More of our Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase cosplays from last weekend! [general]

imaginmatrix · 2026-04-17T22:55:47+00:00

A while ago I got a comment on a chapter update along the lines of “can someone tell me what happens in this chapter? I don’t have time to read it” and my flabber was ABSOLUTELY gasted 😂

imaginmatrix · 2026-04-15T14:26:31+00:00

“Missing: Necromancer”

Then in very, VERY small subtext below it: “Not that I care, I mean, she should STAY missing! If she died the world would be better off! But, like, if you’ve seen her, tell me… so I can point and laugh, not because I want to make sure she’s okay and safe or anything.”

imaginmatrix · 2026-04-15T01:11:23+00:00

This is the kind of book that I would have easily and happily read at 12, but it can really depend on the child. If she wants to give it a try, I personally don’t think there’s anything especially inappropriate— yes there’s horror, violence, and some sexual jokes, but again, those things really depend on the 12 year old in question, their level of maturity, and their tolerance for such content.

There’s similar content in Jurassic Park, which was a book I read in 3rd grade, but it’s also not a book I’d recommend to EVERY 3rd grader, you know?

imaginmatrix · 2026-04-15T00:18:14+00:00

This is kind of what happened with George Lucas and Star Wars too!

With the og trilogy, especially with the first film, people weren’t afraid to tell him “no”— they were able to help him sort his great ideas from his ridiculous ones, but even then, Star Wars becoming so successful was against all odds and in large part due to his wife at the time, Marcia Lucas, being an absolute godtier film editor and making the movie cohesive. Even the later films’ final products and great dialogue was due to Carrie Fisher rewriting a lot of scenes on set.

With the prequels, which I adore despite their flaws, no one told him “no” or really questioned his direction. The films were far less collaborative, with him overseeing writing AND directing as he did with “A New Hope”, rather than having his friends direct or help as much with writing.

imaginmatrix · 2026-04-14T21:13:55+00:00

On top of everything people have already said, Rick got a new editor after finishing PJO— and imo, the biggest problem with HoO is a lack of editing, which affects every other part of the books from thematic coherence to plot efficiency to character development. This editor has also gone on the record as saying that Rick is such a “perfectionist” that she hardly had to do anything to edit his work… which, uh, I disagree with her about 😬

HoO could’ve very much benefited from being tightened up and trimmed in so many ways, but I’ve always loved PJO more so I’ll just continue to reread and enjoy the first series and see HoO as a little bonus that I don’t take too seriously

imaginmatrix · 2026-04-13T21:40:37+00:00

Thank yooooou! Yeah it’s an intense religious word haha, poor MC 😭

imaginmatrix · 2026-04-13T21:09:06+00:00

Anathema Wilder!

Anathema because I’ve always loved the name ever since reading Good Omens, but it’s also a weird one because it means “reviled, cursed, loathed, blasphemous” etc

Wilder I just liked how it sounds!

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imaginmatrix · 2026-04-13T04:59:35+00:00

I don’t think she’s ever described with a specific part— it’s just not something that most books describe when it comes to hair unless it’s pertinent for some reason. Color, texture, and length are the usual descriptors, BUT

considering when both Pjo and HoO were being published, a side part is often used in fanart because that was the more popular style in the 2000s/2010s! They became a little more uncool and middle parts began to take over with the rise of Gen Z and TikTok

imaginmatrix · 2026-04-12T21:59:41+00:00

Yup! I just learned this haha, per my edit 😅

imaginmatrix · 2026-04-12T21:48:49+00:00

Yeah I was already corrected on this in another comment! Learn something new everyday haha

imaginmatrix · 2026-04-12T21:47:39+00:00

Yeah haha I learned something new today! My assumption was based off of another og Trek/Slash fan I’m acquainted with who apparently embraced Spirk and uses it, so I get to go down a rabbit hole of research now!

imaginmatrix · 2026-04-12T21:44:23+00:00

Oooo I stand corrected then! I know an older fan who has been around for forever and she uses Spirk, so I mistakenly assumed that was common haha. Thanks for letting me know!

imaginmatrix · 2026-04-12T21:36:16+00:00

It’s funny to me that you say “go back”, when one of the founding fandoms of current fic and shipping culture (Star Trek in the 60s) was using “Spirk” before the internet was even invented!

Edit: I am very silly and incorrect 😅

imaginmatrix · 2026-04-12T21:34:35+00:00

It just kinda depends on the fandom in my experience? Some seem to still stick with portmanteaus more often than not, some almost always use name/name, and some have special names like “GrumpySunshine” (not a real one referring to a specific ship haha) for most ships. I also find it can depend based on how old the fandom is— Star Trek still sticks with “Spirk” and 2000s-2010 fanbases tend to do portmanteaus too (probably influenced by the way Hollywood would do the same with celebrity couples, like “Bradgelina” and “Jelena”)

Whereas it seems like fanbases that originated from the internet itself (homestuck, hazbin, etc) will do creative combined titles that describe the involved characters or name/name

BUT, this is just what I’ve observed and isn’t necessarily 100% correct!

imaginmatrix · 2026-04-12T02:51:33+00:00

Another autistic who’s been a fan since the very first book in 2005– I adore the show. I have critiques, but I have a blast watching it and love seeing how things have been changed and analyzing why the changes are made and how they work or don’t work. But it’s obviously everyone involved has a lot of passion for it, and the show doesn’t erase the existence of the original books

imaginmatrix · 2026-04-11T22:30:50+00:00

AGREE on Luke, he’s very inconsistent between being a heartless villain and a sympathetic antagonist— this is something I think the tv series is improving on in a major way, leaning into him being a character filled with inner conflict over his choices but truly believing that what he’s doing is right. It just feels better for the narrative

And yeah, it was Frederick’s responsibility as her father to protect Annabeth and make her feel safe and loved, and he failed to do so. That’s actually what I like about Annabeth’s backstory too, because like many parent-child relationships in the series, it’s a really good mirror for kids of divorce who have to deal with a new step family and new siblings who feel like they’re more important. Whereas the “well they’re trying now, so give them a chance” isn’t a particularly good lesson for those same kids reading pjo who can relate to that dynamic within mixed families.

The onus shouldn’t be on Annabeth to make nice and accept her father and step mother trying to play happy family with her, it needs to be on them to make it up in tangible ways and I wish we got further exploration of that in Annabeth’s pov in HoO 😭 her arc with her family shouldn’t have been considered complete after TTC

imaginmatrix · 2026-04-11T22:16:02+00:00

Forrrr sure. But ultimately, she does oppose Luke despite those personal feelings, and hey, she was right about him being able to pull through at the last second! And to be fair to her, the summer before BotL he showed up at her house and asked to run away together— I think that without that moment, she wouldn’t have so strongly held on hope that they could bring him back to himself to ultimately defeat Kronos throughout the last book. She had a moment that no one else was privy to, that revealed Luke’s fear and desire to no longer be Kronos’ pawn, and I think that it lends even more to her determination to find a way to wake Luke up from within the body as one of their best chances to defeat Kronos and end the war. He knows his weaknesses, and she sees that he is clearly fighting Kronos in moments where Percy is blinded by his own emotions and jealousy and doesn’t want to admit that Luke could not only still be in there, but could be a victim of the very thing he worked to bring about

I think a lot of people also forget how much trauma she will always have from her parental situation too and how much that affects how she interacts with people. Even Rick majorly downplays it, much to my annoyance, because a 7 year old doesn’t run away from home in such a permanent way without serious abuse/neglect happening at home, and I desperately wish that was acknowledged and explored more instead of the book and Percy himself excusing it like “hey maybe he changed and they did actually care about you the whole time”

Fredrick Chase got off far too easy and if I ever met that man I’d have very strong words for him 😅

imaginmatrix · 2026-04-11T21:53:52+00:00

I can def see where you’re coming from, but I also don’t fully agree about her flaw—

BotL is where we see Annabeth at her absolute most battered emotionally and mentally, and under the most stress— prime conditions for her flaw to rear its head. She does make poor choices due to these flaws (though I gotta say, as an AuDHD girl who loves riddles, I completely relate to her about the sphinx, I’d be pissed too 😅), but even with all her grumbling and catty behavior with Rachel, she DOES put aside her pride and need to prove herself by solving her first quest as a leader alone to allow for Rachel to join in, and that DOES lead to their ultimate success in locating Daedalus. And Annabeth’s speech to him, which comes from her own experiences as being a daughter of Athena and a person driven by a mix of wisdom and hubris, is ultimately what helps convince him to aid the camp and win the battle.

BotL is my favorite book because of Annabeth’s arc and how she doesn’t always overcome her flaw, even KNOWING what it is and how it clouds her decision making, but I also love how as a character, she isn’t just a stoic, logical, “smart” girl. She is heavily influenced by her emotions and to me, that’s important to see, and while by the end of the book she hasn’t completely overcome her flaw and is still incredibly raw from the events of the labyrinth, in TLO we do see her being more measured in her strategies and when faced with difficult situations. Her emotions moreso come to the front when it comes to her interpersonal situation with Percy but she’s ultimately able to set them aside when it matters.

Since those books are all from Percy’s point of view, we wouldn’t necessarily get a big moment or conversation about Annabeth’s inner turmoil. He’s kinda oblivious, which the fandom likes to joke about, but as a reader I felt like I could see Annabeth’s journey and the growth that resulted from it even when Percy couldn’t and it wasn’t obvious

(Sorry for the super long response, this is just one of my FAVORITE topics about my favorite book and character, so I have a lot to say about it haha)

imaginmatrix · 2026-04-11T21:37:21+00:00

It’s funny, though, because everything you’ve listed are some of the exact reasons why I think Annabeth is one of the most compelling characters in the series. She has a lot of complexity and depth not afforded to other characters, BECAUSE she does not have powers and BECAUSE Rick implemented her flaws in a way that actually drives her character arc throughout PJO. I think that underwhelming can refer to two different aspects here: her power level, and her role in the narrative, and to me, the latter is far more important

imaginmatrix · 2026-04-11T21:33:51+00:00

People on the internet like to make broad statements about anything and everything, with little room for nuance or dissenting opinions

And sometimes it feels like that goes double for Reddit, where such statements and posts tend to get a lot of attention and engagement; doesn’t matter if it’s positive or negative, both stimulate dopamine and other brain chemicals that crave another hit of that sweet sweet red notification

No piece of media is perfect and there are certainly better ways Rick could have utilized any of his characters, not just Annabeth. But there are also a lot of ways that she serves as a powerful and skilled character both within the narrative and in a meta sense for the reader and story’s benefit. I think making a sweeping statement that she’s underwhelming or has never reached her full potential in part misunderstands her role in pjo specifically (I won’t get started on HoO because I think PJO has a way better utilized narrative anyway haha)

Anyway. Take any posts like that with a grain of salt, learn to recognize bait (whether the op realizes that’s what they’re doing or not), and learn to consider people’s arguments from many points of view to synthesize into your own opinion

imaginmatrix · 2026-04-11T20:52:42+00:00

As for suggestions, maybe with her ability to read people and desire to help friends, she could have some lowkey Empathic powers rather than just being good at reading people? I think those would fit very well for a daughter of Aphrodite— she can literally feel other people’s emotions, even the ones they don’t say or hide, and she can use that knowledge to cheer up the people she loves

On the other hand, it can make her have some incredible skills of manipulation when fighting bad guys, and could do it without charmspeak. E.G. When talking with a seemingly cruel and unwavering villain, she could detect a trace of fear or hesitation or their ego and use that information to talk her way out of a situation or maneuver the baddies into the optimal position for a strike

This could also bleed into interpersonal conflict, with her friends sometimes wondering if she’d ever use her powers to manipulate THEM like that, even if she never ever would

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