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anticomedygarden · 7 months

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drop the champagne

5 times annabeth taught percy something new + a million times he taught her the same thing

title is from the In the Heights song 'champagne' by lin manuel-miranda. mostly a nod to how similar usnavi and vanessa's dynamic is to percabeth. also another excuse to scream about them after watching the trailer a million times

also on ao3

Dozens of kids were wandering around the grounds of Camp Half Blood as they waited for capture the flag to start, and Percy could not for the life of him figure out what was wrong with his armor. He'd been fiddling with it for five minutes now, somehow not drawing the attention of any counselors or even the Athena cabin who he was allied with. After the last capture the flag (still his only capture the flag), he was really starting to get worried. If he successfully completed a quest and died because he couldn't get his armor right for a 'friendly war game', he was gonna be seriously ticked.

Just to see what it would do, he pulled on a strap near his shoulder. For a few seconds, it stayed in place, and he really thought he'd finally gotten it. Then it unraveled completely, and he barely managed to grab it before it hit the ground.

He might as well face it. He was dead, and Chiron was gonna have to tell his mom that he, Poseidon's first child in decades, quester, retriever of Zeus' master bolt, died in a capture the flag accident.

Feeling particularly frustrated, he didn't notice when someone finally saw his dilemma and walked over, not until her blond curls were right in his face.

"You haven't figured out how to do this yet?" she asked. It was hard not to feel a little insulted by her tone, but he had come to realize that she didn't mean anything by it. She just hadn't learned tact yet. (And she'd never admit it, but Annabeth still hadn't quite recovered from the quest and Luke's subsequent betrayal. He could let this one slide for her sake.)

"I've only done it once," he said, "and you did it for me!"

So maybe he wasn't too great at tact either.

She grabbed a strap and started redoing his armor while he watched. "If I keep doing it for you, you'll never learn," she pointed out. "Here." She grabbed his hand and guided it to the other strap. "You try."

He sighed but did as he was told. It didn't look as good as the one she did, but he had to admit it looked and felt much better than before.

"Told you."

He stuck his tongue out at her. Then, since his mom raised a gentleman, he said, "Thanks."

She patted his shoulder. "Thank me when we win."

Percy watched, transfixed, as Annabeth slashed and stabbed, nothing but a vaguely blond whirl, beating some brown haired guy back to the mats until she pinned him down, 90 pounds of pure fury on top of at least 150 pounds of startled teenage boy.

The guy - Percy wasn't sure of his name - tapped out, and Annabeth quickly jumped up, eyes already scanning for her next victim. "Who's next?" she said.

The majority of the people in the training room scurried out after that.

"Cowards," Annabeth muttered and turned to a training dummy.

Percy watched her slash at it for a few minutes, and then, in a courageous move he thought would make his mom proud, he tentatively stepped forward. "Maybe you should take a break," he said with false calm.

She ignored him.

"Annabeth, you're scaring people," he tried, gulping when she tore a large chunk of fake flesh from the dummy. "You're already the best here, why don't you just-"

"Take a break?" she said, finally turning to meet his gaze. Her eyes were blazing, and he had to duck to avoid the dagger still in her hand.

"You've been here for hours-"

"How else will I beat Luke?" she asked. "He's the best swordsman for generations. I have to train as much as I can."

The situation was far worse than he thought. "And you're the best strategist, and you've beat everyone at camp already." Hopefully, appealing to her hubris would help.

It didn't. Her face closed off completely. "But I've never beat Luke."

He didn't ask if she was sure that she even wanted to beat him. He wasn't sure he wanted to know the answer.

Fine. Time to pull out the big guns. "I'll spar with you."

He held his breath as she gave him a disbelieving look. "Alright, but you're using a dagger."

"Oh. Uh-"

But she was already walking over to the weapons rack. "You need to learn how to use more than one weapon. You won't be able to use a sword in every situation."

"Isn't the whole point of having a sword that reappears in my pocket no matter what is so that I can use it in every situation?"

She gave him a look that clearly said, You're being an idiot. "What if you're in super close quarters and can't maneuver Riptide? What if you can't get to your pocket? What if someone manages to take it from you? What if you don't have pockets? What if-"

He held up a hand, because, holy crap. "Okay, okay, I get it." She smirked. "Teach me how to use a dagger."

With a certain gleam in her eyes he didn't really like, she grabbed one off the rack and handed it to him.

He gripped it on instinct, balancing it out and dropping into a fighting stance. "Is there anything - oh my gods!"

She didn't wait to give him any instruction before slashing at him with her own dagger, and he barely jumped out of its path. (Thank the gods for his ingrained battle instincts.)

He backed up as she continued her assault and narrowly avoided tripping over his own feet. Then, she delivered a particularly nasty jab, distracting him, and kicked his feet out from under him. His breath whooshed out as his back hit the ground.

"I win," she announced, her ponytail falling and hitting him in the face. Her dagger was pressed against his neck. "You're not guarding yourself enough. Remember, the dagger is shorter than your sword. And you need to actually defend yourself, not just back up."

He made a face at her. "A little warning would have helped."

"There's no warning in battle." She stood and offered him a hand. "Again."

So he got up, and they went again. And again. And again. She beat him every time, but when he came back the next day, he beat the trainer on duty, and Annabeth slept until 9.

That was a win in his book.

"That's so unstable," Annabeth commented, looking at Percy's gingerbread house which, admittedly, looked about 10 seconds from collapsing.

"It doesn't have to be stable," he said. "It's supposed to be fun!"

She snorted. "Fun is for losers and quitters."

Her gingerbread house didn't look like it was about to fall over. Hers was two stories tall with multiple rooms like a doll house and emblazoned with various candy designs: gumdrops on the roof, M&Ms dotting the grounds like gravel, a licorice moat. His was basically five graham crackers in a vague house shape sitting on chocolate icing.

He didn't mind though. They got to eat it in the end no matter what their houses looked like.

Pointedly ignoring her, he stuck a Kit-Kat straight up on the top graham cracker. It stayed for a second, then toppled into the brown icing like a stick in a mud pit.

"Oh, for the gods' sake," Annabeth muttered. She pulled his plate toward her and started rebuilding his little shack.

"Hey, I'm doing just fine," he protested, but one look from Annabeth had him cracking up. "Fine, so it sucks."

"Really sucks." He rolled his eyes, but she kept working until he had a quality graham cracker cabin with standing walls and everything. "See, you don't actually need that much icing to get it to stay. You just need better support."

He made an offended noise. "But that's the best part!"

He knew what she was going to say the second she opened her mouth. "The best part is winning first place."

Before he could retort, he happened to glance up at Grover sitting across from them and couldn't help but notice the look in his eyes. It was somewhere between exasperated and fond.

"What?" Percy asked.

He never heard the answer, however, as the Stolls chose that moment to start a food fight.

And Annabeth's house won first place, because of course it did.

They were lucky, very lucky, to have been walking past the park at the exact time they did. They were also very lucky (or unlucky; jury was still out) to have drawn the attention of the monster to them and away from the large group of children it had apparently been hunting.

"I smell children," the monster whispered, evidently still trying to hide herself. She was semi-transparent, ghostly, actually, with dark hair flowing down her back like a mane. "Such delicious demigods." She continued to amble after Percy and Annabeth as they led her away from the various crowds of people in the park.

Percy turned to Annabeth with a false sense of calm and asked, "What the hell is this thing?"

She glanced behind her surreptitiously. "I think she's Mormo."

"What - like in Utah?"

"Not Mormon, Seaweed Brain, Mormo."

Percy fiddled with Riptide in his pocket. "What's her deal?"

"Sources are sparse and a little conflicted, but basically, she eats kids."

"Oh, shit."

"Yeah, she also might be able to shape shift into a wolf or a horse."

"That's..."

"Wild, I know."

They made it to a relatively empty part of the park, and Percy decided he didn't want to wait to find out if she could shape shift or not. He caught Annabeth's eye and she nodded, already knowing the plan. He would distract while she snuck up from behind. Nothing they hadn't done a million times before.

He turned around. "Hey, lady! Eat this!" Without preamble, he uncapped Riptide and swung out at Mormo, hoping for the element of surprise.

Unfortunately, she ducked.

"So delicious," she muttered. Her form rippled. "The ichor in your blood will taste so good."

Behind her, Annabeth crept up slowly but surely.

"Nah, I don't think ichor would taste that good," Percy said. "Probably too spicy." Now, he was actually wondering if that was true.

Mormo laughed, a sharp, loud sound. "You have no idea child." She sniffed. "You are 16. What a delicious age."

He wanted to protest and say that so far, 16 hadn't been all that great barring him and Annabeth finally starting to date, but his girlfriend was less than two feet away from jumping the monster, so instead he said, "That's so creepy," and watched gleefully as Annabeth leapt forward with her dagger out and sent Mormo back to Tartarus.

Even covered in monster dust, she was still stunning. He held out his hand. "Let's go finish our date."

When Percy got to the New Rome library, his girlfriend was, predictably, surrounded by books.

"Hey, babe," he murmured.

He knew she had been aware of him coming, spatial awareness having become its own sixth sense over the years, so it was no surprise when she responded with nothing but an unintelligible chain of vowel sounds.

He laughed. "You ready to go home?"

A couple years, there would have been no point at all in trying to break through whatever cloud of work was occupying her mind at the moment, but she'd been really trying since the Giant War to not push herself past the point of no return.

"Um..." She put a bookmark in her textbook and started gathering books into her arms. "Yeah, let's go."

"What all are you checking out?" he asked even though he already knew the answer.

"All of them."

He grabbed the remaining books while she picked up her backpack, and they made their way to the front desk.

"What were you reading about?" he asked. He may have just come out of a day full of lectures, but her eyes lighting up like that made the long-ass rant he was about to get so worth it.

"The father of chemistry, Antoine Lavoisier," she answered. "He was alive during the French Revolution and did all kinds of stuff that paved the way for modern science."

They reached the circulation desk, and Annabeth continued telling him all about phlogiston theory and how Lavoisier refuted it, and about oxygen and hydrogen and carbon, and about his experiment to see what two weeks of drinking nothing but milk would do to his body.

At some point, the librarian gave them a funny look. Percy wasn't sure if it was because of the topic of their conversation or because they were checking out so many books.

Whatever. They earned the right to be weird in public.

"...and then he was guillotined for being a tax collector!" she finished with immense outrage.

He frowned and pushed the door open into the lamp-lit road. "Really?" That was not where he was expecting that story to go.

"Yeah, the Reign of Terror chopped his head off, which was a real shame because he was actually involved in a lot of government reform and other kinds of activism, especially in education."

"Cool."

"Yeah, I thought so." She bit her lip. "I guess the good guys don't always win."

He thought that was a little black and white since Lavoisier was a member of the upper class during a time when the lower class was still called peasants, but it really did sound like this guy was pretty chill.

And she had a good point.

He put a hand on her arm. "But we did."

+1 million

Annabeth shifts in the uncomfortable wooden library chair and turns her page, mind lost in thought. Antoine Lavoisier was an upper class French scientist who revolutionized the field of chemistry; he fought for class reform and education equality, and he brought humans' understanding of the world forward from phlogiston theory, the idea that a fire like element called phlogiston was partially responsible for combustion and present in all combustion reactions, to the discovery of hydrogen, oxygen, and a host of other elements, all unique and important.

And he got his chopped off. So much for scientific advancement.

Sensing Percy walking up behind her, she hurries to read the last few sentences of the page.

"You ready to go home?" he asks.

She closes the book. "Yeah, let's go."

They gather her stuff, Percy not once complaining about having to carry five textbook sized volumes, and make their way to the circulation desk.

"What were you reading about?" he asks. She loves him for that. No one else ever asks what she's reading for fear of getting caught in a long-winded explanation of some complex topic. Percy's eyes may glaze over while she talks, but he never tells her stop.

So she tells him about Lavoisier and all his triumphs and woes up until his decapitation, they end up on the street outside the library. It's nighttime already, their path lit with street lamps and porch lights. There's a chill in the air, so she pulls the sleeves of Percy's borrowed hoodie over her fingers while trying not to drop her books.

After she finishes her spiel, she bites her lip and says, "I guess the good guys don't always win."

Immediately, Percy turns to her, probably thinking the same thing she is, about all their dead friends and all their failures. He puts a hand on her arm, stopping them underneath a light. "But we did."

She looks at him and sees her wonderful boyfriend who loves her no matter what she does, who stayed with her after all this time, who fell into hell for her. The one who would choose her over the world. The one who taught her heart how to trust again. She's not quite sure she believes it, but she knows it's the truth. "I guess we did."

They smile at each other and walk home in comfortable silence.

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in-every-reality · 9 months

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“I don’t know what you do to me.” - Tam Song x Reader hc/blurbs

Hyperfixation go brrr

In which Tam is pining hard for you, but just doesn’t know why he’s feeling like this.

Tam Song doesn’t know how to respond when he first meets you, instantly standing out from the rest of the Black Swan and your group in his eyes.

Tam doesn’t know why he’s so warm, relaxed yet on edge, when he speaks to you during his time in Alluveterre.

Tam doesn’t know why his breath catches in his throat when he sees you dressed up for the Peace Summit for the Black Swan, in your intricate (yet semi professional) suit/dress that fits you so well—your hair still managing to fall slightly in your face, though not in the way of your eyes that always seem to put him in a trance.

Tam doesn’t know why he trips on his words as he manages to mumble out a quick “You- look nice..” as he and Linh wish you luck.

Tam doesn’t know why he’s constantly watching your back in the battle at Nightfall; he knows you can handle yourself, so why does his heart seem to momentarily stop when he hears a crash from your direction?

Tam doesn’t know why he’s suddenly so sweaty as you come to Tiergan’s house to study with Linh but almost always end up alone with him when she leaves for “a snack” for half an hour.

Tam doesn’t know why he’s always first to volunteer when you need someone to train with; making your spar a challenge but almost always getting distracted and ending up pinned beneath you Percabeth-style, willing his breathing to calm down as he stares up at you ,wanting nothing more than to bring his face up just a little closer to yours.

Tam doesn’t know why he instinctively moves closer to you when you attract the eyes of yet another Foxfire prodigy—it’s not like who’s into you matters to him.. *it’s not like you’re his.*

Tam doesn’t know why he gets so red when a subtle glimpse of your abs peeks out from your rising tunic as you stretch your arms over you; why those striking silver eyes of his trace your body, stopping right at your lips.

Tam doesn’t know why he can’t seem to stop asking Sophie about you, eventually ending up ranting about how impressive and smart and kind and badass and *gorgeous* you are— he just can’t think straight about you.

Tam doesn’t know what he’s doing as his eyes hold contact with yours, his hand running back through his hair to push his bangs out of his eyes when he tells you how you make him feel, how long he’s been desperately trying to hold in how weak you make him—

Tam doesn’t know what you’re doing before you pull his face down to yours, confessing your reciprocating feelings and how long you’ve wanted to do this as you give him a soft kiss (which he returns in full).

Tam doesn’t know how his heart can beat so hard without killing him as he pulls you in again for more.

He never really knows why he does anything when it comes to you.

#Idk if this is any good #tam song #kotlc #kotlc x reader #tam song x reader

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thesungod · 1 year

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Hello I would like your opinion and all possible spoilers for will nico book pls I don’t want to read it but I wanna catch up 🙏

hello anon! prepare yourself for my unadulterated, raw opinion and be warned: it’s not pretty.

BIG SPOILERS AND HARSH HARSH NEGATIVITY UNDER THE CUT please don’t read if you don’t enjoy hating and being mean let yourself have fun if you liked the book <33

So.

Let’s start with this: I had the BEST INTENTIONS about this book. Yeah, I bullied the preview like anyone else, but I had really been intrigued by Nico’s dream sequence and I do love, despite everything I say, Solangelo. Nico has been one of my favourite characters for my entire life and I have wanted a book about him ever since I was 12.

You see how much was at stake for me to enjoy this book?

And I didn’t.

I didn’t, because this book SUCKS.

First of all 1) This shit was boring. Like, I’m sorry. Believe me, it breaks my heart to say something like that because Nico?? BORING??

But yeah. I dare anyone to tell me something actually meaningful that happens in the first half of the book. Will getting coffee on his shirt? The Percabeth pep talk? (And I’m quoting). The infinite, repetitive dream sequences that did nothing for me because they were, you know, infinite and repetitive?

There was also constant reiteration of things that had already happened in previous books, both in the form of dreams and flashbacks, both because the authors never let anything be implied or understood by the reader on their own. Every single thought and feeling and past experience of Nico is shouted at us ad nauseam because god forbid we forget loneliness is part of him and he could never be loved and his sister died and and and.

It’s almost like Mark and Rick browsed the online pjo fandom, took a look at all the things we like about Nico and said “hey, what if we constantly make him think and say exactly those things with an off-putting self awareness and a dramatic tone? I’m sure people will love that!”

I finally thought we were going somewhere with them getting caught stealing by Persephone (yeah that happens) but it transformed into yet another tirade about love and friendship and how important they are. Which brings me to the second point.

2) Someone put tape in the mouth of every single character in this book. I’m so serious.

How many endless, therapy-talk, this-is-an-adult-speaking-not-a-weird-teenager conversations did we get? I don’t know. A million?

I’m reading a fantasy book. Do I need to be reminded about the importance of healthy boundaries and communication every time I turn the page?

I know, I know. The book is for kids and kids need to learn that friendship is magic and whatever.

But, yk, PJO and HoO and ToA are for kids too and while they have their flaws, I never felt like they were giving me a lecture.

This book was downright insufferable. I didn’t have pure, unadulterated fun for a single moment and it wasn’t because I had outgrown the target, which would have been a much more understandable reason, but because it was so slow and didactic and moralistic and lacked any humor except a couple of forced meta jokes. It was fucking sad.

And that serves me point 3 right on a silver platter.

3) Will and Nico have 0 chemistry and I wanted to beat the shit out of them

Seriously when did these two start hating each other. When did they start giving “why are we together” energy. I don’t get it. What happened.

They were so great in the Tower of Nero. They were fun, and colourful, and dynamic, and different, and teenagers, but also you could see that they were two people going through a lot. It didn’t feel as if Nico’s trauma was cheapened just because he occasionally enjoyed spending time with his boyfriend.

In this book… I mean, we get told they are in love. We get told approximately a million of times.

But what we are shown is two people constantly on the brink of beating each other with sticks. We didn’t get one big explosive stress fight, or the resurfacing of a couple of buried issues, as I expected. What we got was an exhausting death by a thousand cuts where Nico was angry at Will for breathing (seriously, count how many times the words annoyed or irritated are said about Nico in regards to his boyfriend) and Will apparently doesn’t understand Nico at all after a year of dating.

Basically, Nico is constantly mad at Will because Will doesn’t like the Underworld and never fails to make it known, while the Underworld is Nico’s home, and that could have been a kind of potentially interesting point of conflict if it hadn’t become draining at page 20. Was it realistic? I mean, I guess!! But that doesn’t mean I wanted to see that shit the entire time.

This was an urban fantasy book for middle schoolers!!! I wanted to have fun!! I didn’t have fun!!!

How could anyone ever have fun with a 400 page long account of two idiot teenagers getting on each other’s nerve with the occasional therapy communication-kiss-therapy communication-kiss interlude? NOT ME.

If that’s you, good for you, truly. But how is this Percy Jackson? Percy Jackson built an empire on being funny and cheeky in an effortless way and ToA followed suit, no matter what personal gripe one may have against the series. HoO is a bit of a wild card, but it was never close to being this flat and depressing. Not. Even. Close.

And as if two protagonists who I used to love being a giant pain in my ass wasn’t enough, the meager plot one can occasionally find between a dream sequence and a flashback and a stupid argument and a conversation about how humanity is love or whatever isn’t even compelling or engaging.

4) And are the interesting new characters in the room with us, Rick?

The only bad guy of the book is Nyx. Nyx is bad because she’s Darkness. She was born Bad and will die Bad and she’s Baddy McBad.

But don’t worry if the villain underwhelms you, because we will meet new interesting characters too!

… yeah, no.

We won’t.

Again. This is a kids’ book.

But. Have we forgotten Percy Jackson is for middle to high schoolers? Like, I know of people enjoying it well into their 20s because it’s nice fun. When did it become for 2 year olds?

Let’s leave aside the fact that Nyx’s motive makes little sense (no worries anon, we will be talking about this later) because there’s no way she cares this much about Nico Di Angelo. Not even I care this much about Nico Di Angelo and he’s been my entire personality ever since I was eleven. Be fucking for real. You’re not that guy, pal.

Any other character who’s not Nyx that is shown is sweet and kind and is changing and is in love and has been to therapy and loves other people. I could have vaguely accepted this (honestly, ToA often worked on a very similar premise), if it hadn’t meant making every single person or monster or whatever Will and Nico meet painfully boring. Literally fucking blank states.

I spent the whole book begging for Apollo to show up just so that someone could admit to drowning his ex in a bathtub and make a sex joke immediately after, because no one else was doing anything remotely cool whatsoever.

Even Persephone and Hades became Disney characters and wistfully raved about the power of love. What. The. Fuck.

It’s so wrong because ToA did the whole “love is everywhere, humans (and creatures) are cool” thing so much better while its characters still managed to have a personality, or were at the very least funny, and some were even villains.

This was all so blah.

Okay, now. Prepare yourself anon. Get a seat. Get a drink.

5) The finale.

Super short summary: Nyx wants Nico Di Angelo to live in Tartarus with her because Nico is special and unique and no one is like him. She makes babies out of his worst nightmares and traumas (because she can… do that, I guess?) and tries to guilt him into staying.

Yeah I know that this is weird as fuck but stay with me.

Nico Di Angelo is special and unique and has the power of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic on his side, so he tells her to fuck off AND keeps the trauma babies, without any sacrifice required at all. If you’re asking yourself what role Will has in this, it’s zero. Zilch. He was literally useless for the actual plot, but we’ll get to that later.

After escaping Tartarus with Bob, Small Bob, Will and trauma babies, Nico finds out this entire thing has been plotted by Hades, who faked a whole prophecy to send his own son back to Tartarus and save Bob, because he knew Nico could do it and he loves Bob or whatever. Hades also hugs Nico and tells him he’s proud of him because he’s special and unique, and for some incomprehensible reason that I’m still attempting to concoct Nico doesn’t kick his ass for it.

He re-traumatised Nico just to get Bob out of Tartarus (because his voice was bothering him or whatever) but… I guess that’s okayyy?

I’m not going to comment any further on Nyx and trauma babies because frankly it’s just plain weird. Like I don’t even know what to say, except that it seems kind of far-fetched for a primordial goddess to do all that for Some Guy. I do have something to say against the Some Guy, though.

6) Someone sucker punch Nico, please.

Never have I ever seen a character act like such a dumb asshole for the entire run of a book while somehow being worshipped for being the Best Person Ever.

You know what was great about Nico? The fact that the books weren’t constantly yelling at you that HE IS GOOD HE IS GOOD HE IS GOOD HE IS GOOD LOOK AT HIM BEING GOOD DOING A THANKLESS JOB BECAUSE HE’S GOOD. You just kinda had to put 2 and 2 together. He acted like he wanted nobody and cared for nobody but we, the readers, called bullshit because everything he did went against that narrative. And when he was outed in HoH, we all said “oooooh”. Him loving Percy made so much more sense than him hating Percy, because his actions spoke louder than his words.

He was a kid, and he was going through it, but he was never completely won over by the bad side because he cared too much about people, even when they didn’t care about him. To quote myself, Nico has never won the idgaf war.

Well, in this book he won the idgaf war. He treated Will like shit, which we’ll attribute to nerves. His thoughts about dead people desperately looking for redemption or release were disturbingly unsympathetic, and he just did things without ever thinking of the consequences for others.

To be fair, this wasn’t a total 180 for him: Nico was previously shown to be touchy and defensive (hence the being mean to Will, who occasionally makes the grave mistake of expressing a thought that isn’t overwhelmingly positive on the literal worst place on the planet), cold (him killing Bryce and Octavian etc) and impulsive. Character flaws, we love them!!

Except that the final moral of the book is that Nico is The Best Person Ever Who Never Asked For Anything In Return For His Whole Complete Goodness And Now Gets An Army Of Little Trauma Babies Who Worship Him.

Ummm… Nico canonically commited murder? Hello?

Sure, he was never Bad, and Love Was In His Heart and all, but the entire point of his character arc was deciding that love was enough. Nico has, again and again, flirted with the bad guys, and been sketchy. He’s not PJO’s Jesus, and this last minute treatment of him was so weird.

We all wanted Nico to have a Win™️ , but it could have been anything less on the nose (NICO IS SO GREAT GUYS OMG) and it still would have been fine.

Also just… idk there’s something that rubs me the wrong way about pretending that pre-tsats Nico was trauma trauma trauma pain pain pain. Life is complex. Nico was a character that happened to go through things, not a character that things happened to with nothing else going for him.

What about Will, though? Well…

7) Will, get behind me.

Is he dumb? Yes.

Does he understand Nico perfectly? No.

Do I like him? The jury is out.

But he did not deserve this slander. Like, omg. He spent the book getting bullied and being useless in battles because he’s not a fighter and Tartarus makes Apollo’s kids weak (wow who would have thought!).

Nico made him cry, for fucks’ sake. A full on sob cry. Admittedly he had acted foolishly but damn.

He’s just a silly little guy, your honor😭

He also, inexplicably, didn’t expeditiously call his father or his mother or the firefighters or someone to kidnap Hades and flog him, despite the fact that Hades tortured his boyfriend for months and sent them both to Tartarus on a fake prophecy.

On a bright note, his pov was actually pretty okay.

So yeah, anon. This book is a pile of genuinely weird, kinda mean spirited and annoyingly moralistic garbage that created PJO Jesus, gave said PJO Jesus babies (?) shoved a couple of gay jokes in the middle of it as if I wouldn’t notice the rest, unwatered my crops, uncleared my skin, single-handedly managed to kill my PJO fixation that has been going on since middle school in six hours and kicked my dog on top of it.

Thanks for reading.

#tsats spoilers #ask #this is really long

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queenpiranhadon · 5 months

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Dividers by @cafekitsune Twelve Days of Christmas Oneshot Countdown masterlist: ★ Star Crossed Haters masterlist: ★ An Explosive Birthday masterlist:★

𝐊𝐨𝐭𝐋𝐂: ☁︎ “May I Have This Dance?” ⎸⎸ Sandor x Grizel Oneshot → Grizel finally takes Sandor on that dance he owed her. ☁︎ “You Must Be Lost” ⎸⎸ Sokeefe Oneshot → Keefe asks Sophie if he’s still the guy he was all those years ago. ☁︎ His Friend ⎸⎸ Neverseen! Grady x Black Swan! Edaline Oneshot → Grady stops repressing his Talent and instead works to make himself more powerful alongside the Neverseen. But all actions have consequences.

𝐑𝐢𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐚𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞:

☾ Sorella ⎸⎸ Riordanverse Onesto → Bianca has to tie up some loose ends before she’s ready for rebirth

☾ We're Not in Kansas Anymore ⎸⎸ Percabeth Oneshot → Percy decided to uphold the promise he made to Annabeth all those years ago.

𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐰 𝐕𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐲: ❀ Pumpkin Soup ⎸⎸ Sebastian x F!Reader → You find out how to make the resident all time gloomy boy Sebastian, like you. ❀ After 10﹕00 ⎸⎸ Alex x F!Reader → Alex takes notices of the local lumberjack after she beats his high score at the Stardew Valley Fair. He decides to talk to her.

𝐇𝐢𝐠𝐡 𝐂𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐬 𝐇𝐨𝐦𝐨𝐬: ♕ The Sea Song ⎸⎸ HCH Oneshot → Three girls and their captivating music attracts the ears and hearts of the small village they were in. Little did they know that this happy family, wasn't so happy at all...

𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐯𝐞𝐥: ⭐︎Sweet Angel ⎸⎸ Bucky Barnes x reader → You fall apart after your year-long boyfriend disappears without a trace. You thought you moved on, and now here he is, months later with no recollection of who you are.

𝐀𝐭𝐋𝐀:

☀ His Little Waterbender ⎸⎸ Prince Zuko x Reader → You, a Waterbender from the Northern Water Tribe, are determined to protect your home from the Fire Nation. But what happens when you’re opponent is none other than the first prince himself? ☀Eel Rolls ⎸⎸ Sokka x Reader → After betraying the Fire Nation, you, and extremely powerful firebender, seek refuge in Ba Sing Se. One day the Gaang stumbles into your path, and you find yourself giddy over a certain blue eyed boy in their midst.

𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐧 𝐈𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐭:

✦ Dandelion Wine ⎸⎸ Diluc Ragnvindr x Reader → You are finally returning home to Monstadt City after pursuing your dreams and exploring the world. When you get too tipsy one night and you can't defend yourself from an approaching mitachurl, who will save you then?

𝐇𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐲 𝐏𝐨𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫: ‎⚡︎ Hate ⎸⎸ Sirius Black x Reader

→ You, a Ravenclaw, are battling some severe anxiety in the middle of the night, so you slip out and wander the halls of Hogwarts for some reprieve in your thoughts. Turns out though, encountering a professor in the middle of the night is the least of your worries. ‎⚡︎ Against the World ⎸⎸ Fred Weasley x Reader → There’s nothing wrong between a Gryffindor and a Slytherin dating, so what better place to tell everyone that than the Yule Ball?

𝐌𝐲 𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐨 𝐀𝐜𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐚:

𖥔 His Words, Not Yours ⎸⎸ Bakugou Katsuki x Reader → Katsuki’s parents invite the both of you over for dinner to meet you for the first time. 𖥔 Goodnight ⎸⎸ Bakugou Katsuki x Reader → Katsuki finds out about your secret status as an underground pro hero.

𝐍𝐢𝐧𝐣𝐚𝐠𝐨:

⚔︎ After ⎸⎸ Cole Brookstone x Reader → You and the rest of the ninja settle down after everything ended.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐈𝐧𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐆𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐬:

ꗃ His ⎸⎸ Riordanverse x Inheritance Games Oneshot

→ Grayson finds out he's adopted- but the news of his real parents is a bigger shock than he anticipated...

#kae’s masterlist

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kazoosandfannypacks · 3 months

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summary: an extended version of percy and annabeth's dance at the end of the titan's curse word count: 1475 words a/n: to celebrate me finally reading through the pjo series, i wrote a little expansion on one of my favorite scenes. percy being told by a literal goddess to stay away from her daughter then immediately asking that daughter to dance in the streets of olympus with him is my roman empire. shoutout to my darling @laughingphoenixleader for getting me into this fandom and betaing this fic taglist: @laughingphoenixleader @jedi-nurse {if you'd like to be added to my percabeth/pjo taglist, let me know!}

also on ao3!

Could've Lived This Dance Forever

I couldn't tell you what song was playing. If I'd even tried to listen to the words or the melody, it wouldn't've made a difference. I might've picked out a saxophone or something like that, but for all I know about instruments, it may as well have been a kazoo.

I had better things to pay attention to anyways, There was the smile Annabeth was trying so hard to hide. There was the sparkle in her eyes that I could've sworn wasn't there before I'd asked her to dance.

There was also the way that the pit of my stomach felt jumbled up and twisted in knots almost as much as my tied-up-tongue. I was thankful Annabeth was always telling me to shut up, because it gave me a little more confidence that my loss for words hadn't messed this moment up yet.

I closed my eyes for just a moment, losing myself in the music and the dance and just the feeling of her hand in mine, and my hand on her side.

Usually, if something even close to being like this happened, it was because she was pulling me back from something that would've gotten me killed if not for her, or I was pulling her back from something she hadn't realized yet we couldn't beat, or we were running from monsters and trying to keep from being separated.

But this time, all of that was different. There was nothing chasing us. We weren't in any danger, at least, nothing that presented an immediate cause for alarm. We were safe. As we danced in the streets of Olympus, all thoughts about battles and prophecies and monsters and quests and fates flitted away.

I even started to forget about the conversation I'd just had with her mother— her godly mom, Athena— though of course, now that I was thinking about the fact that I forgot about it, I remembered it again.

"I do not approve of your friendship with my daughter. I do not think it is wise for either of you."

It was a good thing that, with all due respect, I didn't give a rip about what most of the pantheon thought.

I opened my eyes, and saw Annabeth glance away from me, as though she hadn't wanted me to notice how she'd been studying and analyzing me when I wasn't looking. I had no idea what she'd surmised from the smile on my face and my simple footsteps that kept me from stepping on her toes, but she had her mother's insight, and could probably tell a lot more than I thought I was letting on.

I glanced over her shoulder, and saw Poseidon, who for a second almost seemed to be giving me a thumbs up, though we turned too quickly for me to notice.

My gaze then caught Aphrodite's, and as she nodded with a subtle smile, I remembered the words she'd said to me back in the car in the desert, something about Annabeth and I, and "true love." I'd heard about true love in some Disney movies, but those were just fairytales to me.

Of course, furies and demigods and cyclops and minotaur were nothing more than fairytales to me a few years ago, and now they were all I seemed to know anymore, so maybe this "true love" stuff wasn't so far fetched either.

Now, I didn't even know if I loved Annabeth— not like that, anyways. I wouldn't've even told my friends that I "like-like" her, or had a crush or anything like that. But I knew that I liked having her in my life, and that I wouldn't like it very much if she wasn't in my life anymore. I knew that I liked it more than I should when she picked apart my bad ideas and called me Seaweed Brain. I knew that I'd do everything in my power to save her, no matter what life threw at me, that I'd do anything I could to protect her. Don't ask me how I knew, I just did, just like I knew that, as much as we found ourselves fighting a lot, I'd give up anything for her.

And I knew I didn't want this moment to end, to hold her and watch her face shine as she danced as graceful and free and lovely as any dryad or goddess or nymph in all of Olympus.

And if that's what true love is, then I didn't want to settle for anything less

🧡•🖤•🧡

I wondered if Percy noticed the others watching us like I did. Not just here on Olympus, but back at Camp Half Blood, and at Westover Hall, and on some of our quests too, and even in the gleam in his mother's eye when she'd met me.

At least his mother was easy to please.

I didn't need Percy to tell me what he and Athena had talked about. Her harsh words and steel glances in the council had told me more than enough— she wasn't too big on me hanging out with Poseidon's son, and if Poseidon's son had been anyone other than Percy, I would've had no problem with avoiding him.

That's why I was so surprised when Percy asked me to dance. A week ago, he had been hard-pressed to dance with me as a simple part of an undercover mission. Now, even in the presence of a god who'd told him to steer clear of me, he willingly asked me to dance? Either Percy was really brave, really stupid, or too impertinent for his own good, but I couldn't help but oblige.

Something had changed in him over the last week, that much I knew. A dance is a lot like a battle, and this opponent's strategy had changed. He seemed to know what he was doing, to care what he was doing, and either his past quest had enrolled him in a dance academy, or maybe he'd gained some confidence these past few days.

Then again, maybe that was just the feeling of the weight of the sky being lifted off your shoulders, and the freedom and weightlessness that came with it.

Whatever had happened to him though, it was working. I found myself enjoying myself a little more this time.

However, I was also painfully aware of the hundreds of pairs of eyes on us, each having their own opinion on us. Did some think I could do better than share a dance with this seaweed brained half-blood who was never meant to exist? Did they notice the flash of red along my cheek as Percy smiled at me? The most important beings in all of Olympus were watching me, and I…

Percy's eyes met mine in a way that made me feel a lot more stupid than I liked to feel. He was like that, really, never very clever and making me wonder sometimes why cleverness even mattered so much to me.

He never cared much for other's opinions either, or, at least, not that he let on. But if he did, he wouldn't've minded my opinion of him at that moment. He wasn't half bad when he kept his stupid mouth shut.

But, leave it to Percy Jackson to risk ruining a perfectly good moment by running his mouth.

"I, uh," he smiled, then swallowed, clearly nervous, "I wouldn't've made it this far without you, Annabeth."

I wasn't sure what the music playing sounded like to him, but whatever song it was must've been similar enough to what I heard that it felt a natural part of the dance when he spun me out— an opportunity I relished so he wouldn't see my smile at his compliment.

I wondered if he noticed, when he pulled me back towards himself, that he pulled me a little closer to him than I had been. He must've, or he would've been stepping on my toes a lot more.

My eyes met his again. If everyone on Olympus had been watching us, they certainly were now, filling in the blanks on the wordless messages passed between our eyes.

I wonder if he knew how his smile jumbled my thoughts in the only way that I didn't seem to mind. He must've, or he wouldn't've been smiling at me so much.

"Don't get all mushy on me now, Seaweed Brain," I said.

I wonder if he understood all the things I meant when I said that, that even when I insulted him, I couldn't stay mad at him, that I only pushed him away because he always came back when I did.

He must've, or he wouldn't've rolled his eyes with delight when I said it, and he certainly wouldn't've pulled me just a little closer, his voice dripping with sarcasm as he whispered, "I wouldn't dream of it."

#percy jackson and the olympians #percabeth #the titan's curse #percy jackson #annabeth chase #kazzy writes #fanfiction #percy jackson book spoilers #kazzy borrows uncle rick's sweater

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justaz · 2 years

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just thinking about post botl (pre tlo) percabeth,, just the tension and the angst

percy who is very clearly in love with her and knows it and wants to do something about it but doesn’t want to at the same time bc he’s not gonna be here for her after his next birthday, the fates decreed that almost a century ago. he remembers their talk on the train near the gateway arch of annabeth wanting to build something permanent, he knows about her mom, dad, thalia, and luke and how they left her behind, like she meant nothing, and he believes that she deserves something permanent and he can’t give that to her. his time is running out and he wants nothing more than to beat the odds, to overcome this prophecy, and be her something permanent. but he knows that you can’t escape your fate. he will die on his birthday. and he will be another name on the list of those who’ve left her.

annabeth who hates herself for that stupid decision she made when she was twelve to become friends with someone that she KNEW wasn’t going to live long, she hates herself for falling for him, and she hates him for making it so easy. she especially hates him for his acceptance of the prophecy, the way he declared in the woods that winter that the prophecy is his, that it’s about him and the way that he lives as if it means nothing, like there’s not a clock over his head that is quickly approaching zero. for fucks sake, he’s always off with some mortal girl when he’s not at camp as if he’s not about to leave her like everyone else. but that’s not really his fault, is it? it’s the fates, and their stupid fucking prophecies. she wants this to be easier on her so she fights, pushes him away, but for some reason that hurts more.

just the feeling of helplessness they both feel, the longing for one another that they push down and try their best to ignore because that might just make it hurt worse, the way percy appears to accept his death as if it means nothing whilst staying up at night to prolong his time alive, to keep the next day away for as long as he can. he wants to lean on his family and friends and he wants to tell them that he’s scared, that he’s absolutely terrified, but he can’t bc there is nothing that anyone can do about it. annabeth wanting to keep him close to enjoy whatever time they have left and at the very least have memories that she can look back on later, but they might hurt worse than what’s coming if she doesn’t leave first, she has to put distance between them, if he’s too close she’ll be scorched by him, but the ache in her chest is horrible, it’s unbearable, she needs him. there’s no way to escape this pain, this suffering, he’s going to hurt her just like everyone else, and he doesn’t mean to, he doesn’t want to, if it were up to him, she knows that he would allow them both to be mortal and live peaceful lives away from all this. but they are just pawns, tools of the gods. they mean nothing in the grand scheme of things, just a speck in the passage of time and the eyes of the gods. just a string for the fates to cut. just a soul for hades to collect.

#percy jackson #annabeth chase #percabeth #percy jackson and the olympians #heros of olympus #pjo #hoo #them.#just thinking thots #and lots of em #THE ANGST #THE QUIET SORROW #THE RESIGNATION AND ACCEPTANCE #im going to eat my shoes #i love them #do u think they ever had a fight where annabeth was pushing on why he just didn’t care at all that he was going to die #and he just broke and asked her if she truly thought he didn’t care #that he wasn’t absolutely terrified #do u think he told her #that he didn’t WANT to die #that he’s too young to be worried about that or to even know that he’s dying next year #that all he wants is to graduate and live a long happy life #he doesn’t want to leave her #but that there is NOTHING he can do #and she just sees this pain and fear and grief that he feels as he mourns for a life he didn’t get to live #do u think the fight tapered off and annabeth just held percy in her arms and they sunk to the floor and both sobbed

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astradreaming · 8 months

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PJO + folklore (Taylor Swift)

Characters includes Percy, Annabeth, Grover, Nico, Luke, Clarisse.

Songs includes August, Invisible string, Mirrorball, exile, this is me trying, my tears ricochet, mad woman, cardigan.

masterlist

Percy Jackson: August/Invisible string

August slipped away into a moment in time. Cause it was never mine // For me, it was enough. To live for the hope of it all. Cancel plans just in case you'd call.

(Percabeth pre-dating)

Time, mystical time. Cuttin' me open, then healin' me fine // All along there was some. Invisible string. Tying you to me?

(Percabeth fated love type beat)

Annabeth Chase: Mirrorball

And when I break it's in a million pieces // I know they said the end is near // I've never been a natural. All I do is try, try, try // I'm still trying everything. To keep you looking at me.

(me too annabeth, me too)

Grover Underwood: Exile

I think I've seen this film before. And I didn't like the ending // Now I'm in exile, seein' you out // 'Cause you never gave a warning sign (I gave so many signs). So many signs, so many signs. You didn't even see the signs // You're not my homeland anymore. So what am I defending now?

(Early TLT, then during TBOTL to the Council)

Nico Di Angelo: This is me trying

I've been having a hard time adjusting // Could've followed my fears all the way down // They told me all of my cages were mental. So I got wasted like all my potential. And my words shoot to kill when I'm mad. I have a lot of regrets about that // I just wanted you to know. That this is me trying.

(During/After TBOTL with Bianca)

Luke Castellan: My tears ricochet/Mad woman

You wear the same jewels that I gave you As you bury me // 'Cause when I'd fight, you used to tell me I was brave // And I still talk to you (when I'm screaming at the sky) And when you can't sleep at night (you hear my stolen lullabies) // I didn't have it in myself to go with grace. And so the battleships will sink beneath the waves. You had to kill me, but it killed you just the same. Cursing my name, wishing I stayed. You turned into your worst fears. And you're tossing out blame, drunk on this pain. Crossing out the good years

(During betrayal directed to Annabeth, Hermes and Percy)

Does a scorpion sting when fighting back? They strike to kill and you know I will // And when you say I seem angry. I get more angry // What a shame she went mad. No one likes a mad woman. You made her like that. And you'll poke that bear 'til her claws come out // It's obvious that wanting me dead. Has really brought you two together // Takin' my time. 'Cause you took everything from me // Watchin' you climb. Over people like me.

(Post-betrayal)

Clarisse La Rue: cardigan

A friend to all is a friend to none // When you are young, they assume you know nothin' // You drew stars around my scars But now I'm bleedin' // 'Cause I knew you. Steppin' on the last train. Marked me like a bloodstain, I, I knew you. Tried to change the ending. Peter losing Wendy, I, I knew you. Leavin' like a father. Running like water, I, And when you are young, they assume you know nothing // And I knew you'd come back to me You'd come back to me

(Clarisse + Chris during TBOTL)

#pjo #pjo fandom #percy jackson and the olympians #taylor swift folklore #folklore #percy jackson #august #invisible string #annabeth chase #mirrorball #grover underwood #exile #nico di angelo #this is me trying #luke castellan #my tears ricochet #mad woman #clarisse la rue #cardigan

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miikkkkkkkka · 4 years

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hello my fellow percabeth stans. i just thought about how all of the headcanons we made for percabeth throughout the years about them being happy and in love and building something permanent together all have the chance of coming true. 15 years worth of headcanons could come true. all the fanfiction we read about parents!percabeth and college!percabeth could all come true. at this point, it’s entirely up to us to decide how their lives would be, and I don’t know about you guys but for me, percabeth are going to go to college, stay safe and happy together, graduate, start a family, and be safe and happy for the rest of their lives.

#percabeth #annabeth chase #percy jackson #pjo #percy x annabeth #hoo #heroes of olympus #annabeth #percy #annabeth x percy #im happy rn #thank you god #percabeth are really that couple huh #nothing beats percabeth

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asterianmelody · 3 years

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Literally any scene where one of them is falling but then the other reaches out to grab them and they’re hanging on to each other because that all they have left, and the world stops turning to hold its breath and watch, and they’re both trusting each other to stay alive (one of them begs to not let go, the other pleads to let them go so they could at least save themselves)

#AHHHHHHHHHHH #excuse me while i scream #never getting over this #never gonna shut up about this #nothing beats it #i love these #percabeth #rayllum #it doesn’t even have to be romantic #just friends or humans in general

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bbyannabeth · 2 years

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percabeth spiderman AU part 2

part 1

percy holds the phone up to his ear, bracing himself. “hey, beth,” he says, the words coming out in a rush. “so i know we were supposed to get dinner and study and everything tonight, but something came up. i won’t be able to make it.”

he peeks over the edge of the roof again, watching the three thugs below as they double-check their guns for ammo. they’re hidden deep in an alleyway, and percy had been on his way home when he heard them talking about robbing the bank across the street. and he’s already suited up, so there’s no reason not to stop them before anyone gets hurt.

“wait, what?” annabeth asks.

the guys below are beginning to move, so percy has to wrap this up fast. “i'm really sorry, i'll make it up to you.”

“you always do this, percy. you bail or whatever last minute,” she complains, the frown evident in her voice.

“i know, i know. i'm sorry. i have to go, though. i'm really sorry,” he gets out in a rush before ending the call. he slips his phone away. guilt bubbles up in his chest, but he pushes it down for now. instead of thinking about his best friend, he drops to the ground right in front of the three robbers.

“hey fellas,” he says, falsely cheery. “nice night, huh?”

annabeth walks out of the bookstore, carefully rearranging the three books in her arms. she should’ve brought her tote bag, but she hadn’t planned on stopping in at the store. she almost makes it to her apartment when two familiar faces just have to ruin her day.

“hey princess.”

annabeth’s shoulders tense. she lifts her chin, determined not to show the anxiety that’s coursing through her. “clarisse.”

“been looking for you, you know,” she says. beside her is another one of clarisse’s friends annabeth doesn’t know the name of. she doesn’t say anything, letting clarisse do all the talking. “figured i should teach you a lesson about opening that mouth of yours.”

annabeth’s fingers tighten on her books. “it’s not my fault you got detention,” annabeth said.

“but you were the one who told brunner, ain’t that right?”

annabeth should back down, but she doesn’t. “if you didn’t beat kids up for their lunch money like some cheap bully in a high school movie, i wouldn’t have to tell brunner anything.”

as soon as the words leave annabeth’s mouth, she regrets them. clarisse, on the other hand, seems to be done talking. she starts towards annabeth, her hands already curling into fists. for a second, annabeth is sure this is it for her; her smartass mouth that always gets her in trouble had done its job one final time.

and then a blur of red and blue drops down in front of her.

“sorry to interrupt girls’ night, but how about we leave her alone, huh?” spiderman asks. annabeth’s jaw nearly hits the ground.

clarisse isn’t as impressed, pulling a face. “as if i'm gonna take orders from a guy in spandex.”

spiderman won’t let her pass though, and it’s clear clarisse is getting frustrated. annabeth is almost appalled at her stupidity when she tries to take a swing at the guy, who catches her fist in midair. clarisse gasps sharply, which tells annabeth spiderman’s grip is a little tighter than it looks.

“really dude?” he asks. “look, i'm sure you don’t wanna get beat up by a guy in spandex either so how about we go home, huh? drink some water, take a breath. you’re so angry, you know?”

clarisse rips her hand away from him, giving annabeth one last glare. “this isn’t over, princess.”

she and her friend stalk away, and annabeth finally lets herself relax. spiderman turns to her, and she smiles a little. “thank you,” she says softly. “i'm not entirely sure she would’ve let me live.”

he shrugs, like it’s nothing. “bullies are all the same. just way too much repressed anger taken out on the wrong people,” he shakes his head. “i'm glad i could help, though.”

annabeth nods again, still smiling stupidly. she’s always admired spiderman, so seeing him up close, him saving her is really cool. “well thanks again.”

“no problem,” he says. “get home safe, beth.”

that knocks the shock right out of her.

“what did you call me?” she whispers, so quietly she almost thinks he won’t hear. but his body freezes up, and he looks at her. the white eyes on his mask widen in a way that would be funny if he hadn’t just called her that.

“uh, miss. i called you miss.”

he’s nervous, that’s clear as day. “no,” she shakes her head slowly. “you called me- how did you even know my name?”

spiderman stares at her. “i'm sorry, i have to go,” he says quickly, lifting his arm to shoot his webs upwards. in a second, he’s gone. annabeth is too shocked to move because that one sentence sends a wave of deja vu through her.

now that she isn’t awestruck by him, she realizes how familiar his voice sounded. there’s only one person who calls her beth.

annabeth feels like she’s going to be sick. she all but runs home, bolting up the stairs of her apartment building. she tosses her new books onto her bed when she gets to her room, pulling her laptop open immediately. she takes her phone out and checks her call log, going back to that phone call from percy two nights ago.

then she opens google and searches for spiderman’s recent activity and arrests in the city.

everything is already pointing to what seems obvious, but impossible, but it seems confirmed when she realizes that call from percy is only forty minutes before spiderman helped arrest three robbers. annabeth slumps back in her desk chair, staring at the screen.

she is going to kill percy.

she can’t wait any longer than about 14 hours before it starts to drive her crazy. so annabeth slips on her shoes and rides the subway towards percy’s apartment. when she knocks on the door, she is greeted by the familiar face of sally jackson.

“hi, honey. how are you?” sally asks, smiling.

“i'm good,” annabeth replies. “is percy home?”

“in his room.”

“thank you.” annabeth slips past her and makes her way to percy’s room, knocking a few times. it’s painfully obvious how awkward and stiff he is once he opens the door, only further solidifying her discovery.

“hey,” he says slowly. “what are you doing here?”

“i was in the neighborhood. wanted to drop in and say hi,” she says casually, entering his room without any permission.

“uh, now’s not the best time…”

annabeth looks around. “you don’t look busy to me?” she says, dropping her bag and sitting on the bed. she crosses her legs and looks up at him. “you’ll never guess what happened yesterday.”

percy hesitates, shutting the door slowly. annabeth doesn’t miss the way he locks it. “what happened yesterday?” he asks.

“clarisse was outside my apartment building. wanted to beat me up or whatever for making brunner give her detention.”

percy stuffs his hands into his hoodie pockets, his shoulders tense. annabeth hates to corner him like this, but if he isn’t going to tell her on his own, she needs to pull it out of him. “damn,” percy says. “are you okay? what happened?”

he’s committed, annabeth will give him that. she smiles a little, tilting her head. “you won’t believe it, spiderman showed up and saved the day. embarrassed clarisse and everything.”

“that was nice of him.”

annabeth stares at him, but percy won’t meet her eyes. a full twenty seconds pass before annabeth stands up, stepping in front of him. finally, percy looks at her. “you wanna know the craziest part?” she asks quietly.

for a second, she thinks percy isn’t going to reply. but then he asks, “what?”

“somehow, he knew my name,” annabeth says without missing a beat. “not only my name, but a nickname. beth.”

she lets that last word hang there. percy’s face is unreadable, and she thinks they might stand like that forever before one of them cracks. eventually, he sighs quietly. “what do you want from me, beth?”

“so it is you?” she doesn’t wait for an answer. “why didn’t you tell me?”

“i wanted to,” he whispers. “the fewer people that knew, though, the better. it was safer that way. the only person who knows is my mom. not even grover knows.” grover is the only friend percy has known longer than he’s known annabeth.

“yeah, but i'm… me,” she breathes.

he looks at her, something unspoken passing between them. he may have known grover longer, but there has always been something different about his friendship with annabeth. something deeper. and they both know it. he tucks a curl behind her ear and annabeth leans into the touch. she wants to be mad that he kept the secret, but she knows why he did. she understands.

“i know,” he murmurs. “which is why i wanted to tell you. you don’t know how badly i wish i could’ve told you the truth every time i had to bail on our plans because something spidey related came up.”

annabeth’s lips twitch into a smile. “spidey related,” she repeats. “that sounds funny.”

percy smiles too. “i'm sorry i didn’t tell you,” he says, and she shakes her head.

“no, i get it. it’s okay.”

percy’s eyes flick to her lips and for a second, she thinks he’s going to kiss her. he doesn’t, though. he never does. which she understands because she never does either.

instead, he smiles again. “you realize this means your best friend is part spider, huh?”

annabeth wrinkles her nose. yes, she had realized that and she is actively trying to forget. “god, don’t remind me.”

#ok NO MORE except maybe when they start dating idk MAYBE #pjo #percabeth #drabble #spidey au #gray writes

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cabinofimagines · 2 years

Note

Hello! For the Halloween Requests, can you please write a Percabeth or Poly!Percabeth fic where they go trick-or-treating and during a conversation, Percy leans over to Annabeth and is all “here’s a Smartie for my smartie” so Annabeth pulls a lollipop from out of her bag, saying “and here’s a Dum-Dum for my dum-dum.” Thank you so much!!

Halloween 2021 masterlist

Given that smarties don't exist in the USA, and I am pretty sure Dum-dums are British, the council has decided to change the plot a bit - don't worry it's still full of fluff and Poly!Percabeth!

-Asnyox

Oct. 31st - Trick or Treat (Poly!Percabeth)

It was finally the 31st of October, after weeks of leading up to Halloween you were there and you were intending on celebrating it with your friends. However, when Percy suggested going trick or treating with him, Annabeth and Estelle you just couldn't refuse. You may think that Percy's puppy eyes are good, but you hadn't seen Estelle's yet.

So that's how you got here, Trick or treating in Percy's apartment building. As you held Estelle's hand (She had been delighted to see you, and made it a point to be with you at all times) you noticed Percy smiling.

"Watcha smiling about, Jackson?" You asked him.

"Nothing." He grinned and Annabeth let out a huff. She knew Percy was only grinning like this because he just loved the way you seemed to work perfectly with Estelle, and by extension, perfectly with the two of them.

“This seaweed brain is just happy to have you here, (Y/n), nothing weird going on.” She said and Percy let out a fake gasp.

“How did you figure that out?” He asked Annabeth and she smiled as she shook her head.

“I’ve known you long enough by now, Percy.” She retorted, but it sounded rather soft. Estelle eagerly interrupted the moment by pulling on your arm.

“We need to go lower!” She demanded, like the little leader she was and you eagerly complied.

“Yes sir, lead the way!” you played along, as you left Percy and Annabeth behind, who both seemed to have melted at the scene before them.

“You know we could just share each other, right Percy?” Annabeth whispered and Percy unknowingly smiled.

“Yeah, but first we should make sure that (Y/n) is up for it.” he sighed as he shot Annabeth a lovestruck, yet tired look, “Don’t want to scare them away, and especially not now they’re having fun with Estelle.”

“Oh Estelle would be pumped to have (Y/n) be here more often,” Annabeth noted as she grabbed Percy’s hand, “But understandably, we shouldn’t scare (Y/n) off on Halloween.” She laughed as they both made their way down the stairs.

As Estelle finished getting Candy from the first door on this floor you looked behind you, wondering where Percy and Annabeth could be. Being lost in thought, you only noticed that Estelle had asked you a question when she pulled on your hand.

“What was that?” you asked her as you crouched down to her level.

“Are you in love with Perc and ‘Nbeth?” she mumbled and you fell on your butt as your heart stammered.

“Am I- what?” Your eyes had widened as you looked at the small child in front of you.

“Perce loves you.” Estelle stated matter of factly, putting her little fist on her hip, “And An said she does too.”

“Did they now?” You tried to calm your heart as you realized little Estelle must have overheard them talking about their PLATONIC love for you- right?

“Uhuh. You should all get married soon.” she just said, “I want more candy.” and with that the conversation was over, as Estelle walked to the next door and knocked on it.

You still felt fuzzy in your head - bewildered by even the notion of Percy or Annabeth liking you - let alone both. Why had you even interpreted it that way, there is no way that the perfect couple would want you-

You heard Annabeth laugh down the hall as she and Percy held hands, walking towards you. Your heart skipped a beat as Estelle's words echoed in your head, but you pressed it down.

“What’s so funny?” you asked as they reached you and Percy grinned.

“I just told Annabeth about yesterday-” you started gasping “About how you met my dad.”

“How dare you! Percy!” you sounded exasperated and you hit Percy on his arm, “Why did you betray me like that?” Percy’s grin grew bigger. This little bitch-

“Well, Estelle just told me your little secret.” You stated as you crossed your arm, looking behind you to see the mentioned girl just two doors further. Percy’s face fell, and Annabeth looked confused.

“What secret?” Annabeth asked as Percy laughed very fakely - he knew that Estelle was aware of his crush on you, but she wouldn’t tell you, right?

“Wouldn’t you like to know, Wise Girl.” you said as you walked towards Estelle. The little girl grabbed your hand and smiled brightly as she showed you her newly acquired candy.

“They don’t mean…?” Annabeth looked worried at Percy. If you knew about their crushes - and this was your reaction? What would that mean?

On the other hand - Estelle could have told you plenty of ‘secrets’ that you already knew - maybe something embarrassing Percy did- that must have been it.

“I don’t hope so.” He replied as he put his hand through his hair, squeezing Annabeth's hand with the other. Percy would just ask his baby sister later, surely she would tell him.

And maybe someday, without all the tricks, Percy and Annabeth would tell you that they loved you, as a treat.

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rynnaaurelius · 3 years

Text

Character Continuity, #MenWritingWomen, & Healthy Relationships: The Tragedy of Annabeth Chase

[Tagging @evergardenwall and @thein273 real quick because they wanted to see this meta. Lord knows why]

I saw Annabeth Chase discourse on my dashboard, so, well. . .

This will be me breaking down Annabeth Chase's characterization and Rick Riordan's continued nonsense, in an attempt to square my many thoughts on her, for both my reference and maybe others'.

Also, bear in mind that a lot of this meta is less about Annabeth Chase as it is my breaking down what makes Annabeth Chase, because I do believe that she really stands out in how her background does and should shape who she is—and how often that gets ignored, both in canon and in fandom.

Disclaimer/Warnings: Extensive, non-graphic discussion of emotional/physical abuse and neglect, extensive discussion of sexism/internalized misogyny.

If you think I owe credit/should link to someone else, message me/leave me an ask.

In addition: My apologies in advance, but I cite directly from the books multiple times in this post, and the PDFs I use lack page numbers, so I do it by chapter.

Also, this post is long. Ridiculously long and hopefully thorough.

NOTE: Same rodeo rules as my Solangelo post:

I don't like bashing. Everyone can and should leave each other alone if they've got nothing nice to say. Block who you need to for a nice time on this fair hellsite.

While I'm not about to beat up on a ship/characters themselves—because they're hardly writing themselves—I'm about to take their characterization and Rick Riordan to the cleaners.

If that's not what you want to see, blacklist the tags 'anti percabeth', 'rr crit', 'riordan critical', and get on with your day, please.

Fandom isn't activism, but it can be hella racist, sexist, ableist, and queerphobic. We need to fight that.

Now, on with the show—

I. Fandom Context

I'm queer, got a small list of mental illnesses, and write Riordanverse fanfiction. I write a lot of Annabeth Chase's character/POV, too.

The character in question, Annabeth Chase, is a deuteragonist in Percy Jackson and the Olympians (PJO), and co-protagonist in its sequel series, Heroes of Olympus (HoO). She's popular in fandom, too.

As of 08/25/2021, she's in the third highest number of fanfictions in the Archive of Our Own (AO3) Percy Jackson and the Olympians - All Media Types fandom tag, behind only Percy Jackson and Nico di Angelo.

[Click on image details in the corner for description]

Of course, it's worth mentioning that this probably has a lot to do with:

A. Her long-time major presence in canon. Annabeth was introduced in The Lightning Thief (TLT), the first book of the original PJO series.

B. The dominance of the Percy Jackson/Annabeth Chase ship, AKA Percabeth, within the fandom, which was formally canonized in The Last Olympian (TLO).

The latter is backed up by both anecdotal accounts and when looking at relationship rankings by fic number in AO3:

[Click on image details in the corner for description]

Annabeth and Percy's romantic relationship wins out at 8,412, with Nico di Angelo/Will Solace (AKA Solangelo) handily coming in second at 7,936. But Annabeth doesn't appear again, romantic or platonic, until the last placement, where her and Percy's platonic dynamic makes an appearance.

(Congrats on achieving Satan's favorite number for Percy and Annabeth's gen dynamic, by the way)

Anyway. Just to look at romantic rankings for thoroughness, I excluded Annabeth & Percy, and what d'you know:

[Click on image details in the corner for description]

Congrats to the Nico/Leo shippers, I remember when that ship was huge in the Riordanverse fandom.

But from this, I think it's safe to say that Annabeth's popularity, is at least partly wrapped up in the popularity of shipping her with Percy Jackson, despite her long-time tenure as a leading hero in the Riordanverse, particularly considering characters in her stratosphere of popularity (Percy, Nico), and those one step below (Jason Grace, Leo Valdez), feature multiple times within the most written-about romantic relationships.

So this is also a Percabeth analysis, which I'm sure will piss absolutely no one off. Wonderful.

(But we'll get there)

II. The Retconned, Pathetic, Half-Dead Clusterfuck We Call Annabeth's Timeline And Backstory

Rick Riordan can't do math or continuity with a gun to his head and it drives me insane, so that's what we're calling this section lmao

To keep me from going insane and keep confusion to a minimum, we'll be recounting what I call hard canon: Confirmed events, dates, and actions.

We're ignoring for a second the emotional and psychological fallout of choices, or soft canon, since—particularly for pre-canon events, which form the goddamn backbone of Annabeth's original series arc—there's a lot more there to interpret and argue over. Especially with regards to Annabeth's family and personal trauma, which gets Jossed repeatedly.

We're also ignoring my personal headcanons/fixed timeline that I use for writing fanfiction for a second, so if you read my shit. . .this ain't that Annabeth. Or the other one.

This is going to be pretty spare, since a lot of important things are left up for debate, and Riordan is fundamentally uninterested in the psychology of the mortal parents in his books.

1. When Annabeth is "born", her father asks Athena to take her back. She discusses this with Percy in TLT, Ch. 13: I Plunge To My Death:

"My dad’s resented me since the day I was born, Percy," she said. "He never wanted a baby. When he got me, he asked Athena to take me back and raise me on Olympus because he was too busy with his work. She wasn’t happy about that. She told him heroes had to be raised by their mortal parent."

2. In the same canon conversation, she tells Percy that she "took the hint. [She] wasn't wanted. . ." and ran away when she was seven, after what she recounts as inadvertent neglect due to her demigod status at best, and purposeful emotional neglect/abuse at worse.

She reaches camp before she turned eight with Grover Underwood, Thalia Grace, and Luke Castellan, with an army of monsters trying to kill them.

2A. Two summers before Percy Jackson arrives at Camp Half-Blood, when Annabeth is ten, she receives a letter from her father, asking for her to come home so they can try again. He gives her his Harvard college ring, which she still keeps.

"My dad sent it to me folded up in a letter, two summers ago. The ring was, like, his main keepsake from Athena. . .Anyway, he said he wanted me to have it. He apologized for being a jerk, said he loved me and missed me. He wanted me to come home and live with him."

This ends horribly, because of course.

"I tried to go home for that school year, but my stepmom was the same as ever. She didn’t want her kids put in danger by living with a freak. Monsters attacked. We argued. Monsters attacked. We argued. I didn’t even make it through winter break. I called Chiron and came right back to Camp Half-Blood."

[Both quotes above from TLT, Ch. 16: We Take A Zebra To Vegas]

3. With Thalia turned into a tree by her father, Zeus, to save her life, Annabeth remained at Camp Half-Blood for the next five years, as proven by the five beads on her camp necklace that she shows to Percy in TLT, Ch. 7: My Dinner Goes Up In Smoke:

Annabeth nodded. From under the collar of her T-shirt she pulled a leather necklace with five clay beads of different colors. It was just like Luke’s, except Annabeth’s also had a big gold ring strung on it, like a college ring.

"I’ve been here since I was seven," she said.

3A. Worth noting this makes Annabeth and Percy's official birth year of 1993 wrong. Percy is already twelve years old in June 2005, and Annabeth, while never stated outright to also be already twelve, they are heavily implied to be the same age multiple times throughout the original series.

We also get this in MoA, Ch. II: Annabeth:

She’d secretly had a crush on him since they were twelve years old.

So, they're born in 1992. This isn't all that important but I am petty and this has driven me batshit while working out timelines in the past.

4. At the end of the summer of TLT, Annabeth writes her father and asks to come home for the year (TLT, Ch. 22: The Prophecy Comes True):

"I wrote him a letter when we got back,’ Annabeth said. ‘Just like you suggested. I told him... I was sorry. I’d come home for the school year if he still wanted me. He wrote back immediately. We decided... we’d give it another try."

5. So, towards this point, we, as readers figures that Annabeth's family has been. . .not great, towards her, at minimum. A lot of things are left ambiguous, but it's clear that there's been a lot of misunderstandings and A+ Parenting going on. Which makes it very interesting when we reach The Titan's Curse (TTC), finally meet Frederick Chase, Annabeth's dad, and Helen Chase, her stepmother, and this is what we see (TTC, Ch. 16: We Meet The Dragon Of Eternal Bad Breath):

After hearing Annabeth gripe about her dad for two years, I was expecting him to have devil horns and fangs. I was not expecting him to be wearing an old-fashioned aviator’s cap and goggles. He looked so weird, with his eyes bugging out through the glasses, that we all took a step back on the front porch.

"Hello," he said in a friendly voice. "Are you delivering my aeroplanes?"

Thalia, Zoë and I looked at each other warily.

"Um, no, sir," I said.

"Drat," he said. "I need three more Sopwith Camels."

"Right," I said, though I had no clue what he was talking about. "We’re friends of Annabeth."

"Annabeth?" He straightened as if I’d just given him an electric shock. "Is she all right? Has something happened?"

Followed up shortly by Helen's—who Annabeth has expressed a lot of vitriol towards—first on-page appearance:

We introduced ourselves a little uneasily, but Mrs Chase seemed really nice. She asked if we were hungry. We admitted we were, and she told us she’d bring us some cookies and sandwiches and sodas.

"Dear," Dr Chase said. "They came about Annabeth."

I half expected Mrs Chase to turn into a raving lunatic at the mention of her stepdaughter, but she just pursed her lips and looked concerned.

"All right. Go on up to the study and I’ll bring you some food." She smiled at me. "Nice meeting you, Percy. I’ve heard a lot about you."

Effectively, after two books and change's worth of talking up Annabeth's difficult childhood and past and the borderline hate she's expressed for her father's choices and stepmother's treatment of her, both when she was seven and when she was ten, they're de-fanged within the narrative pretty quickly, with Percy repeatedly wondering if these are actually Annabeth's relatives.

6. This, of course, not to say that people can't change or improve for the better. It would be more than easy enough to mention how Annabeth's parents have read Parenting A Demigod For Dummies or similar since she's last seen them.

Instead, we get this conversation as our follow-up in TTC, Ch. 18: A Friend Says Goodbye:

Annabeth and I flew along side by side.

"Your dad seems cool," I told her.

It was too dark to see her expression. She looked back, even though California was far behind us now.

"I guess so," she said. "We’ve been arguing for so many years."

"Yeah, you said."

"You think I was lying about that?" It sounded like a challenge, but a pretty half-hearted one, like she was asking it of herself.

"I didn’t say you were lying. It’s just... he seems okay. Your stepmom, too. Maybe they’ve, uh, got cooler since you saw them last."

She hesitated.

And. . .there are interesting implications here, about Annabeth's perception of her parents when she was younger. I'm going to put a pin in this for the next section. They're not, necessarily, bad implications, considering Annabeth's character and how much is left ambiguous as of TTC about what exactly happened to make her run away beyond monsters and arguing with her parents.

7. For now, Annabeth's relationship with her mortal relatives seems fixed. Battle of the Labyrinth (BotL) and TLO happen, her mortal family remains off-screen, and we don't hear about them until the third book of HoO: The Mark of Athena (MoA), Ch. XX: Annabeth:

[This is a long passage, but I think it's important to include it in full]

Terror plunged her into memories. She was seven years old again, alone in her bedroom in Richmond, Virginia. The spiders came at night. They crawled in waves from her closet and waited in the shadows. She yelled for her father, but her father was away for work. He always seemed to be away for work.

Her stepmother came instead.

I don’t mind being the bad cop, she had once told Annabeth’s father, when she didn’t think Annabeth could hear.

It’s only your imagination, her stepmother said about the spiders. You’re scaring your baby brothers.

They’re not my brothers, Annabeth argued, which made her stepmother’s expression harden. Her eyes were almost as scary as the spiders.

Eventually she fell asleep from sheer exhaustion. She woke up in the morning, freckled with bites, cobwebs covering her eyes, her mouth, and nose. The bites faded before she even got dressed, so she had nothing to show her stepmother except cobwebs, which her stepmother thought was some sort of clever trick.

No more talk of spiders, her stepmother said firmly. You’re a big girl now. The second night, the spiders came again. Her stepmother continued to be the bad cop. Annabeth wasn’t allowed to call her father and bother him with this nonsense. No, he would not come home early.

The third night, Annabeth ran away from home.

It's worth remembering that A) Annabeth is still seven years old and a child, B) Night terrors are not unheard-of in children, and C) A child screaming their head off every night and begging just to call their father is not something that you ignore and tell them to grow up with.

So. We now have two relationships for Annabeth and her mortal parents, because for as much as we get of her POV in HoO, we don't actually get very many details about what was, at minimum, a very messy complicated relationship. Either:

A. Despite being unprepared for a demigod child to raise, Annabeth's mortal parents did their best and Annabeth tricked herself into think they were both awful and gaslighted herself into believing they hated her and she had plenty of cause to run away from home.

B. Annabeth's mortal parents were woefully unprepared for a demigod child to raise, blamed the child for the monsters brought down upon them, and gaslighted the child about part of their godly heritage until said child—a daughter of Athena, who presumably is good at risk-reward calculations—decided they would rather take their chances on the run then stay home.

Pick your lane, Riordan.

III. Bringing Up Daisy A Demigod

Please note: This section is about to get into speculation and headcanon. I do my best to clearly delineate the line between my theories, insulting Riordan, and confirmed canon. Sorry if I fuck it up.

So, the case of Annabeth's father and stepmother is actually pretty curious in canon. Obviously, it's incredibly difficult to raise a demigod child, and I think sometimes that non-Sally Jackson parents don't get enough credit for the jobs they do.

Riordan tends to divide parents into two categories: parents that do such a wonderful job they're borderline canonized as saints (Sally Jackson, Esperanza Valdez, Maria di Angelo), and parents who utterly fail at parenting (Beryl Grace, May Castellan, Marie Levesque).

Mind you, this is also how he and the narrative paint them and their actions. I could write whole essays on Riordan's treatment of mothers and my feelings about that, but we're focusing on Annabeth's mortal parents here.

And they're. . .weird. I think the closest parent to them is Tristan McLean, but he nopes out of facing Piper's demigod heritage in canon for his own mental health.

Frederick—because ultimately, this all comes down to Frederick—is, ultimately, given a "passing" grade in demigod parenting in canon, with the giant asterisk of Annabeth running away because she believed he and Helen didn't care about her.

But—still just going off of what's confirmed in canon—I'm disinclined to disagree with this (Bear in mind I love Frederick's mad scientist/historian schtick; I like him. I don't think he's a great parent).

So, he and Athena have a whole whirlwind romance. Athena gives him their brainchild as a symbol of their intellectual love. Frederick doesn't want said child, knowing who Athena is.

But obviously, he gets with the program and raises Annabeth, clearly informing Annabeth of who her mother is and what she is from a young age. Which works, to a point.

The problem is the monsters. And the spiders. And the godly heritage. And—look, integrating families is difficult enough when all the children involved are mortal.

Telling Annabeth Chase that her mother is a freaking goddess, but also, her father is in love again and re-marrying, is not going to go over well. Not when Annabeth's a small child and, admittedly, a prideful little shit on the best of days.

But regardless of how difficult she's being, she's still a child and Frederick's responsibility, since he either owned up, or is still refusing responsibility (Which would be a huge yikes).

I think to not inform her stepmother, the person taking care of her while Frederick is away, traveling wherever he is for his job, that Annabeth's a demigod and there may be consequences from that, is parental malpractice.

Because. . .look. Pre-MoA, it's very easy to make a case that Annabeth was determined to think the worst of her mortal parents, and any and all mistakes/arguments they had were magnified tenfold in her mind—and then once she meets Thalia, Luke, and their parental horrorshows, it's very easy to put together something in her mind that matches what her new family went through.

But the spiders happened. The supernatural night terrors happened.

And her parents not only did nothing, but those two nights of night terrors left Annabeth Chase, daughter of the goddess of wisdom and battle strategy, convinced that she was better off running away from home, alone.

She was also clearly still of the belief that her father could fix everything, and judging from the state of Frederick and Helen's marriage in TTC as well as Bad Cop conversation, "don't let Annabeth call her father for 'attention' while he's on a work trip" is likely a mutual decision between the two of them.

(It's also worth questioning the consequences of how Frederick is implied to be clear-sighted, since he's able to see the Pegasi Blackjack, Guido, and Porkpie in TTC without problems, but Helen is not)

She meets Thalia Grace and Luke Castellan and things get. . .even more fascinating, frankly. Because those two very angry, very violent teenagers—not without reason, don't get me wrong—essentially then spend a pretty important time in Annabeth's life acting as the closest thing to parents she has.

So, believing her parents either can't or won't acknowledge what's happening to her, and, like her parents, blaming herself for the monsters said to have been attacking their home in Richmond, VA, Annabeth runs away from home.

[Edit, 12/5/2021: I dunno how many people will ever actually see this, but I think an oversight I made in this post is mentioning that abusers appearing perfectly charming and normal and nothing like their victims mentioned is really common in real life, and Riordan playing it straight via Percy's POV is, uh, really fucked up? It's increasingly my suspicion that this also really contributes to fandom perception of Annabeth's trauma, too.

Anyway. As you were.]

She's assuming her demigod heritage and modeling herself after her heroes, by her own admission: Luke and Thalia.

Then Annabeth loses Thalia. She then only has Luke and Camp Half-Blood to take care of her through a pretty formative time in her life, where she's taught the only possible way she can hold onto anything is being smarter and better at violence then anyone else.

Which, well. Annabeth Chase is pretty good at that.

IV. Character Construction: Growth and Flaws

One of my most red-hot takes in Riordanverse fandom coming right up. Ready?

Annabeth Chase has no character arc in the original PJO series or HoO.

(Percy doesn't have much of one either, but that's for another essay)

It's really obvious and depressing with Annabeth, however, because she is perfectly set up for some really fascinating characterization. And Riordan draws attention to it! Attachment issues, hubris, just generally. . .Annabeth learning how to healthily deal with people outside of immediate life-or-death situations, because my god, she's got hang-ups.

(Not unreasonably so, all things considered. But still)

But nothing is ever meaningfully done with this. In TLT, there are signs of growth—Annabeth looks like she's coming to respect Percy and view him as a friend (Wanting him on her team for Capture The Flag, talking about her family with him, looking after him when he's attacked by the pit scorpion, etc), we see her both put her own intelligence to work and work with Grover and Percy (fighting the Furies, Medusa, dog-training Cerberus, fighting Ares, etc).

There are still flaws and signals of recurring issues over the rest of the series (Annabeth's attachment issues acting up with Rachel) along with signs of Annabeth's own inherent strengths and abilities (Such as fighting the Hydra), and her ability to still learn from mistakes when faced with them (Tellingly, they usually require her to face physical consequences because of her own belief in her intelligence).

But nothing's ever made of it. There's no culminating moment.

Things get. . .weird. Repeatedly weird, throughout the original series. In Sea of Monsters (SoM), we have the fatal flaw discussion (Ch. 13: Annabeth Tries To Swim Home):

"You feel that way?"

She looked down. "Don’t you ever feel like, what if the world really is messed up? What if we could do it all over again from scratch? No more war. Nobody homeless. No more summer reading homework."

And this is genuinely interesting stuff! You can see how Luke would try to exploit that to try and get her on his side in the future! This is what Kronos is claiming he offers to the demigods.

Annabeth's belief in her ideals, combined with her conviction in her intelligence and ability to get this right, can make for a dangerous combination.

This also combines pretty beautifully with her relationship with Luke, which is. . .a mess.

(We're going to ignore any romantic overtones from that scene in TLO from Luke towards Annabeth. He loved her like a little sister/daughter, she adored him and had a helluva crush on him for a while. End. Of. Story.

. . .Riordan really doesn't remember what age differences as a teenager were like, huh)

Anyway. With Thalia as a pine tree and her relationship with her mortal parents still up in the air, Luke was the only family Annabeth had and the person she had convinced herself that she could depend on for anything. Luke, in turn, kept losing family to the gods and their apparent whims: First his mother to the Oracle, then Thalia to the Great Prophecy, and now he has watch his siblings and Annabeth grow up and wait for them to die.

They absolutely bring out the worst and most irrationally emotional parts in each other and it's been established many—

"Travelling with a Cyclops," Luke chided. "Talk about dishonouring Thalia’s memory! I’m surprised at you, Annabeth. You of all people—"

"Stop it!" she shouted.

I didn’t know what Luke was talking about, but Annabeth buried her head in her hands like she was about to cry.

[SoM, Ch. 9: I Have The Worst Family Reunion Ever]

—many—

I knew immediately that Annabeth had designed it all. She was the architect for a whole new world. She had reunited her parents. She had saved Luke. She had done everything she’d ever wanted.

[SoM, Ch. 13: Annabeth Tries To Swim Home]

—many—

“Luke!” Annabeth yelled. “Stop this. Let us go!”

[BotL, Ch. 14: My Brother Duels Me To The Death]

—many—

He did just what I expected. He said, “Antaeus is dead. His oath dies with him. But since I’m feeling merciful today, I’ll have you killed quickly.”

[BotL, Ch. 14: My Brother Duels Me To The Death]

—many—

"YOU!" Annabeth turned on Luke. "To think that I—that I thought—"

She drew her knife.

"Annabeth, don’t." I tried to take her arm, but she shook me off.

She attacked Kronos, and his smug smile faded. Perhaps some part of Luke remembered that he used to like this girl, used to take care of her when she was little. . .I yanked her back as Kronos swung his scythe, slicing the air where she’d been standing.

She fought me and screamed, "I HATE you!" I wasn’t sure who she was talking to—me or Luke or Kronos.

[TLO, Ch. 18: My Parents Go Commando]

—many times.

Yes, my other red-hot take is that Annabeth should've had a corruption arc at some point. Nobody will convince me otherwise.

But back to the point, which is not what I think should've happened with Annabeth, but rather how we never really see her struggle with actual weak points in her personality and/or past.

In BotL, when she's in a rather one-sided pissing match with Rachel Elizabeth Dare over Percy's affections because. . .girls, I guess, it's pretty obvious that it's not—or, at least, shouldn't be—over Percy's romantic affections.

It's over the fact that Rachel offers Percy something that Annabeth never can, and in doing so, threatens Annabeth's place in Percy's life as his Most Important Friend.

(Rachel de facto also threatens Grover's place in Percy's life as his best friend, but Grover, to the best of our knowledge, doesn't have endless attachment issues.)

Rachel, while being clear-sighted, is still a mortal. She—pre-becoming the Oracle of Delphi—leads a pretty normal life. When she and Percy hang out, it's outside demigod things. It's Percy, for the first time in a long while that he gets to experience normal things that are good things. It's not having to cope with Smelly Gabe, or try and not fail out of mortal high school, or worry over his mom.

When he hangs out with Rachel, he's completely himself, not fighting for his life, and gets to hang out with some he likes. This is really fucking rare in Percy's life.

Hell, in TLO (Ch. 1: I Go Cruising With Explosives):

Technically I wasn't supposed to be driving because I wouldn't turn sixteen for another week, but my mom and my stepdad, Paul, took my friend Rachel and me to this private stretch of beach on the South Shore, and Paul let us borrow his Prius for a short spin.

You could switch out names of people and places, and this could be just about any summer coming-of-age teen romcom. Percy "my life as a half-blood sucks shit beyond even the normal half-blood experience" Jackson never gets this.

Rachel even knows and respects the fact that he's a demigod and will always be sucked back into that. Bonus points.

(. . .I might be spreading the Rachel/Percy agenda here. Maybe)

Anyway. Annabeth knows this. She really knows this. Annabeth, who has, at some point or another, lost nearly everyone in her life because of either too much demigod or too much mortal, who has survived by fully assuming her demigod identity year-round, can't offer Percy something like this.

We should see Annabeth struggling with this. Struggling with the idea that Percy can go, have nice things in the mortal world, still do demigods things, and not completely lose him like she has Thalia, Luke, or her father.

But nope.

So, Rachel,” Annabeth said, “where are you from, exactly?”

[BotL, Ch. 14: My Brother Duels Me To The Death]

Bearing Annabeth's attachment, abandonment, and losing-people issues in mind, i think this also puts quite a different spin on this moment from BotL, Ch. 13: We Hire A New Guide:

Annabeth glared at me. “You are the single most annoying person I have ever met!” And she stormed out of the room.

Less "jealousy" and more "I spent two weeks convinced you were dead and just realized you are not only not dead, but instead spent two weeks with a beautiful immortal goddess who asked you to stay with her and because of my unprocessed relationship issues and the number of emotions I'm dealing with right now, I can't really process that properly."

If I'm allowed to fully editorialize for a second: I find jealousy subplots, ninety percent of the time, to be extremely tedious and pointless, including here. Percy doesn't fully clue into the fact that Annabeth's jealous of Rachel for whatever reason, Annabeth doesn't learn how to let go of her friends and not be so possessive, and nothing is learned by anyone.

All that's achieved is Annabeth looks much worse as a person than before, and is eventually rewarded with a kiss on Percy's sixteenth birthday and her "romantic competition" being sworn to eternal celibacy.

No growth. No change. Nothing.

And there could've been, I repeat, something, a lot of something, to be learned here, especially with Annabeth fully and completely losing Luke to Kronos in the same book, as he takes on the Titan's spirit. With her learning to emotionally let go and move on in healthy ways.

And it's really emblematic of Annabeth's problems growing as a character, at the end of the day. She has enough truly great traits and strengths to remain a protagonist—Annabeth, for all that Riordan rarely gives her a chance to shine, is still brilliant as hell, doesn't know how to surrender without stabbing her enemy in the back, is stubborn as a pig, and sticks to her guns, and I love her for it—but the flaws. . .man, her flaws.

Riordan never actually picks at her true flaws beyond waving vaguely in their general direction, and instead chooses weaknesses that have either never been particularly relevant to her as a character, or things that, if anything, were shored up in the original series.

Case in point:

What did Annabeth have? A bronze dagger that did nothing special, and a cursed silver coin. She had her backpack with Daedalus’s laptop, a water bottle, a few pieces of ambrosia for emergencies, and a box of matches—probably useless, but her dad had drilled into her head that she should always have a way to make fire. She had no amazing powers. Even her one true magic item, her New York Yankees cap of invisibility, had stopped working, and was still back in her cabin on the Argo II.

[MoA, Ch. XXXIII: Annabeth]

Two perceived weaknesses for her to overcome here: The lack of her divine mother helping her out, and no big shiny weapons or special powers.

Two weaknesses that Annabeth has been dealing with her entire life. Hell, Annabeth is the one who gives Percy the "your godly parents aren't ever around" speech in TLT. She knows this.

And the lack of special powers isn't new. If we were to salvage that, it would be the fact that for a rare time in her life, Annabeth is alone.

(Cue: My angry speech about how MoA is where we should have gotten what went down in TTC while Annabeth was kidnapped, and how that should've been interesting as fuck.

And even then, she had Luke and Artemis)

Annabeth gets less character development than Percy in HoO and that is saying something.

But what do I know, compared to the guy who makes his stand-in for any sexism less blatant than a literal ancient dude ghost thinking women shouldn't be warriors to be blonde hair?

V. Notes on Demigod Children and Inherited Traits

Okay, this section is going to be short and sweet due to obvious reasons, but I feel that I should include it for the sake of completeness. It wouldn't be a meta essay about Annabeth Chase if I didn't address The Blonde ThingTM.

*Clears Throat* Ahem.

The Blonde Thing is beyond stupid and peak #MenWritingWomen. I have spoken.

I am blond. The only people I have ever met who even made blond jokes even semi-seriously were preteen boys, who knew that it would get a rise out of their female blonde agemates with short tempers.

. . .which lines right up with Rick Riordan, now that I think about it.

I do suspect the blonde hair was meant to function as a stand-in for the systematic misogyny Annabeth would face as a female genius in a male-dominated field, when her social skills are already not fantastic.

And, like, that's interesting, but it also requires you to have a more nuanced understanding of feminism than the late aughts-celebrity tabloids. Or any idea of how to actually write women and girls.

Lastly: Having the godly inherited traits of the goddess of wisdom being blonde hair and grey eyes is racist as hell and I despise it. Fuck off, Riordan. I get you want a resemblance of some kind, but THIS:

Annabeth sat at table six with a bunch of serious-looking athletic kids, all with her grey eyes and honey-blonde hair.

[TLT, Ch. 7: My Dinner Goes Up In Smoke]

This isn't it.

The last thing I remember is collapsing on a wooden porch, looking up at a ceiling fan circling above me, moths flying around a yellow light and the stern faces of a familiar-looking bearded man and a pretty girl, her blonde hair curled like Cinderella’s.

[TLT, Ch. 4: My Mother Teaches Me Bullfighting]

Tell me you don't understand how white women's hair normally works without telling me you don't understand how white women's hair normally works.

Either Annabeth's hair is a thick rat's nest and Percy's just being poetic, which is absolutely fair, knowing that boy, or Annabeth actually enjoys curling her hair and taking excellent care of it. You can't have her Not Like Other Girls it and give her fabulous loose curls, Riordan.

*For reference, here's what the infamous and oft-used "princess blond curls", a descriptor used by multiple characters, actually look like IRL:

VI. Perseus Jackson

This section is going to make everyone angry. I apologize in advance.

So, Annabeth Chase and Percy Jackson. Probably one of the more iconic canon romantic relationships of fantasy of the last twenty years. There's a reason for that.

Before I tear it apart, let's get a couple things straight:

A. They do have chemistry for days. There's a reason, beyond the relatively young age of the Riordanverse fandom, that they're so pervasively shipped.

B. They can, in the right hands, do a pretty good opposites complement each other, instead of opposites attract.

C. They hit a lot of the tropes in canon that people really enjoy, and, for the most part the story (if not the writing), is a good one; you've got friends to lovers, mild Romeo & Juliet vibes due to their parents, they're pretty badass together, lots of genuine attraction that isn't just the usual compulsory heteronormativity, etc.

D. They genuinely possess a lot of legwork and time put into their relationship, with plenty nice moments. I believe they have a strong relationship with romantic potential/realized romance.

E. Annabeth Chase is not Satan. She is a traumatized, brilliant demigod with attachment issues, who has been repeatedly failed by the adults and people acting in loco parentis around her. This doesn't rob her of all agency or blame for what we're about to discuss.

F. (Those attachment and mistrust issues are part of the reason she and Percy "I never met a friend I wouldn't burn the world for" Jackson work, but that doesn't excuse. . .well)

There is, however, one and a half problems. Very big ones. I say half because I'm of the opinion that one feeds off the half, but not entirely, so it still counts.

1. So, remember how we just finished discussing all of Annabeth's many issues, that Riordan never really addresses in any meaningful capacity? As well as how he so drastically missed the point with Annabeth's jealousy towards Rachel? I sort of lied in saying Riordan never really addresses them.

He does. He romanticizes a lot of Annabeth's more trauma-related and problematic traits where Percy/Annabeth is concerned.

We're going to largely study the big one, because it's the infamous one, and also. . .it really sort of encapsulates Annabeth's issues, how they're channeled into her and Percy's relationship, proves Riordan is aware of them, but then. . .nothing is ever done about it.

[PLEASE NOTE: If discussion/breakdown of an abusive action/patterns of potential abusive or toxic actions are triggering for you, skip to 1.5, marked with asterisks and in bigger text.]

From MoA, Ch. II, Annabeth:

Annabeth grabbed his wrist and flipped him over her shoulder. He slammed into the stone pavement. Romans cried out. Some surged forward, but Reyna shouted, “Hold! Stand down!”

Annabeth put her knee on Percy’s chest. She pushed her forearm against his throat. She didn’t care what the Romans thought. A white-hot lump of anger expanded in her chest—a tumor of worry and bitterness that she’d been carrying around since last autumn.

“If you ever leave me again,” she said, her eyes stinging, “I swear to all the gods—”

There's a lot going down here. We're going to break it down.

-First off, we've got the immediate violence. This isn't something I'm going to excuse because you shouldn't judo flip your boyfriends, no matter how terrifying the last couple weeks have been for you, but it's certainly. . .explainable (re: Annabeth has been repeatedly taught via traumatic experience that the best way to handle losing people and re-assert control over the situation is action of some kind, usually violent).

-I'm also going to say it outright, because I think it's only responsible of me to say: It is an abusive action. Men can be abused by their partners, including if said partner is a woman.

-It's not an inherently bad place for the narrative to go, but it, like many other places in these books, is an excellent time for Annabeth to realize that her trauma is hurting others, including her boyfriend.

-So. Next up. Obviously, we have the reaction of the Romans, Reyna telling them to stand down until they get a better idea of what just happened, since presumably, Percy has been singing Annabeth's praises since he got his memory back.

-Then we have the next big thing, which tells me that Annabeth's. . .lack of self-awareness, at times, when she lacks a degree of separation from the situation at hand, is in place, when she says, "If you ever leave me again. . ."

-Obviously, Percy didn't have a choice in the matter, which leaves me inclined to believe this is the shitty writing acting up again, because for whatever reasons, Riordan decided in the back half of HoO that he had it out for Percy (But that's another essay), or—it is, once again, after what's probably been an awful couple months for Annabeth, a lot of very old, scarring stuff is acting up in victim-blaming Percy for his kidnapping in that moment.

-The thing that kills me is this isn't a bad moment, but a very good one, if we treat it for what it is: a wake-up call that Annabeth's trauma has exaggerated her worst personality traits until she's now hurting the people she loves.

*1.5*

A lot of Problem #1 featured my making sense of the canon given us, so I think I've earned the right to quickly go off on a few things out of diegesis real quick, so here we go:

Richard Riordan sucks at writing female characters and I will fucking fight him in a Denny's parking lot at 3AM over it.

Annabeth Chase, in the original series, suffers from a lot of tropes of late aughts/early teens pop culture feminism: She's aggressive, SmartTM, dismissive of boys, Pretty Without Trying, suffers from the ever-infamous I'm Not Like Other Girls Syndrome, in which Annabeth seems to almost actively avoid or even hate being perceived as a normal girl her age—something that, interestingly, Riordan almost seems to try and rectify with writing Annabeth and Piper into a close friendship off-page between The Lost Hero (TLH) and MoA.

Admittedly, while I like the idea of Annabeth and Piper bonding, there's certainly something to be said for Riordan choosing Piper, who gets a narrative where she gets to prove to her half-sister, Drew Tanaka, an embodiment of "what Aphrodite stands for" and extremely traditionally feminine, that she is That Much Better than Drew.

In addition to be extremely annoying to sift through for a real character, it also betrays a real lack of thought of Riordan into what Annabeth's non-Percy life looks like, which carries over into HoO in the form of a fairly popular complaint: Annabeth and Percy spend way too much time being a cutesy endgame couple.

If Annabeth's closest friend pre-Percy's arrival is Luke, who's much older than her and pre-occupied with trying to bring down Olympus, and Grover, who by all accounts hasn't been that close to her since the loss of Thalia, that's going to leave a mark.

It's certainly a reasonable enough scenario: Annabeth's terrified of opening up again after bonding to the point of co-dependency with Thalia and Luke, while Percy befriends her against her will.

But we don't get that. We don't get tales of Annabeth actively avoiding becoming too close with her siblings, or telling Clarisse and Silena and her other age-mates to go away, she doesn't need them. Or her learning to open up again.

Annabeth Chase, for all that she gets a lot of time on-screen, never gets clear turning points of growth in her character because she's too busy struggling for the purpose of the men in her life.

She's never afforded the complexity necessary for growth, unless it's in service of the plot, or furthering the character of Percy Jackson or Luke Castellan.

She explains her background and fatal flaws to Percy so he can learn. She struggles with her relationship with Luke so that Luke can have angst over being the bad guy—or because making Luke/Thalia canon is too much moral ambiguity for Rick Riordan.

Hell, even in TLT, when she's struggling with returning to her family, Percy Jackson is encouraging her to return to the family she tells him didn't want her, and is very eager to make excuses for them:

. . .He got a “regular” mortal wife, and had two “regular” mortal kids, and tried to pretend I didn’t exist."

I stared out the train window. The lights of a sleeping town were drifting by. I wanted to make Annabeth feel better, but I didn’t know how.

"My mom married a really awful guy," I told her. "Grover said she did it to protect me, to hide me in the scent of a human family. Maybe that’s what your dad was thinking."

[TLT, Ch. 13: I Plunge To My Death]

As well as this wonderfully uncomfortable bit, after Annabeth informs Percy that whenever she visits her family, monsters attack, she's blamed for everything, and she gets into endless arguments until she decides it's better off at camp:

"You think you’ll ever try living with your dad again?"

She wouldn’t meet my eyes. "Please. I’m not into self-inflicted pain."

"You shouldn’t give up," I told her. ‘You should write him a letter or something."

"Thanks for the advice," she said coldly, "but my father’s made his choice about who he wants to live with."

[TLT, Ch. 16: We Take A Zebra To Vegas]

Of course, as we've previously well-established, Riordan either can't quite decide the narrative that he wants for Annabeth's backstory, or he has a very complicated one in mind that he refuses to devote the needed legwork to. So the veracity of some of what Percy is told can be left up in the air.

And Percy is, of course, still pretty optimistic, seeing as far as he's concerned, Sally is nothing but wonderful—to say nothing of how weird Riordan can get with biological relatives and the need to have them in your life.

But all things considered, with Percy is able to push that with an ease that I find mildly discomforting. Annabeth's life is given a simplicity and ease that I find discomforting, all things considered.

She's held in captivity and what amounts to torture as she's tricked by her oldest living friend into holding up the sky during TTC, with few apparent consequences. Assuming she's gained friends at some point, we don't see much of her grief or worry in BotL or TLO.

Percy is a limited narrator, but very little is given of Annabeth that revolves around Annabeth. Even Annabeth lashing out after Percy's return about Ogygia is back to Percy. Not her own emotions or mental state after the immediate fact.

In TLO, the closest Annabeth gets past Love-Interest-In-Waiting (re: Rachel) and Plot-Device-For-Percy's-Badassery-And-Manpain (Being Percy's anchor and taking Ethan's knife for him), is her moments with Luke as they struggle towards the finale, when we finally get, "Family, Luke. You promised."

It's about Annabeth and Luke's relationship and Annabeth finally letting him go! It's great!

But even that is turned back around in service of Luke and Percy with this:

"Did you . . ." Luke coughed and his lips glistened red. "Did you love me?"

[TLO, Ch. 19: We Trash The Eternal City]

(We're ignoring any romantic overtones that aren't between Annabeth and Percy in this scene or about Annabeth's one-sided crush on Luke. Ignoring them, damn it}

It's all in service of Luke and Percy's angst in completing the Final Prophecy. Which I would possibly give a pass for because adrenaline and final battle and story pacing if Luke were brought up at all in HoO.

Beyond Percy's thinking about him for 0.5 seconds in MoA, of course.

For all that Annabeth has a lot of POV time in The Mark of Athena and The House of Hades (HoO), she's not afforded much depth in her narrative.

We don't learn anything new about her, we don't hear much about her mortal family, whom she is presumably at least on speaking terms with these days, and—most infuriatingly enough, in my opinion—she doesn't spend much time thinking about her own life beyond, well, her boyfriend.

And. . .look. In a lot of ways, the original PJO series really reflect the environment and time they were written in. Including and perhaps especially in the treatment of Annabeth.

There are a lot of things in there can be forgiven, however, with good writing in HoO that's reflective of greater attention in writing female characters and affording them complex inner lives that don't either revolve around the plot at hand or their love interest.

This. . .doesn't happen. TLH!Annabeth Chase being singularly obsessed with finding her missing boyfriend speaks for itself, I've already discussed MoA quite a lot, and I think HoH really speaks for itself with this:

"I can’t see!" She touched her face, looking around wildly. Her eyes were pure white.

[HoH, Ch. XXIX: Percy]

This is all good and cool; it's a sweet callback to both SoM and THe Odyssey, actually centered around Annabeth's own deeds.

"Percy!" Annabeth’s voice cracked. "Why did you leave me?"

[HoH, CH. XXX: Percy]

This isn't inherently bad, per se, but considering Percy's already coping with Bob/Iapetus finding out he's responsible for the memory wipe and didn't tell him, combined with both past and future events in the Tartarus sequence, it's really. . .low, I think.

To have Annabeth's pain still be centered around Percy and her relationship with him (As well, I think, to be equally low for Calypso, who portrayed no visible bitterness in BotL, to curse Annabeth anyway, then add in the pointless feud between Percy and Leo over Calypso in the next book).

This entire scene isn't about Annabeth's abandonment issues, or it would have been in her POV. It's about torturing Percy and furthering the manpain.

And then Blood of Olympus (BoO) happens, neither Percy or Annabeth are meaningfully involved at all, Annabeth has to be rescued multiple times, Percy has to be rescued by the son of Jupiter from Percy's own half-sister in the sea, and Riordan writes Percy and Annabeth's dynamic like they're thirteen years old again and still trying to figure out how to be friends.

So. . .why was Annabeth in the Seven? If the Mark of Athena was purposefully a solo quest with the line of "Wisdom's daughter stands alone" and she gives no meaningful contribution to defeating Gaea in BoO that another demigod handy with a sword could've filled.

If anything, to be frank, she could've seen a much more interesting and meaningful story if Reyna had been in the Seven and Annabeth had accompanied the Athena Parthenos back home with Nico, forcing the Romans to confront their crimes again Athena/Minerva in the form of the statue and the goddess's favored living daughter.

Percy/Annabeth is a fun ship and, to a certain extent, deserves it's large fandom, thanks to the character chemistry and nice canon moments on their own.

But the shoddy writing around Annabeth's personality, trauma, personal story, and Riordan's inability to write mature romantic relationships with fierce partners that don't feature genuine threats of violence issues that need to be acknowledged and critiqued in work.

The misogyny in being incapable of writing a complex, brilliant, and flawed female character without writing abusive tendencies and romanticizing that bullshit is truly breathtaking.

(And yes. I've seen what he's done with Magnus Chase and Alex Fierro)

VII. Fandom Treatment

I figure, as always, it's worth making a note about the two treatments of Annabeth that I've seen in how fandom and fanon treat her because as always, none of us are off the hook:

1. The people who romanticize Percy/Annabeth in its full canon form to within an inch of its life, think Annabeth has done nothing wrong ever, and think the judo flip is the peak of romance. This is the majority of y'all and I can't say I wasn't once one of you and really annoying about it, because we were all young and stupid, but we all have to grow up at some point.

(And listen, listen. If you want ships that aren't necessarily that healthy because you want that fantasy or you want Percy/Annabeth as a not-fully-healthy ship in a fic, I have both suggestions and fully encourage you.

Just tag properly and be aware of what you're writing. Abuse and toxicity are no joke, including and especially if a woman is an abuser)

2. This is much more the minority, but they exist because I've seen y'all on my dash: People who despise Percy/Annabeth because they can't take the shit in canon, which is absolutely more than fair and I love you all, and think that Annabeth, is, well. . .Satan.

Also I swear if I see one more person sexualizing Annabeth by claiming that she's, I dunno, "fucking her way to the top," I will. . .probably block you and get on with my life. Because I am an adult. Despite certain appearances. But still. Stop it.

Annabeth's twelve and that's a goddamn misogynistic trope used in the workplace against women and in media. It's gross.

She's a flawed character. You can dislike her. She's certainly not the most likeable girl in the world.

I think learning to realize and remember that there's always an author behind your favorite character or least favorite character's actions, and that you can disagree with the writing choice (before getting on with your life and leaving the creator the fuck alone), is an important lesson in fandom. Allows for some clear-headedness.

VIII. Conclusions

I gotta be honest: Annabeth's my girl.

At least within the original series, she's coded pretty hard as autistic and actually ADHD, in a way I find intensely relatable. She's smart as hell, not afraid of it, and has a thing for competency. She's so, so brave.

When she's not got the abusive tendencies creeping in, she also fiercely adores her friends, knows how to make her enemies regret it, and doesn't say die. She met the one person in the world who should've been her enemy and decided yes, this is my new friend. I'm going to get hurt again with him.

She's also got abandonment issues, a possessive streak, a desperate need for therapy, and a nasty temper. Again, I. . .well, I relate to a lot of that.

It's buried under a lot of shit, but Annabeth is unapologetically flawed in a way that's refreshing and rare for female characters, still. I latched on hard when I was young and never quite let go.

I wrote this meta because, despite it all, I love Annabeth Chase, I hate what Riordan warps her into, and I hate the indifference she's treated with when Percy's romance with her isn't being furthered.

I. . .I dunno, what I'm trying to convince y'all of, with this meta. I just hope it's coherent, at this point.

"So if the gods fight," I said, "will things line up the way they did with the Trojan War? Will it be Athena versus Poseidon?"

She put her head against the backpack Ares had given us, and closed her eyes. "I don't know what my mom will do. I just know I'll fight next to you."

"Why?"

"Because you're my friend, Seaweed Brain. Any more stupid questions?"

[TLT, Ch. 16: We Take A Zebra To Vegas]

If you or someone you know is in an abusive situation, HERE is a link to resources for victims and survivors of domestic violence. It includes a phone number to the National Domestic Violence Hotline, National Dating Abuse Hotline, National Child Abuse Hotline, and other relevant resources (If in the USA).

Please, please get the help you need and deserve.

#pjo #percy jackson and the olympians #pjo meta #annabeth chase #percy jackson #annabeth chase meta #percabeth meta #percabeth #frederick chase #helen chase #abuse tw #neglect tw #sexism tw #rr crit #riordan critical #anti rick riordan #long post #discourse because i love fighting 12 year olds

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queenpiranhadon · 6 days

Text

- Runaway, AURORA

ᴏᴛʜᴇʀ ᴍᴀꜱᴛᴇʀʟɪꜱᴛꜱ:

𝕿𝖜𝖊𝖑𝖛𝖊 𝕯𝖆𝖞𝖘 𝖔𝖋 𝕮𝖍𝖗𝖎𝖘𝖙𝖒𝖆𝖘

𝕾𝖙𝖆𝖗 𝕮𝖗𝖔𝖘𝖘𝖊𝖉 𝕳𝖆𝖙𝖊𝖗𝖘

𝕶𝖆𝖙𝖘𝖚𝖐𝖎 𝕭𝖆𝖐𝖚𝖌𝖔𝖚 𝕭𝖎𝖗𝖙𝖍𝖉𝖆𝖞 𝕰𝖛𝖊𝖓𝖙

𝖂𝖆𝖗𝖗𝖎𝖔𝖗

ᴋᴇᴇᴘᴇʀ ᴏꜰ ᴛʜᴇ ʟᴏꜱᴛ ᴄɪᴛɪᴇꜱ:

⟢ “May I Have This Dance?” ⎸⎸ Sandor x Grizel Oneshot

↪ Grizel finally takes Sandor on that dance he owed her.

⟢ “You Must Be Lost” ⎸⎸ Sokeefe Oneshot

↪ Keefe asks Sophie if he’s still the guy he was all those years ago.

⟢ His Friend ⎸⎸ Neverseen! Grady x Black Swan! Edaline Oneshot

↪ Grady stops repressing his Talent and instead works to make himself more powerful alongside the Neverseen. But all actions have consequences.

ʀɪᴏʀᴅᴀɴᴠᴇʀꜱᴇ:

⟢ Sorella ⎸⎸ Riordanverse Oneshot

↪ Bianca has to tie up some loose ends before she’s ready for rebirth

⟢ We're Not in Kansas Anymore ⎸⎸ Percabeth Oneshot

↪ Percy decided to uphold the promise he made to Annabeth all those years ago.

ꜱᴛᴀʀᴅᴇᴡ ᴠᴀʟʟᴇʏ:

⟢ Pumpkin Soup ⎸⎸ Sebastian x F!Reader

↪ You find out how to make the resident all time gloomy boy Sebastian, like you.

⟢ After 10﹕00 ⎸⎸ Alex x F!Reader

↪ Alex takes notices of the local lumberjack after she beats his high score at the Stardew Valley Fair. He decides to talk to her.

ʜɪɢʜ ᴄʟᴀꜱꜱ ʜᴏᴍᴏꜱ:

⟢ The Sea Song ⎸⎸ HCH Oneshot

↪ Three girls and their captivating music attracts the ears and hearts of the small village they were in. Little did they know that this happy family, wasn't so happy at all...

ᴍᴀʀᴠᴇʟ:

⟢ Sweet Angel ⎸⎸ Bucky Barnes x reader

↪ You fall apart after your year-long boyfriend disappears without a trace. You thought you moved on, and now here he is, months later with no recollection of who you are.

ᴀᴠᴀᴛᴀʀ ᴛʜᴇ ʟᴀꜱᴛ ᴀɪʀʙᴇɴᴅᴇʀ:

⟢ His Little Waterbender ⎸⎸ Prince Zuko x Reader

↪ You, a Waterbender from the Northern Water Tribe, are determined to protect your home from the Fire Nation. But what happens when you’re opponent is none other than the first prince himself?

⟢ Eel Rolls ⎸⎸ Sokka x Reader

↪ After betraying the Fire Nation, you, and extremely powerful firebender, seek refuge in Ba Sing Se. One day the Gaang stumbles into your path, and you find yourself giddy over a certain blue eyed boy in their midst.

ɢᴇɴꜱʜɪɴ ɪᴍᴘᴀᴄᴛ:

⟢ Dandelion Wine ⎸⎸ Diluc Ragnvindr x Reader

↪ You are finally returning home to Monstadt City after pursuing your dreams and exploring the world. When you get too tipsy one night and you can't defend yourself from an approaching mitachurl, who will save you then?

ʜᴀʀʀʏ ᴘᴏᴛᴛᴇʀ:

⟢ Hate ⎸⎸ Sirius Black x Reader

↪ You, a Ravenclaw, are battling some severe anxiety in the middle of the night, so you slip out and wander the halls of Hogwarts for some reprieve in your thoughts. Turns out though, encountering a professor in the middle of the night is the least of your worries.

⟢ Against the World ⎸⎸ Fred Weasley x Reader

↪ There’s nothing wrong between a Gryffindor and a Slytherin dating, so what better place to tell everyone that than the Yule Ball?

ᴍʏ ʜᴇʀᴏ ᴀᴄᴀᴅᴇᴍɪᴀ:

⟢ His Words, Not Yours ⎸⎸ Bakugou Katsuki x Reader

↪ Katsuki’s parents invite the both of you over for dinner to meet you for the first time.

⟢ Goodnight ⎸⎸ Bakugou Katsuki x Reader

↪ Katsuki finds out about your secret status as an underground pro hero.

ʟᴇɢᴏ ɴɪɴᴊᴀɢᴏ:

⟢ After ⎸⎸ Cole Brookstone x Reader

↪ You and the rest of the ninja settle down after everything ended.

ᴛʜᴇ ɪɴʜᴇʀɪᴛᴀɴᴄᴇ ɢᴀᴍᴇꜱ:

⟢ His ⎸⎸ Riordanverse x Inheritance Games Oneshot

↪ Grayson finds out he's adopted- but the news of his real parents is a bigger shock than he anticipated...

#kae's masterlist

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accio-lo-ki · 3 years

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You can also find me on ao3

percabeth:

we hide our emotions ; 1k | They were broken and being together wasn’t enough to fix them, but their bodies craved each other and there’s nothing they can do about it.

one ; 341 | The truth was when Percy met Rachel, his heart skipped a beat and proceeded to pound in his chest in a weird, hard-to-ignore way.

Earthshaker ; 726 | a heroes of olympus au based on the prompt, “what if hera had taken annabeth instead of percy?”

shake shack ; 597 | “So cheese is definitely a weakness of the children of Athena.”

in the morning ; 926 | Huffing a breath, Annabeth realized that she had forgotten just how hard it had been to wake Percy up, especially when they both haven’t slept as soundly and fully as they did last night since the summer, maybe. But she was the daughter of Athena. She could come up with a few…strategies.

i can breathe water ; 1.4k | In truth, he never should have drowned.

if i can’t get the things i want (just give me what i need) ; 8.5k | “Don’t even think about reaching for your gun,” she hisses lowly. “I’ll shoot before you can even blink.” // Mr. and Mrs. Smith AU

beware of frozen heart ; 2.4k | “You were going to share a single carrot with your reindeer,” she states more than asks, and he opens his mouth to reply but she cuts him off. “And you’re willing to split it into three for me?” // Frozen AU

All I know is a simple name (and everything has changed) ; 1.9k | Annabeth has a crush on the new lifeguard and Piper helps...sort of.

All of your street light eyes ; 13k | Percy and Annabeth are mates, and they haven't seen each other for 65 years. Twilight AU.

crush crush crush ; 4.9k | Claire is new, and she's crushing on Percy hard. Only, he's "unavailable." Whatever that means.

Mouthful of toothpaste (before I got to know you) ; 1.1k | A glimpse into Percy and Annabeth's mid-twenties featuring drunken karaoke sing offs, pride parades, and morning kisses. Not necessarily in that order.

Trade your heroes for ghosts ; 819 | He watches her crumple to the ground with a gasp, and Percy wants to tear the whole world apart. She survives, but something in his gut still tells him to do it.

Love the way (you decorate my heart) ; 970 | “Annabeth, I don’t think this,” he gestures to the space between them. “–can work between us. I can’t be with someone who hates Christmas. We’re simply incompatible.”

Kiss in the kitchen like it’s a dance floor ; 2.6k | With the memory of their first dance playing on his mind, he reaches behind Annabeth to grab his phone. “Let’s do something.” Annabeth narrows her eyes at him for a moment, suspicious. “Something like what?” Percy waits a few seconds, feet tapping impatiently against the tiled floor of their kitchen. Finally, his phone connects with the bluetooth speaker Piper had given him for his last birthday, something expensive that Percy and Annabeth wouldn’t have even thought of buying if it had been up to them. “Something like dancing.”

If you’re looking for a saviour (that’s not me) ; 40k | Ten years after the end, Annabeth must find Percy to save the world again–this time, together. Magic AU. WIP.

Dancing with our hands tied ; 4.1k | Keeping a secret relationship is hard sometimes. OR a Popstar!Annabeth and Actor!Percy AU as told through Taylor Swift’s discography

Gorgeous ; 3.6k | The first meeting. OR a Popstar!Annabeth and Actor!Percy AU as told through Taylor Swift’s discography

Gold rush ; 4.1k | @FEARLESSCHASER on twitter says: oh my god i think i just found the loml in an annabeth chase concert???? (Attached: a tiktok video of a guy, brown skin, mid to late 20s, about 6 feet tall, taking off a black NY Yankees baseball cap and ruffling a hand through his hair, nodding along to the music. In the background, King Of My Heart by Annabeth Chase plays live.) OR A popstar!annabeth and actor!percy au as told through taylor swift's discography.

percabeth RPF

i guess we fell apart in the usual way ; 3.1k | They both paused, trying to breathe through unspeakable pain and hurt and this looming sense of loss. Finally, when she felt like she could, Alex spoke up. “We should end this, shouldn’t we?”

klaroline

i’ll meet you at the divide ; 2k | They have a few odd meetings over the years, helping each other out with minor problems, giving and taking little favors. Sometimes his touch lingers, when their arms brush against each other in the guise of friendly space and when they steal seconds of the eternity that they’re given. He teases her like no time has passed, she pushes back because does time really matter when he’s him and she’s her? She hears about his not-so-little problem, feels the same sharp burning in her scar, feels a painful tugging in her belly, and she goes to New Orleans.

a point where two worlds collide ; 1.8k | He remembers the pain that comes with remembering her. Maybe that is the reason he forgets.

i can feel you (sifting through my hands) ; 658 | He finds karma’s not as sweet as he’d like when it takes the people he loves from his clutched hands.

remember all the things we wanted (pt.1) ; 1.9k | He stands his ground, and Caroline flinches at the feel of his fingers tracing the bracelet on her left hand. “You’re still wearing it.”

now all our memories (they’re haunted) (pt. 2) ; 8k | He inhales sharply at her words, and then sighs heavily. “Where did we go wrong, love?” “We didn’t,” Caroline says with a slight shake of her head. “We just went in different directions, I guess.”

i’m not gonna write you a love song (cause you asked for it) ; 848 | Eight years in the business and his seven Grammy’s have finally taken toll on the rock star, making him unable to produce a song that’s not of mediocre quality for the past year. But everybody knows how the entertainment business works, and a decrease in his velocity to the top just might be the reason a new ‘Klaus Mikaelson’ finally takes over the limelight.Nevertheless, he asked for a vacation, not a bloody co-writer in the form of Caroline Forbes.

I won’t say (I’m in love) ; 3.7k | “Here’s the part where we bargain for the life of your dear Caroline,” Klaus declares, flicking his hand and making the blonde woman disappear from the room. Stefan gasps, calls out her name, looks around to no avail. // Hercules AU

summer summer ; 671 | “Do you have any idea who did this so I can report it to Jenna?” Caroline asks instead, and April stops crying long enough to point a finger to the direction of the culprits.On the opposite side of the camp gathered a group of about four boys and three girls all clad in white aprons splattered with paint, and in front of them stood the bane of her existence ever since she was twelve herself and first went to camp: Klaus Mikaelson.

restless soul, lie down ; 9.9k | When Caroline says his name, it’s with a hardened edge that makes him wince, and he sighs as he presses against the cool tile. There’s no helping him now. He tries to think of what to say, tries to string words that would cover the eventual hurt and the implication of his words, but in the end he settles for the simple truth: “I think I’m dying, love.”

i don’t love you (i always will) ; 3.8k | He hates her so much that he fills all of his sketchbooks with her face, the way her expression crumples up when she comes, the ‘o’ of her pink lips when he takes her breast into his mouth. He burns every single drawing the second he finishes creating them. It doesn’t make him hate her any less.

stalia

Anchor ; 1.2k | They weren’t together, not anymore, but Stiles was still the only person Malia has ever connected with. He was still the only person she had ever loved truly and deeply. Stiles was still her anchor.

I don’t even wanna know ; 298 | “Malia,” the sheriff started. Stiles mentally face-palmed, readying himself for what’s to come. “You do only use those chains so Stiles could tie you up during the full moon, right?”

I can’t make you love me (if you don’t) ; 2k | The two days leading up to Stiles’ and Malia’s break up

Vision ; 1.9k | “The vision–“ she blurted out, making him even more confused. “I just need to know. The vision– am I still part of it?”

handcuffs and other stuff ; 907 | My take on the spooning scene

jalec

for the first time, i had something to lose ; 998 | They say that the most painful thing a shadowhunter could feel is losing his parabatai.

just before you lose it all ; 1k | “Your boy is crying, you know? He’s begging me, begging me not to do this.”

put your lips close to mine, as long as they don’t touch ; 3.8k | The three times Jace and Alec almost kissed and the one time they finally did.

all my senses come to life ; 1.8k | Jace didn’t bother to mask his shocked expression, didn’t bother to hide the flood of emotions that seemed to drown him. The concern, the shock, the confusion, and–he realized with great disgust–the relief.

all we know is touch and go ; 2.5k | Alec was pretty sure that if it weren’t for the runes they carefully placed all over Jace’s room, they’d have been caught a long time ago. // FWB AU

Poltergeist ; 1.9k | “Tall-blonde-tattooed-dude, I’m going to need your number. A ghost needs busting in my apartment.”

harmony

Things you said after a one night stand ; 2.3k | They stared at each other for a while, their laughter slowly dying and the cheers from their ‘audience’ growing faint. The matching grins on their faces were wearing off, replacing with a look of passion.

cedmione

Eternal Vigilance ; 1.8k | "What is it that he said? I reckon it's along the lines of 'constant vigilance' was it?"Cedric scoffed, dusting off his shoulders and leaning against the antique cabinet they had been cleaning in the attic of the headquarters. "Eternal vigilance more like, Granger."

trouble in the library ; 1.1k | “Yeah,” Cedric nodded. “You’re right. Maybe I do deserve someone else.” He started, and hearing him say the exact words made Hermione flinch and pin her eyes shut to try and will away her tears.

there’s a me without you, but that’s not where i belong ; 2.6k | Hermione Granger had loved magic until it took the one person she was in love with.

james potter / oc

Strange Benefits ; 47k | In which Milla Rosamund finds herself stuck in quite a compromising position beneath James Potter.

napollya

are we going down (or will we fly?) ; 2.3k | Sometimes–when Gaby leans her head onto Illya’s shoulders and instead of tensing up the way he usually reacts to physical contact, the Russian merely leans back–sometimes, Napoleon has to look away.

you’ve got my devotion (but man i can hate you sometimes) ; 1.8k | Despite knowing better, Illya wishes he would not get caught up in the complex and terrifying vortex that is Napoleon Solo.

love is a curse ; 10k | “Do you want to sneak into the kitchens and eat éclairs with me? I know you love those.” Napoleon suggests, and Illya never stood a chance, did he? // Hogwarts AU

I’ll hold you like I do love you ; 4.1k | “Don’t bring her here, Peril,” Napoleon tells him. His voice is quiet and they are ten feet apart, but Illya hears him loud and clear, like a drum beating right next to his ear. Napoleon’s voice is so quiet it deafens him. “Not here.” Illya exhales through his nose, the air hot against the coldness of the area, of the situation. It should not be like this, he thinks. It never should have gotten this far. But Napoleon is Napoleon, and Illya is a weak, weak man. So even if nothing in their situation is okay, he says this instead: “Okay, Cowboy.”

we’ll be a fine line ; 1.2k | Napoleon hates the idea of having to spend forever with someone he did not choose for himself. Illya is engaged. Napoleon and Illya are soulmates.

blesse

small sacrifices ; 610 | And Blaine gaping at him shouldn’t really look attractive but somehow he does and that wasn’t quite okay and yeah.

sleep in ; 772 | when they finally get their schedules to match and not be in a rush for once, Jesse would like to think that they would always take the opportunity to wake up with each other.

nighttime ; 1.1k | Blaine Anderson was on the brink of giving up and somehow it was Jesse St. James’ voice that made him change his mind.

socks and slips ; 687 | “We should totally sock-skate on this floor while we have the chance.”

The Art of Holding Hands ; 3.1k | They weren’t even official! They were friends at most. They haven’t even kissed, just held hands and that wouldn’t even have happened if Jesse hadn’t made up some shit about not wanting to lose Blaine in a huge crowd.

stevenat

Through the eyes of Tony Stark ; 544 | Tony Stark is many things and observant is one of them–or, Tony reveals what he suspects has been going on between Cap and Widow.

spideychelle / petermj

your hands are tough but they are where mine belong in ; 3.2k | Five times Peter Parker tries (and fails) to hold Mj's hand

how Mj confessed to the lamest loser in Queens (and how he said it back) ; 1.4k | “Listen up, nerd. I’m not repeating myself.”

loki and eros

A couple words, a great divide ; 3.2k | “Is that how you greet an old friend?” The voice comes from right beside him, making Loki stop in his tracks. “You’ve grown quite rude since the last time I saw you.”

charles and raven (platonic)

Verstehen ; 813 | “why didn’t you just read my mind?” “I promised I wouldn’t”// raven reminisces about the time she spent away from charles

quickphoenix

friends and more ; 3.2k | “I’m sorry, what? Did you just say that Wanda–my twin sister, Wanda–is out? With a friend?”

jonerys

fear is the weight we carry ; 2k | Jon and Dany have a follow-up conversation about Jon's true parentage and how it will affect their relationship.

polaroids ; 2.6k | Jon and Dany take polaroids and get tattoos basically.

jonerys RPF

take a break ; 4.8k | based on the prompt: “you sat next to me at the movie theatre and i really hated your movie but i didn’t realise you were in it”

Steve Harrington

And at once I knew (I was not magnificent) ; 5.5k | So he lost Nancy, and he lost college, and he lost the chance of ever amounting to anything beyond this small-town life, spending away his trust fund and waiting to get old; but he’ll be damned if Dustin and Lucas and Max and Will and Mike and El do too. OR Steve knows that he’s not, like, the smartest person in the party.

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