#tbh not gonna bother to proofread this yall get pure brain-dump

[aroaceleovaldez]

i think there is a fundamental misunderstanding people make when approaching Jason’s character, but to explain it I must first go on a tangent -

One of the things that’s really interesting with the demigod characters is that, while they are independent personality-wise of their divine ancestors, and their personality is never fully reflective of their divine ancestors, demigods still always have personality traits that are strongly related to an aspect of their divine ancestor(s). For a lot of demigod character this is even the same trait that presents itself in different ways, particularly in CHB. Demeter kids tend to be rooted - usually presenting as them being stubborn and resistant to change or opposing opinions. Apollo kids tend to be self-focused. Hades kids tend to be driven by their relationships/bonds to others. Percy and Tyson are the only Poseidon kids, but Percy’s seems to be that outwardly he appears to be an unpredictable wildcard, when this is not necessarily true. The sea is not wholly unpredictable - if you learn it, you will learn the patterns that drive it, and that it is subject to many outside influences (the moon, the sun, winds, etc). It just looks unpredictable to those who do not bother to learn (which, btw, is a GREAT metaphor for ADHD imo).

Jason and Thalia represent two specific spheres for Zeus/Jupiter (and in Jason’s case, Hera/Juno as well). Thalia is Zeus as King of the gods. She is a natural leader. She works well in leadership positions and tends to lead logically. This is why she’s the lead Huntress of Artemis.

Jason does not represent Jove and Juno as King and Queen of the gods. Jason represents Juno and Jove as mother and father of the gods. This is why he tends to fall naturally into leadership positions in groups but simultaneously struggles in them in some scenarios but not others. He dislikes leading an army and being seen as perfect and above others because he is not acting from the perspective of a king, he is acting from the perspective of a member of a family unit. He is not the leader of an army, he is a wolf in a pack. He leads emotionally. He’s protective of his group. Yes, he is a bit of a dad-friend! But at the same time he is adverse to putting himself above the group! Yes, he falls into leadership positions, but only to a certain degree. He works best in a group he’s familiar with. He works better in smaller groups.

To Thalia those specifics don’t matter, because she’s not working from a more personal perspective like Jason does. Thalia could lead groups Jason is normally put in charge of, but Jason would not be able to lead Thalia’s groups. But also Thalia is not devoid of Zeus-as-a-father-god traits either! That was basically her entire dynamic with Annabeth (and Luke)! And Jason isn’t wholly devoid of Jupiter-and-Juno-as-rulers-of-the-gods either, he is capable of tapping into that- and he does so! But he is always primarily Jove-and-Juno-as-parents-of-the-gods first and foremost.

And that’s a really interesting character trait to play with! It’s so cool picking apart characters and seeing how they embody traits and aspects of their divine ancestors! And you can lean into that in so many things! If you’re writing meta/character analysis, if you’re writing a specific character for a fic or something, if you’re making a demigod OC - heck, I use this sort of analysis of what traits are common for demigods of specific divine ancestors for assigning cabins/etc to characters (and people, if I am requested to do so).