Nico's Modern Characters

Full Name (Including Middle): Hale Joseph Drem
Nickname/s: None. Hale goes by Hale
Name Meaning: Hero from the hall; hero.
Namesake: Hale was named by his mother, after no one in-particular.

Age: 12
Date of Birth: December 12th

Gender: Male

God Parent: Apollo
Family: Hale's mother's name was Hailey Drem. She died giving birth to Hale's half sister, and was able to escape Hera's attack. She was able to attract three gods, Zeus, Apollo, and Hephaestus. Before being a mother, Hailey had dreams of being a lawyer, but those dreams were crushed upon giving birth to the oldest Drem, Hale. After several weeks with her son, the lawyer dream became a mere past desire--nothing more. Her children were important, and Hailey could only ask for more time with them. Toni followed, then Tyson, and lastly Melissa, the mortal child. Hale never met her, and he probably never will.
Hale's oldest, little sister's name is Toni. Toni arrived at camp, but no one is sure of her whereabouts now. Her god parent is Hephaestus. Before her odd disappearance, Toni hadn't been one of Hale's favorite people. He didn't remember her after being hurt, and her sudden appearance angered him to say the least.
Hale's little brother's name was Tyson. Tyson was killed by Hera, in a very long back story. He is now dead, and Hale misses him terribly. Tyson and Hale were best friends until the accident, mostly because Hale looked up to his younger brother. He was a child of Zeus, for gods' sake! Tyson wouldn't have been a very powerful Zeusie, but he probably would have made a fine leader, had he been given the opportunity to grow up.
Hale's littlest half sister, who's name he doesn't know, lives wit her father, and Hale has never met her.
She lives with her father, Darren, the man Hailey planned on marrying. Darren and Toni are extremely similar. Still, upon hearing his mother had found actual love with someone other than Apollo, Hale became extremely angry and declared his hatred for the man and their child right then and there.
Claimed: Yes!

Years in Camp: Hale is well into his second year at camp, where he has made a huge impact.
Claiming History: Hale was claimed by his father upon entering the Hermes cabin, on his first day of camp. Apollo didn't want his new kid to have to bunk with the obnoxious Hermes and unclaimed kids.
Year-Round or Summer: Year-Round
Rank: Cabin Leader, Term II

Brief History:
Hale was born in San Fransisco, but his mom moved him immediately. Hale had no problem with this and found it completely normal that a single mother would want to move away from her past and start anew. The true reason for his moving was for protection, though. Hailey was well aware of the fact that Hades's throne room resided right bellow their home. (Though it stretched across several others.) Staying in San Francisco would have been like asking for some monsters to gobble Hale up.

When his sister, Toni, was born he rejoiced, glad there was another member of his family. Toni was soon joined by Tyson, and Hale saw that his family complete. The only problem was, all three children were demigods. Tyson was even a son of Zeus, which was incredibly outrageous. Somehow, Hailey had attracted the attention of all three gods--Apollo, Hephaestus, and Zeus--and her children had turned out to be spitting images of both of their parents. For the longest time they aged well, but then Hera found out about Zeus, Apollo, and Hephaestus.

Still, prior to the wrath of Hera, Hale lived an above average life at school. Because he lived in a Californian town, Hale fit in nicely. If you were the god Apollo, you would probably move to California if forced out of Olympus. It's full of surfers and blondes. Tan is in, which is another plus for Apollo and his children, and no one would suspect anything if you were a little obsessed with the sun. In class, Hale was a popular kid. His blond hair and darling brown eyes caused his little classmates to swoon over him, and for a 5th grader, he was mature. That maturity was lost after Hera attacked and the Apollo boy lost some of his calm personality and loving memory.

Hera was angry, angry at Hailey, and hit her where it hurts; her children. Hale and Toni teamed up when protecting the house from Hera, but Tyson was too young to survive a blow from a goddess. He died and Hale was hit on the head with a piece of roof. What did he forget? That he had a sister who he loved, and that his mom knew about mythology. Other than that, the Hera incident only took him to camp. He was dragged away by a satyr and taken to Camp Half-Blood's safety. He tried to run away a few times, but he did end up in camp eventually, after a delayed trip.

At camp he met Leo, a son of Poseidon, and that boosted up his spirits. He had gained a friend without even trying, which wasn't something that came very naturally to Hale. Soon he befriended some of his siblings, first Alex, then Katie, then Seth, and then just about everyone else, but then he started hanging out with others. He met Roxanne Michaels, who went on to nominate him for Apollo Cabin Leader. Shortly, he became Cabin Leader, and befriended the other Cabin Leaders, with the exception of Cody Perennial. They got of to a rough start, both yelling at each other, then each of them leaving. Luckily, at the next meeting, tragedy brought them together. The war changed them, and soon Hale and Cody were on an acquaintance basis (they're still working on "friendship").

When Zan/Roxanne and Gen died, Hale went into an emotional frenzy. He thought about suicide before Zan's cousin Julia got in the way. Hale was back on track, and handled finding out that Taylor was Zan with flying colors. He didn't take that his mother died so well though, Alex Dashwood or Toni Drem could tell you that!

As the months passed, Hale started to get weak. He had Apollo's blessing after dying in a battle, and he could never pass up an opportunity to help someone in need. With this stress always on him, the boy seemed to age 10 years in 10 weeks. He hardly appeared to be the same happy-go-lucky person he was. That was before Anne, though, Anne Berkenhousen and Hale started dating, which gave Hale new hope. Maybe the curse wasn't so bad, after all. Maybe he could find love, if he looked hard enough within himself. Like Hale always says, "If there's a light, there's a way!"

Physical Appearance:
Hale has light, golden blond hair. It's cut short, and cropped, which isn't very unusual for a boy of Hale's age. His hair occasionally grows long and shaggy, and he doesn't get around to getting it cut a lot, since he tends to focus more on his duties as a demigod before he worries about properly grooming himself. When it is long, you will find he has trouble consternating and is often antsy, but when it's cut short he is often calm and peppy. This isn't because of the hair itself, but when he's not in the mood to get his haircut, that same mood will cause him to go into a miniature depression.

His eyes are brown, which are the color of his mom's eyes. No one is quite sure why he got his mom's eye color instead of his dad's, since the god's genes normally overpower the mortals, but he did. Hale believes it is because his mom is strong, and meant to help do great things. Upon looking into Hale's eyes, you will think you've just met an angel. He's an adorable boy, really, and he has the puppy dog eyes to prove it. If Hale doesn't get what he needs, he has a secret weapon.

His skin is tan, but only when he's in the sun, otherwise it's pale. It is very similar to the Apollo cabin, which turns golden when hit by sunlight. He almost always has a smile on his face, which lights up the room, and his eyebrows are arched. The small boy is only 4'9", but he's working his way to 4'10", maybe even 4'11". He kind of has a weaselly, surfer look to him, and his aura is calm and sturdy. When he's sad, Hale doesn't cry, but rather looks like he's been stunned silent. His eyes often wander, his mouth forms a tight, straight line, and his skin looses life-likeness.

His Camp Half-Blood shirt is tight to his chest, which makes him look stronger than he really his. He only wears Nike running shoes, and black gym shorts. He has a yin-yang sun necklace and a backpack which he wears often, but not always. The rest of the time, it's either laying on his bed, on his floor, or in his hand as a bow. Never does Hale wish to not wear his orange camp shirt, for fear that he will no longer be considered a camper, and might no longer be claimed by his true home.

Personality: Hale is loyal and cocky. He will fight to the end for friends, siblings, or just people in need. The cocky part comes when he makes a shot with his bow and arrows. If he simply hits someone's foot with an arrow, he'll get so cocky he'll let his guard down, and possibly even get lazy. He feels like everyone has his back, and if he doesn't have the energy to be alert, than he is extremely willing to let someone else watch out for him. (Like he will ever not have energy. Pfft.)

Still, he can be brave and powerful if he tries. He has leadership in him, even if it is often under the surface, deeply hidden inside of him. Once he became Cabin Leader, he found out just what lied under the surface. He was a natural leader, and he was brave enough to take on the job. He doesn't always feel strongly about himself, especially after his brother's death, but when others around him show Hale just how much he's doing for them, his spirits will be lifted. It doesn't take much to make Hale happy, and a simple smile or a pat on the back often does the trick.

He is claustrophobic, and hates to be inside, which has something to do with his dad being Apollo. He feels best when he's outside in the sunlight. He hates the dark, and only feels safe with light, but it's okay because he can control light. This can also be traced back to his dad. He often reminds himself that is dad is Apollo for comfort, because Hale feels Apollo is the greatest god, and one that would never back down. When he's in the dark, Hale's always afraid of what might be lurking just ahead, and he has issues when coping with his fears. He doesn't know how to handle many of his own problems, though he often solves others problems very well. He never has a good understanding of himself, and his lack of knowledge leads him to view himself as a stranger.

Hale can seem to have split personalities. While he's normally a very upbeat and brave person, he can, on occasion, be ruthless and filled with anger. It is hard to set off Hale but he doesn't separate his feelings amongst different people. If one person makes him a little mad, and another person makes him a little mad, the unlucky third person could get yelled at for someone else's actions. While most people view this as uncharacteristic for Hale, he can throw tantrums and complain, because he is, after all, a child. That's something people often forget about Hale. He's a kid.
Favorites: Hale loves snowboarding, sugar, and the snow. If he could spend all day outside, eating candy, and snowboarding, he would. His dream job would be working as an apprentice for his father, Apollo, and Hale's life dream is to meet Apollo.
Least Favorites: Hale can't stand being under pressure, and he hates being talked down to. Being one of the youngest, and the smallest, Cabin Leader, Hale often gets treated as the kid, which he doesn't much care for. He also hates being inside, and he doesn't do well in tight spaces. Hale's least favorite job would be a teacher, and he never wants to be put down by his peers.
Fatal Flaw: Hale can be a little insensitive and cocky, which could lead to his death if he isn't careful.

Pets: Hale has a doggie named Truckee, who is a male black lab. The dog brings Hale joy when he's down and lights up almost everyone's day with his spunky personality. Truckee:


Demigod Abilities: ~**Hale can use his bow for trick shooting, and he can control light. Those are his two Apollo powers. He can't heal very well, but he simply tells himself it's because he's young. He has always been determined to learn, and he spends a lot of time in the infirmary, looking at his siblings healing examples.**
~He isn't very good when close-combat fighting, since he can't use a sword, but is good at sharp shooting. Hale is a master with his bow, and hits even the smallest of targets.
~He can take more ambrosia and nectar then most demigods, which he considers a talent, but still can't take in very much. Everyone knows you explode when you take in too much.
~Something most people don't know about Hale is that he is a good snowboarder. He loves the snow and his old home used to be in the mountains where there was year round snow. He shreds like professionals, and doesn't wait for anyone on the slopes.
Weapons: His bow and arrows are all he needs. His bow turns into a backpack, and his arrows turn into an iPod.

Other: Hale tries to run away, but he isn't quiet, so he always gets caught. He owns a cellphone that know one knows about, but hardly uses it. He is also the Apollo Co-Cabin Leader.
Word Count: 2,428

Character you're applying for:

Nico di Angelo, son of Hades, 11 years of age

Brief description of the character:

Personality: Nico is not shy unless he has very good reason to be, but he tends to stay away from other people. He is antisocial and holds a grudge like no one you have ever seen before. Nico is also one of the most mysterious demigods you will ever meet. He doesn't have very good people skills, and he acts very awkwardly around large groups of people. Even if he knows everyone in the group, he won't chat and allow himself to appear happy, and he'll likely complain about what an awful time he's having if he decides to speak so openly. Another thing Nico doesn't like is when he's in a group and is being put under the spotlight, because his improv skills are greatly lacking, and he can't convincingly lie without hesitation. Nico is known to lie, though, because most children of Hades so. Naturally he lies and deceives others. While he tries to be a cooperative boy, and is normally good at helping others, he's Hades favorite, most promising son.

Nico is also smart, when he decides to be. He can be quite deceiving, and gets his way often. By being able to be convincing, Nico has learned that not everything is roses and daisies. Sometimes in life, you don't get what you want, and Nico understands this. His troubled past has made him stronger, and has given him an edge. He has strong street smarts, mostly, and is aggressive. Nico's had to grow up quickly since his sister died and he was put in a camp to fend for himself. While some might think he had his entire visit at the Lotus to grow up, it isn't true. The time he spent there he spent under the security of his big sister who he misses dearly, and is only his sad, little brother self around close friends. He truly misses his sister, and it tears him up on the inside. That is why anything and everything will set him off. Nico enjoys being alone because no one can see him mourn for Bianca. No one except for Percy has seen him express his true sorrow for the lose, and the others just assume he's broken because of it. In some cases, it's true. Nico still doesn't like the thought of going on without her. He feels like it's moving on, and that's something he never wants to do. Bianca was supposed to live forever. Nico has to keep her alive. That's another thing, once Nico believes in something, he gets very determined, and it turns into a new obsession of sorts. Nico sticks to things for a long time, making him a loyal and trustworthy friend, but a deadly and ruthless grudge keeper.

If you get to know Nico, you'll see that he's also a bit of a nerd. He enjoys playing MythoMagic, and he doesn't understand "cool." If he had gone to a normal school, he would have stood out as one of the weird loners, and it's obvious that he wasn't born in the 1990's like the rest of the 11 year old's living today. Nico is stuck in his old time, which is before World War II. He still hasn't fully grasped his past, and his understanding of the Lotus Hotel and Casino wasn't as full as Bianca's was. He vividly remembers his mother, and sometimes thinking of her brings the son of Hades peace, but sometimes it just fills him with great sorrow, which gives the anti-social nerd several mood swings. During his time of instability, Nico likes to run off and separate him from other people for their protection, and his. Since Nico is one of the more powerful demigods, and he isn't as well trained as those who stick around camp, he doesn't hold much control on his gifts when he himself looses control.

Because his father likes to compare Nico to his sister, the son of Hades can underestimate himself. Always being told that his sister had greater potential and that he would never amount to anything really drove Nico to believe that his future wasn't very bright. He resulted in believing he had no skill. Each time Nico learns something new, he is amazed at his ability. His lucky guesses can make others jealous, and his close encounters make close friends nervous. Most times, Nico is unpredictable and dangerous because he doesn't allow himself to learn too much. He always believes he's reaching his intellectual potential, and the only way he can truly learn is to teach himself or be taught by the person whose approval means more to the demigod than anything; his father, Hades.

A good word to describe Nico is misunderstood. Because Nico is different, he gets pushed aside like an outcast. Only those who take enough time to really get to know Nico can even begin to understand how complex he is. It would take years to peel back layer after layer of Nico's personality, and centuries to get the closed off boy to tell you anything about himself. That is something that keeps Nico angry, and in a bad mood most of the time. He has numerous feelings bottled up inside of him, and sometimes his cap opens to let him spew. Nico's rage is one that should be feared far and wide, for Nico is powerful, and his wrath is immense. It's not something you want to press your luck going up against. An angry Hades kid is a dead non-Hades kid.

Nico has a secret sensitive and extremely youthful side to him. As mentioned before, Hades always tears Nico down, making him feel worse about himself. The one thing Nico wants, other than to someday bring his sister back, and other than his desire to get revenge on Percy Jackson, AND to prove himself as a demigod, is to get approval from his father. Because of this Nico often spends time in the underworld, hoping that something he does sets his father off in a good way. Instead, everything the son of Hades does seems to anger his dad that much more. Unbeknownst to Nico, he is Hades favorite child, but he is also the biggest existing reminder of his deceased mother, Maria. Hades inadvertently killed Maria, whom he actually seemed to love unconditionally, and he's regretted spending time with her even since. Nico is a living reminder of the mistake, and though Nico doesn't know it, he looks a lot like his mother. The most innocent thing about Nico is that he radiates a need to be respected.

At this time in Nico's life, the boy is powerful, but grim. Because of the recent death of his sister, Nico doesn't feel comfortable around anyone and is always angry and fueled by rage. Like his father isn't a proper Olympian, Nico doesn't feel he is a proper camper. He visits camp on and off, but mostly just sulks around, pities himself, and talks with the dead. Nico finds comfort in the dead, and knows they get him more than humans seem to. Now more than ever all of Nico's actions have meaning, but most of them are dark and evil. He isn't a villain, but he has the potential to turn into one. His hatred for Percy grows and his intentions get more devious. More often than not Nico means to cause harm to the ones who most want him to feel accepted. The friends he was once willing to hold dear are just a distant memory. Everything is distant and hazy to Hades's favorite heir, except for the grudge he somehow must hold. Nico someone only sees the revenge, and that's what he lets boil up inside of him. Someday, maybe, it just might brew up and over, but more now, Nico let's it burn a hole inside of him, growing hotter and hotter with each memory of Bianca that comes flooding back.

Physical: Nico's hair is shaggy and black, and is anything but tidy, a lot like Harry Potter's hair. It is almost brown, but at the same time pitch black, much like a hell hound's fur. If the light is hitting it from one angle, than you can see that his actual hair color is a very dark brown, like Hades's hair. It is almost impossible to tell that his hair isn't naturally black as night, which it appears to be.

His eyes are black, and seem to be full of something that is either madness or genius. But in the end, aren't the two things the same? Unlike his hair, his eyes are as black as death; a void as deep and dangerous as Tartarus. Just looking into his eyes for a short amount of time could drive a person crazy, and his evil eye actually causes evil. If Nico glares at you, you won't be able to unsee the pure hatred in his eyes; hatred that boiled up because of how many tragedies have become of the poor child's life. Though Nico only vaguely remembers, he has his mother's eyes, but his father's cold smile. Somehow Nico's eyes grew dead enough, probably from Bianca's death, to be much more striking than his mother's warm eyes; the eyes Nico was born with. When he calms down and embraces his father's strange brand of love, maybe his eyes warmth will return. They were exactly like his mothers. It was their biggest family tie.

Nico used to have more of an very tan, olive complexion, but after spending time in the Underworld and in the shadows, he has gotten very pale. In fact, he is almost as white as snow. His fair skin appears to be unhealthy, but really, his tan skin was the health hazard. Being a tan son of Hades isn't very common, and something was almost unnatural about the long periods of time Nico would spend outside in the sun. As his tan left him, so did his constant smiles. He became extremely pale in only a few months. The best guess to the cause of this is his sister's death, which made Nico wallow around in his own misery for a long time.

Nico dresses in mostly black, like ripped, black, skinny jeans and tight, gothic, black shirts. One of his signature pieces of clothing is his silver skull ring. The son of Hades is hardly ever without it. He used to wear aviator jackets, but that is a phase that he has grown out of, much like MythoMagic. When his style changed, Nico began to be viewed much differently. He went from being a young, nerdy, and inquisitive 10 year old to a hot, unreadable, and strong-willed 11 year old. The change was drastic, but his appearance changed in Nico's favor.

Sample Roleplay:

After putting a lot of thought into it, I decided to spend the night in the Artemis cabin. Anywhere was better than the Hera cabin, right? The Artemis cabin at least brought back old memories, bad memories, but old memories. The cabin was currently empty, because Thalia and the hunters were with Artemis. I could only remember my sister, when I thought of Artemis, nowadays, and Artemis was doing a lot for Olympus, therefore, she was getting mentioned; a lot.

A couple of winters ago, my sister had been killed by one of Hephaestus' automatons. Maybe that's why the ghosts "accidentally" wrecked the forge last week. I wasn't sure. (*Wink*) The reason I thought of my sister, Bianca, when I saw anything related to Artemis was because Bianca had been a hunter, one of Artemis' followers. The traveled together and gave up boys and all of that. Bianca left me to go with them, which made it all worse. Soon after she joined them, though, she had been killed.

Today the light was shinning on the Artemis cabin and it was glimmering with silver sparkles. It walked around it, checking it out, and reading it's cabin number: 8. It looked like a hunting lodge, with magic silver paint. That was kind of cool, at least. It wasn't pink.

I stepped inside and smelled the must. It had been a while since the hunters had been here, so dust had collected on the shelves. I guessed no one came into the Artemis cabin, which made me wonder why. It was empty, and most of the other cabins were anything but that. In fact, the Artemis cabin was almost . . . Pleasant.

Picking a bed was easy. I simply picked the one that looked the least used. The sheets were pulled up, and it's pillow was fluffed. The bed hadn't collected any dust, which I found odd, but respected. The best thing was, it smelled like pomegranate perfume. I loved pomegranate, they were my dad's sacred fruit. When I was little, I would go to sleep surrounded by the smell the encased me at that very moment.

My eyes were heavy, so I slipped into bed early. My aviator jacket was still on when I discovered the journal. Happily, I picked up the Hunter's diary and read the cover. I didn't even feel guilty about reading her diary. She was a girl after all, and girl's diaries were meant to be read, otherwise, they wouldn't write in them.

Only when I read the cover did I realize what I was getting into:

Bianca di Angelo

Daughter Of Hades, Hunter of Artemis

Sister of Nico

Word Count:

2,243

Nico's play-by has been changed from Justin Bieber to Skandar Keynes!