#poc grover

[buddiebeginz]

Sesame Street first calendar 1972 artwork by Jack Davis

[groverapologist]

the thing that really gets me about the pjo casting is how... close minded people were about it?

"this isn't how i imagined the characters" ok? this wasn't how most people imagined the characters if we're being honest. i know for a fact i didn't imagine the characters to look like this, but i didn't give a shit cuz i wasn't entitled to have my exact imagination come to life, and i watched the show, and now whenever i read the books i imagine walker!percy and leahbeth and aryan!grover. it really was never that deep.

[rooscandraw]

percy jackson and the olympians: be fucking for real, coming sept 2023

id in alt text!!

[paisholotus]

ᑕᕼᗩᑭTEᖇ FOUR

༄ؘ ۪۪۫۫ Capture The Flag Buddy۪۪۫۫? ༄ؘ

Percy's Pov

Once I got over the fact that my Latin teacher was a horse, we had a nice tour, though I was careful not to walk behind him. I’d done pooper-scooper patrol in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade a few times, and, I’m sorry, I did not trust Chiron’s back end the way I trusted his front. We passed the volleyball pit.

Several of the campers nudged each other. One pointed to the minotaur horn I was carrying. Another said, “That’s him.” Most of the campers were older than me. Their satyr friends were bigger than Grover, all of them trotting around in orange CAMP HALF-BLOOD T-shirts, with nothing else to cover their bare shaggy hindquarters.

I wasn’t normally shy, but the way they stared at me made me uncomfortable. I felt like they were expecting me to do a flip or something. I looked back at the farmhouse. It was a lot bigger than I’d realized—four stories tall, sky blue with white trim, like an upscale seaside resort.

I was checking out the brass eagle weather vane on top when something caught my eye, a shadow in the uppermost window of the attic gable. Something had moved the curtain, just for a second, and I got the distinct impression I was being watched.

“What’s up there?” I asked Chiron. He looked where I was pointing, and his smile faded. “Just the attic.” he mumbled. “Somebody lives there?" I asked, looking up at him.

No,” he said with finality. “Not a single living thing.” I got the feeling he was being truthful. But I was also sure something had moved that curtain. “Come along, Percy,” Chiron said, his lighthearted tone now a little forced. “Lots to see.” We walked through the strawberry fields, where campers were picking bushels of berries while a satyr played a tune on a reed pipe.

"Where's Selene? I haven't seen her today." I asked, him, but mostly mumbling to myself. The brown skin girl stayed on my mind, the fact that she was a full Goddess and chose to be here, confused me. I know some of the campers had to not like her, because she's a Goddess. But, she told me she wanted to be here because she wanted friends. But, she couldn't seem to make any real ones, due to everyone treating her as something higher than them, as then their equal. But, to be honest, it's probably not easy being friends with a Goddess.

"She's in Olympus with her parents. But, your little girlfriend will be back later on today." He mocked, as he walked forward, not looking back. I glared at the back of his head, and smack my teeth. Nobody, asked you to be a asshole, gramps.

Chiron told me the camp grew a nice crop for export to New York restaurants and Mount Olympus. “It pays our expenses,” he explained. “And the strawberries take almost no effort.” He said, Mr. D had this effect on fruit-bearing plants: they just went crazy when he was around. It worked best with wine grapes, but Mr. D was restricted from growing those, so they grew strawberries instead.

I watched the satyr playing his pipe. His music was causing lines of bugs to leave the strawberry patch in every direction, like refugees fleeing a fire. I wondered if Grover could work that kind of magic with music. I wondered if he was still inside the farmhouse, getting chewed out by Mr. D.

“Grover won’t get in too much trouble, will he?” I asked Chiron. “I mean…he was a good protector. Really.” Chiron sighed. He shed his tweed jacket and draped it over his horse’s back like a saddle. “Grover has big dreams, Percy. Perhaps bigger than are reasonable." He murmured, rolling his eyes slightly.

"To reach his goal, he must first demonstrate great courage by succeeding as a keeper, finding a new camper and bringing him safely to Half-Blood Hill.” he said, folding his arms, frowning.

“But he did that!” I yelled back at him. I didn't like how he was insulting my friend. Grover may have lied to me about what he was, but he's always been there for me. And, I wasn't going to let this old gass bag down talk him, like he was nothing. Grover tried his best!

Chiron huffed and started walking again. "Come, along Percy, we have much to discuss."

-Time Skip-

“Clarisse,” Annabeth sighed. “Why don’t you go polish your spear or something?” Annabeth, tiredly crossed her arms. “Sure, Miss Princess,” the big girl said. “So I can run you through with it Friday night.” Clarisse threatened. “Erre es korakas!” Annabeth said, which I somehow understood wasGreek for ‘Go to the crows!’ though I had a feeling it was a worse curse than it sounded.

“You don’t stand a chance. We’ll pulverize you,” Clarisse said, but her eye twitched. Perhaps she wasn’t sure she could follow through on the threat. She turned toward me. “Who’s this little runt?” she said, glaring me up and down. “Percy Jackson,” Annabeth said, “meet Clarisse, Daughter of Ares.” I blinked. “Like…the war god?” Clarisse sneered. “You got a problem with that?” “No,” I said, recovering my wits. “It explains the bad smell.” I said, trying not to chuckle.

Clarisse growled. “We got an initiation ceremony for newbies, Prissy.” she said, walking towards me, smirking.

“Percy!" I corrected. “Yeah, whatever. Come on, I’ll show you.” she said, devilishly low. “Clarisse—” Annabeth tried to say. “Stay out of it, wise girl.” Clarisse yelled out.

"Clarisse, must you terrorize every person you see? I mean really, you don't have anything else better to do?" A familiar voice said behind me. I turned around and gasped seeing Selene walking up behind me. She turned to me and gave me a gentle smile, I felt my cheeks get hot as I looked into her deep brown eyes, that seem to sparkle gold.

Clarisse glared at Selene and walked towards her stopping five inches away from her. "Why, don't you go do what other Gods and Goddesse's do, and mind your business." Clarisse said, threatening low, making the other Ares children shift uncomfortably.

I sorta held my breath watching them. Selene really didn't seem scared or bothered by, Clarisse's presence. She looked her directly in the eyes.

"Clarisse it's seems you have a terrible notion that I'm afraid of you. You may can scare everyone else here, but I can assure you, I am not one of those people. I do not fear you." Selene said, confidently and strongly.

I looked at Clarisse's now balled fists, she clenched her jaw giving Selene deadly glares. Which I know if looks could kill Selene would be dead, maybe that would be the case for normal people. But, I don't even think deadly glares could kill a God or Goddess.

"You don't belong here. Why, don't you go back to Olympus and sit on your throne. Nobody wants to be your fucking friend!" She seethed out. I felt myself get angry all of a sudden, I didn't like Clarisse talking to Selene like that.

Selene gave Clarisse a gentle smile back, "no, sweetheart, nobody wants to be YOUR FRIEND! The reason I have friends is because I care, and despite me being a Goddess, I win and lose. I show SPORTSMANSHIP! People aren't afraid to come up and talk to me. Can people say the same about you? You think these Ares kids in this cabin love and respect you? THEY FEAR YOU! And, that's how we're different Clarisse."

She said, walking towards her so there was no space left.

"And, that's why I'll rise above you each time." She said, proudly, holding her head high. For some reason, that made me smile. The way she stood up for herself was admirable.

Clarisse looked like she about to hit her this second. But was stopped.

"HEY, HEY! WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON!?" Mr. D said, walking towards us. Clarisse backed away, turning her glaring eyes away from Selene and now glared at me.

"She can't save you forever." She said, to me walking away with the other kids.

Mr. D, shook his head and walked away too.

I felt a tug on my shirt and turned to see Selene now in front of me. "Percy how would you like to be on I and Annabeth's team for capture the flag?" I looked into her eyes and froze.

"S-sure." She squealed, and laced our fingers running us to a different direction.

"Let's practice then."

[moonsbijou]

that’s my trio 🥺🥺🥺

[starlightshadowsworld]

Pakistani Grace siblings and Indian Grover.

Beryl had a strict rule about only speaking Urdu in the home.

She said it would be embarrassing if a star like her had whitewashed children.

Jason has had to relearn it as he was only 2 when he left.

Thalia left at 9 so she has a better understanding.

It helped that Annabeth demanded Thalia teach her and the two would speak in Urdu.

Luke learned for her too, after seeing her struggle with english.

Now Jason just translates for her because at this point she cannot be bothered to be understood.

He even gave Artemis some of his beginner books.

Grover knows Hindi.

Having learned from his father and uncles.

Hindi and Urdu are very similiar.

And so for the most part the two can converse in their native languages fine.

However their are times they come across a word that's different.

Sometimes Jason steps in and other times they both just yell out both words to each other.

Thalia: I said education (تعلیم = Tamleem), how do you not know?!

Grover: What the fuck is Tamleem I'm saying education (शिक्षा = shiksha) ?!

Thalia: What the fuck is Shiksha?!

Jason just casually sipping his chai, he could intervene but he leaves em to it.

It's not like he could get a word in if he tried.

He does eventually tell them though.

And they both just go "Ohhhh..." turn to each other like "Well why didn't you just say that?!"

[aperture-of-bullshit]

The one thing they could do that I think would make me forgive blonde percy is if they cast Thalia as East Asian. Genuinely think that would repair any and all psychic damage I have and ever will receive from blonde percy

[judeiscariot]

new pjo is actually rlly rlly good so far!!!

[darkesttiimelines]

this whole percy jackson reboot thing really grinds my gears because i remember the backlash jkr got over hermione being cast as black in the plays- when her physical description in the books could easily suggest that she was black.

annabeth, on the other hand, has been described as blonde. so. many. times. it is a significant component of her personality (not being taken seriously due to the blonde stereotype) but then here comes spineless riordan, defending annabeth being cast as black. (and being celebrated for it.)

[s1gmagirl]

OH MY GOSH ITS GROVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!1 THE GUY™!!!!!!!

[percabeth4life]

i don’t know if you want to bring this up again so feel no need to publish this ask, but claiming show canon automatically overrides book canon is also giving a credit to riordan which he did not work to deserve. there are countless authors who include a diverse cast of characters from the start and get no acknowledgement. he never made that effort in his first series and people shouldn’t pretend he did. though, i am very happy that he has chosen to do things differently in the live action!

Thanks for your consideration!

Regardless: I agree fully with this. It's something I was also considering but didn't point out as that wasn't my focus. It gives credit that is not owed, it gives him more diversity than he actually included in the original books. There was ONE notably black character in the first series, One. The second series included One (notable) black girl (who was strongly connected to slavery and also killed off and brought back and also put in a relationship with an older guy and and and-). He does not deserve credit for things he didn't do.

I'm glad he's trying to improve, despite my issues with him, but Book Annabeth is NOT overridden by show Annabeth. Any claims to such ignore his intentions in the original writing, for good or bad.

The Show Annabeth is black, and Leah is going to do amazing I'm certain, she deserves love and support. But her being Show Annabeth does not mean she's Book Annabeth. That's an objective fact, not a dismissal of her. They're two different Annabeths.

Both are wonderful, and I look forward to seeing Annabeth on the screen just like I've loved having Annabeth come to live via the books.

[bluecrocss]

Yes. You are racist. (Buckle up, this is gonna be a long one)

So approximately half a year since the premier of the Disney+ Percy Jackson show, and almost two years since the announcement of the Trio's casting, I would like to take this moment to look back at the insane, racist and anti-black backlash that was launched at Leah Sava Jeffries and a few other cast members from the PJO fandom.

I'm not concerned with the trolls who are openly racist, who resorted to racist slurs and outright threats, everyone agrees that they "took it too far". I want to talk about the rest of you, the "I'm not racist, but.." people, the "What's wrong with wanting book accuracy?" people. Just to let you know, for the unasked question... yes, yes you are.

I've noticed the Percy Jackson fandom has been lording some weird superiority complex over a certain *unnamed* fandom that has fallen out of grace due to their recently outed bigot of an author. But honestly, y'all are not much different. The amount of vitriol and anti-blackness I have seen from this fandom (beyond just bullying a 12 year old girl), y'all don't have a leg to stand on.

Below is a breakdown of the most common arguments I have seen used to justify y'alls absolutely insane bigotry. I am going to explain why none of these justify the amount of anger and vitriol y'all have sent towards Leah, Rick or any of the cast.

I am not here to argue, and this is not a democracy. I am giving you a chance for some self-reflection and to understand that this pattern of violence directed towards POC actors (mostly black women) has never been justified in the name of "book accuracy"/"comic book accuracy"/"ending forced diversity" or whatever other excuses y'all try to make up.

If you still try to justify or argue further for any of these points, I will just block you. I am not coddling you through your racism. If anyone has seen any other dumb arguments floating around that I might've missed, feel free to sound off in the comments.

She's not book accurate:

Neither is Percy, Luke, Grover, Dionysus, Poseidon, and just about every other named character.

Rick already made it clear that physical features were not the priority with casting, rather it was actors that embodied the role. So why are the biggest complaints about Annabeth and Zeus? 🤔

What? You're gonna say everyone else got backlash too? I see you trying to obscure the main issue by playing dumb 😉

See my friend, yes, there were one or two comments about how Percy's hair should be black or how Luke is supposed to be blonde, but as soon as Leah was cast, none of those actors got any significant backlash. In fact, Walker and Charlie literally have an army of fan girls at their beck and call, calling them the perfect Percy and Luke, despite neither being "Book accurate". But then again, have we not observed the pattern of White boy of the month vs WOC to hate for the year? (Yes, I know Charlie isn't white. Further adds to the irony, doesn't it).

Why include character descriptions if you won't stay true to them, you cry? Well, my dear sweet moron, see, books and TV are two different mediums. Because in literature, you can't *Literally* SEE the characters, the author has to add descriptions to paint a picture in your mind, in TV... that's not an issue. So unless the character's appearance is necessary to the plot (like Luke's scar, or Nico being Italian) the show runners can actually focus on more important things.. Like ACTING and PERSONALITY.

2. It's just not how I imagined her:

News flash, babe! ANNABETH ISN'T REAL. None of these character are. They are concepts that originated from the brain of Mr. Rick Riordan. It doesn't matter how YOU imagined her. There are millions of people who read these books that imagined her several different ways. When the creator of the character watched Leah's audition and said, 'Yes! She embodies the character I created!", your imagined version of Annabeth ceased to matter. And guess what? The books still exist... they have not been burned. Your version of Annabeth has not disappeared. Go read the books.

3. Zeus can't be black/Gods have to be Greek/*Insert Character* can't be black:

Y'all did not read the books, I swear. You have to be fake fans looking to troll atp.

The gods move based off the center of western civilization. They change their forms/environment to reflect the culture they are occupying (they did it with Rome, now they're doing it with America). The gods change forms all the time. How we see them is not their true form as a mortal would disintegrate if they were to see their true form.

America is a cultural melting pot (specifically NY where Mount Olympus is now based). If the god's choose forms that reflect the current society they inhabit, they could literally be any race (keep in mind NYC is only 33% white).

All of this is literally SPELLED OUT in the Lightning Thief.

Furthermore, if you're going to push the ethnically Greek thing... Poseidon is British with a British accent and Hermes is Latino. The only ethnically Greek actor is Dionysus (who still doesn't look book accurate). Y'all are sounding like some white supremacists because do you forget that race is a social construct?

Before the advent of the transatlantic slave trade, I can promise you that the Greeks and the Anglo-Saxons did NOT view themselves as the same people. Why are y'all not taking issue with Poseidon's actor then?

Also, Percy Jackson has canonically had a slew of explicitly black demigods since the second book (including Harriet Tubman, which I have mixed feelings about 😭), so I genuinely have no idea where some of y'all are going with this point.

4. She was our smart blonde representation:

Don't pmo. I swear to God!

White, blonde women have NEVER been excluded from Hollywood. Representation is not something you lacked. The dumb blonde stereotype was a simple branch off of a larger misogynistic "dumb woman" stereotype. It has not truly been relevant since the mid 2000s outside of childish jokes.

This iteration of Percy Jackson will probably not go beyond the first 5 books, based off pacing and the age of the actors. So here's a fun game: 5 bucks to the first person who can find me a quote in the first 5 Percy Jackson books, where Annabeth laments her insecurities about being blonde (hint: there aren't any).

Also, her blonde hair does not hold her back at Camp because she is head of the Athena Cabin who are highly respected (and guess what?), ARE ALL BLONDE!

Her insecurities about her hair color are two or three lines at most in the later books, not this fundamental, core part of her character y'all all of a sudden wanna pretend it was. And guess what, as a non-blonde black girl, I was able to read those scenes of Annabeth feeling undervalued because of her looks and relate to her even if she didn't look like me at the time.

Why all of a sudden can y'all not do that with a black Annabeth? By every metric black girls are undervalued for their intelligence in academia more than white girls are, regardless of hair color. So your little representation of a woman undervalued by her looks would still hold. Do y'all dehumanize black women so much, that you are incapable of empathizing with show!Annabeth's plight in the way I could with Book!Annabeth simply because she doesn't look exactly like you?

Your issue isn't that she isn't blonde, it's that she is NOT WHITE.

Furthermore, Becky Riordan had tweeted previously (before the show was even cast) that Annabeth never needed to be blonde (probably recalling the BS y'all put Alexandra Daddario through), so even if they cast a white Annabeth, the blonde hair was never a guarantee. the author and producers all agree that it was not a significant part of her character. It's been a non-issue since day one.

Also, stop acting like smart blondes are rare in media... If you don't go watch some Legally blonde, Iron Man (Pepper Potts), Zack and Cody (Maddie), Liv and Maddie, FMAB (Winry), Captain Marvel, She-Ra, Buffy, The boys (starlight) etc. etc., and go sit down somewhere 🙄🙄🙄 (those were literally all things I've watched recently, off the top of my head, btw 💀)

5. It's not about race, but...:

Yes it is. It was always bout race. No other actors got as much hate as Leah. Her grandmother and other family members on IG had to mute their comments because they were getting so many threats.

Alexandra Daddario had to come to her defense on Twitter. Rick had to put out an official statement on his website. This girl has endured years of psychological torment for simply having the best audition. No one else is book accurate, no one else is ethnically Greek (except Jason Mantzoukas). Walker literally has British and German ancestry.

Why was she being called racial slurs on reddit and in youtube comments?

I know what you're gonna say, "I actually had problems with the entire cast", "I actually had a bigger issue with Walker's hair color", blah blah blah. Then why aren't you in Walker's comment sections? Why are you only making your displeasure known on posts defending/advocating for Leah? Why is she always your first example of 'wrong casting"?

Well, she "looks the most different"... Look up the term "scapegoating".

"Oh, I don't agree with the harassment. I just don't like the casting." Guess what? She's already been cast. They are not going to uncast her. What do you get out of still complaining about it.

All the vitriol you're stirring about her when you complain about her on Social media, it is directing people to send her hate, even if you're not writing it directly. It's is not enough to "not agree" with the racism, it is your duty to actively prevent it. And btw, these are young gen z actors, they are active on social media. They see the edits of themselves (even comment on it) and they most likely see these little "harmless" complaints you're posting. Are your upset feelings really worth contributing to the racist dogpile on this poor girl?

6. Why couldn't they atleast give her blonde braids?:

Why should they? Y'all wanted blonde because of the "dumb blonde" trope... that doesn't apply to POC.

A blonde black girl is gonna be viewed the same as a non-blonde black girl (or at worst, someone might decide she's "ratchet" or some shit for wearing colored hair). What difference would it make?

Why shouldn't Walker dye his hair, then?

7. Annabeth has Gray eyes:

Less than 3% of the global population has "gray eyes". Even if they cast a white actor, they would've needed contacts. Her being black is not the reason Annabeth's eyes aren't gray. Simply put, it is a plot element they removed, like the whole "names have power" element, or Ares having flames for eyes, or Dionysus using his powers to grow strawberries at Camp.

That's how adaptations work. Unnecessary plot elements are cut to save time and budget. This has nothing to do with her casting. They probably also didn't want to make child actors wear contacts (not a new practice).

8. Even if Rick chose her, he was wrong/Disney is forcing him to be okay with it:

Where do I start? Rick created the character. He can't be wrong. Do y'all have no self-awareness? Death of the author has no place here, because y'all are hung up on an aspect of the character that is not relevant to her arc or development.

Y'all's justification for wanting a "book accurate" Annabeth is that she was such an inspirational and important character growing up, and yet your behavior is so in conflict with the character you claim means so much to you. You're narrow minded, dismissive of bigotry and injustice, and disrespectful to the wishes of the creator of your favorite character; everything that Annabeth would never be. Y'all were never genuine fans of the books. You're bigots that needed an outlet for your rage.

Keep in mind, Rick has said countless times that PercaBeth directly mirrors his relationship with his wife. Y'all think he would have allowed them to cast someone who doesn't live up to the woman who has been by his side for decades? The mother of his children?

Regarding Disney forcing him, show me one piece of direct evidence that proves Disney in anyway pressured Rick to cast her. Cuz if you can't, that's baseless speculation. And if you have to resort to baseless speculation, maybe try to examine why it's so important to you to hold on to this belief.

9. So, I'm racist because I hate "race swapping"?:

To start, there is a difference between "race swapping" and "color blind casting". Often times, when y'all complain about the former, you're actually mad about the latter.

It would be "race swapping" if Rick and the team decided ahead of time that they wanted a black Annabeth and ONLY allowed black actors to audition. But the actual reality was that they accepted auditions from everyone (there were white actors and non-black poc that also auditioned for the role) and chose the best person who embodied the role. They didn't "make Annabeth black" and they didn't "make Zeus black", they cast black actors for those roles.

Y'all think you're being slick with your wording. Dismissing that is implying that they did not earn their roles fair and square. Which is racist. It's the equivalent of going up to a black college student and telling them they only got in because of affirmative action. You're dismissing the achievements of a person solely because of their racial background.

For all you people complaining about "unfairness" and "forced diversity", I would think hiring based on merit would appeal to you 🤔

71% of theatrical Hollywood leads were white in 2024 in comparison to 29% POC and you still think "black washing" is a thing? You still get this angry over a black person fairly earning a role because you think in a time where Hollywood only knows to do remakes and adaptations, that the majority of lead roles still *have* to be reserved for white actors?

Once again, white people have never been excluded from Hollywood for being white. Representation has never been something you lacked nor is it something you can lose. Your anger comes from seeing a black face where you think they don't belong. Because you feel you are owed a disproportion of representation in Hollywood.

10. Woke agenda/DEI/Forced Diversity:

If you are unironically using any of these terms in a negative light, it's already too late for me to reason with you. Look up the term "dog whistle". If you are sharing the same terminology with Elon Musk and his fanboys, maybe reevaluate some things.

POC are objectively underrepresented and have been historically excluded through actual laws and policies in Hollywood. There is no such thing as "forced diversity", you have bought in to a right wing conspiracy theory.

"Woke" is a term that was intentionally appropriated from the black community. It originally meant being aware of injustice and systematic threats to the community and is now being weaponized by bigots. Good job.

Diversity and inclusion is a good thing.

11. But POC deserve to have their own stories told:

We do. And we have been fighting for it for over a century now, and we've made great strides, no thanks to y'all.

No thanks to y'all gaslighting us about how little representation we get or that representation matters at all. No thanks to y'all pushing the idea that POC can't sell globally and obscuring POC actors in international promos. No thanks to y'all continuing to whitewash even to this day (Bullet train, the beguiled, gods of Egypt, atla, every portrayal of Jesus ever, etc.). No thanks to y'all calling every piece of media that has more than one black lead and more than one queer couple "woke". No thanks to y'all throwing a fit every time a black person in a fantasy setting isn't a slave.

Fact of the matter is, y'all never cared about POC "getting their own stories", you're only parroting our own words back to us now as a politically correct way of saying, "leave white roles alone" lmao

Well fun fact, actors of color getting opportunities to play lead roles and allowing poc to "tell their own stories" are not mutually exclusive. If y'all cared that much, instead of bullying a 12 year old actress, you could actually support up and coming independent POC writers, directors, and studios 😱

12. Studios need to stop "setting up" actors of color:

Do me a favor and google the term DARVO.

Your racism is not the fault of the studios for giving a POC actor a role that they earned. It is not up to the rest of society to tiptoe around racists to avoid their vitriol. It is our responsibility to hold them accountable and protect minorities from unwarranted hate. At most, you can say it's the responsibility of the studios to provide adequate support to POC actors who face this backlash.

At the end of the day, Hollywood only allows very few spots for POC actors (especially WOC), while simultaneously pushing a new white boy every month to put in everything. Putting minorities in these roles that are usually closed to them, usually opens the door to more actors of color than before.

Brandy being cast as Cinderella did a lot to push her into the mainstream (yes, she was already extremely famous in the black community atp), Halle Berry being the first, black, bond girl literally shot her to icon status, and even going as far back to what Anna Mae Wong did for Asian American actresses with her "femme fatale" roles.

At the end of the day, even with the backlash, *some* rep does more good for POC actors than *no* rep. The solution to racist backlash isn't to take away those opportunities, but rather to not be racist??? 🙄

Also, for everyone that claims that "POC race-swapping" is just as bad as "white-washing", despite white washing having a longer history and objectively causing more harm, note how the backlash to white washing never lasts as long as the harassment that POC get.

Like, no one brings up Scarlett Johansson's ghost in the shell role anymore, but you can best believe Candace Patton is still fending off racist trolls. As much as people hated the atla movie, people moved on quick from Nicola Peltz playing Katara since she was just a kid that accepted the role (re: daddy bought her the role), but y'all would not have any of that consideration for Leah Sava Jeffries.

But I digress...

13. What if we made Tiana white? Wakanda white? Hazel white...:

Ah, my favorite inane point. I was so excited to get here :)

See, I could start out by pointing out how "White washing" and casting a POC actor as a traditionally white character are not equivalent.

I could point out the history of hollywood ACTIVELY excluding POC actors and POC stories. I could point out how grossly over represented white people are in hollywood. I could point out that POC characters are so few in comparison that whitewashing them causes actual harm, where white people have never lacked rep.

I could point out how, because poc characters and stories are so often tokenized that their racial/cultural background is often directly tied to their character's identity, in opposition to a lot of white characters, since hollywood treats white as the "Default".

See, I could make all those points, but the thing is, the people who make this argument already know all that. They are trying to waste time by drawing me into a pointless circular argument that will sum up to "fair is fair", while ignoring all the context and nuance I previously provided.

So you know what? Forget it. Let me play your game.

I am actually fine with a white Tiana. Would it make sense, for her and her family to experience Jim Crow era racism, in the south while white? No. But we can look past it. Disney was never known for historical accuracy anyway 🤷🏿‍♀️

However, in exchange, the live action frozen will have a black Elsa and Anna, live action Rapunzel will be black, live action Merida will be black, we're re-filming Cinderella and Beauty and the beast to cast a black belle and Cindy, snow white will need to be recast as black, and we also get aurora whenever the live action sleeping beauty is announced. But then y'all can keep Tiana, deal?

You want a white T'Challa? Fine! (I'm partial to Ryan gosling), in the meantime, we'll be recasting Iron man, Captain America (Steve version), Bruce banner, Thor, Loki, hawk eye, black widow, ant man, captain marvel, Bucky, Peter Parker etc. All the avengers and their side characters, then y'all can have Sam Wilson, war machine and the whole of Wakanda (will it make sense that a sole, hidden, African nation is randomly made up of white people? Who cares? We get the avengers!).

You want white Hazel? You got her! I hope you have no problem with us taking Percy, Nico, Will, Poseidon, Jason, calypso, Rachel, Tyson, Silena, the stoll brothers, Sally Jackson, Hades, Hepheastus, ares, etc. But y'all can have Hazel and Beckendorf.

If we're gonna do this, let's commit all the way. Fair is fair, after all.

14. Leah isn't as "pretty" as Book Annabeth/Movie Annabeth:

I wish I could say this wasn't a genuine point I had read, but when all else fails, they will always go for a woman's appearance.

Now first of all, as a rule, I will never hold black women to white beauty standards. Our hair will never be long and silky enough, our nose will never be narrow enough, our skin will never be fair enough and our eyes will never be light enough (Might I recommend Toni Morrison, when you get the chance?). But Leah is unfairly gorgeous idc what any of you say, and you're not gonna have me use my defense of Leah as an opportunity to bash Alexandra either because she is also beautiful. These two queens slayed to the best of their abilities within this toxic ass fandom.

I find it funny, however, that so many of you harped on the "blonde" issue because you thought it was important that Annabeth be seen beyond just her looks, but quickly devolve to bashing an actress's looks when it comes to why she's not right for this role 🤔

I would also like to sincerely apologize that the 13 year old girl they cast in the show, wasn't as sexually attractive to you as the 24 year old woman they cast in the movie and sexualized through like 25% of her screen time (I'm actually not sorry. You're very weird if this is an actual point for you).

15. I don't agree with sending hate to the actor, but she's just not right for the role:

Once again, what are you doing by complaining about her casting on no other basis than her race?

The creator of the character said she embodied the role. She has already been cast, and Disney would be in a legal/production hell to recast her atp. Just because you're not directly leaving comments on her social media doesn't mean you're not part of the hate mob.

No matter how you look at it, your issues with her casting come from a very entitled and narrow-minded place. When you join in on these dialogues you are bolstering a sentiment that pushes more people to harass this teenage girl. When you leave these "harmless" complaints, on show content, fan posts or posts defending her, she's liable to read them because the cast regularly interact with fans online.

What do you have to say that is so important that it trumps protecting a young girl from the long-staying trauma of racism, of being told she doesn't deserve something she worked for because of how she was born?

16. I can't even criticize the show without being called racist:

Get. Over. Yourself.

Y'all are not the victim. Have fans of the show gotten protective of Leah and the young cast? Yes.

With good reason. This fandom is unbearably toxic.

Racism outweighs your need for a "perfect adaptation", sorry.

If you explain yourself properly and keep your critiques fair (like, even I don't think this was a perfect season, and will be sharing my thoughts shortly), no one is gonna call you racist.

You're preempting with that because in all honesty, you're probably planning to use your "critiques" of the show to pivot to one of the many points that I just outlined, and you want to pre-empt the criticism.

If a black Annabeth is the end all be all for you, just don't watch the show, no one's holding a gun to your head. Geez.

17. I'm Black/POC and I don't agree...:

Hey, Candace Owens... No one gives a shit.

First of all, for all the "I'm POC and I don't agree" people, you don't speak for us. Anti-blackness is rampant in just about every culture globally. You being not-white doesn't somehow make you less prone to hating black people.

But for the "I'm black and I don't agree" leftovers (assuming you're not just a 👩🏼‍💻 behind a keyboard). Black people are not a monolith. You're not obligated to think a certain way because you're black.

But consider why you're putting yourself up as a barrier to protect this hate mob. It's one thing to just state why you don't like Leah's casting, but to start off your spiel with "I'm actually black" as a way to weaponize the very identity politics you're critiquing... very strange. Not to mention, what are you defending?

The black community is coming together to defend one of our own, a kid who has been receiving death threats since she was 12, and this is when you feel the need to back the opposition?

I mean whatever... sometimes the house slaves would snitch to the master. There will always be some of y'all in the woodwork. It is what it is.

But when the exact ideology you defend is turned against you, when a Baltimore elected official is being accused of getting his job through "DEI", when conservatives are claiming that they wouldn't "trust a black pilot", don't decide that's where you'll finally draw your line in the sand.

All that being said, This is my Annabeth:

May every tongue that rose against Leah Sava Jeffries Shrivel and die in 2025 🙏🏿 My girl will keep winning ❤️

(video by @/waleahhasmyheart on TikTok)

[fellowfights]

I'm gonna be so honest with y'all. I don't take you seriously if you complain about the casting of the Percy Jackson show because the poc actors aren't "book accurate."

Because here's the deal. I remember when the internet threw a fit when Rue, a black character, was played by a black person. It didn't matter that it was book accurate, y'all didn't want to see a black person on screen.

For some of y'all, it's not that you are against adaptations straying from the source material- you are simply anti black.

If you are about to argue with me, I want you to ask yourself something. Did you not mind the race change of Grover, but you are against the casting of Annabeth? If that's true, maybe try to address that. Acknowledge it and try to deconstruct your anti-black biases.

[paisholotus]

ᑕᕼᗩᑭTEᖇ TᕼᖇEE

༄ؘ ۪۪۫۫ Gₑₜₜᵢₙg ₜₒ ₖₙₒw ₜₕₑ ᵤₙfₐₘᵢₗᵢₐr ۪۪۫۫ ༄ؘ

Percy's Pov

He offered me a chair to the right of Mr. D, who looked at me with bloodshot eyes and heaved a great sigh. "Oh, I suppose I must say it. Welcome to Camp Half-Blood. There. Now, don't expect me to be glad to see you." He said, leaning back. "Uh, thanks." I scooted a little farther away from him because, if there was one thing I had learned from living with Gabe, it was how to tell when an adult has been hitting the happy juice. If Mr. D was a stranger to alcohol, I was a satyr.

"Annabeth?" Mr. Brunner called to the black girl with brown and blonde braids. She came forward, and Mr. Brunner introduced us. "This young lady nursed you back to health, Percy. And I see you've met Selene, daughter of Clio, the Sun Goddess. Annabeth, my dear, why don't you go check on Percy's bunk? We'll be putting him in cabin eleven for now." He said, pointing down the cabins.

Annabeth said, "Sure, Chiron." She was probably my age, maybe a couple of inches taller, and a whole lot more athletic looking. With her deep brown skin and her long blond/brown braids, she was beautiful too, I've never seen girls like Selene and Annabeth from my school. Annabeth's eyes were startling gray, like storm clouds; pretty, but intimidating, too, as if she were analyzing the best way to take me down in a fight. While Selene's eyes were a light brown color, with a hint of gold shimmering, they reminded me of pools of honey.

Annabeth glanced at the minotaur horn in my hands, then back at me. I imagined she was going to say, "You killed a mino-taur! or Wow, you're so awesome! or something like that. Instead, she said, "You drool when you sleep." Then she sprinted off down the lawn, her braids flying behind her. "So," I said, anxious to change the subject. "You, uh, work here, Mr. Brunner?" I laughed awkwardly.

"Not Mr. Brunner," the ex-Mr. Brunner said. "I'm afraid that was a pseudonym. You may call me Chiron." He said, smiling. "Okay." Totally confused, I looked at the director. "And Mr. D ... does that stand for something?" I asked, looking him up and down. Mr. D stopped shuffling the cards. He looked at me like I'd just belched loudly. "Young man, names are power-ful things. You don't just go around using them for no reason." He said blankly. "Oh. Right. Sorry." I apologized. "I must say, Percy," Chiron-Brunner broke in, "I'm glad to see you alive. It's been a long time since I've made a house call to a potential camper. I'd hate to think I've wasted my time." He said, biting into an apple.

"House call?" I asked, confused. "My year at Yancy Academy, to instruct you. We have satyrs at most schools, of course, keeping a look out. But Grover alerted me as soon as he met you. He sensed you were something special, so I decided to come upstate. I convinced the other Latin teacher to ... ah, take a leave of absence." He said lowly.

I tried to remember the beginning of the school year. It seemed like so long ago, but I did have a fuzzy memory of there being another Latin teacher my first week at Yancy. Then, without explanation, he had disappeared, and Mr. Brunner had taken the class ."You came to Yancy just to teach me?" I asked. Chiron nodded. "Honestly, I wasn't sure about you at first. We contacted your mother and let her know we were keeping an eye on you in case you were ready for Camp Half-Blood. But you still had so much to learn. Nevertheless, you made it here alive, and that's always the first test." He said proudly.

"Grover," Mr. D said impatiently, "Are you playing or not?" He asked. "Yes, sir!" Grover trembled as he took the fourth chair, though I didn't know why he should be so afraid of a pudgy little man in a tiger-print Hawaiian shirt. "You do know how to play pinochle? Annabeth and Selene are my best players." Mr. D said, looking at Selene proudly. "I'm afraid not," I said. "Well, Selene, do you mind teaching Percy?" He asked her. I looked over at her, watching her give him a big smile and nodded. "It would be my pleasure, Sir." She then turned to look at me, smiling softly.

"it is, along with gladiator fighting and Pac-Man, one of the greatest games ever invented by humans. I would expect all civilized young men to know the rules." He explained what the game was. "I'm sure the boy can learn. Plus, Selene is a great teacher, " Chiron said. "Please," I said, "what is this place? What am I doing here? Mr. Brun-Chiron-why would you go to Yancy Academy just to teach me?" I asked, desperately trying to understand his reasoning. Mr. D snorted. "I asked the same question." He said, chuckling.

The camp director dealt the cards. Grover flinched every time one landed in his pile. Chiron smiled at me sympathetically, the way he used to in Latin class, as if to let me know that no matter what my average was, I was his star student. He expected me to have the right answer. "Percy," he said. "Did your mother tell you nothing?" He asked me. "She said ..." I remembered her sad eyes, looking out over the sea. "She told me she was afraid to send me here, even though my father had wanted her to. She said that once I was here, I probably couldn't leave. She wanted to keep me close to her." I told him, sadly.

"Typical," Mr. D said. "That's how they usually get killed. Young man, are you bidding or not?" He asked me.

"What?" I asked. He explained, impatiently, how you bid in pinochle. "I'm afraid there's too much to tell," Chiron said. "I'm afraid our usual orientation film won't be sufficient." He said.

"Orientation film?" I asked. "No," Chiron decided. "Well, Percy. You know your friend Grover is a satyr. You know"-he pointed to the horn in the shoe box -"that you have killed the Minotaur. No small feat, either, lad. What you may not know is that great powers are at work in your life. Gods-the forces you call the Greek gods-are very much alive." He said.

"Yeah, I kinda figured that when I saw Selene's mom. I mean, my best friend has furry legs and hooves." I said, glaring down at the floor. I stared at the others around the table. I waited for somebody to yell, not! But all I got was Mr. D yelling, "Oh, a royal marriage. Trick! Trick!" He cackled as he tallied up his points.

"Mr. D," Grover asked timidly, "if you're not going to eat it, could I have your Diet Coke can?" He asked. "Eh? Oh, all right." He said, rolling his eyes, and handed him the can. Grover bit a huge shard out of the empty aluminum can and chewed it mournfully.

"I just can't believe GOD'S are real. Are they like the same thing as....like...Jesus..that type of GOD?" I asked. "Well, now," Chiron said. "God-capital G, God. That's a different matter altogether. We shan't deal with the metaphysical." "Metaphysical? But you were just talking about -" "Ah, gods, plural, as in, great beings that control the forces of nature and human endeavors: the immortal gods of Olympus. That's a smaller matter." He said, matter factly.

"Smaller?" I asked. "Yes, quite. The gods we discussed in Latin class." He said. "Zeus," I said. "Hera. Apollo. You mean them." He nodded. And there it was again-distant thunder on cloud-less day. "Young man," said Mr. D, "I would really be less casual about throwing those names around if I were you." He said sternly.

My heart pounded. He was trying to make me angry for some reason, but I wasn't going to let him. "Ok, sure. But I don't believe in gods." I said, flatly. "Oh, you'd better," Mr. D murmured. "Before one of them incinerates you." He said, crossing his arms.

"P-please, sir. He's just lost his mother. He's in shock." Grover said, pleading.

Selene nudged me and urged me to stick out my hand. She told me to close my eyes and I looked between Chiron and Mr. D, then back to Selene and hesitantly closed my eyes. I felt both of her hands cup mine, and I felt my hand warmly vibrate. She told me to open my eyes, and I gasped.

There was a glowing golden orb floating in my hand. I looked up at Selene, then back to the floating ball in my hand. "W-what...is that?" I asked her lowly. "It's my powers. I can do more, but I'm still practicing." She said, gigging at my mouth- opened shocked face.

"Well, Percy, do you believe now?" Chiron asked me. I couldn't even process what I was seeing. She carefully took the glowing ball away, and suddenly, everything that had happened the last 24 hours was swirling around in my head, and I suddenly felt light-headed.

"UH OH! HE'S GOING DOWN AGAIN!" I heard someone yell before everything went black.

[vulpixhoney]

the stuff with the cops was making me nervous y'all. I like they they, are kind of changing the show to fit the fact that Annabeth and Grover are poc instead of just pretending it would be the exact same as the book. like in the book they were never given any trouble, Annabeth even makes a comment that mortal cops can't touch them and is not concerned at all about Percy being a wanted "criminal". but that's in 2005 from a white man writing about white children. but now Annabeth is a black girl, she's going to have completely different interactions with the police. the "are we under arrest" is like, textbook How to Respond When Being Hassled By the Police. it's very subtle bc it's Disney, but Leah's response felt very real

eta: also, the echidna being a southern white lady, but like the type of southern that calls the cops on her neighbors for being in their own yard or some shit. like, she got the cops to turn on them so easily. even though there's no way they could destroy a room like that, the cop just automatically assumed it was their fault, because some white lady said they did it. and the group is a black girl, a brown boy, and their token white boy, who isn't a great buffer bc at the very least is a ~delinquent~, and at this point in the book has an active warrant

[starlightshadowsworld]

Indian Grover and Pakistani Grace siblings.

All of em just reinacting the old dramas that Beryl starred in back in the 80's.

Grover playing the songs on his reed pipes and Thalia and Jason laughing mid line.

Beryl was a popular startlett but their became a time where the dramas she was in were pretty bad.

And it's a very healing experience for Thalia and Jason to mock them.

They look at her good stuff when their homesick, watching them in near silence.

Somehow it's harder seeing her at her best.

Before Zeus.

Before Jupiter.

Before the alcohol.

It's like watching two different people.

On those watches they all curl up together on a sofa and drink chai together.

Just enjoying the feeling of not being alone.