allhailperseusjackson10

[allhailperseusjackson10]

Female Characters (PJO and HoO) - Rick Riordan Crit.

Rick Riordan’s portrayals of females are trash because 1) he believes that femininity equates to weakness, 2) to overcorrect the “femininity=weakness” toxic mentality, he promotes faux girl power which is basically just a watered down crash course on toxic “feminism” for impressionable 12 year olds (because that’s exactly how we want to raise our youth; good job, Rick), 3) any girl who is not able to be part of a romantic subplot is disposed of, and 4) there is little variance among his females.

There are a ton more issues interlaced with this, like the fact that he oversexualizes them as minors [Piper with her “embarrassingly low” v-neck dress after Aphrodite’s blessing, or Hazel who’s 13, dating Frank who’s 16 (middle schooler dating a high schooler)], or the balance of power between his WOC characters and cishet female characters (like Annabeth being portrayed as the most powerful when a lot of the WOC characters should be more capable *cough* Hazel is literally the daughter of one of the big three, so why does Rick pretend she’s so weak compared to Annabeth? Could it be that she’s not whi— *cough*), but those are separate tangents for another time, so I’m just going to focus on these four points first.

1) In Rick’s mind, femininity equates to weakness.

The first and probably perfect example of this mentality is Drew Tanaka and the entire Aphrodite cabin. Not only is Drew a terrible portrayal of Asian women, but she’s the worst “mean girl” trope. Drew Tanaka is shown as being gorgeous, and it’s stated that she is interested in makeup and fashion and subsequently bullies girls who aren’t as glamorous. Of course, there are actually girls like this, and that’s terrible, but then Rick turns around and solely promotes “tomboys” and always, always shames “girly-girls,” and that’s when we have an issue. In only villainizing stereotypically feminine interests, Rick shames girls who enjoy these sorts of things. He uses Piper’s distaste for the Aphrodite cabin like a weapon:

“They passed the next cabin, Number Ten, which was decorated like a Barbie house with lace curtains, a pink door, and potted carnations in the windows. They walked by the doorway, and the smell of perfume almost made Piper gag.

‘Gah, is that where supermodels go to die?’

Annabeth smirked. ‘Aphrodite’s cabin. Goddess of love. Drew is the head counselor.’”

- The Lost Hero

In this quote, he shames pink, Barbie, and even carnations just by associating it with Aphrodite, and then it shames Aphrodite too. First of all, what’s wrong with carnations? They’re just flowers. There is nothing feminine or masculine about plants. And Barbie? Barbie’s entire brand is that anyone can be anything, and even if there are many flaws in that company, it shouldn’t be shamed like this, and neither should lace or pink. There is nothing feminine about love either. Love is a universal experience: we feel it in familial bonds, platonic bonds, and romantic bonds. Humans have the ability to bond with goddamn Roombas, for God’s sake. Shame Aphrodite for being a crazy lady, just like the rest of the Olympians, not for being the goddess of love, and do not shame her children for the same. There is absolutely nothing wrong with liking any of these items.

Rick later describes the Aphrodite cabin as despising capture the flag and never participating. (I’m too lazy to find the quote, sorry). Everyone practically shuns them for disliking that game. Why? What’s wrong with having different interests? What’s wrong with liking pink and not wanting to get your hands a little dirty? I would love capture the flag, and I still like pink, even if it’s not my favorite color. Why does Rick have to make it a dichotomy? Why do you have to be either pretty or strong? Why must everyone who adores fancy things be rude? Why is Piper praised for not liking these things? They’re just different, arbitrary interests. Neither should be superior. Rick seriously missed out on the opportunity to show strength in being softer and kinder.

Some people like to bring up Silena as a counterpoint to this. People like to go to their graves saying, “she was a hero, not a traitor,” but the fact remains that the only girl who is more in touch with her feminine roots and not mean ended up spying on the camp for Luke, and her reason wasn’t even completely honorable: 

“Before … before I liked Charlie, Luke was nice to me. He was so…charming. Handsome. Later, I wanted to stop helping him, but he threatened to tell. He promised…he promised I was saving lives. Fewer people would get hurt. He told me he wouldn’t hurt…Charlie. He lied to me.”

-Silena, The Last Olympian

We could’ve done without the “He was so…charming. Handsome.” part. It would’ve made the whole thing ten times more honorable. If she had followed Luke because she really thought she was doing the right thing and was just a little naive, if Luke had only blackmailed her with Beckendorf’s life, then she would’ve been a hero through and through. Instead, Rick just pinned her as a girl who screwed over the camp because she thought Luke was cute. Not really a stellar resume there.

Like I said earlier, Rick missed out on the opportunity to portray strength in being kind and gentle. Some strong women are athletic with bold personalities and speak nothing but the brutal truth. Some strong women are emotional, enjoy dresses, and love children. Some strong women are hard workers and like STEM. Some strong women are extremely maternal. Some strong women enjoy cooking for their friends, family, and significant others.

There is no perfect mold that can form an exact representation of what a strong woman must be. In society, a strong woman is seen far too many times as an ideal man. They’re praised for doing the equivalent of a man, and that’s great that they’re being praised at all, but women should not be expected to prove their worth in terms of men. While we should continue to highlight when women break barriers and surpass records set by men, women should also be allowed to enjoy activities labeled as feminine. Women are allowed to enjoy “feminine” interests without feeling obligated to apologize or fearing that men will think them weak. Women can do what men do and more, but having “feminine” hobbies do not diminish any gender in any way.

Being “womanly” has been trained into our senses since we were young. The color pink was associated with femininity, and boys shame other boys for liking it, and girls would proudly announce they liked blue more to gain boys’ respect. Any girl who didn’t like sports in elementary school but liked competition in other ways, like mental sports, or didn’t enjoy competition at all and just liked to have fun were deemed “really girly” by every boy and even other girls. Females have been deemed as less worthy girls for enjoying certain colors or activities, and it’s preposterous. Do not feel obliged to feign love of anything for a man’s approval, and the fact that Rick would push such a ludicrous agenda on young, impressionable girls makes me sick.

2) To overcorrect femininity = weakness, Rick basically spitballs faux girl power.

“I’m not like other girls” is basically Rick’s motto for every one of his female characters. He frequently pits girls against one another. As I mentioned earlier, Piper McLean and Drew Tanaka are really good examples of this.

“There was some giggling from the Aphrodite cabin. God, what a bunch of losers, Piper thought. But it didn’t do much to break the tension.”

Piper - The Lost Hero

Congratulations on turning Piper into a Strong Woman™, Rick. Apparently giggling is cancelled too. By depicting Piper as a “not like other girls” girl and then praising her for it, he encourages his young female readers to compare themselves to other girls and participate in this competition of women created by society. I think most people know about Drew and Piper being set against each other, but another one that I think more people forget is the beef between Annabeth and Rachel.

Normally I would say jealousy is a good flaw to give a character. The best flaws are relatable flaws, flaws that regular people have. And people do get jealous. But if that’s the only flaw Rick’s really going to give Annabeth besides “pride” (which is also romanticized for absolutely no reason) and then also have no one hold her accountable for it, then I don’t want it. Annabeth is consistently praised and thought of as “funny” for calling Rachel stupid and basically being a bitch about someone else liking Percy, despite Rachel remaining cordial the entire time. Then Rick goes ahead and paints Annabeth as a badass feminist who doesn’t take crap from anybody else. Yeah, okay. Because hating other women makes you really strong. Sure.

The third example is Reyna, pitted against both Piper and Rachel. I won’t really delve into it because I feel like I’ve made my point for this, but it’s basically the same thing: “I, a girl, am very strong and hate people and I dislike you, another girl, just for fun, and it makes me strong.” Revolting.

Another tactic Rick frequently uses to portray the strength in his females is making them very shouty and loud and very powerful. While some women really are like that (which is okay too!), not every girl is. It’s a shame that’s the only depiction of strong female characters Rick can offer. And then he also takes it too far. Not only are Annabeth, Rachel, Reyna, Thalia, Piper, *insert all his other female characters* really loud and angry individuals, but sometimes they get downright abusive, and it’s supposed to be funny? I think? A good example of this is Annabeth judo-flipping Percy when she sees him at the Roman camp for the first time. (Hurting Percy Jackson, omg sWOoN). Like, what is this? A kink or something, Richard? Strong women do not need to put down men to be strong. Feminism is the belief that women deserve equal respect as men, not that women are superior to males. This whole “tsundere” look is in bad taste in my opinion.

People often use Hazel as a counterpoint to the “shouty girls.” And that’s fair. Hazel is soft and kind, except there’s the issue I mentioned way, way earlier: Hazel is kind and soft-spoken (unless it’s something very important), and then she’s also shown as being weak. Because kindness and quietness means you’re weak. Perfect. Good job, Richard.

(I would also like to point out that it’s not just girls putting down other girls either in this whole toxic “feminism” agenda:

“Some girls kept looking over at Piper and Dylan and snickering. Jason figured these girls were the popular clique. They wore matching jeans and pink tops and enough makeup for a Halloween party.”

Jason - The Lost Hero

Matching jeans and tops. Makeup. Oh, the horror. How could they like dressing up? How evil!!!11!1

3) Any girl not part of romantic subplots is thrown out.

This means that Rick associates value in characters with romance, and that’s disgusting. He does this a bit with boys too, like with Grover who we never see again after getting Juniper, and other examples, but at least they have purposes by themselves. Grover was meant to find Pan, and once he did that, I guess I can excuse dropping the ball with him. But sometimes it just makes zero sense.

Examples: After Percy chose Rachel, Rick really just yeeted Rachel out of the universe. He just said the Oracle can’t date, and we basically never see her for more than a couple moments despite the fact that she’s really good friends with Percy, was/is super respectful of Percy’s choice to date Annabeth, and is overall just a cool girl who chucked a blue hairbrush at Kronos.

Another example is Thalia. Thalia just randomly joins the hunt. I can see how she joined it to spite her father, or because she didn’t want to be part of the prophecy, but I just find it weird that she’s super attached to Luke and everything, and then just dips as soon as he’s dead. We deserve to see her still ruffling Percy’s hair, much to his distaste, and dropping by to hang around Jason, and, MOST IMPORTANTLY, hanging out with Annabeth. So, what, just because Luke dies, so does her familial relationship with Annabeth? Bullshit.

Third example: Calypso. In @meclusa’s rant on Leo, she explained this really well, so I won’t delve super deep into it and will rather redirect you to her blog, but basically, Calypso was just rejected by Percy and then passed over to be someone else’s prize instead. She’s “awarded” to Leo because poor Leo never got a girl (Alexa play despacito). Revolting. I would’ve loved to see her get off the island and then go explore the world on her own before even considering being shipped with someone else. I could also totally see her joining the Amazons or the hunt, not because she deserves no page time, but because she just wants to be free and travel from place to place.

The fourth and most famous example is Reyna. After being rejected by both Percy and Jason, what does Rick do? Rather than allowing her to be a strong Praetor who’s independent and still kickass, he ships her off to the hunt full of twelve year old girls. Praetorship is such an honor, and she worked so hard to get there, and you really think she’d give it up to run around with prepubescent girls just because two boys didn’t like her? Give me a break.

Female characters should not be disposed of because they can’t be paired with anyone. The same goes for boys, of course, but this post is mainly about his interpretation of females, not males.

4) Who’s who?

I’m going to give y’all a description, and I want you to tell me which character I’m talking about: “She’s strong. Beautiful. She fights really well. Funny. Sarcastic. She’s loud and opinionated.” Confused? Great, so am I. My fourth main point is that Rick gives his female characters no discernable personalities. I mentioned this a bit earlier at the end of point two, but I really want to expand on it here.

When we compare discernibility to the boy characters, it’s a little bit easier. If I say, “He’s strong. Ruggedly handsome. He fights really well. Funny. Sarcastic. He’s loud and opinionated,” we would probably immediately pin that to Percy, right? He’s the most sarcastic of the boys, besides Leo, but Leo’s not shown as fighting really well or incredibly physically strong, so it’s easier to pick out who we’re talking about. Granted, it’s still not perfect because his development of HoO characters is nearly non-existent, but it’s still easier:

Jason is very much the Good Guy™, and he’s a leader who always serves the greater good; Percy is loyal to the select people that he loves, and he’s more rebellious and snarky and dark (his hatred of the gods and understanding that he serves his friends first, not the greater good); Leo is supposed to be the ironic comedian with a sad backstory whilst still providing humorous relief (though @meclusa had a very good essay as to why this is a huge L); Frank is…actually, I don’t even know what his purpose was, seeing as he had zero characterization other than a buff glow-up (which was fatphobic but whatever); Nico carries the greatest burdens of them all, what with growing up in another time period and struggling with homosexuality as well as the stigma of being a child of Hades, and he has this wonderful nuance and operates in shades of grey, but ultimately, he has a good heart; Luke is Percy’s counterpart, in that they share similar values, but he’s more like the cautionary tale of what happens when you take any belief to the extreme.

In comparison to these guys, the female characterizations fall flat. They have little to no discernable personalities, other than the fact that they have different names, different parentages/powers, and different appearances. They either fall in the category of being weak and powerless and kind, pretty and fashionable and villainous, or Strong Independent Woman™ where they just do and say questionable things while yelling at the top of their lungs and stabbing boys and wearing sneakers but still being oh-so-effortlessly-pretty-how-does-she-do-it-wOW.

Rick has no place pretending that he knows how to write strong female characters. You do not just create Mary Sues and hand them weapons and then market them as the perfect role models for girls. You do not create beautifully nuanced boys (Percy and Luke are my favorite examples for this) and then pretend that girls cannot be as complex and dynamic of characters.

You do not under any fucking circumstance shove these toxic ideas into the faces of young, impressionable middle school girls so that they grow up thinking they can’t like pink and be opinionated and be compassionate and be intelligent and kick ass and look fabulous while doing it all. Humans are not black and white. They are not inherently good or evil. Please extend the same courtesy to your female characters. We deserve to be represented just as well, and we deserve to be given more thought in the writing process just like your boys.

Fuck faux girl power. And fuck Rick’s idea of feminism and female portrayals. If you read through this whole thing, thank you lmao. I’m sorry if it was a little messy. I was rushing through it, and I could talk about this for hours, but I tried to shorten it.

Also shout out to @meclusa and @finding-my-culture whose criticisms of Leo and Piper, respectively, inspired me to write my own on another thing I despise about Rick’s writing. Y’all really be iconic, and I love you. Oh, and shout out to team seven and other PJO bloggers in the PJO discourse (@valgraced, @hazelmagix @caiprisa, @reynaisalesbian, @tridentgum, @dykeplants, @hazelslevesquee, @silima, @bunkernine, @mclean, @piperisgay, @pjolesbian, @charlesbeckendorf, etc.) (If you don’t already follow them, go do that right now). I recently followed all of y’all, and your rants are honestly something else. And that’s on holding authors responsible for their shit.

[allhailperseusjackson10]

“why didn’t shoko and satoru do more for suguru?” satoru died that day.

“suguru was suffering from ptsd!” satoru died and also had ptsd. unfortunately his ptsd presented in a way that benefitted jujutsu society and allowed him to be exploited more easily by the adults around him.

“suguru was suffering why didn’t they show more care!” he didn’t let them. he brushed off their concern and probably would have bitten their heads off.

“shoko is a doctor!” she was actually 17 years old practicing without a licence because GUESS WHAT! she too was exploited for her technique!

“how did nobody check on suguru after his friends died?” satoru carried riko’s dead body. haibara was friends with satoru and shoko too. shoko did his autopsy and handled his dead body. nanami quit jujutsu completely. they were all heartbroken and miserable and stretched beyond their limits. why didn’t he check on satoru (who probably saw haibara’s other half somewhere and cleaned up the mess from where he died) and shoko who actually handled his dead body?

“suguru was depressed and traumatised!” so is like, every other jujutsu sorcerer. so were all his friends. how many of them turned to mass murder? yeah… exactly.

suguru needed medical intervention from PROFESSIONALS and needed to see a psychiatrist and ACTUAL SUPPORT from adults. there’s only so much the other exploited children could have done for him because i don’t know… they too, were busy being exploited. by the adults. satoru is the adult in place for his students so none of them get as bad as suguru. they have the love and support to keep going. suguru had no support and wouldn’t accept the little he could get from his friends. how can you reach your hand out and help someone who slaps it away? and why is there more blame on the EXPLOITED CHILDREN who were given NO SUPPORT after multiple severely traumatic incidents that happened closely to each other and not… the adults who let it happen? so what if they were strong, they’re just kids. they’re kids. it shouldn’t have been up to them, they should have been protected. but it’s always satoru and shoko’s fault that suguru decided to become a racist genocidal cult leader to treat his mental illness (never mind the fact that they’re both mentally ill themselves) and never the system that allowed him to become that way. it’s also never his own fault for deciding to kill all those people and then stick with that plan years later.

[allhailperseusjackson10]

I was rereading some of my posts from 2021 and was reminded of how much meta I used to write so imma share my crazy headcanon/ theory which i thought up as plot for a revolution fic:

RR verse is on the "Olympus will fall" timeline and Zeus' actions are speeding it up.

In the recent decade there has been several great prophecies back to back. And people have remarked how weird it is that there have been so many. What if the reason is because of Zeus?

Remember, in greek mythology there is a major theme of how Your Fate Cannot Be Defied. And Zeus, king of Olympus, has a major Fate: being overthrown. However he managed to "defy" it by eating Metis.

My idea is that he has been forcefully clawing out a future where he is still king of Olympus. By doing this, he is literally changing the flow of fate. And obviously fate wants to correct itself, so the harder he fights it, the more counterforce he triggers. All prophecies meant to lead to his overthrowing are suddenly sped up. Olympus begins to lose power. Zeus is aware of this. He is also aware how people are becoming suspicious. And he needs a scapegoat. And who better than the god of prophecy who is also a threat to the throne?

Apollo mentions that Zeus blamed him for his oracle revealing a prophecy "too early" and therefore causing it to happen early. However, everyone knows it's not possible to actually cause a prophecy to happen early...so why would Zeus even have this weird line of thought? everyone probably dismissed it as Zeus being irrational, but there a juicier theory this ties into:

Apollo being the one to overthrow Zeus.

The idea of "fall of the sun, the final verse". What if this is the final prophecy that is meant to happen before Zeus is overthrown? And what if the fall this speaks of is actually when Apollo fell close to chaos? When he pulled himself together there?

What if he reformed different from his original godly form. He was literally almost gone, his body was disintegrating. Maybe he pulled himself together using the energies of chaos. Apollo himself isn't aware of this, due to a suspicious memory gap between him clawing up from the cliff and him waking up next to Artemis.

And this adds to another headcanon of mine, the fates choose Apollo to be the god of prophecy on purpose. At first glance, this is a horrible match. If they wanted a good servant, why would they choose someone so closely tied to his heart and so likely to fight fate? Someone who dares get them drunk just to extend a human's lifespan? UNLESS... they WANT him to eventually try and defy fate??

Imagine if fate was a compass and Zeus had forcefully wrenched the needle point at a bleak dark future where Olympus falls with him. And this river direction has been set so deeply in stone and run on for so long, it has worn a grove and become the mostly likely future.

you need someone willing to fight, someone to wrench the needle out. SOMEONE FAMILAR WITH FATE AND Prophecy. Someone who has the power to fight it and win. Someone who has the will. Perhaps a baby god who was willing to fight Python, and who would have likely died there. But if he successfully did take on the powers of prophecy, one day that same godling would fight Python again, would absorb the powers of chaos to recreate himself.

Perhaps not today and maybe not even for the next four thousand years

but one day that godling would stare down at that wretched compass hand and decide to yank the flow out of its place. And maybe, that godling means a chance for Olympus to have a different future.

Anyways that's my crazy theory i hope it wasn't too confusing. It also links up with my other story theme idea about fate, hope and apollo blah blah blah, which i rambled about in a different post.

Edit: just remembered my other crazy thought, what if ZEUS PURPOSEFULLY TRIED TO GET RID OF APOLLO NOT ONLY CAUSE HE IS A THREAT TO THE THRONE BUT ALSO BECAUSE AS THE GOD OF PROPHECY HE IS MOST LIKELY TO REALIZE SOMETHING IS WRONG AND THAT ZEUS IS MESSING WITH FATE?!???? Basically pulling a imma say you're the murderer before u realise im the murderer. (i cant remember the actual saying Lmaoo)

[allhailperseusjackson10]

have you ever made any designs for Greek gods/goddesses? I think they would look great in your style!!!

i have some loose designs for most of the pjo-verse greek gods

i also have ideas for more general greek god designs but no art for them yet

[allhailperseusjackson10]

Headcanons for the greek gods as omegas?

(I assume you mean as Omegaverse and not for them all to be Omegas cus there’s no way Ares is Omega lol)

This is gonna be the 12(.5) Olympians and the royal couple of the underworld

Zeus: Alpha, a very obvious Alpha. Leader of the Olympian pack. If we're going with the personality he has in the myths then he's the kind of douchebag Alpha who thinks it's his right to go around knotting whoever he fancies; I imagine his pheromones are pretty powerful too. Like, send-you-into-an-surprise-heat kind of powerful. If we're going with how the ancient Greeks actually saw Zeus though he's the absolute best provider. Big dad vibes towards everyone who's even a little bit younger than him (which... y’know, given that he's a god is almost everyone).

Hera: Omega. The kind of Omega that has a dominant, leader's streak; the kind born to be the leader's mate. She has that Omega's need for love and attention (which Zeus really needs to work on giving her smh) and likes to pamper her body (see: pool that she bathes in every night that somehow magically makes her not a virgin anymore... yeah idk either, blame the ancient Greeks). She does, however, lack a natural maternal instinct (see: yeeting baby Hephaestus off of mt. Olympus), so I feel like she could potentially also be a Beta.

Poseidon: Alpha. Originally he was actually the leader of the Olympian pack (no that's not a headcanon - the Macedonians actually considered Poseidon to be the head of the Olympians). I imagine him to be a kind of rugged-looking Alpha - like an strong old fisherman with rough palms and speckled grey hair - with an air of calm and control that can switch to chaotic and aggressive in an instant's notice - like the ocean itself.

Hestia: Omega. Absolutely 100% Omega. The kind of Omega who's very presence makes you feel soothed, her hugs are warm and soft (not just because she always wears fluffy cardigans), her nest is absolute perfection - beautiful, calming to be in, and cosy - and she's always got something divine (if you'll excuse the pun) in the oven. Always purring kin the kitchen. Absolute biggest mama vibes. She smells like a bakery; chocolate and pastry. Holy shit I love Hestia.

Demeter: Alpha. Considered her, perhaps, as an Omega on account of her being a fertility agriculture goddess but she just doesn't strike me as the placating, gentle type. Quite the opposite. She fought stubbornly for her daughter to remain at her side, and she's the goddess of law too - she's not the rolling-over-showing-her-neck type at all. I picture her as an absolute Unit; muscles for days from all the years harvesting crops. The no-nonsense kind of Alpha.

Aphrodite: Omega. The hypersexual kind of Omega. I believe I've seen them called 'Pack Omegas' - the type that do best when they're in a relationship with lots of people, practically (or literally) a whole pack. Also the beauty-obsessed kind of Omega. Takes ten hours to get her clothes, hair, and makeup done yet somehow she turns the whole process into a mesmerising dance. She turns everything into a mesmerising dance. Another I imagine with knock-out strong pheromones that have Alphas falling to their knees for her. She smells like roses.

Athena: Alpha. Another leader-type Alpha - literally has Athens named after her, and she's very proud of her people... despite some of the absolute nonsense she's had to witness from them throughout the ancient years. A very adept and skilled fighter and strategist - likes to know everything about a situation before rushing in. She's an incredibly supportive and wise lead Alpha, the kind that the pack feels they can go to with whatever problem they might have. I feel like she could also easily be a Beta, but she's got such a strong sense of being dominant and in charge it's hard to see her as anything but an Alpha.

Ares: Alpha. Less of a leader-type Alpha, lbr, more of a team player. The kind of Alpha that runs into things without thinking, relying on instinct and, on the battlefield, pure rage. Your average Aggressive Type Alpha who's ready to kill for anyone in his pack. Can come across as a bit of a meat head... and can be a bit of a meat head at times... Yet I imagine him as a really loving, doting mate, which initially surprises a lot of people; seeing this big burly 6ft< Alpha who smells like fire and blood smiling dopily as picks out the perfect dainty jewellery for Aphrodite.

Hephaestus: Beta. My poor poor bastard boy. Very crafty and creative (see: trapping his mother in a beautiful trick throne he built as revenge for yeeting him off the mountain as a baby). Likes to think his creations through and plan genius contraptions. He could very easily also be an Alpha, what with the fact he's a blacksmith, which is a rather Alpha job. But I guess I lean towards Beta because, even though he's a bit of a social outcast on account of his leg and general appearance, he's clearly desperate to be more socially involved with the pack and doesn't want to be a lone wolf.

Artemis: Alpha. Surprisingly nonsexual for an Alpha. Very much a lone wolf. Loves spending her days out in the forest. You wouldn't think she's an Alpha to look at her, but she'd surprise you with how strong she is. Also very good at using her opponent's strength against them. Because of her build, she's considered the protector of Omegas; most Omegas would feel very safe in her presence. She's got this mysterious edge to her that just uncontrollably draws you in... like the moon.

Apollo: Omega. Ah, sweet darling disaster bisexual... I just imagine him being very soft and sensitive (not that he can't kick ass on a battlefield, see: his involvement in the battles of the Iliad). He has an artist's soul and an angel's voice. His serenades are totally his courting gifts. I imagine him revelling in being doted on, and always eager for fuss and attention. He has a beautiful Omegan frame, and he loves decorating himself in luxurious garb and crowns of flowers and leaves. He smells like laurel and somehow also sunshine. No one knows how this is possible but he does.

Hermes: Beta. And nooo I'm not just saying that because he's my favourite and that's the dynamic I best identify with (>_>) He really is such a Beta though. I've a headcanon that Beta's love travelling and exploring and he's literally the God of that so y'know. He's also so quick thinking and witty: represented himself in a what was basically a godly court case where he was guilty of thievery and won when he was literally a baby. He's hardly ever submissive to anyone but he hardly ever uses aggression or physical force to get his way/get out of trouble. He smells like ripe strawberries and the metallic tinge of coins.

Dionysus: Beta. The eccentric, outgoing, party type Beta; wants to be surrounded by friends having a good time all the time. He smells like booze; in the morning it's a little off-putting, but in the evening its literally intoxicating. I imagine his mortal Maenads needing only his scent to drive them into a frenzy. Not the kind of Beta you'd expect to also have the Supportive Beta streak, but he absolutely does; he lives to support his friends and gives the kind of advice you don't realise is advice at first and later hits you like an epiphany, and it was exactly what you needed to hear.

Persephone: Beta. Difficult one, but I had to go with Beta because she strikes me as a very gentle, delicate goddess of spring that could easily have her classified as Omega, but in winter she's the no-nonsense, dominant queen of the underworld that could have her classified as an Alpha. Overall, I think this shows her adaptability, which is a very Beta trait. Also, she's not really as needy and dependent as an Omega traditionally is. Things might have happened to her beyond her control, but she very much took back control and has both Hades and Demeter wrapped around her little finger. Of course, she smells like pomegranates, and spring blossom.

Hades: Omega. I have such a soft spot for soft!Hades. But he's kind of the reverse of Artemis in that you would not think to look at him that he's an Omega, you'd assume he's an Alpha, especially considering his position as ruler of the underworld. But he's a softy at heart, and adores material possessions (which I consider a bit of an Omegan trait). He mopes all the way through spring and summer at the lack of Persephone's presence, cooped up in his nest the whole time until autumn rolls around and she comes back into his life. He has a very earthy scent.

bonus:

Hermaphrodite: All three! Thought I'd include Hermaphrodite because they flashed through my mind and I wondered what might be classified as intersex in a/b/o. Of course, that depends on how you hc biology for the dynamics but I thought what would perhaps make Hermaphrodite an outcast/outlier could be their body, scent, and instincts being a mix of all three dynamics.

thanks for the ask 💞

[allhailperseusjackson10]

I always wondered what happened here. Eventually came to the conclusion that it's just Rick's lazy writing and the timeline being made as he goes, but this is so much better.

Never knew I needed seahorse Percy in my life until now.

So Kalya, Apollo is your kinda your "mum" then? How have you reacted when you have knew that your were the biological daugther of two men, and that one of them was the god Apollo? (or it's something that Sunny dad does often?)

Percy: This changes... literally nothing. But I’m still shocked.

[allhailperseusjackson10]

hc that when percy was a little kid, fish and horses would call him prince or little prince and that launched a whole phase/theory that percy had that his mom was ariel, basically. like a long-lost princess or a queen secretly and that led to a lot of very confusing interactions between percy and sally

[allhailperseusjackson10]

Can I say I LOVE HOW MUCH Apollo/Lester loves Will (Especially in toN). Like he’s such a proud father- I have a sweet spot for tender father/son relationships

Will: oh hey dad

Lester: My Boy. My Boy. My beautiful baby boy. My sweet loving son he is the apple of my eye and the thing I hold most dear. My dear shining gifted baby boy “he inherited all my best traits and none of my worst” I shall wrap you in a blanket and protect you from all harm oh yes hello Kayla and austin how are you Oh Will my beloved son this cruel world does not deserve you *starts fucking crying again*

[allhailperseusjackson10]

Once Percy jokingly prays for Poseidon to come to this parent function at New Rome or something and Poseidon... actually comes and everyone's like,,, WHAT THE HELL WHY IS POSEIDON HERE?????!!!

omg amazing.

Also, Percy would 100% regret this. I like to think he didn’t even technically invite him. He’s just rambling in his prayers like ‘I bet Professor Foyer would stop giving me shit if you showed up’ and Poseidon (who has gotten numerous complaints about Professor Foyer via prayers in the past) is just like ‘let’s give it a whirl’ and shows up. The following then happened:

- New Rome is FREAKING OUT. Partly bc a major god is here, but also it’s Poseidon and Romans are terrified of Neptune so everyone is literally tip-toeing like “If we don’t move... maybe he’ll stay Poseidon and we can at least kept Neptune away. Just...remain...calm....”

- Percy is baffled. He keeps asking Poseidon what he’s doing here but Poseidon is more concerned with figuring out how these mortal schools work

Percy: Uh, dad. You know, mom was going to come to this-

Poseidon: What is a ‘midterm’?

Percy: It’s like a final exam, but in the middle of the semester. Did you hear me before? I mean, I’m flattered that you’re here! But, um, also why?

Poseidon, looking around Percy’s dorm: Have they imprisoned you?

Percy: What?

Poseidon: This is a prison.

Percy: This is my dorm room.

Poseidon: Not for long.

- So then Poseidon decides to find the chancellor and demand his son gets a better room ( “He fought in two wars. You could at least give him an apartment”). Naturally, the chancellor is a Roman who is not going to fuck around with Neptune and agreed. Percy is mortified.

- Poseidon also brings Tyson along, which was a good decision bc Tyson is also the only one keeping Percy’s stress levels down.

- However, some Roman said some unkind words towards Tyson and this uh.... did not end well. We’ll leave it there. Poseidon low-key is a PTA parent.

- Percy is pretty ‘eh’ about it (he would have taken care of the situation similarly) but he is still getting stressed about literally everything else Poseidon is doing.

Poseidon: This is great work.

Percy: Um, what is?

Poseidon: This... uh, project?

Percy: Dad, I appreciate your confidence in me, but I did not build the student union center.

Poseidon: Nevertheless.

Percy: ...thank you.

- Sally did, indeed, also come and Poseidon is downright delighted to casually be flirting with her on the side. Paul also appears and Poseidon decides to playfully flirt with him too. Percy is wondering if he could just grab Annabeth and leave.

- They run into Frank. Poseidon is THRILLED to officially meet his however-many-greats grandson and insists he ditches his praetor duties and join them.

Frank: Sooooo... how are you doing?

Percy: How does it look like I’m doing?

Frank: Do you know why he’s here?

Percy: The Fates are punishing me for somehow living this long

Poseidon, loudly to one of Percy’s professors: He’s GREEK! Why would you give him tests in LATIN? Do you WANT him to fail? My grandson is praetor here, you know-

Frank: ...oh no.

- Poseidon does meet Professor Foyer. Percy is terrified about what is going to happen. Poseidon straight up goes “I’m getting real tired of getting prayers about you” and yes it gets worse from there. By the end of it, Professor Foyer resigns. Percy briefly considers dropping out.

- Percy’s grades are pretty good in New Rome given that it is designed for demigods and stuff (plus Annabeth is a good study partner) and Sally is just SO proud of him (as she should be). Poseidon isn’t too familiar with the grading system but is down to celebrate/brag.

Poseidon: I shouldn’t be surprised that you are the smartest at this school

Percy: Oh. No, I wouldn’t say that-

Poseidon: I knew you could outdo that Athena girl

Percy: NO-

Poseidon: I can’t wait to rub it in Athena’s face

Percy: I’M FAIRLY CERTAIN IT IS ILLEGAL FOR YOU TO EVEN BE HERE RIGHT NOW-

- Before Poseidon leaves, he gives a very generous donation to the school. Percy is just happy the night is over and doesn’t think much of it until later that night when a faculty member comes to talk to him.

Faculty: The administration wants to know when you’d like to move?

Percy: Excuse me? I’m not sure what you mean.

Faculty: To the new underwater dorm.

Percy: ...to the what?

Faculty: Your father gave us 5 million denarii to build you a new dorm because he said the one you’re currently in is unacceptable-

Percy: I am so, so, so sorry. You don’t need to do this. I am so sorry. I don’t even know that man-

- Also, Percy learns the next week that he has to resubmit several essays because Poseidon took some back to Atlantis with him. For what? He isn’t sure. He decides to just give in and be flattered that his dad cares lol... but yeah. He’s not telling him about another parent function ever again.

[allhailperseusjackson10]

so i came across your post of drew and percy being good friends (i kniw it was a long time ago. im just scrolling down your blog) and that seems really interesting. please elaborate?

So I believe they became friends after the whole scorpion thing in tlt. I feel like Drew was jealous of Luke cause he kept stealing Silena away from her so she decided to trash talk about Luke with Percy to make him feel better.

Anyways they bond over that and become really good friends but then someone’s like are you dating?? And obviously Drew and Percy are assholes so they play it up for fun

Drew: I need to wear blue lipstick cause Percy loves blue

Percy: I’m colour coding my clothes for Drew

Also I hc drew as aroace so this whole thing becomes even funnier. Although one time percy called her baby and she charmspeaked him into dying his hair pink (she wasn’t going to get her hands dirty).

Plus for the lost hero, I feel like Drew thought Jason did something bad so she portrayed herself as just wanting to date him but in reality she was just looking to get more info on percy. Oh and the whole breaking hearts thing? Inside joke that Piper was not in on but basically it came from Percy and Drew “breaking up”

[allhailperseusjackson10]

Hot Take: Apollo/Lester isn't a self-centered protagonist actually, he's a pathological liar, and a biased narrator who has zero self-esteem

[allhailperseusjackson10]

New Headcanon: Apollo kids call anytime they fail at anything a “Lester Moment”

Apollo sat down with the rest of his children at the “him” table. Kayla was struggling to open a water bottle. 

“Austin, can you get this for me? I’m having a Lester moment,” she said. 

“Sure thing, Kayla,” Austin replied, opening the water bottle. 

“Wait a minute. A Lester moment?” Apollo said incredulously. 

“Yea. You know. Like, struggling with a simple task. Failing at life,” Kayla explained. Apollo made a face at her. 

“You know, there was a time when I would have smited you for that. Smited? Smote? Smote,” Apollo said sternly. Austin snickered.

“Not while you were Lester,” Kayla retorted with a smirk. Nico snorted and covered his mouth. Will smacked him lightly on the arm. Apollo frowned and flicked Kayla in the head. 

“OW! Hey!“ 

"Sorry, I had a Lester moment,” Apollo said, causing Will to spit out his water.

[allhailperseusjackson10]

Yes, I still love Dark Percy Tartarus Fanfics. 

Random Dark!Percy Redemption AU

Percy is left in Tartarus, barely surviving and on the brink of death he strikes a deal with a mysterious being who asks for his most valued possession. With nothing on hand, Percy gives up his Humanity. This leads to him not only surviving but becoming the most feared and ruthless fighter in the underworld. Years later becoming the successor of Tartarus and ruling for 300 years and being breaking the bargain, his humanity returns. Perseus leaves, returning to camp where only 3 years have passed and pretending to have been tortured in Tartarus and escaped. Percy is now stuck dealing with his guilt and unable to tell anyone the truth in fear the camp would reject him. Battling with his literal demons and seeking redemption, how long can he take it. 

[allhailperseusjackson10]

can’t stop thinking about percy’s claiming scene now let me hold on a second.

we have this child, who has barely just escaped death by a hellhound, seemingly being healed by water. the girl who kinda-sort-of-hates-him knows full well what is happening. his wounds heal. she mutters about how she didn’t want this to happen. this could only mean one thing. poseidon, they whisper. and sure enough, just above his head, is a holographic figure of a trident.

ngl i have chiron’s line memorized by now lol.

“earthshaker, stormbringer, father of horses. hail perseus jackson, son of the sea god.”

and it’s just beautiful imagery, because everyone bows to him. everyone, as in, even the ares kids who had just tried to kill him. and it hits different if you think about how technically, percy jackson is a sea prince. it hits different when you realize that in canon, no other demigod got this treatment. maybe it was because few children of poseidon existed in comparison to zeus, or that poseidon is seen as a more elemental and primordial god, therefore is shown more respect. it hits different when you realize that percy becomes a figure of respect and dignity.

whatever the case, this scene FUCKS ME UP. annabeth bows down, chiron bows down, luke bows down, clarisse bows down…and meanwhile, the kid in question is scared out of his goddamn mind. he just thinks: why are they treating me this way? i don’t want this power. i don’t want this attention. i don’t want respect. because, here’s the thing—he’s not used to it.

but from then on…percy will be treated this way, like royalty, bc technically he is. his father is the ruler of the seas, and the ocean has always been feared, has always been respected and admired. and not only that, but he grows into that power. it’s so interesting to see this little boy who was just told, in the most dramatic way possible, who his father is—and then see a dramatic change in his character during botl when he wants more power as he cleans the horse stables in texas and realizes that the sea was inside of him all this time. that he is unrestrained. it’s so interesting to go from a little boy who wants nothing to do with his dad and his powers to a 16 year-old who sinks his sword into the williamsburg bridge and causes it to split in half. like his father did in athens. he commands armies, becomes his father’s son as he screams out when he realizes that michael yew is nowhere to be found, and so, with that scream, he makes the ground shake. he unleashes that power with titans, with gods, with monsters. and he cannot be stopped from then on, when he realizes that it’s inside him, that he has no choice but to want it. even if it scares him, at first.

so that claiming scene creates, in my mind, this domino effect on percy and his link to the ocean. to his father.

earthshaker, stormbringer…it all comes full circle. and the next time a group of demigods bow down to him, i can assure you that he’ll accept it, grimly. because what choice does he have? he is poseidon’s mortal son, and still he makes the ground shake and the seas rise to his command. he is the camp leader—but each day that his powers grow, everyone questions if he’s truly half human in the first place, or if he maybe belongs to the sea, as his father’s lieutenant like zeus had suggested in the first place.

and it all👏starts👏with👏that👏claiming👏scene

[allhailperseusjackson10]

something about water, how it replenishes as much as it takes life, and how that reflects in percy… thalia and nico and hazel and jason, their powers take from them, it takes their energy and sometimes a huge amount of life, takes it all to protect them. but percy.. water replenishes him. it heals him, it is a part of him, it is his very essence. it is, to put it frankly, his home.

water does not take from its own - it supports it, which is why percy was so easily able to control it in the river lethe, then again in the styx, then again with the cocytus, akhlys’ tears and poison. water bends to its will, it’s master. it literally praises him, worships him. the earth does not worship nico - it takes from him. the air spares no mercy, even when it comes with it’s own child.

it’s just- it’s so obvious how there is saltwater in percy’s blood, how children of the sea are far more fearsome than most. there is a reason why the romans fear the sea, fear Neptune, fear his children. because the others work for their power, but Percy and his brothers, his sisters, his father, they make their powers work for them

literally the only times percy wore himself out with his powers was mt. saint helens and controlling the lethe, which were completely understandable so.

that is where the power imbalance lies in. zeus’ kids wear it like a crown, a heavy weight above them, a reign to horses that are hard to control. hades’ kids wear it like a burden, like a cross. it is as heavy as the earth they control. but poseidon’s kids….. it is water. they are fluid, light, dense where others are not. 

 i also think that this is why their fatal flaw is loyalty - with water in their essence, i think it was appropriate for this to reflect in their personality and downfall as well. water is loyal to those that are part of it, and that is as much advantage as it is weakness.

[allhailperseusjackson10]

I know in the books it’s already like, a Thing that Percy’s relationship with his godly family seems to be abnormally good- like, Poseidon’s not dad of the year but he’s also made it clear he deeply cares about Percy and has tried to warn/protect him in the past, there’s been brief references here and there that after tlo Percy started spending time in the underwater palace occasionally, he calls Amphitrite his step-mom and says she bakes him cookies and doesn’t mind that he’s messy when he stays over, he brought back that pendant Annabeth wears, little stuff like that- but tbh I wish it would be expanded on more because apart from the fact it’s sweet, it’s also like, kinda funny? when you think about how all the other gods are just. messes. about family. like let me just SEE him interact with his family more, it has such potential. He casually mentions he’s meeting his sister Kym at starbucks later and Jason’s like ‘she sold you out to a giant that wanted to murder you’ and Percy’s just like ‘yeah but that was months ago and dad made her apologize we’re cool now’. Annabeth still hasn’t forgiven her mom for the whole Mark-of-Athena-Suicide-Quest thing and they had a huge fight on Olympus the other day, the first time they had seen each other since the war ended, and Annabeth’s complaining about this to Percy, who’s Iris Messaging her from the bottom of the ocean because it’s Poseidon’s custody weekend. There’s a mandatory parent bake sale at school to raise money for a field trip but Sally’s on a book tour and Paul was prepared to just quit after he set the kitchen on fire, only for Amphitrite to stroll into the school the next day and ruin every PTA Mom’s life. Percy telling his friends to stay out of the water for a few days because he called Triton a bitch in the family group chat and he just wanted them to be careful. Percy trying to figure out if a bunch of Greek gods are expecting Christmas presents or not and wtf to get them if they are. Triton wanting to get Percy back for the bitch comment but knowing their dad won’t let him drown someone so he instead shows up at Percy’s mortal high school and does The Most to embarrass him. Tyson begging Percy to let him help babysit Estelle. Poseidon showing up at Career Day with absolutely no warning and trying not to laugh at Percy’s reaction. Percy getting his dad a fathers day card like he wanted to do in SoM!! Like it’s a dynamic I don’t want pushed to the side as much as it is!!! There’s so much to work with there!!! I want more! 

[allhailperseusjackson10]

Rick did Jason Grace so dirty in HoO

Before I explain, I think I should establish that I really like Jason as a character. While he isn’t one of my favourites, he has really grown on me over the last couple of years. But he never really had a shot with the fandom, after his introduction in The Lost Hero, and after Son of Neptune and a lot of that has to do with the way Rick set him up for failure from the very beginning with a variety of writing decisions. The odds were really stacked against him.

Let’s first recap the very base of who Jason Grace is. He had an unstable mother, who gave him up to Juno when he was two years old, so that she could claim him as her champion. He is the only demigod child of Jupiter, and grew up raised by wolves, then later raised in a relatively strict military hierarchy since a very early age without any knowledge of his mortal family. He had to deal with all the pressure and expectations that came with who his father is. Over time he managed to become one of the two leaders of said hierarchy and has been committed to change its society for the better ever since. He led Camp Jupiter in the titan war and managed to defeat the titan Krios with his bare hands,  He is the long-lost brother of Thalia Grace, one of the more popular characters from the PJO book. He is extremely kind, protective, and loyal, and one of the most powerful demigods in the Riordan verse.

This should have easily made him into a fan favourite character. But what happened instead was for him to become the least favorite member of the seven, to be considered boring and skippable by a lot of fans, and to even get a lot of haters. (I know especially here on tumblr a lot of people really love Jason, but I’m talking about the more general part of the fandom, and I don’t think anyone can deny that Jason gets quite a lot of hate there.)

So, what went wrong?

I think there are three main reasons for the dislike he receives.

Telling, and not showing on part of Rick’s writing

A constant forced comparison with Percy

A lacking character arc in the hoo books

Let’s start with the first one.

Telling, and not showing

Piper’s and Leo’s POVs did him a huge disservice in that regard in the lost hero. During the entirety of the book, Piper wore rose-tinted glasses when it came to him. There is barely a chapter without her glazing Jason, or commenting on his looks or generally how perfect he is. Leo deals with a lot of insecurities and, while not as extreme as Piper, puts Jason also on a pedestal in his chapters. This was, for one, quickly becoming repetitive, but also put a lot of expectations on Jason, which are impossible to meet for any character.

It doesn’t help that Jason didn’t achieve all that many impressive feats in The Lost Hero. He didn’t do nothing, but in comparison to Leo and Piper, he gets a bit overshadowed.

Leo pretty early on established himself as a mathematic genius. He repairs Festus, saves Piper and Jason from the cyclops, and fights against Khione at the Wolf’s house.

Piper uses her charm speak to convince Boreas and his sons to let them go, frees Leo and Jason from Medea’s control, breaks Hera’s cage together with Leo, and is able to revive Jason after he accidentally looked at Juno in her divine form.

Jason, meanwhile, defeats a venti at the Grand Canyon and saves Piper’s life, defeats Lityerses and Midas, and defeats Encaladeus with the help of Zeus.

Don’t get me wrong. Those are great accomplishments and put Jason at the very top of the demigod power hierarchy, but with the way everyone talks about him, and with the standards we already have for children of the big three as readers of PJO, he just falls a bit short. Especially when you focus on top of that on other moments in that book where he gets knocked out by the cyclops or looks unprompted at Juno in her divine form, to list a few examples.

Despite this, his actions and abilities would have probably still made him into a fan-favourite character, if there wouldn’t have been this constant comparison with Percy.

A forced Comparison

Jason and Percy are getting compared in the hoo books in a very obvious way. They are set up as equals by Rick with its entire premise in the first two books and the weird rivalry thing he wrote in Mark of Athena, which is, I think, the main reason why Jason is so disliked.

Percy Jackson is probably the most popular character within the Riordan verse. The only characters who even come close are Nico di Angelo, Leo Valdez, and maybe Annabeth Chase. He is the main character for the entire prequel series, and had much more time to develop and for the readers to get attached to than any other character.

This was a lost battle, even before the first chapter of the lost hero was written. By the time, Percy and Jason meet, Percy was the main character, or at least one of the main characters, in 11 adventures, if you include the short stories, while Jason was one of three POV characters in a single book. A book, where he had amnesia for the entirety of it. People are protective of their favourite characters, and if you make a direct comparison between the most popular character in your franchise and some new guy, even (try to) establish them as equals and force them to have a rivalry, people are naturally going to develop a dislike for the new guy.

And Rick certainly didn’t help matters with the way he wrote them.

At the end of the lost hero, Hera tells Jason, that he is going to be the leader of the seven, but we know he isn’t. We, as readers, who have followed Annabeth and Percy since they were 12 years old, know that he doesn’t deserve this role, judging by what we have seen of him.

Even if he were to be portrayed as strong as Percy in the following books, it would feel undeserved. While we have seen Percy fight the many monsters and titan’s he did in the PJO books, and seen his growth in both power and character, we only get told that Jason defeated Krios with his bare hands. There isn’t even a flashback in either his or Reyna’s POV chapters of the incident, which could have at least elevated this accomplishment.

And then, Rick publishes Son of Neptune and every possibility of Jason being on the same level as Percy gets instantly flung out of the window.

Percy is the MVP of that book. Frank and especially Hazel are awesome, absolutely no discussion there, but for me at least, Son of Neptune was really Percy’s time to shine.  (Though I have to admit, I’m pretty biased towards Percy, so that statement is probably really subjective.)

Even before he leaves for the quest, Percy already killed one gorgon, demolished the romans in the war games, sees through Octavius’ performance, figures out what happened with the golden eagle and proves his selflessness by choosing not to take the gorgon blood to recover his memories. Then later he tricks Phineas in what is for me one of the coolest moments in the entirety of hoo, fights an entire army, destroys a glazier, defeats Polybotes basically by himself and, again, makes a fool out of Octavius in front of the senate, and all that after Rick already nerved him by removing the curse of Achilles.

Comparing especially the fights against Polybotes, and Enceladus respectively does Jason absolutely no favors.

Jason fought good, he fought greatl even, he had this very cool moment with his speech explaining who he was and boasting of his accomplishments, but in the end, his weapon got destroyed and he had to pray to his father to kill Enceladeus with a lighting bolt. That was an amazing feat for a demigod, absolutely no discussion, but really pales in comparison to Percy’s fight at the end of Son of Neptune.  

Percy absolutely bodied Polybotes. I don’t even know if he received a single injury in this fight. The “help” he received from a god was him smashing the decapitated head of Terminus into Polybotes. Like, Terminus didn’t do shit in that fight.

You can’t describe two characters as being equals and then portray so huge differences in their accomplishments.

Yes, Hazel and Frank also often say that Percy is powerful, or a good leader, or handsome, or smart, in a similar way to how Piper and Leo describe Jason, but with Percy it feels more like a reward as a reader. Because we have already seen him be all of that in the original books. It’s just acknowledgement and no new information.

Also, the absolute dissonance between Jason’s disappearance and camp Jupiter’s reaction also doesn’t help him. How can we believe that he is a leader of the same calibre as Percy, when most of the people in the camp he has lived in since he was four years old, don’t even care that much about his disappearance and are so quick to replace him? (Even worse, they replaced him with Percy) I know that this is just the way, Camp Jupiter works, but simply as a narrative choice, it’s very questionable.  

A lacking Character Arc & Amnesia

Coming to the last point. Jason’s character arc in the entirety of Hoo fell flat to me (Though, to be fair, most character arcs, if they even existed, fell flat to me in Hoo.)

His predominant character arc is him struggling with his identity, between being a roman or a greek. Now, this would be a very compelling arc, if we’d know who Jason Grace was as a roman. But we don’t. We know close to nothing about Jason’s life in New Rome. The only meaningful relationship he apperantly had was with Reyna, and he barely thinks about her in his povs, and even in Reyna’s chapters in boo we barely find out about their friendship. The entire camp turns against him in Mark of Athena. By the end of Boo, he still has not regained his entire memory, and never really confronted his past as a praetor. This is not a full, or satiscfactory character arc.

There are many other points I could name, like his relationship with Piper, or how him being Thalia's brother came completely out of the blue, or how he didn't built any meaningful relationship with characters who weren't Piper or Leo in the four books he's been in, but, to be honest, this post is already getting too long.

I'm just frustrated because he could have been one of the coolest characters in the Riordan verse, but he was really sat up to fail.