#percabeth rant

[demigods-posts]

i'm one hundred percent certain that after percy and annabeth made out underwater. and he wanted to make their relationship official. the question was not "will you be my girlfriend?" but "can i be your boyfriend?" i don't care what the canon says. percy gave annabeth the space to take the lead in the relationship. because after a lifetime of being abandoned by everyone she dared to care for. and then watching her on the brink of a panic attack at the thought of losing him the last four years. he wanted to honor a new beginning between them by follow her lead and moving at her pace.

[sxturn-to-mxrs]

book!percabeth are my parents but show!percabeth are my babies

[the-paris-of-people]

I feel like we, as a fandom have never collectively discussed how fucking awesome Rachel Elizabeth Dare is. I honestly think she's the most underappreciated character in the entire fandom. Like demigods, she's incredibly creative, thinks and behaves outside of what's expected of her in the mortal world, and has this incredible power of sight that no one else has. She hates her father for being a developer, she volunteers in her free time to help raise money for art programs for kids, she's a great friend to Percy, she's incredibly brave (i.e. going into the labyrinth because 'she had no summer plans' , flying into a war zone, hitting Kronos with a blue hairbrush), she's really funny, but all everyone talks about is how much they hate her because she's a rival for Percy's affections but when you think about it... hello!!! Of course Percy has a crush on her she's "just as brave as Annabeth", incredibly creative, has complex feelings towards her family and her own identity... are you sensing a pattern!! Percy has a type!! All of this is made funnier when you realize Rick Riordan describes Becky (his wife) as a creative who he trusts with everything like he basically wrote two incarnations of his wife in a love triangle LOL

[liaazhang]

i still think that percy should have remembered sally instead of annabeth in son of neptune. don't get me wrong, I like percabeth too and i understand that they had a deep relationship or whatever.

but come on, sally literally put up with gabe for percy, you know the kind of courage that would have required? especially after what she went through previously? she was always the one constant in his life and she should have been acknowledged (grover too should have had a larger role in hoo but that's a whole seperate rant)

look I'm not saying that annabeth isn't important, she is a very big part of percy's life... but sally should have been remembered

[wowthatsextra]

We Percabeth fans are so spoiled because Percy STAYED screaming crying throwing up over Annabeth and it still isn’t enough 😭😭

There's a twitter discourse rn on Percy having a ~situationship~ with Rachel in TLO and people are like "If I was Annabeth I would date a guy in front of him and make him grovel" as if 1. Percy wasn’t thinking about Annabeth the entire time and 2. He wasn’t already groveling his guts out for years at that point???

Part of the reason why he even started hanging out with Rachel that summer was because him and Annabeth were having issues after what happened with Luke in BOTL. Yk when she "lost a love to worse than death"?? The same Luke she's had feelings for and blindly defended almost the entirety of the series? Percy was jealous of Luke and Annabeth since book ONE lmao and in book 3 he was terrified that she would swear off boys and hang out with girls forever... that boy has done plenty of groveling.

Look I get what you mean- Percy has had multiple love interests who he could've had real relationships with (Rachel, Calypso) whereas Annabeth was in a one-sided codependent dynamic with Luke which doesn’t count as much of a love interest. So I get wanting to, like, even the scales a bit. But the idea that Annabeth was the only one pining and waiting around for him while he got to pick between multiple girls is just... not true. She was as unavailable as he was. He was as in love with her as she was. It's a pretty even simp4simp relationship!

On another note, I never got why some fans are so worked up over Percabeth vs Perachel when it was never even a contest? Annabeth kissed Percy and he said he could stand there forever and try to remember his name. Rachel kissed percy and his reaction was "i don't want Annabeth to find out" 😭 Perachel is no threat to Percabeth guys. We can chill

Ok rant over

[fate-of-the-envious]

How is canon Annabeth abusive?

You want a list?

Alright!

1. She constantly hits Percy. Kicking him in the shins, elbowing him in the ribs, punching him in the gut. Not to mention the judo flip scene. Also, this is never said to be done playfully whatsoever. And it's done constantly in EVERY book.

2. She always belittles and calls him stupid. Like his plans never work. Ha, they work more than hers! Also, the parallels of her calling him Seaweed Brain, when Gabe called him Brain Boy! Like how would you feel if you have a nickname constantly degrading your worst insecurities?! All the damn time! Not to mention Thalia, who Percy was the first person who helped her after she stopped being a tree, after spending the school year with Annabeth started calling Percy Kelp Head and viewing him as dumb. Annabeth who ignored Percy all this year, and was overall just selfish and mean when they met again.

3. Annabeth is so possessive of Percy. Even before they are dating (which doesn't make it any better when they are), Annabeth doesn't let Percy be friends with Rachel. Trying to drive a wedge between the two. And Percy, literally only has Grover and Annabeth for friends. He is so alone, he needs more friends! Oh, and then with Jason she interrupts the two of them chatting and trying to get along. Also, just how she doesn't like that Percy seems to like Camp Jupiter, like he can't seem to have his own differing plans from her.

4. Tartarus. Everything about that was so bad. Like in Tartarus, whom Percy fell down to FOR HER, Annabeth brings up Rachel because in her thoughts, she needs to keep her boyfriend on his toes. Like bitch! Then, we get to how she thinks Percy is so manipulative when he talks his way to get Bob to kill his brother. Like that isn't Annabeth's number 1 tactic. She's so fucking judgemental!

And then the scene with Akhlys in Tartarus. Where yes, Percy is being scary torturing this goddess who tried to poison them to death. But she just tried to kill them! He's saving their lives! And then, Annabeth makes Percy promise her to never use those powers again, because "Somethings aren't meant to be controlled." Like do you know how useful poison-bending could be to save lives? What difference does this make from using a sword to kill monsters when all of them are trying to kill and/or eat Demigods! Not to mention, if someone is poisoned, Percy could help heal them!

Next, because of how horrible Annabeth made Percy feel for using these powers he attempts suicide. After he gets out and faces Polybotes, who controls poison, he doesn't even try to save himself and says to Jason that he deserves to die by poison for what he did! He tried to kill himself! And Annabeth never talks to Percy about this again, and instead talks to Piper who thinks Percy needs to be restrained like he's some kind of monster when he was saving them! Percy is literally the most selfless and kind person out there. And Annabeth treats him like crap! She doesn't deserve him!

5. Percy isn't allowed to have bad thoughts on Luke. Luke, who's tried to kill him repeatedly since he was twelve! And in general, this ship is so toxic and codependent right now, it's in no way healthy.

Anyways sorry for my rant, but yeah Annabeth is abusive, and it's just so concerning how people possibly in elementary school are being exposed to this being a healthy relationship, where girlfriends can hit their boyfriends, and can stop them making friends with others, because they belong to them like some sort of object.

Yeah, I just relate to Percy so much, and I don't want him to deal with another Gabe.

Edit: Okay, for anyone who likes Annabeth or Percabeth, I don't care - you do you. You can like and dislike all the characters and ships you want, just as I can. So, if you disagree with what is said, that's fine, but don't expect me to change my stance when I have already pointed out several concerning behaviors. So, like good humans, we'll just have to agree to disagree and move on with our days.

[ipledgeawaymysanity]

Imagine you fall in love with a god. His eyes always peer at you through your son and for his safety you give up everything. EVERYTHING. your dreams. your safety. your relationship. your potential. your love. you tolerate a horrid HORRID man and his addiction and his abuse and the pain...for him...your son. the one who smiles like the sun and has the eyes of the ocean.

AND THEN everything you have kept him away from, comes rushing for him at the bloody doorstep and not only do you have to let him go to his father's world, you also have to leave him not knowing if he'd actually stay safe...

THIS is why i loved that detail in the books that Sally was against sending Percy to camp...because she had given up everything for him. Despite all her strength and motherly love you have to admit there was also a co-dependency between them. Only she could keep Percy safe and Percy could only trust her because he was a 'problematic child'. They loved each other but it was bound by desperation too...

While the show could not express it in the detailed way the books did I still love how that tension was so palpable. Especially when she was struggling and stood in the rain listening to music...because not only does the water soothe... it hides away the tears too.

[helpallthenamesaretaken]

the most relatable part of the tlt musical is that when percy tries to say or imply anything positive there is a bunch of background vocals immediately pushing it down

like in the day i got expelled hes like "they never listen to me" like hey maybe im not the problem maybe the problem is the people around me treating me badly and then suddenly the background vocals are all like "dude???you got expelled????"

and in good kid when hes like "all i need is one chance to prove im good enough for someone" like i believe in my goodness i just need to prove it to people and suddenly the background vocals are reminding him "SIX SCHOOLS IN SIX YEARS!! SIX SCHOOLS IN SIX YEARS!!"

[helyeahmangocheese]

tbh I headcanon percy to eventually land on an environmental science major in college after a lot of experimenting around and not because of his dad but because of *grover* and his belief in finding pan, because of knowing how much the mortal and mythical world have been hurting the earth itself, and because if there's one thing that could convince percy jackson to study, it's justice. plus I think he and annabeth would totally geek out over sustainability as restorative and regenerative design. this is your "build something that lasts" couple. your "ur system is broken fix it rn" couple. if the mythical world EVER left them alone they would 100% be pursuing justice at any other stop they found themselves in anyway

[demigods-posts]

percy and annabeth canonically went to paris. did he and annabeth ride off into the sunset on a boat in front of the entire camp on a random tuesday? what was the conversation for the trip like? did annabeth nonchalantly mention she'd like to see the eiffel tower in person someday and percy made it his goal to make it happen for her? did percy work extra shifts underwater so he could convince his dad to grant him a boat for one night? how did annbeth react when he told her she and him were going? is any of this confirmed? i must know.

[sxturn-to-mxrs]

annabeth:(judo flips a boy she's known since she was 12 so they obviously know what's okay for the other and have their boundaries) "percabeth is abusive" people: oMG AnNABetH iS sO ToXiC aND AbUsEs pErCy

[the-paris-of-people]

The Annabeth fell first part of the Annabeth fell first, Percy fell harder pipeline is highly underappreciated! That little girl had never opened up emotionally to anyone before and within two days she's willing to sacrifice her pride to protect him, making speeches about how he's better than the world she grew up in, and shooting heart eyes at him for making a turn out of a parking lot.

[randomness-is-my-order]

okay, buckle up, this pjo rant-post will be a bit long! this is gonna sound a bit melodramatic but what genuinely saddens me about percy’s characterisations and portrayal by the narrative over the years since the last olympian was out is that... the very nuance that was written into this character in the original series is slowly being stripped away and moulded into the caricatures that percy has been flanderized into in popular fanon. i remember having debates over the whole “can’t function without annabeth”/“has one functional braincell”/“is constantly self-doubting himself into a pithole” characterisations and opposing these perceptions with canonical content. because the beauty of percy’s character is how his strengths have always balanced his weaknesses. he’s impulsive but battle-smart, he’s ignorant (about the greek ways) but has a tough as shit skin, he’s new to everything but he’s mindful enough to keep up with the new inlet of information. he’s loyal to a fault, but brave beyond measure. he’s a smart guy, a wisecracking guy, a loving, caring, wonderful person. the aspect of himself that doubts himself always read part-trauma, part-humility. his perception of himself was generally skewed, yes, but we had a counterbalance of it in terms of how people reacted to him, even in the original series! annabeth sure as hell didn’t fall for him for being a dumbknut who can’t tie his shoelaces without her assistance. their competence was implicitly and explicitly shown to be equal! percy had opinions that went against annabeth’s all the time, he had stances on matters that he remained so firm on he gave up immortality for them. he respected himself enough to respect his own views on different matters.

and towards the end of the series, i always got the impression that percy’s self-doubt had been improving and that is exactly how an upward progressive arc for a main character should be! and i did think that was rick’s idea too during the heroes of olympus, especially because the outsider perspectives were heavy on appreciating percy as a powerful, capable demigod. but i think, in hindsight, the seeds of what we now see in the new trilogy had already been planted. the constant pointed remarks about percy’s intelligence are irksome enough but the backpedaling of percy’s self-perception is probably the most egregious to me. because how do i argue my points from above anymore when the newest canon supports that fanon pov?

when the people surrounding percy have been reinforcing views that undermine him–primarily his intelligence and his competence–the very same people who you’d think would know better because they actually know percy the most intimately, it makes sense that percy himself is still stuck in the routine of undermining his ownself. but also... this should, from a writing-continuity perspective, make NO sense whatsoever. because this kind of superficial reading of percy from the other characters only made sense at the very start of the original series. by the end, i do not think annabeth was in the dark about percy’s “surprising intelligence”. that’s a laughable notion to have. and she’d be the first to shut down anyone implying that percy couldn’t function without her because again, so much of their original fascination and bonding with each other was about how well they could keep up with each other! they don’t need each other and that makes it all the more wonderful that they’re gonna help each other out regardless!

ugh, i just do not understand the logic behind having the protagonist revert back to self-esteem issues that he has already been shown to overcome to a noticeable difference by the conclusion of his original arc. i get regression in self perception is not some uncommon, unfathomable concept. but i cannot wrap my head around the fact that this view of percy of his ownself is not treated with enough gravity by the narrative, instead it’s just a part of his pov now. i do not think rick’s trying to paint annabeth or the friends as enablers of this self-perception and if he is, that’s bullshit. someone like sally would not allow her son to continue thinking of himself in such a manner anyway.

also, like, forget everything–the writing, the logic leaps, the plot holes. is it too much to ask for percy, a beloved main character, to have a confident outlook and have that reflected in the books explicitly meant for “fun”? if this series is how we send-off the golden trio and say goodbye to them, why do we need to see percy with a self-deprecating perception? why can’t we have banter that doesn’t horribly contradict established characterisations in the past? the fun of percabeth was, for me, that even if they were on some pedestal, they were on it together. but lately, it’s like rick is trying his best to throw percy off that pedestal from all directions possible and i think that’s such a disservice to this character we all have cherished for decades now. there are ways to go about writing, what is essentially, an “unserious” trilogy without compromising on character traits and interpersonal dynamics. it was never dumb vs smart, clumsy vs competent, grumpy vs sunshine, whipped vs unbothered when it came to percabeth. but slowly, so many of these black-and-white popular tropes have been bleeding into their canon dynamic and at the cost of sounding crude: fuck this, just fucking FUCK THISSSS.

[isolophilian]

the thing i dreaded most from before when the pjo tv show came out was probably having to witness the perachel resurgence. never in a million years did I think we would go down the percy x clarisse route

[a-littlebitof-nonsense]

Percy and Annabeth’s friendship is literally everything

Don’t get me wrong i’m a huge percabeth shipper but their FRIENDSHIP!?!? I will go feral for it always

I absolutely adore how the show is laying out the grounds for their relationship and the journey they will take and how deep friends they are becoming. And the actors are doing so well portraying this too!

JUST UGH THEYRE BEST FRIENDS AND IM SO HERE FOR IT

[fate-of-the-envious]

Concerning Snippets from PJO Chalice of the Gods

Annabeth didn't give Percy any warning. Didn't talk to him. Didn't tell him what she was thinking and just pushed him off the edge, not even knowing if this water was breathable to Percy, AND since he wasn't even prepared he could have easy lost his hold on this important staff.

Now he's fighting this unknown god, Elisson, who guess what wants to cause Percy pain.

Yeah, Annabeth, what did you think was going to happen? Oh, wise one *sarcastic*. At least Percy thinks of more than himself and wants to keep his partner safe.

Here Percy's been through the ringer, forced into this situation BY ANNABETH, and Annabeth, who is safe up on the cliff, is just tapping her wrist like it's a watch because she's impatient for her boyfriend to hurry up. Like girl, this god could kill Percy and has already hurt him, and this is how you react.

Look, I don't care if anyone likes Annabeth or not, but this kind of behavior, not to mention so many more things, is just so concerning to me. Percabeth is not a healthy relationship, and it never has been.

It's just so concerning that this is what been taught to as early as elementary school kids about what is a "healthy" relationship. Not to mention how many times Annabeth has elbowed Percy, kicked his shins, and calls him stupid. Let's not forget the judoflip in HOO either, where Annabeth puts her knee on Percy's chest and presses her forearm against his throat and tells him not to leave her, LIKE HE CHOSE TO BE KIDNAPPED. Instead of ya know, hugging him and telling him she loves him.