on the topic of having percy keep his curse of Achilles
there are literally so many interesting character narratives you can build out of having an insanely overpowered character
a lot of cool things have been explored for years with dark!percy fanon but even outside of that - the whole consequence of the curse being he sleeps a lot is also a cool thing to explore. yes “needs to save energy etc etc” but also how do you reconcile the unbeatable avatar of yourself with the normal guy you’ve always wished you were? how long can these two personas coexist before you lose the normal part? i.e when you’re not fighting awesomely, you’re sleeping, and you can avoid that question (anyways that’s just a thought about Percy’s own possible narratives)
and for everyone else - there’s this one dude that can win it all and does it all….he is on our side right? do my talents even matter here? bam adds to the finding purpose plot of each character because how do you maintain your self confidence when the playing field is so unbalanced
also - perhaps relying on percy too much…sending him out as first line of offense for everything and then bam without him can they achieve and succeed?
and a bunch of more complex individual relationships that could’ve been explored that went unfinished in hoo as a whole - jason v percy (how do you compete against someone unbeatable), percy and annabeth obviously (what does it take from you/out of you to be someone’s literal tether to mortality), percy frank hazel (different perspectives or perhaps the same ones on what it means to be cursed), percy leo (literally the opposite ends of the spectrum of feeling needed but also perhaps similar in feeling like they’re distanced from everyone else), percy piper (i have to think more about this one)
obviously interesting things for Percy’s acceptance or perhaps ostracism at camp jupiter because a unbeatable guy with a Greek curse? how would that go over
SO yes lots of missed opportunities here…. the hoo crit runs DEEP in my veins
