#tlt twitter au

[over-bi-the-wayside]

Harrow the Ninth but it's a filmed like a family blog with all of the questionable background situations and moral questionability and it's just John trying to get all of the Lyctors get along. Pyrrha has "special editions" but no one really knows what's happening when they show up, and it's just this VoiceOver with some otherwise mediocre video spilling secrets and giving backstory

[balalaijka]

some art blog recs! (that i found through caitvi art)

@may12324 - just gorgeous, wonderful illustrations all around

@badasserywomen - hot buff women with muscles that would make you fall on your knees

@qvert - very pleasing color schemes, angsty moments

@bonnabees - made this gorgeous cowboy au that’s been rotating in my brain

@xjdkg89q - lots of style variations, but here is one of my favorites:

@kashlat2 - i love the artistic “messiness” here, they give the artwork so much character

@irishyuri - does a lot of fandoms, but has this gorgeous melvika piece

@blusthings - did an illustration for the hockey au fic run at the cup!

@recklez - very pleasing expression detailing, also has excellent tlt art

@nikoniko808 - just really cool art overall, feels like a natural 2d translation of the original 3d style

@bassfishart - a wonderful graphic novel style, like here (idk why it’s not showing the image here): https://www.tumblr.com/bassfishart/771696350143414272/instruments-chapter-1-page-3-aaand-turns-out-the?source=share

[kinkhsarsm]

I decided to continue to draw TLt coffee shop au... So here is the 5th page. Other 4 you can find here or on Twitter 😁

[liesmyth]

TLT holiday exchange: it's a wrap!

Authors have been revealed for the @tlt-holiday-exchange. You can find the full collection here; you can find my rec list here.

Thanks to everyone who created, beta-read, left feedback, or otherwise helped this event come together. You rock ❤️💀✨

What I Wrote

slash and burn for the wonderful @/forjodssake. Augustine/John, pre-Resurrection. ft. Augustine's mango vape and John's pathetic swag. Rated M.

“Fuck you,” John says. “I can do rizz.”

Exchange MPVs

Shoutouts to the creators with multiple works in the collection!

PyrrhaDveotee with 13 (!!!!) works. Here they are.

LesbianJesusLovesYou with SIX different works. Here they are.

with FIVE works each: Sluggg (here) and Kat_Hikari (here)

with FOUR works each: @thewinterstale (here) and @celira (here)

with THREE works each: @arithmonym (here) // @friendamedes (here and here) // Raxheim @theriverbeyond (here)

with TWO works each: @aspiranthect (here) // atropinecapra @youweremyridehome (here) // CindFourth @cindthia (here) // Lilac_Jam (here) // @rnanqo (here)

Art!!

Now that creators are public, you can check the art pieces in the collection to see if they are rebloggable on here or twitter.

You can find all the SIXTEEN art pieces in the collection here.

Read on under the cut to find: FIVE (!!!) newer additions to the collection that you might have missed and SEVEN (!!!!) long fics over 15k.

Hot New Entries!!

Some works were posted after the collection revealed, and you might have missed them. Here they are:

Absorbed by grey stone by CookieNS. Rated G.

Aiglamene and Pelleamena share a brief moment after the captain returns from the Cohort.

just like normal by paene. Rated E.

Ianthe gives herself a cock, and Corona is increasingly bewildered that she hasn’t been allowed to sit on it yet.

refreshments provided by Anonymous. Rated E. [ART FILL!]

Abigail Pent getting her tits sucked at a conference by Juno Zeta, as she deserves

Ritual of the Unkissed Skull by Raxheim. Harrow Nova; Rated E.

“There’s a benefit, you know. To not being my real cavalier. It means I can do this,” Gideon says, and kisses Harrow.

the soft animal of your body by pussymedes. Camilla/Nona, Rated E.

Nona goes into heat.

Longfics

We have SEVEN works over 15k words of length. Here they are:

Softly Falling, Tumbling Down by @ambiguouswren. Modern AU. Rated T. 28k.

Harrowhark Nonagesimus lived a perfectly fine life running The Anchorite's Archive, her family's bookshop that she inherited. Then a red haired menace entered her life and turned everything she thought she knew upside down.

come, dearest heart by @patiencespardon. HtN AU, Lyctor Palamedes, Rated E. 20k

In Canaan House, Palamedes Sextus unwillingly ascends to Lyctorhood in order to put an end to Cytherea the First's rampage. He's left heartbroken, grieving, and terribly, terribly lonely.

Reasonable Service by duplicitoussluts. Canaan House Era, Rated E. 19k.

Cristabel and Mercy have a disagreement. Mercy decides to make herself free use about it.

Prey by apredatorywasp. Serial killer AU, Rated E. 18k.

Gideon Nav gets kidnapped by serial killer Cytherea. With the help of her faithful sub Loveday, Cytherea tortures Gideon and tries to break her. Meanwhile, Harrow--joined by Camilla, Palamedes, Corona and Ianthe--searches for Gideon.

here is the church, here is the steeple by thewinterstale. Pre-canon. Rated T, 17k.

Pyrrha Dve once helped with a birth and painted a nursery mint green. Before the paint and before the blood, amidst tragic loss and heart-pounding necromantic discoveries, a quiet, saltwater love story was playing itself out in the shallow depths of the Canaan House swimming pool.

Ain't no sunshine when they're gone by Nightworldlove. Modern AU, Rated E, 16k.

Harrow's been on a business trip and Gideon's missed them terribly, turns out the feeling is very much mutual.

run on (for a long time) by @midnightbaguette. Western AU! Rated T. 16k

It's a wild west out there, full of supernatural forces and dangerous outlaws. Under the direst of circumstances, four of the unlikeliest companions must band together to outrun their pasts, and maybe find something new along the way.

Thank you for reading this far and thanks as always to the mods for another year of holiday deliciousness. If this list helped you find cool stuff in the collection, please let the creators know <3

[tlt-monthly-prompts]

TLT Monthly presents

The Locked Tomb AU-gust

Dates

August 1-30

AO3 link

is not live yet! We'll link it when it is.

What is this?

TLT AU-gust is an event celebrating Alternate Universes (AUs) for transformative works based on The Locked Tomb Series by Tamsyn Muir. Each week during the month of August highlights two AU themes. Fans are encouraged to create fanworks—fanfiction, fanart, podfic, graphics, etc.—based on any of the themes and post anytime during the month.

How do I participate?

Post to AO3 Collection, use #TLTMonthly, #AUgustTLT when sharing on socials.

We'll be monitoring the AO3 collection so everything on there will be shared on our Tumblr and Twitter. If you want to consume all the things for the event, follow this space!

Do I have to make something for every prompt?

Participation is entirely voluntary! If you are only moved by one prompt, then you only have to make the one thing.

Why are there 8 prompts but only 4 weeks in August?

To give people options! Limitations breed creative solutions, but whyyyyy

What if I don't finish in time?

If you miss posting during August, the collection will remain open in September for all late submissions.

Do you allow _____?

Yop!

Who the heck is running this joint?

It's us. Hi. We're the problem, it's us. We are Nim @malicious-gay, JessiJoy @thesaintofpassion, az @dabs-into-oblivion, and KT @themorikelife. We like creating stuff and running fandom events. This was all Nim's idea. JessiJoy made our graphics. KT also manages the annual TLT Holiday Exchange. az has the spray bottle (go to acid jail).

Watch this space for more info about each week!

[shaninreally]

I have an art blog but I’ve literally never used it, so I will post this on main (just beware I generally don’t tag things on this blog)

I finally drew something!! Taking part in my first ever fandom project, here’s a WIP of my beloved (college AU) Gideon for a music video coordinated by @ambiguouswren !

Check out the TLTStayMAP hashtag here on tumblr and Twitter for sneak peaks from the other artists, they’re all amazing and a bunch of them are doing their portions as short animations!! Insanely talented group

And if you’re interested in participating in this or future TLT projects, there’s a discord server!! I’ll direct you to Wren^ for an invite

[amiluc6]

need more yj and tlt oomfs (help using Twitter is corrupting me that is the FIRST TIME IVE USED THAT WORD) the possibilities of an au are endless and they need to be discussed

also have u guys ever thought. harrowhark nonagesimus. wei wuxian. nico di angelo.

[theriverbeyond]

14, 17 & 25

14. that one thing you see in fics all the time

this question didn't like… specify if the thing i see all the time is something i enjoy? or dislike? just something i see a lot sooooo one of each

giving Gideon her canon scars in a modern AU!! i love this actually. sternotomy scar Gideon <3<3<3<3<3

when characters magic up a dick. i see this all the time and it is to me the opposite of the above. </3. (characters HAVING a dick is good fun, the making therof being a focus of the fic is not my thing.)

17. there should be more of this type of fic/art

answered here but actually I have more to add and that's I want to read more humor about the comedy of errors that is BOE administration, Lyctor dinner parties, and Gaius "family bonding".

25. common fandom complaint that you’re sick of hearing

ngl i try to distance myself as much as possible from fandom complaining bc it is bad for my blood pressure and i come here to have fun. but actually the most annoying thing is when people make broad statements against what they perceive as "one side" of the fandom. like all X shippers are annoying, tlt tumblr/twitter/reddit is bad wholesale, etc. like we are all in the clown show. c'mon.

[mimzy6bunny]

Im going insane just saw a modern tlt au on twitter where harrow drinks monster,,,, this girl canonically cannot stomach water with a few drops of lemon in it. Shes not fuckin drinking monster you dipshit

[nonas-third-tantrum]

merry navmas!

<- prev | masterpost | next ->

[sweetbitterimpossiblecreature]

this is my first time posting a social media AU so be gentle, guys.

it was super fun tho so follow me for more

[mini-minish]

tlt doodle collection from twitter

1. man teaches alien about ancient earth customs

2. modern au but gideon is a space nerd

3. palamedes <3

[liesmyth]

which WIPs are you working on?

Uh. A FEW :D

TLT

BRE / pre-Resurrection A- & M- POV fic of the end of the world

Dios Apate HtN threesome fic

Augustine finds Palamedes trapped in the River bubble HtN AU

Ted Lasso

Post S1 multichapter where bi!Jamie is outed on twitter

Post S3 eventual Ot3 fic where Jamie & Keeley go to Brazil

S1 AU where Roy is gay and closeted and hooks up with Jamie

One (1) Secret Fandom exchange one-shot

On the back burner:

[TLT] The Reverend Parents committing the creche massacre

[TLT] John & Augustine pre-Res grad student/professor thingy

[TL] Post S3, 2022 World Cup fic

[johngaiussimp]

Locked Tomb UQuiz Masterpost!

Hellllooooo. I make a lot of uquizzes on Twitter for fun. i post/make them at various levels of seriousness, so they are mostly the farthest thing from professional and pretty horny and silly.* But if you want to take a bunch of locked tomb personality quizzes made by a silly nerd, here’s a list from over the years!

Every quiz is probably NSFW lol. More recent ones have Nona spoilers (at the bottom of list)

There are also other quizzes that are by other amazing people, take their quizzes too (too stoned to figure out how to find all those) (if you want to reblog with your own quizzes pls do so)

here you gooooooo. 

Which Ianthe vibe are you?

Which Griddlehark quote/moment are you?

Which goth Harrow nickname are you?

Which name does Harrowhark Nonagesimus call you?

How fucked up are you? (based on a very specific TLT measurement) 

Which hilarious Mercymorn insult are you?

What does your TLT House say about you as a lover?

What sexy Cytherea moment are you?

What TLT meme are you?

Which article of Harrowhark’s clothing are you?

What type of cavalier are you?

How quickly would you die in Canaan House?

What does Ianthe call you?

Which TLT woman are you going on a hot date with?

Which Third House au plot point are you?

Which Ninth House feature/element are you?

Which fake TLT academic journal title are you?

What makkachinning Griddlehark AU are you? 

Answer would you rather questions and get assigned a TLT wife!

How well do you know Ianthe Tridentarius? 

Analyze this Gideon and Ianthe banter scene and I’ll guess your astrological sign incorrectly. 

Choose your own adventure TLT au (which original Lyctor are you?)

Which piece of TLT underwear are you?

Answer FMK - get assigned a strange TLT au of my own creation.

Which cursed TWT fan TLT moment are you (would you rather)

Which certified TLT stoner are you?

Answer some Qs and get assigned a TLT hottie and a Taylor Swift song 

Which BOE prisoner are you from “As yet Unsent”

Which brat Ianthe moment /emoji are u???

How long could you stay married with Ianthe?

Which false homestuck reference in TLT are you?

Match a reaction image to TLT characters and get assigned a TLT ex-gf

Which TLT cat are you? 

Which form of Alecto are you going to date?

What interpretation of Mercymorn’s drawing of a RB are you?

What is your TLT toxic trait (character edition)? 

What is your TLT love language? 

What is your job during the Great Jizz Heist? 

What’s your toxic tlt trait (fandom edition)?

Top, bottom or switch, TLT edition

Which arcane x tlt ship are you?

Which line from the Nona book summary are you?

who is your TLT secret santa and what do they get you?

R u hole or slick or knot? decorate a christmas tree.

What Tor nona cover promotion tweet are you?

What Nona cover detail are you?

Which horny TLT moment are you?

Who is your TLT one night stand?

Who in Bridgerton are you? (TLT x bridgerton )

which Locked Tomb villain are you?

What kind of ass would Ianthe flesh magic onto you?

Whose strap are you []ing tonight?

Who is your 2022 TLT pride crew?

Are you top bottom or switch (nona edition)? 

Which name does Pyrrha call you? 

*Please note that these quizzes are made by a freak who is friends with freaks and doesn’t fuck with trying to police other ppls shipping choices lmao. 

[eyo-captain-blue]

So in your pjo au, what are Harrow's and Gideon's godly parents?

Also your art is amazing, I like how you draw Gideon, she's just really cute!

AHHH!!!!!! Thank you for asking holy shit!!!!!!!

Okay okay so!! Harrow is the daughter of Pluto!

And Gideon is the daughter of Prometheus!

They both grew up next to each other, and ran away from their homes at 9/10, following the tragic event of Harrow's mom and stepdads deaths (similar to how they died in the book series).

It took a little bit to decide on Prometheus for Gideon's dad, but I felt it fit best!

And obviously Harrow has to be able to summon skeletons ✨✨

And bro thank you!!!!!!! I'm sobbing so hard rn!! I love drawing Gideon so much!! She's the best!! I'm so glad you like how I draw her it literally means so much!!! 🫠🫠💖💖💖‼️‼️🫂🫂🫂🫂

And thank you for reminding me that I haven't posted more about the PJO TLT AU here!!!!

The AU concepts:

Stuffs from my original Twitter thread:

I'm so insane about cuddles actually

I have so much more!!!!

I'm thinking so hard!!! You guys have no idea like!!!!!!!!!! I am!! Combining!!!!! My biggest Hyperfixations!!!!! Together!!!!!!!!!!

All I have to say is one flesh, one end, and beware the River Lethe ✨✨

[thejudgingtrash]

Annabeth is a good person,but not a nice or pleasant one,IMO.

YES.

That’s it. That’s the post. Pack it up everybody, we just cracked the case and cleared up one of the most compelling fights in the PJO fandom since forever. Good job everybody, clap it out and there’s the door! Don’t forget ordering the drinks at Starbucks, Mitch! They’re on me!

Okay, but on a more serious note: YES. YES EXACTLY.

And before some of you roll your eyes or grab your pitchforks – put your biases aside and hear me out for once. I like Annabeth. She’s my in my top three characters only second to Percy himself. I love Percabeth. It’s my favorite ship in the entire series and to be frank, the only ship that I care about PJO wise. Hell, I spend my time creating my own headcanons or writing my own fanfics with Percabeth being the star in them.

But that is not to say that I’m unable to see how certain things have developed over the years or where they stand now in regard to Annabeth. I’m not here to ignore things that have been said and/or done due to or in the name of Annabeth and I’m not here to vilify anyone that doesn’t like her. And I’m here to admit that I’m guilty of some of the things that may be addressed in this meta essay that you will read in just a second. However, I try my best to assure you, that I’m for once able to recognize my own bias.

Warning: a monster essay lies right upon you.

This should count as a paper of its own.

Back to the statement on top: I would go out even further to reframe your claim, anon:

Annabeth Chase is a good character but not a nice or pleasant person.

Annabeth is a wonderful character but she isn’t a nice one. Or at least not nice to everyone. She is (construction wise if I dare say) the best character out of the series. She has her positive traits (she’s caring, she’s emotional, she’s encouraged and volunteers, she fights for what she believes in, she forgives (even if doing so begrudgingly)) but she also has her negative traits (she’s stubborn, she’s brash, changing her mind takes forever, she is prejudiced, she baits others). That balances things out. She is branded as the intelligent kid but does irrational things (like I’ve just said a) she’s a kid and b) she’s not a robot). She should probably know better, but we all make mistakes and hopefully grow and learn from them. The clouds in the sky do blur and cover our visions sometimes.

Annabeth had clashes with other characters or was about to have fights due to her stubbornness or jealousy (Rachel, Reyna, etc.) and has of course her problems with the mortal world and her family but she also found new friends, some things cleared up throughout the narration and she was/is quite popular in Camp Half-Blood.

The thing is: she doesn’t have to be nice or pleasant (as a character). Or at least not all the time. Her character is humanized. That is what or who she is. Human. She does stand out as a character, not just because she’s the (future) love interest. She feels like someone you could meet in real life and either adore from the top to the bottom or declare as your biggest enemy. And that’s totally okay if you lean either way – liking or disliking her. Or even feeling indifferent about her. Also great!

To say that she has been the best character that Riordan has crafted is easy to say, because she has been sculpted after Riordan’s wife. He had a model he could rub some of real-life events or traits on. That’s not the problem. The problem truly doesn’t lie on Riordan’s side for the most part for once.

The problem is inherently on the fandom’s side. What the fandom does, how it acts and how it treats Annabeth as a character is the problem. The problems vary but it’s mostly the mischaracterization of Annabeth, starting fights and fan/ship wars, internalized misogyny (in some cases) and how some of the Annabeth stans lash out (ha, got firsthand experience in that field among many of my friends and mutuals!). There is a reason why many people are wary of people that have Annabeth or Percabeth related URLs.

The fact that we see Annabeth mostly through Percy’s lens and (until the Heroes of Olympus saga hits) we never really see her in chill everyday situations is essentially Riordan leaving the back door of the house open, ready for all of you asshats to rob his mansion in Boston. Because a frame on a character means that we don’t get to see the character in its entirety (unlike we do with Percy in PJO for the most part). That means a bunch of stuff is left open for interpretation which is the reason why Annabeth gets so many polarized headcanon and opinions tossed around. I think that is one of the true appeals of Annabeth. You can add on stuff and it necessarily doesn’t have to contradict itself.

We have people calling her abusive due to a (n admittedly stupid and unnecessary) judo flip and we have people that act like she’s never done anything wrong. People sorta use this excuse to form and shape Annabeth however they want and distort her characterization.

People in the fandom act like Annabeth is some weird prized possession. We perceive Annabeth mostly through the eyes of others (Percy, Apollo, etc.) and when we had some sort of insight in her ways (MOA, HOH) it felt… weird? Somewhat? Like Riordan left two bullet points of her characterization and told the ghostwriter: aight, fuck it up, gringo, see you on Tuesday and greet Fred the next time you see him for me. 

There have been many posts lately (by Tharini, Simi, Sawasawako, Jewishpercy and Annie I believe?) that HOO Percabeth felt weird. That they felt weirdly constructed, that there was no conflict, no growth. It felt stagnating, like we’re turning back. We had five books prior where we had Annabeth and Percy slowly shifting from disliking to liking and crushing each other. True development. And when we finally got the cake it felt… dissatisfying. Like the cheap box stuff and not the delicious exquisite taste that we were promised.

I said it previously in my Percabeth ship roast, but let me repeat myself: many Percabeth related things are straight up fanon. Some of it is very old fanon so that’s been unable to distinguish unless you’ve read the books recently and subtract nearly 99,9% of things you see on Tumblr (and occasionally the other shitty parts of the fandom like Reddit, IG, Twitter. Although they mostly steal and recycle tumblr stuff oh well. But back to the topic).

The way people treat Annabeth is so strange. She’s either an innocent fluffy smush baby that’s never harmed a fly and all that she wants for Christmas is being Percy’s lapdog or she’s the devil incarnate, broke into your house, killed your parents Batman style, kicked your puppy and didn’t flush the toilet on the way out. I think this is what mostly makes people hate her or the ship Percabeth. And both extremes are wrong and right at the same time? She is multifaceted so both stereotypes are true and untrue and sorta cancel each other out in the same way.

The true reason why people dislike Annabeth is because the stans are doing the most. (The haters as well, don’t get me wrong, but oh boy. Piss of a stan and you’ll know what I mean). That isn’t inherently new. Are you guys old enough to remember the ship wars that have happened cross platform? Perachel vs. Percabeth? Oh boy, oh boy. I saw some kids on tumblr a few months ago trying to infiltrate both tags and start shit (and also fail). The fact that Rachel still gets used as the bitchy (ex) girlfriend in fanfics? It’s 2020 guys. I know this apocalyptic year is far from perfect and over but I think we can let this trope die, right? Right? I thought we’ve established that Rachel is a pretty chill charcter by now… right?

If you posted your stuff on FFN back in 2010-2013 and it wasn’t the typical cutesy Percabeth story (Goode High, the gods read TLT, punk/prep Percabeth, college AU, etc.) people would’ve come for your fucking throat. Not because the story or the narration was shit. But because the pairing wasn’t Annabeth and Percy (in the sense that Annabeth had to be paired with Percy. I mean Percy gets shipped with everyone and their mother but for Annabeth it was strictly Percy. As annoying as this whole Connabeth thing is – the people behind it actually had a point. She never had a different love interest unless it’s a Percy centered story and he goes off dating Athena, Artemis and Zoe at the same time for some odd reason. Yeah, FFN Percy ships are something). Or it wasn’t the action filled canon compliant story or it wasn’t an AU that was popular.

People were really stubborn, snobbish and wanted their stuff in the four five boxes that were the most popular ones and that’s it. People have been bullied off the site in many fandoms, so it’s not a PJO-only thing but it’s still sad that it happened. (Off-note: most of these FFN tropes are still alive and well and thriving on AO3. Don’t be so snobbish and pretend that every piece you’d find there is a holy grail. There’s a lot of trash you have to waddle through. Same with Wattpad, Tumblr or anywhere else where fanfics get posted. Also had this discussion with Annabeth stans. Sigh).

And Tumblr back then? Forget it, wasn’t much better.

That view has sorta changed (at least for people that have been in the fandom for several years or have managed to find a way to navigate through it) but some of the negative sentiment from back in the day has survived. Be it by new fans coming in or from old fans that never let their stance die. The aggression feels differently and somewhat not. (I don’t know if the anon function had been abused that much back in the day. I was an observer not a participant in the fandom).

Crack a joke at Annabeth’s expense (Kal’s famous “Annabeth is a Republican” post or Dee Dee’s and many others “Annabeth has the education of a second grader, chill with the college plans, girlie” stance) and you have people insulting you, making callout posts, unfollowing and blocking you (based on only that? Okay, honey), making aggressive counter-posts, etc. in a minute. If you respond with “It’s a joke, it’s not real” you have a 50/50 chance of either getting blown off or embarrassing them so that they apologize for once.

This isn’t just about jokes. You can make a headcanon that’s not the cozy cute convenient mainstream saga and people would react the same way. Or art piece (no, not including the whole Tannabeth Blackchase shtick done by Viria and others) or fanfics.

People project so much onto the unfinished canvas that is Annabeth Chase that any form of negative sentiment as little as someone not liking her to straight up criticism, regardless of how tiny it may be, seems like an affront. Like an invitation to a fight. Like an insult to them, their character, everything they believe in. Let me state something:

You are NOT Annabeth Chase. Annabeth Chase IS NOT you. Annabeth Chase is NOT real. Her feeling cannot be hurt. Someone criticizing, disliking, joking about her or even insulting her will not bother her. Someone making a statement about her is not an insult to YOU.

Let me repeat that:

Annabeth Chase isn’t real. Annabeth Chase isn’t you.

So think a little before you act? I get it when you’re a kid and new to fandoms or haven’t been up with fan cultures in the past and are back in the scene. But if you’re in your late teens or even older as an adult and you’re unable to understand that you aren’t what you like – you aren’t the extension of a fictional character – I feel incredibly sorry for you. Because that’s just incredibly sad. Someone disliking something you like isn’t an attack of your character. It shows you that you are you and the other person is a human just like you. That they just have different taste. Disliking something you like isn’t a crime, you know? But me feeling sorry for the way some of y’all act won’t mean that that’s even remotely okay. Especially if you’re no longer in the intended audience for PJO age wise and should know better.

This isn’t a “white stans” only thing. I’ve seen and witnessed firsthand how people of color, mainly women of color, act the same or not even worse when it comes to her character. People have projected their problems and real-life occurring events into her character (I’m sure that she isn’t the only character nor that this is the only fandom where this is happening) and in some cases like I’ve said cannot separate their own personality from the fictional world. Fights with woc happened because of Annabeth fucking Chase. So many things have happened in the fandom the past few months, mostly due to people being forced staying at home because of the quarantine but I’d say it’s 10% on quarantine and 90% on people for acting up like this.

So here’s a little story: There was the act of Riordan blowing the fandom up because of his own stupidity and being unable to apologize for his mischaracterization and lack of research (the whole Piper fiasco) back in June (?) and admits the upset fandom, people on Twitter, Tumblr and Discord legit thought that none of that mattered and that the outcry was destroying Annabeth Chase’s birthday. That’s right. People thought that Annabeth Chase’s non-existing birthday because she’s a fictional character had a higher priority than the rupture and prevalent racism in the fandom. Okay. This isn’t a great look, Annabeth stans. And this of course pissed a lot of people off. I made a post about it and someone not only berated three other people on said post but no, we had a mighty argument which had disrupted many friendships in our circle which haven’t recovered until this very day. We both had our parts in it and no one is innocent. But the cause of this still remains Annabeth Chase or how people prioritize her non-existing well-being. Anyway. I’m getting agitated just thinking about it.

Let’s go back to the characterization thing with Annabeth. Let me remind you:

Annabeth Chase is an asshole. There I’ve said it in a post ages ago (too lazy to look it up, sorry) and I’ll say it again. And that’s not me insulting her. That’s me actually loving that about her. Annabeth is one of the very few unapologetic female characters that really showed all young readers across the world that you can be a girl, a badass, smart, strong, standing up for yourself and what you believe in. You don’t have to be nice. You don’t have to hide your feelings. You don’t need a man in all cases but it’s also okay to accept help and defeat.

A large reason why I think she’s an incredibly important character in children’s literature/YA because many other novels (mostly (sadly)) have the “Oh, I’m a white skinny dark-haired girl that likes unconventional things like READING. I’m not like the other girls, that take care of themselves and pamper themselves by enjoying shopping and wearing make-up. No, I’d rather be one of the boys but a sweet cute little boy and not the jock fuck that drank vodka shots out of a filthy shoe once. Despite me calling myself hideous every man in a 10-kilometer radius falls in love with me and tells me I’m oh so sexy and by the way I’m only 16 years old” shit going on for no goddamn reason.

Yes, I do blame Twilight for this mostly in recent years, but this trope isn’t by any means knew. Pretty sure that you could even use classics as Pride and Prejudice and dissect them in the same manner (Bold statement: Lizzy Bennet is the OG Bella Swan. There. Go fight somewhere in the corner, people). The new wave of YA focuses on girls belittling themselves and only starting to believe in themselves because someone else (mostly the male love interest) tells them they’re worth it. And these books hit the mainstream because they’re incredibly bland and picture perfect white.

With Annabeth it’s different. She shows up for the job and is done with it. (Brie Larson would probably be the perfect in real life version of her. You either like or dislike her. Or you really don’t care). That is what is so refreshing about her. Her unapologetic nature. Can it be off-putting? Yes. Is it annoying? Yes! Hell, every time I read The Lightning Thief, I want to rip her goddamn head off. And it’s just so well written. Her shift from mistrusting Percy but secretly still believing in him to her opening up. Wow, Riordan did something right there.

Annabeth Chase isn’t a young character. She has existed along with PJO for 15 years. She’s on her way to the second decade. I’m pretty sure that with the success of Percy Jackson (and Harry Potter) many lives have been warped and shaped.

But when I say the problem lies mostly in the fandom, it doesn’t mean that Riordan’s completely innocent. The only problem that I have with Annabeth lies not truly with her but the fact that Riordan is only able to produce three variations of female characters:

The sweetheart (Hazel, Silena, Calypso, Hestia)

The strong feminist (Annabeth, Piper, Thalia, Reyna, Artemis)

The bitch (Drew, nearly every female goddess in the goddamn Riordanverse next to every female monster)

And these female characters only know three endings:

End up married with a mortgage, three kids, two dogs and a cat somewhere in Connecticut by the age of twelve

Get dumped into the hunt

Chill on Mount Olympus and only come down to be a nuisance and/or give a cryptic message before going back and doing a godly rave party or something

We know Annabeth as the badass strong female first (or the bitchy character we’re supposed to actually like. Choose your approach), the blueprint so to speak, so some of the other characters feel almost pale in comparison and almost not needed? Doesn’t mean that other characters can’t behave similarly, but it feels kind of redundant especially if their character arcs end in a rather anticlimactic way (Thalia, Reyna). The new additions are the much needed woc as the main story with PJO was inherently white (anyway stan black!Percy and Grover, folks). So it’s not to bash on the new characters, it’s more Riordan’s fault more than anything.

Since Riordan only knows three female character arcs it feels like he tried to copy the formula several ways with different nuances. Some more or less successful. This is where fandom actually comes in handy and helps create more distinguished and fleshed out characters in form of headcanons or fanfiction.

But even in these cases people still make it about Annabeth when it’s time for characters of colors to shine. Remember that whole spiel and discussion that broke out when people (Kal, diver-up, Caitlyn, Bee, reynaisalesbian, etc.) joked about or criticized that Annabeth thinks that she’s having it harder because she’s a blonde? In front of Hazel and Piper? If she would’ve been a real person that’s an invitation for getting decked. And then all hell broke loose because Annabeth stans couldn’t accept the fact that in the real world and/or in fictional worlds the woc/coc have it harder? That the white woman wasn’t the victim that needed the coddling? Yeah, that was mad pathetic.

I hope you people get my point?

Well fuck. I wrote so many things and have the feeling I’ve said nothing. Anyway, I hope I made sense. This is way too long.

TLDR: Chill about Annabeth please. She’s an important character but that doesn’t mean that everyone has to like her, regardless of being a character in the books or a reader/fan of PJO in real life. She isn’t nice or a sweetheart all the time. She also isn’t the monstrous asshole that some try to make out of her.

Peace out.