Originally published: June 2017

Hey y'all.

This is my second time writing this thing. I was almost done with it when Wattpad decided to be its annoying self and delete everything. So now I'm even more pissed. This is going to be a long rant. And it may offend a few people. Please don't take this personally. I'm especially sorry if you like or even made any of the pictures I'm soon to show below. I just had to get this out.

So I haven't updated in a long time. And that's because I really don't have much to rant about anymore. That's good, Athena! You may say. That's because the fandom is getting better, right? WRONG. It's because this fandom has plateaued. It has flatlined. It has gone stale like a bag of chips left open in the sun for a week. That is to say... we're the exact same fandom we've always been.

On tumblr, the fandom is having some improvements, I suppose. I'm seeing pretty aesthetics, diverse casts, fanart, and fanfics. Also, tumblr seems to have absorbed Rick's new content much better than any other platform, because I've seen lots of content relating to Trials of Apollo and Magnus Chase (and even some for The Kane Chronicles!!! Yay!)

But everywhere else, it's stagnant. It's the same memes, jokes, fanart, and gags that I've been seeing for years. And I can say that, because I've been in this fandom for NEARLY A DECADE! I joined when I was in early 2nd grade. To put that in perspective, I'm in 10th grade now. I'm like a fandom grandma, or war veteran. I've been here for the good times - the cheesy fanart, the cliche yet entertaining fanfics, the hilarious jokes that changed as new books were released - and I've been here for the bad times - the ship wars between Percabeth and Perachel, the hate and white-washing of Piper, all the "Team Leo" stuff. I was there for both "Family, Luke, you promised" and "Tell the sun and stars hello for me." I've seen it all.

And I can safely say that nothing's really changing. To an extent, I suppose some things are, like the replacement of Solangelo as the fandom's main mlm ship (instead of the previous Valdangelo/Pernico/Jasico/Jercy/Lercy etc.) But that's about it.

I go on Pinterest, and these are some of the things I find:

THESE ARE THE SAME THINGS I'VE BEEN SEEING SINCE 6th GRADE.

For the first one: It doesn't matter anymore that Percy and Rachel kissed! Rachel is the oracle (she has been for 7 books now) and Percy and Annabeth are living happily together in New York City.

Secondly, SHUT UP ABOUT THE MOVIES ALREADY! Yes, I know, they were heartbreaking when they came out. I was absolutely devastated. But you can't change the past. They happened and that's it. There's not going to be anymore of them, either - Logan Lerman actually came out and confirmed that. And I know we're all itching for a good adaptation, but here's the thing... THERE IS ONE!

Yeah, that's right. The musical. I know some of you are probably thinking, That's not the same! I want a movie/tv show/full 8 hour opera! And I know, and I agree. But I've heard that the musical is really good, and that the soundtrack (or at least bits and pieces from it) is floating around the internet. In fact, I even made it easy for you guys and put one of the songs from it above. SO STOP SLEEPING ON THE MUSICAL!

I just... I don't know, guys. It's been 5 years since Mark of Athena came out. Percabeth is alive and well and happy in canon, so there's no need to get worked up about the Tartarus fall anymore! Octavian is dead, there's no need to hate on him anymore! Et cetera et cetera.

And don't even get me started on the multifandom things.

Yeah, you know what I mean. The whole Divergent/THG/HP/TMI/PJO/TMR/TFIOS/etc thing. I was invested in these fandoms too, once upon a time. But there's so many new YA books that have come out since then!! But y'all are still obsessed with fandoms that peaked in 2013 and really haven't had any activity since then (sans TMI and HP, thanks to the show and Fantastical Beasts respectively).

Here are some really good new, diverse (sans TRC, oops), modern YA/Middle Grade books that have an awesome fandom (at least on tumblr) and are actually still getting new content:

-The Grisha Trilogy by Leigh Bardugo

-Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

-The Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater

-The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken

-A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab

-Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard (Haven't read this one but it has a large following on tumblr)

-The Dark Artifices by Cassandra Clare

-To All The Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han

-The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh (Haven't read this one either)

-MAGNUS CHASE AND THE GODS OF ASGARD BY RICK RIORDAN!

-TRIALS OF APOLLO BY RICK RIORDAN!

Or, you know, you could always humor me and read my favorite book, Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones. There's not really a substantial fandom for that, but we could always make one!! :)

Anyway, what I'm trying to say is that this fandom seems to have fallen asleep. Or we're stuck in a 2012-2013 based time loop. I'm tired of seeing the same old stuff. Make new jokes! Make new content! Read and fangirl/fanboy/fan-individual over Rick's new books! Just please, for the love of God, stop acting like Mark of Athena came out yesterday and Perachel/Piper/Octavian/etc. is still an issue. Also, I'd recommend checking out art by artists other than Burdge/Viria. Please?

I don't mean this to be mean. I really don't. I just... I miss when this fandom was still fun. And I guess for everybody else, it still is. Those memes wouldn't be popular if y'all didn't find them funny. I guess I've just changed. Maybe I'm too old for this kind of stuff now. Maybe it's time for me to forget about PJO. But I'm still holding out hope for this fandom. Here's to the day that we become dynamic, funny, supremely creative, and constantly changing again.

Positive vibes, everyone. Stay awesome.

P.S. We're not the only fandom who does this, FYI. The "emo" fandom is similar. I know people who aren't even old enough to have been fans of MCR while they were still together who cry when they hear the G note at the beginning of "Welcome to the Black Parade". Or, take for example, the Homestuck fandom, which seems to always make a peak reappearance on my tumblr dash every April, talking about whatever the hell Homestuck is even about. But though these fandoms don't seem to change, we can be the exception. We can change.... but it's up to you guys.