I want to preface this that I am percabeth shipper through and through. I am not trying to start any discourse and fight. I once read your post that it makes more sense that Rachel is Percy's biggest "what if? ". I remember when reading tlo I was kinda annoyed that the love triangle was resolved by Rachel taking a chastity vow and not by Percy actively choosing Annabeth. It kinda gave impression that he got with Annabeth because she was his only option, not his 1st choice. Knowing that Annabeth had spent her whole life being someone's second choice, my heart hurt for her and I kinda thought she deserved better. Of course SoN and MoA changed that view for me. I wanted to ask- if Rachel wasn't so conveniently written off, do you think Percy would still choose Annabeth? While my shipper heart want to say yes, I am not so certain. For most tlo I was left with the impression that Percy and Rachel was already semi-dating and if it wasn't for the vow, it kinda seemed like he would choose her.
Okay, this is the greatest ask I've ever gotten and I honestly think about this topic all of the time! Here are my thoughts:
I don't like the way Rick resolved the love triangle either.
I do acknowledge that, according to Greek Mythology, becoming the Oracle means vowing complete devotion to Apollo, so logistically, Rachel taking the chastity vow isn't as cheap a shot as it may seem. However, I agree that because of how Rachel was removed from the playing field, it does, to paraphrase, lead to Percy settling with Annabeth because Rachel wasn't there to be an option.
But to answer your question: If Percy had to choose, who would he pick?
I think he'd pick Annabeth. Not just because he wants to, but because he thinks he supposed to.
Objectively speaking, Percy and Annabeth have five years of history and have fought side by side in countless life or death circumstances. He's the most loyal to her, so he has a predisposition to Annabeth. But I do think this choice would lead to the downfall of their relationship some years down the road.
As for Percy and Rachel, I believe their friendship was genuine at first, but they were both using each other as an escape from their lives, so it makes sense that it would end when it did.
Hell, if it were up to me, I would have still had Rachel become the Oracle, but have Percy and Annabeth wait until after the second war to get together. This way, Percy's fatal flaw (loyalty) allows him to still value and maintain a relationship with both girls and positions Percy to actively choose Annabeth later on. I feel like this is the best way to amicablly resolve the love triangle.
Of course, if you, or anyone disagrees with me or would like to add anything, feel free to reblog and share your opinion. I love a respectful discourse!
