Naír

Read a lot of posts shipping Nico and Libby, and I’m a bit hmmm on them as a rom ship. For starters in the book, very fast I thought, oh Nico is Libby endgame. And ipsofacto at Gideon’s mention by Libby; oh this is a subersion of the rivals to lovers, Nico has a boyfriend and is gonna be rivals to besties! That was totally how it came across to me xD

Then I got more Libby/Nico vibes and I was. mmm. Nico isn’t dating anyone seriously? Maybe Nico is bi? Maybe Gideon is not the boyfriend but the house help bc wasn’t Nico rich or something? I was very much reading and going from one idea to the other xD Then it was answered! Bestie with whom Nico is living and whom he adores and viceversa. So there are vibes in all directions cool!!

(then it resulted libby was bi and i was like. uhmmm. interesting development, love it. parisa you’re being manipulative again but i like this result so i guess i’ll enjoy the mess xD cannot believe tristan was the one more messed up by that encounter ouch)

Those were my thoughts at the start y’know? I’m more or less equally inclined to both ships, but at the same time I absolutely love that it’s not explicitly romantic, and that Nico adores these two different people and right now Gideon is his best friend and Libby is his magic-soulmate-twin.

And I mean from the book explicit pairings?/sex scenes? What do we call all that.  I got sexual (?) vibes but not many romantic ones?? It was part of the scenery you could day not given more importance that the rest of the elements of the story which was very very very nice and cool.

But I specifically clock Nico/Libby as platonic right now (who knows what future books will bring, I’m open to everything, and indeed their dynamic is one of my fave tropes) bc the twin vibes that Reina thinks on? That wording struck me more as familial. The thing of the same birthday, opposite dominant hand, complementary masteries of the physical magic arts… Also their interactions sometimes? Got me that besties/siblings who cannot stand each other but also cannot live without each other.

I don’t mind it? I think its gonna be fascinating exploring this connection between the two going fowards. But I find it a bit fun that the pairing that is so adored by the fandom is, like the antis would say, a bit sibling coded.