nabifree

i make art and write silly percy jackson fanfic https://archiveofourown.org/users/nabifree/pseuds/nabifree

[nabifree02]

Posting a new chapter later today so I thought I'd post some of the side characters from TLT. Some of these are only very brief features so far in the fic but they'll have bigger roles to play later on so I have drawn them and I'm posting them! I have a personal goal to try and draw every single character that does literally anything in the fic no matter how brief so there may be many more of these to come lol.

Also - no Bianca or Hazel here. They did technically make brief cameos in the fic but I haven't drawn Hazel yet and I'll probably post Bianca when we get to TTC.

[nabifree02]

Some of the main characters from my fic Child of Ocean, Son of Raging Storm. This is my first time posting Luke anywhere! The others have been posted in the fic itself but I've made so much art at this point I don't think it's sustainable to keep posting image links in the end notes lol. I will post some of the side characters later and then updated Percabeth for SOM (which is where the fic is rn).

Also, I did draw Sally (no less than three times in fact) but idk what it is about her, I just cannot make her face look right. I will post her when I draw a version I'm happy with but idk every time I draw her it just comes out looking nothing like Sally Jackson. The meme I drew a few weeks ago is perhaps unironically the best version of her I've ever drawn

Anyway read the fic perhaps if you are interested 👉👈

[theperseiabigbang]

26 Days to go until rough drafts are due for the Perseia Big Bang!

We’re back with our writer interviews and, this week, we're excited to be interviewing @anxioustofu, a fandom veteran and one of my (Sunsets12) personal favorite fanfic authors! Anxious_tofu is known for a variety of Perpollo fics, as well as her current long fics these violent games (A Percy x Ares fic), from these black waters (A Percy is a legacy of the Styx AU), and Temptation (I Can't Escape You) (A god/merman!Percy perpollo AU).

What’s your typical writing process look like?

Typically, I start with an idea and then I have to write it down after I’ve developed it in my mind a bit more. I almost always start with an outline of some kind, even if I’m only writing a one shot. Then, I just write as much as I can in one go. That used to be a problem for me because I’d always want to have my fic finished as soon as possible, so if I only ever had short amounts of time to write, I would avoid it. Something I’ve been trying to work on! But I try to make a relatively clean first draft because I hate editing, and will read through the finished fic once or twice for anything glaring. I used to just post immediately, but now I have been converted to the dark side and have been prewriting and posting on a schedule, which does allow me to confront my nemesis (editing) and do a bit more of that later on.

Where do you fall on the plotter/pantser scale?

Heavy plotter! I def allow myself to write developmentally and go with the flow in individual scenes and chapters but I typically have checkpoints and definitely an end goal in mind. 

What draws you to your fic ideas? How do you come up with them?

Honestly, just random associations, talking with friends, or listening to music that inspires me. 

What tropes inspire you?

Definitely Ascension and Deity Percy Jackson for PJO. In general, I love humor, enemies-to-lovers, found family, angst with a happy ending. 

Was there a specific inspo for your current long fics (from these black waters and these violent games)?

from these black waters it was mainly because I was fixated on the idea that Percy could control the rivers of the underworld in canon and coming up with my own answer to how he could do that. From there, it was like, how would this change canon? This story was meant to be much shorter than it was, but I found myself changing enough that I needed to write everything out…

For these violent games…well, I blame my beta violettavonviolet (whose stuff you should def check out!) for the percares inspiration. And unless I’m going really AU, I like to keep the character dynamics grounded somewhat in their characterizations and see how it goes from there…In this case, there could never be anything other than enemies-to-slightly less enemies for this premise haha. 

Favorite and least favorite parts of the writing process?

Favorite part is actually writing. Least favorite part is also actually writing XD. But all jokes aside, I think my favorite part is actually plotting/outlining and my least favorite is developmental editing. 

How do you keep your characterisations consistent? 

TBH it’s kinda just going by feel as I’m writing and also as I’m reading it back. Sometimes, I’ll have some kind of nagging doubt in my head that this is the right choice for a character to make so I will tend to listen to that. Having a beta reader def helps too. 

What do you do when you struggle getting into a character’s head?

I just start writing honestly. From there it might take a lot of writing and backspacing but working through it is the only way for me.

How do you give your characters a distinct voice? In dialogue or otherwise? 

I think for my style it is definitely reliant on dialogue for sure. I do try to give specific POV their own voice (for example, Percy with more dry and sarcastic observations, while Apollo is more overdramatic or Ares more blunt etc.) However, I lean heavily on dialogue for all my fic. 

Favorite characters/pairings to write

Percy of course! Then my OG was perpollo. I also love Grover & Percy and Percy & Clarisse which I don’t write nearly as much as I should. Recently I have been loving percares. Oh! Can’t forget my fav Dionysus & Percy. 

How do you tweak the characterizations of characters to fit each fic?

Just depends on the circumstances and how AU it is. Would it be cheating to say I just go on vibes haha? I think if there is a specific point of divergence from canon that is easier to pinpoint and make a ripple effect of changes. Like definitely by starting with the base (which to be clear is already biased as it’s my own interpretation of a canon character through my own eyes), then tweaking things here and there based on circumstances in a kinda A→B→C way. Though, I think some things can be attributed to general feelings rather than a logical progression and still work.

You’ve recently returned to the fandom, what drew you back?

PJO is near and dear to me! I tend to cycle through different fandoms based on my mood and interests and I just happened to come back to PJO. But joining some different servers and making friends has been a great way to really ground myself as I have a lot of plans that I want to fulfill for my time in PJO this go around! 

What have you learned over your time in the PJO fandom?

There are so many different ways to tell a story and even the same character between writers. There is no one entirely correct way and it’s important to just have fun with it. Not everyone will like my fic, but I do and that’s what keeps me writing at the end of the day. The stories either stay in my head or they end up posted, so I’d rather it be the latter. 

Do you ever make playlists for your fics? If so, what?

Never done it! I do have some songs that inspire certain scenes etc. but never had the patience to go through and make a playlist for any of them.

Do you have any advice for other Big Bang fanfic authors at this stage in the writing process (closing in to the 60% due date)?

Just write it! I know it’s easier said than done, but something on the page is more than nothing on the page. It doesn’t have to be perfect from the first draft. That’s something that I do tend to struggle with so just getting past that hump of perfectionism will help your words fly.

[nabifree02]

hi im learning how tumblr works but i posted a new chapter of my fic so maybe read if you're in the percy jackson fandom and interested in an au where poseidon stays with sally and percy? it's mostly silly with a lot of fluff currently. the trauma will come later ;)

https://archiveofourown.org/works/85285836/chapters/225226051

[sassycurse]

one of the best feelings tbh

[nabifree02]

oh hi :)

hey!! :D

[theperseiabigbang]

Tomorrow is the last day (27th of July) to sign up for the Percy Jackson Big Bang as a writer!

Make sure you’re signed up on our website here!

More Questions? Click here!

Want to come hang out in our discord? Link here!

[seaacearts]

Thalia and her precious "baby" brother

[theperseiabigbang]

44 Days to go until rough drafts are due for the Perseia Big Bang!

We’re back with our writer interviews and, this week, we’re doing something slightly different. In honour of disability awareness month, we’re going to be highlighting the experiences of some of the disabled fanfic authors participating in the Perseia Big Bang. This week, we're excited to be talking to BlindPassenger, author of the popular Dadseidon fic, “What the Sea Claims, it Will Protect,” about their writing process, their experiences writing fanfiction as a blind author, and their thoughts on disability representation in literature. 

What is your writing process typically like from the drafting stage, to the posting stage?  Usually it all starts with random ideas popping up in my head for some reason or another, often inspired by other fanfic, trying to figure out why certain things in canon are the way they are, discussions on Discord etc. I will then try to mentally organise these into something that resembles a coherent plot. When I feel like I reached this stage and have brought things in order, I will seek out a timeframe that will allow me to write undisturbed for at least 2-3 hours and start writing the chapter or one-shot I want to tackle. I'm a write-in-one-go type of writer, meaning I basically write an entire chapter/one-shot in one session without (long) breaks. I need to be and get in the mood of writing and the best way to do that is really just..starting and then letting the words flow. Typically, I'll have a goal to which point I wanna get with the chapter in question, end up adding a bunch of random stuff that comes to me while writing, and thus usually spending another chapter or so getting to that point (or, in case of a one-shot, word counts might as well double. Oh well). Once the basic writing is done, I'll let it rest for 1-3 days and then go into editing mode, erasing all my typos and whatnot and adjusting things that needs it. Since I do not write my drafts in English, the next step is now translating. Afterwards, I'll wait another one, two days and then look over it again, fixing everything that sounds wrong and making final adjustments. And that's it pretty much. I am impatient and incapable of creating backlog, so what's done gets posted almost immediately.

What is the process of writing like for you that might be different than a sighted person?  I would say the writing per se is not all that different from any other individual writer in and on itself. I figure the biggest difference is probably the inability to write and experience what you are writing at the same time. As in, since I need my hands for writing, I cannot simultaneously use them for proofing what I put on the page, and sometimes that's really annoying cause it means I will discover a bunch of typos like 'out of order letters' or 'second capital letter' and such. It also means that when I want to check on something written prior I'll have to pause and go back up within my document line by line, since the screenreader only puts out one screen line at a time. Or a half one, depending how many signs are in it. So, that makes the editing phase slightly more frustrating since I'll have to erase all these stupid errors while going through it again. But hey, at least that allows for (mostly) focussed writing without paying attention to this kind of stuff, so, there's that on the plus side.

How do you think that changes both your experience of writing and changes the fic that you end up writing? Hmm, I would say being aware of the basically forceful moving of this step into editing territory will lead to focussing very much on the flow of the writing itself, which I think helps with not getting distracted quite as often and being taken out of the writing loop. Another aspect that might be worth noting, is that I do rarely, if ever, take actual physical notes on my writing plans. That's all going on in my head for about 99% of things. It's only after exchanging with other writers that I realised that's uncommon. I feel like part of this might be the fact that as a blind person you simply have a lot less opportunities/options to note/write down random stuff in practical ways, so a side effect is you train your mind on keeping important info on stuff you don't want to forget. But I can only speak for myself there as I'm not sure how this works for other people in similar circumstances, might also just be a Me thing.

What are things that sighted writers take for granted that you can’t? Are there ways that being blind has given you an advantage for when it comes to writing?  I think the biggest thing that comes to mind initially is concepts strongly related to sight. Stuff like light vs. dark, colours (something that is impossible to define when you can't see, it's literally just random words), physical attributes usually identified by looking at them, etc. On a smaller scale this also includes things easiest to asset visually like distances, heights, etc. than can be tricky from some point onwards. That's generally stuff that society as a whole takes for granted which, given that about 99.9% of people can relate to it, makes sense. Meanwhile I'm sometimes wondering what to do with this kind of stuff when reading about it. I feel like one benefit is that it is harder for me to lend to certain stereotypes and fall victim to those. Like, I'm unable to judge people by their looks or physical features cause that's just not something I pay attention to or even have a frame for in most cases. Like, I would not know what to do with, say, cliches about blondes cause for me, that's literally not an identifiable concept. Or like, it's hard for me to grasp the concept of 'racism via skin-tone' cause...it's just not a concept I can even sort in mentally. So I feel stuff like this helps a lot when it comes to avoiding pre-categorizing people, be they real or fictional, from the looks alone, which I feel is something many a person does, and may it just be unconsciously.

When it comes to describing your setting, how do you imagine it in your head? Do you think you might put more attention on tactile, auditory, or smells when writing? Gotta be honest here, I don't really imagine a setting in detail. The thing is, for me to get a sense of my environment, it requires a whole lot more of conscious exploration that it would for a sighted person, who will, so my impression, do a lot of that by default without even thinking too much about it. When I write, I tend to focus more on the characters, what's going on within them, and their interactions with each other, rather than their surroundings. Observing these is, for me personally, very much a slow-mode thing that would be weird to be written down unless I were specifically in another blind characters' POV, I assume. It would read strange even to me if I did that. I'm certainly more likely to focus on non-visual impressions more than the visual ones, but also I'm trying to not do that either esp. when it wouldn't be appropriate. After having read tons and tons of fictional works, I'm at the point where I feel I can bullshit my way through a sighted characters' POV, sometimes by imitating common phrases and patterns I see frequently used. There are definitely areas where the lack of imagination ability will bite me, like fight scenes for example. You kinda need to know whats going on there which is hard when you dont have the visual framework for them. So I'm mostly circling my way around this stuff for now. (Why did I think writing PJO fic was a good idea again?)

What is your perception of how blind or other disabled characters are commonly portrayed in books when written by sighted authors?  I feel like I should remind everyone that blind people, their experiences, and capabilities, are just as different from one another as sighted people. Even more so in regards to their disability because it is very relevant to consider when in their life they became blind, what environment they live in, what support they do/don't get, etc. My own experiences are very much mine and not universal to all. So, even if a blind character in a fictional work is very different from me on what they can do or how they behave/deal with it, that means nothing since it's an entirely different person with an even so different background. So, there's a wide range of possibilities. That being said, you definitely notice whether a writer is well-informed about the subject or knows people dealing with it, or just working on media cliches and the like, lol.

How do we limit characters with disabilities—when their defining characteristic is disability—and how can we break past that to create more well-rounded characters where that is just one more fact, like any other fact, about a character (even if it influences their lives more than some facts)? My main advice would be don't write disabled characters (or any characters really) just for the sake of it. Representation is cool, but when it's obvious a character is only there to cross a rep checkbox, that's...not so much. Of course, it depends on the individual character and setting, but in most cases, the best way to treat disabled characters is writing them as People more so than focussing on their disability. The tricky part, as with any character that represents a certain group or pattern, is to find the right balance between including this aspect in a reasonable way without going overboard on constantly bringing it up. But also, when its a disability, dont ignore it for "cool factor". It does limit people in what they can do, and that has consequences, while it might also give them new and different perspectives as well. So when you want to include a disabled character you should ask yourself why you want to do it. Is the disability crucial to the character and the plot? If so, why? If not, why have it? If you still want it, then why, and how include it?

What is your least favourite and most favourite aspect about writing?  Most favorite is coming up with all the fun ideas and weaving them into a story, and also putting them out there, sharing them with other people who might take joy in it, and learning from these people that, and why, they enjoyed. it. My least favorite is definitely editing. I hate it and wish I wouldn't have to do it, but alas, it has to be done.

Do you have any advice for other authors at this stage in the Big Bang?  Try to work out all the major points of your fic. What is going to happen? Which characters, scenes, decisions, etc. are relevant? Does the world as given provide these options, and if not, what has to be changed and can it reasonably be changed to work for you? It's not important to know all the details yet, but you should at least have the arms, legs and head of the thing solidified, mentally at least. Also, as much as there's a deadline, don't force it. Forced fic writing is usually not good fic writing. Try to find moments where you genuinely feel like it and then just write. It will make the experience much better!

Want to join in? You can sign up to write/make art/beta here!

Want to come hang out in our discord? Link here!

[seaacearts]

percy with slit pupils mermaid style send post

[earhartsease]

[lilislegacy]

grover, watching percy and annabeth play with estelle: so like… hypothetically, i wonder what you two would be like as parents?

annabeth: that is not gonna happen for a long time, grover

grover: well yeah, obviously. you guys are too young

percy: when have we ever lived age appropriate lives? no, the issue is that i’m poor. i can’t afford the damn thing

annabeth, trying not to laugh: well, and because we want to live normal lives as college students for once

percy: and because i have no money

annabeth: it would really stress out sally and paul

percy: because they also have no money

annabeth: and it’s just not the life we want for our future kids right now

percy: because we would be homeless

[theperseiabigbang]

64 Days to go until rough drafts are due for the Perseia Big Bang!

To help everyone get into the writing mood, we’re interviewing some of our authors about their fanfic writing process, with one interview posted each week. This week, we’re very excited to be talking to @skywalking-through-life, known for her fluffy fics, such as her Percy's Senior Year (mis)Adventures series, and historical AUs such as waterbound.

What’s your typical writing process look like?

Before I ever write any of my stories down, I daydream them in their entirety - complete with dialogue, exposition, and cliffhangers at the ends of scenes! Knowing how it flows means I'm less likely to get stalled out somewhere, and knowing where it ends means I'm more likely to finish it. And I'll usually daydream the whole thing a few times, tweaking moments that don't feel quite right, until the whole story kind of…lives in me, somewhere? Then, depending on the length of the fic, I'll do one of two things - just sit down and write it out (minus details) for a oneshot, or, start putting together an outline. My outlines tend to be VERY robust, heavy on the movement and tone of the scenes, as well as basic dialogue (minus tags and other details). I fill those details in around the outline or draft as I go, until a scene feels like I've conveyed the essence of what I'd hoped to achieve with it. Then, I do probably like…genuinely, ten rounds of edits. I am rarely satisfied with anything on the first, second, or even third pass, and I am constantly adjusting my dialogue or my metaphors or my themes. But eventually I manage to convince myself that it is good enough to post.

What draws you to your fic ideas?

I think I'm the sort of fic writer who really enjoys seeing what I can do with the existing canon more than I am the sort who prefers to change things - with the exception of my Ancient Greek AU, lol. That drew me in because I am a historian in my soul, and sooner or later my brain will ALWAYS pull me back into the worlds of the past. But in that and in other stories, I get a lot of joy out of fleshing out moments that were only implied, digging into themes that were only lightly touched on, and deepening relationships that we already are familiar with. And as someone who was a part of the original PJO audience, I grew up with these characters! So I find myself exploring the ways that the characters themselves might have grown over time, trying to extrapolate their potential futures from canon, from my own life experiences, and from my studies on human (demigod, lol?) development. I love exploring relationships most of all - romantic, yes, but also platonic. I'm very, very passionate about the importance of genuine, thoughtful human connection in all aspects of my life, and I think that shows pretty clearly in my writing.

What do you do when you struggle getting into a character’s head?

Don't write them, lmao. But no, I actually just ask myself why I'm struggling. Do I not connect with this character in some way? What are their defining traits? What purpose do they serve in my larger narrative, and how can I write them to accomplish that, even if I don't connect with them? How have other people written them? Would another character serve my purpose equally well? Would writing this character specifically be a growing experience for me as a writer? I am constantly asking myself questions, even more so when I am trying to puzzle out a difficult character or moment.

Favorite and least favorite parts of the writing process?

The best part is when the ADHD gods bless me with hours of hyperfixation; when the words flow in the thousands, my eyes get so blurry I can't see my phone anymore (I do all my writing on my phone, lol, which I know makes me unhinged), and my thumbs go numb from all the typing. Those are the best days, and the high of actually getting all my thoughts out of my head and into the doc is unreal - I've never had a runner's high, but I feel like it must be similar to that. The worst part is therefore the opposite of that - the days when I can't even make myself pick up my phone, when I'm stuck in rut of executive dysfunction and lack of motivation. It's really, really frustrating to feel like my brain is actively sabotaging me on those days, like it is putting up a literal wall between the flow of ideas, trapping them inside. I actually love all parts of the writing process, so to not be able to do anything kills me.

How do you keep your characterizations consistent?

This might be a weird trick, but so far, I feel like it works for me? So, you know how some actors have a specific phrase or line that they'll say to help them get into a specific character or accent? I have scenes from my own fics where I feel I did a good job capturing a character's voice or essence, and I return to those and re-read them when I am trying to get back into that character's headspace. I also will re-read sections of canon that I feel convey the aspect of the character I'm going for, or fics written by folks whose characterization I really admire. I also have at least one of my endless rounds of edits be an edit specifically to check for a character's voice - both internal and external dialogue. That edit is mainly questions: would they say this/feel this/do this? Why or why not? Under what circumstances? How might they convey this differently than another character? Canon-compliant or canon-extrapolated characterization is REALLY important to me as a fic writer, because that's kind of why I'm writing fic in the first place - I want to tell stories about THESE characters. If I want to explore something different, I'll create a character of my own.

Favorite characters to write?

I think y'all will be totally unsurprised when I say Annabeth is my #1, lol. When I first read PJO, somehow 20 years ago now, omg, I instantly connected with her - as tween/teen, I too craved wisdom above all else, and desperately wanted to prove my worth and talent to everyone I met. I thought I could fix the whole messed up world, if I was only given the chance to try. When that's you, you develop a reputation for being a little intense, lol, and dueling flashes of annoyed arrogance and crippling anxiety made the already bumpy hormonal roller coaster of those years an even wilder ride. Now, I look back on those years with so much tenderness, and I have so enjoyed writing Annabeth working out how to grapple with all the things that I - and so many other emotionally volatile teenage girls - have learned as we've learned to mellow sharp intensity into a more balanced passion. But a close #2 is Percy, because honestly, I love Percy and Annabeth nearly equally. His voice is so uniquely his, and it's really, really fun to write a character who is as snarky and sarcastic and yet as genuine and real as he is. I'm not really snarky myself, so it's honestly very cathartic to sometimes let Percy give voice to some of my feelings about the world. His honesty - and lack of a filter - make him a very satisfying character to have as a storyteller! A few other favorites are Sally and Paul, Aphrodite, and Piper! PJO women, my beloveds.

How do you tweak the characterizations of characters to fit each AU?

Well, my Ancient Greek AU is my very first AU ever, and even though I've been working very slowly and thoughtfully and deliberately on it for a few years now, I still feel like I'm still at the beginning of this particular writing journey. And that is because it is quite the challenge to take the characters in a modern day, middle-grade urban fantasy adventure, make them adults, plop them down in the Middle Aegean Bronze Age as royalty, and make them feel like themselves. I've tried a few different strategies, and I think they've been (somewhat?) successful. First, I have tried to give the characters backstories that would lead to them having traits in the ancient world that are similar to those in the canon world. (e.g. Perseus and Andromeda both have a complicated relationship with their parents) Second, I have tried to isolate one or two really core parts of each of the characters, and think about how to apply that piece of identity in a way that fits the context of the fic. (e.g. Annabeth hungers for wisdom, and also wants to be seen as strong; Andromeda is endlessly curious, always asking questions and wanting to learn new things, and is always wanting to prove her toughness and steadiness) And third, I have tried to accept that, in an AU where the characters are pretty distantly removed from their context, they are never going to feel quite as close to their canon selves as they might in a different sort of fic. I can sweat over trying to translate Percy's city boy snark and wittiness into the cadence of an ancient prince until the cows come home - and I may even be really pleased with my results! - but I can't really expect myself to be able to do it perfectly every single time. Stressing over that would kill the fun, and I'm very, very fond of this AU, so I want to keep enjoying myself.

How do you approach writing relationships in your fics? Both Percabeth and other platonic/familial relationships.

Relationships of all kinds are the core of my fics, so much so that I would say that they are the reason why I write at all! I know that some folks might raise an eyebrow at that, since I do write a lot more romance than I do platonic or gen stuff, but I mean that very sincerely. One of my favorite things I've ever written is chapter 2 of ‘[conduct] not unbecoming men that [strive] with gods,’ the chapter where Percy talks to Paul, and then Sally, about some of his worries about growing up as a very powerful male demigod. I try to write gentleness and steadiness and curiosity and bravery and grace and unconditional love into all the relationships that I center my stories around, for a few reasons. One is that I don't think those sorts of prolonged, tender moments are moments that RR always prioritizes in canon, and I've already said I like to deepen moments that are only hinted at in other places. Two is that I think these are some of the values that Percy's world is built on, so it makes thematic sense to tie them tightly into whatever plot I'm working with. I sometimes struggle to engage with fics that don't center connections between characters for this reason. And three is that I am a very relational person - I'm in fandom to make friends and tell stories, and neither of those things really happen when you're alone - so it's easy for me to draw on my own experiences to write them! I won't go into detail about this, but my husband's and my relationship has quite a lot of similarities to Percabeth, and a lot of the conversations I write are based on irl conversations I have with people in my life. I'm a professional conversation-haver and connection-builder, so I honestly don't know how to do anything else.

How do you do research for your historical AUs?

Desperately wish I still had a .edu email while I scowl and mutter and wade through the uselessness that is the internet these days? My fault for leaving academia and taking a job outside of the ivory tower, haha. Maybe someday I'll go back and do that PhD, but for now, I start by doing a cursory search on Wikipedia so I can be sure I've got the right terminology for whatever I'm looking up. Then I visit whatever sources they've linked that are accessible, and from there: visit the Internet Archive, the Guttenberg Project, or museum/university websites for primary sources, collect my 100 free yearly articles on Jstor for secondary sources, visit my local university library for any books I might be able to get my hands on, watch YouTube videos put together by academics whose credentials I or others can verify, and finally, rely on the kindness of friends in academia who frequently have been able to send me specific things that I need. Archeology and material culture sources are the hardest to get my hands on, since I don't live in the right part of the world, and speak no Greek - any Greek. My kingdom for someone to decode Linear A. I've taken a few field trips - to the Met in NYC, and to the ANE collections at Harvard - but I can't quite afford a research trip across the pond yet. I have spent real, hard-earned money and almost three full years of my life researching for this AU, which is why I need to tell myself to chill out sometimes.

Do you have any advice for other Big Bang fanfic authors at this stage in the writing process?

Don't panic if the words aren't flowing. Sometimes they don't; they'll come back. Put down your phone/tablet/laptop and just spend time with the story in your brain. Put on some thinking music if that helps you; take a shower or go for a drive or a walk if that's more helpful. Give your brain a chance to rest and refill, and the words may come back faster! Also - and this advice is partly for me, too - don't panic if the story is going in a direction you've never gone before. You never know what idea is going to take hold of you, or where inspiration will come from! My Big Bang story actually comes from a nightmare I had, years ago. I've never taken direction from nightmares before, but when a story is saying it's ready to be told…who am I to stand in its way?

Want to join in? You can sign up to write/make art/beta here!

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[cabingold]

god god god more talk about the web between annabeth and luke and percy and thalia and grover please. our titan war era characters who were so intricately connected that it's hard to believe that most of the characters from the giant war era won't even know who luke is. annabeth and thalia and luke, the original found family who bonded over being three ruffian runaways. 7 year old annabeth clinging to them because they're the only parental figures she's ever had, thalia clinging to her as a stand-in for jason, the other small blonde kid whos memory she had to leave behind in california. luke watching out for annabeth because that used to be him, small kid with yellow curls in PJs, fighting off monsters with sheer desperation. and then luke holding on to thalia because she's the only person he had ever had for himself, Thalia who inexplicably loves him for no apparent reason (they doesn't know yet that like annabeth, he looks a lot like the little boy she gave up for the wolves years ago), and the three of are just a family on the run.

then grover pops along and he's just a little satyr on his first seeker's mission, a runt not expecting to find anyone, much less a daughter of Zeus. and luke and thalia are suspicious at first but annabeth seems to like him so he ends up passing their approval and just like that they have a. goofy little friend for annabeth because to be completely honest he's probably mentally her age and anyways when they get to camp thalia is going to kick whatever dumb council satyr's ass decided to send him out into the big wide world when he's just so. s m a l l. doesn't matter if he's the same age as the other satyrs he's taking longer to mature and he needs more TIME and he's part of the family now. their adopted little nature-magicky kid.

then they arrive at camp. hades' monsters send thalia to near death, zeus has to turn her to a fucking pine tree to keep her spirit barely alive, on the verge of death, trapped inside in the hopes that somebody will someday wake her up. except zeus explains this to No One so everyone thinks that thalia is truly dead and suddenly luke and annabeth aren't quite as close as they used to be and grover is holding the pieces of what used to be the Four of Them. and then percy pops in. the only big three kid at camp. he looks a lot like thalia and acts a lot like thalia and maybe that's why when grover is posing as his classmate at Yancy Academy, percy is the kid grover picks to room with because. There's something there. He's too much like her. He Has to be a half-blood. Grover brings percy to camp, immediately his mom is kidnapped by hades for ransom, immediately percy hates this place because the moment he discovered it everything went wrong. which is fine because this place hates him too. annabeth does at least, he reminds her of thalia and she doesn't like that. luke on the other hand is being too nice to him, he doesn't understand why but luke is cool so he rolls with it. grover is acting like nothing is wrong.

then he gets claimed. luke starts acting weird. annabeth is still acting like she hates him but also. she can't help but think. when percy looks miserable sitting alone at his table and clarisse calls him names and nobody wants to be the same swordfighting class as him because they think he has the unfair advantage of magic he doesn't even know how to control yet, she can't help but wonder. would that have been thalia? alone in cabin one. no friends.

no, It wouldn't have been, because thalia would have had her and luke and grover. right now percy only has grover and their friendship from Yancy and luke, who for some reason has apparently decided that he is going to be Percy's Only Demigod Friend at Camp if it fucking kills him. the only person percy doesn't have right now that thalia would have is Her, and she doesn't know what to do about that. she just knows that when percy gets the quest to recover zeus' stolen lighting bolt and rescue his mom on the way, she volunteers. she volunteers. she doesn't know why. they almost die several times but she has made a friend by the end of it and maybe. maybe when the quest is over she can stop seeing him as thalia. start seeing him as his own person. her friend.

the quest finishes. turns out luke was a spy for kronos. he wasn't trying to be friends with percy, he was trying to control him. annabeth doesn't know what to think, grover doesn't know what to think, and nobody knows what percy thinks of it at all because he won't say anything except that he's just angry. and he is. everyone knows that's true. but there's got to be more to it. they'll just never know. he'll never tell. anyways thalia gets resurrected the next year and Chiron goes "oh my god there are Two of Them" and her and percy almost wreck camp a couple of times but at the end of things they are cousins, arent they, and when thalia joins the hunters they hug and maybe. maybe percy knows more of her secrets than luke ever did and maybe he is more of her family than luke ever was because He Earned it. and suddenly there is space for the two of them. seeing them fight shows everyone that they're different. they don't have to be the same thing anymore, The Big Three Kid, they can just be. Percy and Thalia who no longer get compared every other sentence. and grover and annabeth are finally able to breathe because of that except

except there's luke again. there's always luke. luke who gets possessed becomes the body of kronos and suddenly percy realizes. Oh. That was what luke meant. when he said he wanted percy to join him. he didn't just mean he wanted to convince percy to join the titan army. he didn't just want percy to join him. He wanted percy to Be him, because it was never luke who was supposed to be Kronos' body. it was percy. it had always been him and he didn't even know it until he refused and luke had to take his place. if he'd said yes, if he'd said yes when he was thirteen and dumb like luke had wanted him to, it would be him standing on mount tam right now holding a scythe.

luke was his first friend. then he was his first enemy. and now he's not even luke, because percy had wanted to stay Percy, because Percy hadn't wanted to be thalia, the thalia that luke would have make into a living weapon if percy didn't stop her from following him. and everything is messed up now and luke is dead and kronos is dead with him and none of them will ever be the same but also. but also. percy has a new fear because he doesn't have to worry about becoming thalia anymore and he doesn't have to worry about becoming kronos anymore but he does. he does have to worry about becoming luke. and maybe that's why he's just a little odd around octavian who looks eerily like him and a little confused when jason who looks the same says he's thalia's brother and a little scared when he catches himself thinking about luke in tartarus. They will use you, Percy, and you will become like me. He had said something like that once, right? When percy was twelve. and percy remembers it very clearly. he remembers saying i'll never be like you but now he's not so sure. his head hurts and the air is acid and he doesn't he doesn't he doesn't want to be like luke so why is he thinking about what luke said? why does he feel Used?

he will not be like luke. luke was haunted and dark eyed and gaunt in his last days. percy will not be like that. he swears he won't. no matter what happens. he starts stepping back from the quests and shit, half because he's tired, and half because he doesn't want to be that. he doesn't want to be luke looking like a spirit after the millionth bad dream.

but it's okay because! luke is Dead. piper is the only current camper who will ever recognize his name, and that's only because annabeth pointed him out once in an old photograph. and that is fine with all of them.

they won't speak of him. his memory can die in a photograph until he is reborn into a kinder person. and maybe then they can all breathe a little.

[cabingold]

i like percy x annabeth because despite what people assume. this is not dumb x smart or powerful x normal or something like that. they're both actually pretty similar. both very strategic, impulsive etc.

the difference between them is annabeth's plans are wild because she has absolute confidence they will work. percy's plans are wild because he has zero confidence that anything else will work. fundamental difference, says a lot about both of them, thank you hit post

[n1percyexpert]

ive probably said this before, other people have probaly said this before, idc

percy is not an unreliable narrator, he just hates himself.

thats it. thats literally the only thing that makes him unreliable. youre calling him 'slow' or 'oblivious' because he didnt realize nico, annabeth, rachel etc. were in love with him? no he just didnt realize that anyone could loev him. because he sure didnt.

percy also always underplayed his own abilities, because he hates himself. he has shitty self esteem, of course hes going to mention only the basics, he thinks hes fucking sucks at everything.

percy is literally one of the smartest and most observant characters in pjo, he can pick up on body language and subtle social cues and notice things about people really fuckn easily and then use that against that percy (read: charon scene in book one), its just that when it comes to himself all that goes out the window because he just fucking. hates himself. he doesnt think hes worthy of literally anything i think people forget that gabe wasnt the only form of abuse he went through pre-demigod life. we hear over and over again just how bad his classmates treat him, people who are supposed to be equals. of course hes going to hate himself, no ones shown him hes worthy of love aside from sally.

[theperseiabigbang]

81 days to go until rough drafts are due for the Perseia Big Bang!

To help everyone get into the writing mood, we’re interviewing some of our authors about their fanfic writing process, with one interview posted each week. This week, we’re very excited to be talking to @punkflame queen of seafam angst and author of the infamous Triton raises Percy as his son in How to Avoid a Prophetic Death, the demigods get Hanahaki disease in Love Blooms from Within, and Keep One Eye Open.

How do you go about plotting and coming up with ideas for your fics? 

While I do have quite a few stories that are based on prompts, either through exchanges / events or otherwise, my overall story plotting is highly self indulgent. The physical process is somewhat basic. Typically, I think of a situation I would like to see characters in, or an emotion I would like to evoke. From there I write any random thoughts down, make bullets under and expand on each one until I have some semblance of a real idea. Exchanges etc. and other such things are so fun, too, though. Not only do they help oneself get out of a rut, but it's so rewarding to craft a story specifically for someone and their interests and likes. 

How do you go about your characterisations and keeping your characters three-dimensional and consistent, especially for characters that aren’t developed in the OG series like Triton or Amphitrite? 

The thing about building a character up that doesn't have much canon appearances -- especially so for those who have a single scene and maybe five lines combined -- is trying to identify and define *motivation.* What drives them? Why? How does this fundamentally shape their experiences, and how they interact with others on a day to day basis? Who does this affect around them and how? Who is important to them? Who do they hate? How does that affect their other relationships?

Once there's an overall 'base' for a character built in your mind, literally basically just the 5 W's, it's a matter of filling in more fine details. Even just some basic ones that are somewhat surface level.  Like appearance. Any significance to any aspects of their appearance, anything that ties them to their past, or other people. Even further on that; posture, cadence, and general self presentation. Everyone has things that shape all of those aspects. How they act and react to people, places and things. How they hold themselves, and how that makes them seem to the world around them. They may be perceived one way, but the very basis of why everything about them is the way it is, is because of the very opposite thing. People often assume. From one pov we see one side, and then another we see the actuality to it.

When one is actually building their own characterization, I often find it best to not go on assumptions; even with established media. By that I mean...  Well it's kinda that whole 'show me don't tell me' thing. We don't always have all the information, and we won't often get it all at once. Character building, in my opinion, often works best when the reader uncovers the information along with another character. In this way you really feel like you're getting to know them rather than like.... Reading a bio. You want to decide for yourself the above information, but not outright state it.

This does work especially well with non pre-established characters. There is so much more room for fleshing out. One can really make them  however one wants when... starting from scratch, so to say.

For those who are established, however, assuming everyone knows everything about them so therefore this doesn't need to be done at all may result in depictions falling flat. Everyone portrays characters a little different, especially as each story the characters will have motivations relevant to the story being told. Assuming we know motivations just because we read the books / engaged with canon can leave these big blank spaces or even feel somewhat repetitive in a way. It's always great to get to know whomever's version of a character upon reading a new story. If that is omitted, it's harder to connect to the story that is being told, why it matters to the characters, and the world that one has built to tell the story. 

That being said, one doesn't, of course, have to go in depth for every story. Especially not short things. Though distilling everything above down to the basis of 'show me don't tell me' tends to be the best way, in my opinion, to have a character that actually feels like there's dimension there, rather than just a topic. For the most part, once you're happy with and familiar with your characterization, writing for them in a way that expresses that and who they are becomes easy and more fluid.

What about character arcs and believably having characters change and grow in your fics? 

This overall process directly ties into character arcs and story arcs to a degree as well. They're so intrinsically tied, to me. Especially for longer things. There can't truly be one without the other. A character can't grow and change and have this big defining moment if we don't know why it matters, or anything about them. It takes away the value of the entire story. The writer needs to give it value. Why would the reader care if the writer doesn't? A character can't change if we don't know what they are changing from / who they are and why it matters to them, or the world in which they live. The change can't mean anything if one doesn't give it a reason to.

On the other side, learning all about a character and connecting with them can fall flat if it doesn't even truly matter. No character *should* be entirely perfect. They *will* be affected by and affect the story, themself. They're all connected to the plot somehow. They don't exist in a vacuum. *How* does the lived experience of the story affect them? How does that shift compare and contrast to how they were at the start? Or, who knows, perhaps they're resistant to change. Though this should be shown in the story including *why* they are and *how* their active efforts to defy such things affect relationships and personal growth otherwise.

In the end, there's good and bad in everything. They can't (shouldn't) *exclusively* have positive takeaways from *everything* that happens. They shouldn't only ever do things that have positive results. Sometimes stuff sucks. Sometimes they make mistakes, or have good intentions that aren't exactly the right choices. That's what makes stories -- and life -- mean anything. If it were always perfect, what would the story even be? Why would it need to be told?(Things like some fluff can of course be exceptions here, but this is speaking generally and, of course, excluding situational genres and stories.)

What’s your favourite and least favourite parts about writing? 

I love making people happy through telling stories…. Or hitting them hard with angst and other fun things that keep them coming back.  >:)  Overall world building can be sooo fun too, and hyper specific research that is literally in a sentence of a fic if at all and is basically entirely inconsequential. (Like finding the exact co-ordinates of where camp, and specifically, Thalia's Pine would be in order to find a real store on the route to camp. Or researching specific books from a franchise to see which would be out at the time of canon to allow a character make an era appropriate niche reference.) Meeting amazing people and communities as a whole, also.  Least favourite…. Probably editing. It's so rare I have access to my Editing Brain (tm). She's a fully different entity from Writing Brain (tm)

Do you have any unusual hacks to deal with writer's block? 

Writer's Block is a pain. Especially when you haven't really written in a long time for other reasons. My favourite way to help deal with it is to use a one word prompt to write *anything*. I have a spinner with random words that I use. If you don't like that, maybe make a spinner with random genres, or tropes, or anything like that. Maybe look on tumblr for one sentence writing prompts.Go with the first thing you think of when you see or choose the prompt.

Don't put too much thought into exactly what it *should* be, that is the opposite of the point. It is key to not overthink it. Don't care about the word count. Don't even look at it. Don't force yourself to outline if you normally do. Don't force yourself to world build or be 10000% accurate to history or myth or the books or whatever else your brain gets hung up on. *Don't get hung up on making it perfect.* Hell, don't even post it if you don't want to, just get your brain working and thoughts flowing.  Who knows, maybe it'll spark an idea for a longer fic or series. 

And, finally, do you have any advice for other Big Bang fanfic authors at this stage in the writing process? If you're wondering ‘would anyone even read this?’ the answer is:  1. Yes 2. It doesn't matter, write for *you* not for commenters and what others think.

These events are for fun, not for stress. Yes there is a minimum word count for this event, but you don't have to do it all at once. Write a little bit every day. Even if that means a sentence. It's good to get thoughts out and on a page.

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