thinking about a percy jackson with godhood forced upon him
how this is a kid who did his best, year after year, to keep his friends and family safe and happy. to be safe and happy WITH them
how he is offered a wish as a reward for saving the world, and he chooses to use it to help others
how after everything he went through, the only thing he asks for at the end of it is rest
and when he finally gets rest, sticks up for himself and denies a quest, one of his best friends dies
but he and annabeth still have eachother
(it doesn't cure the guilt)
they graduate from new rome, annabeth doing architecture and percy getting his degree in psychology, but really he does what hes always known he wanted to do, and becomes a house husband, using his degree to help council kids at camp
until one day, after theyve been married for a few years, maybe had a kid or two
and annabeth points out the thing they've both been trying to ignore, percy isn't aging
they got to camp, talk to Mr. d who confirms their suspension
percy is ascending, and theres nothing they can do to stop it
they try, of course, but its too far along, or maybe it was impossible to stop once it had begun
or maybe it was just fated
so when their attempts don't work, annabeth tries to stay, to ascend with him
she is denied
(they would be too powerful together)
Mr d helps them prepare, let's percy know what to expect, and percy ascends, alone, but surrounded by family
he takes on the titles: protector and god of demigods, along with personal loyalty, liquid, the deep, and destruction
while he can, he stays a house husband and stay at home dad, and gives his family everything
but he still watches that family grow older, physically aging with them, but knowing it really means nothing
sally dies first
and percy has to confront the thing he was ignoring
one by one, the people he cares about most die and enter the underworld, the one place he cannot follow, either seeing elysium or choosing reincarnation,
but they all go
annabeth's death is the worst, his children understand when he's not around as much, after all they know he would be there in a heartbeat if they needed him to be
perseus is celibate god
of course, not all of them go quickly, afterall thalia and Tyson are both effectively immortal without outside interference, so he isn't completely alone
after annabeth dies, he throws himself into his protector role, taking dionysus's spot as camp director when his puhishment ends, and utilizing his degree to the fullest, making sure that the kids he watches over arent just physically protected, but mentally well and happy
he becomes a safe place for campers to come with grievances, and they all know that if you have a problem, percy will see it fixed
the kids know of the legends, how he was once a camper himself,
as they did in days of old, the stories of percys quests are told orally, like gossip, from elder camper to younger camper, twisting and changing through generations,
he never admits which ones are true
until one day, the hunters are at camp, and he and thalia start reminiscing
he still remembers every detail
so does she
thalia visits more after that day
the campers love percy, theyre also terrified of him
the younger campers never quite understand why the older campers are so aware of perseus, not scared, but cautious? respectful? its hard to say
percy is kind, and basically the camp mom, but perseus is also loyal, protective, and destructive
theyve heard the stories of the perseus who challenged a god while mortal and won (even if they don't know he was 12 at the time)
they know the stories of him blowing up volcanos, taking down titans, and giants
t̶h̶r̶e̶a̶t̶e̶n̶i̶n̶g̶ O̶l̶y̶m̶p̶u̶s̶
the campers arent scared of percy, they know he could never, WOULD never, hurt them, but they know what perseus could do, would do, FOR them
they know what hes done for others in the past
theyve all be told what he did when he lost annabeth
its one of the first things new campers learn about perseus
"thats percy, don't call him perseus, hes the camp director, hes a god. no, he doesn't have any kids. you remember those floods and earthquakes from your history books? thats what happened when his wife died. no seriously, dont call him perseus. but yeah, basically hes the in-camp therapist"
the campers know to burn him offerings of blue food, even if they don't know why
he sleeps in the cabin annabeth designed for him, he heals, but never moves on
the life he dreamed about was a mortal one, percy loved being a husband, but that passion died when he was locked out of elysium, he has always wanted to be a dad, but there were rules, and he refused to be an absent parent
annabeth and his mortal children were enough, the only thing he would change would be letting his story end along with theirs
and i think that is what draws me to the tragedy of god!percy
most tragedys end in death, but for percy, an early death doesn't have the same impact
he was prepared to die at 16, and again at 17, and probably again and again after that, because he is a demigods and that is how it goes,
an early death for percy would be sad, but it isn't a tragedy
and its not that percy couldn't do good as a god, or that he would be miserable, in fact, and ive rambled above, he would be wonderful as a god
its just that we as an audience can see that percy dreams of an ending, of a happy ending, to his story, one that takes time to get to, but still an end
he was named after the one hero who gets a happy ending
and a forced ascension rips that ending away, while forcing him to watch his love ones get the one thing he longs for and cannot have
with nothing he, or they, can do to stop it
