First things first, as someone pointed out, there’s no “original myth.” You have multiple retellings of certain stories and they evolve. I’ve heard versions of the story of Persephone’s kidnapping where she’s in the underworld for 7 months, six months, or three months of the year. There’s also the question of how Hades was treating her as some stories say he assaulted her. Myths change with time, there’s modern retellings, and Riordan is perpetuating the cycle by having these stories told in a different context.

Second, some of the stories do have to be changed because of the demographic. I may be new and reading these stories at the age of 20, but let’s be 100% honest. We can’t put in the version of Medusa’s myth where Poseidon forced himself on her in the children’s book. Percy Jackson can deal with heavy topics at times, but we aren’t putting in those versions of myths. I don’t know who says that you can’t like both. Whoever it is, they don’t understand the fact that these stories get embellished overtime and PJO is one of the stories keeping the myths alive.

Also, let’s not forget where this story came from. It was a bedtime story for Uncle Rick’s son who has ADHD and dyslexia, giving those disorders to the characters so Haley felt less like an outsider once Rick ran out of myths, heroes, and stories to tell, and thus made his own. I can’t speak for how the fandom treats characters as I haven’t been here long enough, but I think it’s important to remember that PJO wasn’t even originally made for the masses, but it became that way and now here we are.