#analysis: drew.

[viciousgracess]

drew attends the brooklyn academy of the gifted in NY. it's a specialty school that focuses on students' talents, and drew specializes in performance arts ( dance, music, theater acting. ) after graduating from the academy, she would pursue higher education in NYU, taking up a bachelor of arts in performance studies ( possibly with a minor in dance. )

[viciousgracess]

prior to the end of TLO, drew's just a normal camper and easily overlooked. she's not acting out yet, and i think a lot of people would recognize her in relation to silena, not only because they're sisters but because drew is always following her around. i do think that she's already developed her charmspeaking abilities around this time, which portends her becoming a powerful demigod, but she's yet to harbor the spite that really sharpens this specific ability of hers to the fine, cutting point that we've seen it develop into later in the series.

i also think that, in addition to charmspeak, drew is one of the few children of aphrodite who can shapeshift. this is limited to the boundaries in which the children of aphrodite can use this power ( the wiki says they can only partially change their physical features ) but drew becomes quite good at this and can change her features drastically. this, however, is always a jarring experience for drew, and she doesn't like doing it unless there's a specific reason for it because she's scared she wouldn't be able to revert back to her original features.

in terms of combat though and how helpful drew would be in the battlefield, i do think that her abilities are more in-line with psychic damage. of course, she'd get the same demigod training that all demigods do in terms of endurance / strength / fighting / weapon handling etc., and would also have certain demigod advantages in those areas, but mental manipulation is probably what she excels at so much more.

drew handles an assist role in combat situations unless she has no other option but to lead the charge. neon pink sparks crackle around her when she's using her abilities. she'd usually stun enemies, scramble their minds, make them enter sudden and vivid romantic delusions to distract them, use her charmspeak to get them to follow simple orders ( in large groups. one on one, drew's charmspeaking is lethal enough that she can ask you to follow more complex commands ), taunt enemies to divert their focus, induce migraines, and in worst case scenarios, drive them mad with love and desire. in terms of weapons, drew has a katana made out of steel and tungsten. she named it kirāsuzume, which translates to killer sparrow in japanese.

[viciousgracess]

drew having bpd makes a lot of sense to me, btw. it's the way that silena was her favorite person whom she idealized to such an unhealthy degree, that the consequent "betrayal" completely incapacitated her and ultimately led to "splitting". in bpd talk, splitting is when someone who suffers from bpd becomes entirely disillusioned by a person they once held in high regard ( their fp or favorite person. ) splitting is basically some sort of polarized, black and white mentality: one moment, their fp is the sun and stars, the next they are the worst ever, because of the betrayal / the abandonment, perceived or otherwise.

it is ultimately the reason why drew cannot forgive silena as easily as the others were able to. while they could justify silena's actions as heroic bc of the strain she was under + the choice she made in the end, to drew, none of those things mattered. there is only her trust, her admiration, her shining love, and how all that was broken. and in true bpd fashion, she had a hard time managing her emotions, and all that anger overflowed onto other people. it's very important to note that drew is young and immature, and doesn't have all the tools yet to manage her symptoms. she is not yet aware that she needs help.

i have more on this, but i also think that there are notable changes in drew before and after silena's death. one of the key features of bpd is an illogical fear of abandonment, along with inappropriate and intense anger + difficulty managing impulses and wild mood swings. drew's unfortunate treatment of her siblings echo all this: she's angry and lashing out. she's keeping them at all arm's length, employing a preventative measure in terms of fostering any possible closeness, because she's afraid they might abandon her eventually, so she might as well get a head start by removing any good will whatsoever. to drew, it is easier to make them hate her than to have them be close to her, if they were going to leave her at some point . fresh from the trauma of losing silena, this is how drew preferred to protect herself.

now, i will say again what i have always said: in no way does this make her actions correct. she's had a lot of failings, and her mental illness does not exclude her from being held accountable for how she treated others. but i do think it puts things in perspective, when thinking of her character + her actions in HOO canon.