Why Percy?
Jun. 8th, 2004 08:30 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
icarusSomeone emailed me and asked just what I saw in Percy of all people.
I like Percy because he's more irredeemable than Snape. His arrogance makes him blind to his own faults, and in an utterly well-meaning way Percy can do more damage than a Death Eater.
Underneath it, Percy believes he is right, and is a true believer in what is 'good' and 'noble' and 'just' -- he just sees it where it isn't. 'Truth' isn't found in 'Rules' and 'Authority', but Percy is far too blind to ever see that.
Slashing him has a particular poignancy, first, because I think that in canon he's the character that really flames. Second, because being gay goes against established authority and order, and for Percy that's a real come down. The slash itself actually puts a hole in his bullet-proof ego, because suddenly he's not a paragon in his own world.
So what does he do about it?
- Hide it?
- Make himself the exception to his own rules?
- Deny it?
- Does it make him crumble?
- Does it become, to him, a weakness that others can exploit, because he unconsciously allows others to abuse him in this arena as punishment to himself?
- Does it soften him?
- Make him cynical?
- Does he turn into an actual human being who can finally see others, now that he's no longer superior to them?
- Does he go through a period of humility, but then rebuild that bullet-proof ego with a new definition and become a vitriolic gay-wizards activist?
It depends upon who he's with, really.
For someone like Ron, slash might mess him up for a bit, but eventually he comes around to, "okay, I like that." Percy, it's much more difficult, and it's a possible doorway to redemption because that wish to 'Do Right' (according to His definition) is definitely there. He becomes much more pleasant once his world has crumbled around him and he has to accept that, yes, even he isn't perfect. It's the same with exploring Percy's relationship with the 'good' wizards and the 'dark.' Percy won't recognise evil when he sees it, so what happens when he wakes up?
He's very interesting and complex and neurotic in the way he responds.
*snuggles Percy*
Oh. Did I mention that the most uptight people are often the kinkiest? There's that much more steam to blow off, and it takes that much more for them to unwind.
I like Percy because he's more irredeemable than Snape. His arrogance makes him blind to his own faults, and in an utterly well-meaning way Percy can do more damage than a Death Eater.
Underneath it, Percy believes he is right, and is a true believer in what is 'good' and 'noble' and 'just' -- he just sees it where it isn't. 'Truth' isn't found in 'Rules' and 'Authority', but Percy is far too blind to ever see that.
Slashing him has a particular poignancy, first, because I think that in canon he's the character that really flames. Second, because being gay goes against established authority and order, and for Percy that's a real come down. The slash itself actually puts a hole in his bullet-proof ego, because suddenly he's not a paragon in his own world.
So what does he do about it?
- Hide it?
- Make himself the exception to his own rules?
- Deny it?
- Does it make him crumble?
- Does it become, to him, a weakness that others can exploit, because he unconsciously allows others to abuse him in this arena as punishment to himself?
- Does it soften him?
- Make him cynical?
- Does he turn into an actual human being who can finally see others, now that he's no longer superior to them?
- Does he go through a period of humility, but then rebuild that bullet-proof ego with a new definition and become a vitriolic gay-wizards activist?
It depends upon who he's with, really.
For someone like Ron, slash might mess him up for a bit, but eventually he comes around to, "okay, I like that." Percy, it's much more difficult, and it's a possible doorway to redemption because that wish to 'Do Right' (according to His definition) is definitely there. He becomes much more pleasant once his world has crumbled around him and he has to accept that, yes, even he isn't perfect. It's the same with exploring Percy's relationship with the 'good' wizards and the 'dark.' Percy won't recognise evil when he sees it, so what happens when he wakes up?
He's very interesting and complex and neurotic in the way he responds.
*snuggles Percy*
Oh. Did I mention that the most uptight people are often the kinkiest? There's that much more steam to blow off, and it takes that much more for them to unwind.
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no subject
Date: 2004-06-08 09:53 am (UTC)Funny, but I like Percy because he like rules and order. He's stubborn about making things make *sense* and obeying the rules. His problem being he follows the lead of the wrong people -- he's young, hopefully he'll wise up soon.
And because he's a non-conformist in a family of 'warm fuzzy' types by being a 'cool reason' type. I don't doubt he loves his family and will try to do Right wherever he can. It's just that what he sees is Right is not what his family sees as Right.
And boy, is he in a postion to do more damage that any Death Eater. Hopefully, he will do like Snape and figure out he's being placing his trust in the wrong people.