Anonymous asked: So, because I see how thought-out your answers are, I was going to ask you why you like Nico so much, because I honestly don't see where the likeable-ness of his character is, besides the angst. I'm really not trying to offend you or anything but... Just wanted to know :)
You’re in luck because there are two characters in the world that I am endlessly patient about waxing poetic about (so basically don’t expect me to put this much effort into defending anyone else). The first is Keladry of Mindelan, and the second is Nico di Angelo.
I think the number one thing I love about Nico’s character is how contrary it is to what you’d EXPECT a son of Hades to be? Like, we are first introduced to him as this dorky, overly excitable kid with no brain-to-mouth filter. He’s really, really not the dark and broody prince I so often see him visualized as? I mean, he’s a huge mythomagic geek who loves the game so much he recites the stats of cards back at you (my heart).
Anyways, moving on. He has this reputation as a character who is standoffish with questionable loyalties (thanks, Percy), which makes it easy to conclude that he cares only about himself and angsts all the time (he doesn’t), but the thing you have to understand is Nico is entirely motivated by love. Remember the scene in HoH where Frank says that bit about “we’ll do anything for someone we love,” and Nico answers bitterly, “I guess we will”? That wasn’t just about Percy. His entire journey from the Titan’s Curse through Son of Neptune is based on his love for his sister Bianca and his desire to bring her back. When he tricks Percy into seeing Hades in TLO, it’s because he wants information about his mother. This shows another important aspect of his character - he lacks guile. Nico’s really sort of naturally trusting and naive and when he makes a deal with his father, he never figures Hades could renege on the deal or have ulterior intentions. Naturally, when this is what ends up happening, Nico immediately feels remorseful and from that point on becomes completely focused on redeeming himself to Percy. He cares so much about Percy’s opinion of him and it’s obvious way before the HOO series even began. Ultimately Nico wants to do the right thing, hence why he convinces his father to join the rest of the gods in fighting the Titans.
I also really like that regardless of situation, Nico is basically compassionate. There are so many instances throughout both series where Nico shows kindness beyond what is necessary, and not for personal gain? To list it sort of succinctly - Nico is the only one to notice and talk to Hestia when all the other campers wouldn’t bother. He talks to and befriends Iapetus/Bob and tells him good things about Percy. He is seen talking to and reassuring Gwen (Roman legionary who dies and comes back to life in the beginning of SoN) when he doesn’t even know her that well. Nico isn’t really all that socially awkward or shy about approaching people (he’s guarded, sure, and thanks to Tartarus his insecurities about being hated and isolated are all brought to the surface, but Nico isn’t stingy about helping other people or giving them his attention). He notices the unnoticed and the forgotten, and I think it’s because he knows what that isolation feels like, and he can empathize. He’s also kind and affectionate towards Hazel, to the point that she becomes incredibly loyal and affectionate to him in kind (and she doesn’t seem the type to form attachments so easily). I really don’t think she feels that way towards him simply because she’s grateful to him for bringing her back to life - he tries to treat her as he would a real sibling and so she returns the favor.
Finally, I think Nico is ultimately a good kid. I’m predisposed to like antihero types, which is often what Nico is framed as (being a son of Hades, being someone not part of the main crew), but right from the start there was no real doubt that when it came down to it, he’d put doing the right thing first. His searching for the Doors of Death was all to help with the Prophecy of Seven quest. Remember when he said he would disappear after the prophecy was over? If he honestly only cared for his own interests, he’d have disappeared long before then. He’d have no reason to volunteer to transport the Athena Parthenos. He might be “angsty” but he never lets it get in the way of the quest. This kid is someone who looked up to Percy when he was 10, and saw him as a “real hero,” and that admiration is really telling of his character - heroism is something that appeals to Nico, and I think he’s growing up to be quite a hero himself.
