Hi! She/Her, University student and occasional fanfiction writer. My AO3 is under the same name of you want to visit. (I'll link it as soon as I remember how.) I change fandom I'm currently hyper fixated in pretty often. It may be a month or five years before I come back, so be warned. I do appreciate asks about them regardless.
“there is nothing i hate more than overpowered percy and no same treatment to the rest of the big three kids”
“percy is great and all but he is not all that”
“arguably nico is the STRONGEST of the big three kids”
“Jason is the STRONGEST he’s the son of jupiter”
“Thalia is the STRONGEST of the big three kids”
“ Hazel is- ” “ Bianca Could-”
Percy Jackson is the strongest of the big three kids and he is incredible weird, not only can he do things he isn't supposed to, but even when you think he can't get any stronger, he does, he gets faster, more agile, more durable, in ways that seem highly unusual even for demi-gods
He is utterly strange, and i wish rick would have commented on it in HOO instead of watering him down, i wish rick would have had the other big three kids comment on how strange he is even for a big three kid.
I so very wanted Jason to be the better swordsman during their fight and overall be better with weapons then percy ( but it being balanced out with percy powers so they’re equal) since he had trained so much longer
but after the fight we get jasons pov of him being completely weirded out over percy improving while they were fighting and that the atmosphere around Percy was unsettling when fighting but alas i cant get everything that i want.
I want people to be completely put off by Percy's powers, he is not normal, it isn't normal .
and i want percy to realize and hate himself for it.
light spirals so FAST into murder on a massive scale but it isn't because of a complete lack of a conscience; he's just EXCELLENT at overthinking things and justifying his own actions. but these scenes here are just so...
(putting this under a read more because it got WAY longer than i intended it to)
in that first scene, he noticeably startles when his name is called (feeling anxious and guilty there, light?). look at the sheer PANIC on his face when he thinks he has to check again, to make sure it's real, that if he actually killed someone then he has to find someone who it's "okay" to kill (even if the compulsion to do so is literally making him look unwell). he HAS to be good. his mind cannot reconcile light yagami, the perfect morally upright student, with the killer that he has suddenly become.
even if he does perform this role of a perfect student—someone who everyone thinks is driven and intelligent with a bright future ahead—he's so empty inside. he's listening to people talking about such ordinary things and wishing that they'd die. he's so disillusioned with the world. it's such an extreme way of thinking, but take the fact that he's pretty sheltered, under pressure to perform the role of a perfect son and student, has a cop for a dad, and then immerse him in a world that is saturated with horrifying news outlets all around him constantly. anybody in that situation would become bitter about the state of the world
i do think it's interesting that he calls this boredom. while that's partially true, i don't think he means to say that taking on the role of kira is necessarily "fun" in the ordinary sense of the word. i just think that he's been living his life on the track to burning out, if he wasn't already completely burned out and numb inside, and that this notebook suddenly gives him hope again. it's something to cling to. and even if it's ripping him apart inside with stress, at least that feels more like being alive than feeling nothing at all
what's startling is that despite what appeared to be cynicism he's actually incredibly... optimistic??? look at that face! he looks so young here (he's just a teenager)... his mindset is SO incredibly naive. he's thinking along the lines of a child who believes that you can just defeat bad guys and save the day. there's zero thought into what systems of power exist that drive people to crime in the first place, no thought given to how complex people can actually be. he just thinks that there are Bad People and Good People. if he gets rid of Bad People, then everything will be okay! "innocent" seems like the absolute worst word to describe him but it's just so. he genuinely believes he can make the world better with such an awfully flawed mindset. look at how bright his eyes are
even though he's incredibly sheltered and naive regarding his views of the world, he's still highly intelligent. but the thing is. intelligence does not equal being correct all of the time. i think it's precisely because he's so skilled at overthinking and rationalizing that he is able to justify himself and his awful actions so rapidly
it's the leap from oh god i did something evil (sheer panic) > wait actually i killed people who must have deserved it, i must have done the right thing (still panicked, but rationalizing) > i am the ONLY one who can do this, i was CHOSEN to wield this power and act as a GOD over a more beautiful world (gripping onto self-confidence like a lifeline)
in his mind there is good and there is evil. evil deserves punishment. which means there is little to no room for nuance or mistakes. therefore, since light is definitely GOOD, then EVERYTHING he does will be rationalized as good, for a higher and worthy cause. he cannot fathom himself as the evil he sees in the world and hates so much—he's not the evil one, those who oppose him are!
but still. still. even after all of this rationalization. even if he acts confident. i think there is a part of him that is crumbling under the weight of guilt. he's excellent at distracting himself and compartmentalizing it all and lying, but it's there. he's stressed. he admits to having nightmares. he's speaking of kira, of himself, in the third person, creating mental distance and separation from his own actions that a part of him buried deep inside feels is wrong. kira might have to kill his family, and he tries to smile with confidence, but he's nervously sweating. to kira this would have to be the right thing to do, but light knows it's wrong. the psychological dissonance is incredible. i think he just learns to get better and better at drowning out the part of him that knows it's all wrong
i guess the point of all of this rambling is that i don't really think light is special in how fast he spiraled into this mindset, that he had some inherent darkness inside waiting to come out, or that he's incapable of feeling any remorse. i think he's just an ordinary intelligent sheltered kid over-exposed to horrific news who suddenly got the power to change the world and, instead of being able to accept that he did something wrong, desperately clings to a moral extreme to keep himself from drowning. he's so human it hurts
it's so easy to find people who think exactly like him. people who never really grew up to comprehend the complexities of the world, people who don't realize that anyone can be driven to commit crimes out of desperation (including themselves). they cling to this idea that you can just defeat evil people and have a happy perfect world with good and pure people because it's simple. it's comforting.
it doesn't require you to think about how to challenge and change massive corrupt systems of power. it doesn't require you to understand why someone has done horrible things and to wonder if, in another situation, they could have been better, or that they might be capable of change. it's also convenient and safe for a person to think that they could never be capable of wrong, because they're one of the good ones. they never have to face accountability or reconcile with the fact that perfectly decent people screw up and harm others all of the time. it's just safer to believe that you're good and never have to work on changing yourself.
light yagami is an extreme example of this, sure, but he's definitely a realistic one. it's easy to think he's just a monster. you wouldn't have to comprehend him, then. you wouldn't have to face the fact that he's just a human being, and that others could spiral down that same path given the right circumstances. maybe, in another life, that could even be you
ive probably said this before, other people have probaly said this before, idc
percy is not an unreliable narrator, he just hates himself.
thats it. thats literally the only thing that makes him unreliable.
youre calling him 'slow' or 'oblivious' because he didnt realize nico, annabeth, rachel etc. were in love with him? no he just didnt realize that anyone could loev him. because he sure didnt.
percy also always underplayed his own abilities, because he hates himself. he has shitty self esteem, of course hes going to mention only the basics, he thinks hes fucking sucks at everything.
percy is literally one of the smartest and most observant characters in pjo, he can pick up on body language and subtle social cues and notice things about people really fuckn easily and then use that against that percy (read: charon scene in book one), its just that when it comes to himself all that goes out the window because he just fucking. hates himself. he doesnt think hes worthy of literally anything
i think people forget that gabe wasnt the only form of abuse he went through pre-demigod life. we hear over and over again just how bad his classmates treat him, people who are supposed to be equals.
of course hes going to hate himself, no ones shown him hes worthy of love aside from sally.
Having recently gotten back into Percy Jackson fanfiction, I can now claim my least favorite Percy mischaracterization that I am seeing all the time:
He is not cheerful.
If the first thing you're having Percy do when he meets a new person is start grinning and joking around, you have fundamentally misunderstood him. He is quiet, surly, has the look of a troublemaker, and if he's smiling at you, it's because a) he likes you and thinks of you as a friend or b) he is acting, probably to trick you into fucking up so he can fuck you up.
Nearly all of his commentary should be internal. He's a funny guy (in his thoughts) but he doesn't say much.
He's also fundamentally a very kind person, but he's going to express that through actions before words.
If anything, strangers looking at him should be thinking that he looks like his father: the same brooding look on his face, scowling - and then be surprised when he does something nice. He's got a serious case of resting bitch face.
And while I have your attention, here's my second least favorite Percy Jackson mischaracterization: he does not go around mouthing off to gods for no reason! Holy shit why does everyone have him doing that?!?
Yes he's stubborn and impertinent - but he's not stupid. His first approach every time when talking to a god is to think "ok Percy, how best to not make them mad at me and turn me into a horrible little insect?" The cases where he doesn't do that are outliers, even if they're memorable:
Meeting Dionysus for the first time: a) he's just found out he's a demigod and is grappling with the idea gods are even real; b) Mr. D is giving off serious alcoholic vibes that set off his childhood trauma from Gabe. And when Mr. D threatens him, he shuts up! He's more casual around Mr. D considering he's the god Percy is around the most, and even then Percy's go-to strategy with the guy is to avoid him whenever he can, and if he can't, to stay silent unless there's something really egregious that he disagrees with (example A being Tantalus.)
Meeting Ares on the lightning thief quest: Ares fucking whammied him with his rage aura, and even then Percy was doing his best to be polite while turning him down - because they were on a time sensitive quest!
Fighting Ares in LA: Ares straight up was part of the plot to frame Percy for the theft and drag him into Tartarus with the bolt. He was also preventing Percy from getting the helm and returning the bolt to Zeus - if Percy didn't fight him he was gonna die anyway, frankly from a number of options: Kronos rising, the gods going to war (and probably sniping each other's demigod children), Zeus!!!!, Ares himself to cover up his involvement, Hades!!!!, Poseidon for failing him, for all Percy knew (he'd never met the guy, and all he knew of the gods at that point was that they thought of demigods as tools in their arsenal, not children.) They were past the point of polite reconciliation by then, so Percy challenging him to a duel and luring him into the sea was his best option.
Hades: he is remarkably polite to Hades, even when he tries to imprison him in the underworld for the crime of nearly being sixteen, and Percy has to fight him to escape.
Hermes: he is also very polite to Hermes! Especially since a lot of their conversations involve Percy trying to delicately deliver harsh truths (about Luke) to the guy.
Artemis: pretty sure the only impertinent thing he does around Artemis is try to stand up for Bianca's right to choose her future, since he thinks she's being pressured into joining the hunt. And even that is just to advise her that she should find out what camp is like before swearing an eternal oath. And then when Bianca makes her decision, he shuts up and doesn't try to interfere with her life choices. He's very polite to Artemis! And also respects her a lot.
Apollo: lmao frankly Apollo is the one taking liberties in his relationship with Percy, considering they hardly even talk before Apollo shows up as a mortal during ToA (and by then Apollo has a massive hero crush on Percy, even he never says that explicitly). And even then, the pushiest Percy gets with him while Apollo is an immortal god capable of crushing him like a bug is when Apollo shows up to help with the quest to free Artemis, and that's pretty much just to ask for more information - which, I mean, is for the purposes of helping Apollo's beloved sister. Apollo would've helped more if he could've.
Poseidon: Percy is very respectful of his father, and even when Poseidon says he's his favorite son, Percy is wary of upsetting him. He's tells Poseidon his honest opinion as politely as he can, and pretty much always keeps in mind that it might get him smited - he just takes the risk because he honestly believes what he's saying is important. In any conversation they have, he lets Poseidon lead.
Zeus: Percy is afraid of Zeus, for good reason. I think he closest he comes to mouthing off is when he blurts out his impassioned argument in favor of letting Bessie live - which Zeus ultimately lets happen. Heck, I think the only person to tell Zeus he's wrong (other than Poseidon) is Jason?!? Put some respect on Jason's name. (Even if that did ultimately get him killed, imo.)
Like, I'm sure I missed some, because this is getting long - but the idea that Percy would get in a room with any immortal god and start mouthing off from the get-go is absurd. He has to be seriously pissed off to do that - and even then he's either going to a) temper what he says if he's trying to have a conversation or b) have already decided he's gotta fight his way out (see: Ares, Akhlys.) You know who is more likely to do that? ANNABETH. I love the girl but she absolutely lets her pride get in the way when she's talking to gods - to the point that more than once Percy has had to step in to try to smooth things over and cool things down. (See: Hermes, HERA)
I've been rewatching Death Note these days and a thought came to me. Usually in fics or in fandom discourses I see fans assume that Light would have lived a long life if he didn't happen to pick up the Death Note.
But what if the Death Note extended his life instead of shortening it?
What if he was supposed to die in a freak accident at a way younger age, like at 18 or 19, and instead picking up the Death Note allowed him to live until he was 23?
Imagine Light talking to Misa and her revealing to him that his date of death isn't too far away yet she chose to love him anyway, but that date passes and nothing happens because Light at the time was handcuffed to L.
I reblogged a post with a dumb joke involving Kronos whispering in Percy's head during SoN for the bit, but then it got me thinking:
Imagine when Luke dies, he's the linchpin of Kronos stitching himself back together and reverts to being a bunch of chopped up bits. Most of him goes back to Tartarus but one little fragment attaches to Percy because he's Right There, and so powerful that a sliver of Kronos can go undetected.
And the sliver wasn't gonna do anything, just watch the rest of Percy's life 'cause that could give him useful intelligence when he tries to come back again in a couple thousand years, or at least entertaining. Besides, all it has the strength to do is talk, and it's not like Percy would listen to him.
But then Hera wipes his memory.
And look, Kronos wouldn't be able to try to come back in ten of Percy's lifetimes even if Percy was fully trying to help him. So Kronos isn't gonna try and get Percy to work for him, per se. But he can help Percy out while he's amnesiastic, establish some trust before Percy remembers why he distrusts him.
I don't entirely know where this is going. Percy does his breaker-of-cycles thing and gets Kronos to not be such a dick? Dark Percy with time powers? Percy telling everything in Tartarus "fuck off or else" with the Titan King's voice? All of the above? Idk.
Wait, this but it's Kronos going "I'd rather have my asshole sons rule the world than my insane mom and asshole half-brothers. And if everyone's going to treat this kid like a hero for supposedly defeating me, then I'm gonna make sure he keeps his reputation because I'm not gonna have lost to anyone but the best."
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.
the mistake all of those ‘L should have just done this’ or ‘light should have just done this’ posts make is assuming death note is a show about a detective trying at all costs to catch a serial killer who wants at all costs to remain killing when in fact it’s a show about a series of very intelligent young people giving into their worst impulses and destroying themselves utterly in the largely fruitless quest to be understood
thinking about how post-memory loss light would definitely be heavily masking to cope with the stress of the situation + how L would clock that shit IMMEDIATELY
People who call Light dumb only to glaze L's intelligence in the same breath are hilarious to me. You realize that not only did you miss the whole point of their dynamic and that the latter would be the first to disagree with you but also that, in a way, you're insulting his smarts too?????? Am I crazy or???????
You can criticize Light for a looootttt of things, I'll be the first in line to do so, but his intelligence is a key factor of his character. I think people often mistake his intelligence with his juvenile & sheltered mentality. In fact, and I'll unfortunately have to be fair to him this time around, he honestly did have every reason to possess such hubris. He wasn't chasing a standard. HE was the standard (thank you casuistor for putting that into words). I mean, imagine you're Light Yagami, natural genius, handsome, widely liked, popular, effortlessly successful (& guaranteed to be so in the future), top ranking in everything you do, no hardships in life, and deeply respected. He was the definition of pride and joy. If your ego can skyrocket after a perfect 10 on an exam, imagine how you'd feel about yourself after a whole life of that nonstop, without room for failure, in all areas of life. Of course humiliation was like 500 kicks in the nuts to him. Death Note itself constantly makes a point to show you just how much other people look up to Light and set him as an example of excellence. It wasn't him being baselessly arrogant, thinking he was way smarter than he was, or thinking too highly of himself just because. He did not only know perfectly well how good he was, but everyone else constantly told him about it too. Hell, in the C-Kira one-shot, Near labeled this new Kira "Cheap Kira" for a reason. Even if he realistically had no sort of significant respect for Light, even HE had some props to give him.
Long story short, Light's intelligence is fairly undisputed in canon. People simplify him to "some dude with an ego the size of Jupiter who thought he was a genius" but... that's not really the case. Light was not just some dude. He WAS a genius. Why would L of all people be so invested in and involved with a complete idiot? Either he was an idiot too (wrong) or... shocker, the guy he was after was a perfect match for him. Which is the main appeal of L and Light's dynamic.
Saying this cause I ran into a "video analysis" where 1) Light gets called an idiot, multiple times 2) Light also gets called a "textbook" psychopath, multiple times (geez) and 3) the author proceeded to like comments glazing L in comparison. Of course, I got mad. I'll be the first to provide explanations in order for others to hate on him RIGHT, not just the usual disingenuous crap about him "actually being really dumb." UGH
