So this was originally gonna be in a reblog of someone else's post, but then I decided to just make my own because it was getting very long and unwieldy.
Look, Solangelo is cute and all, I genuinely do love them. But I also think there's something to be said about how they got together offscreen (or off-page I guess) so we didn't really get to see what that relationship was like in its early days.
Like, obviously it doesn't have to be a slowburn, not everything has to be a slowburn. Not every relationship has to have drama. To have big, exciting emotions, sometimes it can just be... Chill. And relaxed. And conflict-free. And ok fine I'm LYING I WANT THE MELODRAMA I WANT THE CONFLICT I WANT IT SO BAD but like I get it, he's been through enough, I should be happy that he's able to count on at least one thing. But that's also why I'm so excited for TSATS, because I. Want. Drama. I want the two of them nearly dying in each other's arms! Is that really so wrong?
I think the main criticism basically stems from the fact that, because we don't get to see how their relationship builds from acquaintances to friends to lovers, we don't really get the catharsis that we, or at least I, felt like Rick had been leading up to. At least, not in The Hidden Oracle, which is the only TOA book that I've read so far, and also it was kinda long ago, so I might be totally wrong about all this, just a disclaimer. But from my perspective, it looks very... Safe. And ok, I'll say it, sanitized.
Like. Yes. Nico deserves a calm, stable relationship. But he also deserves to have a moment, pre-solangelo, where he fucking breaks down into tears. Why? Maybe he had a nightmare. Maybe it's just dawned on him how much he's lost and how much he's endured and holy shit, it's a lot, and he's just somehow expected to keep this poker face on all the time, and he just fucking can't anymore. Or maybe it's because Will told him he's gonna need to stay a few extra days, and he feels insulted and humiliated and weak, because he doesn't even have it that bad, he's fine, why are you doing this to him? Why are you treating him like a baby? Why are you wasting your time with him when there are people in this same building that he can feel slowly dying? And to be comforted and held by Will, and told that whatever it is that's making him so upset, he's here. And, after a brief calm before the storm, Nico impulsively pulls Will down to his height by the collar of his shirt and kisses him. And then he starts to panic, like why did he just do that? What's wrong with him? Oh gods oh fuck Will's totally gonna hate him now. And Will's just sitting there like... Do it again. Please? And Nico's like... Huh? You... Want him to kiss you again? Well ok, if you insist.
And another thing, Will deserves to have some character flaws! And I don't just mean being insecure about his powers and working too much, I mean some actual flaws, things that can make it hard to cooperate with other people. Like, maybe he's unintentionally blunt and rude. Maybe he's got a secret vindictive streak (and I mean REALLY secret since it probably takes a lot to make that guy mad) that mirrors Nico's and forces him to actually confront, and ultimately forgive, the ugliest parts of himself. Hell, maybe he's the jealous type! Or at least is overprotective to such an intensity that it comes off as jealousy and even a lack of trust without him realizing it. And maybe those overprotective tendencies stem from what happened to Lee and Michael.
Speaking of which, holy crap, LEE AND MICHAEL. This is like. One of the few things we know about Will pre-BOO. That he's lost two of his older brothers, and he didn't even get to go to their funerals because he had to stay behind and heal people because he was a WAR MEDIC at 12. So he didn't really get to process any of those emotions, he just had to kinda push them down and do his job. And the damage that can do to someone's psyche is... Let's just say it's not great.
Hey, maybe his workaholic tendencies also stem from that trauma, maybe he's subconsciously using the selfless medic mindset as a coping mechanism to distract himself from his own emotional pain. Maybe Nico, who has suffered great loss himself, helps him finally process and grieve in a healthy way, which would also mitigate the criticism of it being one-sided, or of Will trying to fix Nico.
All of that would be great!
Except... We don't really get to see it. Not in canon, anyway. Rick, to the best of my limited knowledge, doesn't explore their dynamic beyond 'hehe sunshine and darkness isn't that cute?'.
Again, I could be totally wrong on this! I'd absolutely LOVE IT if I was wrong, and that would actually be even more motivation for me to get off my lazy ass and buy the rest of TOA. As it stands, though... All of this is merely a daydream.
