Fandom's perception of Nico
I'm fed up with some part of the PJO Fandom when it cames to Nico.
No y'all,Nico isn't your "small innocent bean,must be protected" type of stereotype. He is extremely capable of protecting himself and his loved ones,and he isn't innocent either. The guy killed a couple of people without much of a regret. He is younger than the other characters,but you can't act like he isn't able to do shit and Will or someone else need to do things for him.
He also isn't the "lone, traumatized,depressed suicidal kid that self-harm because of his self-esteem problems" stereotype. I see a lot of ff on Wattpad (and some on Ao3 and ff.net) that portrayed him that way. And fuck,do I hate it. Nico does have serious issues in the canon narrative: the guy is suicidal because he doesn't see a value in his life,not because he want to end himself in any way possible. But he still goes on with his life,trying to do better and be better because he doesn't want to end his life. There are people that care for him. Acknowledge it and don't exaggerate those part of him.
"Nico is a weak character because every time he use is powers he faint/almost die" argument is entirely Rick's fault. He wrote his powers with an eccessive downgrade (I'll do a post about it) while making sure to present him as the most powerful demigod after Percy,and whoever say otherwise is delulu. Nico isn't weak in any means. We are talking about the same guy that: self-taught himself swordsmanship,survived the Labyrinth for multiple days at barely 11,helped Percy to survive and win against Kronos in any possible way you can think of,went to Tartarus alone and was the first ever survivor of it,was the reason the Seven could stand a chance against Gaia,shadow-travelled around the world with an ancient magical statue,turned a guy in a ghost without memories or ability to talk and decided to let their main problem die. Where is he weak at? The massive downgrade of his powers,if we think about it,means Nico is extremely powerful: if he already has those consequences on a daily use of them,imagine what he could do without them? A monster,trully.
"X character could beat Nico di Angelo in a fight/powers but you aren't ready for that conversation yet" takes are subjective,but really piss me off. Especially when it cames to characters that don't have a good familiarity with their powers,or we don't know their skills yet. What do you mean Hazel is more powerful than Nico,when she decided to use the mist more than her own powers,and Nico canonically take times to teach her how to use her powers and a small part of his (she can also shadow-travel apparently)? What do you mean Jason is more skilled than Nico in a sword fight,when Jason himself wasn't sure if he could take Nico in a fight and most of the narrative Nico wasn't at his full physical condition? What do you mean Annabeth can solo Nico in a strategy battle,when he is doing 80% of their works off-screen? Like,what??? Did we read the same books? Why are you all always trying to downplay him so much?
"Nico is a cool,cold,mean and heartless character" is bullshit and we all know it. The guy has a gold bleeding heart that,no matter how much sadness,hurt and trauma he experience,still love the others. Nico is someone that knows how much something can hurt,and do everything to make those damages minimal for the others. He isn't mean or heartless. And he also isn't cold,that's only a mask he created due to the negative judgments of others. He wanted to preserve himself. If you actually get to know him,there is more than just the son of Hades: he is a kind person that will help you with everything you need help with. Quests? Check. Informations? Check. Wars? Check (and he will help you win it).
"He probably is a bad boyfriend because of his childhood and what happened to him,and would probably hit his future kids because he doesn't know better." Stop right fucking there because if I don't get you then Will Solace will. (And yes,I actually saw a couple of those reasoning around,I'm not joking but I wish I was) Nico was alone and felt out of place for years both for his sexuality and because was from the past. And when a person like that,finally find someone that understand them and want to stay with them no matter what,they will never let said person go. I'm sure as hell that Nico will do everything for Will,even kill someone if he ask,because he is not letting his sunshine go after so many years of feeling an outsider. They are stuck together and Will is treated like a princess and the most precious person Nico has in his life. And no one can't change my mind on that. And to whoever said that he might be an abusive parent: fuck you. He grow up in a rich italian family of politicians,good manners and private etiquette lessons were a daily basis for him. And with his golden heart,you can be sure that he will never lay an hands on someone (that doesn't try to kill them,of course. In that case,it's free game) especially kids.
And to those people that reduce him to the "gay icon" stereotype: you should stop trying to fit him into a small box. Yes,he is gay. Yes,he has a boyfriend. Yes,their relationship is healthy. But you need to stop sexualizing him so much. Remember what Cupid did to him? That's traumatizating and extremely stressful,and you need to take in consideration his religious guilt (Christianity was brutal in the 1930-1940) and Jason's presence,a total stranger,during it all. But he's more than a gay dude: he is kind,intelligent,a fighter,a survivor,a friend,a brother,a son and many more. You can't reduce him to just his sexuality. And you also can't reduce Will to just an extension of that too: he is more than Nico's boyfriend. The fandom need to see more of him than just his relationship. But part of it it's Rick's fault too,he decided to have them in a relationship before expanding Will as a character himself.
The fandom need to open their eyes when it came to Nico,and stop trying to fit him into a single stereotype. Nico is a complex one,so he is more than just the "cold son of Hades",or the "gay character" or even the "most traumatized person ever" in the franchising. He deserve better. Do better.
And I'm not trying to be a "my fav is the best" type of fan. I recognize that Nico doesn't always have bright moments and make errors too,he is not invincible. But at the same time,he need justice because 80% of this fandom take one aspect of him and decide that it's his whole personally. Most of the time he is also mischaracterized or turned into someone that he isn't. And I'm tired of it.
