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How I Would Write Jason in TOA?

Sorry if any of this feels disjointed. This is my first time doing a character and plot rewrite.

I think Jason had loads of potential to be a great character, but it was messed up in TBM. 

If you want more details, I wrote a post about my thoughts: https://www.tumblr.com/criminalmutantsins/698742446518091776/jason-grace-deserved-better-this-is-just-my?source=share

To add on to the post, I’ll explain what I would change. 

Jason and Piper are together in TBM, but there would be dialogue explaining how it was tough “starting over” their relationship(like Blood of Olympus very much hinted) and that they had to do individual soul searching before building a better foundation for their relationship. Piper would have doubts about their relationship and still question if Aphrodite and Hera’s interference is why they are together.

Piper’s father would still lose his money but earlier, so Piper would move back to Oklahoma. Jason would go back and forth between Camp Half-Blood, building plans for the shrines. They still communicate except as friends. This would give them time to individuate and learn more about themselves(they would be broken up). Piper would realize her bisexuality and become attracted to Shel. They date, but it only last for a few months because Piper still has feelings for Jason. Her doubts of the relationship are resolved; however, she waits so she doesn’t pressure Jason. Speaking of Jason, after working for months on the shrines, he wishes to take a break and start acting/doing things for himself(hang out with friends, relaxing, etc). Jason’s feelings for Piper are still the same and, after a while, he talks to her about it. They get back together with Jason going to Oklahoma to be closer to Piper and try living a regular life. This could be good representation on how relationships take a lot of work and time, but can be worth it when there is love and communication. 

By the time The Burning Maze starts, Jason and Piper have been together for a month and are a stronger team. However, Jason is having trouble adjusting to having a normal because of his sense of responsibility to be a leader and protector. Between the couple getting together and TBM, they find another entrance to the Labyrinth and Jason learns about the prophecy. Safe to say, he is really stressed.

Instead of the prophecy saying that either Jason or Piper would die, I would change it to either one having to make a great sacrifice. Jason would still fight Caligula. It would be monumental for Jason’s character, and a big fight. Jason would lose, though he would escape with the group with grievous injuries and would be out of commission for the rest of the book. These injuries would result in Jason being paralyzed from the waist down, sacrificing a big part of his identity- being a strong fighter, something he is mostly known for. Jason would have to learn to adjust to the change and further learn more about himself. Though, thanks to Leo’s skills and a battle-ready wheelchair, Jason can still fight, he decides to mostly stay in the sidelines and be a tactician.

PJO Meme Dump (1 of ??)

DISCLAIMER: These memes merely reflect my opinions. I don't intend to spread hate or personally attack any fans, or even Riordan.

Nico before the cupid encounter:

(Crappy attempt at dark humour...)

about Rick...

𝙎𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙋𝙚𝙧𝙘𝙮 𝙛𝙖𝙣𝙨/𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙚 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙥𝙞𝙚𝙘𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙚 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙋𝙚𝙧𝙘𝙮 𝙞𝙣 𝙞𝙩:

(No offense, but the whole "ThiS bOoK DoeSnT HavE PerCY In it!! " crowd is a bit too much to take... )

This one too:

PJO Meme Dump (2 of ??)

DISCLAIMER: These memes are merely comical, exaggerated representations of my opinions. I don't mean to offend anyone. I'm extremely sorry if these came across as offensive to you.

(If I see another post on reddit which goes "character xyz is the most/not the most tragic", followed by some inane discussion....)

Meanwhile, on tumblr:

(A lot of people on pjo tumblr tend to romanticize autism, mental illness, disabilities etc in the name of representation. No offense intended to the few who actually want representation and don't romanticize any of it)

PJO Meta (1 of ??)

DISCLAIMER: I don't mean to offend anyone. I am a ship and let ship person. Please note that criticism =/= hate. Lastly, if you're a solangelo shipper who doesn't wish to hear any criticism regarding their ship, please scroll away.

Ever since it's first appearance, solangelo has been a massive fan favourite. I, however, don't have a favourable opinion of the ship. Here is a brief explanation of my reasons for the same. (I apologise for my inarticulation)

Characterization:-

Nico-

Honestly Nico's writing in the trials of Apollo was terrible even by the usual character assassination standards- in the hidden oracle, he legitimately read as a gag charater who served no purpose apart from being "Will Solace's Goth/Emo Boyfriend". Things were hardly better in Tower of Nero, where he was basically just "Will Solace's traumatized Goth/Emo Boyfriend" who happenes to be lazy PTSD rep.

Will Solace-

Can't say much. He was never a character of his own, and probably never will be. His substance as a character is comparable to the quantitative mass of an electron in Kilograms (9.11x 1/10³¹) i.e, negligible.

Nico's Healing Arc (or lack of the same )-

After what was essentially two series worth of fanfic-esque trauma bombing, Nico should have received a proper healing arc. Unfortunately, there was no such arc for him (courtesy of solangelo), because Rick has this earth-shattering, inspired-by-Disney idea that relationships can fix everything. So guess what? Nico's years' worth of emotional baggage, pain and trauma simply volatalize into oblivion .

Some shippers may argue "Oh but he got better off page"-but that it is bad writing per se; Nico's struggles, grief, fears, unhealthy coping mechanisms etc. are more pivotal and relevant to his character than a nascent, one dimensional relationship with an insignificant side character. He is much more than just his sexuality, after all.

Cliché and one dimensional:-

Solangelo is firmly rooted in the "opposites attract" trope, which is simply unrealistic in nature.

Also, newsflash: "Opposites attract" is a law specific to physics and chemistry; It's all fun and games till people who are poles apart sit down to take serious decisions, or share opinions. Friction between them can be rather intense.

(Oh! wait... I think Nico was described to be a Nitride anion {or was he Azide? No, I think he was Nitride} and Will was a Tungsten cation. So, they are basically Tungsten Nitride... Boy! They have so much chemistry between them/s)

Anyways, I totally understand why people prefer jasico, valdangelo, percico, nicobaster etc...

PJO Meta (2 of ??)

DISCLAIMER: This post reflects a subjective opinion and should be treated as such. If you don't wish to hear criticism regarding Rick's "diverse representation", please scroll away.

Hot Take: I don't think Nico was good queer representation, and here are my reasons for the same.

Internalized Homophobia

Let me start by saying that his internalized homophobia was well-handled in House of Hades and early Blood of Olympus.

The part of his Pov, where he recounts a tale from Plato about romantic soulmates and wonders where that leaves him, is a moving, poignant, critique of heteronormativity.

Nonetheless, it becomes hard to take his internalized homophobia seriously after it simply sublimates affer meeting Will Solace - He develops an infatuation for the latter and the rest is history.

I am not saying that he should struggle with self-acceptance for the rest of his life. I am simply suggesting that he should receive proper closure for the same. i.e, won't it be much better if he learns that homoromantic attraction is completely normal, natural and healthy? Instead, the narrative never even mentions his struggles with self-acceptance after his meeting with Will, let alone give him proper closure.

His Feelings for Percy

On a similar tangent as the aforementioned argument, Nico having feelings for percy started out as a good thing. It gave Nico's character and actions an extra layer of depth.

However, his love (yes, love) for Percy - simply disappeared to make room for Solangelo (which, with all due respect, is a subpar ship). The OoC confession did not help anything either. Nor did the fact that he got over his years-long love in a moment, somehow.

Coming Out:

I do not think this requires a great deal of explanation. Most readers unanimously agree that it's not okay to drag a severely traumatized teenager through another incredibly traumatizing event, esp. when other alternatives were present.

For eg- he chooses to come out to Hazel because he can't take the weight of his feelings any more. This could have also been an important moment for their relationship.

Lastly, outing your queer character (by forcible outing) in such a way is obviously very problematic.

Ostracization

Nico was clearly set-up to be the outcast all the way from the Son of Neptune to the House of Hades . The "He pushed everyone way" plot point did not make a concrete, tangible appearance until Blood of Olympus.

His ostracization arc is important as it is directly tied to his internalized homophobia and is significant to his presence as queer representation. Yet, by having this poorly retconned to "it was all in your head"(unsurprisingly, for solangelo), Rick did a dis-service Nico as a character and as queer rep. (The pushing everyone away schtick could have worked. Just not the way it was in canon.)

Conclusion

Since so many indispensable aspects of Nico's identity as a gay character are poorly handled, it becomes very hard to lake him seriously as good LGBTQ+ rep.

Oh, to hell with the pseudo-representation! Say this louder for the ones in the back! Also, need I mention that the greek gods AND titans had such a one-dimensional portrayal?

Rick Riordan and Diversity

People complain about Rick Riordan “beating a dead horse” but HE CAN BEAT ALL THE DEAD HORSES HE LIKES.

Rick Riordan has actively added diverse characters in all of his books to represent more kids. Characters in his books include:

a Arab-American, Muslim Valkyrie (Magnus Chase)

a deaf/mute elf who uses sign language (Magnus Chase)

a Hispanic son of Hephaestus (Heroes of Olympus)

a half-Cherokee daughter of Aphrodite (Heroes of Olympus)

a Chinese son of Mars (Heroes of Olympus)

a bisexual God/Teen (Trials of Apollo)

a happy and loving gay couple, Nico and Will (Trials of Apollo)

a black male dwarf that loves fashion and design (Magnus Chase)

a black daughter of Hades (Heroes of Olympus)

a genderfluid, transgender warrior of Odin (Magnus Chase) 

kids with ADHD and dyslexia (All greek/roman demigods in Percy Jackson and Heroes of Olympus)

POC siblings of mixed heritage, Carter and Sadie Kane (The Kane Chronicles)

and that’s just off the top of my head! This is not at all a conclusive list!!

When Rick Riordan first revealed Nico, a son of Hades in his best-selling Heroes of Olympus series, as gay people asked him “why?” and he said because he wanted kids to see themselves in his books and that all kids need to be able to see themselves in literature and find reassurance that they’re fine just the way they are. HE PORTRAYS ALL OF THESE KIDS AS HEROES. This is SO SO IMPORTANT

So unlike some people who beat dead horses and don’t even try to be diverse (*cough*JKROWLING*cough*) at least Riordan is constantly adding more and more young heroes and heroines that are diverse, well-rounded, and important. 

THAT’S GREAT AND I WILL BUY EVERY SINGLE ONE OF HIS DEAD HORSE BEATING NOVELS FIGHT ME

Enjoy this written piece? Consider buying me a coffee.

PJO Meta (3 of ??)

I've been thinking a a bit about how both Jason and Nico are canonically implied to have abandonment issues/trauma, and how Nico's unhealthy possessiveness might be linked to said trauma. While the canon laughs his possessiveness off as a gag,:

it could actually make fanon!Jasico interesting - like, imagine Nico being clingy and possessive of Jason, the latter picking up on it, eventually understanding why he the former is so clingy and possessive [because Jason himself has abandonment trauma].

It could be a challenge in their relationship which they resolve in a healthy way...

This was just an idea don't know how good it is but yeah, I find it intriguing.

Note: Nico's possessive nature is not healthy, and I don't condone it. He should've received proper resolution for the same.

Random PJO Meme (6 of ??)

DISCLAIMER: This a comic representation of an opinion. It is NOT a personal attack. Jason stans who are uncomfortable with jests, please scroll away.

A lot of the Jason Stan’s are really nice, and no, I don't hate or (even dislike) Jason or find him "bland" or "boring", but...

Some Jason stans when they realise people can have valid criticisms of Jason AS A CHARACTER:

PJO Meta (4 of ??)

DISCLAIMER: No hate towards solangelo shippers. If you’re a solangelo shipper who doesn’t wish to read any criticism regarding their favourite ship, please scroll away.

Times Canon!Solangelo made me squirm in discomfort:

Key points to note: this is more about writing than about the characters’ actions. Pre-romance references have been included as well

In this excerpt from Nico’s PoV, will publicly belittled the former’s mental and emotional state. The worst part is that Nico never receives an apology for the same.

In this scene, will is disclosing sensitive information about Nico’s disorder and past to someone Nico is not close to (Lester/Apollo). Now that’s seriously very icky. Plus, he didn’t even seek Nico’s consent regarding the same.

Rick’s writing has always had a good bit of ableism in it, and this part certainly counts. Using mood disorders as some schtick for romance…seriously? It doesn’t help that Nico has had actual mental health issues throughout both the series (this just makes it worse than it already is).

The subtly toxic nature of their relationship is somewhat polar. Being so miffed about your partner for “staring” at someone isn’t healthy. Possessiveness isn’t cute just because it’s a gay ship. Also the way this scene tries to pass this off as a gag is just messed up. Come on Rick, you ruined Nico’s character already. Atleast let his abandonment issues be forgotten instead of making a joke out of them. ( A character’s abandonment trauma being badly handled in their relationship…rings a bell. See also: Annabeth and the judo flip scene)

I’ve got more moments, but they aren’t as concerning as these four+ I’ve had more than enough solangelo for today.

In another universe the movies were done better, let’s hope in that same universe hoo was written better.

one of the things im most annoyed with about Piper being given a blowdart in TOA is like. yes there is a rich history of Cherokee blowdarts HOWEVER rick does not appear to have done much research about it beyond googling "traditional Cherokee weapons" and then he of course proceeds to be kind of weird about it. like. congrats once again you ALMOST had something.

(for reference if you DO want to learn more about Cherokee blowdarts/traditional weapons, this video and this video are quite nice)

Because it’s such a cash grab that Rick didn’t even bothered to re read his own series and he is losing sight of the story and characters he wanted to protray in the first place!!

I love chalice of the gods, and that I have more pjo to consume but…

I can’t get over the fact that didn’t Percy wear Annabeth’s hat before?!?! In Titan’s Curse??? Like a lot???

Otherwise 999/10 highly recommend

i think it's reductive to take "its not like the books" in it's most literal face value interpretation. it's not bad bc it's "not like the books" it's bad because it discards the books for something worse

Biggest unpopular pjo opinion? 😚💕

lol sorry this could literally be from last year I just can’t get the hand of tumblr. Anyways 🙈

Probably I think that Percy did some things that were *questionable* at some points, and I think people suckhisdicktoomuch! lol

and two is that sometimes I don’t think wrote series 🤷‍♀️ jk but seriously he’s not the best writer and people need to stop pretending like he is 😗✌️

Let’s not get started on the show cause I won’t shut the fuck

What’s your pjo unpopular opinion babe ?🩷

I actually have a couple 🤪

Firstly, I COMPLETELY agree with you about Rick not always writing his own work. The essence of what made his old books is missing from his new ones imo, and people worship him a little too much because cmon…

And Percy’s kind of a dick sometimes but I like that about him

Also my biggest problem is with the show. I don’t like it all too much at all, but you get attacked for criticizing even the smallest thing. “WeLl RiCk ApPrOvEd” well what if I tell u something about my feelings towards Rick…

Me: The way that the fandom writes and draws Piper McLean is racist.

White fans: It’s not racist! That’s how she’s written in canon!

Me: Yeah, and canon is racist too.

White fans:

Im so mad at the pjo for… existing tbh. The movies did not destroy the chances for a good faithful adaptation to be made one day, but the Disney show did. Disney had a good budget, great actors, and most importantly, an already established fanbase. A fanbase so loyal to Rick, that they refuse to admit that the show is JUST NOT GOOD. But again they are so loyal to it simply bc Rick’s association an approval is attached to it. I think the fandom would be more critical of it if Rick’s name was removed. And now even if another studio or company were to pick up the story, it would simply be dismissed by the fandom. Even if it was more loyal and true adaptation to the books. So tragic tbh.

Capitalism stop ruining the things I love challenge go

Im so mad at the pjo for… existing tbh. The movies did not destroy the chances for a good faithful adaptation to be made one day, but the Disney show did. Disney had a good budget, great actors, and most importantly, an already established fanbase. A fanbase so loyal to Rick, that they refuse to admit that the show is JUST NOT GOOD. But again they are so loyal to it simply bc Rick’s association an approval is attached to it. I think the fandom would be more critical of it if Rick’s name was removed. And now even if another studio or company were to pick up the story, it would simply be dismissed by the fandom. Even if it was more loyal and true adaptation to the books. So tragic tbh.

my birthday wish for percy jackson is that rick riordan stops writing him ❤️🫶🏻 happy birthday king

Ok so, it’s one of two things regarding the wrath of the triple goddess. Either

A: this is actually written by a ghost writer and NOT RICK (not good bc then that means Rick is simply milking his cash cow dry, which diminishes not only themes in his OWN STORIES but honestly just disrespecting his characters and his VERY LOYAL FANDOM)

OR

B: He is writing the book himself and Rick’s fan service has finally reached its final form, meaning that he has and will continue to dismiss themes and established characterizations and events of his story in favor of just giving the fans what they want, WHICH IS TERRIBLE FOR STORYTELLING BC A FANDOM WILL NEVER, EVER AGREE ON EVERYTHING AND WILL ALWAYS HAVE CHANGING OPINIONS OVER THE YEARS!

What I’m trying to say is that it’s bad. This book is gonna be bad. Disrespectfully bad.

*points to suzanne collins* why cant u be more like her? Huh?

You died a hero or grow old to be the villain or whatever that saying goes is actually about Rick Riordan’s writing Chalice and Wrath especially.