comic commission for @scribesynnox: a what if au. what if percy hadn’t been in agonizing pain while taking atlas’ burden
Preach. Finally someone else is also acknowledgeding this.
A big issue I’ve just realised while looking at P*rcabeth again, is something I haven’t really seen discussed. I think while a large portion of their relationship was forced by outside perspectives and everyone thinking they should be together, I think another factor that makes it just as toxic is the trauma bond aswell.
I whole heartedly believe that they didn’t stay together after canon because there is no way that is a functioning long term relationship. I think they relied on a connection they thought was there while they were literal children fighting wars, but after that it becomes harder.
I think Percy in particular should’ve stayed single, because I think there’s a lot of things he hasn’t dealt with and needs. He was (heavily implied) to have been abused growing up, he watched multiple friends die and handed Luke the knife he killed himself with (which even with everything that happened there, it would still weigh on him either way), all the pressure that had been put on him to save the world, Sally making the Blofis family after the fact (which again would be hard for Percy, no matter how welcoming, because he never got that like Estelle will). Not to mention all the other trauma over the years. The blame that others put on him (Bianca was the first death he saw, he was maybe fourteen, and he canonically has always felt guilty about it). Boy needs a therapist, and I think being with Annabeth only exacerbated both of their issues.
You are definitely prophetic, and I have to admit I have never looked at Jason's death that way. It might all be spot on even. Personally, I am no fan of Jiper or Piper in general, so I am just a little ticked off over it and especially how her character arc progressed after his death. The other thing I had in mind was that the thing with all of the big three is that Rick has them either in a stagnant place, cast aside or dead, as with Jason's case. I think so many big three children together could have helped them share the burden, move on from it, and help each other due to the similarity in their insecurities and fears. To me when Jason chose to agree with Kym and perosnally take over the responsibility of building shrines for Gods like her and when he stood up to Jupiter by standing his ground, he had overcome his fatal flaw in entirety. In a way, to me, Percy and Jason really mirror each other and I am sure that Percy could have helped Jason see the merit in standing by his own opinions and making firm choices any Jason could have helped Percy with his trauma and lack of self-esteem. All these dynamics could have been explored and would have done better justice to their characters rather than the end road that is death and not only because for all his suffering, he deserved a happy and stable life to a degree. Isn't the PJO series all about subverting the tragedy that follows with being a hero? It just would have been more meaningful in my eyes, is all.
But Rick is Rick, and he won't stop until he ruins all things good about his books.
Okay, people, can we just all stop collectively losing it over Rick's recent shitty characterizations and writing in wottg and tsats and so on? For our own mental peace and happiness , let's just collectively agree that anything written after Trials of Apollo is non-canon and loosely based on the orignal lore and full of inconsistent characterization and unnecessary dilution of the same plot.
In not so polite words: Everything after that is a bloody abomination of the original work that I wouldn't touch with a ten foot pole, but it does give me the urge to strangle Rick for ruining a masterpiece.
Everything before that more or less has to be canon cause then we would have nothing to go off of. Even though characterizations begin to be inconsistent ever since HoO and Blood of Olympus is dodgy as hell but let's give it a pass. Everything released after Trials of Apollo, though? Absolutely not.
Also also one exception from Trials of Apollo: Jason's death is non canon and done by Rick for no plot or character development reasons at all and was an entirely unnecessary and illogical move.
So everything after ToA, along with Jason's death, is non-canon. That's it. That's the new canon.
We just have to do that, at least for all our collective sanity and mental peace. I wasn't even on posting schedule today, but one of the wottg excerpts made me so mad that I just couldn't stop myself. Come on, people, let's just agree on it for our mental peace.
The lack of Perachel is criminal. But percico next followed perpollo and jercy.
Hi! I'm a new fan!
I have a Question. So I had just stumbled across a book series called Percy Jackson and Im Low-key interested. (especially after I heard the plot of the first book (I also love the idea of a 12 year old Neurodivergent boy Kicking Ass) And I just had to wonder...
Is the series good? Is it worth reading? I wanna read it but I don't know if I'll be wasting my time reading something that won't be good so I just had to ask if it was a good series worth reading.
I saw the fandom of the series and honestly 99% of them low-key scare me.
I also found out there was a sequel to the OG series and I was also wondering if that was also good and if the sequel series is worth reading.
My advice is that you should definitely read the original series. No matter what anyone says, the fandom all agree that the original series was perfect.
Since Rick intended to write for kids, it's a bit PG, like no swear words or explicit scenes, but there's a lot of monster fighting and general bloodshed which may or may not defeat the point of it being initially intended for younger audience. Either way, it's also not very romance heavy if that's what you are looking for. It's more fast-paced and action-packed with a tertiary romantic subplot. That's the gist of it, and I am sure you are already familiar with the books theme.
Still, you should read the Lightning Thief (Book 1), and if you find yourself liking the whole thing, then you should continue. Since you liked whole neurodivergent kids' kick ass and be badass, you are absolutely going to LOVE Percy. He is the only main character who is literally the fandom favorite, and he is just that iconic. It also has a continuous escalating plot line, so once you read Book 1, you will definitely end up reading the whole original series.
Yes, there's a sequel to the original series, the Heroes of Olympus, and it's well liked as well. Of course, due to certain inconsistencies, readers, including myself, have our fair share of complaints, but that doesn't take away from the series too much as some of the most awesome and downright jaw dropping moments in the storyline come from Heroes of Olympus. But you can decide whether to read that or not later if you actually decide to go through with reading the original series.
When you do finish Percy Jackson and the Olympians, I suggest you read some shirt stories before you start Heroes of Olympus. The Stolen Chariot, the Sword of Hades especially.
And there's a crossover series Demigods x Magicians. If you are interested, it's a crossover between Kane Chronicles and Percy Jackson. So you can check out other works like Kane Chronicles and Magnus Chase series if you want to properly enjoy the crossovers. Personally, I absolutely loved Kane Chronicles(not more than PJO but close enough), and the Magnus Chase series is great as well, but personally, I ended up liking Kane Chronicles more. Not to confuse you too much, but there's other short stories as well that I haven't mentioned, which you can read if you want to.
Now to the most important part of your question; yes you are right that there's a lot of controversy and negative takes going on in the fandom right now but here's a simple fact: All these controversies, arguments, negativity are just results of everyone being extremely attached to certain characters and absolutely loving certain books to pieces. So don't worry about that and just enjoy the books. Those books were a huge part of a lot of people's childhood, and they are absolutely worth reading. (Would love to hear from you if you end up finishing Percy jackson and the Olympians).
I completely agree with you, and you are absolutely correct when saying that Odysseus is not the only one Athena favors. She obviously favors a lot of heroes given that she is the goddess that guides most heroes. Terribly sorry if I implied she favors Odysseus only. There's Diomedes, Achilles, Perseus, and then some.
My favorite Athena moment aside from all this is when she helps Diomedes who I honestly believe aside from Odysseus is the only hero she favors quite so highly given that she blessed him with such power; he literally managed to wound Aphrodite all on his own with just Athena's blessing so it obviously shows her favor. I just meant that she favors Odysseus the most out of any and all heroes for all the aforementioned reasons.
I am so glad to see someone with knowledge of actual Odyssey and Iliad agree with some of the points I have made. (I myself want to read those but am swamped with study)
I am obsessed with Epic, the musical as all people are and should be.
One of my absolute favorite parts (I love everything about it, the lyrical genius, the phenomenal melodies, the best cast) about the Saga itself is Athena and Odysseus's relation.
There are lots of opinions on how Athena doesn't treat Odysseus as a person but as a property, which I think is slightly misinterpreted. Odysseus is the only one in the whole Greek mythology to be so favored by Athena. She sees her very self reflected in him and hence sees him as an extension of herself given that she takes time and effort to teach Odysseus everything she can.
Yes, Odysseus gets ahead of himself and gets sentimental of sorts, but in the end, the mistake that causes his initial falling out with her is also something that mirrors Athena. Hubris is Athena's fatal flaw, and it's the same for Odysseus.
Athena's greatest ability is critical thinking in the heat of the moment, something Odysseus himself lives by and represents.
Gods are not flawless. No, they are every bit flawed, and deep deep down, they know it.
To Athena Odysseus giving into his flaws is a slap to the face because despite knowing her own and knowing how Odysseus reflects hers, she fails to make him overcome it.
He is also perhaps the only person to have insulted Athena to her face and lived to tell the tale without any repercussions because she knows he tells the truth but most of all because she accepts that if anyone has the right to reprimand her its Odysseus someone who has lived by her principles.
Even after their falling out, Athena defends him against the Olympians, and despite everything, Odysseus does his best to stick to Athena's teachings and doesn't hate her.
Athena does her best to advice Telemacus and even calls him her friend.
Throughout the Greeks myths, it is cemented that Athena and Odysseus had a strong relationship and were equals more so than a hero and his patron
The most ironically beautiful thing was that I was rereading Percy Jackson and Heroes of Olympus books to find Odysseus references through Mark of Athena and the part where Annabeth finds Athena at the subway, lost and frazzled,turned into Minerva due to the Roman and Greek demigods being together.
Minerva is nothing like Athena, she is Athena who is bitter and enraged and consumed with vengeance against the Romans who attacked her city and turned her into a just a Goddess of Wisdom and Crafts taking from her the domain of war and strategy. And in this emotionally heightened, unstable state that goes against her very nature, Annabeth hears her mumbling, "If Odysseus were here, he would know the way, he would know how best to help.."
And that to me is so raw and beautiful that in this terrible state that's basically a mental breakdown, The Goddes of Wisdom and Strategy thinks that Odysseus would be able to help. A mortal, yes, a great hero but still a mortal, and help in what? In guiding Athena herself as she tries to find her way back to her place of power, in guiding the lost goddess of wisdom.
Through the whole Percy Jackson series, it is repeatedly iterated how Odysseus is Athena's most and all-time favorite.
I also like how those books portray Odysseus as he was, a great hero and the most loyal husband.
I just had to rant on this. It's kept me awake for so long.
omg pls elaborate, why don’t u like post pjo nico? I’m curious, I don’t really know how I feel abt him either tbh (u don’t have to respond tho!!! I hope u have a wonderful day!!)
nico is just a different character in pjo than he is in hoo.
i love pjo!nico. the struggle of fantasy (mythomagic, nico's view of the demigod world) vs reality ('mythology,' the reality of being a demigod), the themes of death and coming to terms with death while having a certain amount of power over death. in a world where demigods are the people who don't belong, nico being a kid that doesn't belong even more (hades not having a cabin, the other campers' avoidance or fear of him). grief, forgiveness, friendship. nico pushing people away, especially percy, nico changing from hero worship to understand that even demigods are just human and mortal, and nico accepting other people (accepting percy's friendship) and being accepted himself...
in hoo and beyond i think his story just gets lost, like a lot of other characters do. hoo in general doesn't have the same strength that pjo does - not that every story has to have 'deep' or particularly 'meaningful' themes per se, but pjo grapples with power, mortality. the flaws of gods, humanity. and a lot more. i know we're going really broad, but hoo doesn't deal with any of that. as a consequence nico's character just falls flat for me, because i don't feel that hoo deals with him with the same complexity and interest pjo does.
also, nico being gay. hmm. i have a lot of thoughts about rick and representation (and a good few of them are not great, even if a lot of younger fans sing his praises), and solangelo. now i think nico being gay overall is fine. i think it could add another layer to him when examined through the lens of pjo, and there were plenty of people who thought that way in fandom. but what it felt like to me when written in canon was rick making the decision, and making pjo support the idea retroactively. of course, that is speculation bc i can't 100% confidently say that's true. i don't mean to say that nico shouldn't be gay, but i don't think it was written well.
solangelo also felt like a shoe-in. rick has this thing about pairing characters up for their happy endings. solangelo is a hot mess, it's not compelling, and if we do accept nico's feelings about percy it gets reduced to a joke. nico's character swings from repression and struggling with himself to skipping off with will. i make it no secret i don't like canon solangelo, and the relationship being lgbt doesn't mean it's good. it's flat and boring. also the resolution to nico's 'arc' in hoo doesn't have to be that he ends up in a relationship.
take what i said about the above with a little grain of salt. every person’s opinion is different, some people really love solangelo and that arc of nico’s. i don’t think it’s wrong to like it or that you shouldn’t. but i didn’t, myself. it could have been written a lot better lol
hoo also contradicts like... all of nico's character growth from pjo, and repeats conflicts that were previously resolved instead of expanding or continuing them in interesting ways, or creating new ones that actually make sense.
one of nico's conflicts in hoo was not being accepted and feeling like he doesn't belong anywhere. particularly because of the exclusion of children of pluto by camp jupiter and their fear of him. like i mentioned earlier this was already addressed in the original series. in botl, nico tells percy that he doesn't belong at camp, that people are afraid of him, and ultimately chooses to leave to find his own path. at the end of tlo, nico is welcomed by the other campers. he proves percy's point to the gods, and percy pushes for nico and hades to be accepted by the other gods and demigods.
“It hasn’t been easy, you know. Having only the dead for company. Knowing that I’ll never be accepted by the living. Only the dead respect me, and they only do that out of fear.” “You could be accepted,” I said. “You could have friends at camp.” He stared at me. “Do you really believe that, Percy?”
Nico and Percy, Battle of the Labyrinth, pg. 192
“This camp isn’t for me. There’s a reason they didn’t put a cabin to Hades here, Percy. He’s not welcome, anymore than he is on Olympus. I don’t belong. I have to go.”
Battle of the Labyrinth, pg. 223
"And Hades—" ... "...your children should not be left out. They should have a cabin at camp. Nico has proven that..."
The Last Olympian, pg. 353
Nico sat at the main table with Chiron and Mr. D, and nobody seemed to think this was out of place. Everybody was patting Nico on the back, complimenting him on his fighting. Even the Ares kids seemed to think he was pretty cool.
The Last Olympian, pg. 371
all of that aside, here is a core issue: nico, the doors of death, and his choices. when you really look at it, what happens in hoo is a "fuck you" to nico's character in pjo.
let's recap:
in son of neptune, it's revealed that hazel was brought back by nico. not just that, though... nico was searching for bianca, who he hoped he could bring back. the reason he didn't was because he couldn't - she chose to be reborn to avoid just that.
but nico wouldn't have done that. nico attempting to, and arguably nico bringing back hazel, goes against all of his growth and character in botl.
this isn't the first time nico tried bringing back bianca. his main goal in battle of the labyrinth was to find daedalus to trade his soul for bianca's.
“I was hoping you would give up.” “Give up?” [Nico] sounded heartbroken. “How can you say that? I’m trying to save you!” “You can’t, Nico. Don’t do this. Percy is right.” “No! He let you die! He’s not your friend.”
Nico and Bianca, Battle of the Labyrinth pg. 108
in the labyrinth, percy confronts nico and reveals nico is looking for daedalus to trade his soul for bianca's. but when they find daedalus, when daedalus accepts his own death... nico chooses not to.
“I will take what comes,” he said. “And trust in the justice of the Underworld, such as it is. That is all we can do, isn’t it?” He looked straight at Nico, and Nico’s face darkened. “Yes,” he said. “Will you take my soul for ransom, then?” Daedalus asked. “You could use it to reclaim your sister.” “No,” Nico said. “I will help you release your spirit. But Bianca has passed. She must stay where she is.”
Nico and Daedalus, Battle of the Labyrinth pg. 217
The shimmering form of Bianca di Angelo stood in the clearing, smiling at her brother. She said something to him and touched his face—or tried to. Then her image faded. Nico turned and saw me, but he didn’t look mad. “Saying good-bye,” he said hoarsely.
Nico and Percy, Battle of the Labyrinth pg. 223
also i think it just becomes super clear when you read. i've gone back semi-recently to reread pjo. for this ask i pulled up botl. reading botl... reading pjo... i feel like the difference in quality is so clear when you read about nico.
idk if you take asks but enchanted is such perachel (esp from rachel pov on how like she was so wonderstruck by him and his life/world)
Enchanted is definitely Perachel coded, and some sections work for both Percy and Rachel pov.
Percy pov:
Percy is sure his fatal flaw could have been hindsight. The number of times he has lamented the choices he has made, more so on the fact of whether he could have done it better differently; much like now that he's finished regretting his Nico conversation his thoughts finally return to one Rachel Elizabeth Dare. Yes, he remembers her full name, he has a good memory and even if he didn't she would be hard to forget.
For one, she saved his life despite him running her through with Riptide (he had never been more glad that his sword didn't harm mortals).
That and her face was a bit too memorable to ever forget. It's logical, too; he remembers Annabeth telling him the statistics for facial features. Red hair and green eyes were the rarest pair, and of course, Rachel Elizabeth Dare had both. It's not his fault he was enchanted, the sort of enchanted you get when you see a once in a lifetime thing cause that was what it was. He hoped, however, desperately that he would see his red-headed nightmare again; after all he had a debt to repay. Given that she probably lived near Hoover, chances were he would never see her again.
He shouldn't have doubted how much the Fates love proving him wrong because he sees her just a few months after the orientation of all places. He's equal parts glad and embarrassed, for he certainly couldn't apologize enough, and that makes him do something insanely stupid like run away. She finds him like she did last time, and he is so caught up in staring at her that he forgets he needs to run mostly cause he can't give her the answers she wants.
It starts out as he knows it would with her wanting an explanation. He wants to explain, too, but he's always been bad at it, and it's not like he got a good one from Chiron. Then came in the demon cheerleaders. They were so well disguised that he wouldn't have known if not for Rachel screaming. So yeah, it's now the second time he's gotten her involved in something dangerous. The empousai, something women, seemed to have it out for his blood, which wasn't new, but he drew the line at them attacking Rachel. He killed the first one and was almost on the second one when Rachel realized her scheme. Now Percy could definitely say thinking on his feet was his strength but between Rachel being attacked and Paul Blofis showing up he was a bit slow on the uptake. Rachel, brilliant Rachel gets them both out of there, they are almost out and he is half ready to drag her with him so they could both talk and so he could apologize again right until Annabeth shows up. So yeah, that ruins almost all his plans. Annabeth's in a hurry, and he should be too given the burning school, but he couldn’t just leave Rachel Elizabeth Dare on her own. If not for her insistence, he would have taken her with her. Deja vu is quick to catch up to him as he flees with Annabeth, leaving Rachel to deal with the mass chaos he left behind yet again. This time, though, he has her number scrawled on his palm, and he memorizes it for good measure because now he wouldn't need the Fates to run into Rachel.
Rachel pov:
Rachel can't stop thinking about Percy I-am- not -a mortal- guy weeks after her trip had ended and the cold was long gone. Made sense. After countless years of thinking herself insane, she finally met someone who knows all the answers to her questions. Perhaps that's why she is so ridiculously obsessed with him. What's more ridiculous is that she can't stop sketching. No matter what she starts with, she always ends up with the same visage of a sea-green eyed boy. The only reason she remembers his face is because she's good at that sort of thing; being an artist requires good memory, not because he was excessively good-looking even in that awful lion fur.. Had he not run her through with his stupid sword, she would have gawked at him. Listen, she was an artist, and she could admire a good face. She was almost at the point of hiring a P.I. under her father's nose to look for Percy something. She was sure he was from New York , call it a feeling. But if so, New York could have like hundreds of Percy and what if he lived in some strange place only people like him,no, people like them could see.
Rachel had a barrage of such weirdly eerie encounters, but something about this one was far more enchanting than any other. He had seen what she saw and heard what she heard, and when she told him to hide, he listened to her no questions asked. Nobody had done that ever before, but just before he slipped into the stall, she was sure that the uncertainty he felt was less over hiding and more over leaving her alone. "I owe you one, Rachel Elizabeth Dare," he had said to her with so much belief in the fact that they would meet again that she almost believed him as vain as it felt.
Turns out Rachel didn't have to believe in vain for too long. She saw him at this new high school she had picked against her father's wishes. It was so random that she thought she was hallucinating. She almost doesn't catch up to him, which makes her next words angry, and then he just stares at her as he blurts out her full name, and she's forgotten entirely why she was angry. The fact that he remembered her name made her weirdly happy until she remembered he tried to kill her. He had finally begun answering her questions until demon vampire things came along. Percy couldn't see them, so she had to ask him to run. Even now, he believed in her without any hesitation. Percy was negotiating. She could tell when Kale something and her trainee cornered them. Negotiating to get them both out. Then the trainee lunged at her. Faster than she could process her fear, she lay dead sliced clean by Percy. It was gross to be covered in monster dust, but she was happy she was alive. The Kelli one attacked now, and Percy swiftly put himself between us . For all her bragging about being thousand years old, I had a feeling Percy could defeat her. Maybe that's why she didn't feel any fear, just adrenaline and awe. Percy was extremely good with the sword, and the demon thing probably caught that cause she tricked us into ducking as she exploded and started a large fire. Even that would have turned out fine is some professor who knew Percy hadn't interrupted and made Percy freeze.
As she called out about the fire he seemed to recover as he quickly counted his options and settled for jumping through the broken window. Because she was now certifiably insane she jumped after him into the alley. By the time she caught up to them some blond girl was standing with him. By the looks of it she knew him but Rachel hadn't seen her at orientation; as soon as her grey eyes settled on Rachel her smile disappeared but Rachel didn't much care about that. Percy had gotten her into this he was going to pay her back with at least a fee explanations.
She ignored the pang she felt when he told the blond girl Annabel something that she was a friend. But friend was good it was better than nobody. As Annabel was about to drag him away, possibly preventing them from meeting ever again, she scrawled her number on his hand in permanent marker. Contrary to her thoughts, he didn't call her crazy nor did he back away. It might have been her speech about him owing her, or maybe just maybe he was just as enchanted by their first meeting. As she ran away to make up some story, she could still feel his eyes on her. This time, it was he who would look for her maybe, just maybe as fixatedly as she had.
This turned out to be rather long but it's such a good theme it might deserve a part two. (Yes I do take asks , just takes me bit of time to deliver.)
I will never get over the fact that Percy Jackson called Rachel his redheaded nightmare. I can't-
Finally, thoughts on Percy beating Iapetus when they met? This boy managed to control the Lethe even while dying of a deadly poison and maintained that control even while tackling a Titan into it, resulting in the Titan becoming an amnesiac. And he was still injured throughout the whole fight!!
do not get me started because that is...
iconic behavior.
anyway, this is why i have such strong feelings about percy being a part of the ocean. i love love love how nico and thalia are doubtful that he can control the river lethe, and then he just. proves them wrong in the best way possible. there are just so many moments throughout pjo that leave everyone like 👁👄👁 when they see percy do some freaky impossible thing with his powers, and this scene with the big three trio is the perfect example of that.
nico and thalia are both powerful in their own right, but their powers leave them drained all the time. they can only use their abilities sparingly. percy, on the other hand, gets invigorated by water. and it’s glaringly obvious how powerful he’s become, because even other bodies of water that aren’t the ocean obey to his every command. and like, the fact that he could keep up the fight with iapetus, wash away his memories, and maintain control over the river just goes to show much more intrinsic his connection to his godly side is—unlike nico and thalia, whose powers and strengths are superficial, albeit more advanced than those of the average demigod. how percy is this way is still a mystery to me, though i do think that @posallys miss taylor knows the answer. but it’s still something so strange, for a demigod to possess so much control over their godly parent’s sphere of influence, although poseidon’s sphere of influence is one of the most primordial ones amosngt the olympians so. there’s that. it’s genuinely so cool, and i get why the gods are scared :)
I'm really pleasantly surprised that you answered :)
Of course, here are some materials from where I got information about Zagreus and Peitho!
For Peitho:
https://mirrorpalace.wordpress.com/2009/10/17/an-exploration-of-peitho/ - her research, which I really love.
And here is the stream of consciousness about her - https://mirrorpalace.wordpress.com/2009/08/17/thoughts-on-peitho/
They both don't belong to me.
https://archiveofourown.org/works/3093410 -the fanfiction in which she appears, just keep in mind that it can be very difficult and dark there - Nico Di Angelo becomes a victim. This fanfiction also doesn't belong to me.
Zagreus:
https://hades.fandom.com/wiki/Zagreus - his wiki page, though I can't judge how good it is, because mostly I just read fanfiction/posts on tumblr and get information from there.
and - https://www.tumblr.com/happyk44/tagged/Zagreus - there is also a lot of good material about Zagreus.
And here's one fanfiction - https://archiveofourown.org/works/47538967/chapters/119808652 - from there I draw the creepy and dark part of Zagreus. It doesn't belong to me.
I'm sorry if you get a little confused. I "collect" Character images from various sources, reinforcing them with my own thoughts. For example, Peitho in my understanding is basically the same as in "An Abyss for Atonement" with some additions and my changes. And if you were wondering why I see Percy as a legacy of goddess of charm and a chthonic god - the answer is simple - Percy is beautiful and charming,He is most likely one of the most beautiful demigods of his generation and he can convince you to do what he wants. And I think Percy has some kind of connection with the underworld, it's a subtle dark atmosphere and the fact that he likes to travel through the shadows. His connection to the underworld is subtle and not too noticeable, as if, funny to say, ghostly.
I think this was the hardest of asks, but somehow, I liked it entirely too much. It's a bit out of box take, but I have already done one where I wrote Percy as a Legacy of Odysseus, so I think this fits too. Why do I have a feeling this is going to be a recurring theme for asks?
I am so terribly sorry for the delay but I didn't want to make the post without reading up on most of your suggestions; as I have said I was really unfamiliar with both Zagreus and Peitho.
As per anon's request Percy is a Legacy of Zagreus and Peitho through his grandparents. Percy Jackson as the Legacy of Zagreus and Peitho. [His grandmother Estelle was the daughter of Zagreus, and his grandfather James - son of Peitho].
Peitho is a very interesting deity. I suggest all readers check out at least one of anon's references. She is the deity of seduction, of persuasion , of divine charm and thrall. A force of passion and abstract power.
In certain versions, she is also an alternate representation of one of the Moraie. Lachesis, to be precise. She also used to represent the concept of everything that has happened before or has been till now.
Zagreus, though intriguing, is a bit more straightforward. I know I know I just called a chthonic god straight forward, but he is. Now, the wiki states that he is the God of Blood, but in one of the codex entries, Achilles says he is also a God of life.
He has connections with Styx and has traversed through Tartarus and here's a fun fact in the orignal myths Zagreus and Dinosyus are actually the same gods or at least father and son which would kind of create an extremely strange and entertaining dynamic but let's stick to game wiki. Not to mention the very newly layered dynamic now painted between Percy, Hades, and Nico.
Now think, Percy, eloquent and charming, words dripping with unspoken power. People think it's the tongue of the sea, of sirens, alluring and hypnotic, but it's far older, far more primordial, of Peithos, of divine eloquence, of persuasion.
Perseus Jackson, who none, not god nor mortal, can deny. Persuasion by words, persuasion by war , is it not all the same? Both reflect passion and thus reflect Peitho.
Perseus Jackson, beautiful and alluring, yet dangerous. Too sharp edged. Not a gentle beauty. A sharp, passionate, bloody beauty ,whether of sea or underworld we know not yet.
Percy Jackson, with midnight black hair, so vivid, so deep, that even the Lord of the Underworld balks at the resemblance, to his own line and that of Poseidon's.
Percy Jackson, who dreams and dreams yet again of things that have been, ages before or just now, it does not matter. He has my sight drawls Peitho , lips red with blood and rose, from somewhere far away, but perhaps Sally hears it all the same for she has it too, the gift of her line.
Perseus, whom Styx spares the fatal curse of Achilles not out of Roman interference but out of familial bonds, of primordial connections. The Underworld looks after its own, does it not? And Perseus Jackson is most certainly of the Underworld, will always be.
Percy, whose mind bends blood as easily as it would water sees not the gift of Zagreus, but a horror of Tartarus but he will come to see, after all blood is life and life is blood. Of blood and over blood child, that is your power declares Zagreus from the deepest caverns if the Underworld and Percy thinks he's heard the whispers of the pit but perhaps, just perhaps blood will serve him well, better than sea, better than water.
Perseus, whose call the rivers obey, the rivers of the Underworld. They recognize the blood of their own, do they not? They do, and they answer. They always will, and so will the dead if he dares call upon them. One day, one day whispers Achilles to Zagreus as they watch, the rise and triumph of the favored child of the sea and the Underworld.
Percy, who puts all in his thrall just with the green of his eyes and the smile at his lips. He sees not the divine Peitho in himself, but Aphrodite does not miss, neither do the Olympians.
Perseus, who teeters on the edge of mortal and divine as does Zagreus between living and death. Both, neither, one more than the other. Which one? We may yet see, but Peitho knows, and so does Zagreus. They do not say it, but the Olympians feel it. The wave of change.
Percy, who finds his way in and out of his uncle's, once and again, and then always. New ways and old ones, even forgotten ones. Perhaps Zagreus will be out of a job soon, thinks Persephone fondly. Not even the Lord of the Dead finds it in himself the words of chagrin.
That's all the thoughts I can think up at the moment but I will reblog with more I am sure cause this will stay with me.
I wrote it a bit too dramatically, but I think it fits well. All things considered. Also, anon, let me know if this was to your liking.
Also, I think Zagreus's dynamic with Nico could be super interesting, and maybe just maybe it deserves it own post.
People usually don't like Pernico because of Nico's age, but they still like Solangelo. What is your opinion about these two ships?
Personally, I don't think it's the age difference that sets off most people.
It's the idea that the Big Three are all more closely related than others and, therefore, should have sibling relationships. So, a lot of people believe in the idea of a little three sibling relationship.
I mean, Nico wasn't even aware of any time passing in Lotus Casino, so that time gap doesn't even count. Percy is only two years older than Nico otherwise, so it's not even a significant difference.
And there's another layer to it that they believe since Percy didn't share Nico's feelings, Nico still pining after him is an injustice to Nico. (Nico stans tend to be a bit overprotective). So it is considered that Percy wouldn't properly love Nico properly if they got together, which I believe is untrue because Percy, out of all characters, loves completely and passionately always.
Sometimes, it's about the debate between the strongest demigods . Since Nico stans are believers in Nico supremacy over Percy even though canon doesn't really support that nor does Nico himself believe that, shippers think shipping him with Percy would clash and Nico supremacy won't work in Pernico.
I like Pernico in general, given the unique nature of their connections. How it's built on such mutual care and respect and a level of deeper understanding and even admiration with a ton of angst and misplaced guilt on both their parts.
It's a really interesting dynamic to work through for sure and I was quite into it initially but I really haven't seen any really good fanfics about Pernico around, so I am not really super convinced on why they would work so well so if you or anyone else has any good recommendations feel free to let me know.
(I like their dynamic together, and I think they are capable of creating a really unique connection, but I have read so many posts on big three kids sibling dynamic I kind of got swept in that).
As for Solangelo, I am not super into them, and I think their initial relationship was a bit hastily established, but they work well enough. Will however has the purely selfless nature to both accept and understand Nico's flaws and not call Nico out on it condescendingly and work through them with him without triggering any past trauma of his.
But i really believe Nico needs to process some stuff for himself before he gets into any relationship. I haven't read their book yet but will see but the fanarts of them were really awesome.
Sorry, I really haven't given much thought to either ship yet, but if you guys have some good fic recommendations or posts, feel free to send me those.
Nico, I think, doesn't really need to jump into any relationships right now, but regardless, these two would be my top ships.
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