no one talks about how rick riordan literally scammed disney
dead ass pjo was that seemingly “normal” kids fantasy series with a seemingly white straight kid saving the world and it’s a fucking success. percy jackson? iconic! ppl fucking love percy and his character and then hoo comes out? everyone is pumped bc everyone is in love with that world. the first book? two main bad ass poc characters. the second book? two more bad ass poc characters! the fourth book and there’s literally a gay character and it’s not like disney could say no. hoo ends and then there’s magnus chase and ppl are fucking pumped bc that’s annabeth chase’s cousin and in the first book there’s a muslim girl and by the second book there’s a transgender and genderfluid character. trials of apollo? a main gay couple in a happy relationship and a fucking bi character. could disney say no? no. literal 10 year olds are reading books with heaps of representation all published by disney. rick riordan played the game. you step in thinking ur just gonna get white cishets and you walk out surrounded by different cultures and rainbows.
tldr; rick started out with the basic pasty white and straight series which got hella successful and used his success to pusblish more books and allow only one (1) cishet and only one (1) white
i doubt he planned it but deadass it would be so funny if that’s what happened
I saw him speak on /writing in the UK right before (or early in on when) his series hit it big. Planned. Definitely planned.
Thousand percent planned. Also Percy? Has a learning disability. RR’s son inspired him to write bc he is ADHD and dyslexic. This was all planned. He is all about inclusivity and representation.
He also makes his books incredibly funny, which is rather rare for YA and makes them more accessible to kids who don’t really like to read. In addition to having loads of POV character who have trouble reading themselves.
For those who’ve been living under a YA rock, this is Rick Riordan:
(this was the gay character in the second series)
(and the trans character in a later series)
Let’s not forget that he has an interest in the mythologies of other countries, but instead of writing them himself promotes other writers through his “Rick Riordan Presents” publishing imprint to do so!
I love Rick Riordan so much. He’s the closest thing to a role model I’ll ever have, and his books have profoundly shaped who I am – since I began reading them over ten years ago, just after high school. I’ve been saying for years it’s like he just wedged his foot in the door with Percy, hiding his Mastermind Plan behind his back all along.
I love that it was pointed out that Percy is not just a white boy, but a disabled kid. In fact, like, most of his characters are disabled, technically. And all of them are completely badass.
And this may seem like semantics to some, but Rick Riordan writes MG. Middle Grade. Not YA. These books are shelved and labeled as MG, not just in bookstores but in libraries. And you know why I pick on that?
Because it’s disabled characters – in MG.
Queer characters – in MG.
POC – in MG.
Queer disabled POC – in MG.
Things I never got to read in MG books when I was growing up. Things practically UNHEARD of in MG until Riordan. He smashed doors, man. He used that privilege to just go crazy.
These aren’t teens getting introduced to queer characters. To non-stereotyped POC characters. To normalized and even celebrated disabled characters. These are KIDS. Tweenie kids. Elementary and middle school kids.
I can’t even imagine what it would be like to read a character my own age who was Latina and queer when I was 11.
EmotionalGay94 