#rr analysis

its pretty obvious at this point that a lot of neurodivergent (obviously), poc and queer kids saw themselves in percy when the books first came out, sharing a lot in common with all those groups, and theres a somewhat decent amount of tweets rick made regarding headcanons like those, where he passive aggressively says something along the lines of ‘cool headcanon and you can see him however you want but please keep in mind that thats a headcanon and not canon’, in a way that feels like he just fully hates headcanons or interpretations like that

and rick himself did say that a big point of the show is that hes making changes to the story hed make if he were to rewrite it, and i know this could just be walker being the best suited for this, but we’re gonna go a little deeper than that. it feels like one of the changes rick is trying to make, is to completely erase those previous headcanons and interpreations people had on percy

so far in the show its undeniable that percy is white (obviously), but the biggest thing id argue is that hes getting rid of any possible queer coding within percy, as we dont see him hold any kind of attraction/fasciniation with anyone, let alone any guys, aside from annabeth, when in the books there would be paragraphs of him describing a guys physical apperance and make it very obvious, sometimes saying it outright, that percy found the guy attractive

another thing about percy that a lot of people see him as, is him holding punk values, whether or not people realize thats what theyre seeing in him. percy is very anti-authoritarian, hes very anti-war, anti-capitalist, mutual aid is a big point for him, all of which (and more) are punk ideologies, while show percy tells annabeth to not talk back to a cop. (as i work on my show rewatch im probably gonna reblog this and add on more points if/when i find them, but i feel like this point alone showcases what im saying pretty well) i think its also stated a few times in the books that he listens to punk and alternative rock, and other music genres similar

its somewhat common for parents to love their daughters, as they should, when shes young, but as she gets older they start to dislike her more and more for whatever reason and i feel like thats happening with rick and percy when the first series came out and a good bit after, it was very clear that percy was ricks golden boy, his favorite child. but theres been a decrease in percys writing, because of the aforementioned point being rick now hates him, and it reminds me of how parents treat their daughters when they start doing their own things

percy is also, famously, a character that a lot of people can relate to and project onto, and with that came a lot of headcanons that he was trans or bisexual or a person of color, and whenever someone mentions these headcanons to rick, his response seems to always sound something like: you can headcanon whatever you want but please do know that its not canon and will never be canon and i get creators being protective of his characters, but this feels like he passivley aggressivley telling his fans that their headcanons arent valid or are a bad interpretation of the character, simply on the basis that its not canon. im not saying thats the reason ricks like for percy has started to decrease, but they do feel like two dots that can be connected

honestly it's a testament to the quality of the writing that i'm at all invested in shizuka's story despite her being an heiress. she has a good heart, but is flawed in realistic ways - her ego, her lack of understanding of qorin culture, her lack of real world experience. and i don't feel like the narrative glosses over those flaws. however, "cosseted heir to the throne" is a character trope i will never be particularly interested in.

at least with shefali, she's not part of the dominant culture despite being an heiress of sorts within her clan. i find her story much more compelling. she might be next in line to become the leader of her clan, but since the qorin are a nomadic and communal society, that means actually living amongst and working with and knowing her people. she's not privileged in the same way shizuka is.

i do think i see what the author is going for with their dynamic - they're both royalty within their respective communities, but that means something very different for both of them. there's also the cultural dynamic of the hokkaran being the oppressors of the qorin and how that affects their interpersonal relationships as well - shizuka is much more ignorant of qorin culture than shefali is of hokkaran culture. they come to their relationship as equals, but the narrative doesn't ignore the complicated dynamics between their respective communities.

Think it could be an example of Gold culture and social Darwinist tendencies rubbing off on him?

Whether or not you’d consider that part of Gold culture, I’d say it’s something that’s inherent to himself. From the start, Darrow’s someone who has a meritocratic outlook on life; ie they deserved the Laurel because they earned it.

Peerless and grunts earn his respect because they are willing to fight and put themselves on the line. Now it’s not that he’ll have contempt for civilians who don’t in general (considering his interactions with his family); just those who thrive on inequitable lifestyle without they themselves lifting a finger or even considering the idea of sacrifice/hardship.