#i'm not by any means a senior in the PJO fandom but I can be somewhat nerd in the shipping culture

[yonemurishiroku]

Ok got OP's permission so today's essay is about Percico and the shipping culture again.

Before I jump into the Answer tho, please just remember that to dislike a ship is, in fact, absolutely normal and totally justified even when there's no reason at all. You don't need reasons to love and sure you don't need reason to feel repulsive at st. It's just feelings that every human has, so there's that.

On to the matter at hand. I'm doing this because I'm weirdly interested in how Percico (and other... less favorable ships) are perceived in this fandom, along with their influence. This is science (as much as I want it to be...) and I'm really trying to be subjective so please don't think I'm defending this or dissing any other ship bc srsly I'm too old for that. 😭

Anw. I don't have any outlive yet, so Imma borrow OP's tags instead.

Tl;dr: the (fictional) dynamic isn't healthy but sometimes it's what get people hooked.

Their unhealthy relationship.

This is actually very simple. When it comes to fiction, your consumption doesn't necessarily always have to be healthy. Of course, it also depends largely on people's tastes, which is also another way of saying that a number of people feel completely fine, and/or are interested in unhealthy dynamics in unrealistic scenarios.

This has been an ongoing discourse among the fandoms for a long time. I suppose it makes sense that someone who's used to healthy, humane, tame content would consider more problematic dynamics absurd. However, sometimes people do find intriguing, fascinating facets in the forbidden, toxic situations. It's the curiosity rather than a need for positivity (and even less of moral) that propels us to indulge in the unethical, specifically (and allowed only) in fiction, those that we probably would run away from at first sight in real life. (And it's because it's fiction, so it does no harm! 🤗)

In fact, the complicated relationship and messed-up history between Nico and Percy is the exact reason why I find them compelling. I like the angst, the unhealthiness of it all, the unique taste that sets them apart from other exemplary relationships in the series.

It's a type of catharsis, I believe. Sometimes you'd like a little tension here and there, just for the thrill of it.

The age-gap.

I actually am in no position to talk about this because ngl, I reckon my comprehension of age in fiction is different from others. You ask another Percico shipper then chances are they would tell you that Nico's age is messed up; Frazel's or Caleo's age gap is actually somewhat the same, with which the canon is fine; 3 years might not be that big of a problem.

I, myself, just straight-up don't care. I have seen worse in other types of fictional content and tbh I see no problem. But yeah this can be a trigger to others, I understand.

Percy's attitude towards Nico.

This should also be grouped into their dynamics in general, yeah? I do admit Percy and Nico don't have the best relationship (friendship-wise or whatever) in canon. However, it's just like I have explained above - sometimes one doesn't see it as a problem, other times it's the exact reason why one engages with it in the first place. It's all about preferences. You find their canon materials an obstacle, another would find it an inspiration.

Hell, Wuthering Heights is so messed up in terms of character relationship chart but that doesn't stop it from becoming a classic piece of literature, which the readers enjoy just fine.

Or another example: the villain x hero trope that has somehow wormed its way into many fandoms at once. Clearly, they don't have the best interactions in terms of intimacy, or even affability, for that matter. And yet, it persists despite the abundant hostility.

On the other hand? The canon doesn't always dictate everything. The official materials are the roots of inspiration, regardless, what's born from it isn't in the hands of the author but rather those of the audience (aka: fans, shippers. etc...). (Well unless you forbid transformative works altogether, but I digress lol). Anw, I'm talking fanfics, or fan content in general, whose Percies and Nicos might or might not be the same as you've come to know, and the story is completely a world away from the canon events.

There, Nico might not never have deceived Percy, Percy might never have strangled Nico, they could have talked it out, Bianca never died, they could just be regular high schoolers, they could be friends and then many more. Nico got his happy ending, and everyone's as happy as a childhood dream.

Believe it or not, Percico has one of the sweetest, most wholesome and most beautiful Domestic Family Fic I have ever read in PJO AO3. In it, Nico deserves better and he does get it, as the writer successfully constructed a scenario in which happiness is possible in their union.

Surely it wouldn't make it to the official materials. But again, it doesn't need to. And that is the point. Sometimes, one finds joy in the peculiarity, and it's the drought that makes the rain so precious.

Looking at it in a different way - it might be the compassion for Nico that gets us into Percico in the first place.

Think of it this way - Nico's crush on Percy brought him many struggles, yet it was also shown, through many sacrifices made and a painful confession, that it meant a lot to Nico; hence, as a fan's act of adoration for Nico himself, one wishes for another ending in which he could achieve that love. So they come up with many scenarios, twists, and turns in which the crush comes to fruition. And naturally, it grows into what we call "shipping."

It's just as simple as that.

That's everything I got to say I think. It should be clear that I cannot speak for the Percico nation since I'm not as ominiscient as I'd like to be lmao. Tho I hope this does give, if anything, some insight into another corner of the shipping community. 🥺🤗

percico is the only tag i have blocked on tumblr. i don't even know why i hate it so much but it makes me physically ill to think about. someone please explain the appeal of this ship i do not understand at all

[wrongcaitlyn]

Do you have any headcanons for the canon pjoverse???

oh my GOD DO I?? I HAVE SO MANY it's hard to even keep track of them all bc tbh i forget which ones are canon or not canon

in general i've put a *lot* of my hc's into my fics, specifically my because i'm a mirrorball series which is basically my version of will's backstory (even though a large amount of it was disproved by tsats... i'm just ignoring that bc it's already engrained in my head even though i did enjoy tsats)

i also think i share quite a few of the popular hc's of the fandom, just because i'm actually pretty new to it (read the pjo series in like september of 2022 i think? and then hoo and toa immediately after) and i consume fandom content to an unhealthy extent

HOWEVER here are some things i feel very strongly about

will is a swiftie. i think this is canon bc rick mentioned it during the tsats book tour i think?? or maybe cotg?? not sure but i DO think he said it at some point

and also his favorite album is fearless like he's that album's number one stan im sorry there's no other answer

nico can cook like rlly well

LEO NICO AND WILL FRIENDSHIP i know that leo lives at the waystation now. but. BUT. i'd like to think that he'd visit chb every once in a while and they'd be pretty good friends

adding on to that, aroace leo. caleo what? nope. leo is aroace and he was in denial and i actually wrote a whole fic about it because i just feel very VERY strongly about this

i just love the idea that even before toa, apollo was more present in his kids' lives than other gods. like, showing up in dreams and stuff. even if it came from a different purpose, like wanting to show off his poetry or music or whatever, he wasn't completely absent from their lives

i very much like the idea of will and nico sort of stepping up to be the "leaders"-ish of chb once percabeth leave for new rome. i mean, will already sort of is one with him being the head medic and also having seniority over a lot of the campers, and nico being a child of the big three like percy

percabeth returning to chb to create a sort of new rome type place for older demigods to live!! so they do not feel like they're going to die young immediately when arriving!!! bc they are children!! and deserve to live long lives!!!

i have a *lot* of thoughts about will and his trauma, but one of the main things i believe about him is that his fatal flaw is putting others before him and overworking himself. i think that being pushed into the head medic position from such a young age sort of emphasized this, though i also think (from my ideas of his childhood) that he was kind of always taught to put other people and other jobs at a higher priority than himself

nico dies first. i know i was just talking about them living long lives and i think that ends up being true, but also nico is a demigod child of hades and i think around his 30s would already be way longer than anyone would expect. anyway, i think that he dies first, simply because i cannot put that boy through any more, and i know i could say the same thing about will after having lost so much as well, but i think that the idea of nico being right at the entrance of the underworld by the river styx to welcome will once he dies (bc nico's the ghost king/prince of the underworld and isn't confined to elysium) is a very comforting thought

those are the main things i can think of right now just off the top of my head, but if there's any specific parts of canonverse that you'd like my thoughts about, feel free to ask! this didn't really cover a lot of like the general pjo/hoo timeline and it was mainly solangelo centric but likeee these are just things i thought of first! thank u for the ask!!

[miraculousfanworks]

Creator Spotlight: Sink

The Miraculous Fanworks Discord server’s spotlight highlights content creators in the community! Each month, at least one creator will have their accounts promoted on our social media accounts.

This month’s spotlight is artist is @sinkdraws!

Sink is a Marinette multishipper (because Marinette deserves all the love), and was once quoted saying, "Mean comments on Instagram won’t ever stop me so I’m going to continue drawing [Marinette] as the girlboss she is.”

We’ve interviewed Sink, asking her questions about her fanart and advice for other creators.

1. How long have you been drawing in general?

I've been drawing ever since middle school! I moved around a lot so I drew in my free time instead of socializing lol. I didn't really take it seriously until high school though, so roughly around the time I joined the fandom (2015). I feel so old now....

2. How long have you been creating for the fandom, and what's your favorite part of the process?

I've been a part of the fandom since only a few episodes were out in Korean back in 2015. My earliest piece was made November 15th, 2015. I was the same age as Marinette and Adrien and now I'm in my senior year of college. Oh god....

3. Has there been anything in particular that influences your style?

I'm so ashamed to say this but Voltron... Voltron has had too much influence on my art style. Fairy Tail and Viria's PJO art. I used to redraw screenshots, manga panels, and Viria's pieces, because I loved it so much and I wanted to be able to draw like that. I used to recreate Viria's digital art with acrylic paint because I thought she made it physically and scanned it in.

4. Do you have any advice you'd like to give to other creators?

Draw what you like!! You're just going to be burned out no matter what, so might as well enjoy the few instances of inspiration that you can get :')

5. How do you think the identity reveal is going to go? Feel free to draw something quick if you want to!

I think it's going to happen in the most mundane way ever and it's going to be hilarious. I bet someone, either Mari or Adrien, will overhear something and will go bonkers. I'm betting on Marinette though. Can't have a Chat Blanc Round 2, amirite?

You can find Sink on tumblr @sinkdraws, or on twitter/instagram/Patreon under (sinKdraws). Some of her works include Lukanette kisses and snuggles, these Ladybug redesigns and these adorable animated stickers.

Interested in being featured? Come join the server!