Lets Have A Chat
Ok as much as I ADORE the fact that we have canon solangelo, lets take a moment to talk about Nico on his own in The Hidden Oracle.
Not only are he and Will dating publicly, meaning he is out to the whole camp of his own volition
He is making jokes, he is taking a place of leadership, he is looking out for other campers, he is organizing camp activities (Activities meaning punching Leo repeatedly but you know), he is smiling
He is not the fragile and inquisitive boy we first met, who couldn’t do anything independently. Always hanging on to and idolizing someone or another because he never had a true and lasting figure to look up to
He is not the brooding, damaged, lost boy who wandered tartarus alone and has felt so much loss but never knew how to cope with it that he literally shut down any emotion he had.
He is not the boy who felt so discusted by who he was and how he felt that he wouldn’t let people in and could not believe any one could see him as anything but a monster.
He has grown and become a new, content Nico that accepts the idea of people caring for him. Who puts himself out into the world instead of having to be dragged into it. Who lets himself feel things like jealousy, concern, love, joy, anger. He has become everything he deserved but never got. He has found his way and I am just so emotional about this boy.
So yes we have Solangelo, and I don’t doubt for one moment that Will helped in this new build up of Nico, but if we reduce Nico to nothing more than ‘the gay brooding kid’ or ‘the darkness to will’s sunshine’ we are not only limiting ourselves as readers and Nico as a character, but we are also shutting down all of those people who connected with Nico and related to him because of his loss, because of his depression, and because of his growth. This boy means so much to me and so many other people, so although solangelo is so exciting, lets not forget where we started.
Nico Di Angelo has probably one of the most beautifully human character archs I have ever read, and he needs to be protected. I will never get over this boy. You can fight me on this. #Nicodiangeloprotectionsquad