#this post is like right on the line btwn too short to put under a cut and too long to Not do that

[bloodbenderz]

I think at some point you talked about Jeong Jeong and his complicated relationship with fire, I'd like to hear your thoughts about his character in comparison to the fire nation and its ideals!!

SO sorry that this took me so long lol

jeong jeong is very interesting! from childhood he was taught that fire=violence, and thats the basis of his later defection: when he rejects imperialist violence he also rejects fire.

i think jeong jeong does more work in thoroughly rejecting the fire nation than any other fire nation character on screen. his objection to the fire nation isn’t JUST ideological, it’s organized and physical. contrast this with iroh’s decisions. jeong jeong deserts the military not just because he can’t stand to wage war against the world anymore, but as a political act. he was a decorated admiral before his desertion, and he absolutely could have retired with grace the way iroh did if he didn’t want to contribute to imperialism anymore. the fact that he was the first to desert and lived made him an enemy of the state, and he was willing to accept that danger because he was also the first deserter who was capable of setting an example for other fire nation citizens. he REJECTS all the comforts of the fire nation, refuses to live off stolen wealth, refuses to serve as inspiration for the war machine, and there’s no character that commits to it the way he did.

like, jeong jeong did the work! and that’s why i think his relationship with fire as an element is SO fascinating. ive talked at length before about element+bending playing a role in reifying borders and race in avatar, especially as a tool of fire nation propaganda, but certainly by the “good guys” as well (ex. all the airbenders in lok suddenly becoming citizens of the air nation, the idea that the four nations have to exist but the crimes of the fire nation lie in expanding from their predetermined borders). and the interesting thing about jeong jeong is that he’s the only character we get who really illustrates how miserable it can be to equate element to nation.

he’s absolutely right to reject the fire nation in its entirety! but his long history of intimate involvement with the fire nation and its violence made him internalize the lesson that element=nation, and although he was able to unlearn all the OTHER imperialist propaganda, he wasn’t able to unlearn that bit, so when we meet him in canon he’s rejected firebending itself. this is interesting for a lot of reasons!

we know that bending is almost universally considered extremely precious to benders. katara says that losing it even temporarily felt like losing a part of herself. and with its obvious association with culture and nation it then follows that jeong jeong, in rejecting firebending, has made an awful sacrifice: that he’s lost the ability to draw pleasure or comfort from his bending, and sees an intrinsic part of himself as vile and horrific. jeong jeong will literally never be at peace with himself as long as this dissonance exists.

i mean, think about that. bending and its proposed equivalence to nation literalizes a person’s tie to their nation. no wonder so few fire nation deserters exist; aside from the fact that they risk being hunted down and killed, they’ve internalized this lesson that the fire nation is part of them as much as they are a part of it, and that rejecting the fire nation in its entirety would mean rejecting firebending, which would mean repressing a fundamental part of themselves. it’s actually a pretty astute observation about nationalism in imperialist countries (or it would be, if they did it on purpose): that so many people consider Americanness or Britishness or Whiteness as such an important part of their personhood that to reject any of these constructs would be to reject their personhood.

the show does Some work in deconstructing the element=nation concept with the sun warriors and saying that fire isn’t inherently or exclusively destructive, but ultimately firebending is still something that is associated with the fire nation. really, by the end of the show, the fire nation should not exist anymore, but there’s no exploration of that option, because the idea of the four elements in balance is a stand in for saying that all four nations MUST exist within their predetermined borders. this is something else that legend of korra could have explored and said more about: is mako fire nation just because he’s a firebender? are his and bolin’s ethnic identity dependent on their appearances and bending statuses? are tenzin and his children the only “real” air nomads, given their bending status, and to what extent do kya and bumi identify with air nation culture? but legend of korra disappointed at every turn including that one, so.

[cabin-13]

u said self indulgent nico hcs?? 👀👀

ajkdsjkkj when I say self-indulgent, it’s Self-Indulgent and i pretty much ignore richard’s canon / haven't reread the books from either series in a long time nor have i read toa but if ur really interested... (long post ahead, sorry!)

nb nico is top tier 

goes by he/they pronouns 

touristcore aesthetic that’s slowly encroaching into e-person territory

he’s The Blueprint

likes thorn from the hex girls (even the reboot ver.) but digs dusk’s look more

how is this related u may ask?

yeah, i answer

idc abt canon so he and drew are bitchy friends and drew rags on his appearance constantly while brushing his hair but throws in self-care tips btwn loving insults

nico: you know im not a boy right

drew: doesnt change the fact you look like a wet rat, sweetie <3

i will forever stand by reynico being (platonic) soulmates and im gonna b extra self-indulgent and say they were friends in previous lives too and that’s why they vibed w each other so well <3 

speaking of previous lives, well.... heh..

(no but really, this hc is kinda embarassing but , if u want elaboration uhhhhhhhhhh)

i know nico only has like. a 5th grade education but i like to think he would be a good student ... if anything i think hades would at least homeschool him with the ghosts of (famous) teachers ??? he seems to be naturally curious and he’s kind of a smart ass (not in a mean way) in canon idk

polyglot nico! polyglot nico! polyglot nico!!!! he becomes the go-to translator at camp ( like he isn't already sjkjskjdk) 

yes he would know asl. why? bc i said so and rick needs to include include some hoh/deaf characters within the greek/roman pantheon <3 (if there is, not counting hearthstone from mcga)

leo finds out abt nico knowing spanish bc he once snorted at a joke he said and now leo won’t stop telling him shit like “¿cuál es la fruta que más se ríe? .... la naranja, ja, ja, ja --”

ironically has the best hair at chb (rick once said the di angelos had silky hair in the titan’s curse i think + reyna said something abt his hair too in boo ?? i'll have to check...) once he cleans up and the aphrodite kids are seething

nico’s hair starting to gray at a young age is also an interesting concept ! i think tumblr user fuocogo drew something ft that and it stuck with me

really self indulgent but he’s roman at heart (maybe even Literally. i read somewhere that an italian fan said the di angelos fit the desc. of modern day romans better than venicians ?? if i find it, i’ll link it >>>)

 i like to think his family are legacies of victoria seeing as he’s always one of the key pieces / an important informant for winning both wars ... plus his grandpa was a diplomat and uhhh idk where I was going w this ngl

speaking of family, I need to know if the di angelo bloodline no longer exists assuming maria was an only child and there was no mention of any other di angelos aside from her parents ..? i like the idea of nico finding out that he has more family tho !!

also I would love it if rick cleared up where and when he met maria pls and thank u <3

I MISS BABY NICO’S PERSONALITY SM ... which is why i propose that whenever one of his friend’s see his eyes sparkling and arms waving while he babbles abt whatever topic, they think it’s really cute !!!! like !! keep talking !! 

 he gets embarrassed when he sees his friends smiling at him but it kinda makes him a bit teary eyed bc it’s been so long since he was able to talk abt his interests without being shut down / forcing himself to keep quiet because he felt like he was being too childish/annoying

what im saying is that he should be able to act like a kid bc he is one !!!! he's 14 !!!!!

he either has the cutest laugh or the weirdest laugh and it strictly depends on who ur asking

i feel like he sneezes like a kitten...............he sneezes and everyone whips their head around to look at him and he’s never wanted to dig a hole and put himself in it more than now

i like the imagery of tinkling bells being associated with him so im gonna sayyy he would have a necklace with a little bell (something like this kinda ??) and yes, leo would’ve made it for him as a joke kinda but not really

valdangelo (either as a friendship or nah) is underrated

like ur telling me this kid has a metal dragon and builds the coolest things ever and nico doesn't even think it’s a little bit cool ?? nah. rr did them dirty.

the kids at camp love him and i won't take no for an answer

he brings out ye ol’ mythomagic figurines to explain/show them the monsters and gods of the greek pantheon

it’s a win-win situation bc he gets to babble abt his hyperfixation and the kids get to learn abt what they're gonna get into in a way that’s better than the camp orientation film (since nico’s literally the only one who’s seen it ((but i think the stolls wanted to check it out too ??)) )

they give him a “camp’s best counselor <3333” mug and he cries abt it to reyna and hazel

yes he’s wearing an unusual amount of friendship bracelets no he's not gonna take them off shut up

unfortunately im team short!nico bc i want 2 see him get engulfed by the hugs his sisters (yes this includes reyna) and friends give him !!! 

he wears demonia platform sneakers / doc martens (and converse but that’s p much a given) thank you <3

piper/nico friendship ... I Need It

they borrow each other’s clothes constantly

leo and them clown on jason  and jason is Suffering but he loves them all so it’s ok 

piper could probably carry nico 

nico stress bakes 

yeah

he and clovis become good friends and hang out in the dream world and u know what, im gonna say they’re cuddle buddies too. clovis seems like he would give nice hugs !

im a sucker for nico having friends from different pantheons too !!! also becoming sort-of friends with gods/immortals of different pantheons !!

the underworld demigod discord gc is cursed; one moment they're all talking abt how they're pretty much fated to stay in the underworld while they're both living and after they die but the next moment someone says they want a hug and a chorus of “yeah...”’s follows.

nico was a momma’s boy most definitely 

speaking of which, i like to think that while him and bianca looked like their dad and mom respectively, it would’ve switched when they got older ?? idk

autistic nico ..... rick make it canon and not btwn the lines......

idk how to explain this one bc it’s just Plain Weird but . i feel like . nico would like?? hang out under his bed ??? maybe i’ll draw a pic or something and edit this later sjjdjkddk

this is just me projecting but he hates looking at mirrors / seeing himself in photos bc the person he sees doesn't match the person he sees in his head ?? if that makes sense ??? like he doesn't look like the nico he used to be bc of how much his appearance changed ? idk

uhhh he sometimes hallucinates, esp when he was in tartarus and in the month after coming out of the jar

maybe i’ll elaborate on this later ..

i need more annabeth and nico friendship pls...... both of them like/liked percy and now he can't stop getting clowned 

HOWEVER.... if I see one more “not his/my type” joke im going to delete my tumblr

speaking of which, i have a conspiracy theory abt Things, but i don't wanna get my ass sniped into next tuesday

introvert leo forcing himself to be the group comedian even though he’d much rather be with machines and extrovert nico who pushes ppl away so he doesn't get hurt but desiring the company of another type vibes. im not gonna elaborate.

his latest hyperfixation is pokemon and his favorite pokemon are gengar and skitty, but jirachi and mimikyuu are close seconds

has a crush on N Harmonia  and a bunch of the male gym leaders no im not gonna elaborate

this isn't a hc but. rick u really gotta stop writing abt ppl automatically distrusting nico because of his appearance / godly parent (although some were kinda warranted based of their personal history even though nico still pulled through in the end)  im getting tired of reading abt ppl wanting to like. hurt him or Actually hurting him for stuff he didn't have control of sjkjsjkdsjkdk (like wtf happened with frank when hazel got poisoned?? I thought frank actually liked nico ahjkjsjkf) 

uhhhhh that’s p much it ??????  sorry for the long ass post .. maybe i’ll write abt him more if ppl really want me to...