4.2.1. How to Write Annabeth Chase, Part 1

ie. Part the First of a long, long thing

Annabeth Chase.

And no, as far as we know, she has no middle name to speak of. Minerva, I admit, would be a pretty good choice for one. But Annabeth's name already pays homage to her mother's. If you notice, Annabeth is Athena with a few extra letters added in.

But hey. If you're badly in need of a middle name, help yourselves to whatever comes into mind. I'd advice against it, but I wouldn't do it particularly vehemently. A previously unknown middle name is the least of my concerns.

For your convenience, the different Type!Annabeths (because there are so many of them) found in the fandom have been categorized, each with their own commentary.

4.2.1. 1. Type!Annabeths who should be dangled from a high window till they come to their senses

Annabeth is quite possibly (almost certainly) the most mischaracterized person in this fandom. Something about the beautiful blonde princess curls and the pretty grey eyes makes people dress her in a flowing white dress, put her into a tall stone tower, and make her wait anxiously for her Percy Charming to come and save her from that nasty dragon. They forget the fact that she's more likely to tear up the bedsheets (and possibly the bottom half of her gown) to make a getaway rope, gather resources and come back to murder the dragon for wasting her time.

And the classic Damsel in Distress ploy isn't the only one that is overused. Badass!Annabeth isn't the only one who is underused. See below (and the next few chapters)…

1.a. Submissive!Annabeth

Submissive!Annabeth is what I decided to call that type of Annabeth who meekly accepts all orders and suggestions thrown at her. Especially when the order/suggestion comes from Percy. Or Luke, in some cases.

This, I have to tell you, is not a defining characteristic of anyone whose Fatal Flaw is Pride.

Proud people don't take orders, they give them. Alternatively, they refuse to follow orders and go off on their own, but Annabeth falls smack into the heart of that first category. She's been giving people orders right from that time she was twelve in LT. She's in charge of a cabin despite the fact that there are people in there who are older than she is. I think it's safe to say she's used to giving orders.

And people who are used to giving orders, I repeat, have a hard time taking them. Even if they come from the love of their life, their other half and the solace to their soul.

This does not mean that she never listens to Percy. She often doesn't, but she sometimes does. And in Luke's case, she may actually follow orders to an extent, because she's known Luke since she was a kid and that kind of impression stays with you. What I'm trying to say is this- just don't overdo her taking orders. And make sure than when she does, she does it with at least a bit of reluctance. Preferably a lot of it.

1.b. Boycrazy!Annabeth

You're seeing this incarnation of Annabeth when every waking thought in her head has to do with Percy. Or, theoretically any other guy. But let's face it- it's always Percy. Every act of hers, and every thought she thinks.

Humor? "Oh my god, Seaweed Brain is so funny!" Angst? "Percy doesn't love me!" Friendship? "He's like my best friend and I don't know how I will live without him!" And Romance? I'm not even going to go there.

Please, do not ever make this mistake. It's degrading to the characters and humanity in general. A daughter of Athena, whose motto is "Always, always have a plan," (it's there on the PJO website) would not spend her every waking moment thinking about a boy- and more importantly, thinking about how to please him.

I mean, god. She has more pride than that.

If you ask me, Annabeth's head would be a very, very confusing place to be. It would be the equivalent of the convoluted, complex labyrinth, not the equivalent of a princess-pink room with a Percy poster tacked on the wall. Just… no.

1.c. DistressedDamsel!Annabeth

This type!Annabeth is somewhat pathetic. She will routinely get herself into trouble (it's often a kidnapping) and then huddle into a corner and wait for someone (Percy) to come and rescue her from her torment.

To be honest, Annabeth doesn't have quite the amount of power the people she generally hang out with do. Thalia and Percy overpower her easily in terms of raw power, possibly even in terms of fighting skills. But guess what? That doesn't make her anything like a distressed damsel. Not even in comparison.

I think some people believe that this interpretation is justified, because Annabeth is the one demigod in the entire series who gets kidnapped. But there is a difference.

That Annabeth up there (or any DIstressedDamsel!Annabeth avatar ever) would probably just curl into a ball and cry her heart out till her rescue team comes and saves her. The PJO Annabeth held up the freaking sky for a long, long time. After which she understandably collapsed into exhaustion.

Recall, that Percy had trouble holding the sky up for a few minutes. That should tell you something about Annabeth.

She's stubborn, she's strong and she's not going to lie and do a hosepipe impersonation when she gets into trouble. She's badass- and that's something people really, really have to keep in mind, okay?

1.d. Sappy!Annabeth

Sappy!Annabeth thinks romantic thoughts. Having her eyes compared to misty grey skies or Percy getting down on one knee in a moonlit restaurant makes her heart go all aflutter. She lives for beign showered with compliments, gentle kisses, poetic compliments and traditionally romantic scenarios. And that's not all; she reciprocates. She tells (or occasionally sings to) Percy about her undying love for him. And this is Love, mind you. Capital Land all that.

To present the counterpoint; I'd love to point out what happened the last time Percy tried to bare his heart to Annabeth.

"You're laughing at me," I complained.

"I am not!"

"You are so not making this easy."

Then she laughed for real, and she put her hands around my neck. "I am never, ever going to make things easy for you, Seaweed Brain. Get used to it."

See the difference?

Some people are prone to romantic declarations of love and/or melting at them. Annabeth is not one of those people. Empathetically not.

She knows how Percy feels about her, and she trusts him enough not to require constant reinforcing of it via the declarations of undying love. That aspect of their relationship is part of what proves that they are close to each other and care about each other.

Mind you; Sappy!Annabeth, just like DistressedDamsel!Annabeth, can be used. But god, only sparingly. And when I say sparingly, I mean sparingly. Annabeth's moments of thawing are going to be few and far in between. Like once-a-year few and far in between.

She may break down or melt a few times, in her mind. She may even deign to show it out on that rare occasion. Because she really, really is not prone to exuberant declarations and actions, unless it tearing people into bits with verbal arguments or something. Avoid this type, for the most part.

1.e. Shy!Annabeth

There are stories where Annabeth, especially when confronted with Percy's face (or his muscled chest) turns tomato red, pushes a strand of hair behind her ear and just mutters her way into being part of the wallpaper.

Recall that this is the same girl who presided over a cabin of braniac warriors at the age of thirteen. Possibly before that. Even though there were people in the cabin older than she was.

Recall, also; that leaders are rarely people who stay in the sidelines and meekly follow the crowd.

Annabeth held her post for a reason. She tends to be decisive, quick and bossy. Pick up a random scene from any of the books; the only time she even exhibits uncertainty is when someone she cares about is in deep trouble.

Which is why that image of her being afraid to speak to her crush or stand up to her rivals is disturbing. Stuffing a bossy, independent demigoddess into a meek, shy girl results in you getting an amalagamation of Annabeth's looks and name and someone else's everything else.