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hermesmyplatonicbeloved · 6 months

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An Analysis of Percy/Annabeth's Life Aspirations

What do you think Percy/Annabeth would look like as adults?Let's look at their ambitions and ideas of what their "ideal" life as an adult looks like.

Let's break down what Annabeth and Percy's characterizations and what they actually want to do with their lives:

Annabeth.

Annabeth's has always wanted to be a hero. She loves going on quests, gaining glory and being victorious. She's Athena's daughter; she welcomes the challenge and revels in the victory. All throughout PJO we see Annabeth being one of the main driving forces pulling Percy into the greek world. She's never going to want to stop. We see this many times after PJO, when Jason asked Annabeth to go with him, the only reason why she said no was because she was looking for Percy. Right after the Titan War ended and they got the new great prophecy, Annabeth was immediately on it and trying to figure out what it meant. She wanted to be part of it.

As long as Annabeth lives, she'll want to go on quests. This is how Athena (via imposing expectations at a distance) and Chiron raised her. This is what she wants. This is who she is, as a person.

Percy.

Percy has never wanted to be a hero. He never wanted to be a half blood (it's literally the first line of the first book, written in Percy's voice at 19 years old). After the Titan War, he tells the reader that he's done with quests, with the war, with prophecies. He hears the next great prophecy and says "that's a problem for future generations." He leaves camp half blood and doesn't look back, instead planning a normal, human life in Manhattan.

Of course that's ruined by Hera's kidnapping but what's interesting about that second great prophecy is that all the seven demigods chose to be part of it aside from Percy. Percy was dumped in NR and was on a quest the very next day. When he gets back to NR, a few days later the Argo II arrives and Percy is forced to flee on the boat as one of the seven. He spends the rest of the quest missing his mom, eating blue food and questioning if he's actually going to survive and return home. He's not in it for the glory, or for the gods. He was quite literally brainwashed and manipulated by Hera and the others into going. His mental state got so bad that he attempted suicide mid-quest.

To remind everyone: Percy wasn't raised a hero. Sally went to great lengths to keep Percy away from camp half blood until the last possible moment. After a single summer, she asks him to return home, and he does everytime. Yes, he loves camp, but his home is in the mortal world. He has only spent about 4 summers at camp/on quests: that's 8 months total. After finding out his parentage, Percy chose to spent roughly 3 years and 4 months in the mortal world and 8 months in the greek world. He has a clear preference.

To summarize:

Annabeth wants to spend her life going on quests, going on quests and getting challenges and glory. Percy does not want to go on any more quests - he wants to settle down with a family in the mortal world (Manhattan) and live as peacefully as he can.

See the conflict there? They want the exact opposite thing.

This becomes very evident in cotg. Percy is pulled into yet another quest - he needs recommendation letters from the gods to go to New Rome University.

What's interesting about this is that Percy doesn't actually want to go to school. It's literally the first page of the book, he's asking Poseidon to write him a letter excusing him from school. He doesnt even know what he wants to study. He hasnt even looked at New Rome's programs (from what I remember).

So why does he want to go?

Annabeth. She is the only thing pushing him to go. Percy has a good life in Manhattan - his family is there: his mom, Paul, his little soon to be little sister (and Percy clearly states that he wants to be there to see her grow up - starting with changing diapers) and camp half blood. It's where he wants to be. Percy just got back from a severely traumatic year - being kidnapped, in a coma, falling into hell and fighting another war. His mental state was so bad he attempted suicide. He's tired. He finally got back to his safe space, his home, his mom (please remember this boy just turned 17 years old - he still desperately needs his mother). Its less than 2 months and Annabeth is already urging him to go on more quests to go to New Rome with her.

Remember what we just established about their characterizations? Annabeth will never stop wanting to go on quests, and will thrive in the mythology world while Percy wants to stay in Manhattan in the mortal world and do no quests? Yeah. Prime example right there in cotg.

So Percy goes to NRU for Annabeth. It's not what he wants - not the lifestyle he wants, but he loves her and the idea of losing her terrifies him so much that he'd rather go to hell than see her die so he goes.

But eventually his other desires for a normal peaceful life will catch up with him. Annabeth will inevitably be offered another quest, and she'll say yes so Percy will say yes to keep her safe and he'll constantly be doing exactly what he doesn't want to do: more quests. More fighting. More killing. More doing the gods' dirty work. And eventually, it will make him miserable. Maybe to the point of suicide again.

So one of two things will happen:

One: Percy says nothing. Doesn't tell Annabeth how he feels (which he doesnt do at all in PJO, HoO), and runs himself into the ground and maybe attempts suicide again. Maybe he succeeds this time. Maybe he doesn't. But it's a miserable life that - other than having Annabeth - he doesn't want. Has never wanted.

Two: Percy stands up for himself and tells Annabeth that he doesn't want to do anymore quests, that he's done doing shit for the gods. However, Percy would never be okay letting Annabeth go on quest without him watching his back, so this would turn into Percy asking Annabeth to stop going on quests, stop doing things for the gods and to stop seeking challenges and pride. I don't know if Annabeth would ever agree to that, but even if she does it's just a bad because now she's giving up her dreams, her life for Percy. She'd be miserable.

Its a lose-lose situation. Neither of them will be happy together long-term. They want the opposite things. Their dreams and aspirations are directly opposites. They don't make a good long term couple. They shouldn't be together post-war, as adults.

Thank you for sticking around to the end of my TED-talk.

...

This post was inspired by cotg and a post I've seen floating around saying that Percy is perfect for Annabeth because she's ambitious and he has no ambitions and I hate it. It's a bad take imo that doesn't actually account for their actual characterizations and ambitions- only a romantized version that hides percabeth's flaws.

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captainsophiestark · 4 months

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Parents Weekend

Platonic!Percy Jackson x Reader

Masterlist - Join My Taglist!

Written for my personal fic writing challenge for 2024, Sophie's Year of Fic! Featuring a new fic being posted every Friday, all year long :)

Fandom: Percy Jackson

Summary: Percy's clear-sighted mortal cousin on his mom's side flies out to California to visit Percy for his first parents weekend away from home, at New Rome University.

Word Count: 2,166

Category: Fluff

A/N: This is full of spoilers for every book that features Percy Jackson, so if you're a new fan brought in by the show, welcome! But this fic might not be for you, unless you really don't mind spoilers. Also, it is loosely related to this other platonic Percy fic I wrote, but you don't need to read one to understand the other

Putting work into an AI program without permission is illegal. You do not have my permission. Do not do it.

"HALT! Not another step without approval!"

I jumped backwards as a talking statue appeared in front of me out of nowhere, stopping me right on the threshold of the city of New Rome. Of all the things I'd seen as a clear-sighted mortal, this ranked among the weirdest for sure.

"Who are you, and on what authority are you here?"

"Uh... I'm Percy Jackson's cousin, and I'm here to visit him at college?"

The statue narrowed his eyes at me.

"Percy Jackson's cousin, hm? I know him well. He spent quite a lot of time when he first got here disobeying and disrespecting my rules. But we killed a giant together, and he defended Rome honorably. So as long as you are not armed...?"

The statue raised an eyebrow at me, and I quickly held out my hands and shook my head to show him I didn't have anything on me. He narrowed his eyes, then nodded curtly.

"Then you may enter. Tell him hello, and to get a haircut."

"Yes sir."

The statue nodded, clearly pleased, as I walked past him and into the city of New Rome. Percy had told me all about his adventures whenever we caught up with each other, and I felt fairly confident that I'd just met Terminus, the Roman boundary god. He was even more uptight than Percy had said.

It was a beautiful fall day in California, the sun lighting up the Oakland hills and creating just the right amount of warmth. I stared around in awe at the city before me, which practically sparkled in the sun.

Percy had told me all about it, and I'd even seen a few pictures. But nothing quite compared to seeing it in person.

I joined the crowds moving through the city, laughing and talking with one another. Luckily for me, a very easy to find street sign pointed me in the direction of New Rome U, and I started heading in that direction.

Percy had just started college this fall, moving all the way across the country just when I'd finally settled for the long haul in New York. I gave him a bit of teasing for that, but I knew how happy he was to be going here (especially with Annabeth) and how hard he'd worked to get in, so I really was happy for him. I'd just made him promise to visit New York often, which I knew he would do for more family members than just me.

What I hadn't told him was that I also intended to visit him. This weekend was officially "parents' weekend" at NRU. Sally and Paul couldn't come, since Estelle was still a baby, but I had no such limitations. I'd booked a flight the second Sally had told me the date, and now, I was finally here.

Percy had no idea. As far as he knew, he had nothing special happening this weekend. I couldn't wait to see his face when I surprised him.

My head was on a swivel the minute I set foot on campus, looking for my favorite cousin. He wasn't short, so I hoped he'd be easily visible over the heads of people in the crowd, but I wandered between buildings and students with no luck. I needed a better plan.

It didn't take me long to come up with one, thankfully. A big, beautiful fountain sat in the middle of a cluster of university buildings, so I headed right for it and hopped up on the ledge, standing tall and scouting the crowds from my new vantage point. After a minute, I heard a surprised voice from behind me.

"Y/N?"

I whipped around to find Percy standing at the top of some stairs, apparently just coming from class in the building. He was hand in hand with his girlfriend Annabeth, which always made me happy to see. I beamed at him and waved like a maniac before hopping down and heading his direction.

"What are you doing here?" he called, momentarily dropping Annabeth's hand to race towards me, meeting me halfway across the square. I laughed as he picked me up in a tight hug and spun me around.

"It's parents' weekend for New Rome University, isn't it?" I asked, once my feet were back on the ground. "I might not be your parent, but I'm pretty sure the event has changed to mean 'family weekend' by this point."

"Why didn't you tell me you were coming!" he cried, laughing a little as he apparently didn't quite believe I was really here. Annabeth joined us, a smile on her face to match mine and Percy's.

"Because I wanted to surprise you, duh!" I laughed and pulled Annabeth into a tight hug, which she returned. "It's so good to see you both! Oh, and Percy, Terminus said you need to get a haircut."

Percy groaned and shook his head while Annabeth laughed.

"You met Terminus? How did you even get in here?"

"I name-dropped you for street cred with Terminus, obviously," I teased. Percy rolled his eyes, but he was still smiling. "And I might have found a way to reach out to a friend you mentioned had some power here. Frank Zhang was very nice when a total stranger appeared through a very shaky Iris message asking him to let me into his camp."

Percy and Annabeth both laughed at that, sharing a smile.

"I'll have to remember to thank Frank for the assist," said Percy.

"I actually have some of your mom's cookies with me for that exact purpose."

Percy's mouth dropped open in outrage. "And you didn't bring any for me?"

"Did I say that?"

I turned and reached into my bag, then pulled out a tupperware container of Sally's famous blue chocolate chip cookies.

"These are for you. I ate mine on the plane, and I have a batch of purple ones for Frank, since that's Camp Jupiter's colors."

"My mom is amazing," Percy breathed, the box of cookies already opened with one in his hand.

"Yeah. Yeah, she is. Now come on, I flew all the way out here from New York to hang out with you. I want to see your new school and hear about all your classes and everything else. Just tell me where we're going first."

Percy grinned. "I know the perfect spot."

My cousin didn't disappoint. Annabeth had to do a bit of work to prepare for the coming week, so after getting a promise from her to meet us later, Percy and I hiked to the top of a beautiful hill overlooking the entirety of Camp Jupiter, apparently called the Garden of Bacchus. With the sun shining and a slight breeze blowing, I quite literally couldn't have imagined anything more perfect.

"You know, I love New York. But I could stand living somewhere with more weather like this," I mused. Percy laughed.

"Yeah, it's a perk. I do miss the city sometimes though."

"Of course. But you'll be home for the break, right?"

"Yup. Annabeth's coming with me. I can't wait to see my mom, and Paul and Estelle. And we'll probably visit camp, which will be nice."

"I'm sure everyone will be excited to see you. Just don't forget to come visit your favorite cousin in fun places I can actually get to," I said, nudging him in the shoulder a little as I teased him. He grinned right back at me.

"Never."

"Good. Because otherwise I'll have to come track you down, and based on what you've told me about Camp Half-Blood, I'd have a hell of a time getting into that place."

"If any mortal could pull it off, I bet it'd be you."

I grinned, and Percy smiled. We paused for a minute, taking in the gentle breeze and bustling city below us, then I spoke up again.

"Alright, so catch me up. How's everything? Classes? Annabeth? Being on the West Coast? Any more of the Olympians trying to give you trouble?"

Percy frowned at the mention of the Olympians, which seemed incredibly fair to me.

"Thankfully no, at least for now. Otherwise, things have been good. It's still a little weird to be here, and I miss a lot of people back home, but I have a lot of friends here too. Mostly I'm just happy to finally have some normal life time with Annabeth."

"I can't think of two people who deserve it more." Percy huffed in agreement as I continued. "And one of the hardest parts of college is leaving behind people you love to go do what you need to do out in the world. But like you said, there's a lot of people you love and who love you here, too. And you know me and Sally and everyone else in New York will always leave our doors open for whenever you want to come back."

Percy gave me a small smile.

"I know. And I'll always be happy to see you visiting me here, or wherever else I might go. Especially if you keep bringing my mom's cookies with you."

I laughed. "Yeah, that makes sense. I think her cookies could open most doors for me, honestly."

"For sure."

We took a moment, smiling and laughing and breathing in the fresh air. Then finally, I sighed and stood, facing Percy with my hands on my hips.

"Alright, I've gotten the bird's eye view and I'm finally warm again after New York got that early cold snap. Now let's see what else this Roman camp has to offer."

The more we walked around, the more my jaw dropped. It looked just like the pictures I'd seen of Rome and Italy as a whole, places I'd always dreamed about visiting. Only bright, shiny, new, and right here in front of me, where I could reach out and touch it.

As we walked around and Percy gave me the full campus tour, we found more and more people who knew him, smiling and calling out hellos as we passed each other. I beamed every time, happy to see my little cousin doing so well. He'd been through hell, but he seemed at peace here. Settled, in a way I hadn't really seen him before.

"The camp itself has pegasi stables and stuff, but we'd need to get special permission to visit them," Percy explained as we walked into the plaza where I'd first found him, headed for 'the best coffee shop this side of the Mississippi'. The basic tour was completed, so we were on our way to meet Annabeth. "I can ask Frank about that, maybe. How long are you here?"

"I'm staying for the whole parents' weekend, so hopefully that means I get to see the pegasi! The day I met Blackjack might still be my best day ever."

Percy laughed as we walked through the door, a bell jingling happily over our heads. Annabeth waved to us from a table near the window, and we headed her direction.

"I think Blackjack enjoyed that day, too. He always likes to be appreciated."

"He's a flying horse. Who the hell isn't appreciating him?"

Percy just shrugged as we joined Annabeth at her table. She grinned and slid two drinks our way, one for each of us.

"Percy told me your order. Hopefully they got it right."

"I'm sure they did," I said, taking a careful sip. My jaw would've dropped, if I weren't incredibly determined not to let a single drop go to waste. "That is... actually maybe the best thing I've ever had."

"Right?" Percy grinned as he sipped his own drink.

"So, what did the two of you get up to?" asked Annabeth.

"Percy gave me the whole campus tour," I said, smiling as I leaned back in my seat, leisurely sipping my drink. The sun coming through the windows gently warmed my face, and I could've stayed right there for the rest of the day and been perfectly happy. "We hiked up to the Garden of Bacchus too, and I got a bird's eye of this whole place. I know I'll probably never get to see Camp Half-Blood to compare, but... this place is stunning."

"It really is."

Annabeth and Percy shared a smile, and he took her hand across the table. I beamed. I loved Annabeth, and I loved the two of them together. I'd never met somebody other than Annabeth who got such an immediate, unanimous family seal of approval.

"So, I got the tour of campus. I heard there are pegasi stables, which I will not be leaving without seeing. But what else is a can't-miss?"

"Don't worry," said Annabeth with a grin. "I had enough time after homework to make the perfect plan."

"Athena always has a plan," said Percy. He and Annabeth shared another smile, and I couldn't help smiling with them.

"Well good. Because I'm here all weekend, and this seems like a city I don't want to miss."

****************

Everything Taglist: @rosecentury @kmc1989

Percy Jackson Taglist: @valkyriepirate

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zonedallthewayout · 5 months

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Percy: *jumped by a monster at New Rome*

Random Student: Are you okay?? Maybe you should sit down, you just had a near death experience!

Percy:

Percy: My entire life has been a near death experience I'll be fine

#percy is so done #pjo hoo toa #percy pjo #pjo #percy jackson #perseus jackson #new rome university #new rome #percy jackon and the olympians #powerful percy jackson

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undertheredhood · 7 months

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percy: *ready to leave the demigod life behind and go to college with his girlfriend and live a happy life with her*

new rome university: you can't get in unless you complete three quests

percy: man, these bitches can't let me have shit!

#percy jackson and the olympians #percy jackson #pjo #riordanverse #i know percy was crying inside when he learned that he had to go on another quest #annabeth chase #grover underwood #annabeth chase & percy jackson & grover underwood friendship #percabeth #as a pjo fan i'm excited for the new book that's coming out but i also feel for percy who's probably burnt-out by now #percy jackson and the olympians: the chalice of the gods #new rome university #camp half blood #camp jupiter #the man when through a lot in 6 years let him rest #percy jackson needs a break

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cjnews · 12 days

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Hey!

Love it here at New Rome uni, but I recently got told that I need permission to experiment with deadly diseases. So.. can I? I mean I've already started but... Can my half siblings stop healing my subjects, it'll ruin my study on the bubonic plague?

-orion, an Apollo kid trying to study plagues

It depends on who or what your subjects are... If they're people, even consenting people, then no unless you've gained Senate approval or professor approval.

-One of many professors at NRU

#camp jupiter #camp jupiter news #new rome university

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s3okj · 1 year

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honestly i don’t think percy would go to college. i think because of all the trouble school put him through he wouldn’t go to college to study for more years. he’s described to not like to study because he can’t do it. and while rick made him get help from annabeth, i think he only did it because it’s a kids book and if he stopped studying kids would take that as an inspiration and no one wants that. but percy jackson wouldn’t go to university.

#percy jackson #pjo #pjo headcanon #percy jackson headcanon #percy’s protection squad #percy and sally #percabeth #percy jackson adhd #heroes of olympus #new rome university

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everyonesgay · 1 year

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Percy and Annabeth: We got the only recommendation letter that matters and you literally can’t fight us on this.

The gods: hmm we’ll see about that.

*hands note over*

The note: Enough is enough let these sweet children into college or I’m not bring anymore cookies to our meetings.

Sincerely,

Hestia.

The gods: Dam it, we have to let them in.

#hestia #pjo series #pjo hoo toa #percy jackson #annabeth chase #grover underwood #the chalice of the gods #new rome #new rome university #we love her #everyone loves her and her cookies #Hestia stan for life

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eternally--mortal · 1 year

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Honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised if New Rome University has graduates who work in the admissions office who either were former Praetors or have close connections to former Praetors. And that those Praetors are upset that a Greek became Praetor. They might feel like Percy just waltzed into camp and was instantly handed the keys to a position they worked their asses off for.

What about the friends of Praetors who served and/or died in their position during the Titan war?

They’re not considering what Percy’s been through and whether he’s worthy. They’re just working through their anger over something that feels so horribly unfair.

I can see them working their hardest to make sure Percy never sets foot into their school.

#Pjo #percy Jackson and the olympians #pjo headcanon #percy Jackson headcanon #Percy jackson #percy jackson and the chalice of the gods #new Rome university #new rome #hoo #roman demigods #praetors

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i-s-s-a · 7 months

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I think the University of New Rome has specialized courses for dyslexia and ADHD.

I mean wouldn't that be normal for a half-blood school? Have oral exams, teachers specializing in attention disorders and ADHD, teachers who help and respect the needs of each demigod?

I'm Italian and I used the translator to write this, please don't begrudge me😊

#rick riordan #percy jackon and the olympians #new rome university #adhd

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natbaumer-blog · 5 months

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#percy jackson #pjo fanart #pjo fandom #percy jackon and the olympians #pjo #pjo hoo toa #annabeth percy jackson #books and libraries #drawing #heroes of olympus #chalice of the gods #cabin 3 #new rome university #camp jupiter

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cats-aroace · 7 months

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started chalice of the gods its so good so far im on chapter 3!! (of course i had to annotate in blue) 💙💙💙

#percy jackson #catsaroace #pjo #queer #books #pjo hoo toa #annabeth chase #chalice of the gods #chalice of the gods spoilers #cotg spoilers #cotg #grover underwood #new rome University #roman empire #percy is done

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captainsophiestark · 3 months

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The Best-Laid Plans

Platonic!Annabeth Chase x Reader

Masterlist - Join My Taglist!

Written for my personal fic writing challenge for 2024, Sophie's Year of Fic! Featuring a new fic being posted every Friday, all year long :)

Fandom: Percy Jackson

Summary: Annabeth's best friend and older sibling figure since she ran away at seven helps her execute the perfect birthday surprise for Percy in their first year at college.

Word Count: 1,306

Category: Fluff, Humor

A/N: To those new to the fandom from the tv show, weclome! This fic has hella spoilers for future books, so be warned

Putting work into an AI program without permission is illegal. You do not have my permission. Do not do it.

"I just want to do something special for him. It's his first birthday away from home, and I can tell it's bothering him."

I hummed, twirling my dagger and staring at the ceiling while kicked back on my couch. Such was the life of a demigod, that we fiddled with weapons like fidget toys.

"And there's no way you guys can go back?" I finally asked. Annabeth, my little sister in every way but blood, shook her head.

"We've got orientation for the next week and a half, including his birthday. It's the only reason we're here so early in the first place. We can't miss it."

I frowned. Annabeth and her boyfriend, Percy Jackson, had just started college at New Rome University. They'd gotten to the Bay Area yesterday, which I'd been incredibly excited about. Annabeth and I had been attached at the hip since I was eleven and she was seven, when we'd met as runaway demigods. Out of our little group, Annabeth and I had stayed the closest. After the Titan War, I'd decided to go USF, the muggle university in San Francisco. Leaving her had been the hardest part.

Now, luckily for me, she and Percy had moved out here too. Annabeth had finished unpacking and setting up her dorm room within a few hours of arrival, and so had some free time this morning to spend hanging out with me. Percy had not, so he was otherwise occupied on their last day before school activities started.

"Well, I'm happy to help with whatever you want to do, Annabeth," I said. She sighed, chewing at her lip and staring out the window of my apartment as she thought. "Maybe you could show him around the Bay Area? He probably hasn't spent much time out here, has he?"

"I really haven't either," she said. "I've barely been back since I was a kid."

"True..."

"Maybe we could go on a tour of New Rome? Percy told me he wanted to show me around, but I don't want to make him be the tour guide for his birthday."

"Yeah."

The two of us fell silent for a moment, thinking things through. Then, like a blast of lightning from Thalia, an idea hit me.

"What if you baked him some cookies or something? He's probably already missing his mom's baking."

Annabeth shot up straight in her seat, staring at me with wide eyes.

"That is the perfect idea. Can I make them here?"

"Of course! I'm not going to make you use the shared freshman kitchens."

Annabeth grinned, then stood and headed to the kitchen table. I watched her go with interest as she pulled out a notebook and pen and started scribbling away.

"Uh... Annabeth?"

"Making a plan. Don't worry about it."

I grinned to myself. My little sister was nothing if not predictable.

A few days later, Annabeth managed to sneak away from Percy and orientation to come back to my place for a baking party. Percy's birthday was tomorrow, so we only had tonight to get everything ready.

"I came up with the perfect plan," she said in lieu of greeting as she pushed past me and into the apartment. I smiled after her, joining her in the kitchen as she plopped down a massive bag of baking supplies. "I got the recipe, I timed everything out, I got a ton of blue food coloring. By the end of the day, the perfect birthday surprise will be completed."

"I'd never doubt a plan from Athena," I said, giving her a smile. "Just tell me what to do, and I'm on it."

"Right. Well, first we need to preheat the oven."

That was about the only part of the plan that ended up going off without a hitch. Annabeth didn't bake often, and she'd happened to choose a pretty difficult cookie recipe. I did my best to help, but I didn't have a lot of experience in the area either, so things went quickly off the rails. Just under two hours later, the two of us stood in the kitchen covered in flower, eggs, and bits of way too watery dough, staring at the absolute disaster of a mess we'd created on the counter.

"This was not part of the plan," she said. I couldn't help it—I burst out laughing.

"I don't know, I think sugar cookies are supposed to be so wet we can't pick them up," I joked. I turned to see Annabeth with a very serious frown on her face.

"I haven't had a plan fail this miserably in... a long time."

"Well, I think it's probably time for plan B. That can be your redemption."

Annabeth's frown just deepened, so I did what any good sibling would do and took it upon myself to cheer her up. By throwing a wad of dough in her face, of course.

Her mouth dropped open in shock as sugary, goopy dough dripped off her chin. Then she whirled on me with a fierce look and fire in her eyes that I recognized from the few times she'd really been on the warpath for capture the flag.

"That was a mistake."

She picked up the nearest glob of dough and chucked it at me as I tried to dodge. It hit me in the back with a thunk, and I cackled before turning around to reengage with a clump of flour.

The baking battle raged for a few fierce minutes, before Annabeth and I slipped in some dough on the floor while wrestling to smear more of the stuff on each others' heads. We collapsed in a heap, both of us laughing like crazy people.

"That was so worth everything that came before it," I declared, slumping against the nearest kitchen cabinet. Annabeth immediately followed suit, leaving us shoulder to shoulder in the middle of the mess.

"What about the cleanup that comes after?"

"Also worth it, especially since I have you here to help me."

Annabeth snorted, but didn't say anything. After a minute of comfortable silence, she sighed.

"What am I gonna do for Percy's birthday tomorrow?"

"Well, were the cookies the only plan?"

"No... He took me to one of his favorite spots in the city a few days ago, so I planned a picnic for the two of us there. The cookies were going to be the final surprise."

"Well, there you go then. The rest of the plan remains intact. If you wanted to, you could even make him a little coupon or something that promises 'one day of baking cookies' or something like that, and the two of you can pick an easier but still delicious recipe to try."

Annabeth looked at me with a skeptical eyebrow raised.

"Would you let us use your kitchen again?"

I shrugged. "Sure. Maybe Percy's better at baking than us. And even if he's not, having someone who can control water to help us with cleanup will at least make a round two of this easier."

Annabeth smiled and huffed a laugh, leaning against me.

"Thanks. For this, and for everything. I'm really glad you're here in San Francisco with us."

I smiled too, reaching out to put one arm around Annabeth. We'd known each other more than a decade, and we'd both changed so much. But our relationship had stayed the same.

"Any time, Annabeth. You know I'm always here for you." The two of us sat there for a minute, taking a breather and appreciating each other's company, and then I sighed. "Alright, time to get the cleaning stuff out. This is going to take hours."

"You know, I actually have a lot of coursework I need to get started on-"

"Nice try, but it's orientation. And even if you were in the middle of finals, you wouldn't be getting out of this."

"Fine. But next time, let's plan to avoid the massive kitchen food fight."

I grinned. "Sure. We can plan on that."

****************

Everything Taglist: @rosecentury @kmc1989

Riordanverse: @valkyriepirate

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zazzander · 2 years

Text

Let’s talk about life in New Rome

To start off, how many people actually live in the town?

In Son of Neptune, the number of people living in New Rome is said to be about three hundred. Now if we add the two hundred in Camp Jupiter, that leaves approximately 500 demigods. I doubt monsters, nymphs, and satyrs are included in that number, so we could probably round that out to 800 or so.

[The number is significantly lessby the end of Tyrant’s Tomb. Many veterans are said to have died. The legion has lost many demigods. ]

With this in mind, we have to assume that New Rome University is very small, likely between 20-50 students. We know from Percy they offer a four-year course, so that means about a dozen students (or less) are admitted to the college every year.

As far as I can tell, all students get into the university on a scholarship and there is no tuition. This is partly because Hazel seems very casual about admissions into the college and because of Percy’s comments in The Hidden Oracle.

“I’ve been guaranteed admission with a full scholarship to New Rome University, but they’re still requiring me to pass all my high school courses and score well on the SAT. Can you believe that? Not to mention I have to pass the DSTOMP.”

From this comment, I suspect Percy has given privileges equivalent of a legionaire who’s finished their ten-years of service. Basically like "you saved the world so that counts".

It’s unknown if they offer any post-graduate degrees, or if students go to Berkeley after that. I suspect with the close ties between the universities, as mentioned by Annabeth, the latter is more likely. However, demigod post-grad students probably do tutor classes at NRU like at other universities.

Looking at actual real-world universities. It’s more than likely NRU offers a liberal arts degree (Bachelor of Arts). One that is able to be modified for the individual student. This is further proven by the fact there is a music and poetry analysis section in the DSTOMP exam.

Percy mentions some classes for freshmen: English, math and history. My understanding is that’s pretty normal at US colleges (even though it seems redundant). So it really doesn’t give us much information.

It’d say there’s a strong chance all these classes are in Latin (except for the English class, duh) – as we see evidence that Latin is the primary language of New Rome. English would be being just another language in New Rome (unlike Camp Jupiter), as all the signage is in Latin. Also, according to Apollo a dozen languages can be heard while walking through the forum.

So with the assumption that NRU offers an art degree, we know that some of Annabeth’s architecture classes can be studied at the university. But she probably couldn’t graduate with a proper Architecture degree just through NRU – which is why she dual-enrolls into Bekerley.

Considering Roman culture, it’s not surprising their arts course would have architectural leanings. These are the majors/minors/classes I’d say are likely to be offered: Greco-Roman Mythology, Philosophy, Political Science, Law, Mathematics / Engineering / Architecture, Ancient History / Art History (focus on Rome).

Obviously, Percy mentioned possibly studying marine biology or aquaculture. I think it’s important to note that he’s not decided this. It’s possible he hasn’t realised these aren’t options at NRU. But I think he’s smarter than that. So my theory is that he’s planning to transfer at some point but wants to study alongside Annabeth and stay in the safe-haven of New Rome for a while (these seem to be much higher priorities for him!).

The univerity has a big library, a belltower, and very boring dorms (which I think is just tragic because everything else in New Rome is super fancy, why are the dorms boring? Ten years kids live in barracks, they deserve nice dorms...)

Due to the limited number of people at NRU or in town, I suspect much of the university is maintained by the students themselves. As veterans of the legion, they would be perfectly capable of organising much of the operations of the university. Furthermore, I think post-grads might come to the university to teach the occasional class as a guest lecturer. This all allows for the university to offer a wide range of subjects without too many members of staff.

As for getting into NRU, it seems to be pretty damn difficult. Even if you’ve been approved for entry, you still have to score high on the SATs and pass the DSTOMP. Percy mentions that he’s failed to get a high enough SAT score twice, presumably passing on his third try.

So that’s the university, next I'm going to talk about New Rome’s daily life and culture.

One thing that’s very obvious is that New Rome is flush with cash. The entire town is a mini-haven: gold, and marble everywhere. Pristine gardens. You name it – they have it. This makes sense since demigods are often very talented and when you have multiple generations of demigods living in the town, bringing in wealth…

The good news is that the Romans seem to have kept the tradition of the wealthy funding public works: festivals, civil and religious constructions, etc. Examples of this is the colosseum and racing track. This tradition is likely why NRU is able to exist at all. As the wealthy families can spare the extra cash to fund the place – especially with all the students on scholarships.

As far as I can tell, New Rome has very limited technology. According to Hazel this is because demigods tend to make technology go haywire. There are exceptions to this: Reyna, for example, owns a tablet. And we see the legion hire a fleet of SUVs to cross the country. However, daily-life seems to avoid technology. When celebration are on, the Romans decorate their town with multicoloured lanterns (potentially magic-based). Furthermore, there are no cars in the town – only chariots and wagons.

The locals of New Rome eat a mixture of old and new foods. Focaccia bread is mentioned, which is originally a Roman bread that''s still popular in modern times.

They have a thriving coffee culture! With the number of cafes mentioned, I have to assume coffee is very important to them. And it seems to align more closely with Italian coffee-culture rather than the American one.

One thing that is never mentioned is any kind of policing in New Rome. It’s idyllic nature invites the reader to assume there is simply not need – but we know that nepotism and corruption are present in Camp Jupiter. So why not New Rome as well? More than likely, what’s going on is that New Rome uses the same method of policing as Ancient Rome. That being a patron-client relationship (called a “sponsorship” in the books). Basically, wealthy and powerful families act as protection for those who serve them fidelity. So if you mess with a shop that’s own by “Marcus”, Marcus can go to his sponsors, the Lawrences, to get justice.

Anyway, I don’t have any like crazy conclusions or wild theories. Just wanted to put all this stuff into one place.

#camp jupiter #new rome #new rome is a small town #heroes of olympus #pjo hoo toa #new rome university

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