Hey again! I saw a post about you being expelled from school? Gosh, hope you can figure things out and you can finish your education. Times are hard so I hope you have a good support group.
Speaking of support, is there a PJO character you would pick as Luke's romantic partner in a better world without Kronos? You can change their age too since there are not many kids around Luke's age. If not, what kind of female OC could you see Luke being with?
Okay, first of all, thank you for your words, that's really important to hear ❣️
It's going to be a bit messy, but: since we're talking about it, I'm finally ready to express some thoughts about a ship like Bianca di Angelo/Luke Castellan (yeah, it's really a thing, and my two favorite examples are in Russian), because Bianca (as well as Lee Fletcher, Jason (TTC), Silena Beauregard and others, aka every character except the main ones and some others like Nico, Rachel, Thalia and Zoe, who as characters are also inferior, but at least one step ahead) — the basis of the OC right in the universe. They are effectively either devoid of personality at all, or they have just a few strokes instead of the normal motivation and personality.
How interesting it would be if di Angelo sibs had been dragged out of the hotel earlier. Perhaps even separating them in the process (for example, leaving Nico there, but pulling Bianca out), which would give her the opportunity to become independent from her younger brother, but also force her to wade through hardships in the world of the gods, which would eventually make her think that Nico, even if trapped, alone, but at least safe; and for Nico, it's still the same line with the loss of his sister, only more logical. But I'm just talking about how age-up can be logically and interestingly integrated directly into the plot in this case.
So here I will move on to the more interesting part for me — how the dynamics of Luke and Bianca can work. In this case, these are both reflections on the canonical character and the part with OC, since it's based on how I read her few appearances and how I see opportunities for building her character:
• Parallels with Thalia, which would be especially interesting if we consider the time period after she becomes a tree; add points to the fact that Bianca has a connection with the dead.
One of them connected with the sky, while other with the (U)nderworld. Both of them are daughters of the Big Three, older sisters who somehow left their younger brothers, their fathers are more supportive of them than of their sons, both are effectively useless in the universe and even wasted in the same way in the same book — the Hunters of Artemis (ew). Bonus points to the fact that Hermes is a messenger of the gods and under Zeus, and at the same time the psychopomp, a guide of souls to Hades. But whatever.
Obvious similarities and differences will play a role in the opportunity for Luke to reconsider his relationship with Thalia, perhaps identify mistakes that he would not like to repeat, plus it would sucker punch, possibly activating even more unhealthy coping mechanisms that need to be sorted out.
• The opportunity for equality between them. It's something that Luke has never experienced in his life, even while traveling with Thalia, because she was always pulling him along. In the case of Bianca, she would not have sought to lead, because it would have resembled this deep responsibility for Nico (we're setting aside the fact that there are no real prerequisites for this in the book itself, since this is almost the only component of her character and motivation in the canon), but the option of simply following also seems wrong, because she was trying to find something more suitable for her.
• By and large, Luke needs a strong, stable, but not codependent relationship. A relationship where he would be seen as a partner, not a very convenient tool that has no right to his aspirations (literally, the relationship of Thalia and Annabeth to him).
