So far, I have lived in four different countries, Canada being one of them. I found Canada to be the friendliest country and much easier to adapt. I got addicted to few Canadian TV series (yes, they do have them) and continued to follow them long after I left Canada.

'Out with Dad' is a Canadian web series (award winning, I must add) about a lesbian teenager and her daily struggles. She has a very supportive (and very sweet) dad who supports her. They are currently struggling to make the season three of the series.

I understand donation and charity is not a big thing in India so I make you a deal. Watch the first two seasons of the series and if, after that,  you aren't dying to know what happens next (if Vanessa and Rose will ever be together?), well don't watch the third season.

Either way give this series a chance. I bet you are gonna love it.

Out with Dad Season 1

Out with Dad Season 2

SPOILER ALERT

Okay, I admit it. I have been following the Percy Jackson/Heroes of Olympus series quite ardently. If you are unfamiliar with the series, it is young adult book series based on Greek and Roman mythologies. Having said that, I should assure you that the tween romances in these books aren't as insufferable as, for example, in the Twilight saga. Also, and this is important statement for the later part of the post, the sexual content has been kept to minimum (kissing, hugging and cuddling).

Anyway, so point of the post is the latest book in the Heroes of Olympus series, House of Hades, that came out this week and along with the book came out the Nico de Angelo, the son of Hades, as gay.

Okay, let me give some background to the story for the uninitiated:

Percy Jackson is son of Poseidon, the god of sea (remember Greek Mythologies?) and lives in Manhattan. Well, essentially, the series is based on the fact that Greek/Roman gods are alive and kicking in the modern world (well they are immortal) and move wherever the heart of Western civilization is, which is currently in USA (despite the shut down). They apparently have affairs with mortals and have kids who are demi-gods. The series revolves around the demigods and their fights with various monsters, Titans and now Giants.

So going back to Percy Jackson, who is one of the central character of the books, is son of Poseidon. Annabeth Chase, his girlfriend is daughter of Athena, the Wisdom godess. They got together towards the end of the Percy Jackson Series (I cheered for them at that point).

In comes Nico de Angelo, the son of Hades. Nico was introduced as a bubbly child with never ending questions, in the Percy Jackson series but he later morphed into a broody teenager, an oddball. He ran away from the camp (yes, they live in demigod camp) and found his own way. In the latest book, he confessed, to Cupid, no less, that he have a crush on Percy Jackson.

‘I had a crush on Percy,’ Nico spat. ‘That’s the truth. That’s the big secret.’ He glared at Cupid. ‘Happy now?’

After reading the book, I had to scour the internet for people's reaction (I knew there would be some hate going around), and to my surprise it hasn't been that bad so far (may be it will gain momentum later on).

The US amazon site had few people complaining about how there should be an adult theme warning on the book for the confession above. Seriously! They are okay with heterosexual kissing, hugging etc. but if someone as much as confesses as having a homosexual crush, it becomes an adult theme? But I was happy to see that about 175 out of 200 reviews were positive and most of them are rooting for Nico like me. Should I dare say that change might be in the air?

Finally, kudos to Rick Riordan for being bold (bolder than J.K. Rowling, I must add) to confront the issue and hope you will give a happy ending to Nico. Please don't let people with such view points win (one of the amazon reviewer):

The big problem is Riordan's decision to make Nico gay (or at least crush on Percy). Very inappropriate for a middle school book. Riordan blew it there. Doesn't he know his audience? It would have been ok if he had not made Jason think it was all ok. It's not ok. The lifestyle is anything but "gay." High rates of suicide and depression, mortal diseases, spiritual death. I know. I was in the arts, had a lot of friends, saw a lot of things up close. I guess in that sense, his choice of Nico is spot on.

Please give Nico a happy ending.