something i'm really enjoying about writing these characters is pulling on less appreciated aspects of their godly parents. i think much of the crux of this story is they feel cornered by the expectations / stereotypes of their cabin and later learn what it is that makes them a child of whichever god. spoilers are kind of necessary here sorry
pippa kind of limits herself because she thinks she must embody venus verticordia ("venus the changer of hearts") and lean mostly into the romantic aspects of the goddess, but she is better associated with venus genetrix ("venus the mother").
there's no one for karima to compare herself to, so quite naturally she feels inclined towards the homely aspects of hera like hera teleia or hera nympheuomene because that's what she's been taught to think earlier on. she'll eventually find a place in her more regal aspects like hera hyperkheiria. which is my favourite aspect of hera, what a wonderful word that is.
for isadora, it's a little different. she's the kind of person with an all or nothing attitude to things, and she absolutely idolises her father and therefore all of his aspects. she's going to learn the good and bad aspects of the idealised dionysus bromis ("dionysus the roaring one") and acratophoros ("dionysus the bringer of pure wine").
i don't think dylan really knows what she is, she just has a generic idea in her head of what is expected of her and her cabin, but in time, the moment she sees it properly, she'll know she belongs within apollo alexikakos ("apollo the averter of evil"), and, of course, because she couldn't be herself without it, apollo kitharoidos, the musician.
oscar really really does limit himself. in my camp half blood, the hermes cabin is the largest (and for much of the time we spend there, karima is the only unclaimed) and there is so much peer pressure to behave a certain way, which is poorly, but beneath that he's incredibly intelligent and has the most amazing determination. once he realises there's more to life than the trickery aspect (hermes dolios, i should think) he'll come to embrace his true purpose as hermes diaktoros ("hermes the director of souls").
most of soledad's development in this area has already happened by the time we meet her in fake tales of san francisco, which is important because her personal philosophy is what changes pippa's way of thinking about herself, which will then transfer to everyone else. victoria's epithets are kind of strange, a lot of them (like victoria britannica) refer to military victory which is what really got me thinking with this character. i love the idea of soledad as the embodiment of victoria aeterna ("victoria the eternal one"). i think that's such an interesting aspect.
i find myself feeling a little sorry for ji hyeon. we meet him in competition with another of his siblings which creates a sort of emnity, but as i have said, he just is not that smart. witty, yes, and he has street smarts, but analytically and logically he struggles which is something of great shame to him. everyone knows of athena's wisdom, of course, but what of athena promachos, the battle goddess? it is considered in my camp half blood, largely because of karima, too dangerous to go on quests, so ji hyeon has no good reason to know its importance. he will, though.
anyway all of this to say that i find the concept of worshipping the same god for wildly different reasons and connecting them through myth and legend legitimately fascinating, especially when you take this and apply it to this universe. interesting stuff.
