Simon And Jacqueline Both Died? Unexpected.

FIXING THE HUNTRESSES OF ARTEMIS

About the huntresses of Artemis. So, I said in this post that Artemis' Huntresses never grew up and always remained immature children and that in the mythology, her companions aged normally and weren't immortal. And I know that Rick made Artemis' hunt a fun, immortal band of girls just hunting monsters together, which could have been nice, but the way he wrote them, the result was way worse than intended. And I have a solution to fix it (not that he'll ever see this): Make it so that when women join Artemis, they age normally, so that they're not stuck at one age all the time. And if they want to become immortal, they can, but if they want to stay mortal, then they can stay mortal too. It's shown in PJO that Artemis has no problem giving her Huntresses immortality and also taking it away, so this would be no problem for her. And they can be frozen in time at a proper age where they're fully mature. Also, let them be able to go away when they want to-let them try the hunt out, not just have to stay forever and possibly regret it. Let them try it out and see if it's right for them, and them be able to leave. But then how will Thalia be able to avoid the prophecy, you ask? Well, simple. Artemis freezes Thalia in time like she does to her older hunters, making her a 15 year old forever-and when the prophecy is done, then Thalia starts aging normally again. Simple! I just think that it's really weird how Rick wrote the Huntresses of Artemis, having them be literal eternal children hunting monsters which is quite dangerous.

Rick really just missed the opportunity to tell us about Bianca and Nico having dyslexia and ADHD and living in the literal 1930s, huh? Were they kicked out? Did they have to move from school to school? The only thing we know is that Nico studied Dante in elementary school. Other than that? Nothing.

I bet you my whole fortune that Nico and Bianca probably had some kind of trauma from the schooling in Italy. Maybe that's why Bianca felt that she needed to take care of Nico-they were ostracized in school for their weirdness (AKA ADHD and dyslexia). And Maria was such a nice mother, but would she really understand? She didn't have ADHD or dyslexia. And even if she did know about the perils of being a demigod, even then she wouldn't really be able to understand Bianca and Nico. Sympathise with them, protect them a little, but she still wouldn't understand.

How Bianca thought that she was parentified

Ok, so, regarding the Nico and Bianca situation in PJO. So, people argue against the parentification of Bianca. First, her memories were wiped, then she and Nico were taken to the Lotus Casino, which made them forget all their worries! How could she have raised him then? And, yeah, you're right. But, hold on, we know that they were taken out of the Lotus Casino sometime after TLT. Now, they in there for 70 years. We don't know their reaction to modern technology, but I'm pretty sure that they DEFINITELY weren't used to it. Kids their age (biologically speaking) would know how to use basic technology in that era, and they didn't. Hell, they barely knew anything. Their syllabus was probably different, too. And can you imagine being snapped out of a month-long fun vacation, having to leave the literal LOTUS CASINO, and then being told that for a second time that hey, your parents are dead, but don't worry! They left a HUGE trust fund for you! Well, a trust fund wouldn't be enough to alleviate Bianca's fears. She and Nico only have each other right now, and yeah, they were in different dorms and classes, but is that really enough? Like, imagine your parents are dead, and you go to a hotel to have a month long fun vacation, but suddenly YOU'RE RIPPED OUT and then you remember that and you have a younger brother to take care of, and now you're in a whole different era and you don't really KNOW anything, you don't know what to do, what to study, maybe you're even falling behind in class. And now you know that sure, there might be a trust fund, but how long till it runs out? And then you'll have to fend for yourself AND your brother. It's just, I think being thrown into a whole new era really subconsciously affected Nico and Bianca in a bad way. I think Bianca thought that she was somewhat parentified because their parents were dead, and the trust fund wasn't eternal, and one day she'd have to fend for Nico and herself.

If you want to argue, please do.

What if Gisela had been nicer to Keefe?

One thing that puzzled me was-why the hell was Gisela so toxic to Keefe?

What if she acted nice towards Keefe and gave him more love, not just small doses? Then she could have swayed him to her side way more easily!

Imagine Cassius being a terrible father, but Gisela being a kind, sweet mother-at least that's her facade.

She slowly grooms Keefe to be what she needs him to be-subtly drops hints about the injustice of the Lost Cities, pitting Cassius and Keefe against each other, playing the doting mother when Cassius is angry.

Then Keefe wouldn't have rebelled so hard-he would've been taken in. And when Gisela revealed herself, she could have told him about the injustice that she had been showing him for years.

And Keefe would have had to make a decision. Stay with the Black Swan, or join the Neverseen? And he struggles with this decision over the course of the series. Sophie or his mother?

Because clearly the Black Swan's not doing anything, but the Neverseen is trying.

But the Neverseen's methods are horrible, while the Black Swan is more passive and preferable.

Still, there's so much injustice........

It would've made the book where Keefe join the Neverseen so much juicier.

Just imagine Gisela welcoming Keefe into the ranks. Imagine her teaching him, spending time with him like the old days-

AND IMAGINE HIM BETRAYING HER AND RUNNING AWAY WITH THE STOLEN CACHES.

Imagine her disappointment, her fury. Keefe's overwhelming guilt and shame, but he did the right thing, didn't he?

Except the Black Swan's not getting closer to doing anything, and the Neverseen members weren't as evil as he thought they'd be-they actually seemed to be humane, behaving like normal elves instead of evil people. Humanise the villains.

Aah, my heart, so much ANGST.

Every fandom is toxic

'Oh, the PJO fandom is so toxic-'

'Ooooooh, Keepblr is so meeeeeeeeean-'

'Ohhhhhhhhhhhh, TFOTA fandom is such a HIVEMIND-'

Find me a fandom that isn't toxic. I swear every fandom is toxic. Find me one that isn't. I dare you.

We should've seen Solangelo's development

The thing is, it's important to show the readers the development of a ship for them to really accept it properly.

If you stick two characters together with barely any prior development, then, well, the readers aren't going to ship them.

This is the reason why Percabeth is the most popular ship in the fandom-they got 5 whole books of development and they were friends first with no romantic feelings at all (no, I'm not going to accept the statement that Rick made regarding Annabeth falling for Percy when she was 12-she was always his friend first and went on the quest only for her own glory).

This is the reason why ships like Jiper and Caleo always fail.

Now, we as the readers know that Solangelo had 6 whole months together. They presumably spent a lot of time during these months with each other and as a result got to know each other quite well and start a romantic relationship.

We know that they had development.

It's just that Rick never bothered to write it for us, so we were left to create our own development, and while it can be absolutely awesome to do that, it would be so much better if Rick had given us Solangelo development, because many people still don't care for Solangelo as it barely had any on-page development.

And yes, on-page development is crucial for a romantic ship. If there's no on page development, it doesn't matter if they spent months or years together. If we as the readers could not read about their development, we're barely going to ship them.

It's the truth. We need to read it to see it. Fanfics are nice, and I'm not saying that you shouldn't write them, but a lot of people, especially gay people, want actual proper development written in canon books, not just slapped on rep that's expanded on in fanon.

But! You say. But Solangelo's the second most popular ship in the PJO fandom!

That's because they have a grumpy/sunshine dynamic which is so alluring to readers, and they're opposites attract, and they were the first real gay rep in a time period where there wasn't much gay rep, so queer people really clung onto this because it was very special to them. And honestly, I can't blame them.

But it's time to demand proper development for LGBTQ ships. Not just slapped on rep for brownie points-we need to demand more characters who are gay, but whose sexuality isn't their whole personality, and we need to demand about more people discovering their sexuality.

Nico and Will were already in a romantic relationship in ToA and TSATS, so we missed out on all the development and jumped immediately to the cute romantic moments which are nice, but if I'm being honest, barely have any weight WITHOUT PROPER DEVELOPMENT.

I made a similar post here saying that we needed development for LGBTQ ships.

I'm not anyone's anti, pro, fan or stan. I really just said something that needed to be said, and I think that a lot of people will agree with me.

I just searched up why Rick Riordan added Annabeth's judo flip, and oh my god, it's just so bad-

No, I'm serious. Just look at this sentence-

Rick Riordan added the judo flip as a way to depict Annabeth's practical and strategic nature.

Practical? STRATEGIC? It was literally the opposite of that! Annabeth put her mission in danger! I know she was emotional, but that just doesn't make her actions any less stupid, and it's a blatant lie to paint her judo flip as practical and strategic.

'It's a moment of action and control, showcasing her quick thinking and ability to get out of dangerous situations.'

I just-who wrote this paragraph? How are they able to twist is so badly?

Annabeth literally made it worse-she put them in a dangerous situation by judo flipping Percy! If Percy and Reyna hadn't acted diplomatically, the whole mission would have gone to pieces.

'While it might seem unusual for a character, the judo flip highlights Annabeth's strength and resourcefulness, particularly in a world where demigods often face danger.'

I'm wheezing. Get out of danger? Honey, she just put them in more danger. Show her strength? If that's the best example you have, then your ability to write female characters and relationships is just terrible. There are other ways to show her strength, like having her beat a monster of fight another demigod (Which, by the way, she could have done if Rick hadn't decided to put another Percabeth moment in there. Sigh.)

The judo flip is a memorable and unexpected action that adds to Annabeth's unique personality. It shows she's not just intelligent and resourceful but also capable of physical strength and quick reactions.

Terrible writing. Horrible writing. Egregious writing. Dreadful, awful, appalling, horrific writing.

Resourceful and intelligent-we've already gone over this multiple times, the judo flip was the opposite of that.

Capable of physical strength and quick reactions-except there was no reason for a judo flip of all things. She could have done this when fighting a monster or an enemy demigod or even during sparring practice.

The judo flip can be seen as a symbol of Annabeth's ability to control situations and take charge. It reflects her leadership qualities and her willingness to defend herself and others.

Annabeth wasn't defending anyone, she was actively making the situation worse. She would have defended her team better if she hadn't judo flipped Percy.

Also, if she needs to take charge by physical violence, then she's not a good leader.

In essence, the judo flip is a character-driven moment that enhances Annabeth's personality and adds a layer of realism to the story.

I do agree with this sentence-it's definitely realistic and apropos to Annabeth's personality, but it's a flaw. And if flaws aren't developed and overcome, then it's just bad writing.

Why do you hate the judo flip

Honey, you're talking to a sane, logical, rational person who doesn't normalise physical assault and victim blaming, not one of your Percabeth stan mutuals. Hope this clears things up :)

The ultimate tragedy of Bianca di Angelo

The tragedy of Bianca di Angelo is that she was written to be only an older sister to Nico.

She revolves around Nico. She’s a moon to his planet. She’s an auxiliary character for the sake of his development.

But…..for a brief moment………Rick Riordan accidentally created some figure of hope for older siblings, more specifically older sisters who were conditioned to always be the soft yet firm column for their younger, or sometimes, even older brother to lean on, because in this society, it is expected that women will light themselves on fire and smile and be loving and sacrifice their lives for the men. 

So many older sisters saw Bianca as someone whom they could relate to and grew to love her, even after she only got half a book and died.

And this is where the tragedy comes into play, because after her death, she’s always mentioned only in relation to Nico. She’s never her own person, only the feeble but potential Earth to Nico's brightly blazing sun of well written character development. 

And that’s what happens to the older sisters. They simply vanish, are only mentioned in passing and always in relation to their male relatives. And they’re mere children, forced to take care of another child like a fully grown adult, and it gets exhausted, and one day they’ve just had enough.

And what does society do when women finally lash out, scream and protest and put themselves first?

Selfish. Cruel. Cold. Uncaring. A pussy bitch. 

Bianca has gotten so much backlash from her haters. But we all forget that she was twelve-a terrified, immature child who shouldn’t have been taking care of Nico.

(I think that she had to watch him in the Lotus Casino, because he’s her younger brother. Annabeth and Grover weren’t like that to Percy, only friends. Also, they both knew that their parents were dead, so it was different. Nico did mention that Bianca was strict with what she let him watch, so she probably watched over him in the Casino too).

And the older sisters were let down. They watched and silently cried, disappointed, as Bianca was never her own character, always Nico’s older sister first and foremost. They were tortured inside as they watched so many people condemn and put down a literal child who was manipulated by two much older figures simply for a rash decision. That’s how they knew that society would perceive them negatively too. 

We barely know anything about her. Whenever people think of Bianca, they’ll most likely ALWAYS think of Nico too, think of her in regards to him, because that’s how she was written. That’s how she was meant to be written from the start. Bianca's biggest fans will always have only the first half of the Titan's Curse as her actual appearances when she was alive, and herself, and not linked to Nico.

But there’s more.

This post is dedicated to all the older sisters who despaired after reading about Bianca di Angelo and seeing people who had never actually had to parent someone hate on her. 

It’s ok to lash out. It’s ok to want some you time. Literal parents want the same, so it’s ok for you, a child, to do so. It’s ok to ignore their needs for your own and put yourself first. They’re your sibling, not your child-you don’t need to take care of them and always put them first, because you didn’t bring them into life by choice, and so, you are not wholly responsible for their needs and comfort. 

It’s ok to be a child.

I was just reading Death on the Nile, and in the middle of the book I predicted that both Jacqueline and Simon had teamed up to kill Linnet and take her money; I WAS RIGHT-