| “ | I hope that was a monster I just killed. I was a Shakespearean actor in college! Picked up a little swordplay! | ” |
–Paul Blofis to Percy during the Battle of Manhattan in The Last Olympian. | ||
Paul Blofis is the stepfather of Percy Jackson and an English teacher at Goode High School. He is currently married to Sally Jackson, with whom he had a daughter, Estelle Blofis.
History[]
Paul met Sally Jackson at a college which Sally was attending after she petrified Gabe Ugliano using Medusa's Head at the end of The Lightning Thief. They were in the same writing seminar and started studying together and became friends.
Percy Jackson and the Olympians[]
The Titan's Curse[]
When Percy sends his mother an Iris Message, he sees her sitting at a table with Paul laughing. She gets up to go to the bathroom, and tells Percy about Paul, and that they are in the writing seminar together at her college. Percy sees that his mother truly likes Paul and remembers how miserable and unhappy she was with Gabe, and how he treated her horribly. Percy then gives his mother his blessing, as long as she is okay and promises her to go for it.
The Battle of the Labyrinth[]
Paul meets Percy formally, and the two become friends. Paul tries to get him into Goode High School, the school where he works as an English teacher, treating him as if he were his own son. Percy appreciates Paul's efforts and manages to stay in the school for two years.
Paul asks Percy if they could talk man to man, asking if he could marry Sally. Percy gives him his blessing because his mother is really happy with Paul, and she was never that happy before since having to put up with Smelly Gabe.
Paul meets Poseidon at Percy's 15th Birthday party, and is very formal and very polite with him, although he doesn't seem pleased with his arrival. He is surprised when Tyson also calls Poseidon "Daddy", but Sally quickly assures him that Tyson is not her child. When Paul learns of Poseidon's name he asks, "like the god of the sea?"
Wedding[]
Sometime between The Battle of the Labyrinth and The Last Olympian, Paul and Sally get married and he moves into her apartment.
The Last Olympian[]
When Paul finds out that Percy is a demigod, he is shocked and excited, but not scared or angry at all, like many mortals would be. He also doesn't believe Percy until Mrs. O'Leary and Nico appear in Percy's apartment. Over time he accepts it and worries about Percy when he is not around.
When the Battle of Manhattan begins, Paul and Sally think something is wrong and go looking for Percy, but they get caught in Morpheus's spell and are put to sleep. When Percy finds them, he becomes angry and annoyed and slices through their car window like plastic wrap to move the car away from the battle and into safety. When Sally wakes him up, Paul takes a sword and kills a Dracaenae, using skills he learned doing Shakespeare in college, and Sally uses a shotgun she found in a police car against a Laistrygonian giant. They hold on to their own, and they both survive the fight.
Percy later goes home with them after spending the rest of the summer at camp, happy to have a family at last.
The Heroes of Olympus[]
The Son of Neptune[]
Paul is mentioned when Percy makes a call to him and Sally. He uses a pay phone to call home but gets the answering machine. Paul's voice can be heard on it and Percy leaves them a short message saying that he is alive and on a quest.
The House of Hades[]
Percy mentions his stepfather while in Tartarus.
The Blood of Olympus[]
Percy mentions Paul and his mother before he goes to fight the Giants.
The Senior Year Adventures[]
The Chalice of the Gods[]
After Percy’s first day of school, he and Sally invite Annabeth Chase and Grover Underwood over for dinner. He and the daughter of Athena quote Shakespeare as they cook. A few days later, Paul and his family host Annabeth for dinner again. As Percy helps Paul set the table, he notices his stepfather is nervous. During dinner, Percy notices his mother is not drinking and she reveals she is pregnant. Everyone watches Percy waiting for his reaction, and the Son of Poseidon is elated, but is disappointed that he will only be with his younger sibling for a few months.
The following week, Annabeth comes over for dinner and the former, Sally, and Paul help Percy write a letter. After several suggestions, the letter is complete. Percy is embarrassed, Annabeth is laughing, Paul feels bad for Percy, and Sally kisses her son. They manage to get Ganymede's signature and are happy with the outcome.
The Trials of Apollo[]
The Hidden Oracle[]
Sally mentions that Paul might finish the cookies before Percy gets back home from Camp Half-Blood. Apollo wears Paul's jacket out of the house. Percy reveals that Paul and Sally are expecting a baby girl together.
The Tower of Nero[]
A few days after Percy graduates high school and heads west, he and his family are visited by Apollo, Meg McCaffrey, and Luguselwa looking for Percy. He tells them he just left and invites them for dinner. As he helps Apollo with clothing, he expresses his pride in his step-son graduating high school, despite a few mishaps. During dinner as his guests tell him about their quest so far and what they still have to do with Nero, he hopes it doesn’t turn into a second Battle of Manhattan. He is intrigued by Meg being a daughter of Demeter and questions Lu's actions as Meg's legal guardian. In the morning, he sees his guests off.
Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard[]
The Ship of the Dead[]
Paul is mentioned by his stepson when telling Magnus Chase and Alex Fierro about Estelle Blofis.
Appearance[]
Paul is 'thirty-something,' with longish salt-and-pepper hair, and wears a brown jacket over a black T-shirt. He reminds Percy of a television actor, and it is stated that he is very good-looking.
In The Chalice of the Gods, his hair has gotten longer and curlier, and he started shaving only every other day, so he looked, according to Sally, "pleasantly roguish".
Personality[]
Paul is a very honest and just man who is very genuine and polite to everybody. He loves Sally and believes Percy is special but doesn't know how special he really is until Sally reveals that Percy is actually a demigod. When Paul finds out that Percy is a demigod, he doesn't freak out like Percy expects, he's just shocked and initially doesn't believe him, though he eventually comes to think that it's very exciting. He is a nice and supporting man, and Percy appreciates him being there for him — he is also on fairly good terms with Poseidon, despite having only met him once, and is polite to him because of Percy.
Paul is quite heroic and brave, with something of a swashbuckling daring streak about him. This can be seen during the Battle of Manhattan when Paul began killing monsters left and right with a sword, channeling his sword fighting skills from his days as an actor in college. This shows that when faced with the supernatural, Paul is quite light on his feet, adapting to mortal peril with a grin on his face. It also showcases his bravery and willingness to put himself in danger to protect the ones that he cares for. In many ways, he is much like his stepson.
Abilities[]
- Swordsmanship: Paul learned how to use a sword while performing in Shakespearean plays in college. This would later come in handy during the Battle of Manhattan.
Relationships[]
Love Interests[]
Sally Jackson[]
Sally Jackson, his wife.
Sally and Paul first meet while attending the same seminar at college. Soon after the two of them start studying together and they quickly become romantically involved. In The Battle of the Labyrinth, Paul pulls Percy aside and asks for the son of Poseidon's permission to propose to his mother.
Sometime between The Battle of the Labyrinth and The Last Olympian, Paul and Sally get married. About a year after the two wed, he and Sally welcomed their daughter, Estelle, into the world.
Paul and Sally are a healthy couple. Paul cares greatly for both their daughter and Sally's son.
The two also share common ideologies, as they agreed to shelter Apollo, Meg, and Lu for a night when they ask for help. This shows their devotion to others helps to strengthen their relationship.
Family[]
Percy Jackson, his stepson.
When the son of Poseidon first found out about him dating his mother, Percy was a little unsure of Paul when finding out about his relationship with Sally. But unlike Percy's first stepfather, Paul shows that he cares for Percy and his mother. He even vouched for Percy, helping enroll the teen into Goode High School, despite Percy's poor record with getting kicked out of his previous schools. When Paul planned to propose to Sally he told Percy, hoping to get the boy's blessing, which the son of Poseidon granted him, as Percy knew Paul made Sally happy.
After finding out about Percy's identity as a demigod, he did not truly believe it at first. When he finally did see it as the truth when Percy shadow traveled to their apartment with Mrs. O'Leary and Nico di Angelo one night, Paul was accepting to Percy, and even helped him fight during the Battle of Manhattan.Paul has one biological child, Estelle. She has his salt-and-pepper hair and green eyes like Percy's. She's described as being a very happy and very adorable baby.
Acquaintances[]
Poseidon, the birth father of his stepson.
When Paul attended Percy's 15th Birthday, Poseidon also visited. Sally was a bit off guard when she saw Poseidon, but Paul quickly acted and greeted Poseidon politely. Poseidon also called him 'Blowfish' rather than "Blofis", and seemed to be slightly disappointed when Paul says his surname isn't Blowfish.
Their first meeting was a bit awkward, it was seen that it was their only meeting. Poseidon leaves by magically disappearing. Paul thought that he must have left using the fire escape, as Percy tells him.
Annabeth Chase, his stepson's girlfriend.
Paul gets along really well with the daughter of Athena. They both share a fondness for William Shakespeare and cook dinner together, often joking and teasing with each other.
During the Daughter of Athena’s junior year, he helps her out with an English assignment and the two grew closer.Etymology[]
- Paul is a common male name coming from Christian background. It derives from the Roman family name "Paulus," it means "small" or "humble." This could tie with his personality as he is a very humble man.
Trivia[]
- Paul is likely based off of Dictys from Greek Mythology, who was the fisherman who rescued and took care of Danaë and acted as a father figure for the original Perseus.
- His nickname, Blowfish, might be a reference to Dictys' life as a fisherman before becoming king.
- Both Percy and his father, Poseidon, called him Blowfish instead of Blofis when they first met him, as blowfish have a connection to Poseidon, being one of his sea creatures.
- In the Brazilian translation the pun is made with the word "balofice" (fatness), which also sounds like Blofis in Portuguese. In the same translation, Percy casually mentions that Blofis has a sort of potbelly, further aiding to the joke.
- In the French translation, the pun is made with the word "bouffi", which also means fatness.
- In the German translation, the pun is made with the word "Blaufisch" (bluefish), which also sounds like Blofis in German.
- In the Polish translation, the pun is made with the word "popis" (show-off), with Poseidon stating that he likes to occasionally show-off.
- In the Brazilian translation the pun is made with the word "balofice" (fatness), which also sounds like Blofis in Portuguese. In the same translation, Percy casually mentions that Blofis has a sort of potbelly, further aiding to the joke.
- Paul was mentioned to be a Shakespearean actor in college. This explains his sword work in the Battle of Manhattan.
- He is not mentioned at all in The Lost Hero, even though Sally Jackson was mentioned. It is unknown whether Paul Blofis knew about Percy's disappearance, though it is assumed he does due to being Percy's stepfather and caring for him.
| The Senior Year Adventures | |
| Books: | The Chalice of the Gods | Wrath of the Triple Goddess |
| Main Characters: | Percy Jackson | Annabeth Chase | Grover Underwood |
| Secondary Characters: | Eudora | Ganymede | Mrs. O'Leary |
| Minor Characters: | Sally Jackson | Paul Blofis | Naomi | Barbara | Elevator Security Guard | Blanche | Lucius | Margaret | Sparky | Li'l Killer |
| Gods: | Iris | Hebe | Elisson | Poseidon | Zeus | Demeter | Hera | Hermes | Athena | Geras | Hecate |
| Titans: | Rhea | Kronos |
| Mythical Creatures: | Nereid | Nymph | Horned Serpent | Hellhound |
| Related Content: | Rick Riordan | Percy Jackson and the Olympians |