#percalypso

For the romance, yes - I do think it is frankly astonishing that Percy and Calypso manage to be such a memorable couple despite interacting for (legitimately, no joke) one SINGULAR chapter out of a five-book narrative. And the sequence works well when it comes to further complicating Percy and Annabeth's relationship at the very worst possible time (although the Rachel-quest plot would have been plenty. It still adds to the nuance and the drama of it all in a way that did rewire my adolescent brain chemistry).

But Percy's encounter with Calypso truly does permanently change him - and it's because what she offers him is safety and avoidance. Both of which Percy desperately wants.

I think it is obvious that Percy is captivated and does fall for Calypso as a person. But it's impossible to divorce her from her island - and that's kind of the whole point of the whole sequence, isn't it?

The chapter is literally titled "I Take A Permanent Vacation." Ironic, funny, but also very poignant to frame it this way. Percy is literally burning to death and hurtling towards the earth like a comet the chapter before, he's so injured he can't stand up for more than a couple minutes at a time, he's comatose for like half the time he's even on the island. Nothing about this is anyone's idea of a dream vacation. But for the first time in his entire experience in the mythological world, he's in a beautiful paradise that truly is a beautiful paradise - not a trap or a gimmick. The protection is real. And the company is good. And so in that regard it very much does read like a vacation from his daily struggle of world-ending stakes and constant danger. He's offered the chance to have this forever.

What's beautiful about this offer is that it truly comes with no strings attached. He can stay as long as he wants and leave whenever he wants. It's the most convenient, most pleasant path to immortality you could ever imagine. He doesn't have to sacrifice his humanity to achieve it.

When Calypso makes her offer, she specifically contextualizes it in terms of avoiding the war and the prophecy. Two things which the reader already knows: Percy does NOT want to face.

"You would never age or die. You could leave the fight to others, Percy Jackson. You could escape your prophecy.”

And the reason it works so well is because he really, really does want this:

I stared at the horizon. The first red streaks of dawn were lightening the sky. I could stay here forever, disappear from the earth. I could live with Calypso, with invisible servants tending to my every need. We could grow flowers in the garden and talk to songbirds and walk on the beach under perfect blue skies. No war. No prophecy. No more taking sides.

It's an offer for literal escapism. To a kid whose identity is partially formed around the concept of never feeling safe - even more than that, to a kid whose very existence is perceived as such a threat that the gods have discussed killing him to minimize collateral damage. And he has just had to come to terms with the fact that he is dangerous and he really can cause very severe damage to the world.

The thing about this offer is that it's not even real, it's an illusion - should Percy actually do this, there's no reason to believe that Kronos' conquest would not touch Ogygia. She's the daughter of Atlas, imprisoned for fighting on Kronos' side in the first war. She's probably getting broken out, at least at some point, even if it takes them a few hudred years or so to get around to it - or perhaps the magic of Ogygia (enforced by the gods, at least in PJO canon) would simply stop binding Calypso once Olympus is overthrown. Regardless, it doesn't matter - because Percy's decision is not about reality. It's actually the opposite. When faced with a chance to avoid his fate without anyone knowing - Hephaestus has explicitly said that he didn't tell any of Percy's friends that he's alive because he wasn't sure if he was coming back! - what will he do? Is he in this war by choice, or because he has no other option? It's a reinforcement of his decision to claim the prophecy to protect Nico from it at the end of TTC, but I would argue that it's stronger, because nobody is watching him in this moment but Calypso, who wants him to stay. There's nothing to be gained for Percy by leaving - nobody is going to know how selfless this decision is. He doesn't get credit for this moment of heroism. It's not showy. And he chooses to keep it private after he returns.

This decision also comes on the heels of Calypso and Percy's conversation about why she fought for Kronos in the first war. Percy's worldview has been challenged before, but really only by Luke, the antagonist. But this is coming from someone Percy likes, admires, associates with goodness. And she asks him a question that Percy will struggle to answer: "do you support the gods because they are good, or because they are your family?”

This question is going to be a really, really important one in the next book, and this moment sets up for that perfectly.

But like I told you guys years ago: this demigod gig is dangerous. Don't say I didn't warn you.

Punk! Percy in the Year 2024? More likely than you think

Commissions are open! || Support me on Patreon

Everytime I think about Calypso and Percy in that rewrite I scream a little bit okay I love them they hurt me.

For context she's in Alaska when Percy arrives with Hazel and Frank because she wanted to be away from the gods. And she helps them but OF COURSE Percy doesn't recognize her and there she acts a bit like she is in HoO, where she's kinda spiteful because is that boy being fucking for real? It has been a few years but STILL, how could he forget? And then she learns Percy is amnesic and she apologies. Percy is very confused because he actually LIKES her and he can tell she likes him too but she keeps pushing him away for some reason.

(Btw in the rewrite Percy's only memory of Annabeth is the one that linked him to the human world when he was in the Styx... She's fifteen in that memory and Percy is nineteen going on twenty in the rewrite, he doesn't think for a second that she might be his girlfriend. Percy went through the same god-induced amnesia as Jason, him getting his memories back so easily when Jason never didn't make a lot of sense to me.)

After Percy tells her he doesn't understand anything and is sick of no one telling him stuff and not being able to act as he wants because he has to think about what some past-him he doesn't remember being would do, she tells him "Just know someone's waiting for you, and you always wanted to go back to her".

Percy thinks about others and his loved ones first. Once he understands he has a whole ass girlfriend, he immediately backs the fuck down and feels bad for having a short-lived crush for Calypso. I do think he understands he has met Calypso before even though he doesn't ask much questions because she's obviously very hurt by that meeting (Percy originally thinks he has physically hurt her as she presents herself as a gods hater abd he was supposed to be some gods savior, a Hero of Olympus you might say).

Knowing this unknown person is expecting him to come back home also keeps him going in his darkest moment. He knows he can't fail her. He doesn't know who she is, but he just knows he has to get back to her.

(While I do like Percy remembering Annabeth and think it's really sweet, I think I prefer him having no idea who this unknown lover looking/waiting for him is and still doing his everything to find them again.)

“𝖳𝗁𝖾 𝗌𝗍𝖺𝗋𝗌 𝗐𝖾𝗋𝖾 𝖻𝗋𝗂𝗅𝗅𝗂𝖺𝗇𝗍—𝗍𝗁𝗈𝗎𝗌𝖺𝗇𝖽𝗌 𝗈𝖿 𝗍𝗁𝖾𝗆, 𝗅𝗂𝗄𝖾 𝗒𝗈𝗎 𝗈𝗇𝗅𝗒 𝗌𝖾𝖾 𝗐𝖺𝗒 𝗈𝗎𝗍 𝗂𝗇 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝖼𝗈𝗎𝗇𝗍𝗋𝗒. … 𝖨 𝖻𝗋𝗈𝗎𝗀𝗁𝗍 𝗆𝗒 𝖾𝗒𝖾𝗌 𝖻𝖺𝖼𝗄 𝗍𝗈 𝖾𝖺𝗋𝗍𝗁. 𝖧𝗈𝗐𝖾𝗏𝖾𝗋 𝖺𝗆𝖺𝗓𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝗌𝗍𝖺𝗋𝗌 𝗐𝖾𝗋𝖾, 𝖢𝖺𝗅𝗒𝗉𝗌𝗈 𝗐𝖺𝗌 𝗍𝗐𝗂𝖼𝖾 𝖺𝗌 𝖻𝗋𝗂𝗅𝗅𝗂𝖺𝗇𝗍.”

When Gale Dekarios said “𝖶𝗂𝗍𝗁 𝗒𝗈𝗎, 𝖨 𝖿𝗈𝗋𝗀𝖾𝗍 𝗆𝗒 𝗀𝗈𝖽𝖽𝖾𝗌𝗌” it reminded me of Percy Jackson said 

“𝖨’𝗏𝖾 𝗌𝖾𝖾𝗇 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝗀𝗈𝖽𝖽𝖾𝗌𝗌 𝗈𝖿 𝗅𝗈𝗏𝖾 𝗁𝖾𝗋𝗌𝖾𝗅𝖿, 𝖠𝗉𝗁𝗋𝗈𝖽𝗂𝗍𝖾, 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝖨 𝗐𝗈𝗎𝗅𝖽 𝗇𝖾𝗏𝖾𝗋 𝗌𝖺𝗒 𝗍𝗁𝗂𝗌 𝗈𝗎𝗍 𝗅𝗈𝗎𝖽 𝗈𝗋 𝗌𝗁𝖾’𝖽 𝖻𝗅𝖺𝗌𝗍 𝗆𝖾 𝗍𝗈 𝖺𝗌𝗁𝖾𝗌, 𝖻𝗎𝗍 𝖿𝗈𝗋 𝗆𝗒 𝗆𝗈𝗇𝖾𝗒, 𝖢𝖺𝗅𝗒𝗉𝗌𝗈 𝗐𝖺𝗌 𝖺 𝗅𝗈𝗍 𝗆𝗈𝗋𝖾 𝖻𝖾𝖺𝗎𝗍𝗂𝖿𝗎𝗅, 𝖻𝖾𝖼𝖺𝗎𝗌𝖾 𝗌𝗁𝖾 𝗃𝗎𝗌𝗍 𝗌𝖾𝖾𝗆𝖾𝖽 𝗌𝗈 𝗇𝖺𝗍𝗎𝗋𝖺𝗅, 𝗅𝗂𝗄𝖾 𝗌𝗁𝖾 𝗐𝖺𝗌𝗇’𝗍 𝗍𝗋𝗒𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝗍𝗈 𝖻𝖾 𝖻𝖾𝖺𝗎𝗍𝗂𝖿𝗎𝗅 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝖽𝗂𝖽𝗇’𝗍 𝖾𝗏𝖾𝗇 𝖼𝖺𝗋𝖾 𝖺𝖻𝗈𝗎𝗍 𝗍𝗁𝖺𝗍. 𝖲𝗁𝖾 𝗃𝗎𝗌𝗍 𝗐𝖺𝗌. 𝖶𝗂𝗍𝗁 𝗁𝖾𝗋 𝖻𝗋𝖺𝗂𝖽𝖾𝖽 𝗁𝖺𝗂𝗋 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝗐𝗁𝗂𝗍𝖾 𝖽𝗋𝖾𝗌𝗌, 𝗌𝗁𝖾 𝗌𝖾𝖾𝗆𝖾𝖽 𝗍𝗈 𝗀𝗅𝗈𝗐 𝗂𝗇 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝗆𝗈𝗈𝗇𝗅𝗂𝗀𝗁𝗍.”

When Gale Dekarios said “𝖸𝗈𝗎 𝗐𝗈𝗎𝗅𝖽 𝗋𝖾𝖺𝗅𝗅𝗒 𝗉𝗋𝖾𝖿𝖾𝗋 𝗆𝖾 𝖺𝗌 𝖨 𝖺𝗆?” it reminded me of when Percy Jackson said