Rick Making Luke Like Annabeth Romantically By The End Of TLO Was Probably The Worst Mistake Ever Tbh.

Rick making Luke like Annabeth romantically by the end of TLO was probably the worst mistake ever tbh. I'm actually so salty abt this. Even after Luke asked her if she ever loved him, I never got the romantic implication? To me it seemed more like Luke was aware of Annabeth's crush on him, and wanted to clarify that he hadn't misread, since he was dying and wanted to make himself feel better that someone DID indeed love him, even after all that he did, not because HE loved her or something. But I realised that Rick WAS intending to make Luke romantically interested in Annabeth after I got the confirmation in MOA.

Because it made NO sense whatsoever. Like. At all. On the contrary, it was heavily hinted that Luke was crushing on Thalia, in the demigod diaries, where he couldn't refuse her ideas, and that looking into her eyes made him want to do anything she asked, when he said that her compliments made him feel warm and fuzzy inside, etc. if that isn't a romantic implication, then I don't know what is tbh, but it's just my opinion. Also, he was at the brink of insanity after Thalia died and turned into a tree, I feel like that's what drove him batshit against the gods . If anything, Luke loved Thalia, not annabeth. Atleast based on what was implied in The demigod diaries.

He showed no romantic interest in Annabeth in the books, and clearly only saw her as a sister. Adding that romantic bit was not only creepy as fuck, since Luke was in his mind 20's and Annabeth was still a child. But it also stripped off the found family significance that they had. I was actually marvelling at how great Luke/Annabeth's sibling dynamic was in the books up until TLO.

I always that Annabeth's crush on Luke was realistic bc it wasn't a crush, it was hero worship. She put Luke in a pedestal because he was her hero, a celebrity crush sort of thing. Very realistic writing, but Luke reciprocating? That ruined everything.

Luke genuinely regretting his actions because he failed his little sister, and Thalia, refusing to hurt both of them, the two people that meant the world to him, the two people he thought of when he was bathing in the river styx, is MUCH more meaningful and heartbreaking.