A Will Solace Character Analysis: the Underappreciated Soft Side
I’ve noticed many fanfictions have Will Solace OOC. So I’ve been thinking about aspects of Will’s personality fans seem to either gloss over or exaggerate. Here, this post is me doing an in-depth analysis explaining Will Solace’s canon personality in the books, and how it can sometimes differ from fanfictions. Sprinkled in this analysis are tips to fanfiction writers on how they write Will as more in-character.
There is one major aspect of Will that people seem to ignore or underemphasize. Nico best explains it when describing Will in this quote
Jason was a fighter. You could tell from the intensity of his stare, his constant alertness, the coiled-up energy in his frame. Will Solace was more like a lanky cat stretched out in sunshine. His movements were relaxed and nonthreatening, his gaze soft and far away. In his faded SURF BARBADOS T-shirt, his cutoff shorts and flip-flops, he looked about as aggressive as a demigod could get, but Nico knew he was brave under fire. During the Battle of Manhattan, Nico had seen him in action - the camp’s best combat medic, risking his life to save wounded campers.
To sum it up, Will Solace is a very chill and calm character. A lot of writers make Will more irrational, impulsive, overbearing, and emotional than he actually is. Will is not the type of character to create drama unless he’s, as Nico puts it, “under fire.” In other words, the intense side of his personality doesn’t come out unless the situation is urgent or dire.
Fans remember during the Second Giant War how he gets angry and argues with Nico over Nico’s health and shadow-traveling, so many assume Will is going to be this fiery over a lot of other things regarding their relationship. For example, fanfic writers may make Will controlling or overly sensitive with Nico. However, keep in mind, Will gets heated with Nico during the Second Giant War because Nico’s shadow-traveling is killing him. This is how Will describes Nico’s dire state.
“Coach Hedge told me all about your shadow-travel. You can’t try that again.”
“I just did try it again, Solace. I’m fine.”
“No, you’re not. I’m a healer. I could feel the darkness in your hand as soon as I touched it. Even if you made it to that tent, you’d be in no shape to fight. But you wouldn’t make it. One more slip, and you won’t come back. You are not shadow-travelling. Doctor’s orders.”
Will is a healer. When he touches Nico’s hand, he can sense how little sleep and food Nico has been getting and how Nico’s being taken over by darkness. Nico is on the verge of death and hasn’t cared about his health for a long time. Nico is also stubborn about it, so Will has to be aggressive in order to save Nico’s life. This aggressive behavior is not the norm for Will, but it can sometimes come out when he has to assert control in a life-or-death situation.
Will is a calming prescence. He’s a diplomat. He stops violence on multiple occassions.
He’s one of the few people who’s able to calm Clarisse’s violent rage, and he does so in a gentle manner.
Clarisse pointed her dagger at Rachel. “What about their allies, huh? Did you see that tribe of two-headed men that arrived yesterday? Or the glowing red dog-headed guys with the big poleaxes? They look pretty barbaric to me. It would’ve been nice if you’d foreseen any of that, if your Oracle power didn’t break down when we needed it most!”
Rachel’s face turned as red as her hair. “That’s hardly my fault. Something is wrong with Apollo’s gifts of prophecy. If I knew how to fix it –”
“She’s right.” Will Solace, head counsellor for the Apollo cabin, put his hand gently on Clarisse’s wrist. Not many campers could’ve done that without getting stabbed, but Will had a way of defusing people’s anger. He got her to lower her dagger. “Everyone in our cabin has been affected. It’s not just Rachel.”
One of the most underrated Will Solace moments is when he stops a bloody battle from happening between Camp Half-Blood and Camp Jupiter.
But he knew it wouldn’t do any good. After weeks of waiting, agonizing and steaming, the Greeks and Romans wanted blood. Trying to stop the battle now would be like trying to push back a flood after the dam broke.
Will Solace saved the day.
He put his fingers in his mouth and did a taxicab whistle even more horrible than the last. Several Greeks dropped their swords. A ripple went through the Roman line like the entire First Cohort was shuddering.
“DON’T BE STUPID!” Will yelled. “LOOK!”
People are so used to seeing demigods, especially male demigods, being aggressive fighters that they can’t wrap their heads around a brave and strong demigod who actively tries to avoid unnecessary conflict and destruction as much as he can.
And that’s Will Solace’s strength: he has the ability to prevent as much harm as possible.
Will is a difficult character to write. There’s a lot of dueling factors with his personality. He’s calm and pacifying while also being brave and assertive. He’s fun and lighthearted while also being intelligent, logical, and grounded. He’s laidback while also being responsible and hardworking. He’s insecure but not melodramatic. He’s very caring and protective but not pushy.
Will’s personality confuses Nico sometimes too.
He’d always thought of Will as easygoing and laid back. Apparently he could also be stubborn and aggravating.
The trick to writing Will is to keep in mind his default personality is a soft and lighthearted character. Writers tend to overemphasize the hard side of his personality when his default personality is actually the soft side.
Think of the relaxing, lanky cat metaphor Nico uses for him. He and Nico bicker often, and it works for Will because he rolls with everything and doesn’t take things too seriously. He’s able to alleviate Nico’s moodiness with humor, wittiness, groundedness, and patience. Nico affectionately calls Will a “dork” because Will usually keeps things light. Interestingly enough, he’s able to be lighthearted without coming across as insensitive or an airheaded goofball, the latter of which is something Nico dislikes about Percy’s personality. On a related sidenote, another way writers make Will OOC is they make him too dumb or too immature. I know I mentioned to focus on Will’s soft side, but be careful to avoid that too. He’s a SENSIBLE, lanky cat.
The way Will keeps his composure during a stressful situation by using laughter while still being mature is expressed well in this exchange with Apollo. (Yes, Will has a lot to manage.)
It was difficult to think of this young man as my son. He was so poised, so unassuming, so free of acne. He also didn’t appear to be awestruck in my presence. In fact, the corner of his mouth had started twitching.
“Are—are you amused?” I demanded.
Will shrugged. “Well, it’s either find this funny or freak out. My dad, the god Apollo, is a fifteen-year-old—”
“Sixteen,” I corrected. “Let’s go with sixteen.”
“A sixteen-year-old mortal, lying in a cot in my cabin, and with all my healing arts—which I got from you—I still can’t figure out how to fix you.”
“There is no fixing this,” I said miserably. “I am cast out of Olympus. My fate is tied to a girl named Meg. It could not be worse!”
Will laughed, which I thought took a great deal of gall. “Meg seems cool. She’s already poked Connor Stoll in the eyes and kicked Sherman Yang in the crotch.”
The fiercer side of Will’s personality comes out only when the situation calls for it; this happens sometimes when he has to be a caring family member, a responsible healer, or a warrior in a dire situation. Even when he gets more forceful, he doesn’t get more forceful than he has to.
Since Will has such a balanced and lighthearted personality, what are his flaws? What are the dark sides of his personality? There are four main things that stick out.
1. He’s insecure about his self-perceived lack of abilities.
“I agree,” Will said. “I wish I was a better archer … I wouldn’t mind shooting my Roman relative off his high horse. Actually, I wish I could use any of my father’s gifts to stop this war.” He looked down at his own hands with distaste. “Unfortunately, I’m just a healer.”
2. He sometimes struggles to endure the heavy responsibilities he has as a healer and as a protector to his family.
“I got it reattached,” Will told me, his voice shaky with exhaustion. His scrubs were speckled with blood. “I need somebody to keep him stable.”
I pointed to the woods. “But—”
“I know!” Will snapped. “Don’t you think I want to be out there searching too? We’re shorthanded for healers. There’s some salve and nectar in that pack. Go!”
I was stunned by his tone. I realized he was just as concerned about Kayla and Austin as I was. The only difference: Will knew his duty. He had to heal the injured first. And he needed my help.
3. He forces himself to bottle his emotions to keep his composure.
Will laughed under his breath. “I’m terrified. But one thing you learn as head counselor: you have to keep it together for everyone else. Let’s get you on your feet.“
I rested my hand on Will’s shoulder. “Don’t worry. We’ll be back by dawn.”
His mouth trembled ever so slightly. “How can you be sure?”
4. He constantly worries about his loved ones.
Nico rested his hand on Will’s shoulder. “Apollo, we were worried. Will was especially.”
In conclusion, Will Solace’s personality is difficult to get correct. But don’t worry, if you write Will as a laidback, witty cat in your fanfics, I guarantee he’ll be more in-character than many other fanfics with Will Solace.
(Note: I am only human. If you believe I’m misinterpreting some aspects of Will’s personality, feel free to express it. What I say isn’t 100 percent the right interpretation.)
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