#anti luke castellan

[punkeropercyjackson]

'Percy Jackson is just a normal guy in a strange world':Incorrect

'Percy Jackson is a role model for young boys and a female fantasy':Closer but not quite correct

'Percy Jackson is not a gendered character in a meta sense because Percy being a boy has nothing to do with their personality and stories EXCEPT proving themselves as different from other 'male' characters and this is a big reason why they're so easy to read as transfem among the countless ones and so appealing to black women,autistic women and obviously irl trans women and widely beloved by lesbians and aroaces and by making Percy normal,you are fundamentally ruining their character because they were meant to be completely nonconformist just naturally and their rebellious attitude is a result of growing up as a minority in-text by being neurodivergent and poor and fighting against for themself and others like them and this is another fascet of their appeal and why the first take is the most popular one because it comes from hatred of and discomfort towards irl Percys(read:autistic people and feminine trans people)fueled by bigotry so that's the discourse around book!Percy being afrolatino interpretation,the mass harrasment towards Perachel shippers and Rachel fans and both towards Leah for playing Annabeth by white/allistic Pjo fans and the ass kissing towards Luke as the palpable victim of society unlike Percy:CORRECT!!!!!

[theoraclesattic]

and when we start having to treat him like a villain then what

[perseas-wellyboots]

The Luke Castellan problem in PJO books and Fandom

I just finished rereading the pjo series for the dozenth time and I have so many thoughts about Luke and how the fandom woobified him.

Like no Luke did not have the right idea and executed it in the wrong way. He wasn't a misguided victim, although there is no doubt Kronos manipulated him. But him being manipulated does not absolve him of his wrongdoings. Hurt people can still hurt people, you can be abused and still become an abuser.

Most of Fandom's idea of Luke being a 'hero' because he did the right thing in the end is extremely doozy like ok he killed himself to stop Kronos but that does not absolve him the blame of killing innocent people.

While Luke's main goal was the destruction of Gods, that was not because he wanted the demigods to have better lives. He actively killed demigods.

In the Sea of Monsters, when Percy, Annabeth and Tyson snuck into Princess Andromeda; they saw 12 year olds being trained how to kill a 'dummy in camp half blood tshirts'. He was actively exploiting children and manipulating them into killing other children and saw nothing wrong with it.

He only considered deflecting from Kronos when he found out that he was going to be possessed by him.

He only worked and cared for him, he was so lost into power and revenge that HE became a monster.

"Oh but he cared for Thalia and Annabeth!!" I'll get into that later too

I think Luke's fatal flaw contrary to the opinion of fandom is The Urge to Prove Himself.

He had one conversation with Hermes which made him angry and bitter and Thalia even notes that after that conversation Luke got into more and more fights with monsters like he had something to prove which Annabeth didnt seem to see as a problem since he was her hero. They got into more skirmishes because of his recklessness, fighting more monsters since Luke wanted to pick a fight with each one he came across.

(Conversation from PJO, The Last Olympian)

His fatal flaw being to Prove Himself would explain why he took the failure of his quest so hard that the night he returned from the quest was the same night Kronos started speaking to him for the first time. It didn't help that when he returned from his failed quest, the campers treated him with pity.

He wanted to pull Olympus down stone by stone because He failed his quest that he didn't want to do because it was already done by Hercules once. 🥴

His endgame has nothing to do with wanting to help ANYBODY. He wanted to take down gods because he had a grudge against them and wanted to Prove that he could do it. Everything else comes secondary if it fits his agenda.

This is one of the reasons why it bothers me so much when people say that Luke had the right idea or that Percy would have joined Kronos if Sally had died like you fundamentally misunderstood the character of Percy if you think he would have joined Kronos.

He talks about "driving humanity back into caves, all except the strongest - who would serve him" THIS IS LITERALLY FASCISM???

(According to Merriam-Webster, Fascism is a political philosophy, movement, or regime that exalts nation and often race above the individual and that stands for a centralized autocratic government headed by a dictatorial leader, severe economic and social regimentation, and forcible suppression)

Now onto the topic of Thalia, Annabeth and Luke

First of all, I absolutely hate that 'Thalia and Luke had a thing before she got turned into a tree bit' because Thalia was 12 and Luke was 14 when they met and Thalia was 15 and Luke was 20-21ish when they meet again in TTC ugh hate that.

Now TTC, where to begin, here I used to believe Luke had already bathed in river Styx as there are some narrations where Percy notes that Luke looked worse and like his scar was reopened and would certainly explain how he survived the cliff fall but on my rereading I realised that Thalia and Luke fought when Percy was holding the sky and Thalia injured Luke so nvm then.

It is however in this book that Luke began to realise Kronos's plan for him as it is implied by the General and he starts to fear for his life.

Mind you, what did Luke think would happen if Thalia did agree to join Kronos when he knew Kronos was looking for a host of body...

Luke is many things, he is cunning, manipulative, a great swordsman but what he is not is stupid. If Thalia would have agreed then Kronos would have used Thalia as a vessel 😬

And oh boy the can of worms that is Luke and Annabeth. I've seen many Luke fans/apologists deny that there is no canon evidence of Luke being romantically interested in Annabeth BUT THERE IS?? they refuse to believe and call Annabeth an unreliable narrator because otherwise their uwu white boy would be a Pedophile. Even if he wasn't a Pedo, he manipulated Annabeth so many times to make her sympathise with her and use her emotions against her.

(excerpts from various books: TLO, TLO, BoTL, MoA annabeth's pov)

^ Annabeth was 15 almost 16 or already 16 I believe when Luke asked her to run away with him in a romantic sense and he was 21-22.

also another evidence adding to the theory of his fatal flaw having proving himself.

Now, onto the topic of CHB and Luke:

Luke being hesitant to attack camp half blood in BotL has less to do with him suddenly growing a spine (as some fans suggest) and more to do with the inevitable possession.

When Kronos informs that he will himself lead the attack, Luke advises to use Hyperion instead because he knows for Kronos to attack it in person, he would finally possess Luke.

(first one is from TTC, the other two from BoTL)

One of the last things I wanna talk about is Silena Beauregard & Luke and Luke's portrayal in the new Percy Jackson series:

Luke was 17 when Kronos started speaking to him and 19 when he left the camp. Silena was 17-18 when she died which makes her 13-14 when Luke left the camp in TLT and 11-12 when Kronos first started talking to him. Adult Luke charmed an underage girl, and promised her that she was helping the demigods and then when she tried to stop, he started blackmailing her. [excerpts from TLO]

According to the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children UK, Grooming is when someone builds a relationship, trust and emotional connection with a child or young person so they can manipulate, exploit and abuse them. The relationship a groomer builds can take different forms. This could be: a romantic relationship, as a mentor, an authority figure, a dominant and persistent figure. They might use blackmail to make a child feel guilt and shame or introduce the idea of 'secrets' to control, frighten and intimidate.

So canonically, Book!Luke is a fascist groomer pedophile.

Now on the new Disney+ Percy Jackson show, it seems that Rick Riordan is subtly rewriting the character of Luke and removing the more problematic aspect of him (pedophile and grooming). Let me explain why I think that:

Even though in TLT the book, Luke describes Annabeth as his little sister we know how well that lasted but I don't think they are keeping Annabeth's crush on him on the show from what I've seen (though I could be wrong).

Secondly, the casting of Dior Goodjohn as Clarisse puts Clarisse on the same age range as Luke, maybe a year or two younger but in the first book Clarisse was 13-14 and she was 17 in TLO, so they have aged her up. It is my assumption that they will also age Silena by casting a 17-19 yr old actress as her.

And they have made Luke far more sympathetic in the show than the books (him not calling a hellhound during capture the flag and no pit scorpions in the finale), but we wouldn't know how sympathetic or villainous they are making him until season 2 comes out. Charlie Bushnell gives an excellent performance imo

Though this again reflects the double standards it comes to PJO, they have given much grace and praise for the changes made to Luke's character and little to no complaint for ageing up Clarisse but the hate Walker and especially Leah are given is so cruel. Leah has been so much racially targeted though I think she's an excellent Annabeth, just something to think about.

Also, before I forget-

We don't give enough flack to Rick Riordan for writing two weird age dynamics without recognising as grooming and pedophilic nature. (Lukabeth and Caleo/Capercy)

The characters are never made to realise (especially Annabeth) that an older person having feelings for them as a minor is not a normal behaviour.

Especially in regards to Calypso who may take the form of a 15 year old but is actually more than 4612 (according to the riordan wiki) and her having a crush on 14 year old Percy and 15-16 yr old Leo Valdez, not to mention how rudely she treated Leo. Also her cursing Annabeth because Percy left her. Not only is it plain nasty but she's never called out. Its actually so disgusting🤕.

Anyways this turned into a long rant but I would love to read your opinions, especially on Luke's fatal flaw.

I know for some people it may seem like I'm too hard on him but this is just my opinion.

IMO I have no problem if you like a morally bad or gray person, an antihero or a villain as long as their bad deeds aren't swept under the rug and pretend they never happened or glorify their good deeds.

I actually think villian's bad things make them more interesting.

Luke is an antagonist and a villain of the PJO series and a part of being a villain is that some people are going to hate you and that's ok.

Me personally, I was never a fan of his and that's ok.

I know some people are going to bring up the fact that Percy in MoA sympathises but the PJO characters are complicated and Luke was very skilled at making others think of his reason to destroy the Gods the way they would sympathise the most and we see that multiple times.

[jasontoddssuper]

I love calling white male characters i hate colonizers.It's within my rights as an afrolatina and also hilarious and also also true

[wanderingmind867]

Don't be fooled. Luke would gladly kill all the monsters on the Princess Andromeda. Look how he treats Tyson. He mocks him, calls him a monster, he even threatened to feed Agrius to a drakon! His own henchman! What's wrong with him!? I'll tell you what: he's a filthy eugenicist and rascist (monster-ist?) and I cannot stand him.

[echo-stimmingrose]

If I see one more love song edit for Annabeth and Luke I might just lose my mind. Especially since y'all are using SHOW ANNABETH AND LUKE

Like the child and the legal adult! Stop it!

[bookns]

Annabeth Chase attends to the younger kid, always. Whether she is out of her own or with friends, if she sees a younger camper in trouble, she will always be there. She snorts when she laughs which is Percy's favorite sound because he knows that is the sound of her being truly happy (He missed it dearly when he went missing). She will always make strawberry pancakes, as Luke used to do as camp. Although, Annabeth hates Luke and what he stands for, the broken family he once built is something that still lives in her, and for that she will always make strawberry pancakes (the same recipe that Luke had used for 5 years). In Annabeth's opinion, it will never taste the same, not when every time she has nectar that she gets the reminder that Luke will never come back. Annabeth loves the color red unapologetically because that was color that Silena used to say was the color of their friendships ("and the color of blood" Clarisse). She decides to get three tattoos, one of which is an earth with the sun and stars surrounding it as a reminder of what she done and of the people (and monsters) she left behind. The Perseus constellation on her shoulder, where she once took the knife for him, as a reminder of the one part of her family who never let her down. (Percy cried when he saw it. He didn't have a choice over his tattoo so to see the only girl he loved willingly choose to permentlay mark her body for him made him realize how lucky he is)(and of course the amount of kisses she got proved to her that he loves it). A small red heart on her wrist that she has matching with Katie and Clarisse as a reminder of their best friend who always insisted of being remembered in hearts. Katie has it on her behind her ear, because Silena used to tuck Katie's hair behind her ear as she told her "everything will be ok, I promise." Clarisse has it tattooed on the inside of her pinky finger because "when we were little, she always made me pinky promise that I wouldn't go and kill anyone." (Clarisse laughs as she says this, "I wish I could tell our younger selves that its not true. That you have to kill in order to live.") (When Will Solace realized why they all are getting this tattoo, he sat there and cried. He, too, despite only knowing her for three years remember how she used to bang early on his cabin, even early than his late older brothers used to wake up, when there was a new Taylor Swift album. She used to beg them, and when that didn't work (it never did), she was threaten his cabin about all the gossip she would know (that always worked). Annabeth misses her old life so much that she is determined to help every younger camper live the happy she had

[maggotssmichael]

i have a question for people who don't like/understand show!luke: what's it like to not have mommy or daddy issues, inquiring minds want to know

[starlightshadowsworld]

I need Jason roasting Luke.

Jason:... You're pathetic.

Luke: Excuse me?!

Jason: Oh boo hoo you went through one quest and it went awry. Did you die? Did someone you love die?

Luke: Well no but-

Jason: My mum sacrificed me to Hera to save herself. I was raised by wolves. If I showed even a bit of fear I would be killed, I was 2 years old!

Luke:.. I mean yikes but that only proves my point.

Jason: glares I was a child soilder, At 16, I have served my leigion for 14 years. And I see no difference in you manipulating other children to fight your stupid war.

Tell me, how many innocent lives were lost because of you?

Luke:....

Jason: You know how many people I lost because of you? Because I do, I know all of their names. I buried all of them with honour.

I had to lead and fight a war at 15 BECAUSE OF YOUR SELFISH SELF-SERVING ASS.

Luke: I was used...

Jason: You were, but that doesn't change that this was all your choice. Who knew teaming up with a titan who ate his own children would be a manipulative asshole.

Luke: Okay fair... But I at least died a hero.

Jason: And left everyone else to pick up the pieces. My best friend died a heroes death, and you are nothing like him.

You hurt them and you saved yourself from facing any consequences. Your a coward, Luke Castellan. You lived one and you died one.

Luke: Okay, okay jeez I get it. I swear the fates were kinder about this.

Jason: Also, your stuck with me now and I will never forgive you for the pain you put my friends and sisters through.

Luke: Just for the record... Who are your sisters?... And who are you for that matter.

Jason: I'm Jason Grace, little brother of Thalia Grace and Annabeth Chase.

Luke: Oh... Oh no...

Jason: smiles oh yes.

[punkeropercyjackson]

Sorry not sorry but if you think Percy is a bisexual dude who's obsessed with men,i'm just go ahead and assume you're a huge misogynist because even accidentaly yet almost textual transfem-coding aside,Percy's literally a canon misandrist because of trauma that started before the series and was added on to twice as hard during it.Percy barely even cares about dating girls so it's very obvious you guys are just stupid with no standards on men and double standards on women(hence why you refuse to believe Percy is one)and i think a Titans' Curse reread is in order.Zoe Nightshade didn't die for you guys to call her girl bestie a boyrider,Jason's the exception to how she feels about male characters not the rule,she has with Ethan and Leo what you guys think she had with Luke and the gods are cops.Cope

@thisismisogynoir

[theoraclesattic]

i stand by the fact that if sally jackson hadn’t survived percy would have joined luke.

[perseas-wellyboots]

So annoying when someone goes “Well people forgive Silena and understand she was manipulated but when it comes to Luke-”

Miss Gurl they're remotely not the same. Like one of them is a fascist groomer pedophile and the other is Silena !!!!

Silena was not even a teen when Luke (!) charmed and manipulated her and made her believe she was helping the demigods and he was a whole ass adult and then when she realised his true plan and wanted to stop, HE BLACKMAILED HER ??? So sorry I don't feel any sympathy for him.

I cheered when he died fucking finally.

[readwithlivvy]

vampire by olivia rodrigo is SUCH a lukabeth song omg

[jasontoddssuper]

Jason Todd is so real for being a Bad But Sad White Boy who's a merciless villain but instead of being an abuser or a bigot,he's a mentally ill man who's disorders are potrayed realistically and not romanticized,grew up poor,actively respects minorities-especially women-and openly admits he's not a Pure Hero AckstuallyTM.Kylo Ren and Luke Castellan and those snake house mfs from the t*rf wizard series could never be him

[wanderingmind867]

I don't want to be hated for this (I do follow a lot of people who like Luke in a strange coincidence), but I still really despise Luke. Hik and Kronos remind me of the eugenics movement. I get a really strong survival of the fittest style from those two. And please tell me I'm not crazy for that. It'd be nice to know at least one other person sees where I'm coming from when I say that. They want to tear it all down and in essence let everyone fight it out for dominance in this world. That's how I see it. Plus, Luke was rude to Tyson. He tries to kill his old friends, he's not a good guy.

I don't know if he deserves eternal punishment or something (I'm not a monster, almost nobody deserves that degree of punishment), but I feel like he did get a bit too much leniency with his ultimate fate. And I don't hate other people who like Luke, but I personally despise Luke and can't help but try and explain why I feel this way. Please tell me I'm not completely alone in this opinion.

[ohmydamgods]

“Percy agreed that Luke was a hero. You can’t just change that because you don’t like it.” No no no, it’s okay. I know Percy personally. He told me he was lying straight through his teeth. He only said that so he wouldn’t upset Annabeth. What a good boyfriend <33