind of exploring those, those myths and, like, how we change them. Which is basically, like, my goal for it. I really want to talk about the myths and the stories from ancient times, and how we retell them. And not just how or why, but kind of supporting the fact that I believe not just telling the myths but retelling them in new ways is important for us to do. Because it's how we change and evolve as cultures and storytellers. DJ, why, why do you wanna do this podcast?
DJ: Cause, I mean honestly, just cause I want to hang out with you, and I miss my sister. And it's going to be a lot of fun.
Darien: Aw. Fuck you.
[Laughter]
Darien: How dare you have a nicer answer than I did?
DJ: Well, I mean, it's a pretty good answer.
Darien: It's a pretty good answer. Let's talk about why Percy Jackson. We could just talk about Greek myths in general, but we're gonna talk about a children's book series.
DJ: Young adult.
Darien: Young adult.
DJ: Okay.
[Laughter]
Darien: I mean, Percy starts out as twelve, but he ends up at 16, and there's all the other books. So, sure, young adult. That's-
DJ: Yeah.
Darien: I think it depends on what books.
DJ: Young adult.
Darien: I don't know. It is in the children's section in Barnes and Noble.
DJ: That's because the young adult-
Darien: Though they do have a young adult section at Barnes and Noble.
[Laughter]
DJ: That's ridiculous! They need to change that. Because, yeah, I read them as a child... [Laughter] I guess there's no argument.
Darien: No, I mean, here's the, I was definitely still reading these books when I was in college and they were coming out.
DJ: Oh yeah. They're great. I love them so much.
Darien: They're great.
DJ: I think, personally, I think "Trials of Apollo" is probably his weakest series. But then again, I never read past the first book.
Darien: Okay, well [Indistinguishable]. You can't judge it. It's like judging the Percy Jackson series based off the first book.
DJ: [Laughter} Yeah, true.
Darien: Which I have not read since "Blood of Olympus" came out in 2014. So, I don't remember a lot about the book. So I'm really excited to, to read it again with you.
DJ: Yeah.
Darien: When's the last time you read these?
DJ: Ooof. Probably fourth grade. Which would be... How old are you in fourth grade?Is that ten? Eleven?
Darien: Yeah. How- Percy's in sixth grade and he's twelve in the first book, right? No. What?
DJ: No, cause... I think so actually. Yeah. He just turned sixth grade, so I was probably ten. I was ten my first time reading "Lightning Thief" and I never went back. [Laughter]. I read it, then I moved on to “Sea of Thieves” and that was it!
Darien: "Sea of Monsters."
DJ: Yeah, "Sea of Monsters." "Sea of Thieves" is a wonderful pirate game.
Darien: Yeah, so this is another thing. We have very, very different reading habits. Cause I one-hundred percent not only, just, read this series again and again, but Iwould read them again and again whenever the next book was about to come out.
DJ: Yeah. Then she would just hand it off to me and I would read it.
Darien: Yeah, basically.
DJ: Only reason I miss school is because I got a lot of time to read.
Darien: I got so much reading done. I'm honestly a little concerned that it's gonna take me a long time- I used to be able to read books in two hours. Like.
DJ: Yeah, you would bust through books!
Darien: Look, I've got stories specifically about reading "Battle of the Labyrinth" that I will wait until we get to that to share. Because it is a highlight of what a nonsensical book kid I was. But now...
DJ: "Battle of the Labyrinth" is such a good book.
Darien: It's just- Fuck, that's a good book.
DJ: That one's like, that's like. [Indistinguishable] For me, it's tied for first place. Cause I really like "Sea of Monsters."
Darien: "Sea of Monsters" is good. I really like-
DJ: I think "Sea of Monsters" is stellar.
Darien: I like "Titan's Curse" a lot. I think that one might be my favorite of the five because I like Artemis, obviously. Especially when I was a kid.
DJ: That's fair.
Darien: So, she has a very prominent role in that book. [Laughter].
DJ: [Agreement]
Darien: But we will talk all about Artemis and fuck boy Zeus and the labyrinth and the minotaur, and just everything. And not just the way they appear in in the Percy Jackson books or in the ancient Greek stories but also all the-
DJ: And other ways.
Darien: Yeah! And all the other ways we've retold these stories and remixed them. And will me talk about "Lore Olympus?" Like, probably! Right? Most likely.
DJ: Most likely. Cause we're both reading that it's pretty great.
Darien: It's pretty great. No it's absolutely stellar. Davis, is there anything else that you want the listeners to know?
DJ: No. I'm excited about this. I'm excited to go back through them and read them. Well, I'm gonna be listening to them, because I cannot sit down and read anything for the life of me. So...
Darien: Yeah. Out of the two of us, you're probably more of a demigod. [Laughter]
DJ: Yeah. So, I'm, I'm pretty stoked about it. I'm gonna, I'm gonna have a good time.
Darien: Yeah! It'll be super fun. You'll have to tell me how the reading on the audiobooks are like. I think that will be, that will actually be super awesome, because I don't really do audiobooks that often. But they are-
DJ: Which is shocking, because you do podcasts.
Darien: I do. Yes, I love podcasts. I'm so excited to do a podcast! I'm so excited to do a podcast with you!
DJ: [Laughter]
Darien: We're just gonna have a lot of fun! And talk about Percy Jackson and myths. Which, Greek myths were my very first nerdy love when I was little. I was like, "Oh! These stories are rad as hell!"
DJ: I know, right? Like, it's one of the reasons why I absolutely got into "Smite" and love "Smite."
Darien: Oh, yeah! We're gonna talk so much about "Smite" in this series.
DJ: "Smite" is so much fun. But yeah, it's because I was reading Percy Jackson, and I was still reading it by the time "Smite" came around. And I'm like, "I need to play this!" And then I haven't stopped playing it for seven years!
Darien: [Laughter] Perfect! Wonderful, wonderful. That's probably gonna do it for Chapter 0.
DJ: Yeah.
Darien: Thank you so much everybody who is spending your time on our show. We're just getting started. We're so very excited. Thank you for hanging out with us. Thank you for joining us. We hope you like what you hear and wanna stick around for the next episode.
DJ: Yeah!
Darien: Bye everybody!
Davis: Bye!
[Theme music plays]
Darien: Podcast of Poseidon is created, produced, and hosted by Darien and DJ Smartt. It's edited by Darien Smartt.
DJ: Our music is "Athens Festival" by Martin Haene. Our cover art is by Audrey Miller. Find them on Instagram @bombshellnutshell
Darien: Come hang out with us on Instagram and Twitter @poscastofposeidon. Find all of our episodes and episode transcripts at PodcastOfPoseidon.com
DJ: Thanks for listening!
[Theme music ends]