We as a fandom have really been sleeping on the fact that the Disney+ Percy is canonically an artist. It’s one of the first things we’re given about him as a character within the first 10 minutes of the show, and I loved seeing the giant page of Greek doodles. Anyway, I feel like there's a ton of potential for this to be used in the future, so here are just a few of my ideas on possible ways to bring it back.
Percy, who can’t for the life of him remember what a monster is called, so he quickly sketches it out so Annabeth and Grover can play a guessing game on what he’s talking about
Annabeth finding Percy’s notebook filled with sketches of her and other little memories from their quests (cough cough, Spider-Verse)
Percy absently drawing a picture of the random girl who keeps appearing in his dreams, only for Annabeth to look over his shoulder and gasp at the spot-on image of her big sister
TTC Nico, seeing Percy stress doodling what Dr. Thorn looked like and immediately begging him to draw other monsters or Gods that he’s encountered
Rachel Elizabeth Dare and Percy bonding over art in a way that totally DOESN’T make Annabeth’s eye twitch
SON Percy desperately trying to draw out the blurry memory of Annabeth only to crumble the paper when he can’t get her features exactly right.
I honestly doubt we will see it used again, but if we did, I would be delighted.
I feel like not enough people understand equity versus equality when it comes to representation (or anything else, honestly, but im sticking to representation for now).
I'm gonna use the new little mermaid movie as my primary example here because it seems like that's what people have been up in arms over these days. One of the arguments I'm seeing is, "If you made Tiana or Moana white, you guys would be mad." You mean Tiana, whose background is rooted in being a Black woman in 1920s Louisiana? You mean Moana, whose entire story is based on her being Polynesian? You're comparing them being made white to a character whose only story-specific trait is that she has a fishtail being Black? Really?
But aside from that, this argument also comes up with different fanart interpretations. I see it on platforms like TikTok, mainly when a Black creator shares their fanart where they made certain white characters Black or mixed. The comments are filled with more of the same. "But if it was the other way around, there would be a problem."
People don't understand that for many, many years, white people were the default in shows, books, and other media. The other day, I was talking to a friend about how the media I consumed as a child made me assume that everyone I met online was white until proven otherwise. People of color have needed to create their own representation through fan content because where else would we get it? Being the "default," white people have an advantage. There are seven white Disney princesses (depending on who you ask). There is one Black Disney princess in the form of Tiana. If you make Ariel Black, NOTHING changes; there are still seven white Disney princesses because the original Ariel the Mermaid is still there. She does not go away. But if you make the live adaptation character Black, it adds to Black representation.
At the end of the day, if you say that it isn't actually equality because Black can't be made white but white characters can be made Black, you'd be correct. It's not equality; it's equity. There has to be equity because giving everyone the same treatment when one group has a higher advantage isn't equality anyway.
But why not make something entirely new for representation instead of replacing others?
This is a sentiment I've seen a few times, not just on this post but others.
First of all, when it comes to live action adaptions, or adaptions in general, nothing is being replaced. All of it is additional; the source material is still there. Nothing is being taken away, just adding.
Second: we would love new stories. The fact is our stories do not have an equal chance of being told, because most of the people who are running these studios do not care about Black and brown voices. So part of it is taking what we can get, and another part of it is proving to studios that these stories can sell and are worth being told by more than just one token person.
And actually, when we do get original stories, white people complain anyway! They complain about movies like Across the Spiderverse which is packed with diversity. They complain about too much "wokeness" (which is a dog whistle for Blackness, btw) in Hollywood. They complain that they can't relate to the characters. They complain about "Black Panther" because there was only one white guy and a colonizer joke and say the movie is overhyped anyway. They complain about movies like Blue Beetle which has a Latino main character and say "does every single aspect about his life have to be tacos?" That is a REAL QUOTE from a so-called movie review on YouTube (I am not linking it because I don't want to give it any more attention). In that same review, they trivialize the very real examples of racism depicted in the film. They complain whenever a movie is centered around a culture other than their own.
The bottom line is, we still have a long way to go in terms of reaching equality in representation. That is why we have equity.
My take about percabeth is that yes it is "girl with abandonment issues"/"boy with loyalty as a fatal flaw" but I also think it's "boy that has never thought of anything for himself"/"girl who is ready with a powerpoint presentation of their future together"
Like, percy does not have any ambition. One of the first things he says about himself in tlt is that his life is "short and miserable". He has very low self steem and view of himself, and even though he has his mom, and friends, is not until he falls in love with annabeth that he gets an idea of what a future for himself would look like. The only times he imagines it is when thinking of annabeth. When rejecting inmortality, when in new rome and in the lete, when annabeth asks him what he wants to study. In tartarus, imagining marrying her and having children.
It might sound far fetched, but for most of the books he seems to be living his life as if just trying to survive day to day. He doesn't mind dying for the prophecy very much. Is only her voice that brings him out of the styx. Is only her that makes him want to look beyond what he is and makes him think of what he could be.
I just love Annabeth Chase so much. I love her flaws most of all. I love that she’s proud, and can’t spell, and is a little mean, and gets jealous. I love that, despite these very common flaws that so many teen girls have, the books show over and over that she is a good, kind person who deserves to be loved anyway. I think that letting Annabeth be flawed, make mistakes, and occasionally act on her worst behavior, and still be the hero and love interest is one of the best, most significant writing choices Rick ever made.
When camp half blood got that burnt message saying percy and Annabeth were is Tartarus everyone was worried of course
Not even gods dared to venture there, they all thought they were as good as dead
No one could ever in the past accuse Clarisse about caring for percy, but maybe if she was twitchy since she found that out, people pretended not to notice
they also pretended not to notice how she would hold her boyfriends hand extra tight during the meetings, and stare at the aphrodite cabin.
No one would mention how she wasnt rude to athena cabin for once, or how she didnt make fun of percy when he was brought up
and maybe she would refuse to say it to anyone but chris but percy was the only one who wasnt scared of her or her father, actively challenging her and making her work
and maybe she had known annabeth for so long since they were both young, playing together and fighting like siblings.
Maybe she had grown closer to annabeth helping her look for percy and was a little worried
and maybe she yelled at people when they brought up how they could be dead
but she would blame that on the on coming war that she had to plan for
And no one would push
because they all understood too, but clarisse wasnt one to talk about feelings
especially not since silena died.
And just maybe. MAYBE. clarisse hugged percy extra hard when he got back, and maybe she cried a little on annabeth. but no one would mention it, but they knew. everyone knew.
Have you seen those videos of kids that think their mom’s names are ‘my love’ or ‘sweetheart’ and other terms of endearment their dad calls her? I was thinking that in your future fics the kids might just start parroting what Percy and Annabeth call eachother without knowing what it means
tl'dr: good luck telling a tiny baby who's 1/4 Athena and 1/2 Annabeth that she's wrong about something
~
Ms. Sasha was helping the kids fill out their mother's day worksheets. The holiday was over the weekend, and so the pre-school class was making crafts for Mom, and filling out little worksheets to take home.
"Sophia, what's your mommy's name?" Ms. Sasha asked. Sasha did have favorites, and Sophia was up there. She was precocious and reliably potty trained already at two years and ten months and actually very good at sharing, although not so good at nap time.
"Beautiful," Sophia told her confidently.
"Aw, that's cute. But that's not your mommy's name." Sasha knew her name was Annabeth, she dropped her girls off at the daycare every morning.
"That's what Daddy says," Sophia said. She was a good talker too, with a big vocabulary and solid pronunciation for her age. "Hi, Beautiful."
Sasha knew Percy too. He picked the kids up around four every day. He was the hottest daddy at the daycare. Everyone knew him.
"That's a very nice thing for your daddy to say, and your mommy is very pretty, but that's not her first name," Sasha tried to explain. For a moment, she thought about just writing Annabeth on the paper and telling Sophia it said beautiful. But with Sasha's luck that would be the moment that Sophia informed them she knew how to read.
"It is!" Sophia yelled, her little temper rising.
Sasha tried to calm the brewing storm, offering to just write "Beautiful" anyway, but the battle was already lost. Sophia hadn't slept well at nap time, or eaten the snack of pears afterwards, meaning she was sleepy and hungry. Ms. Sasha's usually bright and loving Sophia was, to put it simply, turning into a cranky little nightmare.
Ms. Sasha hated to send her off to her dad while she was still crying, but Percy showed up early, like he usually did on Fridays, coming in at three instead of four.
"Daddy!" Sophia said, running up to him, her melt down starting up all over again. Percy placed the car seat that held her baby sister down on the floor to scoop Sophia up.
"What's wrong, love bug?" He asked her. Ms. Sasha stepped up, Sophia's mother's day crafts in hands.
"There was some confusion over her mom's name," Sasha tried to explain. Sophia was also trying to explain, but between her tears and baby voice, it was pretty incomprehensible.
Sasha explained what happened, and Percy just looked at her apologetically. "Sorry for the confusion," he offered, taking the crafts. "Did you make these, lovey?" Percy tried to asked Sophia.
Sophia, in protest, shook her head no.
"Well, I'm sure Mommy is going to love them," Percy said. "Can you say goodbye to your teacher?" Sophia kept her face buried in his shoulder. "Come on now, be polite."
Sophia lifted her head and turned a bit. Her big green eyes were wet and wide, and her lower lip was stuck out in a pout. "Bye," she said.
"Good girl. Come on, let's go home," Percy said, holding Sophia on one hip and lifting the baby's car seat with the other.
~
Percy wasn't sure when exactly it happened, but somewhere between college and now (now being thirty-one years old) he and Annabeth stopped calling each other by their names. Well, stopped, with the exception of more intimate moments. But in casual conversation? It was all baby, babe, sweetheart, my love, gorgeous, beautiful, and handsome.
In fact, that was how they greeted each other at the end of the day. Annabeth would get home while Percy was making dinner. It would be: "Hello beautiful!" "Hi handsome!" And then a kiss hello.
It didn't really occur to either of them that their kids wouldn't know that Percy and Annabeth had real first names.
Percy tried to hand Sophia a snack pack he'd brought for her. Annabeth texted him today that snack was going to be pears, a fruit Sophia hated, so when he'd stopped home after work to grab the car, he also grabbed some olives, a cheese stick, and apple puffs.
"Do you want a snack?" Percy asked, trying to hand the snack pack back to her. Sophia shook her head, still half-crying. "Are you hungry?" She shook her head again. Ms. Sasha had told him that Sophia hadn't eaten any snack at all, so Percy knew that must not have been true.
"Okay," Percy said, "can you hold it for me?" That sometimes worked. If he could get her to hold it, she'd usually end up eating from the tupperwear.
"No!" Sophia yelled.
"Okay," Percy said, trying to keep her quiet so she didn't rile up Nella, who was blessedly pretty quite and just waiting for Percy to start driving. "I'm going to put it right here," he rested it on the seat between their car seats. "If you want to hold it, just let me know, okay?"
He felt like he was negotiating a hostage crisis.
"I don't want it!" Sophia said. All those big Annabeth feelings, Percy thought, starting the car, and such a tiny little body. It didn't frustrate him though. He just wished he could make it go away, make her feel better, less overwhelmed.
"How about when we get home, we have quiet time and watch Moana?" Percy offered.
Sophia stopped crying a little. "Moana?" She asked.
"Yeah," Percy promised, starting to drive, "we can have movie night and make popcorn. Would that make you feel better?"
In the rear-view mirror, Percy could see her shake her head.
"What would make you feel better?" Percy asked.
In a small voice, Sophia suggested: "a cuddle."
Percy smiled. "Yeah, we can cuddle too," he promised.
"Okay," Sophia said.
On the drive home, rain started coming down, and he hoped Annabeth remembered her umbrella. Their apartment was close to the subway, but in this downpour, she'd get soaked either way. Usually, he left the car in the garage and just brought the the girls home on the subway - that was how Annabeth did it, since she hated driving. Their preschool was only one stop away. On really nice days, they'd walk home and stop for a treat along the way. But today, he was grateful to pull into the garage under the building and park the car in their family's spot.
Inside, the apartment was warm. Percy flipped on the AC, not too cold since the rain would cool things down. He put the girls things down, and then set Nella down too. Sophia came in last, dragging her backpack.
"Where should we put your beautiful mother's day gift?" Percy asked her. "Should we save it for Sunday or give it to her tonight."
Sophia left her bag in the middle of the floor. "It's a surprise." She still looked so grumpy, apparently utterly devastated by the discovery of her mom's name.
"Lets put it in your room, then?" Percy offered. "You can't leave your backpack there, someone could trip on it. Come on, pick it up, and bring it to your room with me?"
Sophia just threw herself to the floor and started sobbing again.
Percy left her construction paper tulips on the kitchen table, scooped up Nella (who was indifferent to her sister's antics), and took her into the girls' bedroom so he could change her diaper. When he came back out, Sophia was still on the floor.
"Baby girl," Percy tried, "do you want to cuddle?" Percy offered.
Breathing hard and sucking on a few of her fingers, Sophia lifted her head and nodded.
"Okay," Percy said, just let me get changed, okay? Do you want juice?"
Sophia nodded, which was a relief. Percy got her some watered down apple juice in a sippy cup, opened her snack pack and left it on the table, and then snuck into his and Annabeth's room to change out of his stuffy work clothes.
~
It didn't matter how big the tantrum was, cuddles were never off the table. When Percy stepped back out of the room, he saw that Sophia had moved her backpack to the wall near the door where it belonged.
"Good job, love bug!" Percy said, picking her up to plop her on the couch. Nella was occupied pulling toys out of the toy bin and then not doing much with them. Percy let her be.
On the couch, Sophia snuggled into Percy's side. Percy clicked on the movie, and he expected his over-tired, hungry little girl to fall right to sleep.
She did not.
By "How Far I'll Go," she was thankfully eating the snacks while she sang along, and then by "You're Welcome," she was scream-singing and dancing along. Nella got on her feet too, and started trying to bounce along.
Percy took a quick video of the two of them to send to Annabeth.
She texted back a few minutes later: they're so cute! I miss you guys
Percy heart reacted and then asked: will you be home soon?
Annabeth: not until six. ugh.
Both girls did end up falling asleep, though, around the time of "I am Moana." Sophia was curled up in Percy's side under a blanket. Nella was face down on the carpet surrounded by toys.
Percy sat through the end of the movie, hoping that Sophia stayed asleep so that she got some rest in. When it was over and Sophia didn't move at the sudden silence, Percy figured it was safe to move. He left both girls where they were, and went to start dinner.
~
Nella woke up first with a cry. Percy put down the meat cleaver and moved back into the living room.
"Hey baby girl," he said, picking her up off the floor and bouncing her. She was fourteen months now, but smaller than Sophia had been, and quieter.
"Mama," she whined.
"I know, mama will be home soon," Percy promised, carrying her into the kitchen. He put her in the little seat they'd attached to the island for her, and placed a few Cheerios in front of her to eat while Percy kept pounding out the chicken breast.
A minute later, he heard the toilet flush, which meant Sophia was up.
"Good job, love bug, Percy said, congratulating her on going by herself. "Did you wash your hands." Sophia smiled and held up her still-wet hands. Percy grabbed a clean dish towel and dried them off for her, praising her more as he did.
"Was' for dinner?" Sophia asked.
"Big chicken nuggets with melty cheese and Italian ketchup," Percy said. Chicken parm. It was chicken parm. But getting his kids to eat was 10% taste, 90% branding.
Percy managed to get the chicken fully prepped by the time Annabeth came home.
Sophia rushed off the island stool she was on to meet her mom, and Nella wiggled, helplessly stuck in her high chair but desperate to see Mommy.
Percy was still dealing with a "wet hand, dry hand" situation, so all he could manage was to yell, "Hello beautiful!" From his spot in the kitchen, as kind of apartment game of Marco Polo. Nella contributed by crying "Mama!"
"Mommy's here," Annabeth said, carrying in Sophia, and then setting the older one back in the island stood before lifting Nella for a hug and kiss.
Percy could tell from Sophia's uninterrupted ramblings that she was recounting the story of her emotional meltdown, and was using Percy's most recent "hello Beautiful" as evidence in her case.
"Did we have a lot of big feelings about it?" Annabeth asked. Sophia nodded. "How big?"
Sophia spread her arms wide. "This big!" She said
"And how are our feelings now?" Annabeth asked.
Sophia brought her hands back close together.
"Well, I'm glad you're feeling better," Annabeth said, before finally turning to Percy for their hello kiss. "Ooooh, big chicken nuggets tonight?" Annabeth guessed.
"Only the finest," Percy said.
In Annabeth's arms, Nella said a string of vowel sounds that Percy and Annabeth recognized as Ariel.
"You want to watch Ariel?" Annabeth asked Nella.
Nella repeated the same sounds. The Little Mermaid and Moana. The only two films they seemed to watch any more. Before having daughters, Percy wasn't even sure he'd even seen all of The Little Mermaid. Now he could sing "Part of Your World" in his sleep.
"Can we leave you alone in here, handsome?" Annabeth asked him.
"Sure can, I've got it under control," Percy promised. Annabeth leaned in for another kiss, which Percy happily provided.
~
Annabeth put Nella on the ground and let her toddle over to the couch, standing close behind her in case she fell over. She was still pretty new to the whole walking thing, but she was doing a pretty solid job.
With both girls on the couch and The Little Mermaid started, Annabeth snuck into the bedroom to get changed out of her work clothes.
"Mommy?" She heard Sophia behind her, opening the door.
"Yes baby?" Annabeth slipped on a white tee shirt with the logo of her bouldering gym on it; it already had a few miscellaneous stains on it, so it'd be perfect for a messy sauce night. She undid her bra in the back and pulled it off as she turned around.
Sophia looked a little nervous. Annabeth sat on the bed, still in her work skirt, and patted the spot next to her. "Come on, tell me what's wrong."
Sophia stood in front of her with her arms up, waiting for uppies. Annabeth pulled her onto the bed, and she crawled up to where all the pillows were.
"You just want quiet time?" Annabeth guessed. Sophia nodded into the pillows. "Where's Teddy?"
"My room," Sophia said.
"Want me to get him for you?" Annabeth asked. She stood and undid the holster that held her knife under her work skirt. Then she slipped sweats on under it, before finally getting rid of the damn thing.
Sophia nodded. Annabeth retrieved the bear fast, peaking in to check on Nella, who was locked into her movie. Annabeth breathed a sigh of relief that only one girl was having a rough night.
"Here baby," Annabeth said, handing her the bear. Sophia cuddled it tight as Annabeth got in the bed. Sophia cuddled up to her.
"What to tell me what's wrong?" Annabeth asked, rubbing her back the way she did at bed time.
"What's your name?" Sophia asked.
Annabeth smiled a little. "Annabeth, and your daddy's name is Percy. We call each other nicknames, just like we call you 'love bug.'"
"Oh," Sophia said.
"Why does that make you sad?" Annabeth asked.
Sophia shrugged her little shoulders.
"You didn't like being told you were wrong, did you?" Annabeth guessed. Sophia nodded, and then Annabeth heard her crying again. "Oh, sweetie," Annabeth said, pulling Sophia onto her lap. "Everyone is wrong sometimes. It's part of learning, just like asking questions and reading books."
Sophia just stared at her, with her big wet eyes and her lower lip pouted, not saying anything, which was unusual for her.
"Are we still having big feelings?" Annabeth asked. Sophia nodded. "Yeah? Do you want to sit with mommy for a little while?" She nodded again. "Okay, lets do that. If you want to talk about your feelings, you always can okay."
"Can you tell me about the columns again?" She asked.
Annabeth kissed the side of her head with a smile. A few nights ago, she'd tried to bore Sophia to sleep by telling her about the different styles of classical columns. It hadn't worked. The next morning, Annabeth spent a good amount of time showing her pictures and models, while Sophia clumsily tried to draw them out on construction paper.
"Of course I can," Annabeth said.
After a few minutes, Sophia was calm again, asking questions about the differences, and about what structures had which kind, and how many had Mommy seen in real life, and did she use those columns when she was building things now?
Percy poked his head in. "Hey girlies. Sophia, do you want melty cheese on your chicken nugget?"
"Extra cheese please!" She said.
Percy smiled and got into the bed with them. "There's my happy girl," he said, tickling her a little until she started to giggle. "What about the ketchup. Do you want that on it, or on the side."
"On the side!"
"You got it!" Percy said.
"Can I help?" Sophia asked.
"Well, of course you can," Percy said, lifting her off of Annabeth.
"Hey, wait a second," Annabeth said, pulling Sophia back down. "How are we feeling?" Annabeth asked her.
"Good," Sophia said.
"Do you want kisses?" Annabeth asked. Sophia pursed her lips. Annabeth kissed her cheek with a loud mwah.
"Daddy?" Sophia said, turning her head, and waiting for him to kiss her, which Percy did with even more drama, all but tackling their toddler, toppling her over Annabeth's lap and back onto the mattress with a giggle.
"I learned your name," Sophia said, standing up and holding her arms out for uppies. Percy stood up before picking her up off the bed this time.
"Oh yeah?" Percy said. "What is it?"
"Percy!" Sophia said proudly.
"Very smart," Percy said as all three walked out of the bedroom. "You wanna know what your mommy used to call me?"
"What?"
"Seaweed brain," Percy said. Something about that made Sophia laugh for real, and she fell into a fit of laughter, repeating "seaweed brain" through her giggles as Percy carried her into the kitchen.
Annabeth sat on the couch with Nella, who was glued to the TV, their cat Boo on her lap, getting pets from Nella.
"Good gentle hands," Annabeth said. Nella had always had a natural soft touch with their animals. Sophia, on the other hand, kept trying to ride the dog.
"Fishies!" She said, pointing to the TV where "Under the Sea" was going.
"Yeah! Do you have a favorite?" Annabeth asked.
"Flounder," Nella said. And then Annabeth got shushed by her one-year-old for talking during her movie. She tried not to laugh.
She heard the pitter patter of little feet running behind the couch. "Don't look, don't look, it's a surprise!" Sophia said running into her room.
Annabeth looked at Percy, confused. "A mother's day present," Percy explained.
"Ah," Annabeth said. She'd have to wait until Sunday to find out if it had her actual name on it. But it definitely wasn't a catastrophe if her daughter thought her name was beautiful.
~
look they are the cuddliest most affectionate family you've ever seen in your goddamn life
After drones repeatedly hovered over the ‘Madleen’ last night, we need people of the world to help tag and email their foreign ministry. The volunteers aboard are delivering life-saving aid to Gaza. They are unarmed, carrying only food, medicine, and baby formula, and acting fully within international law.
It’s time for world governments to step up. Demand they protect their citizens aboard the ‘Madleen’ and stop enabling Israel’s war crimes.
Safe passage is a legal obligation, and a moral one.
USE THE LINK BELOW TO EMAIL EACH MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS!!
My secret is that my wife was in an extremely bad period in her life when she entered into a contest for knitting supplies. She loved knitting as a teenager and wanted to get back into it as an adult, but felt like we couldn't afford it. She wouldn't buy anything, and wouldn't let me get anything for her because it would be "a waste of money." So when she got an email from a knitting newsletter she followed talking about the contest, she entered and won third place - a little basic kit that got her excited to start and started pulling her out of her dark place.
This is when you go "aha. You cheeky devil. Did you cheat slmehow? Is that your secret?" But no. My secret is, I faked it all. I created a fake knitting blog, and sent it to her as "something I found." I ran it for a few months talking about made up craft projects with photos off the internet and things. Then I faked the contest, sold some of my possessions to buy the "prize" and let her win. Six months later I stopped posting and she didn't even notice. She still talks about that prize she won as turning her life around, and she'll never know I invented the whole thing.
No, actually I will never be over Annabeth throwing her knife into the ocean hoping Percy will notice and come help only to have Percy, king among boyfriends, make the most dramatic ass entrance, knocking out attackers with a giant wave, ocean waves cascading behind him as he casually walks up onto the beach to Annabeth, hands her her knife and says “I think you dropped this.” Fucking legend.
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