nobodylovespercy10

[nobodylovespercy10]

Everytime I remember I actually sat down to write this I cringe so much. Why. Why did high school me give a fuck.

Percy Jackson’s race masterpost

It seems like everybody is arguing about this so I thought I would give my opinion on it too. I’m happy to hear other arguments, but let’s keep it civil. And please don’t read just a couple sentences or paragraphs of all this, read everything and make sure you got my point before you start throwing with arguments. Thank you. 

Well, let’s proceed:

Personally, I imagine Percy having a Mediterranean complexion (one of the sub-races into which the Caucasian race is categorised by. It is characterized by pink to reddish to light or dark brown skin tone; olive complexion being especially common), because of his resemblance with his father who is a greek god (that’s the most common race in southern Europe and yeah, you can tell me gods can look however they want, but they were imagined by greeks, and guess what, people imagine people looking like them. That’s something everybody does).

Percy is described to look almost exactly like his father. This is Poseidon’s description in TLT: “His skin was deeply tanned, his hands scarred like an old-time fisherman’s. His hair was black, like mine. His face had that same brooding look that had always gotten me branded a rebel. But his eyes, sea-green like mine…”  and this is Percy’s description in MoA:  “His sea-green eyes were as gorgeous as she remembered. His dark hair was swept to one side, like he’d just come from a walk on the beach. He looked even better than he had six months ago—tanner and taller, leaner and more muscular.”

Key word here for skin is tan. Greeks are white, but they are tanned. They have a medium-skin tone. Behind all that tan, Percy has a pink skin tone, as seen in BotL when he was on Calypso’s island: “I looked at my arms, sure that they would be hideously scarred, but they seemed fine. A little pinker than usual, but not bad.”

Now I’m going to talk about some arguments that people give in absolutely.every.debate:

The neighborhood where Percy lives. I’ve seen a lot of people saying that Percy lives in a latino neighborhood, giving racial demographics of the said neighborhood etc. Percy lives on the 82nd street, Upper East side of Manhattan (”I opened the window and stepped onto the fire escape. […]. It was a clear night. The moon was full over Eighty-second Street.”- BotL ). This is part of a neighborhood called Yorkville. The racial makeup of the neighborhood is 76.0% White, 3.7% African American, 0.1% Native American, 9.3% Asian, 8.8% Hispanic or Latino of any race (source). So most of the population is white. But you know what? Even if it wasn’t, I personally don’t really see this as a valid argument, I just addressed this problem because it’s brought up in a debate very often. One can live in a latino neighborhood even if he’s white or live in a black neighborhood if he’s asian and so on. 

I see a lot of people bringing into conversation the name “Jackson”, which is a name of English and Scottish origin, so I don’t really see how it’s a common latino/African-American/whatever-other-race-name like people say it is.  

Sally’s race. Now besides the fact that Percy is said to look exactly like his father and no physical similarity to Sally is mentioned (her eyes are either described as blue or they’re said to “change color in the light”, and she has brown hair), her race is not mentioned and anything that anybody imagines is just a headcanon (I’ve seen people saying that they see Percy with a black heritage because Sally’s parents were black, which was not in the book or saying stuff like, “wait, he’s latino because Sally’s from Puerto Rico, right?”. I won’t give any names, but people need to learn to make the difference between what was actually said in the book and what they read in a fanfiction or what they imagined).

Just because you think that the community that you’re a part of needs more representation, that’s not a valid reason. It is not an argument. It has nothing to do with this particular character. Stop reading a book just for representation, stop liking a character just because he’s the same race as you are. Start thinking about the plot, the character development, the relationships between characters. Fully enjoy the book that you’re reading. (Also 4 out of The Seven aren’t white, not to mention other minor characters. We cannot complain about lack of diversity in Rick Riordan’s books. Why don’t you talk about those characters instead of arguing about this one?)

“If a character’s race is not mentioned we can’t assume that he’s white. White is not the default.” True, but I think I’ve given enough arguments to show that I’m not just assuming his race, I’m basing my opinion on facts. And also, every time a character had a particular heritage, Rick Riordan made it very clear. Does anybody has any doubts that Leo and Reyna are latino, that Frank is Chinese, that Hazel and Beckendorf are Afro-American, Piper is Cherokee and so on? No. Absolutely none. In another series of his, The Kane Chronicles, the protagonist is black and even if the narration is in first person, his race is still clearly stated. 

And yes, the official art is a valid argument in this debate. We now have the improved version made by Viria and it’s Rick Riordan who asked her to make the art. He approved of it. Look at the official art and tell me it’s not obvious that Hazel is black, Frank has Chinese ancestors, Leo is Latino and so on. It’s blatantly obvious, okay? Now look at Percy’s art and tell me what you see. Look at the Graphic Novels. Look at the books’ covers- Percy is in plenty of them. He and Carter Kane are both on the covers for The Son of Sobek and The Crown of Ptolemy- compare them. There is one person of color there and it sure as hell isn’t Percy.

Now if when you are reading the book your brain is picturing him not looking like in the book’s description, that’s OK and that’s something that happens all the time. But please stop confusing the canon with a headcanon. 

[nobodylovespercy10]

something i feel like we don’t talk about nearly enough is the fact that percy is healed by water.

it’s so normal to us because it’s one of the first abilities we discovered he has. and it makes complete sense. but like… he’s the only demigod with that ability. jason doesn’t get healed by a gust of wind. hazel doesn’t get healed if she touches a diamond. nico doesn’t get healed if a skeleton gives him a hug. annabeth doesn’t get healed if she walks into a library.

like percy could be stabbed in the chest multiple times, he could break every bone in his body, he could be slammed in the head resulting in a crushed skull and hemorrhaging, but get him to some water fast enough and not only is he good as new in no time, but he’s stronger and freshly rejuvenated.

it’s insane when you think about it. no one else can do that. do you know how hard it is to kill percy? even if he’s not near the ocean, he can be healed by rivers and lakes and streams and ponds and all sorts of water sources. water recharges him. it makes him immediately stronger.

that’s a huge reason why i argue percy is the most powerful demigod. yes, he’s shown he has incredible super strength and super speed. yes, he’s a legendary sword fighter - arguably the best one alive. yes, he has control over air, land, and sea. (deadly hurricanes with heavy winds and thunder and lightning, huge volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, tsunamis, floods, etc.) yes, he’s capable of mass destruction. yes he can single handedly cause natural disasters and mass casualties. and yes, he’s capable of controlling people’s bodily fluids, including their blood and saliva. he is terrifying

but even if someone manages to beat him, he dips one toe in some water and he’s immediately healed and even stronger than before. whether the injury is internal and external. he’s healed all on his own. no ambrosia or nectar or external remedies necessary.

guys. percy is insane. he’s way overpowered.

and i love it.

[nobodylovespercy10]

My full art for @pjoplanner

BLUESKY: link COMMISSION: link

[nobodylovespercy10]

yes, percy rose through the ranks of new rome disturbingly fast. no, jason did not do the same at camp half blood. yes, percy's rise to leadership at both camps took about two weeks and was completely unplanned. no, the same cannot be said for jason. his rise was carefully planned and took over a decade. they're both children of the big three, but where percy thrums with raw power, jason is a sword honed by zeus and hera. where percy is a survivor, jason is a weapon. where percy is a cycle breaker, jason can't get out. jason's fatal flaw was temptation to deliberate because he never managed to make his own choices. he was every classic definition of a hero rolled into one, and he never questioned it because his happiness came after the responsibility. jason was never going to ascend as fast as percy because jason was raised on hard work and discipline while percy, an abuse survivor and child of poverty, knew when to fight dirty. where jason was a transplant, percy was an invasive species. jason was always going to die because he was never more than a tool for the gods to throw away when he outlived his usefulness, or when he started to question his place. if someone as locked down as jason can question the system, anyone can. now that luke has put thoughts of overthrow in everyone's heads, zeus has to be very careful because while jason was expendable as his weapon, percy was unexpected in every way. zeus has no plan for him. when percy dies, he will become a martyr, so he can't die, except now everyone knows that percy doesn't want to be a god either. jason had to die, and now percy has to live.

[nobodylovespercy10]

Annabeth with short hair, Why not? LOL

[nobodylovespercy10]

percy’s view of himself: i’m so stupid and ugly and useless. i’m such a lame demigod

literally everyone else’s view of percy:

[nobodylovespercy10]

I would fall into the pits of hell with you rather than face the thought you might suffer alone. A powerful goddess erased all my memories but she couldn’t make me forget the sound of your laugh. You are my tether to mortality and the hand that saved me from drowning. The first time you kissed me I caused a seismic volcanic earthquake. When I met Aphrodite I thought she looked like you. The divine rulers of this universe fear I might burn down the world if you asked. And I would. Without hesitation. Do you get it? Do you understand?

[nobodylovespercy10]

you all misunderstood percy’s reaction to nico saying he used to have a crush on percy soooo bad. “percy was offended he wasn’t nico’s type” this “percy is so oblivious” that HOW have we all forgotten that nico literally wanted that man DEAD in the first series. and allowed percy to walk around with kidnapppng amnesia for most of the second. WHY would percy think he was nico’s type AT ALL why ON EARTH would he NOT be oblivious to nico having a crush on him???? he is certain that nico wants him homeless on the street at LEAST

[nobodylovespercy10]

The best part of the percy jackson books is that from percy's perspective hes just an easygoing funny cool guy who seems pretty harmless but the moment you see him from someone elses pov hes terrifying. Just a crazy good fighter, a force of nature killing machine, literally gets mistaken for a god in disguise. But he doesnt see that side of himself at all because hes too busy arguing with authority figures and respecting women. I love him

[nobodylovespercy10]

How I feel like when I see new pjo fans calling percabeth by the name annacy

[nobodylovespercy10]

[nobodylovespercy10]

i never understood ppl claiming percy has never suffered the consequences of his loyalty. you're talking about percy "i know the prophecy said my friend would betray me but these are my friends they wouldn't betray me" jackson, who walked into a remote part of the forest with luke and almost died in book one. you're talking about percy "kronos told me point-blank there was a traitor but i can't imagine any of these ppl betraying me" jackson, who decided to stop looking for the traitor and moved on. you're talking about percy "nico is acting suspicious and very clearly hiding something from me but he's my friend and i trust him" jackson, who walked into nico's very obvious set up and almost got himself held hostage during the titan war. percy is so loyal that he cannot fathom betrayal until it's happening, and it has nearly killed him multiple times.

[nobodylovespercy10]

its funny because Percy has been spiraling ever since pjo and whenever he has a particularly bad episode you have other characters actively worried about it and you think to yourself surely they're going to intervene, surely someone is going to talk to him about it, and then like no one ever does lol

[nobodylovespercy10]

oh and ANOTHER interesting thing that Riordan does with Percy in the tartarus chapters to never ever bring up again is Percy achieving seemingly impossible(?) physical feats.

Like when Percy kills Arachne, he does so so quickly that Annabeth can't comprehend it. She literally asks him "How did you move so fast?" and he just shrugs and is like "Gotta watch out for each other right? Anyways..." and immediately changes the subject.

Then later he jumps over a river with Annabeth on his back and again, right before it, she's like "How are you going to do this??? It's twenty feet across. How can you possibly do that?" and he straight up is just like "yeah I can do it just close your eyes" and then does it???

of course these moments happen during Annabeth's pov so we'll never know for sure but its just so fascinating cause Riordan goes out of his way to indicate that Percy was displaying strength, speed, agility, etc way beyond his typical threshold while also implying that not only was Percy aware of it but he was either trying to downplay it to Annabeth or avoid discussing it altogether.

[nobodylovespercy10]

i personally think ten year old nico, all petty to his crush's gf, basically going "if daughter of athena, why so stupid?" on annabeth was pretty iconic of him

[nobodylovespercy10]

Headcanons on Percy’s appearance?

OOH THANK YOU FRIEND FOR THE AMAZING ASK!!! :’)

—

- okay i strongly believe in my heart and soul that mr perseus jackson has the best smirk/troublemaker smile in the world and we MF love him for that

- his hair is dark as night, sometimes so dark that when the light gleams towards his hair it has a hue of very dark blue

- beautiful sea green eyes, when the sun rays hit they turn this very light sea green color and you practically see the light and life just bouncing around in his eyes (most often followed by cute eye crinkles from smiling and laughing so hard) and when he’s angry/upset they turn into this dark emerald green which is essentially a hurricane/tsunami warning all in itself

- tan complexion and i think since he is a demigod some of these demigods get blessed w decent skin and he is one of them

- 6ft tall or a little more and because of that he plays games w other younger kids at camp and he tries to hold things above his own head so they’re forced to play fight him or just climb up him like a tree (helps them inadvertently build strength while having fun!)

- i personally am a sucker for eyebrow slits/scars so i think he has one and it’s not too far off considering his body is littered w some scarring but he considers them battle wounds and is proud of them as he should be bc that means he MADE it

- he is lean, agile, lithe and has muscle but is very toned - can’t really notice all that unless he’s wearing his camp half-blood/camp jupiter tank/short sleeve, tank tops or some tight clothes like his black/white tops or workout tops, since he’s nearly always seen in his dark blue, dark forest green hoodies nearly all the time w his signature black/blue jeans (ripped sometimes, other times not)

- canon that he has long, slender fingers so i like to headcanon that he likes to play piano and tbh great for throwing up a middle finger, peace sign, and rock-on sign in pictures

- king has his trident tattoo w marks from the roman camp and anytime it’s hot, people can see it and they go haywire

- has pet names for nearly everyone in his life whether it be adorable or funny (babe, honey, asshole, hot stuff, fucker, etc…)

- has a nice rich deep voice, when he’s calm it’s very soothing and you just wanna hear him talk all the time & when he’s angry it’s quite dominant/loud and a bit scary to some but then he gets aware of it so he’ll lessen the volume while still getting his point across (most often laced w sarcasm & dry wit), and when he’s laughing he is LAUGHING and it sounds either like a beaut melody or a baby seal trying to catch its breath it’s genuinely hilarious and he starts laughing even more (does signature silent laughs when something really gets him - i’m talking eyes closed, mouth wide open, and falling back trying to catch his breath)

- percy has a powerful, strong aura while also having a calm aura and he’s always there to make someone feel included and likes to be helpful and kind to those who need it, and enjoys being sarcastic and witty with his friends and basically while he seems intimidating at first (almost always bc he is someone with a resting bitch face), he’s very sweet and will teach/help/care for people!!!

- it’s canon that percy is extremely beautiful/handsome and while he doesn’t always notice it or believe it, it’s most definitely true and his friends like to remind him that yes!!!! you are beautiful and we want you to believe it!!!!

ahhhh thank you for the great ask my friend i LOVED it!!! :’) hope you enjoy!

[nobodylovespercy10]

the pjo prophecy is so funny bc essentially it’s like the fate of the world depends on a teenage boy making the right decision. i get why everyone thought the world was gonna end.