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How to raise a Demigod according to Hera

or Leo iii

-I told myself if a particular something I wanted to happen, happened today, I would update. It happened! Also I thought I had noted that June is National Indigenous History month on the Piper post, only to check today, and realize I didn't. That is edited now.

Anyways, enough about me, you are here for Leo!

Leo decides that the miracle of Piper wearing makeup is a her problem and decides to leave. Who cares about that. He might die on a quest to save his evil former babysitter who is a goddess. He's got bigger fish to fry.

"Stuff like that could really deep fry your brain"

He wanders off into the woods to have some flashbacks about childhood.

The first time she tried to kill him, she set him down for a nap in the lit fireplace. Of course he was two at the time. The wack part is she kept coming back. And she calls him her hero.

How to raise a hero by Hera apparently. Age two, sleep in the fire.

Age three play with knives. Age four poke the rattlesnake (Leo does not poke the snake)Age five, teach him to play with fire. What makes a hero is tragedy.

The last time he saw her, he drew a boat that was snatched away by the wind. And then fire happened. The crayons melted, paper burned to ash. 

Is she his godmother? No she's grandma. Estranged crazy grandma. 

Leo's mother is brilliant. Has a degree. Can design anything. But she is a female Spanish lady and so no one will hire her. She works at a car shop. And so Leo learns. 

She tells him not to play with fire. Tells him crazy babysitter can't come. She tells him he will meet dad one day. She teaches him English and Spanish, Math and Morse, Measurement and Machines. How to think three dimensionally. How to solve mechanical problems in your head. 

And then one day he is eight. What makes a hero is a tragedy. She goes back in to get her suspiciously missing keys. And the doors lock her in. 

And then a woman shows up. Half asleep, made of earth and dust and graves. She tells him of things that have not happened. And then she tells him she can not kill him, but can break his spirit. 

He doesn't want to fight anyone. But.

She walks through the table. Asks him how he can stop her from hurting his mother. 

Mom…

Leo tries to protect his mom with fire. But that's what Lady Graves was waiting for. She smiles, and Leo screams.

Leo wakes up in an ambulance, the survivor of a fire, and knows that he has killed his mother. 

His fault. 

His fault, no matter what the paramedic tries to tell him. 

The police tell a different story. The fire started in the room he was in. And he lived, but she didn't. 

Would it have been worse to stand there and watch feeling guilty for your inaction, or to act and find out you escalated? Sorry Leo, you were not getting out of that visit without Tamura. 

AU potential for Leo to feel guilty for not taking action in another universe. How might that have shaped him, I wonder. A more reckless Leo who confronts the action to try to make up in some way, for a fateful night where he just stood there and watched, deciding in the future “Never Again!”

Here he's a runner. But another backstory could change things. 

His family refused to take him In. Remembers the burned handprints on the picnic tables.  And so he ended up in foster care, running between homes, putting as much distance between himself and his mother's ashes as he could. A few friendships, nothing long term. Alone. And trying to forget. 

-I wonder if her drill bit design was ever patented, or if Leo will one day do it on her behalf.

Hera tells him it's not his fault. His prophetic dreams are starting to make sense. Maybe he will meet Dad on this quest? Or acquire vengeance. Now to problem solve!

He could stay and become a member of the cabin with his family. Send the reluctant volunteer on the quest.  But he gets the vibes staying will break his spirit.

Time to fix a dragon, and tell the woman from his flashbacks to go fuck herself! 

Or as Leo puts it "I'm going to faceplant you hard, Leo style!"

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To be entirely clear, I have never met a writer who doesn’t get incredibly happy and excited to receive positive responses to their work. Always, always feel free to leave a small message, even if you have nothing to say but just want to convey that you’re enjoying yourself. No matter how long ago or how recently their writing was shared, no matter how small or inconsequential or god forbid ‘cringe’ it might feel, you are all but guaranteed to make the writer’s day

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To volunteer as tribute

Or Piper iv

-* Thank you for telling me @snapcandle! 💛💛💛😊 I plan to keep posting, and hearing that you enjoy my information and commentary is motivating!

As Piper McLean is Bi or Pansexual, the first day of Pride month feels appropriate to post the chapter where the Queer Native (Not that she knows she's queer yet) character is confirmed the daughter of the goddess of beauty. June is also National Indigenous history month! Let's go!

Quick, what's almost as scary as seeing your father tied up by fire like Joan of Arc? If you guessed singalongs, then you share a mindset with Piper. Sure it's embarrassing not to know the words, but your sense of scale seems off Girl. Are we ever going to learn the song about grandma getting ready to go to war? Probably not. 

This song, embarrassing by day, corny and fun at night. The kids demand capture the flag, s'mores and murder. No it really says that. 

"I know Ares guys are anxious to return to the woods for our regular games"

"And kill people" someone unnamed specifies. Fun parties. 

But they gotta fix that dragon first. Leo finger guns Piper. Does he even know she was unconscious? Probably not. 

 Nyssa, reports they are working very hard on the dragon. Ares' kid is not pleased. 

Annabeth reports failure to find Percy. Drew speaks up. Rachel confirms the great prophecy has begun. 

Jason shows some decency and asks if Piper is alright. She nods but then looks away. It hurts to not be with Jason. 

Apparently Rachel made a big prediction last August. We get to hear it now. 

Rachel begins the words and Jason shoots up like he's been tasered. Piper "isn't sure why her hopefully future boyfriend is -chanting like a Catholic priest."

Handsome and smart, Drew's turn ons apparently. 

Anyway Jason knows the prophecy. In Latin.  He sits down embarrassed, and gets comfort from Annabeth, and Piper feels Jelly. 

For real girl? Annabeth has a boyfriend she's desperately trying to find. She is no threat. Besides Jason should be able to get comfort from other people then you. I know you're insecure but damn.

Chiron stands there "as if watching a play he couldn't interrupt,-  a tragedy that ended with a  lot of people dead onstage. "

Clovis tries to break the tension, but the heavy mood comes back with the reminder that the previous great prophecy was the titan war, and this one will be as bad or worse. Then she announces the quest to save Hera. Rachel tells all. 

Piper gets mocked a bit for fainting, and wonders why no one is warning that she's an enemy agent. Jason is so brave, Piper claims she would have buckled. Girl, you've done crazier stunts. 

Jason knows no last name. The quest has a deadline, four days until the winter solstice. You know. To prevent bickering at the god council. As one does. 

Also a day for ancient evil magic to stir. 

"The way he said stirring made it sound absolutely sinister- like it was a first degree felony, not something you did to cookie dough." 

Captain Sunshine. That's his name from now on. 

Jason will lead the quest. The kids claim he needs to be claimed, so Jason shows his sick weapon. Piper admires his blonde hair and Roman statue features, and signals him to flip a coin. This time it comes up spear. He then sets a log on fire with lightning, but even that does not wake up Clovis. 

Son of Jupiter, -I mean Zeus, lord of da skies. 

It all makes sense in Piper land. Who else could be the father of perfect dreamy Jason-Sempai. 

The other campers call sus on that. As they should. What about the pact? The one that only Hades kept? His children were already born by the time of that prophecy, and Zeus still went to off them. And killed their mom. 

While Zeus went around and turned his daughter into a tree to save her. 

Rachel decides the important thing is that Jason is here now. And then does her prophecy green smoke monster thing. She has a team trained to catch her. 

Piper asks "wtf was that (please tell me the green smoke vomit is not normal someone)

Drew takes the opportunity to pull a Draco Malfoy and mock her. 

Annabeth points out that Piper's question is fair, this quest is weird. And Hera's not nice to demigods. 

Someone else brings up Hastephus lore. She's the type of person to throw kids off mountains and all. 

Annabeth and Captain Sunshine have a silent conversation. Piper feels certain she's reading it right, despite having just met them today. Maybe she's psychic. 

Anyway, Jason gets to choose companions as it's his quest. 

The obvious choice is Annabeth. Annabeth chooses to pick "fuck you Hera. I didn't forget the time you chose to drop a statue of yourself on me during the chase through God Olympus last summer. Or any of the other Bullshit. I'm off to look for my boyfriend."

Piper possibly does study foreshadowing from her father's movies, and brings up that Percy's disappearance is probably connected to Hera. 

Drew demands she explain. Piper has no words. 

Annabeth concludes she's probably not wrong, but also Fuck Hera, she's not going on this quest. Also the prophecy dictates otherwise. 

Nysa reluctantly volunteers, and points out that earth travel is probably not ideal for this quest. 

Leo thinks he can figure out transport.

Piper had almost forgotten he was there, which was not like Leo. Girl, you haven't thought about him until the campfire again, but I would be sick if I had been drinking wine shots every time you thought about Jason. 

Remember, we stick to water shots here. Stay hydrated. 

Leo volunteers as tribute, and Jason says it feels right to have him on this quest. 

Nysa warns him about quests. You might all die. Leo loses some of the wind from his sails. Then remembers he is on stage and performs. "Suffering. Oh cool. I love suffering! Let's do this!" 

Drew says the Dove is Aphrodite, and I am yours. Piper insists she must go. Drew says no, back off dumpster girl. And is dismissive of the other questers too.  Drew uses persuasion. Piper uses persuasion. Let the battle of charmspeak begin. 

Piper is conflicted. All she's good at is trouble. And she's the traitor. How can she choose? 

Drew decides it's decided. 

And then there's a collective gasp and "everyone stared at Piper like she'd just exploded." What a faux pass. 

She's now glowing. She's in a dress. She loathes dresses and owns none. Piper uses ceremonial dagger as a mirror.

Her makeup game is on point. Her hair is lush and braided! She's horrified!

Drew reacts like she just found out Piper was the Darth Vader to her Luke Skywalker. With denial.  

Jason-Sempai finally notices her, she's a knockout. Should be a good moment, but it's not her. It's not her. 

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Featuring Tristen McLean Staring as Jesus

Or Piper iii- part ii, Time to unlock Pipers backstory, the present

I'll be honest, I put a lot of research into the previous bit, and the lack of feedback did hurt my enthusiasm to post. I know as a writer I shouldn't let the feedback or lack of, and that writing should be for my own enjoyment first, not for the approval of others. And the project is still ongoing. I feel that while writing is still for my enjoyment, editing, adding links/citing sources, and posting it is for the readers benefit and hopefully enjoyment.

So thank you @snapcandle

And @rrritinha

Thank you for letting me know you enjoyed part i.

Anyway, enough about me, you came here for Piper's dreams

Her second dream is a warning. A bonfire burns the purple of shadows, heat intense on top of a mountain, city lights burning in the distance. Her clothes steam.

"This is your second warning" a voice tells her, so powerful the earth rumbles. Its scarier then she remembers.

There is a face behind the bonfire. The features are crude as if chiseled, the face barely alive but for the raw piercing diamond eyes, paired with a horrible frame of dreadlocks braided with human bones.

Lots of rock imagery going on here.

Its smiles bring shivers.

"Do as your told. Do our bidding. Go questing."

Then it shows her they have her father, unconscious Jesus style staked.

"Serve me well and you will both live. Otherwise, I have had a long nap and am hungry. Very hungry."

Or so I have summarized the words of Enceladus. Then it laughs and the earth opens up between her feet.

Piper wakes up, feeling "like she had been trampled by an Irish dancing troupe"

I don't think Leo is as prone to these descriptive kind of sayings as Jason and Piper, but I'll try to keep an eye out. I hope that's the true legacy of Jipper, that togther they will say stuff like this out loud togther, and other people stare at them in at least some degree of bafflement.

Leo thinking he's the normal one, only to cringe when he says one of Jason's Christmasisms out loud.

Camp half blood is not a dream. She has her ceremonial dagger. Rachel is here to greet her to the waking world. Argus of many eyes is here too. 

It was not Rachel's idea to get possessed by Hera. She then goes on to explain they used medicine that will burn you to ashes if overdone. 

Lovely! 😬

They talk about the fate of Hera in front of Argus, who is invested in her safety. They don't want him to cry an ocean of tears again. But what catches Pipers attention is Jason was here for her a bit, before he went off on the minor memory quest. 

Which gets her thinking about Jason. And how she hopes their relationship is real and not a trick of the mist. But get over that, Dads the priority, not some boy she likes.

She contemplates the dagger, a fake like her. Rachel tries to cheer her up by saying Jason and her seem to have similar visions and will probably share a quest, which does the opposite. Goodie now she gets to betray her crush. On top of her dad being held hostage by a cannibal giant. 

Fun times in Piper land. 

She's crying. She's supposed to be a tough car thief, the annoyance of LA schools. "How can you know what I'm facing"

Rachel is the oracle. She gets the vibes. Its a hard choice, the options are not great. But tonight she will be claimed by her goddess mom, and things will get clearer.

They are hoping for Athena. So is Annabeth. They have a lot in common. I'm hoping for Ares with how she fights the world, but I know better.

Ah well, Piper time to go meet destiny

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Unlocking Pipers Backstory part 1

-She's native and vegetarian

Or Piper iii

*I have Opinions on both Native American portrayal in Media, and Vegetarianism.

Piper is having a dream. It's a memory of her last day with her dad. They have managed to find an isolated beach Villa. She figures something is going to ruin it, paparazzi, fangirls wanting an autograph with permanent marker, something, but it's an enjoyable moment. He's teaching her how to surf. It's a nice moment. 

I wonder if in the future, Piper and Percy will have a surfing competition. 

Piper is not a natural surfer, but still flushes with pride whenever her dad gives her a compliment. Her dad is a bizarrely good surfer, who has no surfing background. 

She might have given it up, except it allows her to spend time with her dad. 

Piper reveals she loves PBJ, and wishes her dad made it for her, rather than the Extra personal chef, who wraps it in gold leaf. 

She's also a vegetarian, because the smell of slaughterhouse makes her throw up. 

Alright fine. We all have our reasons for our diet choices. I want to see Piper being careful and asking after ingredients in foods, making sure that the pie she accepts doesn't have a crust made with lard and the like. And maybe at least one instance of her praying to the porcelain gods, and her friends getting super angry on her behalf, because someone lied about the vegetarian friendliness of the food. 

I know Grover was also a vegetarian, but he was also a goat, and could eat tin cans and the like. I have different stomach expectations from him. 

I have three vegetarian family members, and  eat enough with them often enough to know that they consider their food choices carefully. And I get to hear the stories of people who don't consider some kind of meat, as meat, and how my cousin spent the night throwing up from that ignorance when their stomach rejected it. 

Disrespecting dietary needs hurts people, and fiction is a safe place to explore and educate people about the hows and why's. And people are far likelier to remember its bad effects if it happens to a fave fictional character. 

The dream/ memory continues, and the further in we go, we see that Piper and her Dad don't have great communication.  

Piper wants regular clothes. But more than that, she wants his attention. She's hacked off her hair deliberately, she steals, she gets kicked out of schools she doesn't like. 

This is the first time alone she has had with him in three months. The trip was a pleasant surprise.  She hasn't told him about stealing a BMW yet because, she didn't want to ruin the moment. 

She starts to bring it up. Her dad notices her serious face, and decides to play 'Any Three Questions'. A game where the participants must answer any three questions posed honestly. The rest of the time, her dad stays out of her business, which isn't hard, Piper notes, as he's never around. 

Piper takes the opportunity to ask about her mother. "Do you think she's still alive?"

He starts with a Cherokee story from her grandpa Tom. 

If you walked far enough towards the sunset, you would come to Ghost Country, where you could talk to the dead. A long time ago, you could bring the dead back, but mankind messed up. Its a long story. 

Piper cuts in to make a comparison to the land of the dead. About a year ago, her Dad had taken on a role of an ancient Greek King. He included her in his reading of the legends, and they had a fun time together. It helped her feel closer to her Dad for a time, but like everything it didn't last. 

Her Dad agrees on the similarities between the Greek and Cherokee. 

I have to wonder what's up with Piper and her Dad. Did Rick do his research, based on papers his kids wrote years ago? I have to wonder?

What's up with Tristen? He's kind of living his reality far away from his Native heritage. And I have to wonder if that's generational. 

Let me imagine a backstory, based on talks I've attended, and native bibliographies I've read. Tristan's mom was a residential school victim. She gets out, and has the reaction of pretending to be a different ethnicity (as I have heard some people did). She marries a white man, after an unplanned pregnancy. Tristen grows up rather divorced from his culture, but given how his mom does act about it, maybe it's better that way. She tries really hard to be anything else, and gets weird about sending him to school, so he keeps it quiet. Grows up, becomes famous, and does as an adult try to learn about his culture. He meets a relative of his mothers who grew up in Cherokee culture, and calls him father. He's having trouble connecting himself to his culture between being a famous person, and being raised to pretend to be anything else. Then, unexpectedly, he becomes a father. And He's not ready to be a father, but He's trying. He's not taking on Native roles, because he feels he's not the person for that, and He's trying to teach Piper their heritage, but between him not sure himself how he connects to his culture, and being a Famous Absentee parent, Piper grows up a little more personally connected to it, but also in a lot of ways, just as clueless as him to the nuance of it. Her grandfather dies of cancer, as often not even money can fix that. 

There is a tragedy in them both missing on the messed up notes in his decision to send Piper to boarding school. Tristen never thought to ask Thomas when he was alive. 

Ok now that I've done that, let's go check the wiki. 

…

No. He doesn't know enough about his culture or other people in his community for me to buy this backstory. He makes far more sense as an adult trying to find a connection, but not sure how to bring it into his life. 

Did you research that Rick? I admit, mine is probably more suited to a fanfiction than a novel, but maybe read a native american bibliography or two before writing a backstory for one. Get a cultural consultant. If friggin Ubisoft will get a culture consultant for Assassin's Creed iii, you should be able to write for one to get a culture consultation! Even if you didn't do it for the first one you SHOULD HAVE going forward in the series. For someone who likes to use other cultures myths as a structure and key part of their stories, you should know how to reach out to experts and collaborate! Generational trauma is not a buzzword, it's something that affects the culture to this day. 

People got out of res school, and they drank to forget the abuse , and even when the residential schools were over, they still took kids and fostered them to other families. That's not the story for everyone, but it is an important part of the story for a lot. 

"Before 1978, approximately 80 percent of Native American families living on reservations lost at least one child to the foster care system, according to data compiled by National Indian Child Welfare Association. Additionally, more than 25 percent of all Native children were removed from their families, with 85 percent receiving placements outside of their tribes or relatives.

“And that was even if there was no abuse — there were no issues occurring,” Lowden said. “Even if there were willing and fit family members available, these children were still adopted out to white families.”-

"These policies continue to negatively impact individuals, families and tribes. Non-tribal placement and adoption has created identity issues and disconnected feelings along with negative mental health outcomes.

They may be living in a community where they’re the only Indian person, and when people feel stress, anxiety, depression, a lot of times they cope in unhealthy ways, and that is in order to mask their trauma,” she said."

It was an attempted genocide, and so much has been lost for it. You were a teacher Rick, would you let your students pull that? Not that I actually expect him to read this, but I'm here to talk with imaginary Rick, not real one, as I would probably not be this upfront on most of the things with most of the people I know or meet irl. I'm better at writing fire than spitting it.

Anyway, the story wraps up, and Piper concludes that he thinks her mom is dead. She corrects him, and says that he doesn't know if shes dead but she might as well be. She also reminds on her dads inner sadness that's apparently attractive to women, and her dad tells her that he doesn't really believe in ghost countries and the like. That he would always be looking to blame. Success does not make her dad happy. Neither will the upcoming news from his assistant Jane.

Piper tries prayer, but it is ineffective. Piper tries to confess, but is too slow. Jane seems partly annoyed, partly triumphant, which tells Piper shes been in contact with the Police. I hope she is not trying to get in his pants.

So Piper looses the chance to tell him her side of the story, and the day is ruined. Jane gives Piper a look "like she was a disgusting pet that had whizzed on the carpet." Add that one to the eventual bingo.

So Tristen comes back with betrayal in his eyes. "You said you would try"Piper claims she hates the school and was going to mention the car. Tristen tells her he could have gotten her any car she wanted.Piper says that it would have been Jane getting her the car, and the point of it is she wants his attention. He says we've talked about this, but as far as Piper is concerned he talked about it, and it hasn't been a conversation.

She's going to boarding school for problem children, much as he tries to word it differently. He asks her what else is he to do after she let him down.

The connotations of going to boarding school for a child of native decent (yikes! Yikes!! YIKES!!!) Are not touched upon. She says anything, as long as its him doing something, not Jane. Tristen chooses Delegation. The day is over, and he looks off into the ocean. Jane has the details, Jane has the plane ticket. Piper does her best not to cry.

[captain-eppe]

Gods reflect humanity, and that's pretty scary

Or Jason iv

After the drama has been announced, Annabeth rushes to get the first aid kit, while Piper is propped up on the couch. Jason has regrets about splitting the party. Chiron uses force scan, and concludes her mind is in a fragile state.

Apparently something used Rachel as a phone, and she doesn't really remember it, but no one is bothering to check if it caused any damage to her. Give Rachel the medical care.

Anyways, Jason's Pateron has asked both Jason and Piper to bust her out. He seems to be joking, and insists on getting answers now, over Pipers Comatose body. Jason concludes that it has to be something worse than Titans. Rachel realises that Jason's patron is Hera. Annabeth is, of course, pissed at her for that.

For all Jason knows about Gods, he forgets that Demigods are the instrument of action for gods on earth. Annabeth agrees that it's weird Jason would get his memory wiped. Chiron does not really want to discuss things, and sets Annabeth the task of filling Jason in about Greek and Roman Gods 101.

Jason apologizes that his presence has screwed things up. Annabeth decides to try cabin 15 to get his memory back. She takes him to the cabin of Hypnos to shake down some kid named Clovis. After some details and persuasion, he performs a test, Jason is almost dissolved and Clovis comes to the conclusion that Jason's memories have been stolen by a god.

It's not new information, but it's confirmed now.

Clovis explains some of what is going on. The gods change to reflect humanity. Their attributes and personalities change, and that changes who they are. Is that why Zeus doesn't go around raping people as a swan anymore? Is that why the kids don't reflect Greek heritage, as Americans are America's first? That's actually pretty sad. They should learn about their Greek heritage too. It's stolen.

That's a scary thought. That people's perceptions if you change who you are as a person. Stories are both intensely personal and subjective. Greek gods relationships, for instance. Some interpretations say Persephone is a product of Zeus raping his sister Demeter, and that he arranged her marriage to his brother Hades. Other stories say Demeter was willing to lie with Zeus, but not Poseidon, other stories say that everyone was asking for Persephone's hand, say that Zeus raped his daughter. Was the failing of the land and life neglect or intentional?There is some debate over who's daughter Melinoe is, Zeus's when he went into her bed as his brother, or Hades. There are stories now where Persephone chooses to eat the pomegranate seeds, and stories where she is tricked into eating them. The original story is about a bond between mother and daughter.

Rape has different connotations these days, then it did in older times, as perceptions have changed. Once it meant abduction. Word translation has played a part in the variations of the story, as has culture shift. These days it is means violent violation of autonomy, often sexually, done against someone's will.

"The root of the word rape comes from the Latin ‘rapere’, which means ‘to carry off’. In ancient times the term ‘raptus’ meant an abduction, not necessarily sexual violence (but could include it). It did not even imply the woman was carried off against her will, but only against the will of the person who had legal authority over her – father, brother or husband and in Persephone’s case Demeter."

Hades is probably one of the better husbands She could have gotten. He wasn't the type to mess around with mortals as often, wasn't a rapist (in this story), kept his word, and she was said to have come to love him. His abduction of her was a terrible thing to do, and was traumatizing. To be taken from the world suddenly and against her will, a death in of its self. We shouldn't forget that. Still, as far as marriage goes, she probably retained more autonomy as the queen of the underworld, then most wives of the gods, but we can't forget that it's a story about a mothers trauma over having her daughter taken away from her in it's origins.

Stories are taken, broken down, reused and rebuilt into other stories. Take A Song of Ice and Fire. It borrows a lot of narrative from Greek legends. Ned Stark as Hades, Lord of Winterfell, of the underworld. Robert Baratheon, Zeus, and his wife Cercsi as Hera. His brother Stannis, Poseidon. And Lyanna, Persephone. Rengar, Paris. Winterfell has a lot of connections to Persephone, the dead, and the spring. There's even a legend that the Starks are descended from white walkers, according to wildlings. But it also takes a lot of elements from the war of the roses. The names of the two main factions are Lancasters and Yorks.

But I have gone wildly off topic, and should probably get back to the chapter.

So to get back to the point, the Roman Gods are different from the Greek gods. Harder, more disciplined, different. Hera is preferable to Juno, and so forth.

All this foreshadowing. Someone in the party must be Roman for all this to be coming up. Three guesses and the first two don't count.

Annabeth does not study foreshadowing nearly as much as she does buildings, so all this Roman gods significance flies by her.

She does state that Jason is in serious trouble though.

She won't know what hit her.

[captain-eppe]

Basic decency is stopping someone from calling another person dumpster trash

or Jason iii

Wow guys! That second Leo one went over well! Hopefully today's does well too! Remember to reread and rebaggle old ones as well please...

Oh no, I sound like a YouTuber. "Remember to like and subscribe if you enjoyed this video!"

Let's get to the chapter.

Jason starts off his section using the remainder of the first page to describe the house. The house looks simultaneously like a non threatening retirement home, and hostile to Jason specifically. His molecules tell him that he is on enemy ground. 

What does Jason think of Drew? She smells of Christmas. And in what way does she smell of Christmas, some special perfume? She has pretty brown eyes with eyeliner to make them stand out, and she's distracting.  She also makes him feel uncomfortable. 

Jason backs away. Drew assumes he's dating Piper, and calls her dumpster trash. 

Drew, apparently no one ever told you, it is impressive to no one to insult anyone like that. Particularly someone who might be an SO. 

It makes you look like a prejudiced ass, and disrespects his personal choices. People don't tend to want to be friends with you, when you diss their decisions like that, particularly personal ones like Significant Others. He's known her longer than you, who did you think he would side with? You think he's going to reevaluate because you said so and go, "That clarifies everything! I was dating dumpster trash! I should rectify that and cheat on her to make out with you!" Let's be honest, would you really want someone like that? 

Jason is not sure about the thought of dating Piper. He feels he shouldnt date these people (Greek's). He acknowledges that he's a mess, and not in a space for dating, when he can't even figure himself out. He admits that he has some attraction to her. He doesn't do anything about Drews name calling -which- come on dude, at the least you shut down Drew's name-calling. It doesn't take deep emotional feelings to stop someone from calling someone else"Dumpster trash".

Jason didn't speak up, and Drew didn't take the hint. He notices she's looking above his head, waiting for him to be claimed. 

Then the talk of genetics comes up. Along with Drews pledge of devotion. But ignoring that, dating people from your own cabin is incest, beacuse you share a godley parent. 

But other cabins are ok. 

So that raises the question of how related do godley genetics make people? If being Descended from Gods gives you automatic Dyslexia in favor of instant Greek Language, there is a DNA portion of this, OK. No godly genetics my ass. 

So, of the seven children had by Kronos, Hestia and Hera do not have demigod children… I do not think Chiron does either. So are say, Percy (son of Poseidon) and Katie (Daughter of Dementer) considered first cousins, and is that  incest  if they date? Or alternatively, Nico and Thalia? Or any other combination, save Nico and Biancia who would be definitely incest. How do the genetics of the gods play into family DNA structure? Would Thalia dating a son of Ares be considered too closely related, as Ares is Zeus's son? Admitibly, Zeus didnt seem to care too much about the incest issue, as he married and cheated on his sister, but Drew is more everydayman, and seems to have put some thought into this. 

So half siblings are off limits, and every other cabin is fair game, as far as Drew is concerned, but I have to wonder, if someone took a look at Percy and say Claries's DNA structure, what kind of genetic markings they would have in common? Or Percy and Nico's? 

Back to the story, we go back to the ominous house, with its glaring eagle weathervane. Then, Chiron appears. Drew introduces him as awesome, Chiron starts to smile, but pales and announces that Jason should be dead. 

Chiron sends Drew away, and gets into the wheelchair. Jason imagines the soundtrack of a truck backing up to accompany it. Then he is ordered to follow him for lemonade. 

Go ahead. Order someone to follow you, because " We have lemonade." I imagined the terminator giving that order. That sure broke the serious atmosphere of the proclamation that Jason should be dead. 

Jason is surprised that there are plants growing inside during winter. Feels its a bit weird. Jason, have you ever heard of a greenhouse? Been around since at least 16th century Italy. No?

Jason might like Christmas a lot. He has described two people with Christmas adjectives. Leo looks like a Latino Santa's elf, and Drew smells like Christmas. Is this foreshadowing? Was he abducted on Christmas? Or is this just his subconscious reminding him of presents he forgot to buy, for people he has now forgotten? Let's keep an eye out for more festive descriptions. So far I've mentioned three, two about Christmas, one about Halloween. And owls. Let's make a bingo card if we get enough of this.  

Let's go back to Jason. He's busy being weirded out by Seymour the stuffed Leopard. 

Apparently Mr. D got him, and was appalled by his stuffing, so he was granted a half life, and the owner an unmentionable fate. How he exists is not a mystery Chiron is interested in investigating. 

Instead Jason spills his story, and asks what he meant by his cheery "you are supposed to be dead" remark. Apparently Jason is a red shirt. 

Chiron quizzes Jason on his understanding of mythology. Jason reveals he already knows the in-universe explanation of gods, and finds out he knows Latin. 

Chiron reminisces about the past, the original Jason, and realises his hopes for some peace in the future were futile. Apparently Jason's presence in camp is a violation of oaths. Sacred ones. 

Then, dark mist boils from the mouth of Saymore, and takes the form of a woman in a goatskin cloak. Jason assumes he is under attack. Princess Leia- sorry, his patreon, demands he pay back his debt and bust her out of prison. Also, that his father gave him to her, because she was angry at him, and he was named after her favorite hero. Also, she's the reason he's an amnesiac, and he's not getting them back if she dies.

Really compelling reasons to host a rescue mission.

Also he has four days to prevent whatever calamity will happen if she is destroyed. 

Apparently time was paused while he received this message. 

Jason delivers a funny line, and tells Chiron about the goddess in the mist. Apparently it explains a lot to him, but neither Jason nor the audience gets an explanation about that, as Annabeth and Rachel come in with the explanation that Rachel may have killed Piper. 

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Leo has fire powers, and it is in fact a big deal

Or, Leo ii

Leo meets his big crazy family. Lots of names. He may have trouble keeping them straight. 

There is a curse on Hastephus cabin, that's interfering with the workings of things they are trying to build. They don't feel satisfied by their weapons, and other things seem to malfunction. It seems to have dampened their spirits. That and Chris's death. Do they have artists block?

Dead amigo Chris's Dragon is malfunctioning, and tearing up the camp. They hate to have to kill it, but it's too much of a danger to keep around.

The last Child of Hastephus with fire, started a major historical fire. That ability is rare. They are seen as harbingers of disaster. Leo asks for a moment alone, and reveals to the reader audience that he has the fabled fire. 

Now here, the odds are stacked very much in the favor of the party. Leo has fire. Jason is the Roman son of one of the big three. And Piper has corrosion +50-  I mean super rare charmspeak-, important dreams, and a direct, by her name prophecy. Not that the first of Pipers has been revealed yet, but I do remember that being a thing. Also, they are the children the gods dropped the ball (deal) on.

Let's look back. Sadie had a massive magic bost, coming from the god of magic being her patron. Wouldn't it have been cool if Carter was the best mage, due to the gods going into others heads. Warrior chicken Sadie! Or maybe, other gods, and new roles to play. Zia was a bad fit for the one she got, after all. Anyways, they were both wizards, and while they could pull off some bullshit, it had rules. 

Percy's powers came from being a child of the big three. Annabeth had “god given” smarts, and an invisible hat, and pulled off her magic by being Goddamned Annabeth Chase. 

Piper and Leo have both been made the most powerful of their godly parents' children. Can one of them be a badass normal please! Leo is a gadgeteer genius who builds problems, and creates things to solve his problems. Maybe he could build a fireproof suit, instead of being fire resistant. 

Maybe Piper is too charming for her own good, and through has her beauty and her wits gets into just as much trouble as out of it, and has to work for her other achievements. 

Maybe the third person on their quest is a son of Hermes, whose loyalty is consistent. I'll imagine more on this later, I'm sure, but for now, imagine.

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In where Leo sees his would be murder ghost, but its NBD

Leo I

Unlike Piper, Leo is having a good time, though we are warned the dragon will be a mood killer. He thinks everything is pretty cool, and envisions himself having a lot of fun! Have we ever actually had the perspective of a protagonist who did the arts and crafts class in pov? I can't recall Percy in arts and crafts? What kinds of arts and crafts are they getting up to? 

Leo hopes these people aren't cousins, as the incest thing is a bit off putting. He hints that something bad, and fire related happened to his mom. He wonders about that curse thing he's heard, and where his cabin mates are. On the way back to the cabin, he sees something Will can't -his old Tia Callida, who he hasn't seen since he was five, and tried to kill him. Something tells me there's a story there. 

His cabin had a steampunk theme. It has lots of shiney machinery, and reminds him of his mom's automobile workshop. 

Everyone else is down at the forge, except Jake the cabin counselor. He gives Leo Chris's old bed. You know, that Chris. Yah. Welcome home. Leo is haunted by ghosts. Yippee. 

Leo missed the titan war, and Mt St Helens erupting, as he was on the run from another foster home. Lucky monsters were not chasing him, probably. 

Still no sign of the dragon as they make their way to the forge. 

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Get in loser, we are going weapons shopping

or Piper ii

*I like the Jason is lying AU. His internal monologue could have been going “what even is my life, how did a simple trip for information lead me to get abducted by greek Demigods! And now I'm being sent on a quest for them!” Ohh, maybe the information he was looking into was a possible lead on Thalia. And yet here he is on a flying dragon with two newbs, on a quest to save a Greek goddess. He's so done. 

Anyways, back to business. ->

Annabeth gives a half hearted tour, which seems to fit the theme in this book, of no one doing anything particularly enthusiastically. 

She talks about Claims, and how the gods disregarded the deal in their case. Children should be claimed at 13, as that's when the monsters get interested. 

It kind of saddens me that Sally stayed with Gabe to keep Percy Safe, and Yet Piper is fine, and Leo was wandering the streets without being in half the danger. 

--

Let's ask a question. How would things be different if Piper were the daughter of Hastephus, and Leo the son of Aphrodite? The gender of their parents could still work, because God's make a mockery of genetics.

 Athena's children are thought children, could be either gender parents, just based on godly preference. And given some of the weird, weird things Zeus did, I don't think Aphrodite having a child by a beautiful woman would be all that out of place. And let's say Hastephus liked to hear Piper's dad's voice while working, and decided he wanted a child with those genetics.

So Piper is the one who is always tinkering with things, and Leo is very beautiful and convincing. He has trust issues from manipulative people who want him as arm candy or worse, and Piper, the girl who wants the world to take her mechanical aspirations seriously, and has a famous father people are always trying to be friends with her for.

 They became friends after Piper got some girl who was trying to pressure Leo to back off. They bond with each other over their problems with creeps who bother them because they are pretty or female or whatevs, and Leo brainstorms with Piper  about machines, and Piper provides what alibi she can for Leo. Leo makes a lot of jokes about Piper's pyromania, and Piper makes jokes about him being a crow, for his attraction to shiny. She reminds him of his mom. They talk shop together. Leo knows a fair amount about machines from his mom. 

Piper likes Jason because he seems really interested in the things she builds, and unlike most people doesn't expect her to be into things just because her dad was. She wants to make her mark in the engineering world. 

Leo likes Jason because he's really into Roman history, and his voice is amazing, and he respects Piper. 

They are both trying to get his attention, because romantically, he's oblivious. 

Or still trying to hold his cover. 

Whatever works better for the story. 

Alright, back to the story

--

Ok, so apparently Piper is planning some betrayal. Based on dreams she had. Wouldn't it be cool if she were like Ethan? That might be a neat twist. 

Annabeth finally pops Piper's dream that Jason was her boyfriend. Piper cries about it, and her intended future betrayal, and laments that she can't have anything nice, and wrecks everything. 

Annabeth takes her weapon shopping. Piper's interest is caught by the mostly ceremonial dagger of Helen of Troy. 

We hear more about Annabeth's dream when talking about Hera. Piper notices a footprint by the door, and decides to investigate. 

It's a wild  Rachel!!

Apparently the Gods have gone silent. Everyone is unnerved. 

Also, it's only been a summer. 

Piper decides it might be a good idea to confess about the dreams (finally) when she gets a personal and direct prophecy that uses her name, and… is unusual in content and style of delivery. 

Piper whites out. 

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the cognitive dissonance from people who want the products of modern medicine but get weird about animal research. like im sorry but this is necessary for the survival of the society we currently live in. and the scientists who work on these things are not evil cackling psychopaths. anyone you talk to in animal research has incredibly complex feelings about their work and incredibly complex relationships to the animals in their care. there are regulations and oversight and penalties in place to make the work as humane as possible and scientists are overwhelmingly the ones enforcing and advocating for better care.

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The flaming chariot is NBD, really

or Piper i

*I wasn't expecting to update so soon. The next one is probably awhile off. Enjoy this one!

So Piper has apparently had some prophetic dreams of some sort. Not unusual for a demigod. Her boyfriend can fly. She's still more disturbed by the amnesia. They are on a chariot. Piper wonders if Jason would catch her if she falls, as there are no seatbelts. Piper's just upset about losing her Boyfriend in an unexpected way.

“Meanwhile Leo was being annoying, as usual.” Aren't you guys supposed to be friends?

“This is cool” he exclaimed as he spit (spat might work better) a pegasus feather out of his mouth. “Where are we going?”How is he being annoying here? Is he making deliberate use of a stupid accent? Did he spit the feather in your face? Did his voice interrupt your brooding? He's asking a question. A sensible thing to do when you are abducted by teenagers, probably.

Piper has thoughts on the use of halfblood. Let's explore those thoughts about the term half blood, further, shall we? No? Too bad.

Oh the chariot is on fire. How calmly she seems to take this. They hit the water, and oh “what a stupid way to die”. How blase. Do you often have these kinds of endings to your thief adventures? Why is the native american character a thief? Did you do your research Rick?

Apparently it happens enough to have procedures. Or maybe they just got used to Percy. Annabeth gets scolded for wrecking the chariot. Drew appears, and Piper instantly knows they are going to be enemies. Apparently, she looks at her like one would look at a week old dumpster Burrito.

Jason finally asks some sensible sounding questions. “ What is this place, why are we here, how long are we staying?”

I was expecting it from Leo, the voice of sense so far.

Piper asks what Claiming is, a prompt that gets someone out there to sit up and take notice, as Leo gets claimed. Is his hair on fire or something?

Jason once again uses Roman terminology. No one questions it too hard. Leo, doesn't like Star Trek. Jason's spotty memories are inconsistent and pissing me off. Honestly, I think I might prefer it if he were badly lying. Like, let's say he did remember his Roman past, and went to wilderness school to investigate some rumors. Accidentally picked up by the Greek demigods, he's trying badly to hold his cover, but keeps accidentally blurting things out in Roman names.

-I know this is a patchy dream, someone else has fabricated. Whoever did it, is either terrible, or very out of practice. He flips from IDK, to Duh that's obvious. Has no idea why that should be obvious, which makes it worse.

Research amnesia please!

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Thoughts

Welcome new folowers and likers. I'm probably not going to update this frequently in the future, but I felt I should get a nice start before the year ends. I don't know how frequently I will put thoughts like this, but expect them to come up time to time. All that said, lets get into it.

I don't feel Jason was the right choice to start with. He has no connection to the other characters. It makes it a bit hard to get attached to other characters, when the main POV character is wondering “who the hell are you guys.” I do not like my new characters pulling out more bullshit from nowhere than expected of Demigods. Like Percy and Clarisse in the bathroom incident. It was a surprise to everyone involved. 

I think Piper would have worked better for this one. 

We could have had thoughts on her Native American heritage, when insulted about it, worry for Jason, and suspicion over why he is acting a bit like a bot, rapport with Leo, who is totally convinced it is a prank, POV of the fight, from someone who feels in danger, same with the fall, too. Also,thoughts on the pitfalls of being beautiful, and the problem with creeps.  WTF at these skills she never would have guessed Jason to be able to possess. Questioning what she does know about Jason. Really, Piper was where the action was here, and Jason felt just kind of detached, and oddly placed. 

It could have also been cool if Jason were from the roman camp here to pick them up. And come into conflict with Annabeth over the type of demigods they were. 

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In where Jason is Superman

Or, Jason ii

Well, turns out the creep making Piper uncomfortable was the monster. Could we have a sequence where Piper tries to hold him off? Nope. Instead we get the info that da coach is really bad at his job, and yet was watching two powerful kids. ‘Hey Gods, good to know your feelings on child safety have stayed consistent!’ Weren't things supposed to be getting better after that promise Percy had you made, the one he turned down immortality for?

How ungrateful. 

Coach gives the club to Jason and goes off to save Leo, Jason promptly throws the club. May I interject to say, don't throw your weapon away in a fight. Piper grabs the club. 

Jason uses more Roman terms for things. Ooh Foreshadowing. Piper, conveys her intent to have Jason be distraction bait, so she can brain the foe. 

“Cute, smart and violent” Jason's turn ons, apparently. 

Jason gets zapped in the chest, and promptly remembers how to kick ass. 

Coach comes back for some pointless boasting,Piper successfully uses tackle, the storm spirit gets recalled, rather than drowned. 

When Piper goes over the edge, Jason is told to steal Superman's gig, and go save her. 

He does. He discovers he can command air. 

Leo discovers Coach saved his ass twice, and he was useless in this fight. Camp Half Blood arrives to pick them up, and discovers Percy is not here. Annabeth is disappointed and a tad stab tempted over that. The audience discovers Percy Jackson is missing

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in where Jason sets the tone with some festive amnesia

Jason 1. 

What! Where are my funny chapter titles!

Ok, I'm renaming it. 

"In where Jason sets the tone with some festive amnesia"

What… I'm not that funny. Oh well. Lets get this started!

The first page details how Jason doesn't know What in the world is going on. He seems remarkably nonchalant about it. Maybe it's because he's older. Maybe it's because Percy had a sense of humour. Looking back at the Lightning Thief, and the Red Pyramid, I can see something that I had not consciously made note of, this book is in third person. The previous two are in first person. 

Is this a subtle difference that made it harder for me to connect with the Lost Hero protagonists, compared to Carter , Sadie or Percy? Either way, it's a bit jarring. I know I am not particularly practiced in first person perspective. My ability to write essays has given me more practice in second and third person. I like the second person. I'll admit, I'm not a master with it, but I would like to say I can use it competently. 

Can Rick write as well in third, as he can first? 

I have some doubts. 

Maybe it's supposed to be dissociative? 

The descriptions just seem odd here. 

Honestly Jason's amnesia is pissing me off. It feels too spoonfed to everything. I think I would have rather had Piper or Leo open this, convinced Jason is trying to prank them, and quietly wondering wtf is wrong with him. Maybe even poking the illusion.

Jason seems pretty judgmental. “Matching jeans, and enough makeup for a halloween party” oh must be the popular kids, with all their sniggering. Like who even says that?  Did you consider that maybe this is Halloween, given you've not even sure of your own age. What do you know about the world at the moment? Zip. 

Draw me up like one of dem halloween party girls! Or “owls with makeup”

Hmm… Piper uses connection to native american heritage. On one hand, as knowledge the average city person has on native American lifestyle is abysmal. Like, our education on that sucks. Please educate us accurately on that using Piper. 

While I am asking for things from Piper, take the opportunity to educate people on the pitfalls of being beautiful, or even female. Men feel entitled to your time and attention, and get in the way of you getting shit done. 

Let Piper fight that battle. Smashing heads won't help. 

Jason thinks about Crazy Gods, and a suspiciously timed storm and headache rolls in. He questions Leo about their friendship, then goes off to question the coach, who confirms that he is an imposter. Or at least, an interloper. Pretty sus. 

Then, action is built up. 

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an Introduction

I loved the PJO series. The Kane Chronicles were the first books I read by Rick. Of course I grew up and learned more about the world and the problems presented by the portrayals. But I liked them, then read the Lost Hero and stopped. 

And wondered, why did I find Heroes of Olympus so lacking in comparison?

I decided to reread the first book, and write what I thought about it, chapter by chapter.

I will try to write what I think could be improved. 

I have read the Lost Hero once before, and stopped. I read it all in one go, so this time, I plan to stop and reflect on it, and my feelings. 

It does include roasting, not because I dislike Rick on a personal level, but some days I'm just straight up in a mood to be picky,  and this is a good way to do so in peace. 

I do like Rick Riordian's writing. If I didn't feel the energy to care, I wouldn't be doing this. Yes, it's probably going to involve roasting, AU imagine spots, and comparisons to other characters. The story was not created in a vacuum, and is in fact a sequel. I have expectations, based on his previous works, and one of the things that drew me into it was humor and ADHD. 

In the end, remember that this is a blog personal reflection, and you don't have to share the same opinion, and are welcome to block or unfollow if it makes your blogging experiences uncozy.

Fair warning, this blog will update on random whims, it is very unscheduled.

So that said, what do I remember of the characters? Let's see. 

JASON.

Who is Jason? Jason is amnesiac , for plot reasons, and a Roman Demigod, as well as Thalia Grace's little brother. Hopefully, there will be some nice moments between them down the road, despite their different alliances. We could have seen such a relationship between a sibling in camp, and a sister with the hunters, if the new hunter didn't die in the book she was introduced in. There were some interesting things that could have been done with her character if she were alive, such as exploring why she left Nico in camp to join a girl hunting party, practically the minute she could. Had she been thinking about her orientations, and left the minute she found seemingly like minded people? Was she desperate not to be responsible for him anymore? It just seems like it all happened, to hurt Nico, because she is not explored for very long, or in any particular detail, and it feels like she was killed for the sake of Nico’s character arc. 

But I've gone off topic. Jason does not remember, except when he stands up for the Romans who fought out of the blue, and his relationship with Piper that didn't happen. He's pretty out of his depth, and it shows throughout the book. 

PIPER.

Oh boy. This is a long one. Piper is the second female protagonist Rick has written from the perspective of, and I liked Sadie, a lot better. Piper feels kind of like "I'm not like other girls". One thing I found in the other books, that I didn't find in these protagonists, was a sense of humor, that frankly I didn't feel from the protagonists in this book. Maybe it will show up later. I hope so. 

Back to Piper. A daughter of Aphrodisiac and a native American Celebrity, Piper often feels lonely and wants more attention from her father. To this end, she uses her lvl 50 persuade… er charmspeak, to talk people into letting her do stuff, and gets into trouble, when it wears off, and they realise “wait wtf”. Like all children of Aphrodisiac,  she radiates beauty. On one hand, that's pretty cool, the most beautiful POV character thus far, is of mixed native descent. However, I have to wonder if it will be properly explored. 

*Aphrodisiac is a spelling mistake by spellcheck. I left it because it amused me

Do you remember why Carter always dresses his best, In the first book? His dad insists on it, yes, but they are black men, and he doesn't want to give the cops any more reasons to give them trouble, trouble they will have more than enough of with the colour of their skin. At the end of the first book, Carter moves to dressing more casual, a move that is supported by both Sadie and his parents. 

How does Piper deal with discrimination and stereotypes?  She's a girl, which means it might show up in different ways, and be aimed at her sex out loud? Does she, too, get set off by the term half blood, like Carter? Does it bypass her somewhat, by being a celebrity's daughter? Are people more likely to project spoiled rich kids expectations onto her?

*Do I want to touch her kleptomania here? Hard no. That is a bomb I will avoid going into in introductions.

Piper, like Carter, has thoughts on clothing. Carter wanted to wear normal clothes, and wondered what his life would be like if he grew up a normal kid. Piper has an unrepentant tomboy style, and is someone  who doesn't care how she looks, yet is gorgeous anyways. She seems to look down on girls who dress girly, and act like it, and intentionally does things differently. To me, this is a character flaw, in that she is being judgemental about people with different attitudes  from her, and I think in doing so she is being just as snobby as the people she is looking down on. I wonder if part of her future character growth will be realising that, and changing her attitude towards them, maybe even learning some of the things they can teach her. Even if it's not her thing, that doesn't mean she shouldn't respect people who do like makeup and whatnot. 

While I'm talking about beauty, I wonder if there will be any part in the books that explore the pitfalls of being beautiful. Particularly  as a woman. Women have a long history of objectification, and while things seem more equal among the demigods, children of Aphrodisiac seem to be something of an exception. Apparently, those campers have never been on a quest, and aren't shown to be learning any particular skill at camp. It seems they are stuck in being the stereotype of “the chick.” And are there any sons of Aphrodisiac? Does she just clone herself using males DNA to pad a difference? Or are there two separate cabins for them, and we have not seen them yet? Because off what I remember, the beauty standards seem to be patricary catered. 

Ah, I've gotten a bit off point. The pitfalls of being female, particularly a beautiful one. A big one is guys. You're trying to shop, or just walking, or watching a play, whatever, doing your own business, when a wolf whistle pierces the air. Or a guy asks you out. Or keeps following you, trying to get you to give him your number. Or winks at you out of the blue, groped you as you were passing him on the bus, sends you sexual harassment on a text, or shouts it at you. Or is a “nice guy” who drops you when you won't date him, after trying to pressure you. It's not just strangers. The world judges you on beauty. It makes you likelier to be hired, gives people a more favorable impression of you, and often takes a lot of maintaining. Beauty and brains is considered an exception, guys don't want to date people smarter than them, and can come to resent it in a partner. 

Do we see Piper, having struggles being a beautiful woman? A beautiful Native woman, (many of whom have problems with over sexualization?)Do guys bother her in public? Has she been friends with “nice guys” in the past? Does she have trouble trusting Leo at first because of experiences like that? Does she get frustrated at this treatment, and tell guys off, only to get slapped with the label “crazy bitch?” Does she have trouble getting people to take her ideas seriously,  because she's a woman? Scratch the last one, charmspeak possibly overrides those objections. 

Sadie Kane, was a bit boy Crazy. She had two guys into her, one a god, a conflict which was resolved by having the mortal boy she liked, host the god she liked. Is it a bit wish fulfillment? I won't disagree. But I didn't feel It got overtly annoying, and it was reciprocated, and they managed to make it work for them. I do wish there hadn't been a time skip, and we could have seen them develop more, but established friendships are given pretty good attention, such as Percy and Grover. His friendship with Rachel, was pretty well done, as was Annabeth. Rick knows how to build a relationship up, and Percybeth was well built, so what is he doing here with Piper and Jason? It was built on a lie, subbed in for Jason current relationship with another girl. 

From what I remember, Piper is upset that it was a lie, but also seems possessive about something that wasn't hers. Let's take a shot of water every time Piper thinks about Jason. Take 2 Shots every time she does something romantic coded with Jason, instead of building a friendship with the boy she is fixated on. Drink some juice ,every time she and Leo act like friends. Yah know,cause they were friends before Jason, I'm told. Rick wrote it fine with Percy and Grover. So why can I not recall it here?

I also remember thinking some things about Piper smacked of Mary sue. Now, I know that is unfair, women too should be allowed power fantasy, and sues are good learning experiences, but Sadie never felt that way to me, despite getting magic easily, from the goddess in her head, to the point leather boots didn't impede her. Or how her love subplot ended with essentially getting both boys. Rick knows how to write relatable women, so what's happening here? 

Yah, I have a lot of thoughts on Piper. Maybe more will come later. Idk. 

LEO.

I didn't actually remember much of Leo beyond Dead mom, mechanic, super Mechanic, angsting, and fire. All have shiney rare powers. He and Piper are supposedly besties. I would like to see it.  Still, I've heard hes interesting, so I'll try to keep a sharper eye out.