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readerwithsalt · 1 year

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I think Hazel should’ve gone with Nico instead down to Tartarus. Without a prophecy or quest bc Nico and Hazel don’t play by the rule book.

Then we could’ve gotten an adorable underworld sibling bonding book with both of them hilariously being unaware of modern stuff. And telling each other stuff they’ve learned.

They ditch both of their boyfriends who are freaking out because they don’t know where they snuck off to. And since Nico said in HoH that when he and Hazel shared power that anything felt possible, they truly believe they can succeed.

(Also Hazel understands death and wouldn’t be complaining every five seconds like Will was. Maybe it would’ve been more original and less percabeth 2.0 (but worse)

It begins with Nico leaving Camp Jupiter, having visited Hazel (for what he believes could be the last time) and telling Will he would be back in a week or so. A lie Nico tells to keep his boyfriend from coming after him to Tartarus (way more in character of him lol) as he believes a child of Apollo would easily be snuffed out down there.

Nico realizes he’s throwing a good possible future away by sneaking out to do this, but the nightmares have become so twisted and unbearably disturbing that he fears he’s going to lose his mind either way if he doesn’t manage to find the person calling out his name every night.

He also doesn’t like when others are left behind.

Since Will has insisted Nico not use shadowtravel to get back to New York from California, Nico says he’s going to take the train instead.

But Hazel KNOWS someone is off. Knows Nico is hiding something. Something that causes her brothers eyes to tinge red when he hugs her, gives her a wobbly goodbye, and squeezes just a bit too tight. Something that causes the paper thin smile he gives her when she sees him off to board his train.

Something that inexplicably makes her sneak onto that train behind him.

Upon Nico putting his stuff away in the closet of his train compartment and finding a head of cinnamon brown curls say ‘ouch’ when he accidentally throws his suitcase on top of a stowaway sister, being mad is a bit of an understatement…

When Hazel knowingly questions why he’s so upset at her, Nico suddenly has no words.

They eat in the trains dining room, Chinese noodles with strangely large fortune cookies that they save for later.

Hazel doesn’t manage to get anything out of Nico as they sit side by side next to a window, watching the world whoosh by and making idle chatter that Nico only seems to be half heartedly replying to. Seeing her brothers zoned out gaze, thin hands shaking slightly, the ever present tinge of red and fear ringing his large dark eyes, Hazel knows this is something more than wrong.

If the bravest demigod she’s ever met looks this terrified, to her it can only mean one thing.

Her suspicion is proven correct when her and Nico crack open their fortune cookies from dinner and instead of a thin piece of white with a generic quote on the paper… two small black parchments with gold lettering come out instead.

Two warnings. From what god? They don’t know.

Hazel’s questioning dies on her tongue when she sees the thin lines of tears falling from her brothers eyes. She doesn’t ask him anything else that night, just wraps a hug around him as frail shoulders shake in her arms.

The next day Nico acts as if nothing happened and asks her if frank knows she’s okay which she sheepishly replies that he probably doesn’t even know where she is. Nico says the same about Will, and they decide to not tell their current boyfriends anything yet.

Yet…. After the incident of last night and the fortune cookie parchment mentioning a place that hazel has definitely heard of before, she knows exactly what Nico is planning.

And she’s not letting anything happen to him as long as she’s alive. Even if Nico insists on pretending Hazel doesn’t know anything.

After the long train ride and Nico questioning this one random passenger for an hour about the strange gaming device in his hands (a Nintendo lol) and the siblings chatting about mundane things happening in their camps; they finally are in Manhattan.

Hazel is now done with letting Nico pretend.

Before she can get a word out the word ‘No’ has already passed her brothers lips. They fight. Their first actual fight ever. One that ends in sobs wrecking through Nicos body and pangs of guilt, sadness, and anger piercing Hazels heart.

But one thing rises above them all:

Protectiveness.

After making up and Nico realizing Hazels not ever going to back down given the look in her eyes, he realizes he doesn’t have a say in this. She is coming with him whether he likes it or not. Fear plummets in his stomach.

After a trip to Target for food and supplies for the trip that neither of them currently want to think about because what they are planning to do is… insane. Literally insane. But as Nico remembers that feeling of the time he and Hazel shared their power that one time, a thread of hope starts to weave in his heart. Psychotic hope, but still hope nonetheless.

They shadowtravel to Central Park, Nico not feeling nearly as woozy with Hazels help. He also delightfully finds out that coffee seems to cure the fatigue from using that side of his powers lol.

They manage to open the doors of Orpheus’ by ‘borrowing’ a guys phone as they see him jog by, and play some random song called ‘into the dark’ (by death cab for cuties lol) from the guys playlist holding it up to the opening.

The song sounds like another warning. They both ignore it.

They travel down dark steps, hands clasped. They talk in the quiet empty smelling air, comfortable in the underground silence. Until faint light hits their faces. The ever constant line of fresh souls lead them to Charons boat where they are taken to the land of the dead.

They now must avoid detection from their father at all costs. Nicos not worried about Charon tattling on them to Hades since he doesn’t get paid enough anyway (lol). Nico takes Hazel to meet the trogs new home down in the underworld (one thing I liked in tsats).

Hazel adores them and their funny outfits.

The trogs tell Nico that his ‘really deep tunnel’ he requested they dig is almost done, and Hazel is hurt that Nicos been planning this so long without telling her or anybody. They make Nico and Hazel spend the night with them before they go and they play with the baby trogs and dance together, trying to forget what they’re going to do tomorrow. They fall asleep to the sound of baby trogs giggling next to them.

The next day Nico attempts to sneak away from Hazel one more time and Hazel explodes at him. Anger making her say some things she doesn’t want to and Nico apologizing profusely but saying he’s angry at himself for allowing her to come with him.

They are interrupted by the trogs leader saying the Tunnel Into the Dark is finished. They can feel the intense suction of The Pit even from several feet away. Memories of the first time Nico was sucked down threaten to spill over and embarrassingly makes him want to run and hide somewhere.

But he feels Hazels hand in his and that strange, wonderful feeling of intense power. And love. And then they are straddling a boat the trogs pull from the river of forgotten dreams (the Styx I think) and with one final push… they are falling.

On the boat it feels like they’re floating.

They fall for a very long time. But Nico notices it’s not as long as the first time. Or maybe it doesn’t feel that long bc someone is here beside him.

They use their shared geokinisis powers to make an enormous slide of bones, black dirt, and stone.

When the boat hits the ground Nico almost gets flung face first into the Phlegethon river. They drink from it and begin the search.

They devastatingly find out the voice was never Bob bc Bob was absorbed into tartarus’s breastplate (like in actual canon HoH) but that it was something else entirely.

Something that makes Nico perhaps the angriest he’s ever been.

They find Jason’s soul down there. Something that shocks both Nico and Hazel to the core. Nico thinks it’s a trick but soon can tell that the soul that is looking at him so coldly and unfamiliar is actually Jason.

A different Jason. One with hatred illuminating every thread of his form.

That’s why Nico didn’t know where Jason’s spirit had gone. It had been intercepted by something and Jason has turned into a mania like his mother. A spirit that fumes on hatred and forgotten dreams. The one thing he never wanted to be.

Nico cries over the horrid inevitable fate of Bob and promises that he will ALWAYS be remembered. He doesn’t have much time to think on this though because right now a livid son of Jupiter is rising higher and higher above Nico and Hazel, the threat is obvious.

In Jason’s manic state he blames Nico for not checking on him and seeing that he got a peaceful afterlife and greives the fact that Piper and Leo and Nico ‘never bothered’ to attend his funeral. He blames the gods, his father especially, for being unworthy of their demigod children. He blames the underworlds justice system not following up on his missing soul and dismissing his entire life as if it was nothing.

As if he was never a hero. Never anything at all.

Nicos is crushed, but realizes that Jason’s being manipulated by something. A dream demon that wanted to trap Nico the entire time in order to consume his energy/power and shadow travel out of his prison and into the mortal world bc it would’ve taken him years to get out otherwise.

The dream demon used its powers to intercept Jason’s soul thanks to Caligulas cursed blade that had killed him, and reached inside his mind to find out about Nico and figure out the best way to get Nico to come back to his worst nightmare.

And now that Hazel and Nico are both there that’s double the power to consume.

Turns out the entire thing was simply about a selfish monster playing with demigods. A tale as old as the beginning of mythology.

The demon taunts them saying he used Jason - son of the King of the Gods - as a little toy in order to easily bring his meal to him. Remarking how easy and quick it was to bait someone like Nico.

Someone who can never leave someone behind.

And Hazel, how easy it was to get her to follow her brother. Taunting that she’s just as stupid, gullible, and selfless…

The children of the underworld snap.

And all Hades breaks loose. Signaling to every monster within a 100 mile radius to know exactly where they are.

They battle together but the waves and waves of monsters is just too extreme. On the brink of inevitable death, a certain goddess appears.

The one who gave them the warnings in the form of fortune cookies. The one that sensed Nicos need for vengeance.

They escape with Nemesis help, but she wants something equally valuable in return for helping Nico and Hazel escape. Nico breaks down and agrees to relinquish all of his precious memories of Bianca and his past life in return for Hazel and a new possible future. A true balance in his heart.

Choosing Hazel over memories of Bianca makes Hazel cry and they bond stronger.

Strangely enough Nico becomes happier without the constant grief of his older sister on his shoulder.

In a way choosing to let her go the same way she did when she chose to be with the hunters.

And then once again when she chose reincarnation.

They still have to worry about Jason though who is constantly causing blood thunderstorms across Tartarus’s sky and wrecking havoc all over the place.

(Also it would be so funny to see Jason literally just… chase Nico and Hazel all over the place… flying after them screaming while they run for their lives bc they can’t see or hear due to the bloodstorm & huge booms of thunder and shit lol.)

Hazel manages to trap Jason in a kaleidoscope of his own storm and shadow with her mist magic and her and Nico manage to shadowtravel him to the ghostly boat that will lead them out. She lets him out but he’s struggling so much in his metal binds that Nico has to knock him out with a punch to the face bc he’s the only one that can touch ghosts.

They ferry up the river Acheron out of Tartarus and chat about what the fuck just happened down there.

Hades awaits them when they arrive.

He’s very angered that his two only living children disobeyed his strict order of not going down there, but relinquishes it eventually when he realizes how tired and beat up his kids look and praises them instead. Hades turns to Nico and states that his older sister would be proud of him. Which Nico replies with confusion saying he doesn’t have an older sister which saddens hades as he figures out what Nico had to give away.

He offers them both something they want.

Anything.

Hazel wishes for Jason to be cured of his mania, and Nico wishes to give Jason back a chance at life. As he still had so much work to do for the gods and goddesses that did not have shrines and action figures to respect them.

Both of these things surprise hades but he grudgingly does so (bc Jason is a son of Jupiter/zeus) saying that Nico and Hazel are indeed very special children.

Although Hades honors Nicos wish he can’t simply let a soul leave the underworld without a final test (hazel being the exception) and does something he did thousands of years ago with another hero begging for his wife’s soul back.

He tells Nico and Hazel they can lead Jason out of the underworld but only if they don’t look back at him. Across the fields of asphodel, across cerebus’ cavern, across the river styx, the journey on Charons boat, back up the many steps that lead to the mortal world…. If they look back once their friend is gone forever. Again…

They distract themselves with a deck of mythomagic cards Hazel stole from Frank (cause she wanted to know why her brother and boyfriend liked the game so much) much to Nico’s embarrassed delight. Nico’s so into explaining the game to Hazel, that the intense need to check if Jason’s still behind them dissipates a bit.

They only notice they’re outside when a wave of sunlight blinds them both and a large figure grabs them from behind.

Jason hugs the daylights out of Nico & Hazel crying like a little kid as months of memories of torment in Tartarus resurface into guilt.

Hades thinks it’s slightly amusing to see a tall muscular son of Jupiter being consoled by his two smaller children as he mentally watches the scene play out from his godly throne.

Nico says he kept the plans of the shrines Jason wanted to build and says maybe he can help with decorating (lol)

I’m gonna have to get an artist to draw a fancomic of this to heal my soul.

Also…. What the fuck did I just write?

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hyperfocuscentre · 8 months

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I CAN’T DO THIS ANYMORE!! If I see one more person compare solangelo to one of those bitchy black cat x sunshine golden retriever mlm ships, I will lose my mind. Will Solace has literally never ever come across as a golden retriever, not once. In fact, he’s literally compared to a cat. The only sunshiny thing about him are his powers and his face, they are misleading because his personality is basically the opposite.

Nico may present himself in a ‘black cat’ kinda way but deep down he’s a softie and the amount of times he thinks super cute, love sick things in tsats is WILD. He reminds me of a drenched rat who likes to curl up on someone’s chest and snooze.

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screech-bling · 10 months

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i finished TSATS a couple hours ago and i have a lot to say on some of the shit it’s been getting (keep in mind, i truly did not care abt solangelo before this novel… so this isn’t even coming from a solangelo stan)

TSATS SPOILERS

on nico’s characterization:

- before reading TSATS, i was the FIRST person to complain abt fanon nico. i’ve always HATED when ppl make him dark humor-y and proud and stuff bcz he literally grew up a catholic in 1930s. in the HoO and lowkey ToA era, his ass was NOT frequently making gay jokes and “lol i’m so dead inside” jokes

- i like how in ToA we get to see him be slightly less brooding than in HoO, bcz it shows us that he’s evolving as a person (kinda like real three dimensional human beings tend to do)

- in TSATS, with him now being in a healthy relationship and a safe environment, i think it’s fair to assume he’s changed. i would say the change was fast… but he’s a teenager, and coming from another teenager… im a completely different person than i was 3 months ago so honestly i can 100% believe it

- the one nico characterization thing i didn’t love was his talk w/ piper (and the lil nas x thing but i like to pretend that didn’t happen) … it was pushing it. but i’ll allow it bcz i imagine it could be beneficial to some kids… just wish that same message could’ve been conveyed through will or something?

on will’s characterization:

- i don’t think it’s fair to say he was just “dumbed down” or being an asshole… he was in tartarus. and he spends 90% of the book being injured or severely exhausted.

on them being cringe:

they’re teenagers and it’s a middle grade book. if ur gonna tell me u wouldn’t have said that kinda shit in ur first or second relationship as a teenager… ur fuckin lyin.

on them being a percabeth “rip-off”:

honestly, i truly thought this was the case until they started genuinely bickering. that’s when i realized that they’re a completely new archetype to the riordanverse… a VERY fresh and nuanced one at that.

- love for percabeth comes easy, percy’s bullshittery is endearing, annabeth’s know-it-all-ness(???) is endearing, they’re obsessed with each other 100% of the time. even when the other does something stupid it’s always “i was annoyed, but i love them so much”.

- for solangelo, they have moments where they are genuinely just annoyed and frustrated with each other because- say it with me now- they’re three dimensional!!! not every couple is percabeth, not every couple has to be percabeth, and not every couple should be percabeth. they’re very sweet (they’re my favorite ship in all of riordanverse btw), but also pretty unattainable and rare in the real world.

- i also think it should be noted that percy and annabeth went through a lot of their trauma together vs. will and nico, who didn’t experience most of their trauma together… so instead of it bringing them closer like percabeth’s might, it puts a strain on them.

in conclusion: TSATS is my second favorite percy jackson book. (my first being HoH)

⭐️ ☀️

#TSATS was not even bad guys calm down #don’t let the milennial humor ruin it all #and don’t let the concept of characters (who are teens) changing jumpscare u #rick riordan #riordanverse #rrverse #pjo #hoo #toa #the sun and the star #tsats #tsats rant #tsats spoilers #solangelo #percabeth

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alextextbook · 4 months

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Barely TSATS spoilers

Why are they at the fates. Why’s Will near tears. WHY IS NICO THINKING ABOUT DATING DARTH VADER???

#percy jackon and the olympians #pjo #pjoverse #percy jackson #the sun and the star #tsats rant #tsats spoilers #solangelo #nico di angelo #will solace #nico x darth vader is canon now???

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nicozstarz · 1 year

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So like little rant about Tsats for a minute

I HATE how people complain about tsats cause like

It’s usually grown ass adults complaining about how its cheesy

NO SHIT ITS GONNA BE CHEESY its a book

About a teenage gay couple

Made for preteens and teens

Its not gonna be filled with mature content

Its not made for their ancient asses

Like??

The PJO verse was made for younger readers.. i get it, you read the books when you were this age but it doesn’t mature with you

If you’re going to complain about it, don’t read it.

(Adding extra from my originalllll thought cause a certain someone [yk who you are] made a good point)

ITS THEIR FIRST RELATIONSHIP ASWELL

LIKE COME ONNN

DO THEY EXPECT THEM TO BE LIKE ADULTS-

#rick riordan #percy jackon and the olympians #solangelo #the sun and the star #will solace #nico di angelo #tsats #rant #tsats spoilers #tsats rant

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lynariadne · 11 months

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Percy and Annabeth dit literally nothing wrong. They didn’t want to leave Bob Behind but they had to. Did we read the same books ? Because in my version of the book, Percy refused to go until Bob told him to, and the reason ? Destroy Gaia. If he didn’t go, The World would be just as bad as Tartarus. And between a titan and a giant staying in Tartarus and the whole world collapsing, Percy and Annabeth did the right choice.

So no, Percy and Annabeth had no other choice, stop shaming them.

#percy jackson #heroes of olympus #pjo #tsats #tsats rant #People are hating on Percabeth just because they can #my babies did nothing wrong #Percabeth apologist #rick riordan #riordanverse

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willthespy · 10 months

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As someone who’s struggled with their self-identity for years… TSATS was the book I needed. Especially the conversation with Piper (which I will not spoil for anyone that hasn’t read the book yet.)

Frankly, I don’t care if you don’t like it because it’s ‘out of character’ and/or ‘cringey.’ Most of the people complaining are paying their own bills. They’re not the target audience anymore.

If you want to read a ‘queer book’ that’s more ‘mature’ I promise you there’s a young-adult section at almost every library and bookstore. (But even those can and will be cringe to some of you.)

#tsats rant #tsats #the sun and the star #will solace #nico di angelo #solangelo #TW: OPINIONS #rrverse #rick riordan #pjoverse #pjo series #pjo fandom #lgbt #gay #bisexual #lgbtq #happy pride 🌈#(it’s the 30th already)

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audhdnight · 9 months

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I think it’s funny that some people think Nico and/or Will were “out of character” in TSATS and that’s a good reason to hate their story.

Like seriously… did we read the same book? Literally the only difference is that Nico is slightly less doom-and-gloom-y WHICH HAPPENS WHEN DEPRESSED CHARACTERS EXPERIENCE CONSISTENT JOY AND SAFETY AND COMFORT AND LOVE FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER.

The only characters I personally felt you could make a case for being OOC are Chiron and Dionysus. And even that’s pushing it. Besides, an entirely new author was involved in their existence for the first time ever and that author is naturally going to have their own personal voice that comes out in their writing. Of course they’re going to have differences to the OG versions of themselves that were introduced nearly twenty years ago.

In conclusion: disrespectfully, shut the fuck up.

#tsats #tsats rant #pjo hoo toa tsats #nico di angelo #will solace #solangelo #rick riordan #mark oshiro #nightramblestm

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the-ratmans-shiny-rock · 1 year

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It pisses me off that people won't shut up about nico being "out of charater" because he's not. He's just not using the personality that YOU made up for him in your head

You projected an entire personality onto him as a child and made him seem older because when you're 10 years old 14 sounds like an appropriate age to start acting 25, nico acts the way he does because he is getting better and it's apart of his process.

He's not acting like he has in previous books because he is recovering from trauma and 15 year olds can change and develop and shockingly do not have stagnate personalises

#nico di angelo #tsats #tsats rant #let him recover #hes litterly a child #the sun and the star #unpopular opinion #it may be unpopular but it is correct and this is the hill i die on #pjo #pjo hoo toa

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diakaashi · 10 months

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I need to talk about TSATS somewhere and specially about Will, and it will be here.

I hope that boy got some therapy planned because I've knew it for a while he needed it, but after reading, i AM SURE. Until he went to camp he didn't stop at one place because of his mother's job, besides her, nobody truly for him to rely on. Then he goes to camp where basically he is a war doctor and has to witness atrocities everywhere, can we just talk about that for a minute?? How he was looking if I am not mistaken, for his brother when he had to be pulled out to heal the others, how many more maybe died before he could do something, how just the situation of having someone's life in his hands at thay age does to someone?

I can't even express how it angers me people don't really seem to notice what the Apollo kids TRULY go through. I may be rambling, but all he has ever learned to do is heal and take care of others, mask his emotions so everyone can rely on him, we see it ALL THE WAY IN THE SUN AND THE STAR, he is literally melting and worrying about Nico.

How he handles HIS EMOTIONS TOO??? yeah? Or better, the lack of it. Better said how he seems to be so unaware at times of what he is feeling, and maybe that's why he gets so confused to understand Nico's relationship with darkness, when he himself doesn't seem to deal with what has happend to him? Always pushing on what he can do next to help and next and next and so go on...

That's why maybe the whole Octavian thing messed him up that Bad! NOT TO mention the whole Hay Fever thing and how that could imply to a whole other box of stuff in the future or so... I may be rambling, but the master point is that Will needs Therapy just as much as Nico does! dammed he be, the poor boy.

I love him so much, and it hurt me to see how hurt he was during TSATS ... I love u will, let me hug u

#solangelo #will solace #tsats rant #tsats #will solace needs therapy #the sun and the star #tsats spoilers

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solangelokitkats · 10 months

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“This isn’t something Will would ever say,” shut up. SHUT UP. SHUT UP. OF COURSE WILL IS NOT 100% SURE ABOUT THEIR RELATIONSHIP. IT WOULDN’T BE A TRUE RELATIONSHIP IF HE WAS.

Will is a healer. In fact, he’s regarded as the best healer at CHB. He has so much weight on his shoulders to save the wounded and live up to the title of head counselor of the Apollo cabin. In fact, it is stated in BoO that Will is insecure of his healing abilities, because he wish he could do more to help the front lines, such as being an archer like everyone expects out of Apollo kids. But he can’t, so naturally, all he knows how to do is heal.

Not to mention, many of Will’s half-siblings died. His previous head counselors - his role models - Lee Fletcher and Michael Yew all died in PJO. He was left with the duty of head counselor at 13 years old. Thirteen years old. Thirteen years old, and suddenly he is the eldest in Cabin 7. Thirteen years, and suddenly he has to be the role model for all his half-siblings.

This means, he’s never had the chance to go out and explore his own desires, because his responsibilities will always outweigh anything. That is, until he gets closer to Nico after the war.

Later on in this book, Will states that he’s never met anyone like Nico. And that pretty much just sums up everything.

Nico is his polar opposite. He’s a child of Hades, of the Underworld. He is, quite literally, the son of death.

He spends some of his time actually in the Underworld. The Underworld, the resting place for Will’s half-siblings. The Underworld, the resting place for the patients he could not save. Of course Will is skeptical of the Underworld. I mean, who wouldn’t be?

Will Solace is completely valid for his opinions. Why? Because he tries. He tries his best to understand the Underworld. He tries his best to understand Nico.

So yes, I thought this scene was absolutely beautiful. This is why Will and Nico will always, ALWAYS, hold a special place in my heart.

#i will defend him with my life #solangelo #will solace #nico di angelo #anti tsats take that #tsats spoilers #tsats tour #tsats liveblog #tsats rant #tsats predictions #tsats preview #tsats theory #tsats fanart #tsats #the sun and the star

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readerwithsalt · 1 year

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Sun and the Star Review: (With snippets from the book)

Since I just finished The Sun and the Star I’m just gonna say the first thing I have a problem with is the TELLING and NOT SHOWING.

• And I was wondering if anyone thought that they made Will super lame and ooc compared to previous cooler depictions of him. Like he’s supposed to be Super Chill under pressure and the Calm Dude but he’s so WHINY the entire book. He’s constantly complaining, judging, screaming, crying or sleeping. The cool, chill vibe Will had before is gone which was one of the things I liked about him before.

• someone else said ‘Tsats Will thinks there’s something wrong with Nico, something wrong with his personality. Will thinks Nico needs to be “fixed” and “healed” and so he can be “normal” and then Nico will be actually appealing to Will. Tsats Will may love some parts of Nico (or at least thinks he loves some parts of Nico). But there are more parts of Nico that Will finds unsavory or unnerving or scary or unsettling or unsatisfactory or unappealing’ I agree sadly

• Like he tells Nico in the beginning of the book that he’s just as capable of survival as Nico (which I snorted at cause no) and then is the hugest burden I’ve ever seen on a quest EVER in a riordan book. Like Nico tries to lift Will up every time he passes out from ‘lack of sun’ (which is so stupid btw) and Nico can’t lift him up cause he’s not strong enough so he’s constantly WAITING on Will. And it’s really boring to read about how every few seconds Nico has to turn around and let his boyfriend catch up.

I think Will’s character could have shined and been more likable in a completely different plot and quest.

Like, I thought since they weren’t giving Will any weapons that his strengths would lie in being the fast athletic character that didn’t need a magic item in order to show off…

• the whole ‘role reversal’ caretaker thing made Will look completely useless. Nico did 80 percent of the work and Will sadly fell flat. I thought he was coming along to keep Nico safe and to heal him when he got injured but Nico was pretty much doing almost every job. It was like he was riding Nico’s coattails to become a ‘hero’ and prove himself. But he didn’t really prove anything except that he complains a lot when things get rough.

They didn’t give Will a character weapon (even Piper has one and she doesn’t fight that much. Neither does Leo and he at least uses a hammer) they made him exhausted the whole book so he didn’t have his normal physical strength, his backstory was also pretty boring.

• and Will keeps randomly getting irritated at Nico bc Nicos irritated at him. Like?? Your shitting on his underworld home every chance you get. I’d be irritated too.

• in previous books he’s described as an archer. Even tho Leo calls him ‘the archer dude’ in TLH he suddenly doesn’t know how to use a bow AT ALL. He only said he wasn’t as good as his siblings not that he was complete shit at it. Previously he used a bow and had a dagger in BOO. Also will randomly says he never wanted to be a fighter and loved healing but in previous books he’s insecure about just that. Also the book forgets Will is a BATTLEFIELD MEDIC. Like he can fight and heal just like Apollo.

• Will whines constantly. And it’s grating and annoying to read. Either about the lack of sun (you knew what you were getting into dumbass) or the dead people walking around or about Nico’s horrible ‘darkness’ that he has to heal. It’s like he never thinks of Nicos feelings when he says stuff. And there little ‘fights’ end unsatisfactory.

• The vibe of Camp-Half-Blood is nonexistent. It does not feel like camp at all. It feels like we’re in a 12 year olds fanfic mind. ALL of the campers are gone even though it’s been established MANY are orphans and we see no beloved background characters and background chaos that makes us smile like in the past books. It made me surprisingly more depressed than I thought it would.

• it’s also missing the mystique of a quest. Like going up to the big house to have the quest recited around a table full of cabin counselor demigods all fighting to be the third member to prove themself a hero (mostly the ares cabin) no matter how important a quest in pjo was for Percy Chiron ALWAYS enforced certain rules. Even if they broke later on.

• Loose Ends. Reyna is. Not. Mentioned. Once. It never comes up how Nico feels about his big sister friend joining the hunters like his other one did even tho in BOO he tore apart a courtyard cause they took her. The girl whose shoulder he cried into, the girl who was with him during his last quest. The girl who thought of him as a little brother and tucked him in her cape and said he resembled his surname as he slept.

Hazel is mentioned… but it’s literally just a couple shallow mentions that don’t have anything to do with the fact that he may not ever see her again if he revisits Tartarus. He mentions his beloved little sister who was the actual first light in his life (don’t know why the book says Will is) in a long time only once and it’s because he can’t remember something and thinks Hazel would?? It’s weird that he iris messages Piper at the end instead of Hazel. I thought that’s what he was going to do and then it was just a big cringe fest of Piper shoved in at the end talking about the label of her sexuality?? Like we actually care??

And It’s never stated that Nico finds out where Jason is even though HE SHOULD KNOW. He literally talks to Beckendorf and Luke when they die in pjo to find out where they went but he can’t figure out where his best friend is??

Also at the end of the book it says Nico still hasn’t redecorated his cabin even though he told Jason he was going to a YEAR AGO bc the ‘decor was disgusting’ (I think that was the worst loose end not fixed 😂)

Every other relationship of Nicos is thrown away so he can admire Will Solace’s mediocrity. who’s kinda a loser in this tbh….

• The Percabeth scene was weird. What relevance does sally jackson have to Nico’s story? Why did he have to go all the way to Percy’s bedroom to iris message him?? And the fact he uses the ship name Percabeth to describe them (which he’d never done in previous books) proves a cringe fan is the one writing this.

The fact that they don’t OFFER TO HELP Nico is ooc of them. Bc even if Percy wants to chill at college he would never want Nico to clean up his mess without offering his help. Also the fact that Percy turns to Annabeth and says ‘oh man I forgot about him’ is like… WHAT?? And they just say oh yea if anyone can get through Tartarus it’s you two.

To Will who’s never been on a quest and doesn’t fight (at least in this book) that’s a weird thing to say. Percy and annabeth only survived bc they’ve fought together FOR YEARS. And bc of Percy’s big three power. It was just a forced add in cameo. Would’ve been better if they didn’t know till the end that Nico got Bob out and then they suddenly see Bob in an iris message and start crying or something…

• it broke my heart that Nico gave his SKULL RING to Will. The last gift from Bianca Nico ever got and he gives it to someone that doesn’t even appreciate his element.

And what does Nico get in return? A coin. I mean, an engraved coin but still. It’s kinda symbolic of the relationship. Nico giving Will something of such RELEVANCE to Nico’s character, something he’s always described with wearing and then Nico receiving a token in turn.

• Will asks Persephone how he’s SUPPOSED TO LOVE NICO. Like I almost blew up my house with me in it at that part. It never feels like Will is as attracted to Nico as Nico is to him. Nico instigates every kiss (which is ooc of him and his reservedness to touch). It seems Will likes to look at others a lot because one of Nicos insecurities were of him staring at fucking Paolo. While being right next to his boyfriend, Will checks out other people… Like Nico deserves so much better. He at least deserves respect.

I would’ve appreciated Nico and Ghost Jason way more than this shit. At least Jason described Nico better and they weren’t even dating. And I liked Solangelo before this. Will never describes physical attributes that he likes about Nico the same way Nico does about Will. Like Nicos inky dark eyes and baby bat winged hair, and his smile that is apparently like winter sun breaking through snow flurries, and his hair smelling pleasantly of rain against stone (I think Apollo is more attracted to Nico than Will is). But Nico has to call Will hot every five min.

• Also I simply don’t understand the idea that Will being away from the sun would drain him to the point where he can’t keep up with NICO’S WALKING PACE within a couple hours. Like the super athletic, physically strong character that can lift Nico over his shoulders and run with him (and Rachel in TON) walks into the underworld and has to be healed by a stupid portable night light within five minutes.

• Don’t even get me started on his JUDGINESS. I always pictured Will as the guy at camp that thought Nicos powers were cool and stuff, right? And now he just judges every ‘dark’ thing nico does like darkness is synonymous with evil. And only his light can heal him. I HATED that trope and honestly thought they would make him more original. But I have to say it: he was so boring. Like in a way that made my stomach hurt.

• Wills kind of a jerk in this. Like it’s weird to read.

• The PACING. It was off the whole book. The only part i enjoyed was the part where they didn’t know they were dreaming (that part got me) but that was it. But like gorgras scene keeps overlapping with the rest of the story and I kept forgetting my place. The fact that riordan or oshiro or whatever 12 year old fan wrote this put the words FLASHBACK & DREAM SEQUENCE over the chapters gave it SERIOUS fanfic vibes. The pacing is simply not suspenseful enough for a place like Tartarus.

• And do NOT get me started on Tartarus. Okay I’ll say it anyway: it wasn’t scary AT ALL. LIKE ANY OTHER QUEST. Actually it seemed easier than other previous quests which is a big nope. Hades might as well have sent him to Target.

• And about the fact that is was HADES who gave him that prophecy is SO OOC of him. He loves Nico. Nico is probably Hades most favorite child ever as of right now and he sends him horrible nightmares, and a prophecy respouted 12 times to get him to save Bob (whom Hades could care less about btw) and go back to a place that he knows haunts Nico every day MAKES NO FUCKING SENSE!

Also HOW did hades give Rachel that prophecy? He has no power over the Oracle of Delphi.

• Maria and Bianca MAKE NO SENSE! How in the hell is there any piece of thier souls left when Hades gave Maria ancient rites and was the one soul Nico was not allowed to see and Bianca reincarnated. WHICH WAS FORGOTTEN BTW. NOW SHES BACK IN ELYSIUM?? Like?? Like maybe I could see Hades letting Nico see a piece of Maria but Bianca is literally GONE forever.

Nico was ooc. Like not too badly but still bad. But the fact that Will didn’t let Nico shadow travel even once irks me. The fact Will didn’t let him summon Jules Albert irks me. The fact that Will kept brushing off nicos feeling about the underworld irks me. The fact that Will called Persephone the most beautiful PERSON he’d ever seen right in nicos face and then asked his (insecure) boyfriend if he was jealous irks me. The fact that Will is BORING AS FUCK irks me

• And the COMING OUT story. Horridly ooc. Nico shouting to the whole camp he’s gay and getting all the other kids to come out too is like??? and apparently he asked out Will before Will had even come out?? Nico would NEVER do that. Especially since not long before Cupid had done the same to him. And apparently Nico is like the first out character in a MODERN GREEK camp with DIONYSUS as a director. No.

In character Nico would’ve shadow traveled back to his cabin or the woods the moment he figured out what was happening.

• the nicknames are extremely cringe. Little ball of darkness is used to much and it made me itch. I think Will simply calling him babe or something would’ve been simpler and made them seem more like a real couple instead of a caricature of light and dark.

• ‘he’d always been the demigod who WOULDNT eat.’ ………..what the actual fuck is this. Nicos always been naturally skinny but being starved in jar is what messed up his hunger. Not that he WOULDNT eat. Why is everything always his fault in this book?

Like, he didn’t ‘LET’ himself get to the point of starvation over and over. I mean first of all he became homeless at ten years old, probably had to steal food items. And most recently he got KIDNAPPED by TWO GIANTS and starved forcibly. And then when he got out he was under so much stress of what just happened to him in Tartarus, the war with Gaea, his forced outing, and having to lug an enormous statue ACROSS THE WORLD. but nah, I guess he just LET all of that stuff happen to him

• the references are BAD. Out of touch bad. Unfunny and the joke never becomes a joke. It’s never explained how a kid from the 1930s knows how to use the internet and look up lil nas x in a camp that doesn’t use any technology. Doesn’t explain how Nico knows about Care Bear powers (I didn’t even know that) and the beginning scene with the Star Wars ‘joke’ set a weird tone for the book and wasn’t even funny.

• I hated the cocoa puff demons coming to live with Nico. Like I was fine they got created ig even tho it was weird and kinda dumb but the fact that Nico is so keen to have his worst memories and insecurities sleep in bed with him makes no sense once again. In character Nico would’ve burned them with hellfire.

• Also Nyx is a unfathomably weak villain. A PRIMORDIAL GODDESS that even ZEUS fears is taken down in two seconds. Also she’s just trying to get Nico ‘accept his darkness’. WHICH HE ALREADY HAS DONE. The moment he called himself The Ghost King in battle of the labyrinth at eleven years is when he truly accepted his powers and who he was. So… why is she even in the book in the first place??

• Also Will STILL insists it’s Nicos fault he wasn’t accepted. And that it was all in his head….

Also Micheal Yew was simply never mentioned again. Neither was lee fletcher. If they were I missed it.

There were a COUPLE of cute parts and lines but really this is simply too weird (and bad) to be canon to me. This book is just not canon. I see it as fanfiction from a random author that riordan probably let write the entire book or at least most of it. I think sadly riordan put his name on this for money and for fanservice because the writing is first draft material.

(And it kind of feels like they got this version of Nico and Will from cringy meme posts about them. Like, you know the ones where Nico’s all like ‘I am darkness, i am a vampire’ and Wills all like ‘come on, my uwu baby, no more shadowtravel for you, doctors orders~’ 🤣😭)

just because they thought that’s what the twelve year olds wanted and not realizing that a lot of those posts are simply made as a joke and not actually taken seriously in canon…. And that most people in the fandom thinks those are bad cringeposts

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