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myopinionhi · 4 years

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A Will Solace Character Analysis: the Underappreciated Soft Side

I've noticed many fanfictions have Will Solace OOC. So I’ve been thinking about aspects of Will’s personality fans seem to either gloss over or exaggerate. Here, this post is me doing an in-depth analysis explaining Will Solace’s canon personality in the books, and how it can sometimes differ from fanfictions. Sprinkled in this analysis are tips to fanfiction writers on how they write Will as more in-character.

There is one major aspect of Will that people seem to ignore or underemphasize. Nico best explains it when describing Will in this quote

Jason was a fighter. You could tell from the intensity of his stare, his constant alertness, the coiled-up energy in his frame. Will Solace was more like a lanky cat stretched out in sunshine. His movements were relaxed and nonthreatening, his gaze soft and far away. In his faded SURF BARBADOS T-shirt, his cutoff shorts and flip-flops, he looked about as aggressive as a demigod could get, but Nico knew he was brave under fire. During the Battle of Manhattan, Nico had seen him in action - the camp's best combat medic, risking his life to save wounded campers.

To sum it up, Will Solace is a very chill and calm character. A lot of writers make Will more irrational, impulsive, overbearing, and emotional than he actually is. Will is not the type of character to create drama unless he's, as Nico puts it, "under fire." In other words, the intense side of his personality doesn't come out unless the situation is urgent or dire.

Fans remember during the Second Giant War how he gets angry and argues with Nico over Nico's health and shadow-traveling, so many assume Will is going to be this fiery over a lot of other things regarding their relationship. For example, fanfic writers may make Will controlling or overly sensitive with Nico. However, keep in mind, Will gets heated with Nico during the Second Giant War because Nico's shadow-traveling is killing him. This is how Will describes Nico's dire state.

"Coach Hedge told me all about your shadow-travel. You can’t try that again."

"I just did try it again, Solace. I’m fine."

"No, you’re not. I’m a healer. I could feel the darkness in your hand as soon as I touched it. Even if you made it to that tent, you’d be in no shape to fight. But you wouldn’t make it. One more slip, and you won’t come back. You are not shadow-travelling. Doctor’s orders."

Will is a healer. When he touches Nico's hand, he can sense how little sleep and food Nico has been getting and how Nico's being taken over by darkness. Nico is on the verge of death and hasn't cared about his health for a long time. Nico is also stubborn about it, so Will has to be aggressive in order to save Nico's life. This aggressive behavior is not the norm for Will, but it can sometimes come out when he has to assert control in a life-or-death situation.

Will is a calming prescence. He's a diplomat. He stops violence on multiple occassions.

He's one of the few people who's able to calm Clarisse's violent rage, and he does so in a gentle manner.

Clarisse pointed her dagger at Rachel. "What about their allies, huh? Did you see that tribe of two-headed men that arrived yesterday? Or the glowing red dog-headed guys with the big poleaxes? They look pretty barbaric to me. It would’ve been nice if you’d foreseen any of that, if your Oracle power didn’t break down when we needed it most!"

Rachel’s face turned as red as her hair. "That’s hardly my fault. Something is wrong with Apollo’s gifts of prophecy. If I knew how to fix it –"

"She’s right." Will Solace, head counsellor for the Apollo cabin, put his hand gently on Clarisse’s wrist. Not many campers could’ve done that without getting stabbed, but Will had a way of defusing people’s anger. He got her to lower her dagger. "Everyone in our cabin has been affected. It’s not just Rachel."

One of the most underrated Will Solace moments is when he stops a bloody battle from happening between Camp Half-Blood and Camp Jupiter.

But he knew it wouldn’t do any good. After weeks of waiting, agonizing and steaming, the Greeks and Romans wanted blood. Trying to stop the battle now would be like trying to push back a flood after the dam broke.

Will Solace saved the day.

He put his fingers in his mouth and did a taxicab whistle even more horrible than the last. Several Greeks dropped their swords. A ripple went through the Roman line like the entire First Cohort was shuddering.

"DON’T BE STUPID!" Will yelled. "LOOK!"

People are so used to seeing demigods, especially male demigods, being aggressive fighters that they can't wrap their heads around a brave and strong demigod who actively tries to avoid unnecessary conflict and destruction as much as he can.

And that's Will Solace's strength: he has the ability to prevent as much harm as possible.

Will is a difficult character to write. There's a lot of dueling factors with his personality. He's calm and pacifying while also being brave and assertive. He's fun and lighthearted while also being intelligent, logical, and grounded. He's laidback while also being responsible and hardworking. He's insecure but not melodramatic. He's very caring and protective but not pushy.

Will's personality confuses Nico sometimes too.

He’d always thought of Will as easygoing and laid back. Apparently he could also be stubborn and aggravating.

The trick to writing Will is to keep in mind his default personality is a soft and lighthearted character. Writers tend to overemphasize the hard side of his personality when his default personality is actually the soft side.

Think of the relaxing, lanky cat metaphor Nico uses for him. He and Nico bicker often, and it works for Will because he rolls with everything and doesn't take things too seriously. He's able to alleviate Nico's moodiness with humor, wittiness, groundedness, and patience. Nico affectionately calls Will a "dork" because Will usually keeps things light. Interestingly enough, he's able to be lighthearted without coming across as insensitive or an airheaded goofball, the latter of which is something Nico dislikes about Percy's personality. On a related sidenote, another way writers make Will OOC is they make him too dumb or too immature. I know I mentioned to focus on Will's soft side, but be careful to avoid that too. He's a SENSIBLE, lanky cat.

The way Will keeps his composure during a stressful situation by using laughter while still being mature is expressed well in this exchange with Apollo. (Yes, Will has a lot to manage.)

It was difficult to think of this young man as my son. He was so poised, so unassuming, so free of acne. He also didn’t appear to be awestruck in my presence. In fact, the corner of his mouth had started twitching.

“Are—are you amused?” I demanded.

Will shrugged. “Well, it’s either find this funny or freak out. My dad, the god Apollo, is a fifteen-year-old—”

“Sixteen,” I corrected. “Let’s go with sixteen.”

“A sixteen-year-old mortal, lying in a cot in my cabin, and with all my healing arts—which I got from you—I still can’t figure out how to fix you.”

“There is no fixing this,” I said miserably. “I am cast out of Olympus. My fate is tied to a girl named Meg. It could not be worse!”

Will laughed, which I thought took a great deal of gall. “Meg seems cool. She’s already poked Connor Stoll in the eyes and kicked Sherman Yang in the crotch.”

The fiercer side of Will's personality comes out only when the situation calls for it; this happens sometimes when he has to be a caring family member, a responsible healer, or a warrior in a dire situation. Even when he gets more forceful, he doesn't get more forceful than he has to.

Since Will has such a balanced and lighthearted personality, what are his flaws? What are the dark sides of his personality? There are four main things that stick out.

1. He's insecure about his self-perceived lack of abilities.

"I agree," Will said. "I wish I was a better archer … I wouldn’t mind shooting my Roman relative off his high horse. Actually, I wish I could use any of my father’s gifts to stop this war." He looked down at his own hands with distaste. "Unfortunately, I’m just a healer."

2. He sometimes struggles to endure the heavy responsibilities he has as a healer and as a protector to his family.

“I got it reattached,” Will told me, his voice shaky with exhaustion. His scrubs were speckled with blood. “I need somebody to keep him stable.”

I pointed to the woods. “But—”

“I know!” Will snapped. “Don’t you think I want to be out there searching too? We’re shorthanded for healers. There’s some salve and nectar in that pack. Go!”

I was stunned by his tone. I realized he was just as concerned about Kayla and Austin as I was. The only difference: Will knew his duty. He had to heal the injured first. And he needed my help.

3. He forces himself to bottle his emotions to keep his composure.

Will laughed under his breath. “I’m terrified. But one thing you learn as head counselor: you have to keep it together for everyone else. Let’s get you on your feet."

Here's a second example.

I rested my hand on Will’s shoulder. “Don’t worry. We’ll be back by dawn.”

His mouth trembled ever so slightly. “How can you be sure?”

4. He constantly worries about his loved ones.

Nico rested his hand on Will’s shoulder. “Apollo, we were worried. Will was especially.”

In conclusion, Will Solace's personality is difficult to get correct. But don't worry, if you write Will as a laidback, witty cat in your fanfics, I guarantee he'll be more in-character than many other fanfics with Will Solace.

(Note: I am only human. If you believe I'm misinterpreting some aspects of Will's personality, feel free to express it. What I say isn't 100 percent the right interpretation.)

#pjo #percy jackson and the olympians #will solace #nico di angelo #solangelo #percy jackson #heroes of olympus #trials of apollo #spoilers #meta #character analysis #fanfic #fanfiction #blood of olympus #hidden oracle #long post #toa #hoo #apollo

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tanadidreamer · 5 years

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The Ones Left Behind

Notes: A direct sequel of sorts to @outcastcommander‘s fic Promise Me. With that said, the Fetts bros and their parents belong to her!

Myles quietly approached his best from behind as the slightly older man wept, clinging to Kayla’s body. “Shh……” Myles soothed as he dropped to his knees beside his foster brother and gently separated Jax from Kayla , gently easing their sister to the ground and proceed to take Jax into a hug while the medics joined them

“Where’s Tor?” Jax snarled as he looked up at Myles with a tear brimmed eye, filled with some type of burning hatred and mourning grief that didn’t fit for the Vizsla.

“Oh, no you don’t..” Myles said as he tightened his hug on Jax and stood with the smaller man, then proceed to drag him off to where Tani and Talan were. He’d known Jax long enough to know when the emotions of others were severely affecting Jax, and Kayla wasn’t here any more to help him focus. “C’mon, there’s somebody who needs you. Right now.”.

“Let me go, Myles!” Jax snapped back as he struggled against the larger man. “He did this! He took them away!”.

“I am not letting go, you’re losing control again.” Myles just kept him there. “Jax, he’ll kill you too. You know that, and the boys already lost their parents and grandfather, they don’t need to lose you too.”.

“I….”.

“Talan’s here too, remember?” Myles spoke quietly as he dragged Jax towards their targets. “Forget about that demagolka for now. He’ll pay his debts, but right now, Talan needs you.”.

Jax stopped fighting and muttered something under his breath, which caused Myles to loosen his grip. “Talan?”.

“Yeah, y’know, the little hellkitten?” Myles smiled sadly. “This was his first mission as an adult.”.

“Kriff me.” Jax growled as he shook his head. “You can let me go now.”.

“Are you going to run off?”.

“No, I….I promised Kayla I’d raise her boys.” Jax answered quietly which caused Myles to release him and let Jax walk beside him and lean heavily on the younger man. “Jaster should’ve let me grab Nico and Ikar to do recon.”.

“He should have, but Montross thought it was unnecessary.”.

Jax laughed at that, a cold and broken one. “Unnecessary?” Jax repeated coldly, which sounded so wrong coming from his friend. “My sister is dead, Myles! Our leader is dead! Your best friend is dead! How many of our vode are dead?!”.

“I’m not dismissing your concern, Jax. For all we know, that bastard sold us out to Death Watch and it’s been dealt with.” Myles said as he spotted Tani signalling him over. “And we’ve been summoned.”.

“Next time will be different.” Jax muttered as he hurried over to Talan and started checking him over with all the concern belonging to a father. Myles nod absently as he met his sister’s eyes, things were going to change.

Jax sighed as he watched Talan disembark the ship and rubbed at his face, the kid hadn’t said a word since Korda 6 and it was starting to seriously worry him. If he knew one thing about Talan, it was that the runt was never this quiet, he may look like his mama but he was still his buir’s son.

“What are we going to tell Dag’ika?” Jango asked as he and Myles joined him, the new Mand’alor and Cab’alor. For whatever reasons, the roles fit for the two younger men who stood side by side.

“How do you tell a two-year-old that his mama and buir ain’t comin’ home?” Jax asked quietly as he went to follow after Talan and realized just how young they all were. This was going to hurt, he could already feel the excitement coming from the kit. “‘Cause, I don’t. Hell, if somebody told me that when I was a kid, I’d be ecstatic, but Dag? There’s no good way of tellin’ the kit without hurtin’ him.”.

“And Talan?” Myles asked as he walked over to Jax and tapped his gauntlet. “C’mon, Jax. We both know he’s not acting right.”.

“I don’t know.” Jax answered as he disembarked and was instantly greeted by a concerned Sarna who was holding a chirping baby in her arms, which caused Jax to wince. He knew that chirp.

“Jax? Myles?” Sarna asked with a slip into that weird accent of hers. “What happened?”.

“Dad was right about Montross’s ambitions.” Myles stated as he join the group with Jango who looked away.

Sarna snarled as she let Jax take Dag from her, which earned an inquisitive chirp from the the kit as Jax walked over to a crate and set him down on it before crouching in front of Dag. “Dagorlad…..” Jax paused as he thought over his words, he was absolute osik at this sort of thing.

“Sometimes, life isn’t fair.” A voice behind him spoke, startling the young man as Rav appeared next to him. “There are battles that, sometimes, warriors don’t come back from.”.

Dagorlad looked back towards the ship as the last survivors disembarked then back at the pair and let a frustrated chirp and fuss.

“The ones we’re forced to leave behind go on to march far away with others we’ve lost.” Jax added as he bit his lip. “Like…..your nana and grandfather.”.

Jax winced as he watched the realization dawn in those mix match eyes of his nephew and watched as the little one started to cry.

“Shh.” Rav quickly took Dag into her arms before Jax had a chance to move and held the little one close, attempting to comfort the kit as Jax stood and became aware of Talan standing a few feet away.

“Talan?” Jax asked as he moved towards his elder nephew who stared blankly at him. “C’mon, kid. Say something, even if it’s just a hum.”

Talan just remained silent and glanced at Dagorlad before looking back at Jax blankly.

“Talan?” Jax tried again as he took the kid into a hug. “Knock it off. It’s okay to cry, y’here me? Scream, shout, anything! It ain’t healthy keeping that bottled up.”.

Talan’s breath hitched as Jax spoke before the kid clung to Jax and buried his face against Jax’s chest and his shoulders started to shake.

“That’s it, kiddo. Let it out.” Jax soothed as he gently brushed his hand through the kid’s hair and just stayed like that for a few moments. “I promise, I won’t anything happen to you or Dag. And I will make sure Tor pays for this.”.

“I don’t need your protection! I’m not a little kid!” Talan declared as he slipped away from his uncle and rubbed at his face angrily. “And if anybody’s going to kill him, it’s me.”.

“Don’t think I’m going to sit out making him pay, kiddo.” Jax as he looked down at Talan, seeing that fiery anger that reminded him so much of Kayla. “He’s taken almost everythin’ from me. It’s time for payback, but we gotta do it together, alright?”.

The two Mandalorians jumped slightly as a loud crack exploded through the area and turned to see Rav staring at what was left of a knee-high rock in horror as she hugged Dag close to her, gently trying to comfort and reassure the wailing child.

“Rav? Did he just…..?” Jax began to ask in worry as Talan bolted forward to check on the pair then inspect the rock while Rav just gave a shaky nod. “How the hell is that possible? He’s not old enough to be that!”.

“You’re scaring him!” Rav snapped back as Dagorlad started chirping for both Talan and Jax.

“Shh, shh, I’m sorry.” Jax cooed as he rubbed Dagorlad’s cheek. “Ba’vodu’jax is just a bit strained right now. I’m not angry at you.”.

Dagorlad chirped again, this time a repeating chirp for Talan who turned his attention to the small group and caught Jax’s eye, they both knew what this meant.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m comin’, Squeaks.” Talan said as he swiped the brat from Rav and smiled slightly as Dagorlad instantly cuddled against him, letting out more fussy chirps at all of them.

“Don’t worry, kit. We ain’t goin’ nowhere.” Jax assured his nephew as he leaned against Rav who elbowed him in return with a slight smile. “We’ll protect you from the big, scary monsters.”.

Translations:

Vode - Brothers/sisters/comrads

Dag’ika - Little Dagorlad

Mand’alor - Sole Ruler, chieftain of chieftains

Cab’alor - The protector of the Mand’alor

Ba’vodu’jax - Uncle Jax

#my writing #my ocs #friend's ocs #myles rau #rav bralor #jango fett #mando pups #mentions of character death #nobody is okay #Dag just wants his mama and buir #Talan needs a hug

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protectorsofthewood · 4 years

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The Ghost Girl - Episode 61

THE FESTIVAL BEGINS

Abby awoke refreshed, with the morning sun shining against the front window. And then the worries of the day swept over her like a tidal wave. She jumped up and looked out into the yard. A swarm of volunteers were already setting up tables. People were carrying boxes of produce in the front gate. A breeze brought cool air into the cottage. The earth had been liberated from the fiery furnace. Abby hurried to get ready for the day. Outside amid the bustle of activity her only desire was to fit in, to be an anonymous part of a team effort. She carried boxes, helped set up the food table, and gradually joined the coffee shop staff organizing an imitation of their normal indoor operation. A busy hour later, Glenda, Tiny, and Kayla worked their way behind Sammy’s tables and approached Abby, who was so intent on making sandwiches that she didn’t see them. “Abby…” Glenda said in a hesitant voice. “I know there’s a lot to do… but we’re in a jam. The bishop is sitting with Ellen and Becky at the trustees’ table, talking to a crowd of people. I promised Ellen I would stick with her like glue… and the children have missed you all week, so…” “I really want to take the children for a walk,” Abby replied. Sammy overheard this conversation and joined in. “Go, Abby,” he said. “Shannon over there has been bugging me every day about getting a chance to work.” Glenda handed Abby a shopping bag full of sandwiches and said the kids all needed lunch. And so Abby once again ended up with seven eager children who had been cooped up all week. They clustered around her, making suggestions and demands, wanting to do several things at once. “Who’s hungry?” Abby asked, and all instantly agreed on food. She led them back to the wild area, and they took seats near the wrought iron door. After Lucy had finished her sandwich, she looked up at Abby and declared, “The grown-ups are all worried today.” She clearly expected a response, and Abby was caught off-guard. “You’re just like the other grown-ups,” Lucy told her. “They won’t talk about it either. Even my grandfather says it’s none of my business.” “Well,” Abby said, “maybe it isn’t.” “But I overheard them talking,” returned Lucy. “They’re afraid Tuck will get fired. One of them said you’ll get fired too. That seems like our business.” Abby stared, shocked that Lucy had hit the heart of the matter. “But Lucy,” she finally said, “you put me in a tough spot. If your grandfather doesn’t want to talk about it, don’t you think I should respect his wishes?” “What a grown-up thing to say,” retorted Lucy. She turned to Tiny and said, “See, I tried to warn her and she doesn’t want to hear it. I told you so.” “Emily said she’s worried about Dawn,” Tiny replied, referring to her imaginary characters. “Emily feels all by herself.” “It’s no secret,” Kayla said. “The parents are worried about the trustees. They want my mother to win, but they’re afraid she won’t.” “What are trustees?” asked Ned. “They’re the ones who can fire Tuck,” Lucy replied. “Nobody tells me anything,” said Ned. “Ever.” “Why will they fire Abby?” asked Nancy. “I want her to stay.” “Some grown-ups are crazy,” Lucy answered. “They don’t like good things. They don’t like good places. They don’t like good people. They might try to pretend, but they’re angry all the time. They hate life.” Abby hurriedly jumped in and said, “I’m not sure it’s that simple.” “Oh no?” Lucy replied. “Why not?” “Sometimes it’s hard to tell good from bad, good people from bad people.” “Yeah, and sometimes it’s easy too,” Lucy replied in a gloomy voice. In fact a cloud of gloom cast shadows on the faces of all the children. “All week Tiny and I were hoping…” Lucy went on, “hoping you would let us know about all this, and do something about it. Can’t you at least try? What about the bishop? Can’t you talk to him?” “Emily says you have to talk to the bishop,” Tiny said. “Today.” “I will if I can find him,” Abby assured them. “I’ll do it.” “What’s an election?” asked Ned. “Why is that so important?” “It’s where people vote,” Abby told him. “It’s like voting for a captain of a team, whether you want this person or that person.” Jane had been hiding behind the other children, but suddenly she spoke up. “Can’t you be the captain of our team? Everyone will vote for you.” “Emily says Abby is already the captain, but people don’t know it yet.” Tiny seemed very certain of her information. “I’ll vote for you,” said Franklyn. “But if you’re already the captain, you’d better get moving. Everybody’s scared. Are you scared? I’m scared, and I don’t even know why.” “I hear you, Franklyn,” returned Abby. “I’m scared too. But let’s see what happens next. You’ve all inspired me. Thanks to every one of you. I’ll give this a try.” And they followed her out to the open lawn.

#environment #ecofiction #ecoficiton #teenagers #femaleheros #climatechange #climatechangeisreal

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