Never A Lukabeth(?) Shipper Because Gross And Not Why Annabeth Loves Luke At All But The LACK Of Relationship

hi i'd like to cause damage today :3

6 year old Peeta Mellark, very seriously, asked Mr. Everdeen for Katniss' hand in marriage when he was trading at the bakery one day.

Mr. Everdeen was absolutely chuffed about it. He thought it was the cutest thing in the world and it took everything in him to maintain a serious tone when he responded with:

"That's a really big commitment. What do you have to offer my daughter, young man?"

"I can draw real good, my cupcakes are way better than both of my brothers, and I'll always let her take the top bunk."

"Well, son. Those are all really fine and respectable offerings. But if Katniss is anything like her mother, she's going to do what she likes. But if you ever ask her, you'll have my blessing. Just make sure to lead with the top bunk, that's a major selling point."

In my bedroom but wanting to get home

the only valid part of that outtake is percy liking spicy food. latino percy confirmed!

this is the only canon exchange rick riordan has ever written

So you know how in the show, Annabeth is a black girl? Annabeth in the books is always mentioned to not be very careful of her appearance. She has curly blonde hair that she never really takes much care of and stuff, for instance. But in the show, she has really nice braids, etc. Now mind you, annabeth ran away from home when she was 7 years old, and her stepmom is Asian in the books and canonically wasn’t the most caring to annabeth for the years they spent together. This means, to me, that show-Annabeth never had anybody to teach her how to do her hair. She gets to camp half blood at 7 little years of age and is obliviously running around with a messy head of hair that she has no idea (and also probably doesn’t really care) how to take care of. My headcanon is that some black girl from the Aphrodite cabin saw her and was like “not on my watch” and took it upon herself to both braid annabeth’s hair and to teach her how to do it herself.

I also like to think Percy 100% learns how to braid hair just for Annabeth. And she doesn’t even know it because it happens during some school year. He stepped inside a braiding salon a couple of blocks from his apartment one day and was like “hi, sorry to bother, I wanna learn how to braid my friends hair” and the ladies at the salon where enchanted with this weird kid who came out of nowhere and who would NOT stop yapping about this cute black girl at summer camp who he absolutely was in love with but none of the ladies had the heart to tell him that because he seemed oblivious to his own feelings. So they taught him for free as long as he helped around the salon. And then one day at camp, he goes to get her at the athena cabin and Annabeth is sitting in her bed with a couple of mirror and a cloud of hair all around her and Percy’s like “need a hand?” And Annabeth’s like “as if you could help, seaweed brain” and percy just goes “is that a challenge?” And he helps her part her hair which can be a pain to do by yourself and then they both sit on her bed for hours doing knotless braids (Annabeth was wholly unconvinced he knew how to do them until he started working on a section of hair and it was all she could do to not hang her mouth open in surprise). Percy wasn’t quite as fast as annabeth had gotten after so many years of doing her own hair, but with his help it took half the time it would’ve taken her alone. The other kids of the athena cabin would stare at them from the door of the cabin and proceed to hightail it out of there. The amount of gossip going around camp that day was astronomical. But the two of them were oblivious in their little hyperfixated adhd bubble. After that it became tradition, as long as he could, Percy would help Annabeth braid her hair.

I've enjoyed episode 3 the most so far, but I think the show is still struggling to find a good balance between taking itself seriously and the absurdist humor that RR writes with. My main takeaways:

The Fight Scenes (or Lack Thereof?)

It seems very peculiar to me that the show is just speed running through its battle scenes. Again, it feels very much like the product of Disney trying to sanitize anything that's too extreme?

The trio fleeing from the kindly ones in the book ended with Percy taking control of the bus and then crashing it. It explodes. They lose all of their stuff (money, food). In the show, they simply bail out the back window. No true panic. No tension. Just, okay :) we're leaving now :)

The Medusa Scene. I'll speak more to this later, but in terms of the fight we get to see... well we get to see nothing. Apparently this fight required us to view it through the lens of the invisibility cap (ie. not at all),

I understand this show is intended for a younger audience, but the books are as well. Even the movies, which are pg, came up with better ways to show things without necessarily showing things. As a result, it feels like anything that might induce the slightest bit of tension or fear are sanded down and its honestly doing such a disservice to the books and the audience.

Medusa

I actually really liked this portrayal of Medusa. The 1950s housewife vibe landed well for me. And I loved the actress's voice -- very soft and soothing but always sounding as if she were just about to cry.

Also, I really liked her dialogue. Her digs at Athena and Poseidon were perfectly tragic.

That being said, I really prefer the trio's arrival to the emporium in the book. In the books, they've been wandering the woods and are lost and exhausted and hungry because of the battle/bus crash where they've lost all of their stuff. It almost feels like the emporium popping up "out of nowhere" was more of it finding them.

Meanwhile in the show, Grover finds it through scent on a satyr path and they immediately know its Medusa, which imo takes out so much of the fun of it all??? In the books, they dont know. Grover's just like, freaking the ever living fuck out, and clearly Percy and Annabeth have let him take sole custody of the shared brain cell, cause they're more concerned about getting some food than anything else

Just... RIP dumbass shenanigans

And honestly, I'm not really sure what necessitated the change here in the show (of them not being tricked). It would have been one thing if they were going to change Medusa entirely to not wanting to harm them at all, but imo, I think its arguable/evident that show Medusa was looking for an excuse to petrify Annabeth and Grover (at minimum) regardless of anything.

Honestly, I would have had the show loosely play it out as: book arrival (they dont know its Medusa), keep the dumbass energy and banter, the trio figures out it Medusa while they're eating, Medusa is the more sympathetic version we see in the show, regardless it still ends with the battle.

Also, I do mourn the book battle. The panic and absurdity is just handled better imo. Annabeth shoving them off the bench, Grover flopping all over the place with the shoes but actively getting a good few hits in, Percy having to use to the reflection to behead her... the #TeamWork was emphasized a little more there to me.

Characterization

I think the show is absolutely nailing certain parts of the characters.

They've gotten Percy's anger and his derision towards the gods down. But, I think they're actually underscoring some of his, idk, sincerity? His kindness? It was the line "she met a pinecone's fate" that just rang off to me. While undoubtedly funny, it's just such a stark difference from his reaction to Thalia's story in the books, where he was unsettled by her fate and felt a sincere sympathy for her. The line in the show I assume is meant to criticize the gods, but still, it feels like it comes at the expense of the sensitivity that he has.

They've gotten Annabeth's bluntness, intelligence, pride, and superiority down cold. No question about it. But I feel like they just need to let her be more of a 12yo kid?

Like. In canon she and Percy banter and argue over the silliest of things. She plays hacky sack with Grover and Percy. She blushes and hyperventilates when Luke interacts with her. Episode 3 is like the first time we've gotten to see her do something remotely childish (buying all that candy) and I'm just dying for more of that!! She's not the "mom" of the group and she has her canon dumbass moments. I'm hoping more of this is captured moving forward. They've gotten a good start on the banter, but let Annabeth be more silly! Cause she is!

(Absolutely none of my personal qualms about the characterization are Walker or Leah's fault. They've done amazing. It's the writing/directing I'm side-eyeing).

OH! And I'm sorry but Percy being like "Annabeth we're going to bury medusa with your hat on" would have never ever flown with Annabeth. In no world.

But Grover eating them up at the end? Iconic. Good for him.

Ares saying he hates his own kids and the worst day of the year is when they visit him makes my heart break for Clarisse more. Clarisse fights so hard for scraps of her father’s attention and Ares sees her as just another nuisance. He doesn’t care about her unless she’s able to serve him. But Clarisse (like Annabeth) thinks she just has to work harder for him to love her. In her mind, it’s all her fault. Which is why she is so angry when little punk Percy strolls in at twelve years old, no training and unclaimed, and immediately defeats the minotaur. In three days hes already got the gods attention and his father claimed him. Of course she’s angry.

never bothered watching the movie but I feel this frame on a spiritual level

you know what would have been a real power move? if rick had kept the whole ‘words have meaning’ thing going. with the gods being all over the place in hoo, it would be even more important not to say their names in order not to attract their erratic energy

also the ‘numbers have meaning’ thing. the ‘only three people may go on a quest’ rule. the only time it comes into play is when the group is too big in ttc, and sure enough, bianca and zoe die. i’m pretty sure they even say that the number five is weird at one point.

the prophecy of the seven being the prophecy of the seven should have been an indication that, from the beginning, it was a near impossible quest. a suicidal mission. it should have been an indication of how, even after the gods pledge to try to be better to their kids, they don’t have any problems with a prophecy that should kill four out of seven demigods, if the number three were to be respected. 

this tension builds throughout hoo. they’re trying to pull off this intercontinental stunt with no help, feeling more abandoned than ever, and they can’t even shit talk their unfairness in fear of retaliation for saying their name. this all culminates in the climax of the last book, when for the first time in heroes of olympus we hear demigods say a god’s name not in whispers, but at the top of their lungs: it’s when jason and percy march into battle together, having managed not to kill each other, mending the rivalry not only between jupiter and poseidon (if briefly) but also between camp jupiter and camp half blood. so they call out their parents because it’s finally safe. and that’s how the battle against gaea is won - demigods and gods seeing eye to eye for once, fighting a battle bigger than their flaws

John Boyega at Hyde Park demonstration #BlackLivesMattter

PERCY JACKSON FANS HEAR ME OUT!

It’s season 3 of the PJO show AKA The Titans Curse. Percy (Walker) is sitting in front of Aphordite Goddess of Love and Beauty who just so happens to look like an older version of his best friend Annabeth (Leah) totally unrelated we’re sure.

Then he blinks and the beautiful woman in front of him changes….now she has brown hair and blue eyes she smiles, its Alexandria Daddario movie Annabeth. Just a split second cameo and then she’s gone.

Now a different woman is sitting in front of Percy, a woman with blonde hair and hazel eyes Kristen Stokes Lightning Thief Musical Annabeth. She shifts and changes again.

The final and last woman we see before Percy has curly blonde hair, tanned skin, and stormy grey eyes it’s book Annabeth.

Percy doesn’t realise it but we do. The Goddess of love shows him every version of the girl he loves from every universe he loves her in. It’s beautiful, it’s cinema, it needs to happen.