Entry tags:
Ω application: mask or menace
〈 PLAYER INFO 〉
NAME: Tomato
AGE: 25
JOURNAL:![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
antiquity
IM / EMAIL: TheTomatoSays @ aim | il.pomodoro at yahoo dot com
PLURK: communism
RETURNING: n/a
〈 CHARACTER INFO 〉
CHARACTER NAME: Annabeth Chase
CHARACTER AGE: 17
SERIES: Heroes of Olympus
CHRONOLOGY: post House of Hades
CLASS: Hero
HOUSING: randomized is good!
BACKGROUND: Annabeth @ the PJO Wiki. | First Series (Percy Jackson & the Olympians) and Second Series (Heroes of Olympus).
The world of PJO is Earth, in the present day, with all the standard technology and pop culture. The biggest difference and the one that triggers most of the other differences in the series is the fact that the Greek gods exist. Yes.
The gods were around in ancient Greece, the so-called cradle of western civilization, complete with all the mythological meddling that for the most part, actually happened. When Rome became the new western world super power, the gods went there, taking on the Roman incarnations of the gods. And basically, throughout history, the Greek gods continued to move around and take up residence in whatever the apparent seat and center of the western world was.
Which means – yeah, you guessed it – in the PJO series, they’re alive and kicking it in the United States (though also parts of Canada, as it comes to be revealed later). The Empire State Building in New York City? The new Mount Olympus! They’ve adapted surprisingly well to the modern age, and all the ancient myths have been transplanted into the present day – ancient places move west with the gods, like the entrance to the Underworld moving to Los Angeles.
Insert one Percy Jackson, series protagonist, who finds out that he’s the son of Poseidon after he turns twelve. Because those pesky gods haven’t learned how to control themselves even after thousands of years, there are demigod children running around, with one human parent and one godly one. They are half god, half human, but they are not immortal. Nearly all of them have ADHD, which allows for quicker battle reflexes, and most are dyslexic, with brains hardwired for Ancient Greek above modern English. They are magnets for trouble, and most demigods spend their childhoods being jolted around from school to school – such was the case with Percy, having gone to six different schools in six years.
Annabeth is one of these demigods: a daughter of Athena, meaning her human parent is her father, whom she has an estranged but growing relationship with. The life of a demigod is a dangerous one – they are often the target of attacks from monsters (of the mythological sort, ala things like the Minotaur), and the death rate of demigods is actually quite high. Very few make it to their sixteenth birthday. Annabeth ran away from home when she was seven because of this, because of the danger it posed to her mortal family and how it impacted their treatment of her.
On Long Island exists a place called “Camp Half-Blood.” It’s a safe place for demigods, hidden away from the mortal world and protected from monsters (at least, it’s supposed to be, most of the time.) Annabeth has lived primarily at Camp Half-Blood since she was seven years old, being one of those lucky enough to reach the camp safely, with the aid of two other demigods she met along the way (Luke, son of Hermes, and Thalia, daughter of Zeus – two very other important players in the ‘verse) and a satyr named Grover. It’s been her home for almost ten years, and she is one of the most influential campers; she is not only head of the Athena Cabin, but one of the camp’s own co-leaders.
Initially, each of the twelve gods of Olympus had a cabin for their children, once they were claimed. Each cabin has a head counselor, and in times of crisis, they come together in meetings and to plan; the system is set up in reflection of original Greek democracies, and the cabins usually have a say in what goes on. (At the end of the first series, additional cabins were added for more than just the major gods and their children, as the lack of recognition of these demigod children was one of the driving forces behind the major conflict.)
Helping to hide the camp, as well as various other confrontations across the country is a thing called “the mist.” The mist is a magical supernatural force (controlled by the goddess Hecate) that alters the perceptions of mortals when they’re faced with something related to the gods/demigods/monsters. For example, Percy’s fancy Greek-sword is often perceived as a gun when in view of mortals (how a gun is better than a sword, I don’t know, given he gets in trouble often enough for that illusion). Some mortals have the ability to see through the mist, and sometimes the mist is strong enough to fool even demigods.
The appearance of and recognition of Percy Jackson as a son of Poseidon sent this hidden world spiraling into chaos, with monsters and prophecies and great prophecies and doomsday scenarios, all of which Annabeth through her own determination, inclusion in prophecies & quests, and friendship with Percy finds herself a part of. Basically, any time something goes wrong with the gods, they leave it to demigods to solve because HA HA HA this is how they claim to avoid meddling in the affairs of the mortal world. Even though the issues usually revolve around taking down the gods themselves. Again, the life of a demigod has a high fatality rate.
The first series of books, Percy Jackson and the Olympians, revolve around the resurrection of the Titan Kronos and his plan to overthrow the Olympian gods. Luke, son of Hermes and one of Annabeth’s closest friends, betrays the Camp and joins with Kronos, eventually becoming a host body to the Titan. Angry with both his father and all the gods, he vows to help bring about the end of western civilization and create a new world, ruled by the Titans. How do Percy and subsequently Annabeth fit into this? Well, a long time ago a prophecy stated that when a child of the big three reached the age of sixteen, they would either save or destroy the world. And since the big three had a pact of NO MORE KIDS everyone thought they were safe. But then Thalia showed up! A daughter of Zeus! Except on her trip with Annabeth, Grover, and Luke to Camp Half-Blood, they were attacked by monsters from the Underworld, and Thalia sacrificed herself at age 12, giving the other three the chance to enter the camp. Zeus turned her spirit into a pine tree to memorialize her final stand, and everyone believed the prophecy was delayed once more. So when Percy was revealed to be a son of Poseidon there was more uncertainty, doubly so when Luke revealed himself a traitor and servant of Kronos.
So basically, throughout the books, Annabeth, Percy, and Grover run all around the world fighting monsters, making friends, and trying to defeat Kronos, Luke, and the army they raised to wage war. Thalia makes a return, but she chooses immortality at age fifteen and avoids the prophecy. Nico di Angelo, son of Hades and another child of the big three, appears on the scene, but at three to four years younger than Percy, could only be the child in the prophecy had Percy died. Which he doesn’t, and so Percy takes it on with Annabeth and Grover primarily at his side. In the final battle, it is Percy’s decision and Annabeth’s knife and faith that save the day. She chooses to believe there is still good in Luke, and Percy chooses to trust her, thus leading to the defeat of Kronos by Luke’s own hand and the salvation of the gods. They are welcomed as Heroes of Olympus, and Annabeth is offered the chance to design a new Mount Olympus, essentially becoming architect to the gods.
Needless to say, the last four or five years of Annabeth’s life have been anything but tranquil. She’s literally held up the sky (ala Atlas), almost been eaten by Cyclopes, been stabbed, navigated an endless and often fatal labyrinth, nearly drowned – okay, basically, the list goes on. Girl’s seen combat and helped save the world.
You’d think this would earn someone a bit of rest and relaxation, right? Bzzzt wrong. Hidden from Camp Half-Blood exists another camp, this one more Roman in nature and called Camp Jupiter, with demigod children of the Roman gods – who are the same Greek gods, only in their Roman incarnations. Camp Jupiter is run more in parallel to the Roman Empire, with legions and consuls, and it’s a much more warlike and structured camp than Camp Half-Blood. The two camps have been kept hidden from each other for decades, given their last major conflict helped brew the American Civil War. Yeah, they have generally not gotten along very well in the past. The power of the mist allowed for this separation and ignorance of each other’s existence.
It’s been broken because another war has started, and the goddess Hera took the first steps against Gaea, who’s slowly reawakening and wants to overthrow the Olympian gods. She took Percy (whom Annabeth has started dating by this point) and switched him with a boy named Jason Grace from the Roman camp; Jason is a son of Jupiter, Zeus in his Roman form, as well as the long lost brother of Thalia. Their memories initially wiped, the switch was completed because Hera thought the rising threat of the Giants (the second Gigantomachy, if you will) was too great and too powerful – she felt the only road to victory was the uniting the two camps, fostered by allowing Percy and Jason to enter each other’s homes as amnesiac outsiders. By switching these two losers, arguably the major player from each camp, and removing their memories, Hera insured they would come to earn the trust of each other’s camp and thus make the reunion of the two camps go much more smoothly (see: avoid bloodshed). Side note: it didn’t quite work out that way.
On top of that, and another key to the defeat of the Giants, is the Prophecy of Seven – which basically consists of seven demigods from both of the camps working together on a quest against Gaea and the giants. The seven are as followed: Percy, Annabeth, Piper and Leo from the Greek side, and Jason, Hazel and Frank from the Roman side. They make it across the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean, where Annabeth must complete the most important solo quest of her life, one that will help bring unity to the two warring Camps: following the Mark of Athena.
The short story: she goes off alone to track down the Athena Parthenos (a giant-ass statue of her mother, stolen by the Romans centuries ago, and if returned, it could help heal the rift between the two camps) beneath Rome. She is the first of her mother’s children to find it and defeat its giant spider guardian (Arachne herself, now in spider-monster version), except her victory is short lived, because she gets dragged down into Tartarus (the Greek equivalent of hell) by Arachne. Percy jumps after her, and the two fight their way through Tartarus to complete part of the Prophecy of Seven alongside giants and titans (And foes bear arms to the Doors of Death.)
And from her canon point, Annabeth will be fresh out of this point and literally fresh out of hell.
PERSONALITY:
The first thing to know is that as a daughter of the Greek goddess Athena, Annabeth shares many qualities with her mother. Intelligence, right off the bat; she takes the dumb blonde stereotype and beats it over the head before leaving it unconscious in a dark alley. Annabeth is smart, and she knows it. She takes pride in it. She’s not afraid to speak and let her thoughts be heard, especially when she knows she’s in the right (though if remaining silent or lying is the better option in a situation, she’ll do that, too – it’s all about reading the situation and adapting). She’s clever and cunning, and she will always have a plan (how detailed and in advanced said plan is varies, but even in her impulsivity she will have expectations). She’s observant and swift on the update, often making realizations long before anyone else, and she’ll use the environment to her advantage. Examining the situation at hand, she is quick to form a course of action, even in cases where the plan comes to her in the middle of running from some monster. She’s extremely analytical in everything she does, holding up logic and reasoning on pedestals and wielding them like weapons. Wit and sarcasm are among her favorite tools, both in humor and to be cruel, and many (but especially the likes of Percy) fall victim. She’s snarky and brainy, and she doesn’t care what you think about that – she wants you to know that. On the more negative side, her expectations often fall high, and she’ll expect others to know things she already does. When they don’t, it results in a lot of eye-rolling and disbelief, but she will offer explanation (sometimes with an air of ‘how can you not know this?’). She can be really condescending and rude, sometimes without even meaning to.
She wants to prove herself. Until the arrival of Percy Jackson, she’d barely stepped foot outside Camp Half-Blood since she herself arrived there. She knows she’s capable, and many of her fellow campers know the same, but she wanted the chance to show that. Despite a genuine concern for saving the world inherent in her determination, she also wants to demonstrate her skills. She wants to stand out, she wants to get the attention of her mother and all the gods. One of her biggest goals in life is to build a monument so great and so high for the gods with her name attached -- to be remembered in the world. Annabeth has an enormous and unabashed love of architecture, and Percy notes on more than one occasion through the entire series how often she prattles on about whatever building or monument she happens to be near, regardless of how closely the other party is paying attention. She sends him a photo of herself standing before the Lincoln Memorial, and Percy describes her pose as if she’d built it herself.
She wants to build something substantial and long lasting, something she did not have with her mother or father as a child. Permanency is important to Annabeth, given her chaotic life and childhood. It weighs on her, and she craves that stability. She even lost Luke and Thalia in different ways, her pseudo-family after she ran away (Luke to death, Thalia to immortality). Architecture is one of the ways she expresses that want. (Though it is, of course, still something that causes her to unapologetically geek out.) Percy is more or less her newest family, and she is fiercely protective of him – her best friend for years, current boyfriend, and even that gets shaken up quite often, to her dismay. She wants him to stay a permanent part of her life, as he’s proven someone she can depend on, and for Annabeth, that’s important in any kind of relationship.
Often, she can initially come off as a cold person. It’s not because she is, but of the way she presents herself and the way her life as gone so far. Closing herself off is a defense mechanism. If you’re a stranger, she wants to know who you are and what you want – or what you know. And that can lead to demanding and harsh questions that spit out before polite conversation (for example, storming up to Jason, Leo, and Piper with a knife in her hands and demanding to know where Percy was, before she even knew who they were). She’ll hold back defensively out of mistrust, and with a life full of monsters in disguise trying to kill her, on top of people abandoning and leaving her, you can hardly blame the girl. She’s skeptical and suspicious and will be until one hundred percent certain. She’s judgmental and cautious, prone to grudges (but still able to forgive). Past experiences shape her worldviews. A Cyclops once trapped and tried to eat her and her friends, and she had a hard time letting go of that and learning to trust Tyson, another Cyclops and Percy’s half brother.
But once you earn that trust, your status in Annabeth’s eyes goes up quite a lot. Tyson the Cyclops is now one of her best friends. She’ll defend you, physically or otherwise. She’s extremely protective of those she cares about, even a little possessive (especially when it comes to Percy, who became one of the most important people in her life). They are her friends – her responsibility, her comrades in arms, and she’s quick to anger if she feels this is being threatened. She once took a near-fatal knife to the arm for Percy, to save him from the injury himself, as it would have killed him. She would do anything to save them, anything to protect Camp Half-Blood, which took her in and has been her home for most of her life. As much as she wants to be a hero, it’s the people she comes to love that make it all worthwhile.
When it comes to betrayal, it hurts. Her trust and faith has been broken, something she so rarely gives out that deeply. When Luke Castellan betrayed the entirety of the Camp in his plan to revive Kronos, Annabeth felt hit the hardest. He helped her survive and reach Camp Half-Blood, and they’d been like each other’s family for years (and she had a small crush on him when she was younger). But she’s hopeful too – she tried so hard to bring Luke back to the side of good and hated the idea of giving up on him, even as she saw his plans for destruction. Her loyalty runs deep, and if you’ve got it, you’re stuck with it as long she deems possible, even if you break it and she grapples with doubt. She wants to forgive those close to her, because she doesn’t like losing people and doesn’t want to lose anyone else. She believes in her own abilities to fix these problems, to gain people back, even to a fault.
She is proud. Extremely proud, to the point where it is legitimately her fatal flaw. All the great Greek heroes have one, and Annabeth’s pride is hers. Hubris. She can be haughty and condescending. Bossy, because she knows best. She has an enormous amount of confidence in her ability to succeed and gets frustrated at mishaps. She wants to know as much as she can about anything and everything, occasionally at huge and sometimes reckless risk (such as when she vehemently demanded to listen to the Sirens’ song, refusing earplugs and nearly plunging to her death after breaking free of the bonds that were supposed to restrain her. She was warned about this, but how could she go through life not knowing what the Sirens sounded like?). Hubris is a common fatal flaw among children of Athena. She knows herself to be capable of many great things and sometimes sets the bar too high for herself. She can fix anything, she can help anyone -- she was so determined that Luke could be good again, she knew she could convince him. And in cases of failure, that hubris just makes it hurt even more. Her quest for the Mark of Athena is a prime example of this: she succeeded and then boasted against Arachne, agitating the spider to a dangerous extent that allowed her to fall into Tartarus. Her fatal flaw literally helped drag her to hell.
Along those veins, she hates insults to her intelligence. Once faced with a sphinx, Annabeth was given a series of simple multiple-choice questions, which were so easy she refused to continue answering them. Her refusal led the sphinx to attack, something that could have easily been avoided had she continued with the quizzing. She’s obstinate and stubborn, doubly so when she feels she is in the right (and given her brain, it’s safe to say she’s right often enough for her to feel justified in it). Thinking so highly of herself is not based on false ideas – she is smart and strong and capable, and she has proven this many times over. It’s when her pride pushes that feeling too far that it starts to get dangerous.
But she is a strong leader, and her experience and smarts have earned her the respect of most other demigods at Camp Half-Blood. Annabeth is extremely brave and keeps her cool when faced with even the most dangerous things (the exception being spiders – she’s got vicious arachnophobia because of her mother’s tension with Arachne, and when spiders find her, it’s a struggle to remain calm – which makes her success in the Mark of Athena all the more impressive). She’s calculating and unafraid to risk her life for the greater good and her friends. She and Percy once single-handedly took on a Kampê to save the Camp, despite knowing it would likely result in their deaths (and it nearly did, until they were saved by a Hundred Handed One). She’s more than willing to put the lives of others above herself. She is the leader of the seven on this quest into Rome and Greece against Gaea, and all of them hold her in high regard, treating her with respect and deferring to her when it comes to decision-making.
Annabeth is a strategist; she can see both the bigger picture and the immediate. Her experience in Tartarus – watching and allowing Bob the Titan and Damasen the Giant to sacrifice themselves so that she and Percy could get out was not an easy choice to make, and she realized that sometimes you have to be the person to make that call, as much as it hurts. She wants to be a hero and do good, but sometimes that involves taking a step back – and she is learning how to walk that line. She is getting older and harder, but ten years of living a demigod’s life, on top of a trip through literal hell, would do that to a person. No one would deny that Annabeth has made herself a hero at this point, but now she’s struggling with all that being a hero means.
Despite her ability to remain calm under pressure, she’s still got a temper. Percy spends a lot of time wondering what might have set her off and trying to carefully choose his words to avoid pissing her off more. She can get jealous easily, especially when she wants someone’s attention and in relationships, both of the romantic nature and familial. (She was briefly worried that the Romans would steal Percy away after she learned he’d been taken to Camp Jupiter, but once she is confident in her relationships, her jealousy isn’t as big a deal if at all existent.) She has no patience for people who touch her things – material things, of which she is very possessive. She’s as likely to punch someone in affection as she is to hug them. Her organization is meticulous, and she prefers to have a plan for everything. It makes her uncomfortable when she can’t account for disruptions or unknowns. Annabeth likes to be in control as much as she can of all aspects of her life, out of her own confidence in knowing best and having a lot of uncertainty through her childhood. Her life is full of instability, that all she really wants is the opposite – and if she has to create that herself, then so be it. Not even the gods can stand in her way anymore.
POWER:
DEMIGOD (CANON);
As a demigod, a literal half-god, Annabeth is subject to combat prowess and quick reflexes (a hyperawareness which manifests as ADHD in the mortal world). She has ten years of training and combat experience behind her, putting her (and all demigods) a step above normal humans, both in strength and stamina. But she is not so fully divine and can be killed by your average fatal injury (she just has a better chance of surviving it, with the right healing tools and some magic god food). Demigods also have dyslexia, because their brains are hardwired for Ancient Greek above modern English.
As the daughter of the goddess Athena, Annabeth has inherited some divine traits:
-divine wisdom: her brain is basically a walking encyclopedia, and her strategic capabilities are a literal godsend. Her greatest strength is her smarts, and she’s beyond knowledgeable about numerous subjects (including but not limited to history, physics, and her favorite thing of all, architecture). Bonus points in having a near photographic memory.
-combat proficiency: on top of the regular demigod kind, Athena is the goddess of warfare, giving Annabeth an advantage in combat. She’s skilled with all kinds of weaponry and in hand-to-hand. Her battle brain gets a boost here, too – strategic warfare is her specialty.
-crafts: she can weave hella good (like super hella good, despite having never having practiced before following the Mark of Athena); presumably, she has a natural affinity for other crafting hobbies, too.
OWL POWERS;
The ability to understand/communicate with owls. Eventually, it will grow into control and command over them, though in the meantime, they'll just like to bug and follow her around.
INVISIBILITY;
Exactly what it says on the tin. It turns her and her clothes invisible, but she can still cast a shadow.
〈 CHARACTER SAMPLES 〉
COMMUNITY POST (VOICE) SAMPLE:
[On the video: a very disgruntled and unhappy looking blonde girl, about seventeen years old, her hair a mess of blonde curls that doesn’t look very cared for at the moment. Despite the very hard, very grumpy expression on her face, her eyes are a little droopy; it’s probably impossible to hide how tired she is, but she breezes by that.]
Florida. Cute. Totally the first place that comes to mind when people throw around the word “superheroes.” [Resisting urge to roll eyes...!] Someone just tell me it’s not as humid as the normal Florida? [Because she’s been there, and this place ain’t it.]
Does anyone actually know how they – get all that information on us? [It makes Annabeth uncomfortable, though that feeling doesn’t show. She’s taking care to keep herself more composed over a public feed like this, beyond her inability to hide the grump, but there’s genuine curiosity in her tone too. The mishmash of this world’s style plus technology is interesting, in spite of herself.]
If there are any good libraries, public records, maybe even not so public records. Just somewhere to start looking. [Her wrist still says ‘Registered Hero,’ ok?? Sneaking around can totally be legit.] I’m sure I’m hardly the first person who just wants more answers to bug the anonymous abyss of kidnapped heroes for them. I’d be sick of it if I were you. [Only a little bit of a lie.]
[Her lips purse for a second, before she adds a final bit.] And I need to know if Percy Jackson is here. [She doesn’t really want to go into or ask about anyone else, not when he’s her priority; and anyone she knows who might be here will answer to her face or the name anyway. In the meantime, she has information to gather.]
LOGS POST (PROSE) SAMPLE:
test drive!
FINAL NOTES: she’ll be coming in with a weapon, a sword made of drakon bone, if that’s okay!
NAME: Tomato
AGE: 25
JOURNAL:
antiquityIM / EMAIL: TheTomatoSays @ aim | il.pomodoro at yahoo dot com
PLURK: communism
RETURNING: n/a
〈 CHARACTER INFO 〉
CHARACTER NAME: Annabeth Chase
CHARACTER AGE: 17
SERIES: Heroes of Olympus
CHRONOLOGY: post House of Hades
CLASS: Hero
HOUSING: randomized is good!
BACKGROUND: Annabeth @ the PJO Wiki. | First Series (Percy Jackson & the Olympians) and Second Series (Heroes of Olympus).
The world of PJO is Earth, in the present day, with all the standard technology and pop culture. The biggest difference and the one that triggers most of the other differences in the series is the fact that the Greek gods exist. Yes.
The gods were around in ancient Greece, the so-called cradle of western civilization, complete with all the mythological meddling that for the most part, actually happened. When Rome became the new western world super power, the gods went there, taking on the Roman incarnations of the gods. And basically, throughout history, the Greek gods continued to move around and take up residence in whatever the apparent seat and center of the western world was.
Which means – yeah, you guessed it – in the PJO series, they’re alive and kicking it in the United States (though also parts of Canada, as it comes to be revealed later). The Empire State Building in New York City? The new Mount Olympus! They’ve adapted surprisingly well to the modern age, and all the ancient myths have been transplanted into the present day – ancient places move west with the gods, like the entrance to the Underworld moving to Los Angeles.
Insert one Percy Jackson, series protagonist, who finds out that he’s the son of Poseidon after he turns twelve. Because those pesky gods haven’t learned how to control themselves even after thousands of years, there are demigod children running around, with one human parent and one godly one. They are half god, half human, but they are not immortal. Nearly all of them have ADHD, which allows for quicker battle reflexes, and most are dyslexic, with brains hardwired for Ancient Greek above modern English. They are magnets for trouble, and most demigods spend their childhoods being jolted around from school to school – such was the case with Percy, having gone to six different schools in six years.
Annabeth is one of these demigods: a daughter of Athena, meaning her human parent is her father, whom she has an estranged but growing relationship with. The life of a demigod is a dangerous one – they are often the target of attacks from monsters (of the mythological sort, ala things like the Minotaur), and the death rate of demigods is actually quite high. Very few make it to their sixteenth birthday. Annabeth ran away from home when she was seven because of this, because of the danger it posed to her mortal family and how it impacted their treatment of her.
On Long Island exists a place called “Camp Half-Blood.” It’s a safe place for demigods, hidden away from the mortal world and protected from monsters (at least, it’s supposed to be, most of the time.) Annabeth has lived primarily at Camp Half-Blood since she was seven years old, being one of those lucky enough to reach the camp safely, with the aid of two other demigods she met along the way (Luke, son of Hermes, and Thalia, daughter of Zeus – two very other important players in the ‘verse) and a satyr named Grover. It’s been her home for almost ten years, and she is one of the most influential campers; she is not only head of the Athena Cabin, but one of the camp’s own co-leaders.
Initially, each of the twelve gods of Olympus had a cabin for their children, once they were claimed. Each cabin has a head counselor, and in times of crisis, they come together in meetings and to plan; the system is set up in reflection of original Greek democracies, and the cabins usually have a say in what goes on. (At the end of the first series, additional cabins were added for more than just the major gods and their children, as the lack of recognition of these demigod children was one of the driving forces behind the major conflict.)
Helping to hide the camp, as well as various other confrontations across the country is a thing called “the mist.” The mist is a magical supernatural force (controlled by the goddess Hecate) that alters the perceptions of mortals when they’re faced with something related to the gods/demigods/monsters. For example, Percy’s fancy Greek-sword is often perceived as a gun when in view of mortals (how a gun is better than a sword, I don’t know, given he gets in trouble often enough for that illusion). Some mortals have the ability to see through the mist, and sometimes the mist is strong enough to fool even demigods.
The appearance of and recognition of Percy Jackson as a son of Poseidon sent this hidden world spiraling into chaos, with monsters and prophecies and great prophecies and doomsday scenarios, all of which Annabeth through her own determination, inclusion in prophecies & quests, and friendship with Percy finds herself a part of. Basically, any time something goes wrong with the gods, they leave it to demigods to solve because HA HA HA this is how they claim to avoid meddling in the affairs of the mortal world. Even though the issues usually revolve around taking down the gods themselves. Again, the life of a demigod has a high fatality rate.
The first series of books, Percy Jackson and the Olympians, revolve around the resurrection of the Titan Kronos and his plan to overthrow the Olympian gods. Luke, son of Hermes and one of Annabeth’s closest friends, betrays the Camp and joins with Kronos, eventually becoming a host body to the Titan. Angry with both his father and all the gods, he vows to help bring about the end of western civilization and create a new world, ruled by the Titans. How do Percy and subsequently Annabeth fit into this? Well, a long time ago a prophecy stated that when a child of the big three reached the age of sixteen, they would either save or destroy the world. And since the big three had a pact of NO MORE KIDS everyone thought they were safe. But then Thalia showed up! A daughter of Zeus! Except on her trip with Annabeth, Grover, and Luke to Camp Half-Blood, they were attacked by monsters from the Underworld, and Thalia sacrificed herself at age 12, giving the other three the chance to enter the camp. Zeus turned her spirit into a pine tree to memorialize her final stand, and everyone believed the prophecy was delayed once more. So when Percy was revealed to be a son of Poseidon there was more uncertainty, doubly so when Luke revealed himself a traitor and servant of Kronos.
So basically, throughout the books, Annabeth, Percy, and Grover run all around the world fighting monsters, making friends, and trying to defeat Kronos, Luke, and the army they raised to wage war. Thalia makes a return, but she chooses immortality at age fifteen and avoids the prophecy. Nico di Angelo, son of Hades and another child of the big three, appears on the scene, but at three to four years younger than Percy, could only be the child in the prophecy had Percy died. Which he doesn’t, and so Percy takes it on with Annabeth and Grover primarily at his side. In the final battle, it is Percy’s decision and Annabeth’s knife and faith that save the day. She chooses to believe there is still good in Luke, and Percy chooses to trust her, thus leading to the defeat of Kronos by Luke’s own hand and the salvation of the gods. They are welcomed as Heroes of Olympus, and Annabeth is offered the chance to design a new Mount Olympus, essentially becoming architect to the gods.
Needless to say, the last four or five years of Annabeth’s life have been anything but tranquil. She’s literally held up the sky (ala Atlas), almost been eaten by Cyclopes, been stabbed, navigated an endless and often fatal labyrinth, nearly drowned – okay, basically, the list goes on. Girl’s seen combat and helped save the world.
You’d think this would earn someone a bit of rest and relaxation, right? Bzzzt wrong. Hidden from Camp Half-Blood exists another camp, this one more Roman in nature and called Camp Jupiter, with demigod children of the Roman gods – who are the same Greek gods, only in their Roman incarnations. Camp Jupiter is run more in parallel to the Roman Empire, with legions and consuls, and it’s a much more warlike and structured camp than Camp Half-Blood. The two camps have been kept hidden from each other for decades, given their last major conflict helped brew the American Civil War. Yeah, they have generally not gotten along very well in the past. The power of the mist allowed for this separation and ignorance of each other’s existence.
It’s been broken because another war has started, and the goddess Hera took the first steps against Gaea, who’s slowly reawakening and wants to overthrow the Olympian gods. She took Percy (whom Annabeth has started dating by this point) and switched him with a boy named Jason Grace from the Roman camp; Jason is a son of Jupiter, Zeus in his Roman form, as well as the long lost brother of Thalia. Their memories initially wiped, the switch was completed because Hera thought the rising threat of the Giants (the second Gigantomachy, if you will) was too great and too powerful – she felt the only road to victory was the uniting the two camps, fostered by allowing Percy and Jason to enter each other’s homes as amnesiac outsiders. By switching these two losers, arguably the major player from each camp, and removing their memories, Hera insured they would come to earn the trust of each other’s camp and thus make the reunion of the two camps go much more smoothly (see: avoid bloodshed). Side note: it didn’t quite work out that way.
On top of that, and another key to the defeat of the Giants, is the Prophecy of Seven – which basically consists of seven demigods from both of the camps working together on a quest against Gaea and the giants. The seven are as followed: Percy, Annabeth, Piper and Leo from the Greek side, and Jason, Hazel and Frank from the Roman side. They make it across the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean, where Annabeth must complete the most important solo quest of her life, one that will help bring unity to the two warring Camps: following the Mark of Athena.
The short story: she goes off alone to track down the Athena Parthenos (a giant-ass statue of her mother, stolen by the Romans centuries ago, and if returned, it could help heal the rift between the two camps) beneath Rome. She is the first of her mother’s children to find it and defeat its giant spider guardian (Arachne herself, now in spider-monster version), except her victory is short lived, because she gets dragged down into Tartarus (the Greek equivalent of hell) by Arachne. Percy jumps after her, and the two fight their way through Tartarus to complete part of the Prophecy of Seven alongside giants and titans (And foes bear arms to the Doors of Death.)
And from her canon point, Annabeth will be fresh out of this point and literally fresh out of hell.
PERSONALITY:
The first thing to know is that as a daughter of the Greek goddess Athena, Annabeth shares many qualities with her mother. Intelligence, right off the bat; she takes the dumb blonde stereotype and beats it over the head before leaving it unconscious in a dark alley. Annabeth is smart, and she knows it. She takes pride in it. She’s not afraid to speak and let her thoughts be heard, especially when she knows she’s in the right (though if remaining silent or lying is the better option in a situation, she’ll do that, too – it’s all about reading the situation and adapting). She’s clever and cunning, and she will always have a plan (how detailed and in advanced said plan is varies, but even in her impulsivity she will have expectations). She’s observant and swift on the update, often making realizations long before anyone else, and she’ll use the environment to her advantage. Examining the situation at hand, she is quick to form a course of action, even in cases where the plan comes to her in the middle of running from some monster. She’s extremely analytical in everything she does, holding up logic and reasoning on pedestals and wielding them like weapons. Wit and sarcasm are among her favorite tools, both in humor and to be cruel, and many (but especially the likes of Percy) fall victim. She’s snarky and brainy, and she doesn’t care what you think about that – she wants you to know that. On the more negative side, her expectations often fall high, and she’ll expect others to know things she already does. When they don’t, it results in a lot of eye-rolling and disbelief, but she will offer explanation (sometimes with an air of ‘how can you not know this?’). She can be really condescending and rude, sometimes without even meaning to.
She wants to prove herself. Until the arrival of Percy Jackson, she’d barely stepped foot outside Camp Half-Blood since she herself arrived there. She knows she’s capable, and many of her fellow campers know the same, but she wanted the chance to show that. Despite a genuine concern for saving the world inherent in her determination, she also wants to demonstrate her skills. She wants to stand out, she wants to get the attention of her mother and all the gods. One of her biggest goals in life is to build a monument so great and so high for the gods with her name attached -- to be remembered in the world. Annabeth has an enormous and unabashed love of architecture, and Percy notes on more than one occasion through the entire series how often she prattles on about whatever building or monument she happens to be near, regardless of how closely the other party is paying attention. She sends him a photo of herself standing before the Lincoln Memorial, and Percy describes her pose as if she’d built it herself.
She wants to build something substantial and long lasting, something she did not have with her mother or father as a child. Permanency is important to Annabeth, given her chaotic life and childhood. It weighs on her, and she craves that stability. She even lost Luke and Thalia in different ways, her pseudo-family after she ran away (Luke to death, Thalia to immortality). Architecture is one of the ways she expresses that want. (Though it is, of course, still something that causes her to unapologetically geek out.) Percy is more or less her newest family, and she is fiercely protective of him – her best friend for years, current boyfriend, and even that gets shaken up quite often, to her dismay. She wants him to stay a permanent part of her life, as he’s proven someone she can depend on, and for Annabeth, that’s important in any kind of relationship.
Often, she can initially come off as a cold person. It’s not because she is, but of the way she presents herself and the way her life as gone so far. Closing herself off is a defense mechanism. If you’re a stranger, she wants to know who you are and what you want – or what you know. And that can lead to demanding and harsh questions that spit out before polite conversation (for example, storming up to Jason, Leo, and Piper with a knife in her hands and demanding to know where Percy was, before she even knew who they were). She’ll hold back defensively out of mistrust, and with a life full of monsters in disguise trying to kill her, on top of people abandoning and leaving her, you can hardly blame the girl. She’s skeptical and suspicious and will be until one hundred percent certain. She’s judgmental and cautious, prone to grudges (but still able to forgive). Past experiences shape her worldviews. A Cyclops once trapped and tried to eat her and her friends, and she had a hard time letting go of that and learning to trust Tyson, another Cyclops and Percy’s half brother.
But once you earn that trust, your status in Annabeth’s eyes goes up quite a lot. Tyson the Cyclops is now one of her best friends. She’ll defend you, physically or otherwise. She’s extremely protective of those she cares about, even a little possessive (especially when it comes to Percy, who became one of the most important people in her life). They are her friends – her responsibility, her comrades in arms, and she’s quick to anger if she feels this is being threatened. She once took a near-fatal knife to the arm for Percy, to save him from the injury himself, as it would have killed him. She would do anything to save them, anything to protect Camp Half-Blood, which took her in and has been her home for most of her life. As much as she wants to be a hero, it’s the people she comes to love that make it all worthwhile.
When it comes to betrayal, it hurts. Her trust and faith has been broken, something she so rarely gives out that deeply. When Luke Castellan betrayed the entirety of the Camp in his plan to revive Kronos, Annabeth felt hit the hardest. He helped her survive and reach Camp Half-Blood, and they’d been like each other’s family for years (and she had a small crush on him when she was younger). But she’s hopeful too – she tried so hard to bring Luke back to the side of good and hated the idea of giving up on him, even as she saw his plans for destruction. Her loyalty runs deep, and if you’ve got it, you’re stuck with it as long she deems possible, even if you break it and she grapples with doubt. She wants to forgive those close to her, because she doesn’t like losing people and doesn’t want to lose anyone else. She believes in her own abilities to fix these problems, to gain people back, even to a fault.
She is proud. Extremely proud, to the point where it is legitimately her fatal flaw. All the great Greek heroes have one, and Annabeth’s pride is hers. Hubris. She can be haughty and condescending. Bossy, because she knows best. She has an enormous amount of confidence in her ability to succeed and gets frustrated at mishaps. She wants to know as much as she can about anything and everything, occasionally at huge and sometimes reckless risk (such as when she vehemently demanded to listen to the Sirens’ song, refusing earplugs and nearly plunging to her death after breaking free of the bonds that were supposed to restrain her. She was warned about this, but how could she go through life not knowing what the Sirens sounded like?). Hubris is a common fatal flaw among children of Athena. She knows herself to be capable of many great things and sometimes sets the bar too high for herself. She can fix anything, she can help anyone -- she was so determined that Luke could be good again, she knew she could convince him. And in cases of failure, that hubris just makes it hurt even more. Her quest for the Mark of Athena is a prime example of this: she succeeded and then boasted against Arachne, agitating the spider to a dangerous extent that allowed her to fall into Tartarus. Her fatal flaw literally helped drag her to hell.
Along those veins, she hates insults to her intelligence. Once faced with a sphinx, Annabeth was given a series of simple multiple-choice questions, which were so easy she refused to continue answering them. Her refusal led the sphinx to attack, something that could have easily been avoided had she continued with the quizzing. She’s obstinate and stubborn, doubly so when she feels she is in the right (and given her brain, it’s safe to say she’s right often enough for her to feel justified in it). Thinking so highly of herself is not based on false ideas – she is smart and strong and capable, and she has proven this many times over. It’s when her pride pushes that feeling too far that it starts to get dangerous.
But she is a strong leader, and her experience and smarts have earned her the respect of most other demigods at Camp Half-Blood. Annabeth is extremely brave and keeps her cool when faced with even the most dangerous things (the exception being spiders – she’s got vicious arachnophobia because of her mother’s tension with Arachne, and when spiders find her, it’s a struggle to remain calm – which makes her success in the Mark of Athena all the more impressive). She’s calculating and unafraid to risk her life for the greater good and her friends. She and Percy once single-handedly took on a Kampê to save the Camp, despite knowing it would likely result in their deaths (and it nearly did, until they were saved by a Hundred Handed One). She’s more than willing to put the lives of others above herself. She is the leader of the seven on this quest into Rome and Greece against Gaea, and all of them hold her in high regard, treating her with respect and deferring to her when it comes to decision-making.
Annabeth is a strategist; she can see both the bigger picture and the immediate. Her experience in Tartarus – watching and allowing Bob the Titan and Damasen the Giant to sacrifice themselves so that she and Percy could get out was not an easy choice to make, and she realized that sometimes you have to be the person to make that call, as much as it hurts. She wants to be a hero and do good, but sometimes that involves taking a step back – and she is learning how to walk that line. She is getting older and harder, but ten years of living a demigod’s life, on top of a trip through literal hell, would do that to a person. No one would deny that Annabeth has made herself a hero at this point, but now she’s struggling with all that being a hero means.
Despite her ability to remain calm under pressure, she’s still got a temper. Percy spends a lot of time wondering what might have set her off and trying to carefully choose his words to avoid pissing her off more. She can get jealous easily, especially when she wants someone’s attention and in relationships, both of the romantic nature and familial. (She was briefly worried that the Romans would steal Percy away after she learned he’d been taken to Camp Jupiter, but once she is confident in her relationships, her jealousy isn’t as big a deal if at all existent.) She has no patience for people who touch her things – material things, of which she is very possessive. She’s as likely to punch someone in affection as she is to hug them. Her organization is meticulous, and she prefers to have a plan for everything. It makes her uncomfortable when she can’t account for disruptions or unknowns. Annabeth likes to be in control as much as she can of all aspects of her life, out of her own confidence in knowing best and having a lot of uncertainty through her childhood. Her life is full of instability, that all she really wants is the opposite – and if she has to create that herself, then so be it. Not even the gods can stand in her way anymore.
POWER:
DEMIGOD (CANON);
As a demigod, a literal half-god, Annabeth is subject to combat prowess and quick reflexes (a hyperawareness which manifests as ADHD in the mortal world). She has ten years of training and combat experience behind her, putting her (and all demigods) a step above normal humans, both in strength and stamina. But she is not so fully divine and can be killed by your average fatal injury (she just has a better chance of surviving it, with the right healing tools and some magic god food). Demigods also have dyslexia, because their brains are hardwired for Ancient Greek above modern English.
As the daughter of the goddess Athena, Annabeth has inherited some divine traits:
-divine wisdom: her brain is basically a walking encyclopedia, and her strategic capabilities are a literal godsend. Her greatest strength is her smarts, and she’s beyond knowledgeable about numerous subjects (including but not limited to history, physics, and her favorite thing of all, architecture). Bonus points in having a near photographic memory.
-combat proficiency: on top of the regular demigod kind, Athena is the goddess of warfare, giving Annabeth an advantage in combat. She’s skilled with all kinds of weaponry and in hand-to-hand. Her battle brain gets a boost here, too – strategic warfare is her specialty.
-crafts: she can weave hella good (like super hella good, despite having never having practiced before following the Mark of Athena); presumably, she has a natural affinity for other crafting hobbies, too.
OWL POWERS;
The ability to understand/communicate with owls. Eventually, it will grow into control and command over them, though in the meantime, they'll just like to bug and follow her around.
INVISIBILITY;
Exactly what it says on the tin. It turns her and her clothes invisible, but she can still cast a shadow.
〈 CHARACTER SAMPLES 〉
COMMUNITY POST (VOICE) SAMPLE:
[On the video: a very disgruntled and unhappy looking blonde girl, about seventeen years old, her hair a mess of blonde curls that doesn’t look very cared for at the moment. Despite the very hard, very grumpy expression on her face, her eyes are a little droopy; it’s probably impossible to hide how tired she is, but she breezes by that.]
Florida. Cute. Totally the first place that comes to mind when people throw around the word “superheroes.” [Resisting urge to roll eyes...!] Someone just tell me it’s not as humid as the normal Florida? [Because she’s been there, and this place ain’t it.]
Does anyone actually know how they – get all that information on us? [It makes Annabeth uncomfortable, though that feeling doesn’t show. She’s taking care to keep herself more composed over a public feed like this, beyond her inability to hide the grump, but there’s genuine curiosity in her tone too. The mishmash of this world’s style plus technology is interesting, in spite of herself.]
If there are any good libraries, public records, maybe even not so public records. Just somewhere to start looking. [Her wrist still says ‘Registered Hero,’ ok?? Sneaking around can totally be legit.] I’m sure I’m hardly the first person who just wants more answers to bug the anonymous abyss of kidnapped heroes for them. I’d be sick of it if I were you. [Only a little bit of a lie.]
[Her lips purse for a second, before she adds a final bit.] And I need to know if Percy Jackson is here. [She doesn’t really want to go into or ask about anyone else, not when he’s her priority; and anyone she knows who might be here will answer to her face or the name anyway. In the meantime, she has information to gather.]
LOGS POST (PROSE) SAMPLE:
test drive!
FINAL NOTES: she’ll be coming in with a weapon, a sword made of drakon bone, if that’s okay!