Percy Reed

**Percy Reed** is a trans-masculine ghost, the son of Solomon Reed, better know as the Instrumentalist, and Diggory Graves's companion/partner.

## Personality

Percy Reed is someone who hides his emotions frequently. In that respect, he is a rather mysterious character, often guarding himself and reacting to threats (to himself or others he holds close) in a way that might be seen as intimidating or dangerous. There is a great deal of information he has yet to divulge to those he is developing trust in. Percy is described as shy and often hides when unfamiliar faces are around.

## Description

Percy Reed is described as a translucent ghost that glows dimly white and appears to be in his 20s. He has dark hair, and his eyes are “smoldering shadows.” His lips were stitched together with rough thread, leaving holes around his mouth, and he appears starved. He has piano wire wrapped around his wrists, and his clothes are described to be tattered, shreds of what used to be an old-fashioned collared dress.

In Episode 28 - Threads, Percy picks a new outfit from Solomon's old clothes. He chooses a collared shirt, an old sweater, and trousers and is then tethered with newer strings, his piano wire now leading nowhere.

## History

### Early History

Percy Reed is found to be the son of Solomon Reed. He also hints to a troubled life with his very religious family, saying that his mother is a psychopath and his father is a serial killer. He describes that his mother had sewn his lips shut when he stopped wearing dresses and his father had connected him to the piano. He appears to have burned the words “let me out” into the walls of the Alder House seen in Episode 1 - Keys.

It is confirmed by Solomon that Percy came out as transgender long before he died, cutting his hair and asking to be called Percy. His mother, Abigail, was tasked by Solomon to look after him. Sometime after the Black Rains started, Abigail forced Percy into a dress, locked him up, and took her own life, leaving him to starve. After the boy perished, Solomon used Percy for his first creation: a grand piano made from mahogany, with bone shavings inset on the keys; however, Percy remained rebellious. Both the piano and him were eventually lost on Solomon's travels when stolen by marauders. Nothing yet is known about the time between the piano being stolen and Diggory finding Percy.

## Relationships

### Diggory Graves

Diggory and Percy met in Episode 1 - Keys, when Diggory found Percy's piano in the Alder House. After trying to release Percy from the piano by burning it, Diggory kept a key from it that Percy is still bound to. In Episode 6, Percy remarks that the haircut he gives Diggory would have been cute, but looking at Diggory's face made him want to cry. During this episode, Percy also states that he feels like he was awful company to have chosen. In Episode 11, Diggory states that they love Percy and in response, Percy kisses them.

Overall, Percy and Diggory are loyal to and intensely protective of each other. Diggory has stated that they will protect Percy from the Instrumentalist; similarly, Percy threatens to burn the Scoutpost to the ground if Bern hurts Diggory. They are often described as having physical contact with each other despite Percy's intangibility.

### Solomon Reed

Percy is the son of Solomon Reed and Abigail Reed. Not much is known about Percy's childhood, but he does say at one point he thought his parents were the best in the whole world and that he was always a good little kid in Sunday School. However, in a family photo he is described as having a 'forced smile'. After Percy came out, Solomon was unsupported and left Percy to be cared for by his mother whilst Solomon worked and studied. Upon returning, he used Percy to create his first instrument in death. Percy is described by Solomon as being angry and rebellious towards him.

### Abigail Reed

Abigail is described as being spiteful: whilst Solomon was absent, she locked Percy away and left him to starve before taking her own life. However, after her death she was able to reconnect with Percy and show him kindness.

## Known Abilities

* As a ghost, Percy projects words into the minds of others, rather than speaks them.
* Percy is relatively able to alter his visibility and solidity at will.
* When angered, he is able to burn brightly enough to create fire.

## Appearances

Percy commonly appears in episodes with Diggory; asterisks (\*) signify episodes where they appear together.

### Main Episodes

* Episode 4 - Bodies \*
* Episode 6 - Frogs \*
* Episode 8 - Names \*
* Episode 11 - Hearts \*
* Episode 14 - Signs \*
* Episode 19 - Devils \*
* Episode 21 - Mornings \*
* Episode 24 - Storms \*
* Episode 26 - Needles
* Episode 28 - Threads
* Episode 34 - Towers
* Episode 40 - Graves
* Episode 43 - Relics
* Episode 44 - Rains
* Episode 45 - Tombs
* Episode 46 - Teeth \*
* Episode 47 - Regrets \*
* Episode 48 - Revelations \*

## Trivia

* Percy likes goth clothes and secretly owned some while he was alive.
* Percy is one of the relatively few characters to have canonically sworn.

## References

1. ↑ Episode 1 - Keys
2. ↑ Episode 14 - Signs
3. ↑ Episode 8 - Names
4. ↑ Episode 11 - Hearts
5. ↑ Episode 65 - Miles