🫧🔨

This blog is solely concerned with criticising Rick Riordan and his words. Having hit around 60-ish posts, I decided to rearrange my blog and give you a summary post here for reference:

how to write representation masterpost, + the power of two characters from the same group

Rick's writing voice (rant)

the awful redemption arc of Asterion (credit to anon for the very detailed ask!)

amnesia trope and jason's wasted potential,

Kronos, never sliced (full debate), + anon reply

demigods disrespecting the gods with no consequences

Hephaestus, never "ugly" (nor is Rick an "expert")

Aphrodite, never shallow (reblog from an excellent post)

the missed potential of demigod quests

Olympians as bad parents

Ares, never abusive (nor passive)

Helios and Selene, never disposable (??)

list of mental illnesses done wrong (likely to expand)

how kleptomania was mishandled

how schizophrenia was mishandled

how psychosis was mishandled

You've come at the right place anon.

Before we start, it should be known that I study psychology, so I, by no means, expect Rick or your average writer to know about the knowledge and ideas I'm about to dump on y'all. My standards aren't that high, though I sure wish there were more writers out there who knew their psychology. Even if you don't take it as a hobby or as a career prospect or as both, learning about it (and how little we actually know about the human psyche) can really enhance your character building skills as well as avoid writing stupid things like "psychotic snowman" in your books. Anyways.

Sorry, I know this is a Rick Riordan criticism blog, not a Jorge one...

I don't actively hate EPIC but I also will never like, get into it. I don't really have much of an opinion on it, considering I've listened to like three songs and wasn't particularly... wowed by what I heard. There's this excellent breakdown of Gods Game that is more entertaining than those three songs I listened to.

Oh that's a tough question! I don't believe there is a specific Greek god of determination, and if you ask me, you could argue for any god to be incredibly determined/stubborn, depending on which myth you're looking at.

Personally, I will just have to hand this one to Demeter. Her search for Persephone is just the epitome of never giving up, unwavering love, uncompromising stubborness. She didn't yield to anyone or anything until she got what she wanted, which isn't supposed to be possible (bringing someone back from the Underworld). In my opinion she is the most bullheaded of the Olympians.

Then he’d “apologize” and they would “forgive him” as if they were the once who got to decided whether he’s forgiven or not and not actually Greek people.

What my inbox has been serving these past months:

My knowledge of Norse Mythology boils down to a few key characters (Freyja, Thor, Odin, Loki, Hel, Ymir), a few key terms (Ragnärok, the Æsir, Mjölnir) and places (Asgard, Valhalla). Also some niche stuff like the myth of Narfi and Vali because of that one time I fell down into a research rabbit hole and the einherjar because of another time I fell down into a research rabbit hole. It's weird that it occured twice.

Other than that... yeah, I'm afraid Richard could probably defeat me at a basic Norse mythology knowledge quiz. Which is very embarrassing for me and I will put in the work to beat him one day (gosh I speak like those characters who are obsessed with their "rival").

However I have no doubt that his Norse mythology must be lacking. In the sense that, just like with Greek mythology (who he taught and supposedly knows best so far) he knows the basics and he's researched the niche stuff... but when it's time to incorporate those into his stories he will bastardise or ignore things which always makes you question how deep his research actually was.

Wait, so is Odin some chill guy, deadbeat dad that is just a sweet ol' nice guy who's never done anything wrong in his life ever? And what happened to Loki? Was he dumbed down or made to be a douche or is he just plain and boring?

I'm trying to find him a nickname but can't make up my mind on anything. Obviously shouldn't be vulgar or insulting because there are a lot of good people on this planet named Richard and they don't deserve their name being butchered because of that one Richard I don't like.

Also his "crime" was to write a bad series with bad mythology and bad representation, and sure it pisses me off, but it's not like he was found on some guy's files like another author I often compare him to, haha... (when you enter a "completely lost the plot" contest but your opponent is JKR).

😀😞😀😞😀😞😀😞😐

Not so smart anymore, huh? Too bad, now you gotta die, since you can't solve my riddle/challenge.

Ok, but seriously, the fandom seems to keep forgetting that she's also dyslexic just because she's "smart", and you can see it in "memes" like the next:

https://in.pinterest.com/pin/1056586762581459461/

And I put in quotation marks because memes are supposed to be funny.

Oh, wait, I really like that idea because it fixes everything about that stupid Sphinx scene:

Imagine if Annabeth wasn't asked questions that are "insults" to her intelligence just because they are general knowledge questions rather than tricky riddles.

Imagine if, instead, the Sphinx became tired of people learning by heart the answers to every popular riddle out there, of people preferring memorisation over critical thinking, of people surviving with no merit of their own. So she simply resorted to asking these know-it-alls questions that will actually make them sweat: spelling bees. Every demigod has dyslexia. This is way too easy for the Sphinx.

Imagine if Annabeth is someone who takes pride in her intellectual abilities, someone who enjoys puzzles because it's gratifying to feel challenged, rather than because it's gratifying to be right; that Annabeth is asked to spell temporarily or some shit.

But then, Annabeth explodes at the Sphinx. Because this isn't fair, and it's certainly not spelling words accurately that makes people smart and worthy of passage.

This actually fixes so much about the scene:

-> Instead of reinforcing Annabeth's pride as a fatal flaw, it breaks reader expectations by showing that pride can be a strength.

Pride means self-respect and having high standards for oneself.

Where another demigod would have simply taken the challenge, Annabeth is indignant that her intelligence is measured against something as stupid as a spelling bee.

Annabeth isn't fatally prideful in that moment, she's proud enough to stand up against a millenia old monster who's acting like a bully.

Her explosion would come from rightful anger, not petty arrogance.

This allows to balance Annabeth's character flaw. Percy's loyalty is always a good thing despite being called a "flaw", but with Annabeth? The dichotomy of pride is never shown.

-> Instead of a silly side-quest to tick on the checklist, this scene would have been a powerful commentary on ableism in schools:

Annabeth's intelligence is being questioned by the Sphinx's challenge because she is unable to spell a word...? That's just ridiculous and not fair at all!

Annabeth, considered the smartest demigod (more told than shown, but let's use our imagination) passionately speaks out about how spelling words correctly will never mark anyone as cognitively "superior" than everyone else.

This scene would become a cathartic and validating moment for the people this story is supposedly written for!

-> Instead of yet another moment of hubris from Annabeth, we'd be reminded of her struggles, which Percy rarely sees:

Annabeth is, like you say anon, often forgotten to be dyslexic by the fandom, simply because she is "smart" (and THIS is why a scene like the one I'm describing is incredibly necessary).

This is on Rick for being a rotten writer, on fandom misoginy who always dismisses female characters, but also on Percy's perspective, a guy who deals with a lot of unadressed internalised ableism from the very first book and onwards. Percy often forgets or needs to be "reminded" that Annabeth has ADHD and dyslexia, because she's soooo smart and smart people can't be neurodivergent or struggle with reading and writing. Right?

I also just needed scenes where neurodivergence and dyslexia are shown to create struggles for demigods within the demigod life. The "your disability is your superpower" pipeline is cute and all, but it also appears to shrugg off the fact that having a disability is... disabling.

Also the pin anon mentionned in the ask (in case it's deleted or something):

It was so ON THE NOSE. I saw people complaining about it but nothing prepared me to how badly written Octavian was. I was half-expecting characters to over-villainise him in SoN because the plot twist was that Octavian was on their side or something.

But no! Rick just did him really, really dirty. Like, physically scooping up dirt from the ground and throwing it at Octavian's face kind of dirty.

And I mourn that because Octavian seemed like the kind of character I would've loved. I found the stuffed animal stuff really cool but apparently it was to show how Octavian is unstable and can't be trusted. Because apparently people draw the line at stuffed animals. Oh, you know what would've been sooo cute? If Octavian sewed them right after stabbing them. Like, he probably got kids crying and parents going after his ass. Who knows, maybe the last Augur was driven out of Camp for that, what should I know. He's a descendant of Apollo, I think he would be great at surgeries.

Also he goes to Asphodel are you kidding me? Tartarus would've been less insulting. Honestly, with how "obsessed" he was said to be about Roman traditions and honouring the gods, Octavian should've gone to Elysium no diff.

I think it's more personal impact than anything, like you say, anon.

People were rightfully excited to see a fan favourite character come out of the closet, in their favourite kids series (well, I doubt hoo is people's favourite since pjo always comes first), and that at a time where it was really difficult for middle grade authors to write positive queer rep.

But I'd draw the line at claiming it was a paradigm shift. Rick doesn't exist in a vacuum, he didn't wake up one day and said "I'm going to take one big step for gay rep in children's media," no. Not when his first series had the very heteronormative Hunters of Artemis who did not accept boys because "the girls could go astray" (ew ew ew) but seems to ignore the existence of lesbians (and also seem to be exclusive of non-binary and transgender people).

Nico was part of a trend, a movement, rather than its instigator. There is no evidence of Nico inspiring another middle grade author to make their characters more queer (I'm not saying it can't be true, just that I don't know of such instance).

It's more likely to me that Rick saw the movement and hopped on to it (which I will applaud because even today, middle grade authors can be such cowards, since with MG it's the parents who buy, read aloud & review these books). The Legend of Korra's last season premiered in the same year as The Blood of Olympus, and these cannot be coincidences. Rick certainly did not invent queer rep in children's media (no one did), nor did he start it, and, imho, Nico would've never been gay if that larger progress hadn't existed.

But I guess because he had such an important personal impact on readers, and "Uncle Rick" is so beloved, people overinflate Nico's importance. I read boo, what, in 2024? And was not very impressed (but that's a privilege because a kid in 2004 would probably faint if they saw Nico).

I'd say Jason, Piper, Leo, Reyna, Hazel, Octavian and Frank.

I didn't give that much thought though, it's based on pure vibes + me not wanting Percy and Annabeth to steal the show for a second series.

Honestly? I'd have Piper be a daughter of Venus and Leo a son of Vulcan, so they can all be Roman.

Octavian's there because I think a "redemption" arc would've been more compelling than what Rick did with his character (which had quite the ableist undertone if you ask me, because why was Octavian portrayed as unstable to show he can't be trusted?) One thing that the Argo II really lacked was actual conflict where both sides of the argument could be right, and I think, because Octavian is so "othered," disagreements could have been interesting and compelling. Rather than ceaseless soap drama.

No, she wasn't lol (and I'd be more ready to hear you out anon if you could provide a source/quote/evidence instead of vaguely mentioning the "myths").

No, I am not on crack, never have been and never will be.

No, I am not "worse" than he is. Sure, I'm "out here" criticising him, but Rick is out there both-siding a genocide, enriching the rich who are financing said genocide, profiting off of a loyal and nostalgic fanbase by overpricing lazy and low quality books, disrespecting countless cultures & people, and refusing to be humble enough to admit to his own mistakes.

Number of fanfics read: Oh, yeah, 87892709878757652345678

Actual ancient sources read: -1