Chanel Hastings & The Treasures of Aphrodite: The Magic Girdle
Category: Percy Jackson & The Olympians (PJO) Fanfiction
Major Characters: Mostly OC's. Some canon characters will feature or make small cameos.
Age Rating: 13+
Content Warning: I've done my best to maintain the same level of maturity that is used in the canon books, so no to gore, brutality, nudity, sex, or profanity, but yes to mature emotional topics. I tend to write with a mildly darker tone compared to canon.
Trigger Warning: Given that this book centers on children of Aphrodite, discussions about body image and mental health will be included. Reader discretion is advised; please take care of yourselves.
Canon Compliance: This fanfiction is partially compliant to the canon books. The story of Chanel Hastings takes place between The Last Olympian (TLO) and The Lost Hero (TLH). The canon story up to this point will not change except:
- An additional year/summer will be added between the end of PJO and the beginning of Heroes of Olympus (HoO). In other words, the beginning of TLH will be delayed by 1 year.
- Drew Tanaka's personality and backstory will be changed from canon because I want to try something different with her character. Some changes will be minor, some changes will be more dramatic.
- Some minor aspects of PJO will be retconned/changed/tweaked in order to accommodate my story and my preferred headcanons. These include but are not limited to: the role/personality of some mythological figures and creatures in the Riordanverse, the appearance of certain cabins, the location of certain objects (ie. Aphrodite's girdle), the backstories of some tertiary characters (ie. Clovis, Katie Gardener, etc.).
- In canon, Charmspeak works too much like mind control for my personal taste. Therefore, I will be changing the way Charmspeak works in this fanfic; it will have more limitations that are (hopefully) consistent.
- The 2nd Great Prophecy still exists, but the impact of this fanfic on HoO will not be addressed. This fanfic will ignore almost everything that starts in TLH and onwards, including certain characters (ie. Butch Walker, Lou-Ellen Blackstone, Lacy, Mitchell, etc.).
- Some main characters from PJO (Percy, Annabeth, Grover, Nico, etc.) may cameo at different points in the series but they will have minimal roles. This story mostly focuses on original characters that I have made up.
Author's Note:
I am writing this story because personally, I'm not a huge fan of the way Rick Riordan writes about femininity in his books. I feel like he tends to paint girly characters in a weird light, with most of the kids in the Aphrodite cabin being depicted as weak, vain, or shallow, while major characters like Silena and Piper are presented as exceptions but not the norm. Piper is especially disappointing because she could have been a chance to portray the average Aphrodite kid in a charming and awesome way. But unfortunately, Piper spends a lot of time dissing her siblings for their interests, and basically reinforces the idea that girliness is something to look down upon.
I understand that every cabin in PJO follows stereotypes, but this particular stereotype annoys me because historically and currently, it's very common for femininity to be associated with weakness, being vain, or not being intellectual/interesting/worthwhile, and there was a while in the 2000s/early 2010s where girls who didn't like fashion/makeup/celebrities thought that hating these things automatically made them superior to girls that enjoyed them. These beliefs are not at all true, and I think it would be nice if Rick stopped reinforcing them in his work. Shopping and wearing makeup are normal hobbies just like anything else and are not inherently bad. Natural beauty is great, but there is nothing wrong with exploring self-expression and personal style through your outfits or your makeup. Lastly, liking girly stuff has absolutely NO true correlation with personality/strength, and it shouldn't stop the Aphrodite girls from being just as kind, just as strong, and just as complex as Annabeth, Thalia, Clarisse, Rachel, Hazel, Piper, Reyna, Meg, etc. Girly girls can also be nuanced characters, good fighters, smart warriors, kind friends, and strong heroes, but only if you care enough to write them in an interesting way.
I also feel like Aphrodite's myths and the utility of her domain are so under-explored in canon. Sure, her kids can't summon waves or shadow-travel, but I think Rick could have gotten more creative with the use of Aphrodite in his books, and with Aphrodite-kid powers in general. All of this is why I decided to write a fanfic about an unapologetically-girly demigod, whose girly interests aren't a detriment to her character and who engages with her mother's domain in a complicated way. Yes, my OC starts off pretty bad at the whole fighting thing, but she adapts and grows stronger while still maintaining her love for beauty, fashion, and romance. I hope my story accomplishes a different message about beauty and love that contrasts what we saw in the canon books. I also hope that the story shows off some of the interesting myths associated with Aphrodite and looks at her role as the goddess of love in a more modern and nuanced way.
This is my first time writing fanfiction, and this is my first time intentionally trying to mimic someone else's writing style. I am not perfect, so there will definitely be things that I could do better. I will try my best to avoid mistakes, but I apologize in advance if I miss a few. Thank you for engaging with my story. Happy reading!
-thelionqueen1999
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Chanel Hastings & The Treasures of Aphrodite Book 1: The Magic Girdle
FanfictionDear Diary, Up until a few days ago, I was just a normal girl...until the monster attacks started and I found out that I was a demigod. Apparently, my mother's magic girdle has been taken from Olympus, and between the monsters and my half-siblings i...
