Sometimes it baffles me that a large subsection of the PJO fandom is so rabidly hostile towards any Percy ship that isn’t Percabeth, and then I remember how Richard has tacitly been encouraging this behaviour since TLO. Anyone who has even the slightest potential of being a love interest for Percy has that potential shut down with extreme prejudice:
Rachel is made the Oracle and can never have romantic relationships with anyone. After TLO, the friendship that she and Percy developed over what he thought was his last year alive was thrown out the window.
Calypso is trapped on Ogygia, but Percy ensures her release. Until that’s retconned in HOO, anyway, in a move that makes Percy look like a dick and utterly defangs oaths on the Styx. Not to mention, Calypso “cursing” Annabeth (even though it wasn’t intentional or even conscious), and then being given to Leo to ruin his character arc for good measure.
Reyna isn’t even given a chance; her advances are openly rejected by Percy, which is a rarity, and she’s later made a Hunter for good measure.
Nico, despite the years Percy spent worrying about him, searching for him, and then spending time with him, is now treated like a stranger by Percy, even though TLO left them off as good, even best, friends. To add insult to injury, Nico’s “confession” to Percy is, frankly, insulting and played for laughs, and post-HOO he’s given a new boyfriend he has spoken maybe one sentence to beforehand.
And it’s not even just canon love interests either; anyone who even has the potential of an interesting romance with Percy is pushed aside:
Thalia? She’s a hunter now.
Bianca? Hunter; also she’s killed off the chapter after she and Percy form a solid bond.
Any of the Seven post-SON? Percy only has eyes for Annabeth.
Clarisse? Random new boyfriend.
Grover? Random new girlfriend.
So yeah, it makes total sense that Percabeth stans get so toxic about shipping when Richard insists on isolating Percy like an abusive husband.
‘You were seen,’ he hissed, showing them the headline: FLYING FORD ANGLIA MYSTIFIES MUGGLES. He began to read aloud. ‘ “Two Muggles in London, convinced they saw an old car flying over the Post Office tower … at noon in Norfolk, Mrs Hetty Bayliss, while hanging out her washing … Mr Angus Fleet, of Peebles, reported to police” … six or seven Muggles in all. I believe your father works in the Misuse of Muggle Artefacts Office?’ he said, looking up at Ron and smiling still more nastily. ‘Dear, dear … his own son …’ Harry felt as though he’d just been walloped in the stomach by one of the mad tree’s larger branches. If anyone found out Mr Weasley had bewitched the car … he hadn’t thought of that …
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
— Chapter Five, The Whomping Willow
Those of you who interact with me regularly already know this, but for the newbies: I work regularly in the film and TV industry in Britain. I've done it all. I've been a camera woman, a film editor, an AD, I've worked closely with the Director of Photography, I've carried out auditions, I've acted and auditioned for roles, I've done special effects... It's hard to find a TV or film role I haven't held at some point of my life. Moreover, given my own relationship to the industry, I've plenty of friends and colleagues in the Harry Potter series and even I was around set at a couple points. And I've admired Paapa's work for years. Therefore I want to speak about this as someone who actually knows the hell she's talking about because I'm seeing a lot of racism in one hand, and a lot of plain ignorance in the other.
The task of finding someone half as incredible and memorable as Alan Rickman was near impossible. He was one of the best most emblematic actors of Britain and his talent was undeniable. But so is Paapa's. Granted, you know less about black actors' talent because let's face it, unless you're black, most of you are fairly unlikely to ever watch something filled with black talent, but Paapa's been around for a long time and everyone in the industry knows he's bound to become a legend. In fact, I first saw him as a brilliant Snape years before we even knew there was going to be a Harry Potter TV Series, in an entirely different TV series.
For those of you who simply are racist: This series was envisaged as a project where ethnicity, race and general background was largely not going to be considered, unless it was hundred per cent relevant for the role (e.g. Ron had to be a redhead, and those are, as far as I know, always white, and Dumbledore had to be old, etc.). Therefore, and this is what many of you aren't grasping, Paapa wasn't chosen because they said "let's look for a black Snape". This never happened. There was no specific decision to race swap anybody, among other reasons because when the books don't mention race, you can't swap it. As far as the books are concerned many of the characters could be any race, and the movies don't count because this isn't a movie remake but a book adaptation. So they simply looked for the best person for the job, did not clarify ethnicity or race in the audition calls, so anybody could show up, and Paapa was someone they specifically sought for his incredible talent.
For those of you who have legitimate concerns about race turning this into a white vs black storyline: Calm down and take a million deep breaths because there's just no freaking way that's happening. Colour is never ever mentioned as an issue in the entirety of the Potter books, so in the series, they're going to make sure people understand their version of racism is magical beings vs non magical vs creatures vs animals. Besides, let's not pretend this is a brand new thing. Everybody knows Harry Potter. Everybody knows it's got nothing to do with race. And before you come at me with the goblins crap, I'm sorry, but as a descendant of Jews I have never in my life looked at a goblin and seen Jews. In fact, I was unaware this comparison was ever made, until I came to live in Britain, and an anti-semite said goblins reflect Jews. So unless you're anti-semite, you really do tell the difference between both. Similarly, there won't be black vs white. Also Snape is kind of in the good side of things? So he's in Harry's side. And there are plenty of black and white actors in both the goodies and the baddies. So really, you'd have to twist this a hell of a lot to get the story to be like that.
And I've no doubt some cretins out there will twist things as far as they can, and manipulate, lie, gaslight people until they see racism, xenophobia, cultural appropriation and all sorts of crap where there's nothing to see, purely because these people have nothing in their lives to hold on to but irrational hatred and fear of a writer. So please have some brains and don't fall into that trap.
