Anansi

Not part of Riordanverse The following article/section is from the Tristan Strong continuity under Rick Riordan Presents and not the Riordanverse canon.

Anansi
Biographical information
Full name	Kwaka Anansi
Gender	Male
Alias	Ananse The Weaver Anansi the Spider Mr. Kwaku
Family	Nyame (father) Asase Ya (mother) Aso (wife) Ntikuma, Trouble Seer, Road Builder, River Drinker, Skinner, Stone Thrower, and Ground Pillow (sons) Gum Baby (creation)
Status	Alive
Physical description
Eye	Dark
Hair	Dark
Species	Spider God
Behind the scenes
Appearances	Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky Tristan Strong Destroys the World Tristan Strong Keeps Punching

“	Come on, brother Anansi's got your back.	”
–Anansi persuading Tristan to let him use his powers in Tristan Strong Destroys the World.

Kwaka Anansi is a figure in West African folklore. He originates with the Ashanti people (modern-day Ghana).

History

Anansi originated from the Akan People in modern-day Ghana and whose story was spread to the New World by victims of the trans-Atlantic slave trade. He's considered the spirit of all knowledge of stories. His mother was Asase Ya, goddess of the earth, and his father was Nyame, god of the sky. He had a wife named Aso and many children, but the most notable child is his son, Ntikuma.

Bringing Stories to the World

One day, Anansi noticed that the world was boring. He spun a silken thread to his father when he found out that he's been hiding stories. Nyame decided to test his son, if he were to bring him the four most fearsome creatures, he will trade them for the stories. Nyame knew that the task was impossible but Anansi was determined.

The first creature was, Onini, a huge python. Onini overheard an act Anansi was having with his wife. Anansi said that the python was longer than the stick he was holding . Onini decided to stretched on the stick to prove him right, Anansi mentioned it was difficult for the snake to stretch his curves to the full length of the stick. So (with vanity) Onini agreed to let Anansi tie him to the stick, only for him to be brought to Nyame.

The second creature was Osebo, a hungry leopard with legendary strength. Anansi dug a deep pit in which Osebo got trapped in. Anansi offer the leopard to use his strength on his rope of webs to get out. Osebo got tangled when he began climbing, the more he struggled to get higher, the more tangled he got. When he finally couldn't move, Osebo was caught.

Then, Anansi had to capture the deadly Mmoboro Hornets. So he cut a small hole in a gourd and made a plug for the hole, then he gathered water on a huge leaf. He poured half over his head, and half on the hornet's nest, ruining it. When the hornets angrily flew out, Anansi exclaimed that the rains had come early, but the hornets could hide in the gourd. The first flew in and the rest of the hornets followed closely. This is how Anansi used the hive-mind that gave the hornets strength in numbers against them.

The fourth and final creature for Anansi was Mmoatia, a crafty African fairy. Her favorite food was yams, so Anansi created Gum Baby, a doll made of gum, attached a web line to its head, and put a plate of yams his wife made on his lap. When Mmoatia came by, she asked for one, Anansi pulled the web line to nod yes. After Mmoatia ate the yams, she thanked the gum baby but it didn't say or do anything back. Eventually Mmoatia got so angry, she attacked the gum baby with her hands and legs and got fully entangled. With all four creatures brought to Nyame, Anansi brought back stories to the world.

Later Adventures

Immediately after the death of his mother-in-law, Anansi decided that he would not eat for a whole week. About four days after the funeral however, hunger got the better of him. When no one was looking, he ate some hot beans from a pot then quickly hid some under his hat. He tried to cover up this saying there was a festival, but the beans burned on his head. He was then exposed and humiliated, that's how Anansi got a bald head.

Tristan Strong Trilogy

Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky

Brer Rabbit, his research partner who he impersonated after the rabbit was abducted by iron monsters.

He and Brer Rabbit perform experiments with a Story Box and iron monsters, but the rabbit is eventually captured and he does nothing to stop it. After Brer Rabbit is taken, he takes his place. Months after the abduction he interrogates Tristan Strong on Eddie's Journal. When the boy says he lost it and asks to go home, "Brer Rabbit" accuses him of being a false hero and leaving them to clean up his mess. As Tristan then explains how he lost his best friend and scolds them for trying to steal the only think he has left to remember him by, they see butterflies reenacting his story and realize Tristan is an Anansesem. At the revaluation be becomes agree and bounces off. Later he has Tristan, John Henry, Rose, Sarah, and Ayanna join him to explain his plan to have Anansi fix the hole in the sky. The others veto the idea until he reveals "he" and "Anansi" were working on a Story Box when the iron monsters started attacking and that Tristan can find it, they agree. When Tristan says not he gets angry.

When fetterlings invade the Thicket, he loses control of the base and tries to regain control. He joins John Henry along with Rose and Sarah when a giant fettering breaks into the Thicket.

After Tristan takes care of Uncle C and gets rid of the Maafa, he berated the boy and demands the story box. Tristan says no and plays keep away until it is revealed the real Brer Rabbit was on the Maafa and that Anansi has been impersonating him for months. Tristan says he wants the stories of other worlds to make himself stronger and he does not deny it. He is sentenced to stop and surrendering his research into story boxes, to fix the rift in the sky, and to help Tristan with his story project. He is imprisoned in the Story Box, which takes the firm of a smartphone, and given to Tristan. When they return to Tristan's world he fixes the rift and the boy informs him that Nyame meant the twenty days to be a minimum and not a maximum, much to his horror.

Tristan Strong Destroys the World

A month after being imprisoned in the phone, Anansi can't wait to be freed from it and asks Tristan about his nightmares. When he sees Reggie Janson arrive for his sparing match with the Anansesem, he is shocked the the boy's build. He tries to watch the match and after Tristan knocks out Reggie, he admits to using a little diaspora to help him win, but Tristan asks about the voices and he agrees to look around after Tristan allows him to use his powers. He soon finds multiple ghosts in the barn. He recognizes them as being from Alke and Tristan asks if he can call, Anansi tells Tristan he doesn't have the power to do that and he wouldn't if he did as it is to dangerous. Just then a new app appears that allows Tristan to talk to people in Alke and, despite Anansi's warnings, contacts John Henry. He hides from view at the bottom of the screen as John Henry talks to a mysterious figure who takes the god hostage. The call cuts out.

Later he questions Tristan's choice to keep his bracelet and gloves in a Darkwing Duck lunchbox as he digs it up. He is shocked when Tristan punches Reggie while wearing the gloves. He consoles Tristan after his grandmother passes out and later go to the barn to talk to the spirits. One of them, a girl named Ninah, tells them that the Shamble Man took her mother and is coming to the farm.

After the Shamble Man abducts Tristan's grandmother, he tells him they need to call for help, but Tristan wants to go after him himself, and the trickster reluctantly agrees if Tristan gives him a power-boast, which he reluctantly agrees to. They wander into the forest of bottle trees and he tells Tristan that tell the story of Keelboat Annie, which he does after some reluctance. As Tristan tells the story he creates an app called "Keelboat Rideshare". He informs Tristan of the scenery change as tries to get him to call down as he freaks out. When Keelboat Annie takes them aboard, he tries to hide himself to no avail and the goddess gives him a stern lecture. When Tristan starts to freak out when Talking Skulls come aboard, he reassures him they are harmless. When they are all aboard, they head to the Golden Crescent. When they arrive he requests to stay behind, as he doesn't want to face Nyame. After a while, he is placed in a storage locker and falls asleep. He wakes up from the rocks start and alarms Junior when the boy sees him. After Tristan is pulled into Old Man River, the SBP is damaged and he escapes.

However, it is later revealed that he is still in the SBP after it is fixed by Lady Night and Tristan. He is seen sleeping in the SBP when plat-eyes are seen at Lady Night's Juke Joint. Tristan wakes him up and points out the plat-eyes. He reveals a new app he has been working on called the "Diaspor-app", an app to see the stories of others. After Tristan sees their story, the Shamble Man attacks and Tristan reveals his true name, Brer Bear. As they fight he prepares to call the other gods, but they are forced to flee before he can. Junior is also revealed to be his son Stone Thrower. He flees with Tristan, Ayanna, and Gum Baby as his son stays behind to fight. As they fly, he confirms that Junior is indeed Stone Thrower and tries to confirm Tristan with the others. When he suggests someone might be manipulating Brer Bear, Tristan sets course for the Maafa.

As they fly over the sentient slave ship, he calls it and it breaches the surf. As he and the others silently beg Tristan to stop and leave, they learn it was raided and a mask imbued with the essence of Uncle Cotton was taken. It sends droves of iron monsters at them when they are done, but they escape. As they ask Tristan about their next move, the boy wonders if Brer Bear is planning on destroying the god's symbols of power, but he says the bear isn't strong enough to do that. After Tristan realizes the rogue god is hiding in MidPass, they head to the island. When they reach the Tree of Power, they enter and he provides light when they get deep enough. They find Mami Wata and Tristan frees her just as the tree starts to implode. Gum Baby holds the SBP and gets Sap on the screen, much to his disgust, but they manage to get out when Tristan gives Mami Wata a power boost. When they question their next move, Tristan says he knows the rogue god's endgame. As they fly, he introduces himself and the water goddess reveals she heard rumors of him imprisoned in a Story Box. When they reach the juke joint, they find it demolished and abandoned, but soon they find Lady Night and group of Ridge warriors. As she and Mami Wata hug, he pulls up the "Riverboat Rideshare-app" and Tristan summons Keelboat Annie. The three embrace each other just as the storm reaches Alkean shores and they realize Brer Bear has arrived.

As they fly to the Golden Crescent, Tristan tries to ease his worries about his son. He informs the trickster of his plan to have Mami Wata create a geyser like she did in MidPass, as it protected the burned up island from the storm, before handing the SBP over to Keelboat Annie. As they evacuate, Tristan tells him of his plan to take the Alkeans to his world. Anansi is shocked but believes it has a slight chance at working. He is given to Gum Baby as Tristan and the other gods imbue the stories of Alke in a quilt in the hopes of rebuilding the realm of stories. They land in a tree with some suffering minor injuries, however most of the Alekeans are unaccounted for.

He spends two days sulking until the SBP detects some of the Alkeans, one of them being Junior, and they rush to tell the other gods. When they arrive, they are somberly greeted by Nyame, John Henry, Lady Night, Keelboat Annie, Mami Wata, Brer Bear, and Brer Rabbit. They reveal their findings to the gods, but not before the gods tell them Uncle Cotton is still out there and has freed more haints.

Tristan Strong Keeps Punching

As Tristan is attending his family reunion in New Orleans, he alerts him to an Alkean in the French Quarter who is in danger. As Tristan is talking to his grandfather, the SBP is snatched. Tristan and his grandfather track down the thief and, after introducing herself as Seraphine, tells Tristan to follow her. Anansi criticizes Tristan's speed as she leads Tristan to Artillery Park. She shows him a barge and explains children are in danger. Tristan takes the SBP back and goes to leave, but she reveals she knows he is trapped in the SBP and her employer knows Tristan can help. She shows him a stone that, much to the horror of Tristan and Anansi, belongs to Junior. Seraphine says that Junior, Ayanna, and Gum Baby are walking into a trap and he and Tristan agree to help. As Tristan and Seraphine are about to board a dingy, he senses someone is close by and they attack, only to learn it is Tristan's cousin Terence.

The following day, Anansi is aboard the River Queen as he, Tristan's grandparents, Mami Wata, John Henry, and Nyame. After telling them King Cotton is back and they have to act immediately, they reveal to Tristan that they will handle it and he is being sent home to Chicago with Gum Baby. He tries to protest, but they say his anger demonstrates during the previous night makes him to much of a liability and take the SBP, as well as the trickster, from him. They say their goodbyes and leave. The following morning Gum Baby returns the SBP to Tristan and the trickster rebuffs Tristan for failing to find his son and tells him Mami Wata wants to speak with him in the bridge, and to leave the SBP.

After narrowing escaping an attack at the Louisiana State Penitentiary, an exhausted Mami Wata in her cabin, Gum Baby steers the boat as Tristan and Ayanna inspect the damage. As they do, Anansi tells Tristan to talk to Ayanna and blackmails him with speeches Tristan wrote about Ayanna if he does not. When Gum Baby is forced to give up the wheel, they give her a small banjo to play as Anansi forcibly listens to her play. Tristan gazes at the landscape as the SBP nearly goes overboard. He grabs it as Anansi insults Gum Baby's ability to play the banjo. The two talk and he tells Tristan the consequences if he fails to control the charms on his bracelet. They soon reach a fork in the river and find three steamships, two beached and a third upside down. As they question if it's a trap, they hear a cry for help and Tristan goes to investigate. However is a trap set by Patty Roller. When they escape and Tristan is back on board, he tells him about the others what happened and tells them his theory on what Cotton's plan is, to gather the stories of African Americans where they suffered from the most. After looking at a map, Ayanna predicts that Cotton's next target is Fort Pillow north of Memphis, Tennessee. He becomes elated and reveals he has sensed various Alkean signals from Memphis and believes his son is their. As Tristan tries to tell the trickster to not get his hopes up, he scolds Tristan for failing to find Junior and reveals he has put in a request to Nyame to be taken out of Tristan's custody, be given his true form back, and have Tristan removed as anansesem. Mami Wata sadly confirms it and places Tristan on probation until they hear back from the sky god, confines the boy to his cabin, and confiscates the SBP.

He is freed from the SBP after promising to fight and get backup. He flies into battle on Old Familiar with Brer Bear, Brer Rabbit, and Granny Z. Anansi speaks with Patty Roller about stealing his son. As the haint on horseback is saying his son needed to be re-educated, her voice cuts of and the fourth passenger, Granny Z, comes off and berates Patty for hurting children as she and Twennymiles are swallowed by the beach. He vanishes after the battle, reappearing a month later as Mr. Kwaku, the home room teacher for Tristan, Ayanna, Thandiwe, and his son.

Appearance

Anansi is a tall man with long spider like limbs and dark skin. He wears capri pants and a cut off shirt. He is also able to take on the form of a tarantula.

Personality

At first, Anansi was selfish, arrogant, and a coward who has others do his dirty work for him.

After being trapped in the SBP for almost a month, his demeanor has changed. He became more caring to his allies, but still acting sarcastic and cynical at times. He is also a caring father, as he was concerned when he heard no news on his son for three days and is overjoyed to learn he is safe.

Abilities

• Shapeshifting: Anansi can take on the form of others.
• Weaving: Anansi is a skilled weaver, being able to fix rips in the fabric of space.

Trivia

• Anansi has several similarities with the American folk character Brer Rabbit, who also was brought to the Americas by slaves from  West Africa. They share similar stories and roles with each other, they can be thought of as counterparts.
• He enjoys Houston rap.