YES YES YES!!!!

YES YES YES!!!!

idk if this is an unpopular opinion or not, because i’ve seen a lot of people say stuff like “percy knows better than to go against annabeth”

but see, most people - anyone with a brain, really - are way too scared to challenge annabeth. because 99% of the time, she’s right. she’s always the most intelligent person in the room. shes not only logical and strategic, but she’s sharp, cunning, and even manipulative if she has to be. (as we’ve seen when she’s faced monsters). no one goes against her. one wants to, no one dares.

expect percy. if there’s one thing he knows how to do, it’s argue with annabeth. it’s like breathing. but unlike when they were kids, they don’t truly fight over stupid things. sure, they bicker and squabble over little things, because that’s who they are as a couple. but percy is the only person who will actually challenge her on something real. something big. he doesn’t do it lightly, because he knows how smart she is. but if he truly believes there’s another angle to something, or that she’s wrong because maybe she doesn’t have all the information, or maybe his heart is just in a different place - he’ll go against her. we see it in mark of athena a couple times. (their face-off kinda puts hazel in a trance). in BotL, there’s an argument between them, and i remember it’s stated that watching them argue is like watching an intense tennis match. its heated and fast paced. people make fun of percy for being dumb, and yet percy is the only one that can keep up with annabeth. he knows her better than anyone. he doesn’t think the same as her, but he knows how she thinks. so yeah, he will call her out. he’ll tell her he disgrees. he’ll even tell her that she’s wrong. and people think he’s crazy when he does it.

but annabeth respects the hell out of him for it. and while she might dismiss anyone else immediately, she won’t with him. because she respects him tremendously, and knows if he’s challenging her, there’s something to it. it doesn’t mean she’s gonna let him win, or that she’s gonna back down, because they are both ridiculously stubborn and determined. but he’ll go head to head with her. he’ll have a screaming match with her. and she loves him for it. she respects him for it. and she finds it ridiculously attractive.

because percy and annabeth are equals.

I think the dead mother / reluctant father figure trope is way too oversaturated when it comes to coming-of-age hero epics.

It's always the father who stepped up but never the mother who stayed.

I just love when a camper tells Percy that demigods can burn their favorite food as offering to their godly parent so they can be heard and he burns the blue candy Sally got him to pray to his mortal mom.

He really was like god of the seas or no, he's a deadbeat.

My human mom would NEVER.

Sally Jackson you truly are singular 💖

daughter of athena

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bonus:

in an alternate universe where Rick had actually planned Hoo from the start:

I really love the idea of jason and bianca being dual 'ghosts of the narrative' during Pjo. Like. They're both big three kids. They're both the siblings OF main characters. They're both thought to be dead. And I get that no one knowing about Jason is a big plot point in TLH, but I would've killed for a scene, just after Bianca's death, where Thalia tells Percy about her baby brother, the one she left behind, the one who was murdered (she thinks he's dead) . And the only other person who knows is Luke, so Thalia makes Percy promise not to tell anyone else, even Annabeth. Percy being Percy, he keeps this promise, but also gets slightly obsessed with Jason and his story, this little boy who was killed by the Queen of the Gods for no fault of his own. It really drives home the gods cruelty, and makes Luke's offer even more tempting. And then Nico runs away, the same way Thalia did when her brother died, and Percy is FUCKING OBSESSED, with these two ghosts, who represent the dangers if demigod life, especially for Big 3 kids. One of them died on a mission for the gods, the other was killed by one. They were both innocents. They were both spares. So when he makes the gods promise, he's hoping to put their ghosts to rest, so that nothing like this will ever happen again.

It also makes his and Jason's first meeting much, much funnier, because. He finds out that the dude who's been HAUNTING him for the past few years is actually alive and healthy. And Percy is like, personally offended because "I obsessed over your death, and not only are you NOT DEAD, you also don't seem to give many fucks about me. After all the time I spent thinking about you."

"A woman."

"W h a t???!"

"We're gonna shoot for the sky."

"What."

"Sometimes killing is a must."

"What-"

"It's treasure!"

"What."

"All I gotta do is open this bag!"

"What?!"

Percy at ease

Percy calm, but a little on edge

Percy when mildly angry

Friendly reminder that Percy jackson - our beloved silly adorable seaweed brain - is absolutely terrifying. When he’s angry, when he’s scared, when he’s on edge - he’s not warm and fuzzy.

No other character gets that reaction from people. Jason (the sweetie) is perceived as calm and in control, nico (our favorite self-outcasted outcast) is perceived as solemn and creepy, reyna (girlboss queen slay) is perceived as confident and assertive, and annabeth (our girl) is perceived as fierce, clever, and formidable. They are all intimidating to an extent.

But not like Percy. No. Becasue even when he’s at ease, he’s described as wild and disobedient. And when he’s not at ease, even if just little bit, he’s perceived as powerful, dangerous, and scary. Someone who NOBODY wants to mess with. Nobody even questions his power. One look from him has literal gangs running the other way. One look from him has Leo so scared that he’s literally shaking, and feeling the same innate fright and alarm that he does when jason summons an ear-piercing, earth-shaking, deadly bolt of lighting.

like… HELLO??? can we all just sit on that for a moment?? good lord

One angry look from percy has people thinking one thing: Run.

Percy is, canonically, the character that people find the most frightening and intimidating.

And unless he’s in a good mood - which you better hope he is - the reality is that most of us would be completely terrified of him if we met him.