probably a huge reach but I do wonder if percy’s refusal to explain his plans to anyone was influenced by him telling bianca his plan and then her getting herself killed trying to execute it
you know it is interesting, for all that the sea doesn't like to be restrained, and percy is impertinent, he has a talent for connecting with the gods and spirits. he is usually quite polite, for all that he's represented as wildly rude by the fandom.
he uses respectful terms with the gods who care about that kind of thing: lord/uncle hades, lord zeus, even though he greeted his father first. he's more careless with hermes, but in a friendly, empathetic way. he's rude to ares but ares finds it funny. he made friends with apollo, and then impressed artemis, which probably made an even better impression on apollo. he followed through on his commitments to hades, both in the first book and after he was offered immortality, which made up for the whole beating the brakes off him after getting the achilles' curse. he trusted hestia with hope, which impressed and touched her. not sure about hephaestus, but he did fulfill a quest for him and he seemed to have a good impression of him. he's generally polite to hera i believe and carried her across the river in SoN, but i think he may have gotten mad at her after? not sure but i don't think he was crazy rude or anything. athena never liked him but he stayed polite, and i dont think he really interacted with demeter. he did a quest for persephone and got mad at her but she accepted her wrongdoing graceully i believe. dionysus and he have a semi-fond, semi-bitter relationship where they pretend they don't like each other i think by the end of the second series.
his father of course loves him and percy is polite to him, and poseidon has high enough regard for him to hear him out on a plan to defeat typhon, which he was right about, and that plan was enacted. and he's very kind to minor spirits, who are used to bad treatment from the gods because they have the power. like when the river nymph was scared he would use her water to clean the stables and he saw that and felt for her and chose to find another way even though he literally had no clue if that would even be possible.
and he got the minor gods cabins at the camp in lieu of immortality. which btw he did consider, but he didn't turn it down for annabeth. he turned it down to get leverage to help ALL his fellow demigods who suffered at camp halfblood, and the minor gods and hades who were disrespected.
I have a lot of criticisms for the writing in Heroes of Olympus, but I will forever be grateful that that book series gave me the scenes where Percy interacts with the roman senate in son of Neptune.
I adore these scenes on so many different levels.
There are two senate scenes in son of Neptune, and I am obsessed with both of them, partly because they really highlight some of my favourite aspects of Percy’s characters: His intelligence, his social awareness, his leadership abilities and his ability to easily understand the emotions of others.
For one, he completely matches, and sometimes even outmaneuvers, Octavian’s oratory skills. Little reminder: at the time of these two senate meetings, Octavian is an 18- year old guy, who is Augur of New Rome, who has grown up in Camp Jupiter, whose family has lived in New Rome for generations and who has consistently been characterized as an extraordinarily talented orator, who even Reyna struggles to deal with in front of the senate:
Suddenly Percy understood what an effective speaker Octavian was. He sounded reasonable and supportive, but his expression was pained. He carefully crafted his words to put all the responsibility on Reyna. This was her idea, he seemed to say. If it went wrong, Reyna was to blame. If only Octavian had been the one in charge, things would have been done more sensibly. But, alas, he had no choice but to support Reyna, because Octavian was a loyal Roman soldier. Octavian managed to convey all that without saying it, simultaneously calming the senate and sympathizing with them. For the first time, Percy realized this scrawny, funny-looking scarecrow of a kid might be a dangerous enemy. (The Son of Neptune, Chapter 14, Percy)
‘It’s not you.’ Reyna scowled. ‘I hate senate meetings. When Octavian gets talking …’ Percy nodded. ‘You’re a warrior. Octavian is a talker. Put him in front of the senate, and suddenly he becomes the powerful one.’ She narrowed her eyes. ‘You’re smarter than you look.’ (The Son of Neptune, Chapter 15, Percy)
‘Why should we trust these Greeks?’ Octavian was saying. He’d been pacing the senate floor for five minutes, going on and on, trying to counter what Percy had told them about Juno’s plan and the Prophecy of Seven. The senate shifted restlessly, but most of them were too afraid to interrupt Octavian while he was on a roll. (The Son of Neptune, Chapter 52, Percy)
Yet, Percy, a complete newcomer, who has never in his life attended a senate meeting or has trained in oratory skills, not only manages to interrupt him in a very effective and even charming way, which makes other members of the senate laugh, but even makes Octavian look ridiculous in what is normally his natural habitat:
‘The camp is safe,’ Octavian continued. ‘I’ll be the first to congratulate our heroes for bringing back the legion’s eagle and so much Imperial gold! Truly we have been blessed with good fortune. But why do more? Why tempt fate?’ ‘I’m glad you asked.’ Percy stood, taking the question as an opening. Octavian stammered, ‘I wasn’t –’ ‘– part of the quest,’ Percy said. ‘Yes, I know. And you’re wise to let me explain, since I was.’ Some of the senators snickered. Octavian had no choice but to sit down and try not to look embarrassed. (The Son of Neptune, Chapter 52, Percy)
With a couple simple sentences, he completely flips the conversation, takes control of the debate and forces Octavian into a defensive position.
At the same time, he shows good restraint and doesn’t fall for any of the tricks Octavian uses to try to rile him up
When Octavian, for example, denies them any kind of provisions on their quest, Percy accepts it without complaint, deescalates a potential tense situation between Frank and Octavian and simply focuses on the matter at hand instead:
‘Praetor, if I may,’ Octavian said. ‘Oh, great,’ Percy muttered. ‘Here it comes.’ ‘The camp is in grave danger,’ Octavian said. ‘Two gods have warned us we will be attacked four days from now. We must not spread our resources too thin, especially by funding projects that have a slim chance of success.’ Octavian looked at the three of them with pity, as if to say, Poor little things. ‘Mars has clearly chosen the least likely candidates for this quest. Perhaps that is because he considers them the most expendable. Perhaps Mars is playing the long odds. Whatever the case, he wisely didn’t order a massive expedition, nor did he ask us to fund their adventure. I say we keep our resources here and defend the camp. This is where the battle will be lost or won. If these three succeed, wonderful! But they should do so by their own ingenuity.’ An uneasy murmur passed through the crowd. Frank jumped to his feet. Before he could start a fight, Percy said, ‘Fine! No problem. But at least give us transportation. Gaia is the earth goddess, right? Going overland, across the earth – I’m guessing we should avoid that. Plus, it’ll be too slow.’ (The Son of Neptune, Chapter 14, Percy)
Even when Octavian personally attacks Percy by insinuating he might be a spy, something which directly goes against his fatal flaw, Percy doesn’t engage with his taunts at all. Instead, he sees through what Octavian is trying to do, keeps his own emotions in check and continues as if nothing had happened:
‘Really?’ Octavian said. ‘You seem to know a lot about our enemy’s plans, Percy Jackson.’ Most insults Percy could shrug off – being called weak or stupid or whatever. But it dawned on him that Octavian was calling him a spy – a traitor. That was such a foreign concept to Percy, so not who he was, he almost couldn’t process the slur. When he did, his shoulders tensed. He was tempted to smack Octavian on the head again, but he realized Octavian was baiting him, trying to make him look unstable. Percy took a deep breath. ‘We’re going to confront this son of Gaia,’ he said, managing to keep his composure. ‘We’ll get back your eagle and unchain this god …’ He glanced at Hazel. ‘Thanatos, right?’ (The Son of Neptune, Chapter 14, Percy)
Because of this, Percy seems like a reasonable and responsible roman, and not as the untrustworthy, rash, incapable danger Octavian tries to portray him as.
But it’s not only Octavian he outperforms. During the second senate meeting, where they discuss whether they should let the Argo II land in New Rome, a lot of senators and Lares are vehemently against the idea, and even Reyna expresses her doubts.
Yet, Percy, on one of his very first days as praetor and during only the second senate meeting, he ever attended, counters every single argument the opposite side provides perfectly.
When a lar insinuates that Percy is untrustworthy, he brings up the appearance of two of New Rome’s most highly respected gods and their respective interactions with him:
‘Ha!’ shouted a Lar from the back row. ‘The last time a praetor tried to interpret the Prophecy of Seven, it was Michael Varus, who lost our eagle in Alaska! Why should we believe you now?’ Octavian smiled smugly. Some of his allies in the senate began nodding and grumbling. Even some of the veterans looked uncertain. ‘I carried Juno across the Tiber,’ Percy reminded them, speaking as firmly as he could. ‘She told me that the Prophecy of Seven is coming to pass. Mars also appeared to you in person. Do you think two of your most important gods would appear at camp if the situation wasn’t serious?’ (The Son of Neptune, Chapter 52, Percy)
When Reyna herself expresses doubts that Romans and Greeks could ever work together, Percy brings up the newly formed alliance between the romans and the amazons:
Reyna stood. Percy watched her anxiously. Her opinion could change everything – for better or worse. ‘You claim this is a combined quest,’ she said. ‘You claim Juno intends for us to work with this – this other group, Camp Half-Blood. Yet the Greeks have been our enemies for aeons. They are known for their deceptions.’ ‘Maybe so,’ Percy said. ‘But enemies can become friends. A week ago, would you have thought Romans and Amazons would be fighting side by side?’ Queen Hylla laughed. ‘He’s got a point.’ (The Son of Neptune, Chapter 52, Percy)
He also consciously uses Jason’s reputation in his argumentation, because he knows what a significance he holds to the romans and he even swears on his life, something which has a huge significance in roman society:
‘I know it’s hard to believe,’ Percy said. ‘But I think I’ve earned your trust. I’m on your side. Hazel and Frank – I’m sure they’re meant to go with me on this quest. The other four are on their way from Camp Half-Blood right now. One of them is Jason Grace, your old praetor.’ ‘Oh, come on!’ Octavian shouted. ‘He’s making things up, now.’ Reyna frowned. ‘It is a lot to believe. Jason is coming back with a bunch of Greek demigods? You say they’re going to appear in the sky in a heavily armed warship, but we shouldn’t be worried.’ ‘Yes.’ Percy looked over the rows of nervous, doubtful spectators. ‘Just let them land. Hear them out. Jason will back up everything I’m telling you. I swear it on my life.’ ‘On your life?’ Octavian looked meaningfully at the senate. ‘We will remember that, if this turns out to be a trick.’ (The Son of Neptune, Chapter 52, Percy)
And he even brings up his own position as a praetor, because he understands how much honor and respects this position holds within Camp Jupiter and reminds them of his own action in the battle against Polybotes:
‘Praetors!’ the messenger cried. ‘What are your orders?’ Octavian shot to his feet. ‘You need to ask?’ His face was red with rage. He was strangling his teddy bear. ‘The omens are horrible! This is a trick, a deception. Beware Greeks bearing gifts!’ He jabbed a finger at Percy. ‘His friends are attacking in a warship. He has led them here. We must attack!’ ‘No,’ Percy said firmly. ‘You all raised me as praetor for a reason. I will fight to defend this camp with my life. But these aren’t enemies. I say we stand ready, but do not attack. Let them land. Let them speak. If it is a trick, then I will fight with you, as I did last night. But it is not a trick.’ (The Son of Neptune, Chapter 52, Percy)
It’s not only insane that he comes up with these incredibly smart and logical counters on the spot, without having to think about his answers for too long, but it’s even more impressive that he managed to tailor his argumentation perfectly to the values and beliefs of roman society, a society, Percy has only been a part of for like a week at most. He shows an incredibly amount of cultural fluency.
But even aside from his argumentation, the way he acts really shows what a good leader Percy actually is. For one, he acts very decisive and confident in front of the other characters, even when he feels the very opposite, and is not afraid to take full charge of the conversation. At the same time, he fully understands when the people around him become scared and panicked, in which case he tries to calm them down as much as possible:
‘Silence!’ Reyna called. ‘Senators, we must act like Romans. Mars has given us this quest, and we have to believe it is possible. These three demigods must travel to Alaska. They must free Thanatos and return before the Feast of Fortuna. If they can retrieve the lost eagle in the process, so much the better. All we can do is advise them and make sure they have a plan.’ Reyna looked at Percy without much hope. ‘You do have a plan?’ Percy wanted to step forward bravely and say, No, I don’t! That was the truth, but looking around at all the nervous faces Percy knew he couldn’t say it. (The Son of Neptune, Chapter 14, Percy)
Finally Senator Larry stood. ‘I know what Mars said, but that’s crazy. Alaska is cursed! They call it the land beyond the gods for a reason. It’s so far north that the Roman gods have no power there. The place is swarming with monsters. No demigod has come back from there alive since –’ ‘Since you lost your eagle,’ Percy said. Larry was so startled, he fell back on his podex. ‘Look,’ Percy continued, ‘I know I’m new here. I know you guys don’t like to mention that massacre in the 1980s –’ ‘He mentioned it!’ one of the ghosts whimpered. ‘– but don’t you get it?’ Percy continued. ‘The Fifth Cohort led that expedition. We failed, and we have to be responsible for making things right. That’s why Mars is sending us. This giant, the son of Gaia, he’s the one who defeated your forces thirty years ago. I’m sure of it. Now he’s sitting up there in Alaska with a chained death god, and all your old equipment. He’s mustering his armies and sending them south to attack this camp.’ (The Son of Neptune, Chapter 14, Percy)
‘If this begins the ancient prophecy, we don’t have resources to send an army to these Doors of Death and protect the camp. I can’t imagine even sparing seven demigods –’ ‘First things first.’ Percy tried to sound confident, though he could feel the level of panic rising in the room. ‘I don’t know who the seven are, or what that old prophecy means, exactly. But first we have to free Thanatos. Mars told us we only needed three people for the quest to Alaska. Let’s concentrate on succeeding with that and getting back before the Feast of Fortuna. Then we can worry about the Doors of Death.’ (The Son of Neptune, Chapter 14, Percy)
The senate scenes also really highlight how skilled Percy is at understanding the emotions of the people around him through the way he immediately understands what Reyna is thinking and feeling, someone who is consistently characterized as a person who keeps her emotions close to her chest:
Reyna must have recognized this, too. A look of irritation flashed across her face. (The Son of Neptune, Chapter 14, Percy)
‘Foes bear arms to the Doors of Death,’ Reyna said. ‘That’s the Prophecy of Seven …’ She looked at Percy, and for just a moment he could see how scared she was. She did a good job of hiding it, but Percy wondered if she’d had nightmares about Gaia, too – if she’d seen visions of what would happen when the camp was invaded by monsters that couldn’t be killed. (The Son of Neptune, Chapter 14, Percy)
God, I love these scenes. They’re easily some of my favourite scenes in all of heroes of Olympus, and provide such a good characterization for Percy.
Son of Neptune Percy Jackson, you will always be famous.
Y'know I was thinking about the 'burn the world down' scene in season two and its genuinely crazy. Percy Jackson would never burn the world down. Not for one singular person, not for Annabeth, definitely not something he should be saying in season TWO. His whole thing (in the books, show Percy is not Percy Jackson I will not buy that propaganda) is about being empathetic and caring for people. He would not burn the world down for Annabeth. He would sacrifice HIMSELF because that is the type of person he is. Not some Annabeth obsessed morally gray character who doesn't care about other people. In the books (until Rick decided he hates Percy that is) he was consistently shown as a nice person. His whole thing is about caring about other people. The show making him only care about Annabeth is actually bullshit and I won't buy it. Also reminder that he is thirteen. And Percy would genuinely never say that. Ever. Even at 98 and he has nothing left to lose.
Okay so I need to talk about Leo Valdez because the amount of people who treat him like an untouchable, quirky little cinnamon roll who can do no wrong is driving me insane. I was scrolling on Pinterest and I saw a post about Leo bullying Frank and my gods the people defending him pissed me off. People rewrite him into this harmless, lonely boy who just needs a hug, completely ignoring that canonically, he is toxic, annoying, and straight-up mean. He uses the "funny guy" thing as a shield to get away with being a terrible person.
First of all, the way he treats Frank and Hazel? It is literal bullying. Especially Frank. In MOA, Leo spends months relentlessly mocking Frank's weight, his clumsiness, and his powers. He uses his 'humor' as a weapon because he is jealous that Hazel likes Frank and not him. He openly hits on Hazel right in front of Frank’s face, completely disrespecting their relationship, and then has the audacity to play the victim because he looks like Sammy Valdez. Like, sir?? You don't get to hit on your friend’s girl, body-shame him, and like actually think about burning down his LIFE SOURCE. It’s cheap insanity and manipulation, but because he's constantly talking about his own trauma our fandom sweeps away the fact that he was BODY-SHAMING Frank.
Which brings me to his weaponised insecurity and the absolute pity party that is the 'seventh wheel' thing. Leo constantly whines about being the odd one out on the Argo II, completely centering his own feelings while everyone else is dealing with severe trauma, literal curses, and world-ending stakes. If anyone tells him to shut up or turn off the inappropriate sarcasm for five seconds, he immediately retreats into "Oh, nobody likes me, I'm just the mechanic, I'm the seventh wheel." Respectfully? Shut up. You are on a warship trying to prevent Gaea from waking up. Stop throwing a temper tantrum because you don't have a girlfriend yet and start focusing on the mission. Like what is the obsession with getting a girlfriend? He's fifteen for gods sake. He should be focused on oh I don't know... surviving?
And don’t even get me started on his entitlement with women. Fanon loves to pretend he’s a smooth romantic, but his canonical behavior is creepy af. In TLH, he constantly makes weird, objectifying comments about Thalia and the Hunters of Artemis, completely ignoring their literal vows and boundaries because he thinks he's smooth. Then, when he lands on Ogygia, his immediate reaction to Calypso—a literal cursed prisoner of war—is to throw a tantrum because she doesn’t instantly fawn over him. He treats her initial dislike of him as a personal insult to his ego. He treats women like prizes to be won rather than actual people, and it is exhausting to read. He gets a free pass for being toxic just because he’s 'funny' which is stupid because literally anyone else is funnier than him. Like Percy for example. Leo makes jokes at other people's expanse, making them the butt of the joke. Percy makes jokes about himself and his jokes isn't cheap bullshit.
Let's talk about Frank for like a minute shall we?
The worst part is that my sweet boy did absolutely nothing to deserve any of this. Frank is literally one of the most underrated, disrespected characters in the entire universe, and the fandom just treats him like a soft, clumsy teddy bear who is the worst character. Like, I'm sorry are we reading the same books? Frank Zhang is a literal genetic cheat code. He is a son of Mars—who is way more strategic and disciplined than the Greek Ares—AND he has the legacy blood of Poseidon. He can literally shape-shift into a dragon, an elephant, or I dunno.. a dolphin. He has the raw power to wipe out entire battlefields, but because he is nice, polite, and doesn't have an obnoxious, loud mouth like Leo, people treat him like he's weak. On that post on Pinterest someone had ltierally written something along the lines of 'It doesn't matter that Leo said that, Frank sucks and he deserved it.' Which is crazy because Frank literally did not do shit (yes I know he did say stuff back but Leo started it. Like Leo literally was flirting with his girlfriend???) Frank is one of the most unproblematic people in the Riordanverse. Leo was the one who was antagonizing him. Also to say Frank sucks is absolutely horrible. I wrote a comment that definitely had a few.. words about Leo because I do not tolerate hate to my boy. I got three people replying in all caps on how I was wrong and that 'Leo is perfect' or something.
So no, Leo Valdez is not a good person. In fact he is one of the worst, if not the worst, characters in all of the Riordanverse. He's right up there like Octavian and Luke but because he's one of the main characters and has trauma our fandom coddles him and calls him an angel. Which is bullshit by the way. Also we seriously need more Frank appreciation guys.
So I was scrolling through TikTok and I saw a Percy vs Annabeth edit and I read a few of the comments and okay wow the Annabeth glaze is genuinely too much. So let's analyze shall we.
COMPARISONS I SAW -
First off was strength. The creator had given to the point and the people in the comments were saying 'Oh but Annabeth is stronger,' 'Oh but she's trained for longer,' 'Oh but she held up the sky for 22 hours' and yada yada. Thing is. Percy is clearly shown to be one of the strongest demigods alive in the books. First of all, he is the son of one of the Big Three. Percy inherently possesses higher base physical attributes, durability, and stamina than children of minor or standard Olympian deities. Percy has also physically wrestled monsters and deflected blows from giants. I mean sure Annabeth had her moments but it was nowhere near as much as him. Also point three. Small minor factor. When Percy touches water, his physical strength, speed, and healing factors multiply instantly, pushing his physical capabilities far past Annabeth's peak limits. I will talk about the whole holding the sky thing a bit later.
Secondly was speed. Point to Percy. I yet again agree. Not much argument. One or two people did argue and I have a few things to say about that. If we include godly powers Percy can canonically swim at Mach 5, which may be below water but still is speed. In the Son of Sobek (PJO x KC crossover narrated by Carter Kane) Carter states that Percy is much faster than him. Someone in the comments had used the argument that Percy said in one of the Senior Adventures book that he wasn't the best at running at something. Which really is a stupid argument. As much as I love Rick the qualities of the books have getting worse by the year and they sound like fanficition written by middle-schoolers. The Senior Adventures Trilogy (third book yet to be published) completely ruins Annabeth and Percy's character (not so much Annabeth as Percy) so I will not be taking that as a valid argument. Annabeth is fast, she is agile but over Percy? No chance.
Third is durability. Boy oh boy the arguments on this one. Yet again the point went to Percy (are we surprised?) Now people had quite a few opinions on this. The amount of people saying that Annabeth has more durability was.. wow. None were worded politely either, which is astounding. What happened to being nice to creators? The one and only argument repeated by all of them was the mention of the sky holding scene. Now let me remind you something that people love to forget. Percy, too held the sky. And what I've come to realize is that people are confusing durability to endurance or stamina. Here is a definiton I copy-pasted from the google AI thing - Durability is about resisting damage. Endurance is about resisting fatigue and staying active over long periods. People say that Annabeth held the sky for 22 hours. That is an impressive feat but let me make it clear that we actually don't know how long she held it for. From what I remember in the books (correct me if I'm wrong) Percy dreamt at point of Annabeth holding the sky and the next time he slept he dreamt of Artemis holding it. So we do not know if she held if for less than 22 hours or more. It completely depends on when Artemis took it from her. Also to the people saying that Annabeth had Artemis's blessing so it was was easier for her. You're also wrong (if I am remembering right.) Artemis said she had the spirit of a Hunter, but it was never clearly stated that she had given the blessing. But back to Percy. People downplay that my boy here fought Atlas, was sleep deprive, food deprived, had a broken arm and he still held the freaking sky for as long as he held it. The thing about the sky is the fact that it will always the heaviest amount possible to the person holding it, but not enough to kill them. So really the sky scene for Annabeth was a test of endurance, and for Percy it was a test of strength. Back to durability, Percy had the Curse of Achilles for a while which definitely helped. Plus if the guy takes too much it literally just takes a splash of water and he heals. Also Percy has literally been thrown around like a toy. He's been thrown against walls, smashed by giants and pummelled by gods. Whatever Annabeth says, however she acts, however the fandom acts, she is still mortal. She is the daughter of Athena. No powers just.. smart. And even that is debatable. But like fact is, a blade to the shoulder or knife to the back would make her weaker than it would Percy seeing as he can literally use water to heal himself and like she'd need medical assistance and all.
Fourth was feats. Percy. Obviously. I'm not even going to argue about this, and honestly, no one else should be arguing with it either. But of course, you always get those people in the comments saying, "Oh, but Annabeth helped him with everything," or "Oh, he would have died without her, so it's actually her feat." Respectfully? Shut up. Yes, they are an iconic team, and yes, they save each other constantly, but this fanon narrative that Annabeth is a flawless mastermind who always babysits a clueless Percy is completely fake. For a character who is constantly praised as the wisest and smartest demigod alive, Annabeth has actually fucked things up for Percy so many times, forcing him to clean up the mess with his raw power and survival instincts. Take the Sphinx incident in BOTL, for example. Annabeth almost gets them both slaughtered because of her massive hubris; the Sphinx gives her a standardized, unchallenging test, and instead of just answering the easy questions to save their lives, Annabeth throws a literal temper tantrum because it insults her intellect, forcing Percy to jump into active combat to keep them from getting shredded. People also love to forget the Siren scene in SOM. Annabeth confidently thinks she can handle listening to them, but she gets completely overwhelmed, jumps out of the boat, and tries to swim to her death. Percy is the one who has to dive in, physically overpower her while she’s kicking and screaming, and hold her underwater in an air bubble just to keep her from drowning. Even as early as TLT at Ares’s water park, Annabeth freezes up entirely because of her fear of spiders, leaving a completely paralyzed, panicking genius while Percy has to think on his feet, manipulate the water to launch them out of the boat, and physically catch her mid-air. Even her most famous solo win against Arachne in MOA ends with her hubris blinding her to her surroundings, causing her to get tangled in the web and dragged into Tartarus, where Percy has to try and haul her up before falling with her. Annabeth is smart, but she is highly emotional, prideful, and prone to freezing when her ego or phobias are triggered. Percy’s feats are his own, and he is consistently the one bailing them out when her 'master plans' hit a wall.
I’m gonna group the fifth and sixth topics together: IQ (intelligence quotient) and BIQ (battle IQ). The creator gave IQ to Beth and BIQ to Percy, and of course, people had massive problems with this. I read comments outright calling him dumb as a "joke" and saying that Annabeth should easily get both points. I personally completely disagree with that, and honestly, I only half-agree with giving her the general IQ point in the first place. There have been so many cases across the books where Annabeth has been dumb af, but because she’s the "smart one," no one bloody acknowledges it. Just because Percy isn't book-smart or spouting random architecture facts doesn't mean he lacks intellect, and reducing him to a brainless powerhouse while treating Annabeth like an infallible goddess is just lazy character analysis. Annabeth gets the point for general IQ because she excels at academics, architecture, and thriving when she has time to sit down, study a problem, and map out a plan. But her "genius" status blindspots her constantly. She completely fails to see obvious traps because she thinks she’s too smart to be tricked. Remember when Luke tricked her into taking the SKY from him? Or when she completely misread the Sirens' danger? People act like she's a walking computer, but her pride makes her pull some incredibly stupid moves that a little bit of common sense could have avoided. Battle IQ, on the other hand, belongs entirely to Percy. Battle IQ is about split-second decision-making, spatial awareness, and adapting to a chaotic environment when a plan completely falls apart. We see Percy display insane tactical brilliance in the middle of combat all the time. In TLT he figures out how to defeat Medusa by using the reflection on his shield, and he tricks Procrustes into his own trap beds. In TLO, he coordinates the entire defense of Manhattan, demonstrating a macro-level understanding of war tactics that kept an army alive against overwhelming odds. Annabeth is a brilliant planner, but when the battlefield shifts unexpectedly, she tends to overthink or rely too heavily on the rules of logic. Percy thrives in the chaos. He reads his opponents instantly, exploits their weaknesses on the fly, and uses his environment in ways nobody else would ever think of. Annabeth gets the blueprints, but Percy owns the battlefield—and he definitely isn't the idiot the fandom tries to make him out to be. And we definitely don't talk enough about how smart our wonderful boy truly is.
And finally: Power. Percy. Obviously. You would think people would leave this very obvious one alone, but I saw someone in the comments actually arguing that Annabeth should have gotten the point for power, and that awakened pure, unfiltered rage in me because what the actual hell? The Annabeth glaze is getting worse by the day. To say a regular mortal demigod with a dagger is more powerful than a son of the Big Three who can literally command the oceans is a level of delusion I cannot comprehend. Annabeth is a highly skilled human athlete; Percy is a localized walking natural disaster. If we are talking about raw power, Percy’s feats are completely on a god-tier level. He has summoned personal hurricanes to fight off entire armies, created massive tidal waves, caused a literal volcanic eruption at Mount Saint Helens, and can control the water inside poison or blood when he's pushed to his absolute limits in Tartarus. Annabeth’s "power" is her brain and her dagger. She cannot control the elements, she cannot shake the earth, and she cannot summon a storm. Her strength is tactical, not supernatural. To even put them in the same tier of raw power is an insult to the entire power-scaling system Rick Riordan built. This ties directly into how stupid it is that the fandom treats her like the undisputed leader of the Seven on the Argo II. People love to post things like "Annabeth controls those idiots" or act like she’s a babysitter dealing with brainless toddlers, which is just straight-up disrespectful to the other characters. Like, wtf? She didn't "control" anyone. The Seven is made up of child-of-the-Big-Three heavy hitters like Percy, Jason, and Hazel, plus incredibly powerful demigods like Piper, Frank, and Leo. None of them were ever "controlled" by her. They respected her intellect and strategy, sure, but acting like she was the boss of everyone just feeds into this weird, hyper-inflated fanon version of her. If anything Percy or Jason should have been the leader, or even Coach Hedge. Annabeth is a character with a lot of possibilities, but trying to strip Percy of his most defining trait—and putting everyone else down just to boost her up—is absolutely wild. He is a son of Poseidon, his raw, destructive power is unmatched by almost any other demigod alive, and he doesn't need to be managed like a child.
Loving the idea of the batbros being so overly protective of each other especially Tim. specifically when he starts dating and the idea of him having sex or god forbid KISSING someone comes up. (As if he hasn't gone through like half of the young justice team) They are less than okay with it all..
Tim: Bruce I want to invite kon over for dinner is that okay?
Bruce: that's fine but is there any particular reason you're asking me instead of him just showing up like usual?
Tim: be wants a more formal 'meet the parents' dinner.
Bruce: oh? So you're dating?
Tim: ya, for a couple months now.
Bruce: well that's great I'm happy fo-
Jason from across the cave: WHAT?!?!
-----
Later that night at dinner
Jason, and dick staring daggers at kon
Bruce, surprisingly the most calm about all of this: so, how did this relationship come about?
Kon: it kinda just happened I think. We both liked each other for a while
Tim: ya I don't think we realized until the spin the bottle game tho
Dick*MAJOR SPIT TAKE*
Jason: YOU DEFILED MY BROTHER??!?
Kon, sweating, crying, throwing up:
Damian with his phone out: theres kryptonite in the second cabinet Todd!!!
There is now a video circulating of Bruce Wayne's kids attacking Lex Luthor's son and it creates such a huge scandal that in order to calm things down Kon and Tim have to announce their relationship so the public doesn't think these billionaires'families are going to kill each other. They get labeled as the romeo and Juliette of gotham/metropolis
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.
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