Tam

Tam Rant #4

Hey everyone, it's been a while

I'll talk about some more things in regards to this book down in the author's note, but for now, I'd like to invite you to take a short trip with me as I explain why Tam and Nico di Angelo are not the same person. 

Now, you maybe be thinking "Of course they are, Silver!! It's so obvious!"

And at face value, I can completely see why people think this, and I am not trying to insult anyone's intelligence by making this. In fact, I kinda agreed with it for a little bit until I really started thinking. 

Now, let's start with their similarities. Are they both sweet emo bois with dark pasts, dark hair, tragic backstories, and epic powers?

Abso-freaking-lutely. 

But that's kind of where the similarities end. 

1. Tam Has Trust Issues, Nico Doesn't

"Silver, have you even read Nico? Of course he has trust issues!!"

Nope. He doesn't. XD

Now, does this mean that he immediately trusts anyone he meets? No, it doesn't. I don't think anyone completely trusts a stranger. But he doesn't find it hard to trust people, unless he has a gut feeling that he shouldn't. 

And Nico actually has plenty reason to have trust issues, since Percy promised to (try) and keep his sister safe, and he failed. And yet, although Nico is understandably angry and upset with Percy, he doesn't think Percy never keeps his promises, or that anyone who says they'll do something is lying. Throughout the Battle of the Labyrinth, when this would've been most prevalent, Nico just wants his sister back. He never once tries to convince people Percy's not trustworthy or anything like that. When Percy tries to convince Nico to come back to Camp Half-Blood and tells him the campers will accept him, Nico doesn't say "and why should I trust anything you say?" or something like that. He simply says "Do you really believe that?"

And you could bring up how Nico pushes everyone away. But that behavior doesn't stem from a lack of trust or a fear of betrayal; it stems from low self-esteem, and the belief that no one really wants him. He trusted the rest of the Argo II just fine, despite not knowing any of them. 

Tam, on the other hand, has MAJOR trust issues (we don't count his thing with Glimmer -_-). This mainly stems from a need to protect Linh, after living in a house with people who did nothing but hurt them for most of their lives. Heck, he wouldn't even let Sophie and Co anywhere near him and Linh before reading their shadowvapor. In fact, he threatened them with shadows when they tried to cross the river. 

He was also extremely adamant about his suspicions of Keefe and Alvar, even though they both seemed like decent people, all because of his belief that refusing to be read meant you had something to hide (and he was right too). When Keefe joined the Neverseen, Tam repeatedly said that they couldn't trust him, despite Sophie's insistence that Keefe would never do anything bad. 

In fact, Tam still doesn't trust Sophie--though admittedly, he has good reason. His belief that she couldn't protect Linh is what mainly what led him to agreeing to join the Neverseen. 

2. Their Backstories 

Nico was a very excitable and outgoing kid. Then, after his sister took a vow of immortality and basically said she was going to leave him to go to Camp Half-Blood alone, she goes on a quest and dies. Nico then leaves Camp Half-Blood, devastated over his sister's death, and terrified of his powers and feelings for Percy. He roams around for a long time, trying to find answers about his past, before eventually joining Percy's "helpful people" contacts list.