Do you ever feel like Percy just can't Say No To Annabeth? Like has he ever realized that she isn't good for him? I mean I believe that Annabeth is definitely a Toxic partner and not a good Gf for percy and people say "Oh Percy would no what abuse is because he lived with Gabe" but that is what abuse looks like from an Adult. but Percy has never had a Gf so he would have nothing to compare Annabeth too, so he wouldn't know what a abusive/toxic relationship is, Cause an abusive relationship isn't all about how many bruises the victim has, it's about the control and Power the abuser has on the victim and tbh some of the parts in the book make it seem like Percy is in abusive and toxic relationship and the stuff Annabeth does or how she acts towards Percy and as a Character regardless just doesn't sit right with me and made me not like Percabeth at all
Your question speaks to my soul. Thank you for asking.
Personally, I believe Annabeth as a character devolves as the series progresses, and her worst character flaws are somehow never addressed. The worst is this sense of codependency she projects on Percy.
The Fandom, for some reason, has her put on a pedestal even though it's Percy who gets himself out of most trouble, who makes the most strategies, and takes the most efforts. Even Rick's demigod life updates say Percy scores higher in studies than Annabeth.
Yet for someone reason everyone degrades Percy while they worship Annabeth. Nothing ticks me off more. The only thing Annabeth has on Percy is her extensive knowledge and nothing else, yet every character behaves as if Percy would be nothing without Annabeth. Nothing nothing could be more wrong.
The Fandom is so eager to call out every character's flaws, yet Annabeth's are never addressed. The toxic and possessive way she acted throughout the Battle of Labyrinth towards Percy, treating him as if she owned him and her repulsive behavior towards Rachel, should have been Percy's greatest Red flag.
Not to mention Percy gets taken to Romans, his memories taken and altered by Hera left to fend off for himself and Annabeth shows no lick of understanding or supportiveness to Percy's troubles not just then but ever.
Not only that, she had the blatant audacity to criticize Percy for leaving her as if it were a choice on his part.
Annabeth literally spends the start of The Last Olympian in which Percy is dealing with the immense pressure of his looming death and the fate of the world being oh his shoulders and she is neither supportive nor understanding when he is reasonably panicking but also instead gets mad at him.
All in all, Annabeth spends the entirety of their relationship complaining, projecting unreal expectations on Percy, being controlling and toxically possessive.
I could rant all day about it, but essentially, Percy's first intimate connection with any woman other than his mother was with Annabeth.
Everyone knows Percy's deep deep seated self esteem issues, so in his mind Annabeth is too good for him, and he doesn't deserve her. Annabeth should be proving to Percy how awesome and great he is, how they both are equally deserving of each other instead of further worsening his self-esteem.
But Percy is so afraid of losing her that he goes by whatever she says. Rick himself literally writes how relaxed and better Percy feels with Rachel yet never mentions it ever again.
I agree that Annabeth was understandably terrified in Tartarus but by what right does she make Percy promise to not use a power he would obviously need for self defense, a power that just got them out alive from a Primordials clutches?
There's not one thing Annabeth has done that is truly selflessly for Percy. Yes she took a knife for him which is very good of her but honestly are you telling me anyone who has traveled with Percy for so long for whose sake Percy has frequently risked his own life wouldn't do the same?
Aside from that one action, Annabeth has never never done anything purely out of consideration of Percy's comfort , his trauma, and his insecurities.
She plays by fear as Percy says he has a healthy fear of her. There's no such thing as healthy fear. No healthy relationships should contain a hint of fear.
So yes Percy can't say no to her because he fears no one would love him if Annabeth doesn't, he never wants to lose her believing her to be the only person that would accept him despite all his flaws. And these delusions make him agree to everything Annabeth says. This is both wildly untrue and extremely toxic and unhealthy in a relationship.
Random question that popped in my head.
what if The Percy Jackson universe was Real??? Like I mean the characters, the Gods, The monsters, Everything. And do you think that Percabeth would last if they were a Real Life Couple?? Would any of the relationships last if they were Real??? Would Percy and Annabeth even like each other if they were real people??? Im genuinely curious
I think Percy and Annabeth as two people are realistically very incompatible.
1. Annabeth literally projects her mother's Poseidon hate on Percy for no absolute reason in the first book, and let's just say her behavior is nothing short of absolutely unpleasant towards Percy.
When they finally do bond, it's never because of something they have in common but because they have gone through the same set of circumstances.
2. Their whole entire relationship is completely based on trauma bonding. Their relationship is entirely based on being each other's only company through dangerous experiences.
3. Percy due to his deep self esteem issues sees Annabeth as the only person who will love him despite all his flaws and thus has this blatant misconception that no one except for Annabeth will ever love him which is a complete and utterly horrible misunderstanding and an absolute lie.
But he is so terrified of losing the one person he thinks loves him for himself that he doesn't even try to entertain other relationships even if it's to get an idea about how relationships work.
And when he finally does with Rachel, he finds himself much more relaxed, happy going, and content with her than Annabeth, and despite all that realization, Uncle Rick chose to shove Percabeth down readers' throats.
4. The purely toxic way in which Annabeth assumes some sort of ownership over Percy is truly repulsive.
And don't get me started upon how awfully toxic her response to Rachel's mere presence was both to Rachel and to Percy despite them not even dating yet or at all.
5. Not to mention Percy is a character who has extreme issues with self-esteem and yet Annabeth insists on calling him a nickname that at its core means dumb and Percy is no way dumb at all maybe oblivious but not dumb.
Percy is shown repeatedly on edge around Annabeth, and due to her controlling nature but he, in his own words, chalks it up to healthy fear. (There's no such thing as a healthy fear when it comes to your significant other)
No healthy relationship should, never I mean, never ever contain even a hint of fear. NEVER.
6. Annabeth is and has always been openly insensitive or disregarding of Percy's trauma with Gabe and even when he tries to talk about it she shuts him up by laughing at him, laughing at an ABUSE victim trying to open up.
All in all Percabeth shippers may preach what they want but Percabeth is a very toxic relationship. Because it doesn't matter how many other good moments there were it matters that there were this downright horrible moments.
7. And think on this logically. Percy and Annabeth have literally nothing in common. NOTHING. No hobbies, not aspirations in life, not their perspectives on life literally nil.
So if you are telling me two people like that are going to end up having a long, fulfilling relationship, then yeah, no, you are only fooling yourself.
In real life with actual dating they wouldn't even last six months, even that's too long.