A/N THE TRIO HAS BEEN CAST! This next section is literally just me ranting about the casting so feel free to skip it if you're not interested. Firstly, all of them look the right age which we knew they would do but you can never be sure after those movies. I can already start imagining the trio and I've seen plenty of fanart which just looks amazing. Obviously, I've seen a lot of debate about whether it was right to cast POC Annabeth (not Grover though interestingly). I know it isn't how I imagined Annabeth and I know it's not how Rick imagined her either (hopefully he's not going to pull a JK Rowling and say they were never white). Still, this Annabeth is going to mean a lot to so many people who had barely any representation in the PJO can all acknowledge that these books were written over 15 years ago so yes the diversity wasn't great so Rick improved on that in later books just as he has in the show. Yes, Annabeth being blonde was mentioned once as a reason people never took her seriously, but imagine how much more impactful that would be in 2022 if it was because of her race. So, if POC Annabeth is great, desi Grover is also mind-blowingly amazing. Rick was never up to scratch with South Asian representation. Of the top of my head, I can think of two people: a kid who was so forgettable and insanely stereotypical in SoM (after everything else he's done I was so disappointed about this) and a super minor character in ToA. Now, we get to see one of the main trio as South Asian which is so important and which I'm super excited about. As for Walker, we all know he's going to be perfect after seeing his dedication to the series in Rick's blog post. Sorry this has gotten a bit long but I just really needed to say it.

Disclaimer: If I was Rick Riordan I wouldn't have to rant about the PJOTV casting in the author's note of my fanfiction.


Luke

Thalia was gone. I couldn't believe it. I didn't want to believe it. As we reached the crest of Half-Blood Hill, I couldn't help turning around to see how the fight was going. Turns out that was a mistake. Despite her best efforts, the monsters were surrounding her, coming far too close for comfort. Already, she was bleeding in so many places. We couldn't tear our eyes away from the fight until it ended. It happened so abruptly. A hellhound dank its claws into her. "No!" I yelled. Grover kept pulling my arm telling us to run, but I watched as storm clouds gathered over the hill and a flash of lightning hit Thalia. But instead of hurting her further, she slowly began to transform into something tall and green. "A pine tree," Annabeth breathed. "Zeus turned her into a pine tree." A wave of anger washed over me. For 12 years, he didn't show a single sign and now he turns her into a pine tree on the brink of death? What's that supposed to do? The rage made me want to charge at the monstrous army myself, but Grover and Annabeth held me back. I watched the monsters draw closer, but when they reached Thalia, the tree, the couldn't go any further. Almost as if an invisible barrier was separating them from us. Grover voiced my thoughts, "He's made a magical barrier to keep away the monsters. To keep us safe." I didn't care. I would rather have Thalia back and live in fear of the monsters forever rather than live in safety without her.


The next few hours were a blur to me. I vaguely remember being dragged to the Big House and meeting a centaur called Chiron, who told me there would be a funeral for Thalia at camp. I vaguely remembered being taken to the Hermes cabin and given a spot on the floor. Then, it was time for the funeral. As I stood there watching them burn her electric blue shroud, I couldn't help thinking that they didn't know her. They didn't know that her favourite flavour of ice-cream was strawberry. They didn't know her favourite colour was black. They didn't know how much she resented her father. They couldn't miss her like I did. Every time I looked at the shroud, I couldn't help but think that those were the exact colour of her eyes. Every time I turned around, I expected her to be right beside me. Every time I woke up, I expected it to be her, telling me to take the next watch. But it wasn't. And it never would be again. They had asked if I wanted to speak at the funeral, but I said no. Our time together seemed precious. Sacred. Sharing that with some strangers that I didn't know, that she didn't know seemed wrong. Nobody would be able to understand how I really feel. How much I miss her. Now, I was left all alone in the world. Suddenly, a small hand slipped into mine. Turning around, I saw Annabeth clutching my hand with tears streaming down her face. Someone did understand my pain. Someone did know her. And I wasn't alone in the world while we were together.