#hero analysis

[funmalibmillie]

I channeled my inner Deku to do this fake analysis on Mineta Minoru for my bakudeku fanfic: Ripple. My background in reporting and research came in handy! Note: All of the text here is a false analysis I made up for this character and visual drawing of said character is not mine! The text is not canon! Made for funsies!

Ripple (67489 words) by MaliBMillie Chapters: 10/15-Liplocked & Shellshocked Fandom: 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia (Anime & Manga) Rating: Mature Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence Relationships: Bakugou Katsuki/Midoriya Izuku, Bakugou Katsuki & Midoriya Izuku, Midoriya Izuku/Shindou You, Kaminari Denki/Shinsou Hitoshi, Ashido Mina/Kirishima Eijirou, Jirou Kyouka/Yaoyorozu Momo, Aizawa Shouta | Eraserhead/Yamada Hizashi | Present Mic, Aoyama Yuuga/Mineta Minoru, Midoriya Inko/Yagi Toshinori | All Might, Bakugou Masaru/Bakugou Mitsuki Characters: Bakugou Katsuki, Midoriya Izuku, Kaminari Denki, Kirishima Eijirou, Ashido Mina, Jirou Kyouka, Sero Hanta, Original Characters, Shindou You, Shinsou Hitoshi, Yamada Hizashi | Present Mic, Yaoyorozu Momo, Class 1-A (My Hero Academia), Midoriya Inko, Bakugou Katsuki's Parents, Yagi Toshinori | All Might, Bakugou Mitsuki, Bakugou Masaru Additional Tags: Endgame Bakugou Katsuki/Midoriya Izuku, Pro Hero Midoriya Izuku, Pro Hero Bakugou Katsuki, Alternate Universe - Pro Heroes (My Hero Academia), Aged-Up Bakugou Katsuki, Aged-Up Midoriya Izuku, Bakugou Katsuki is Bad at Feelings, Bakugou Katsuki Swears A Lot, Pining Bakugou Katsuki, Canon-Typical Violence, BAMF Midoriya Izuku, BAMF Bakugou Katsuki, Midoriya Izuku is a Ray of Sunshine, They are gay your honor, Jealous Bakugou Katsuki, Angst and Feels, Fluff and Angst, Post-Graduation, Post-War, Bakugou Katsuki is a Dork, Bakusquad (My Hero Academia), Jirou Kyouka is in the Bakusquad, Bakusquad Being Idiots (My Hero Academia), Let Midoriya Izuku Swear, Shinsou Hitoshi is a Good Friend, Bakugou Katsuki Needs a Hug, Characters Are Pro Heroes (My Hero Academia), Aged-Up Character(s), Soft Bakugou Katsuki, Confident Midoriya Izuku, New Year's Eve, Bakugou Katsuki Loves Midoriya Izuku, Midoriya Izuku Loves Bakugou Katsuki, Midoriya Izuku Has One for All Quirk, Midoriya Izuku Needs A Hug, Regretful Bakugou Katsuki, Time Travel, Alternate Universe - Time Travel, Protective Bakugou Mitsuki, Good Parent Bakugou Mitsuki, Good Parent Bakugou Masaru, Angst and Romance, Angst and Humor, Idiots in Love, Temporary Character Death, Bakugou Katsuki-centric Summary: When a New Years Party ends in tragedy and he fails to win Izuku from Shindo, Katsuki Bakugo falls into despair. However, an unexpected stranger? with a quirk called “Ripple” comes along and gives him the chance of a lifetime: three days to change the past. Will the explosive blonde succeed or will the Symbol of Victory lose…again? NOTE: Entire Story is mostly completed until Chapter 9. I had WAY too much fun getting these images together for this fanfic. Thankful for Canva, that’s for sure! BTW, images provided are mostly made on my Canva Account, but any picture involving fanart of the MHA characters are NOT mine. When I know the artist, I make sure to credit them. If I have the wrong artist or am missing giving them the appropriate credit, please message me.

[starry-average]

I’m doing a thing and you can’t stop me

Nobody can.

(i need to add lil notes n stuff but. hero analysis for the future notebook, here I come!)

[prospectivehero]

THE LAST RONIN - Written by Kevin Eastman, Peter Laird, and Tom Waltz, Illustrated by Kevin Eastman, Esau & Isaak Escorza, Ben Bishop, and Luis Antonio Delgado

Holy guacamole on French toast, Batman. This comic had me feeling so many things. All of those things resulted in tears. I was crying through most of this comic, and I'm crying now as I type this analysis. This will be more spoilery than others, only because I talk about the identity of the Last Ronin. The story doesn't hide this information for too long, but it's only fair to warn you.

This story begins following a no-longer-teenage, mutant ninja turtle in an attempt at revenge on the grandson of Oroku Saki. New York has been changed by the oppression of Oroku Hiroto, and this may be the old turle's last chance at revenge. He is followed by the voices of his brothers, offering advice and criticism, nothing unusual for their dynamic. The turtle failed his mission and, as a result, attempted seppuku. The reader learns the truth. Michelangelo has lost his brothers and father. He is saved by Casey Marie Jones and her mother, April O'Neil, who lost a father and a husband.

In the particular trope of the "post-apocalyptic future of a world full of characters we know and love," the tone is usually somber. This story could allow a writer to explore a character's darkest moments and who they are when there's no hope. Unfortunately, this trope is rarely used to its fullest potential. Instead, we get some grimdark tragedy intent on ruining childhoods through nostalgic manipulation. I feared this as I began reading this comic. As expected, I did have to experience these characters' deaths, but it wasn't gratuitous or needlessly dramatic. Each character death was meaningful and respectful. Better than that, none of their deaths were useless. They died in battle, defending each other and their convictions.

There is a future podcast episode exploring why April and Mikey were the survivors because it deserves more discussion. The most important takeaway for brevity is that they have the most hope and the least attachment to honor duty or vendetta. The voices that follow Mikey around are his guilt, personified as his brothers, who died failing to settle the score. And he lived.

If I were to offer any criticism, the relationship between Mikey and Casey Marie feels rushed. By the time Mikey goes after Hiroto on his own terms, we're meant to believe that the two have become close, and Mikey has become a father figure and Sensie for her. Either I missed it, or the comic is missing some information about the time spent together, so their closeness felt sudden. Casey Marie, as well as Oroku Hiroto, feel like weaker characters, but that can't be helped since many of the other characters are already well-known. This isn't their story anyway.

If we are to believe this is a definitive end to the turtle's story, then it's a grand ending. I won't spoil the climax or the denouement because both were too satisfying and vindicating to sum up so easily. It feels all the more meaningful that Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird had their hands on this project. The character designs were recognizable but unique, and every page was beautiful. What really made me giddyy was turning a page to see the style suddenly change into the original comic's art style when Mikey or April were talking about their past. It was thrilling to see that old style incorporated into this particular story in such a significant way.

TRIGGER WARNINGS (with potential spoilers) -

1) Blood and Violence - There is not over-the-top violence, but there is realistic blood and injury.

2) Death and Mourning - If it bears repeating, the reader is subjected to many familiar characters dying. Though the deaths aren't disgusting, they are well-depicted. It might be an emotional read for sensitive TMNT fans and people who don't handle death well.

[counting-stars-gayly]

It’s time we accept that Percy Jackson is an unreliable narrator. He’s not dumb. He’s just insecure. He’s not clueless about his and Annabeth’s feelings. He’s just in denial. He’s not clueless about Rachel’s feelings. He just doesn’t want to do anything about them. His mother isn’t perfect. He just loves and respects her more than anyone in the world. That boy contradicts his own inner monologue all the time. Do not trust him!!

EDIT: Please don’t interact just to disagree. You can make your own post.

[lilislegacy]

have you ever thought about how out of all the men in PJO and HOO, percy is the least like annabeth? they complement each other so beautifully, like 2 puzzle pieces that are a perfect fit, but they’re SO different. like imagine…

piper: annabeth is dating one of these 4 men

hazel: *gestures to percy, jason, frank, and leo*

piper: guess which one

random person: hmm… i’d say frank. he’s the son of the god of war and she’s the daughter of the goddess of battle strategy. they’re both incredible fighters and stategists. i bet they are amazing together

percy: 😐

hazel: *nervously laughs*

piper: um, nope! try again!

random person: oh? really? ok well then definitely jason. son of zeus? well mannered, always in control of the situation, very humble and honorable. as a daughter of athena, he’s totally her type. they are both very calm and level-headed. they both are leaders and know how to weigh the options and outcomes quickly in a tough situation. plus, they are both blonde with light eyes, so they would have beautiful babies!

percy: 😒

piper: *nervously laughs*

hazel: um… still no! one more try!

random person: oh wait… i’m so stupid! it’s obvious!

hazel: there you go! i also think it’s obv-

random person: it’s leo! why didn’t i see it? he’s a mechanic. she’s an architect. they are perfect together! she’s a creator and he’s a fixer. their brains work so much like each other. they’re basically meant to be! oh and they are both from the south!! and i bet-

piper: IT’S PERCY! she is dating percy. perseus jackson. you know, the one on the left? tall, tan, lean, black hair, green eyes? him and only ever him.

random person: oh

percy: 🤨

random person: the… the son of poseidon?? the hot sarcastic bad boy? with that troublemaker look about him? the one with severe mood swings, and who gets expelled from every single school he goes to?

percy: *awkwardly looks down at his hands*

random person: HE’S annabeth chase’s boyfriend??

annabeth: damn right he is 🥰

[shyjusticewarrior]

The context that Bernard knows Tim's Robin means this sentence can be read two ways.

"My boyfriend, named Tim Drake."

"My boyfriend, you."

[puzzled-pegasus]

Do you ever just think about how awful it is to be a demigod before you know about it?

I've been thinking about it a lot lately. How much demigod kids and teenagers don't fit in with mortal society. Their mortal parents don't know what to do with them, even if they do care for them immensely. They are labeled as troublemakers, as bad kids, as mentally ill, as freaks and monsters who see things they shouldn't see and have an aversion to authority that they shouldn't have and a strong sense of justice and an inability to sit still, read, play, act, feel normally. Percy got in trouble for getting into fights, for speaking impulsively, he was mocked and spoken down to and expelled from lots of schools who couldn't handle him and he didn't know why until he was twelve years old. Sally wasn't able to tell him why.

Annabeth was the product of her father's relationship with a goddess, and he loved her for a while, but she wasn't a normal kid. When he fell in love with a mortal and Annabeth didn't get along with her or her kids, he chose the mortal side. How could he understand Annabeth's side? She was just a badly behaved kid, while his new wife and children were the normal good ones.

Jason always knew he was a demigod, he was accepted and praised and tons of expectations were placed on him from a frighteningly young age. Part of the reason the others resent him and see him as a sort of golden child is because he was placed on a pedestal and he will never, ever know what it was like for all of his friends to be looked down on as children, to be scolded for things they didn't understand and told that the things they saw and experienced constantly were not real.

Piper was always loved by her father but I think he loved the idea of her, he loved that she reminded him of the beautiful woman he met years ago. He was always kind to her and usually gave her things she wanted, but he couldn't always spend time with her as his job got busier. Piper sensed that her father's attention was occupied by something else, and as he got busier, she felt less supported and stole things and got in fights and her dad didn't know what to do with her after the BMW so she was sent to a troubled teen program where she was bullied for her disabilities and her race.

Leo feared his power because it killed the person he loved the most, and after that, everything in his life was hell. He didn't feel safe anywhere, he didn't have anyone he could trust, and adults saw him as a troublemaker who would never amount to anything.

The books don't emphasize these things as much with any of the other demigods, or maybe Annabeth, Percy, Piper, and Leo are the best examples we have. I just. They're so tragic. They're all my children all of them. I love them and I feel so sad for them

[emsylcatac]

Part of me will always mourn that we didn't get to see Chat Noir fighting Monarch, his father, in the finale battle. That's always gonna be nagging in the back of my mind.

At the same time, it was a little predictable, and what the writers chose to do instead makes a lot of sense when you think about it, and is maybe more satisfying for Adrien's arc regarding his relationship to his father than if he'd had to fight Monarch knowing it's Gabriel. (Not talking about the whole "he still doesn't know his father was Monarch" bit, I'm strictly talking about the fights here - that one's another topic entirely)

I say "predictable", because of what happened in "Representation". Adrien got here his moment to fight his father, as a seemingly akuma victim, and this on his own without Ladybug.

With this set-up we have here: Adrien confronting and fighting his father as in Gabriel Agreste, and Marinette confronting and fighting her nemesis as in Monarch. That's always what we envisioned as the finale fight against Monarch would be: Adrien vs his abusive father and Ladybug vs her enemy. It just didn't happen in the same fight, so both could separately have their moment and their thing to say.

I think in the end it's significantly more important that Adrien got to fight Gabriel Agreste as Psycauchemardeur focusing solely on him as his father, than have him fight Gabriel Agreste knowing it's Monarch. Because everything that happened in Representation, everything Adrien told his father as Chat Noir and everything Adrien was angry about regarding his father's behaviour with him, that all comes down to how Gabriel has acted as a father to him independently of him being a city terrorist.

If Adrien had had the realisation that his father's actions were terrible through the discovery that he was, on top of an abuser, a supervillain, then the whole "terrorising innocents" would have overshadowed in Adrien's anger all that Gabriel did to him personally as an abuser & shitty parental figure.

What I mean is that Adrien realising his father is shitty independently of knowing he's a terrorist and confronting him about it in a fight is part of his arc and is more impactful than Adrien confronting his father for his supervillain acts. He didn't realise Gabriel was a terrible person because he was a supervillain, but because he understood he was an abusive father and that's amazing

And that's why he got his moment in Representation while Marinette had hers in the finale - Gabriel is a shitty person both as a father and by being a magical terrorist. Adrien confronted him about the "shitty father" bit, and Marinette about the "magical terrorist bit", and both these things make sense with their respective character arcs & respective relationships to Gabriel

[esotericswiftie]

1. anti-hero, taylor swift / 2, 19. “taylor swift’s ‘sexy baby’ lyric is more than a ‘30 rock’ reference,” sophia june for nylon magazine / 3, 4, 12, 22. taylor swift ages 14-16, photographed by andrew orth / 5, 23. dominique swain age 15, photographed for lolita (1997) / 6, 17. “the fetishization of girlhood,” m.c. easton / 7. lolita (1962), dir. stanley kubrick / 8. 22 (mv), taylor swift / 9. anti-hero (mv), taylor swift / 10, 14, 18. nothing new, taylor swift ft. phoebe bridgers / 11. “2008’s country lolita: taylor swift,” gavin edwards for rolling stone / 13, 21. lolita (1997), dir. adrian lyne / 15. okcupid dating chart: age preferences by gender / 16. all too well (ten minute version), taylor swift / 20. university of pittsburgh 2021-2022 undergraduate catalog / 23. would’ve, could’ve, should’ve, taylor swift

apologies for this ridiculously long megathread, but i found a ton of these photographs of taylor from when before she was famous, around ages 14-16, and ooh boy, did they get me thinking…

sometimes i wonder if she just really lucked out with the mostly desexualized “innocent girl-next-door” persona becoming her brand throughout her early career, because it looks like things could have gone in a very different direction for her in another universe.

like you can literally see taylor being de-aged between her debut and fearless era as her public image cemented…the posing, the makeup, the hair, the clothing…it’s all very deliberate and sinister.

and now, all these years later, no one knows better than taylor herself that the most desirable thing a woman can be is not a woman, but a girl…a sexy baby, if you must.

her heart-shaped sunglasses, nothing new, the ten minute version of all too well, would’ve could’ve should’ve…she knows all about society’s sickness, its simultaneous fetishization and destruction of girlhood. she knows because she’s lived through it.

we don’t often categorize her or think of her as one, but she was a child star, and she barely escaped its curse. just barely. but unlike so many other child stars, unlike dolores haze, she survived with her voice and her pen, and she can see it all now, it was wrong.

[lilac-gold]

thinking about how one of kel's first lines is "man, aubrey always gets what she wants". thinking about how aubrey wanted to go see sweetheart's show for hearts, so hero took them all to sweetheart's show for hearts. thinking about how aubrey told molly not to touch omori, and she didn't again.

thinking about how all aubrey wanted was to keep her friend group together. thinking about how aubrey's clothes are too big in headspace, she only has one toy and in the real world, her house is a tip with her room almost bare. thinking about how aubrey wanted to keep the photos of mari and throw the rest in the bin, and how she put them back in the album after kel picked it out of the trash.

thinking about how sunny viewed her as a protector of his as a kid, someone who'd look for for him, and how the hooligans trust her to lead and look out for them, and how hero and mari were like older siblings to her when she was younger, and how aubrey's parents didn't look out for her. thinking about how aubrey is angry and insulted and violent and vengeful, and how she wants the girl she knew as a sister to come back. thinking about how she believes she wasn't enough for her old friends, for anyone. thinking about how little possessions she has, how she pushes away people who care about her, how she's viewed as a "bad kid" by the residents of faraway.

want is such a big theme with aubrey. in headspace, every one of hers is fulfilled. in the real world, we see almost none being.

[anotherpjofan]

I hate the way the Greek campers were viewed in hoo like these literal kids who made up a grand total of 40 (maybe 100 max with hunters + party ponies + satyrs) defeated an army that consisted of hundreds possibly thousands of monsters on their own including a couple of rouge titans and Kronos who was their leader. And won. Don’t get me wrong the Romans destroyed the Palace and all which was probably filled with their remaining resources but there were hundreds of them including adults who had retired after a decade of experience. And the army they fought was probably smaller cause everyone was off at New York in the main fight so give the Greek campers their due respect cause not only did they win, they pulled off the impossible

[winterinhimring]

The real tragedy of Dune (which the movies did an excellent job of portraying) is that almost none of the characters we see have any real choice in what they do. The only choices they have are in how they do them.

Duke Leto must take House Atreides to Arrakis, or be declared a traitor to the Imperium and hunted down. He knows it's a trap and that the Emperor is, in the very best case scenario, setting him and his family up for a serious reversal of their fortunes (far more likely, he's outright scheming to get them killed). But he doesn't have a choice. He must go to Arrakis. He does go to Arrakis. He dies.

Paul and Jessica must flee into the desert or the Harkonnen soldiers will kill them both brutally. They must go to the Fremen for refuge or the desert will kill them. They go. They find that the Fremen have already begun to mythologise Paul. He's the Mahdi, the Lisan al-Gaib. There is no option for Paul to be a normal person here. He is either the messiah or he is a false prophet, and false prophets in a nation of true believers don't live for long.

So Paul fits himself into the mold of the myth. He becomes Muad'dib and leads the Fremen in war because they believe too much in him to let him be anything less. Is it manipulation? Yes. But because the Bene Gesserit have been manipulating the Fremen for centuries, Paul has no choice but to continue it if he wants to live.

He sees the holy war at the end of every timeline by glimpses and he fights to avoid it. To avoid it, he becomes the Kwizatz Haderach and gains the ability to fully see timelines, and thereby he makes himself that much more of the Fremen messiah and brings himself one step closer to the holy war. Every choice he makes is a choice for survival and an attempt to avoid that war, the war he cannot escape because every step he makes along the path to survival is one more step towards the war. He has no more choice in what he becomes than his father had in whether or not he went to Arrakis.

The only people who ever had a choice were the Emperor and Gaius Helen Mohiam. They made their choice, to exterminate House Atreides, and thereby they took everyone's choices away, including their own. Once they sent House Atreides to Arrakis, the entire plot was inevitable.

[ferrouswheel11]

The original batkid age differences still work in the current comic era, and I'm gonna keep assuming they're canon unless they tell me otherwise. (sequel to this post)

Damian is canonically 14 (as of 2021).

This makes Tim about 21, which fits with his recent 'college dropout who lives alone on a houseboat' character arc (also 2021). A comic in 2015 said Tim was 16 when Damian was at least 10, but since it's a minor difference I'm gonna stick with the ~7 year gap they had pre-n52.

So Jason must be 23 — as far as I know, no canon contradicts this.

And Dick is about 29. This causes some minor issues, actually — in 2014 he was supposedly 21 when he should have been about 24, and in 2018 he's described as 'mid-20s,' which could be a stretch depending on how much in-universe time passed between 2018 and 2021. Overall though, not too messy.

So that makes Cass 24, Steph 21-22, and Babs around 30.

Honestly I have no idea how old Duke is beyond 'high school age" — from at least 2015 to present. Which actually kinda screws things up, if we assume that all the other characters aged 4 years in that time. Like, in 2015 he was closer to Tim's age, and now he seems to be closer to Damian's. For what it's worth tho, I think of him as ~17.

Anyway, point is DC DOES let their characters age (at least since the Rebirth era started in 2016. pretty sure n52 was like, a stasis bubble or something). I'm sure the timeline will continue to get wonkier as the youngest generation of heroes grows up, but for now the Bats seem to be doing alright.

[prospectivehero]

INSUFFERABLE - Written by Mark Waid, Illustrated by Peter Krause and Nolan Woodward

This analysis is more condensed than usual because this comic is a short part of a longer story that I don't want to continue reading. Let's talk.

Insufferable asks, "What if Robin grew up to be a jerk?"

We open with a rivalry between the veteran superhero Nocturnus and his ex-sidekick, Galahad. In the beginning, Nocturnus is shown to do all the dirty work, while Galahad takes the credit, which is not unusual for them. But the conflict doesn't end there. Behind each mask, respectively, are John and Jarod Culver, an estranged father and son.

Though the comic doesn't specifically say it's critiquing the Batman and Robin dynamic, the back cover synopsis asks, "What happens when your crime-fighting sidekick grows up to be an arrogant, ungrateful douchebag who makes Kanye look humble?" After reading this volume, it's clear that its purpose is to criticize. I'm not usually a fan of stories satirizing this dynamic. That kind of story is a dime a dozen, and I don't feel like they're doing anything except mocking innocence and heroism. I can explain the reason why that bothers me another time. For now, I can praise this comic because it still respects the purpose of superheroes. I had been apprehensive about this comic, but that alone was enough for me to continue reading.

The mystery presented is intriguing. I like how Nocturnus pays homage to the Batman-type hero. And I like how Galahad does a lot of his detective work through his followers on social media. The characterization between the two men and their rocky relationship was realistic and understandable. There was very little I disliked. The art was quality. It doesn't resonate with me, but it doesn't need to. Despite its dark tone, the coloring is still vibrant and eye-catching.

All that being said, I'm not interested in continuing this story. Say I removed myself from the fact that this is satire and took it as a unique superhero story. If that were the case, then the story is still tonally dark. I prefer superhero stories with even a little bit more hope. And maybe there's redemption for John and especially Jarod's rotten personality, but I don't feel drawn in enough by the story to invest my comic book budget into reading more.

As a final note, I hope it's clear that my more negative criticism isn't an indication to write this series off. 9/10 times I'll enjoy superhero stories, including those that are satire or parody. I hope I spoke well enough of it that someone else will be intrigued by the concept and give it a go. Just because it's not my mug of Mountain Dew doesn't mean it can't be yours.

TRIGGER WARNINGS (with potential spoilers) -

1) Violence - Past the standard for Comic Chicanery, the fights are more violent and graphic, and there are scenes with much blood loss.

2) Sexual activity- Anything sexual is implied and consensual. There are a few moments of covered nudity as well.

3) Language - infrequent usage of swearing to the degree of s*** or f***.

[counting-stars-gayly]

I think Mike and Will’s first kiss should be in a quiet moment with little to no stakes — just a gentle, yet emotional, “hey, I want you to know how I feel” kind of moment. I think it would really showcase how different their relationship is from Mike and Eleven’s because Mike’s big, romantic moments with her tend to be dire or frustrating. His love for Will has never been like that. Sure, there have been dire circumstances, but even in those moments, love was soft and unprompted.

[lilislegacy]

Okay, I’ve been thinking about something lately

All the time I see people make statements about Percy that start with “Percy would never…”

Some examples I’ve seen: “percy would never kill someone/something in front of his mom” “percy would never yell at someone he loves” “percy would never get drunk” “percy would never let his child go to camp-half blood”

Now if you passionately believe one of those, hear me out. I’m not necessarily saying I disagree!

I’m saying… who would have ever thought Percy would torture a goddess and choke her on her own poison? And…. enjoy doing it? If someone had said that on tumblr pre-HoH, every single comment and reblog would have been “PERCY WOULD NEVER!!” I mean, who would have thought Percy would do a million things he’s done? He’s done some very not so ‘silly little guy’ stuff. He is an extremely complex character. In his own head and to some people, he’s sweet and fun and silly, but to many people he’s reckless and scary and dangerous. Some people see him as someone who’s very gentle and relaxed, but some people see him as someone who’s quick to get very angry and cause destruction. And the truth is, he’s all of it. It depends on his mood. Consistency does not apply to him in many aspects. He has consistent traits, like loyalty, humor, and bravery, but his actual actions and reactions are NOT consistent. I understand why we think Percy would never do certain things. We think we know based off of his past and his history with his mom, or with Gabe, or with Luke. And I’m not saying I think he would do those things, but unless he specifically states it, we can NOT, ever, infer what Percy Jackson might or might not do.

Like for instance, the drinking thing. I am not saying percy would be a big drinker, if one at all. And he probably does have an aversion to the smell of beer because of how the apartment used to smell when he was young. But we have no evidence that Percy associates all alcohol with Gabe. Alcoholic drinks aren’t just foul smelling hard liquors. There are a million different forms that you can consume alcohol in - some of which don’t even smell like alcohol, and barely taste like it. And in The Chalice of the Gods, it’s said that Sally drinks a glass of wine every night. And Percy thinks Sally hangs the freaking moon. So if his mom drinks, he definitely doesn’t believe that alcoholic beverages = the enemy. And here’s the thing, if Annabeth and Piper and Leo were all drinking and having a good time, like college students do, and they go “Hey Percy, come sit and have a drink with us!” there’s a very good chance that he’s so comfortable with his best friends, and just wants to let loose and be a college kid, that he wouldn’t even think about Gabe. He’d just be like “Sounds fun! Count me in!” But I don’t know. That’s the point. I don’t know. Maybe he would, maybe he wouldn’t. I truly think it could go either way. And even if he does drink, maybe he never - not even once - gets drunk. Maybe he’d drink in college and as a young adult, but when he becomes a father one day, he decides he doesn’t want his children to ever smell so much as a drop of alcohol on his breath, and therefore completely stops drinking. Or maybe he doesn’t ever like it, even in college. Or maybe he’s like his mom, and he and Annabeth just have a glass of wine with dinner. Who knows?

Not us. That’s what I’m saying. WE don’t know.

I’m not saying we can’t have headcanons based on what we know about him. I have a million. But the point is, I feel like we can’t try to pretend like we actually know what Percy wouldn’t do. As a fandom, we analyze him and his choices WAY more than he ever thinks about a single choice. He definitely does not think about his life and his actions as much as we do. (I’m not saying that he’s dumb or doesn’t contemplate his life and his actions, but he doesn’t nearly do it to the degree that we do.) Us, we pretend like it’s simple math. (Our first mistake, since math is consistent and full of rules, which is the exact opposite of Percy’s character.) We go “okay luke did this and gabe did this so therefore percy would never do this.” But Percy doesn’t think that way most of the time, especially not in heat of the moment matters. The only thing we 100% know about Percy is that he will always be loyal to his loved ones. But even then, we don’t know what that loyalty will look like. Is it sacrificing himself for someone? Is it murdering the enemy? Is it manipulating someone else? Percy lives in the moment. He doesn’t often think too much before he acts. He just acts. Whether it’s in a life of death situation, or his after school activity for the day. He is unpredictable, like the ocean. It’s one of his defining traits.

Honestly, I think that’s why annabeth is so drawn to him. With everyone else, she can read them super easily and know their next move. But with Percy, she has no idea. Which is frustrating to her, but also exciting. It’s a big part of her initial attraction to him. It’s also why many of us like him so much. We don’t know what’s coming next, and we never know what he will do in a situation. Like, how could we possibly know what he would or wouldn’t do when HE doesn’t even know? Half the time I don’t think Rick himself even knows.

We become so sure that Percy wouldn’t do something because we understand his character so well, right? But I think the truth is, the minute we become certain about what Percy would or wouldn’t do, is the minute we don’t understand his character at all.

Thank you for reading my analysis of Percy on why we can’t reliably analyze Percy