One thing which always makes me roll my eyes when I think about the beginning of Mark of Athena is how absolutely stupid Annabeth, Jason, Leo and Piper acted when they approached Camp Jupiter.
Like, completely ignoring the whole eidolon plot, everything they do before that just makes me cringe on a different level.
They not only approached New Rome, a place they have a centuries long history of war with, a place they know highly distrust them and a place where not only soldiers, but also families, and little kids live in, in a fully equipped flying warship, but they also didn’t even properly warn camp Jupiter of their arrival.
Their “warning” consisted of a two-minute-long video created by Leo. A video, where Jason, their old praetor, one of the people who led them during the titan war, and the only link camp half-blood has to camp Jupiter, doesn’t appear in.
‘Hey!’ said the guy in the video. ‘Greetings from your friends at Camp Half-Blood, et cetera. This is Leo. I’m the …’ He looked off screen and yelled: ‘What’s my title? Am I like admiral, or captain, or –’ A girl’s voice yelled back, ‘Repair boy.’ ‘Very funny, Piper,’ Leo grumbled. He turned back to the parchment screen. ‘So yeah, I’m … ah … supreme commander of the Argo II. Yeah, I like that! Anyway, we’re gonna be sailing towards you in about, I dunno, an hour in this big mother warship. We’d appreciate it if you’d not, like, blow us out of the sky or anything. So okay! If you could tell the Romans that. See you soon. Yours in demigodishness, and all that. Peace out.’ (The Son of Neptune, Chapter 52, Percy)
The only reasons why they did not get blasted out of the sky the second they appeared near New Rome is because Percy is a phenomenal public speaker, because he miraculously managed to gain Camp Jupiter’s trust in three days, and because Reyna was gracious enough to give them a chance:
‘Why should we trust these Greeks?’ Octavian was saying. He’d been pacing the senate floor for five minutes, going on and on, trying to counter what Percy had told them about Juno’s plan and the Prophecy of Seven. The senate shifted restlessly, but most of them were too afraid to interrupt Octavian while he was on a roll. (The Son of Neptune, Chapter 52, Percy)
‘Oh, come on!’ Octavian shouted. ‘He’s making things up, now.’ Reyna frowned. ‘It is a lot to believe. Jason is coming back with a bunch of Greek demigods? You say they’re going to appear in the sky in a heavily armed warship, but we shouldn’t be worried.’ ‘Yes.’ Percy looked over the rows of nervous, doubtful spectators. ‘Just let them land. Hear them out. Jason will back up everything I’m telling you. I swear it on my life.’ ‘On your life?’ Octavian looked meaningfully at the senate. ‘We will remember that, if this turns out to be a trick.’ (The Son of Neptune, Chapter 52, Percy)
‘Praetors!’ the messenger cried. ‘What are your orders?’ Octavian shot to his feet. ‘You need to ask?’ His face was red with rage. He was strangling his teddy bear. ‘The omens are horrible! This is a trick, a deception. Beware Greeks bearing gifts!’ He jabbed a finger at Percy. ‘His friends are attacking in a warship. He has led them here. We must attack!’ ‘No,’ Percy said firmly. ‘You all raised me as praetor for a reason. I will fight to defend this camp with my life. But these aren’t enemies. I say we stand ready, but do not attack. Let them land. Let them speak. If it is a trick, then I will fight with you, as I did last night. But it is not a trick.’ (The Son of Neptune, Chapter 52, Percy)
All eyes turned towards Reyna. She studied the approaching warship. Her expression hardened. If she vetoed Percy’s orders … well, he didn’t know what would happen. Chaos and confusion, at the very least. Most likely, the Romans would follow her lead. She’d been their leader much longer than Percy. ‘Hold your fire,’ Reyna said. ‘But have the legion stand ready. Percy Jackson is your duly chosen praetor. We will trust his word – unless we are given clear reason not to. Senators, let us adjourn to the forum and meet our … new friends.’ (The Son of Neptune, Chapter 52, Percy)
Then, their plan to gain Camp Jupiter’s trust and create an alliance with them involved using Piper’s charm speak against them. A power, which is literal brainwashing, and which both Terminus and Reyna immediately recognized, and which immediately made them both distrust Piper:
Piper paced back and forth between the mainmast and the ballistae, practicing her lines. “Lower your weapons,” she murmured. “We just want to talk.” Her charmspeak was so powerful, the words flowed over Annabeth, filling her with the desire to drop her dagger and have a nice long chat. (Mark of Athena, Chapter 1, Annabeth)
“Oh, I remember you, Jason!” Terminus grumbled. “I thought you had better sense than to consort with the enemies of Rome!” “But they’re not enemies—” “That’s right,” Piper jumped in. “We just want to talk. If we could—” “Ha!” snapped the statue. “Don’t try that charmspeak on me, young lady.” (Mark of Athena, Chapter 1, Annabeth)
“Your friend Piper has sorcery in her words. I spent enough time with Circe to know charmspeak when I hear it. I can’t trust what she says. (Mark of Athena, Chapter 4, Annabeth)
Later, after they’ve been allowed to enter New Rome, the very first thing Annabeth does is judo flip one of their praetors, without any warning in a moment of anger. An action, which almost caused them to get attacked by the Romans had Reyna not intervened, and had Percy not reacted with humor:
“Gods, I never thought—” Annabeth grabbed his wrist and flipped him over her shoulder. He slammed into the stone pavement. Romans cried out. Some surged forward, but Reyna shouted, “Hold! Stand down!” Annabeth put her knee on Percy’s chest. She pushed her forearm against his throat. She didn’t care what the Romans thought. A white-hot lump of anger expanded in her chest—a tumor of worry and bitterness that she’d been carrying around since last autumn. (Mark of Athena, Chapter 2, Annabeth)
Then, Piper and Annabeth make fun of their augur, a person in a high, and respected position, who has many friends in the roman senate, and disrespect him for no reason whatsoever on multiple occasions. (also, again, by using charm speak)
“Impossible!” Octavian broke in. “That’s our most sacred place. If the giants had imprisoned a goddess there—” “They would’ve destroyed her,” Piper said. “And blamed it on the Greeks, and started a war between the camps. Now, be quiet and let Jason finish.” Octavian opened his mouth, but no sound came out. Annabeth really loved Piper’s charmspeak. (Mark of Athena, Chapter 3, Annabeth)
Reyna nodded. “We call it the Prophecy of Seven. Octavian, you have it committed to memory?” “Of course,” he said. “But, Reyna—” “Recite it, please. In English, not Latin.” Octavian sighed. “Seven half-bloods shall answer the call. To storm or fire the world must fall—” “An oath to keep with a final breath,” Annabeth continued. “And foes bear arms to the Doors of Death.” Everyone stared at her… (Mark of Athena, Chapter 3, Annabeth)
Like, it’s one thing when Jason, Percy and Reyna do that, because they are appointed praetors, rank higher than Octavian, and, in Percy’s and Reyna’s case, actually have reason to resent him, but outsiders like Annabeth and Piper doing the same as ambassadors of peace in a place that already distrusts them is so fucking dumb.
And then Jason, again, the only link they have to Camp Jupiter, who has been missing for months, doesn’t actually interact at all with his old friends or tries to wash away any doubts that he might no longer be on their side, and instead wanders around New Rome with his greek girlfriend. An action, which caused even Reyna, his supposed closest friend and ally to doubt him.
“Uh, Reyna,” Jason said, “if you don’t mind, I’d like to show Piper around before the senate meeting. She’s never seen New Rome.” Reyna’s expression hardened. (Mark of Athena, Chapter 3, Annabeth)
And Jason… well, he has changed. He seems distant, no longer quite Roman.” The hurt in her voice was as sharp as broken glass. (Mark of Athena, Chapter 4, Annabeth)
Like, bro…
You’re all supposed to be smart characters. Please start acting like it