I hate seeing how the fandom treats Piper McLean.
She isn’t a pick me at all.
Let’s not forget that the first time we meet her, her only two friends are boys because all the hyper feminine girls in her the wilderness school pick on her for being Cherokee and call her ugly.
Then the moment she joins camp, it’s the hyper feminine girls likes Drew who antagonise her and pick on her.
Can you really blame her for not wanting to be seen the same way by outsiders? Also, let’s consider the year that heroes of Olympus was made in too. She also doesn’t shame anyone like Annabeth, Hazel, Thalia, Reyna etc.
If anything, it comes down to possibly misogynistic stereotypes that Rick Riordan used without seeing the harm NOT the character herself.
Second of all, HER PERSONALITY IS NOT ALL ABOUT JASON! She thinks about ALL of her friends. The only reason she talks about Jason more often is because he’s her boyfriend and she is LITERALLY A DAUGHTER OF APHRODITE?! It makes perfect sense for her to behave this way.
Then there’s the “fat shaming percy” argument that REALLY annoys me. She doesn’t say it out loud and says it ONCE across all the books. She’s not going up and calling him a fat pig or anything horrible like that. When I’m super hungry and scoffing down food (which everyone has done before), my parents jokingly say “You must be hungry!” But it’s obviously just a jokey observation. AND AGAIN! SHE SAYS IT IN HER HEAD?!
Finally, I want to explain that her angst isnt just “dad doesnt pay any attention to me” it’s also that no matter where she goes, people find a way to pick on her and demean her.
The start of the book, she’s being bullied. The moment she joins CHB, a place where she should feel safe and at home, Drew comments on her hair and deliberately continues to antagonise and mock her. Then when she finally settles down after beating Gaia with Jason, she gets picked on again at a normal high school because her father is deeply in debt and she is losing her luxuries.
Annabeth also has VERY similar behaviours but thats a conversation for another time.
