School Smart Percy Jackson - Blog Posts

A big part of the fandom doesn't deserve to have Percy as a protagonist because of how they treat him and mischaracterize them to make their own favorite characters "better", more sympathetic or more tragic. Can they stop blaming Percy for Bianca's death? No offense to her stans but what was Percy to do when SHE was the one who stole from a fucking junkyard where they were specifically warned not to touch/take anything? Plus isn't she the one who basically abandoned her brother and joined the Huntresses? Can they stop acting as if Percy is stupid when he is actually better at coming up with strategies where no one gets hurts or killed *cough*unlike a certain blonde*cough*? Can they stop excusing Annabeth for being such a shitty person to Percy and anyone interested in him romantically or platonically? Can they fucking understand that her "cute nickname" to her boyfriend "Seaweed brain" is actually an insult and not a cutesy little token of love? Can they understand that judo flipping him, punching/hitting/etc him and liking to make him anxious is what typical toxic and abusive partners do? I don't care that she was abused and neglected as a child, having been abused is an explanation never an excuse. Percy was also abused by his stepdad and yet he doesn't act like her. Also another thing (and this one might be heavily controversial but) Sally Jackson is a loving mom, she tried her best for her kid but she is not a good mom, she was selfish in her love and got herself and her kid stuck with an abusive bastard for years despite the fact that she had safer options. At this point I feel like we didn't even read the same books or that these people didn't even read the series they just watch youtube and tiktok videos that are mostly filled with misinformation and headcanons.

I know I am extremely late in my response but hopefully not 'late to your own funeral' level of late. It was partly due to health problems and back to back exams I had and partly due to my procrastination habits. Which is why now that I am considerably free, I am trying to answer all the asks in my inbox.

I absolutely agree with most of the things you have said. I myself am extremely tired of repeating the same things over and over again to the fandom but I am under no delusions that any posts debunking biased takes, character assassination headcanons and absolutely baseless assumptions will actually stop anything or even change anyone's opinions.

These posts are just for people with similar mindset to interact with something that finally meets with their pov and aren't led to feeling isolated in the fandom due to monopoly canon ships and other such topics have in fandom posts. Sort of to create a safe space cause I myself was spared of the worst of the fandom's wrath due to there already being an established anti percabeth community, small but reliable and supportive. I even had to the fortune of never receiving a single death threat, at least in this fandom, and I want to make sure that any new mutuals I have get the same experience.

For the whole Percy being blamed for no absolute reason and for completely made-up reasons for the Nico-Bianca situation, I have already made a post here.

Percy being more strategic than Annabeth was something I have stated in multiple posts but mostly here. And Rick himself did give us proof, too, both about Percy getting better grades than Annabeth and how Seaweed brain is, in fact, an insult.

I really believe that Percy and Annabeth's lack of nuanced emotional interactions, contrasting goals, and really conflicting fatal flaws all make up for a doomed relationship scenario. Percy finds himself unable to share about any of his trauma with Annabeth, and he also seems very insecure about their relationship and believes he can't live up to Annabeth's expectations or is being a bad boyfriend. Annabeth doesn't seem to be able to pick up on any of this, and without proper conversation, they are both chafing. Not to mention, Annabeth's toxic habits are not something Percy will ever address, and eventually, they will both just end up resenting each other. I had an idea about Percabeth break up and why and how it would occur, and I have posted about it here, and that's all I really want to say on that matter.

As for the Sally Jackson bit, I am actually planning on a Sally centric post. I have read so many takes on her and Percy's relationship and I am in the process of making it. Will definitely tag you in that.

Though what I will say is that, while Sally's love for Percy was very selfish, I think it was realistically rooted in her own trauma, the two way abandonment issues between both her and Percy and a mother's desperation.

Because for all the trauma Percy suffered under Gabe, you have to remember Sally suffered twice as much. She sent Percy off to boarding schools to spare him most of Gabe's influence while she suffered both physical and mental abuse throughout the six years she was with Gabe. The fact that Sally was willing put herself and Percy through the trauma of Gabe's abuse should highlight just how desperate she was to keep Percy with herself. And how despite all of Gabe's abuse he would face at home if he stayed, Percy resented Sally for sending him away to boarding school.

There's such an intricate codependency and deep-rooted trauma, maybe even generational trauma there. I really want to explore all of that cause I think Sally had very simple motivations and put herself and Percy through such complex methods to try and achieve those motivations permanently.

So yeah, there will be a post on that soon. I will tag you in that one, and there's another one I have to get to just before that. It's a Frank and Percy centric post, and I really loved that idea and I think I have most of my thoughts ready for both these posts. So expect them by the end of the week for sure.

Percy is a strategical genius, and this hasn't been said enough. I don't get why the Fandom collectively thinks Percy is dumb or needs Annabeth's help with stuff or isn't as smart as Annabeth. Even Annabeth, who should know better, sometimes treats him as such.

Reyna, Piper, Annabeth, and everyone else needs to hear this:

The truth is Percy is a far better strategist than Annabeth because Annabeth can't think quickly on her feet at all. She can weave accurate plans but only when given time and enough information, and only when she is looking at the bigger picture.

Annabeth does, however, have an almost encompassing knowledge of most things, but information is just information unless you apply it.

No one and I mean no one is better than Percy at thinking on his feet.

Mostly almost always Percy seems to be unaware of who his enemies are and yet still manages to go up against them and eventually win while Annabeth is at times left reeling.Percy has run into monsters/deities he had no idea about and still manages to figure out their goals in time to trick/defeat them.

Who figured out Ares's motives? Percy

Who figured out Luke's scheme? Percy

Who tricked Crusty without lifting a finger? Percy

Who figured out the use for Hermes's gift? Percy

Who came up with a way to show Luke's betrayal to the camp? Percy

Who tricked Atlas? Percy

Who made up the entire battle plan in the Battle of Manhattan? Percy

Percy tricks Phineas by literally goading Gaea. He could only do that if he himself understood how Gaea's mind worked.

He singlehandedly subdued Chrysaor (Yes, Frank was the key player, but we are counting the plan only)

Came up with the plan to defeat Polybotes and also executed it singlehandedly

Effortlessly argued and out debated the Roman Senate all by himself

Figured out how to defeat Geras (personification of old age)

Outsmarted Antaeus in his own ring

Managed to negotiate and attain the loyalties of River gods in the Battle of Manhattan.

Manipulated the entirety of New York Law department/ journalists into believing his fabricated cover story and dropping all legal charges against him at 12 years old.

There's so many instances of Percy being far more strategic than Annabeth herself.

Not only this, but Percy is extremely and terrifyingly perceptive and just a damn genius at getting people to give up secrets. [Done this to literally everyone since Book 1]

Athena is the personification of cold hard logic and facts hence Annabeth follows and so she isn't nearly good enough at reading people's intentions or body language.

Yes, Annabeth can be quick on her feet, but it's not very natural to her as it is to Percy because Annabeth believes in pre-planning, but Percy understands and embodies adaptation.

It's a flaw of many of Athena's children. The problem is Athena is a God with the mind of one, nothing stumps her so at any given moment she can and will always have the best plan because her mind is much more rapid than the surrounding circumstances.

Her children, however, are mortal and hence always vulnerable to surprises.

It's the reason why Athena favors Odysseus the most, over everyone. He was quick on his feet, along with being a great planner. He was a strategic genius, and my headcanon is that part of the reason Athena hates Percy is because her greatest enemy's son reminds her of her most favored person.

I recently edited this, and I am sure it's still missing some stuff. That's how underhighlighted Percy's intellectual feats are.

percy: hold on, i’m having one of those things - a headache with pictures

grover: huh?

annabeth: he’s having an idea

Between both these entries, I am sure it's proven beyond all doubt that not only is Percy obviously a strategic genius, but he is also school smart when he puts effort into it. Give it up for Percy Jackson; no one is the fandom is getting away with slandering Percy, especially for stuff the haters obviously made up.

just another snippet from readriordan.com CANONICALLY CONFIRMING that percy is extremely intelligent

just in case anyone forgot

Can you see Percy Jackson as an environmental lawyer that advocates for emvironmental regularions and protections?

Cuz y'know, he cares for the environment. especially the sea life, Grover, his bsf, is passionate about it and I hc that he wants to actually keep up that thing w Pan where he asked them to keep on remaking the wild

Also, smartass, cunning, slightly manipulative Percy, who knows how to twist words and manipulate the law to his advantage like??? I can just see it?

This is such a good take, and while I always love the manipulative and cunning side of Percy, I really think he would hate being a lawyer.

An environmental activist? Sure. But while Percy with his crazy improvisations would find all sorts of loopholes in the law and he would definitely love dishing it out to people and corporations who are actively ruining the environment, I don't think he will pursue the lawyer side of it.

Law is extensive. Percy would have to bury himself in studies to get there. And while we know from ReadRiordan that Percy has gotten better grades than Annabeth and the fact that Percy speaks four languages which means he would definitely get it done easily if he feels like it, I just don't think he would enjoy it.

The amount of legal material he would need to get through would be overwhelming for his ADHD and dyslexia, but he just might get it done if it's to piss off and prove someone who said he couldn't do it, wrong. [Athena or Annabeth maybe]

Also a courtroom is an example of a heavily controlled environment. Everything from posture to pitch of voice, specific set of words, and certain professional language is all mandatory. Percy, out of all others, is the one who detests being controlled or restrained the most.

Then, we have his prior experiences with the law. Police, lawyers, other authority figures. Between him being a wanted criminal in at least 5 states and the whole Sally's misery over compiling a divorce file against Gabe in TLT, Percy has a lot of trouble with authorities. So it's unlikely for him to pursue such a problematic field and one which he has had such negative experiences with.

Even if environmental law is slightly different, it is still a part of a larger bureaucratic and more corrupt system that is inherently rigged against certain people. Percy, I think, would be very disgusted with certain law practices carried out or how heavy the impact of monetary channels are.

Assuming, however, that despite all this, he does choose to become a lawyer, I think he would be extremely bored by the whole thing. The long, tiring court proceedings, the dull testimonies, constantly clashing with the opposition.

But it's an excellent what if since Percy has a varied set of professions to choose from. I think if you could expand a bit more on this for me? Because I get the general idea, but I don't think we are visualizing the same scenarios, so I might be missing something. Loved the ask as I like exploring new theories regarding Percy or even other fandom theories. Also, I am sorry for the delay, but I would appreciate it if you could get back to me on this.

And people wonder why there are anti Annabeth and anti Percabeth stans. It's because Rick and all the stans have shoved Annabeth up a non-existent pedestal of the smartest ( which she is not and it's not even close) and continue to still only consider Annabeth's goals and aspirations and trauma valid.

Think of it this way:

Respectfully, if your ship consists of character A repeatedly calling someone a nickname that is a substitute for the word dumb( as further confirmed by readriordan article), dismissing character B's trauma and opinions, consistently physically hitting character B , showing toxic and controlling behavior towards character B and blaming character B for their own kidnapping and amnesia? It's not the IT couple or the perfect relationship. It's the definition of an escalating toxic relationship.

At least accept that your ship is very flawed and not even close to the definition of perfect that you paint it as. And that it's run mostly by Annabeth's wants and opinions and goals.

Just some of the screenshots. There's a few more but these are the ones I have on hand at the moment.

Percy: *comes up with a great lie to cover their asses in a heartbeat after Annabeth stuttered, unable to think of anything* Annabeth: You're stupid

???

With Percy, we know that he hates going to school and his goals don’t really line up with Annabeth’s, but Annabeth is kind of forcing him to do it with her because he can’t say no to her. Say Rick didn’t make Annabeth Percy’s entire personality, what do you think he would’ve done in the mortal world rather than go to university?

I was checking my drafts cause I am trying to catch up on all the asks in my inbox ( as I said in one of my earlier posts I was in middle of a medical situation so I have at least a month of backlog) and found this draft.

The funny thing is I had already written most of the post in the draft version, and this ask wasn't even being displayed in my inbox, so I was very confused as to when it was from.

But it's such a good prompt and a sort of controversial question in the fandom, so I wanted to post it asap.

Percy doesn't like studies, but he knows the importance of it, so I am sure he will finish his initial college, probably either in the science or arts section. We know at one point he got better grades than Annabeth at one point so he certainly isn't quitting studies and doing way better than what people expect. He also wouldn't like just staying at home and doing nothing (I am looking at certain Percabeth stans here), so he definitely would be doing one job or another.

1.

I don't think he would study marine biology like most believe. After a conversation I had with someone who had taken the course, I am convinced Percy wouldn't like it. It's heavily based on chemistry, and we know how much Percy is affected by sea creatures being mistreated or caged, so having to study marine biology wouldn't really be something he would choose.

2.

An interesting twist would be if he chose to be a writer like his mother.

We all know that Percy writes or at least dictates and narrates the first five books, which are written and narrated entirely from his perspective. Moreover, there are books on Percy just narrating his own sarcastic takes on Greek gods and Greek heroes. What if he did actually catalogue his own adventures in those books as a sort of manual for other demigods on how to deal with certain monsters and gods and such.

Through Percy's thoughts, even as 12 years old, we can certainly say he has advanced vocabulary despite being dyslexic and given how much he admires Sally, why wouldn't he be interested in following her footsteps. Sure, he has trouble reading, but that's not to say he wouldn't love expressing his thoughts through humorous retelling of his own adventures which he can pass as fiction to normal readers but actual experiences in demigod world. Who doesn't want to know the exploits of Percy Jackson?

Plus, it's a good money hack. And don't for a second tell me he wouldn't. Sally petrified Gabe, and then they sold his statute to a museum as a sculpture and earned money off of that. So Sally would definitely encourage it, and Percy would even follow through on it just for shits and giggles and the added benefit of helping demigods and earning money.

[I literally want this to happen just for the Godly reactions. I am all for god slander, especially Zeus slander. Poseidon would be half laughing at the book and half worried cause of the sheer catastrophes his son seems to fall into almost on a daily basis.

Apollo would be having a grand time, and Hermes will be half depressed and half impressed throughout. Overall, it would be hilarious all around, and it might finally make the gods feel a bit more accountable . It's literally the Reading Percy Jackson Series trope, and that's always fun.]

3.

One other option is that Percy will get into environmental preservation, specifically the protection of Rivers and Seas from pollution by actively involving himself and others in its cleanliness and purification. He would also run Beach cleanliness programs.

I think he and Grover would become environmental activists and would definitely get into preserving forest areas and other places where nature spirits dwell frequently. I can see them doing it a lot, long-term wise, too.

4.

I think he would kind of like marine explorations, but that might cause his powers to be somewhat exposed, so he might not do that, but it's a possibility.

That's all I can think of. I would like to hear everyone else's opinions on this.

I feel like Percy and Annabeth’s goals for the future don’t line up. Percy never struck me as the type to want to go to uni, and if he did he would 100% hate marine bio. In Chalice he’s complaining about having tons of chemistry homework, when studying marine science at uni means you have to do LOTS of chem. He says that he needs to study so he can go to college and be with Annabeth, but it’s never about what he personally will get out of it, just him not wanting to be separated from her. Doesn’t seem like a healthy dynamic in the long run.

Terribly sorry for the late response. Hopefully, this meets your expectations.

You are preaching to the choir at this point. Everyone and their mother, at least everyone who is not blind, is aware of how one-sided the goals of their relationship are.

If you observe not only is this the case with their goals but is a recurring pattern with all of Percy's opinions where either he doesn't voice them or Annabeth is dismissive of his opinions.

Almost all the problems with their relationship arise with how Percy doesn't voice his opinions and goes along with whatever Annabeth asks. And Annaebeth also assumes that only her own opinions count, and since Percy is a bit less knowledgeable than her, he has no opinions.

Despite Percy being a far better strategist than Annabeth and arguably smarter Annabeth almost never gives him the proper credit he deserves.

She is always either openly or subtly degrading his intelligence on literally no basis.

Annabeth is also extremely overbearing about studies towards Percy and openly condescending. When time comes for them to actually go to college, Percy easily gets a better grade than Annabeth, and she insinuates how seaweed brain is a substitute to some degree of the word dumb.

And if people still doubt that Percy has different ideas about his future, they only need to read Chalice of the gods. He is clearly fed up by the studies and the college schedule and isn't very intent on going to college, especially since Estelle is due soon, and he wants to first and foremost remain with Sally, Paul and Estelle his family.

Percy has time and again highlighted that if it were up to him, he would choose to do whatever he pleases at his leisure, which has very little to do with studies. Even in the case of marine biology, I second the opinion that he wouldn't enjoy it. Partially because Percy hates the objectification of aquatic creatures. He can't stand aquariums, and he is most definitely not going to enjoy the study and dissection of marine creatures.

Also, Percy, being ready to drop everything to move to New Rome, is completely out of character and literally illogical on Rick's part.

Annabeth has also repeatedly made known that she wishes to be involved at the centre of all things godly I.e more quests and wishes to pursue her interests more so than anything which is directly the inverse of Percy wanting a complete vacation and zero stress.

All in all, not only are Percy and Annabeth's goals opposite and incompatible, we can repeatedly see only Percy trying to make some compromise while Annabeth's hubris blinds her.

It's clear that they will never see eye to eye on many important things that make a relationship, and blind percabeth stans need to accept it.

Yess, the Fandom really needs to speak on this. Annabeth Chase is definitely not the smartest cause Percy surpasses her both in terms of the amounts of strategies made and the depth of strategic ability and I have had up to here with people both outside and inside the Fandom dismissing Percy as a powerful but dumb guy, like have we read the same books?!!

@phykios Classics Percy confirmed!

Also, finally some good Read Riordan content.