I was scrolling around and I saw something about how it was Hades that wanted Nico to go to Tartarus in TSATS and I was like "????".
He couldn't have sent his only son to hell??? Especially after he saw how physically and mentally fucked up he was in BoO during their meeting in the chapel,not to talk about his speech. Hades even told him how proud he was to have him as his son; he became a decent parent in canon after that,no?
Since I don't like not knowing I tried to find a good summary of the book (because I will die before my eyes lands on those pages again after that failed attempt) and I found a good one. I didn't read everything because I wanted to specifically find only that part to confirm or deny it myself,but I skimmed around enough and idk how to feel.
On the one hand I'm like "So many interactions between Nico and other cthonic gods Iike I always wanted,even if some wanted to kill him off",while on the other hand I'm crying inside. Half of what I read doesn't make sense,some of the information this book gives goes against pre-established lore (I'm talking about his first trip in Tartarus,I actually paid attention to that part because I was curious but now I wish I didn't),Hades genuinely thought that sending his son to hell to help Bob was a good move (he doesn't even give a shit about Bob in the first place). And he also pulled up the "I wish you are able to be happy in the future unlike all my other children" speech again apparently? Not to talk about how both Bianca and MARIA are there???
I knew about Bianca already and how they went over his grief over her death for the third time,BUT I DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT MARIA. Bianca went for rebirth 3 years ago,she can't talk to him at all,and isn't Maria gone-gone? NICO COULDN'T EVEN SPEAK TO HER GHOST IN THE FIRST PLACE. Hades probably allowed it just for this time (which opened the plot hole of why he didn't allow it before this moment,since from HoO onwards he and Nico seems to be on good/decent terms). And I already said this,but I hate how every time Nico is the focus of something Riordan regresses his character and his healing journey. Having a regression can be understood if you write it well and intend in the first place to have that character fail their arc/development only for later on succeed and learn. Nico doesn't fall in this category. Riordan just regresses him when it's convenient for the plot,any other time other than that Nico is totally fine (if we don't count his power imbalance). And I just hate that because it's infuriating to see him being miserable all over again for the same thing he already accepted and healed from.
And I already knew about the cocodemons but I always ignored them and I will continue to do so until the end because that's rape. Not physically,of course,but Nyx literally fucked his mind. She took his emotions without consent out of his brain and created those things herself. And now Nico is a single father to his own negative emotions. Hell,he and Nyx technically went through the equivalent of which parents should keep the kids in a divorce,which is worse. And I'm sure all of that is just so Nico and Will can have their own "found family" or "children" to take care of because they can't have them on their own,and are also way too young to adopt and take care of a real kid. And even if we don't count this,it's still an allegory to rape. Like,no. That's fucked up to write even for Riordan's standard. Isn't he the one that fully believes that these books are for middle schoolers? PG-13? Nico can't literally catch a break even when he should be happy.
The only good thing this book gave was having Hades (he sucks) and Persephone confirm that they both care about Nico and the family dynamic they share. That's it. Which makes me a bit happy,because all of my headcanons on them are technically canon now,but I'm also crying about everything else that I skimmed over.
Being a Nico's fan in this economy is rough.
