The Aphrodite son
I really wanted more of the son of Aphrodite (was his name Aiden? I might be wrong). I feel like we barely scratched the surface with him, and I wish we’d gotten more background or even just a few extra moments to understand who he really was. I did watch the episode he appeared in, but I was honestly panicking the entire time because a project had been assigned a few days before and was due that same day I was watching, so I know I missed things 😭
I’m especially curious about his life before camp. Did he have a father who was present, or another mother who was present, or was he raised by a single parent? Was there another mother figure in his life, like a stepmom or guardian? Did he have any mortal siblings, and if so, what was that dynamic like growing up as the “different” one? I feel like those details matter so much for a demigod, especially one tied to love and beauty.
And then there’s the Aphrodite cabin itself. How did he fit in with his siblings? Was he genuinely loved and supported, or did he feel overlooked, compared, or quietly judged? As a son of Aphrodite, what kind of beauty standards was he held to? Was he expected to look a certain way, act a certain way, or embody a specific version of charm or attractiveness? Did those expectations mess with his self-worth, or did he lean into them as armor?
I’m also really interested in how he used his charmspeak. Was it something he relied on instinctively, even when he didn’t mean to? Did he hate using it because it felt manipulative, or did he struggle to control it at all? Did he avoid using it because it felt manipulative, or did he rely on it as a shield when he felt vulnerable? I wonder if he used it more softly and emotionally, or if he ever had moments where it became dangerous without him realizing.
I wonder if his charmspeak was gentle and emotional rather than commanding, and whether that reflected who he was at his core.
There’s just so much potential there, emotionally and narratively. I really wish the show had taken more time to explore him, especially the softer, more fragile parts of what it means to be a son/child of Aphrodite.
(And if anyone has headcanons or fanfiction about him, I’d love to read them as long as they aren’t reader/self-insert and don’t give him a love interest.)