NICO… YOU KNOW WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT O.o Showing 3,551-3,600 of 4,817

[Clairity5]

Nico di Angelo is by far my favorite character. And his sexuality hasn't changed that for me. I am perfectly ok with who he is and I respect everyone's opinions but let me say this: It's the 21st century people. Being against gay people is ok for grandparents, but not for our future generation. Think about from Nicos perspective: he's had a really hard life already and keeping this secret is clearly hard for him. While nico is a fictional character he has the same struggles as many other homosexual people. You can hate nico (a fictional character) for his sexuality, but please do not be mean or tease anybody real. Everybody has feelings.

[[deleted user]]

Kevin wrote: "Brown wrote: "Yeah, I think we both made our points and will just be repeating ourselves if we keep it up too much longer...."

Brown are you getting the Last book in the Series?

I think sequels a..."


I'll probably get it for the heck of it (borrow it from my friend or the library). :P I don't really consider myself a fan of this series though.
I try, but I just can't.

[[deleted user]]

Cecerose wrote: "Brown wrote: "Cecerose wrote: "Brown wrote: "Cecerose wrote: "Brown wrote: ""Researchers have found that attempted suicide rates and suicidal ideation among lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, que..."

Okay, I'll just come out and say it.

Most "romantic" things are ALL stupid.

Fanfictions. Highschool drama. Soap operas.

It's gotten to the point that when something is labeled romantic, you should take that as a huge red-flag, because most likely, it's something stupid.

And there's a reason:

*romance is not what people think it is.*


Everyone here is probably going to disagree with me, but I don't care.

*I believe that romance is ALWAYS stupid except in very rare circumstanes.*

YES, it's only good when two people are open to being married and having kids.


(keyword: open. Please don't start a tangent about how it doesn't always work out).


And I do think people deserve better than to be told any less... That's why I bother. The same reason you bother to explain your view.

(I'm the same age as Percy, for the record. I'm not an adult trying to talk down to you guys. How is it patronizing just to have a different opinion? I'm just trying to talk about this the same as you. Stop trying to act like I have less of a right just because I disagree with you. It's dishonest).

[[deleted user]]

Unbroken Silence wrote: "Okay guys, I'm really not in the mood to type a wall of text, so how about this:

A BOOK IS NOT NECESSARILY A POLITICAL STATEMENT

Especially a children's fantasy book. By now there are two reasons..."


Then maybe you could take your own advice and just stop reading this argument?

(sorry, couldn't resist XP)

[[deleted user]]

Clairity5 wrote: "Nico di Angelo is by far my favorite character. And his sexuality hasn't changed that for me. I am perfectly ok with who he is and I respect everyone's opinions but let me say this: It's the 21st c..."

Strawman.
Nobody's advocating being "mean" to them.
You can't throw out that meaningless line every time.

[Kevin]

Has anyone noticed that we are at page 81 for the longest time?

[Emily]

Karina wrote: "That gay people are perfectly normal people and actually exist? And representing them in a book series as being completely normal and not like the stereotype - i.e. "Omg shopping! Fashion!" - shows..."

Yes to everything you said.

[Emily]

It was really gutsy of him to put a gay character in a children's book. We should all be giving him an award for bravery. Not mention, with Nico's background story, Nico is the perfect character to make gay. Seriously, though. I don't know why we don't talk about this more. Rick Riordan put a gay character in his books knowing that it probably wouldn't get published and that his books would lose a lot of support, but did it anyway, and succeeded. Do you realize that by making Nico gay, Rick pretty much gave a middle finger to all the people who say that LGBTQ related subjects are inappropriate for kids. Not to mention, he wrote about an aspect of it that most people don't see. Most books with LGBTQ themes only focus on what it's like for a homosexual person living today, but RR wrote about what it would be in history for someone from Nico's time period, where you would be treated even worse than today, if you can imagine. He should have been given some kind of prize for that.

[Heather]

Gotta say i did not see that one coming.I really hope that a new character will appear to be Nico love intreast because you know Percy and him aren't going to get together as Percy is straight and very taken.

[Kana]

To everyone saying that Rick just thrust a gay character into his story, or that it has nothing to do with the story; it's simply a characters sexual orientation. I don't see anyone complaining about all of the straight characters, because they have sexual orientations too.

Nico having a crush on Percy is no different from anyone else, mainly because being in truly in love with someone is tends to have more to do with who the person is, not what kind of genitalia a person has.

But back to the topic of his sexuality being tossed in there, and that Rick must have been crazy when he wrote it, about 10% of the male U.S. population are homosexuals, how many characters are in the book series? There is a more than likely chance that one of them is bound to be gay, bisexual or pansexual(his sexuality is never truly stated, the only thing states is his "crush" on Percy). Furthermore, he did grow up in a house with only females, thus making woman either a mother/sister figure to him, this situation being only one of the probable factors increasing his chances for attraction to men.

Many writers do not appreciate the fact that there are gay, bi, and pansexual people in the world, and that they are not un-common either, so I am glad that the writer Rick Riordan took the time to notice some facts about today's world.

I mean, yeah, its okay to have a different opinion, but you're wrong. Person A simply has feelings for Person B, nothing more than a bit of romantic-drama being added to a story.

Hearts not parts guys.

[Kana]

Brenna wrote: "I'm so disappointed! The biggest problem that I have with this move in his books is that his target audience is children. Parent's buy these books for their children because they know that they ar..."

So are you saying that we should be sheltering children from homosexuality, that we should close their minds to the fact that people can be attracted to other people?

As well, you seem to have no problem reading a book with a bunch of straight characters who simply like people of the opposite gender binary, what is the difference between a book with heterosexual characters and homosexual characters, other than who they are attracted too? Does a single characters sexual orientation affect the writing ability of an author?

And he is not "discussing" a controversial topic, he's stating that a character is gay, bi or pan. If he was discussing it he would post it on a blog, probably with something along the lines of "What's your opinion on a homosexual character?". But that is not the case, he's simply adding a character with a gay, bi or pan sexuality.

[Kana]

Kcatty wrote: "Grace wrote: "Umm... I really don't know what to say about this, but I thought these books were for 9-12 year-olds."

It really bugs me when people say, "Let's not talk about things like sexual ori..."

Thank you so much good person, theres a special place in the heavenly afterlife for ones like you <3

[cindy]

Brown wrote: "Okay, I'll just come out and say it...."

No, I don't care what you think. Go ahead, think that all romance is stupid.

What I have a problem is that you seem to like invalidating other peoples' feelings. If you think it's stupid, fine. What's patronizing is not that you have another opinion (what a sad world that would be if any difference in opinion would be regarded as patronizing!). I don't even really think you're patronizing to me directly. It's just the way you talk about twerpy 12 year olds or teens who are filled with lust or these people that you need to ~save~ from their own insatiable desire to bang people. Sometimes -- and I don't know if it's intentional, nor do I know if you realize it yourself -- you just act like all of these hypothetical young people are all these confused little kids who don't know anything and /must be led into the right direction/. That's what patronizing.

While obviously, it's good that you're trying to help people, but if someone personally ever told me in person the stuff you say about your ~true view of love~, it would sound really condescending and it rubs me the wrong way. You say that you think people deserve better, but you need to take their personal feelings into account, even if you think its fruitless or just stupid. A person's feelings are valid just because they feel them, which is one thing that I will repeat again and again. If you want to nudge them in the right direction, just remember that everyone's situation is unique to their own circumstances. In some cases, you are right, and in others you are wrong. To generalize all of these relationships is in my opinion, just a bit lazy.

It's like when some adults tell you "I'm doing this for YOUR own good" and ignore your own feelings. Frustrating, isn't it? Whether you mean it this way or not, it feels like that sometimes with you in the way you regard your hypothetical 12 / 13 / etc year olds.

And I never said that you had less of a right to an opinion just because I disagree with you -- if that was the case, then I wouldn't waste time addressing nearly every single one of your points (if not all) logically and thoughtfully. If I thought that your opinion was invalid or not as important as mine, then I would try and shoot down / dismiss your opinion because that would mean I did not think it deserved my time to think about. As you can see, that is not the case. Just because I can debate back and forth does not mean it's dishonest or whatever.

And ayyyyyy I actually quite like that we're near the same age! I'm a year younger than you, apparently, and I actually think it's quite refreshing that we can talk intelligently to one another about some deeper issues!!!! It's nice to break the stereotype that many people hold that teenage girls (I think you're a girl at least? I can't quite tell from your username) only care about fangirling (though I do admit that I do that too. but that's not all there is to a teenage girl). I know I may seem grumpy in some of my posts, and maybe even this one, but I swear I'm not a mean person.

[Kevin]

This is the thread that doesn't end, yes it goes on and on my friend... (view spoiler)[10 hours version (hide spoiler)]

[Van Helsing]

disagreed.
first. the writer is not responsible for who reads his books and what they decide to think. the choice is yours and you can trust something or not. second, you use the proper word of this, because you know what is this as an adult. assuming the readers are just little kids, they don't have a vivid definition of what he's talking about. They simply just might sense that one day.then again, there's no encouragement, there's no even more details about it than it necessary to take the point. and it might happen to your own siblings, you can't contradict this and the point is how to treat that. maybe, just maybe it helps that the awkward thoughts would wash away by some kind of imitation or better, guidance thanks to Nico and what he does to prevent them. I appreciate that anyway. I also wasn't so okay with this big secret. that was awkward, of course. but it just didn't bother me that much.

[Kevin]

A lot of people are removing their comments from this thread....

[Van Helsing]

Kevin wrote: "A lot of people are removing their comments from this thread...."
I didn't get, frankly.

[[deleted user]]

Kana wrote: "To everyone saying that Rick just thrust a gay character into his story, or that it has nothing to do with the story; it's simply a characters sexual orientation. I don't see anyone complaining abo..."

Just a slightly irrelevant pet peeve:

Can nobody ever say "it's okay to have a different opinion" again? It's a contradiction since you state it just before explaining how the "opinion" is wrong and they really SHOULDN'T believe it(maybe because this isn't a matter of neutral "opinions" but of beliefs which are either true or false?)

What is the point of tacking on the words "I respect your opinion" before every argument? Respect people, not beliefs! Some beliefs are wrong and there's no shame in believing that!

[[deleted user]]

Cecerose wrote: "Brown wrote: "Okay, I'll just come out and say it...."

No, I don't care what you think. Go ahead, think that all romance is stupid.

What I have a problem is that you seem to like invalidating ot..."

I do appreciate how you're talking to me, and if I didn't say it before thank you for that. (Yeah, I'm a teenage girl too).

Anyway, I can't think of anything to say that I haven't already. I guess with the twerpy teenager example I'm just trying to say that romance itself has become such a twerpy thing.
I think our ideas are so far from each other, because we see romance/love as a totally different thing, and that affects how we view the whole gay issue.

[Kevin]

Brown wrote: "(Yeah, I'm a teenage girl too)...."

I thought you were a 17 Year old male.

[Luke]

According to his Wikipedia page, Rick Riordan will have chapters written from Nico's point of view.

[[deleted user]]

It was a twist out of fkin nowhere if you ask me. But kind of also predictable.

Gay people being associated with isolation and being not accepted and all.

[Kevin]

Come on guys it's only 18 more pages to reach 100!!
YOU CAN DO IT!!!!!

[[deleted user]]

Luke wrote: "According to his Wikipedia page, Rick Riordan will have chapters written from Nico's point of view."
#Happy

[[deleted user]]

Kevin wrote: "Brown wrote: "(Yeah, I'm a teenage girl too)...."

I thought you were a 17 Year old male."

Actually I'm a girl and I look like Annabeth... and my name kind of sounds like hers too. o_O

[[deleted user]]

I look like no one and my name sounds like no won.

[Kevin]

Brown wrote: "Actually I'm a girl and I look like Annabeth... and my name kind of sounds like hers too. o_O
"

Maybe it was the Goofy Display Pic.

[Mitchell]

Ariel wrote: "Yeah, I was looking back in the books for evidence but… I don't know. I might have missed it."

I'm guessing he's referring to the brief look of horror on Nico's face Hazel notes when she introduces them, although I'm thinking this was more of a "Holy shit what's he doing here" thought.

[Peyton]

I didn't see this coming at all. But i think it is so sweet and i love Nico even more than i did before. I was him to be with percy, but i want percy to be with annabeth! I think Nico deceives SOMEONE. Like maybe he will find out he is not gay and it was all just in his head and he was just jealous of percy. Maybe he'll find out that Cupid was just playing a dirty trick on him or something. Anyway i want him to be with Reyna. Reyna has nobody and neither does Nico. If Nico really is gay, would it be weird to ship him with Leo? Only if Leo and Calypso don't work out though. I think someone so dark and someone so light together would be the perfect balance. But there is also a part of me that HATES frank and wants leo to be with hazel. I kind of want Frank to die (Did that sound mean)
It's just Frank is so annoying and self conscious that it just ruins the book for me. Also, usually i think that jealously is cute, but NOT on Frank. So maybe Nico and Leo.
My final answer is: Nico should be with Percy.

[[deleted user]]

Pai wrote: "I didn't see this coming at all. But i think it is so sweet and i love Nico even more than i did before. I was him to be with percy, but i want percy to be with annabeth! I think Nico deceives SOME..."


Behold, exactly the shallowness I was talking about from this mentality.

[[deleted user]]

Sorry, couldn't resist. But... Seriously?

[Kevin]

Brown wrote: "Sorry, couldn't resist. But... Seriously?"

I know right? It's like we are the only sensible people in this thread. We don't have our emotions tangled up in this book.

It's like those people that hit other people because they were talking bad about harry Potter. Zealots and fanatics.

[[deleted user]]

Fuck.

[Matthew]

Pai wrote: "I didn't see this coming at all. But i think it is so sweet and i love Nico even more than i did before. I was him to be with percy, but i want percy to be with annabeth! I think Nico deceives SOME..."

In addition to the minefield you just stepped into, and probably meaning "deserve," not "deceive," I'll try and explain Brown and Kevin's sentiments in more detail while still maintaining brevity: First of all, it can be said with relative certainty that romance is Riordan's weakest storytelling element, and that some shippers are overly fanatical and obsessed with pairings over the actual story, and that the romance is often shallow and unrealistic, often riding on the zeitgeist of our hyper-sexualized culture. I hope Riordan either seriously downplays or outright gets rid of the romance in his Norse mythology series. The romance in PJO (there being only one narrator and the love triangle downplayed) is better than in HoO or the Kane Chronicles due to both having more time to develop and being more children's-oriented and thus under less YA-romance pressure.

[[deleted user]]

Kevin wrote: "Brown wrote: "Sorry, couldn't resist. But... Seriously?"

I know right? It's like we are the only sensible people in this thread. We don't have our emotions tangled up in this book.

It's like thos..."



Were there really HP fans who did that? Huh. Seems more like a form of showing off than sincere love for the books. Fangirls can get pretty narcissistic about their images sometimes, in my experience. It's like a game for them. :P

[[deleted user]]

H99 wrote: "Kevin wrote: "Brown wrote: "Sorry, couldn't resist. But... Seriously?"

I know right? It's like we are the only sensible people in this thread. We don't have our emotions tangled up in this book.

..."


Exactly. It misses the point on so many levels.

[Marcela]

I love Nico

[[deleted user]]

Aryan wrote: "Marcela wrote: "I love Nico"

I hate him. No offense"
I'm neutral.

[Kevin]

Yes guys keep the thread alive


Keep it alive

[D]

um

[Sabrina]

Alright, all you pathetic, homophobic motherfuckers.

This was one of the BEST character development lines I've EVER seen. It makes sense. It explains why poor little Nico is all wrapped up inside and it explains nearly everything else about the boy.

So...PISS OFF.

Nobody wants to hear your homophobic bullshit.

[Sabrina]

The Heroes of Olympus have been known to be a little less on the childish side than it's prodescesor.

Honestly, who FUCKING CARES?

Have these kids never seen a gay person!?

Honestly, there's fucking fifth grade, ten year old SLUTS that give their boyfriends blowjobs on the playground.

Yet, nobody calls out little miss 10 year old prostitute.

No. Everybody's gotta hate on the FICTIONAL gay boy.

And Rick Riordan is an amazing author. He's accomplished more than any of you sick homophobes EVER will. STOP insulting him unless you manage to accomplish something better than anything he's done.

[Sabrina]

It's disgusting what you people do. Fucking. Disgusting. Homophobes. How would you like it if you felt feelings for someone and somebody else said how much they hated you? Even though they didn't really know you or the person you have feelings for. Hmm? Would you like it if someone called you a monstrosity? Or a crime against humanity? Or a sinner?

All because of who you love.

You're not going to finish the books now? Alright. That's your loss, asshole.

[Sabrina]

There were little hints...they were just disguised as us thinking that Nico had a crush on Annabeth.

[Sabrina]

Riordan, when he was questioned on the House of Hades-Nico Character Development.

"Here's my statement concerning Nico in The House of Hades:

One of the most important reasons I became a teacher was to advocate for marginalized children – those who are bullied or misunderstood, those who feel lost and alone. As a middle school student myself, I certainly felt that anguish. As a middle school teacher, it was critical to me that all my students saw my classroom as a safe, supportive environment where they could be honored for who they were and express themselves without fear.

I’ve taken the same approach with my writing. It’s essential to me that young readers find a variety of relatable, positive role models in my books. Every child can be a hero. No child should be shamed or shunned for being different.

Nico’s sexual orientation became clear to me the longer I wrote about his character. It was not something I planned. I had no agenda. But when I realized this was a major part of his life experience and the reason for so many of his difficulties with the other characters, it would have been a disservice to his character, the plot of the books, and all my readers simply to sweep the issue under the rug and pretend it didn’t exist. Turning a blind eye to children’s needs is never an acceptable answer.

I’ve been lucky enough to teach all sorts of students – fifth grade to twelfth grade, rich and poor, from numerous ethnic backgrounds, with diverse religious traditions and a variety of learning differences. I’ve also taught gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender students. Some self-identified as early as elementary school. Some came to terms with their sexual orientation later in high school. Most had a hard time during the middle grades, which are tough years for any child. All my middle school students enriched my classroom. They made me a better teacher and a better writer for children, and they all deserve my support.

I am committed to writing appropriate books for the middle grades. This means no bad language, no gratuitous or explicit violence, and no sexual content beyond what you might find in a PG-rated movie – expressions of who likes whom, holding hands, and perhaps the occasional kiss. The idea that we should treat sexual orientation itself as an adults-only topic, however, is absurd. Non-heterosexual children exist. To pretend they do not, to fail to recognize that they have needs for support and validation like any child, would be bad teaching, bad writing, and bad citizenship.

Having said that, a good book, like a good classroom, should raise questions, not insist on a particular set of answers. It certainly should not ignore difficult questions. Whatever a family’s moral and religious beliefs on the topic of sexual orientation, I hope The House of Hades will provide an opportunity for parents to talk to their kids about what they believe, and why they believe it. Most importantly, I hope the story continues to entertain and keeps kids reading!"

[Sabrina]

Riordan has shamed you all.

[[deleted user]]

Sabrina wrote: "Alright, all you pathetic, homophobic motherfuckers.

This was one of the BEST character development lines I've EVER seen. It makes sense. It explains why poor little Nico is all wrapped up inside ..."




That awkward moment when the accused haters respectfully state their beliefs and the supposed "tolerant" side can only cuss, rant and "hate."

[[deleted user]]

Sabrina wrote: "Riordan, when he was questioned on the House of Hades-Nico Character Development.

"Here's my statement concerning Nico in The House of Hades:

One of the most important reasons I became a teache..."



I don't think the point anyone is making is to "bully" or "shame" people who claim to be gay.
Frankly, I don't believe in labeling yourself gay, straight, bi, asexual or whatever else in the first place. It's NOT who a person is.

What YOU'RE doing by acting as if there are real conditions that dominate our "attractions" is essentially putting people in unnecessary boxes.

It's shallow, ridiculous, and yes, perverted. That's not what love is about. It's about committing to someone and being open to a family with them. Not selfishly dwelling too much on who we're "attracted to" like it's a game.

In any case, you'll have to get a little deeper than crying "hater" if you want to make a credible argument on this issue.



"Love is to will the good of the beloved." - C.S Lewis
Nobody is "hating" anyone. We're just trying to get to the bottom of things so we can do what's right and best for each other. That's HATE?

What propaganda. Stop listening to the media and talk respectfully if you want to be listened to. What a worthless attitude! Calling everyone who disagrees with you a bully! For shame! Have a little honor, you coward.

[Sabrina]

I can make a credible argument, asshole. I just got finished tirelessly making intelligent arguments on this subject on WattPad. For the record, I think that everyone's opinion is able to be put out on the table.

It's when you start saying, "I hate this FICTIONAL character for being gay."

Or

You say you're not going to finish the books simply because of it.

Or

You bring the damn Bible into the argument.

That's when it gets disgusting.

Also, I don't think I said the word, "Haters" ever.

I also didn't say "bully." I was quoting Riordan.

And yes, it's hate. There's been many people whom have SPECIFICALLY STATED that

It doesn't matter if you're gay, straight, bi, etcetera. Doesn't. Matter. You love who you love.

[Sabrina]

Also, I don't listen to the media and said nothing about propaganda.