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gilbirda · 1 year

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DPxDC cheat sheet

So. I'm not a nitpicking person. I understand that mistakes can be made and typos are a thing and sometimes we are just not the kind of person that can make words work for a variety of reasons (dyslexia, for example).

This is not for that people.

This is for everyone who stumbled into this fandom by mistake and had learned things via osmosis and don't have the energy/time to check the source material for the "correct" thing.

Y'all are valid.

This is a cheat sheet of correct terms and fandom things that are not correct that I've seen in fics.

Disclaimer: while experimenting with canon is fun, this is just to lay down the rules of what's what so it can be the springboard of y'all's beautiful creations.

Given that some people just can't behave online: "If you don't have anything constructive to say, don't say anything." Did I say something wrong? You have resources better than this? You want to make a nitpick? Cool! More info to the mix — But come at me in a hurtful and insulting way and I'm blocking you on the spot.

[Will add more when I think more/have suggestions]

DP SIDE - Post "A Glitch in Time" Canon

Sam is Jewish

Sam is ultra-recyclo-vegetarian aka "doesn't eat anything with a face". Is not a real thing.

It's "Amity Park" not "Amity Ville".

Wes is fanon, same as Kyle. Info on Wes here

It's "Casper High", not "Caspar High".

Mr. Lancer doesn't have a canon name. Common fanon ones are William or Edward.

Ghost obsessions are canon. In AGIT, it's explained that ghosts have a purpose or drive. Danny's purpose is "protection" of both humans and ghosts.

Ghost cores are fanon-ish (there is a mention that Danny's ice powers come from his "core" temperature and is never addressed again, of course) (Episode is "Urban Jungle"). Then in the videogame there are different "types" of ghost powers and something about their cores? Very confusing.

Ghost speak is fanon. However, in AGIT, it's revealed that there's an ghost alphabet, and it's ancient form is based on sanskrit and tamil alphabets. Codex of Ghost alphabet.

Ghost Hunger is canon! In AGIT it's revealed that ghosts feed on emotions and thoughts to stay sapient. If they don't, they become feral with time. Halfas feed from their human side, remaining stable.

Danny is the bridge between the spirit world and living world - canon!

Danny beats the Ghost King Pariah Dark in combat, but faints and that fight is never addressed in the series again. Ghost King!Danny is fanon-ish so go ham with interpreting that. (Episode is "Reign Storm")

Tucker is the reincarnation?? (never stated in canon, but he does look alike) of a pharaoh named "Duul Aman" (Duulaman is also accepted as spelling). Said pharaoh never appears in the series as a ghost, just a picture. Who does appear is his (evil) right hand man, Hotep-Ra, who tries to manipulate Tucker (Episode is "King Tuck"). That Tucker gets cool magic from this event is fanon. But cool.

Sam gets possessed by Undergrowth via a vine straight into her spine (gross). Undergrowth calls her "his daughter" and she tries to lure Danny into "joining her to take over the world". (Episode is "Urban Jungle"). That Sam gets cool plant powers from this event is fanon. But cool.

The Fenton parents are never physically abusive - just comedically neglectful in the way parents are depicted in early 2000s cartoons. Incompetent, misguided, dumb... but they are shown to love their kids. The even accept Danny the 2 canon times they find out about him (Episodes "Reality Trip" and "Phantom Planet").

Jazz is never shown as "mature" in the sense that she had to parent Danny and be the responsible adult. She is comedically the "annoying and meddling older sister" from early 2000s cartoons. She wants to be considered an adult. She couldn't see Youngblood, who is a child ghost that cannot be seen by adults, and Danny had to push her into acting childish to make her see him.

Axiom labs is bought by Vlad's company "Vlad.co" not "DALV.co". DALV.co was the fake company that paid for Maddie and Danny to fly to a conference but stranded them in a forest where Vlad's cabin coincidentally was. (Episode "Maternal Instincts")

Dan is not older Danny. He is not even called "Dan" in canon, just "Dark Danny". He is Danny's ghost half, who killed his human half, ate/merged with Vlad's ghost side and then tried to kill Vlad's human side. Was losing his humanity what made him evil? Was it merging with the Bad Guy(tm) of the series? 🤷‍♀️ Take it as you will. (Episode is "The Ultimate Enemy")

Freakshow is NOT a clown. He is the ringmaster of a goth circus (called Circus Gothica). Danny's headcanoned fear of clowns can be traced back to the "circus" and clown-related imagery surrounding Freakshow's performances, but not directly BY Freakshow. (Episodes "Control Freaks" and "Reality Trip")

DC SIDE

Damian (not Damien or Demian) is never confirmed his religion. Fanon has accepted he is Muslim.

Bruce is from a Jewish family (Martha Wayne was Jewish), but he considers himself an atheist. Same with Kate Kane (Batwoman).

It's "Selina" Kyle, not "Selena" or "Salina".

It's "Talia" Al Ghul, not "Thalia".

It's "Jason", not "Jayson".

Damian is vegetarian, not vegan. It means he doesn't eat meat, but eats animal produces like eggs, milk, etc. He went vegetarian after rescuing Batcow from a slaughterhouse, he didn't arrive at the manor already being vegetarian.

Duke is NOT adopted. Bruce is fostering him temporarily and is more of a mentor to him than a father. Duke considers the others his siblings, though. EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT DUKE: Part 1 | Part 2

Dick was not adopted as a kid, Dick was Bruce's ward. That term is not used anymore, though. Adoption happened later in Dick's adulthood.

It's Gotham, not "Gothem".

Cassandra IS adopted. Legally.

Cassandra's nickname is "Cass", not "Cassie". Cassie is the nickname of another character also named Cassandra (Cassandra Sandsmark, Wondergirl)

"Little Wing" is a canon nickname for Jason from Dick.

"Baby bird" or "Baby bat" are fanon-ish(?). Little Wing, Dickie, Dickie-bird... Canon! Jaylad is not canon, but Jaybird is canon! A GREAT post with receipts about all nicknames. ("Replacement" isn't canon btw).

Stephanie Brown was the 4th Robin. She is not adopted, and was part of the batfamily because she was dating Tim. She is still considered batfamily even if they are not dating anymore.

In Hush, when Jason comes back to Gotham, Jason puts a knife on Tim's throat, but barely leaves a cut. Tim's throat wasn't injured during the Titans Tower attack.

Cass is selectively mute because she wasn't taught any language beyond what she needed to predict people's movements. She doesn't know sign language. She doesn't know how to read and write (more recent comics show her reading a bit). But she could learn, with difficulty. Very in depth analysis of Cass' disability.

Jason's "Pit Madness" is fanon. Canon offers Ra's saying "the Pit alters the mind - could happen for a few days or for years, you never know" or something like that, and that's it. There is reason to believe that the Lazarus Pit can cloud judgement for a while but there is no voice in the back of the head or the Pit taking over.

Tim never expressed special interest in photography or in it as a hobby. Nor he is a coffee addict more than the other bats, who pull all nighters on the reg. He is actually addicted to energy drinks.

There are 2 main Conner/Kon-El/Superboy I portrayed in fics: Young Justice cartoon one (grumpy, same age as Dick, kind of an asshole, has daddy issues, wears black shirt and jeans, has a space motorcycle and a pet wolf) and 90s comics one (leather jacket, piercings, punny guy, same age as Tim, has a #nohomo relationship with Tim, kind of a himbo).

There are a few Ghost superheroes - Greta Hayes (Secret), she was in Tim's run as Young Justice's leader; and Boston Brand (Deadman), who is a member of Justice League Dark (with Constantine and Zatanna and Swamp Thing!). So the DC heroes are familiar with ghosts and ghost powers.

It's "rogues" gallery, not "rouge". Rouge means "red" in french.

Clark is never abusive to Conner, he just doesn't know what to do with him and chooses to ignore the problem; which, yeah, is mean, but not to the levels that fanon has taken it. And this is in the Young Justice cartoons, not across all depictions. In comics, they consider each other family and that's why Conner took a kryptonian name (Kon-El - of house of El, Kal's family)

The whole "No metas in Gotham" is not true. Batman understands that Gotham is very Fucked Up and that if you add metahumans and heroes with powers trying to do good to the mix it could make things worse. Outsiders don't understand Gotham and if they get jokerized or mind controlled, it will get ugly real quick. That's why Signal is cool beans! Duke is a gothamite through and through.

While is interesting that no one in the Batfam knows about Tim's missing spleen, is very probable that Alfred knows - post about this

Constantine is more powerful than it looks like. A post about interesting abilities.

Damian has a metal spine. Yeah I don't know how it works either. They used it as way for Talia to control Damian for a bit :(

Interesting links:

What's fanon in DP

Fan project for Ghost Speak, written and spoken form, and a ghost speak generator - post AGIT canon

Transcripts of all the Danny Phantom episodes

The whole DP series + the complementary comics + A Glitch in Time comic (if you are able to buy the AGIT comic please do 🙇‍♀️)

How to pronounce Ra's Al Ghul

BatPham ship names (updated regularly).

What are the canon ages of the Batfam?

In depth guide to everything Batman in one place (be prepared to go down the rabbit hole)

Fanon vs Canon Batfam edition

Superfam family tree

Interactive map of Gotham (Gotham Knights videogame)

Timeline of events (Batfam adoption order and ages when those events happen)

Map of Gotham (made based on various sources, with annotations (check the reblogs for more info))

The Titans Tower attack: Fanon vs Canon

This person has dedicated a lot of time to research receipts of Comic stuff so check out their masterlist

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Suggestions are welcome! Please be kind with each other and remember to have fun with this fandom!

#dpxdc cheat sheet #cheat sheet #dp #danny phantom #dc #batman dc #dpxdc #dp x dc #dc x dp #dp crossovers

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wesavegotham · 5 months

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I know it's probably just because I've read more about Damian, Talia and to some extent Ra's than most comic readers and of course I pay more attention to posts about them on all social media platforms I'm on...but I really can't help but feel like there is more misinformation about them online than for other characters?

I've read the wildest claims that are simply not true and instead of doing research people simply make up shit if someone has a question about them.

No, Damian isn't a clone of Bruce. No, Talia's mother wasn't white. No, Talia isn't hundreds of years old. No, out of the Robins Ra's hasn't only called Tim 'detective'. He has called all of them this at this point (I accept the headcanon that Ra's just doesn't know which black haired blue eyed boy is which). There are examples that are even worse, my brain just blocked them out for the sake of my own sanity.

I know I sound like an entitled prick, but people, read! READ! And use your critical thinking skills when it comes to racism and sexism while you're at it!

#damian wayne #talia al ghul #ra's al ghul

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harrysmimi · 1 year

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New York

Synopsis: Harry finally convinces his girl to come to see him play in New York

Ps: This is after Harry said publicly that he's got a girlfriend, YN and Him wrote Harry's House together.

Series Masterlist | More of my work

YN has never been out of Europe.

The only time she even stepped a foot out of England was when Harry took her to the Louvre museum on an impromptu weekend vacation. It was difficult for her to manage vacations, especially with work and stuff.

But she was now going to New York on her own. She was going to shit her pants but she had ber boyfriend on her mind. He had offered to send in his private jet for her but she refused and booked the flight herself. She would have felt too bad if he paid for everything though she knew he wouldn't mind. He didn't pressured her either knowing very well he'll have his way with her in many different ways.

Harry has been going around talking to everyone on his crew that his girlfriend is coming over and how excited he is. Especially last night's show because she's going to be there the next one, watch him perform songs they wrote together. Though it won't be the first time.

This morning he drive to airport himself, an hour early and waited for her there.

YN on the other hand has been very anxious the entire flight. Especially because she was clearly sandwiched between two of Harry's fans. And she's hundred percent shre that there are more in the front and the back row. Yes, no one has really seen her face but it still made her anxious, especially hearing those girls talking about how stupid it was that Harry wrote an Album about his ex (or exes in speculation) with his alleged girlfriend. How none of them would allow that to happen if their boyfriend were to write song about his past relationships with them.

His fans have been nothing but kind to her, online, or that she hasn't come around the hate yet. Her algorithm loved her enough to not show her any hate, but only the sweet things his fans were tweeting about her the day Harry's appearance on Graham Norton show aired. None of them took sneaky pictures of her, or tried to harras her or anything like that. Even the fans who'd visit her cafe are nothing but little sweethearts.

But YN slept through it when those girls finally stopped talking. She was still going be jetlagged for sure.

Half an hour before the flight one of the girl noticed that YN was wearing one of Harry's old merch. It was an old hoodie he gave her before leaving for his US tour, she loved how worn out and loved the fabric felt against her body. And as stupid and naïve it sounds, she wore it to bed every night because it made her feel that he's next to her. It's been a two weeks over a month since his tour began.

"Oh my god, Hi!" The blonde chirped, "are you going to see Harry too?"

YN took off her earphones even though she had nothing playing that moment, "I, uh, yeah." She nodded hesitantly.

"Awesome! Are in the pit? Or the balcony? We can all go together!" She went on.

"I, ehm, I am at the very back." YN lied, Harry would probably have her stand in the pit or the family section in the balcony if there was any.

"Oh the nosebleeds!" The girl with red dyed hair exclaimed as if she felt bad for her, Did you got last in the Ticketmaster list?"

"Oh, yeah!" YN nodded trying to be as confident as possible.

And that was that for their interaction on the flight. She waited for the crowd to get off first before she grabbed her carry on bag and walked around herself. She called Harry to let him know that she'd landed safely and would be taking a cab to his LA house.

"Hey," she said a little suspiciously as he answered her call in the first ring.

"Hello, my sweet girl!" He exclaimed, "I'm waiting for you out side come on out."

He already knew she landed? Well, of course she called him!

"Are you here to pick me?" She chuckled.

"Yes, it would've been very rude of me to let my girl take a cab when I can drive her myself." His voice always sounded extra deep and raspy on the call.

"Well, you didn't had to. You know your fans are flying in from all over the world. There were a few on the flight. I don't want you to be bombarded by people this early in the morning." She ranted, waiting for her suitcase impatiently. The more she heard him talk, the more she wanted to hug him.

"I don't mind, now come on out so I can kiss you!" he whined through the phone.

"Just getting my suitcase," she finally saw the yellow suitcase she bought last minute on the conveyor belt. "Five minutes." She hung up the call and walked out to the exit. Not exactly knowing how to navigate her way out she just following the people she saw pn her flight, she'll surely find a way out of the airport.

And she did and immediately spotted Harry talking to a few people, he held his phone in his hand. Dressed his grey hoodie and black bikers shorts with his red shoes he often wears to gym. He was smiling as he talked to the girls who were on the plan with her, his dimples denting deep in his cheeks but not enough to make the crinkles appeare by his eyes. He just waved them bye before the girls left him alone.

YN knew he was going to bump into them.

He rushed towards the exit when he finally saw his girl walking out, rolling the yellow suitcase. Beaming he pulled her right in his arms in a tight embrace.

"Hey you!" She chuckled, wrapping her own arms around his neck.

"Hey you," he mumbled back pulling away just enough to look at her, he pressed his mouth on hers in a tender kiss. "I missed you!" He hugged her again.

"I missed you so much!" She reciprocated, her voice sounded more watery to her surprise.

It would be a lie to say she wasn't having a hard time coping around now that he's back in tour. Especially since her parents got to know about them, they've been giving her a hard time. Plus the things she heard on the flight have been getting to her slowly.

"Baby are you crying?" He cooed, rubbing her back, "what's wrong?"

"Nothing, I just missed tou so much!" She mumbled now not even trying to hold back the crying weight in her voice.

"It's okay, we're together now baby." He assured her, "you want to go to our hotel now, hm?"

"Mhmm." She agreed. He kissed her cheek before reluctantly pulling away from the embrace. He took both her bags and had her tucked under his arm as he walked them both to his car. He plopped the bags in the back seat before he opened the door for her, that's when he saw her crying.

"Did you miss me this much?" He teased her, reaching to wipe her tears with the pads of his thumbs. "I'm not going anywhere, coming right back home to you!"

"I know." She whined sheepishly.

"I love you." He smiled.

"I love you." She leaned into his touch. He gave her another kiss on the forehead before he opened the door for her to the passenger seat and drive to his hotel.

Harry knows she doesn't cry, unless she's watching Brave or any other Disney or a Marvel movie. He is jealous how she deals situations under pressure calmly. So seeing her in tears today made his heart sink to his stomach. Yeah, there is not always happy times and laughs and giggles, it's just rare to see her cry that all.

If he sits down to tally the times there have crying times out of being overwhelmed, he'd be the one winning. And never once did she made him feel bad for having his breakdowns.

"How was your flight baby?" He asked.

"It was good." She nodded.

"Is everything alright?"

"Yeah," she nodded again chuckling, "I'm just tired."

"How about we take a nice warm bath before breakfast?" He suggested, "Sarah is excited to see you tonight."

"She texted me before I got on the flight to have a safe flight." YN smiled, "I can't wait to see her either!" Her and Sarah have become best friends from the first few times they met, especially through the writing sessions for Harry's House.

"What about me, aren't you excited to see your boyfriend?" He pouted.

"I see you all the time," she shrugged, "I don't see Sarah that often."

He gasped, "I wasn't crying just five minutes ago!"

"I am just joking Harry," she chuckled, "I missed you a lot!" She grabbed his free hand lacing their fingers together.

"And I missed you too." He beamed.

Today is Harry's day off. He usually goes out golfing or do some outdoor activities. But he was going to spend it with his girl inside today, doing all the indoor activities. He ran them both a nice warm bath right after their little love making session in the bathroom. He'd come to figure that warm baths help her loosen up, especially after a stressful day, not just physically for her arthritis but also mentally. She has told him that, plus it was as cold in New York as it was in London. And later bundle up in bed under the blanket.

"Do you want to go somewhere later today?" He asked just to be sure he's not holding her back. It's her first time in the city.

"Not today but, I want to Central Park though." YN shared, leaning into as he wrapped her up in his arms in a blanket burrito they're both now.

"We can go there the day after tomorrow, yeah?" He suggested, earning a quiet hum from her. "You never told me what happened on the flight?"

"I told you, it was good." She shared. That made him lift his head back to glare at her with squinted eyes. "Okay, it wasn't but I don't want to complain about it!"

"Don't, just share it with me." He shrugged, simply. It was that dimple?

"There were some girls sitting next to me, talking about how stupid it is that you wrote the album about your past relationships with your girlfriend, and how none of them would let that happen with them. I mean, write songs with their boyfriend about their ex and shit. It's okay, though." She explained, feeling stupid to talk about this. "And they saw me wearing your hoodie and asked if I was going to your concert and stuff. I said yes, they said I should join them but I told them I am at the very back."

"Did they not recognise you?" He was actually surprised because just when YN boarded her flight the little Behind The Album was released on his YouTube and she is in it, as they're writing Love Of My Life in the studio.

"No," she shook her head. And honestly she's glad they didn't recognise her because she really felt unsafe for many reasons in that setting.

"Oh baby, please don't let it get to you, hm?" He cooed to her, "I know it's the worst thing, but not everyone is gonna like us, or be happy because we are together. I am sorry you had to sit through all that, and it's really not stupid that we made an Album together which is now nominated for Grammys!"

"I know, I know, really didn't meant to cry like that. I've been really overwhelmed lately that's all."

"It's okay to cry, you tell me all the time!" He chuckled softly seeing the soft pout on her lips, "I think this album is the best thing which has happened to me because I got to know you so much more. And I've got you all to myself now!"

"I should say that." Her cheeks heated up hearing him say that.

Both of them knew what each and every song on the album meant. Some were written for his second album which Harry talked to her about. Some they wrote together, some he wrote for her (few of which never made it to the album and were just for both of them).

"No, I feel very lucky and honoured that you're letting me be a part of your life, my love." His hand went up to cup her little chubby cheek, fingers resting just below her ear, "I want to spend the rest of my days with you... And nights."

"I love you so much, Harry!" That made emotional all over again, "I think I'm gonna start my period."

He giggled, "I love you so much more, my sweet girl!" She gave him a firm kiss on his mouth. The door bell rang interrupting their moment.

It was their breakfast. They had breakfast in bed and watched YN's favourite movie all time, Matilda.

......................................................................

The very next day, YN accompanied Harry to the sound check.

Harry sometimes forgets that his girl can chaotic and hyper sometimes. Today, especially she got her a drink from Starbucks with Sarah and forgot to get it decaf, so both of them were on Caffeine high the entire time.

"You're going to hurt yourself!" Harry called for Sarah and YN chasing each other with the electric scooters they found at the venue. His drummer just flipped him off. The pit was completely empty.

"Don't be a party pooper!" Even Naomi joined them both.

"Where are you getting these scooters from?" Harry was confused, he propped his mic back on the stand and walked down the stage with Pauli, who got his hands on the last scooter. "Hey, I want one too!"

"No!" YN zoomed past him.

"Share it with me!" He started running after her, obviously she's on a scooter but he caught her, making her scooter come to an hault.

"Alright, get on." She offered. He stepped on the scooter behind her.

"You're going too fast!" He squealed, scared they might crash or fall down.

"You wanted to share," she reminded him. They circled around the stage in the pit for next fifteen minutes, before Harry felt like he was going to throw up. Lloyd was there taking their pictures, Harry's gonna ask for all of the pictures with his girl. They all calmed down eventually and just walked around a little, helping the crew place little posters and Boas on the seats for the fans in the balcony.

"I never imagined it to be that big!" YN pointed out the banner with her boyfriend's name and his achievement on it hanging in the venue. It was his first time playing back in Maddison Square Garden after the banner was installed.

"Yeah, it's quite surreal." Harry commented, glancing up at the banner.

They went back to his dressing room. It was very zen in the room. A sofa which goes everywhere with Harry on the tour, and few pillows, one of which was YN's he took from her flat the first time he left for tour after they started dating. He said it was like taking a piece of her with him.

A blue humidifier on the coffee table, a wheeled closet get wide open with a bunch of patterned and leather pants and T-shirts, sets of jackets and vest suits with his Gucci shoes. Harry Lambert was helping him put together an outfit for tonight.

"What do you think baby?" Harry asked, holding up brown leather pants and a yellow T-shirt with brown polka dots on it. YN didn't liked it to say the least, but she didn't know how to tell him.

"Baby doesn't like it." Lambert commented already getting to pick another fit, making her laugh.

"I like the green and brown jacket and pants." She pointed out.

"Don't feel like being half naked today." Harry giggled. "Do you want to help?"

"Mhmm." YN helped her boyfriend pick an outfit, Lambert left them to themselves. She picked a blue shirt with a red heart in the middle and matching baby blue leather pants. "This is so cute!"

"Yeah, you want one?" He asked her admiring the teddy on of the shirts from his Gucci collection.

"Hah! It's too expensive."

"Who said we have to pay for it?" He shrugged, "I'll ask Lamby to get you one tomorrow."

"No you won't." She warned him, "anyway, are you going to wear this?"

"Yeah," he nodded in agreement, to wear the blue outfit she picked for him.

"Watch your fans praise you the fit." She grinned proudly. He just shakes his head as he shut the door to change up, he stripped down to his boxers. Even she likes to grill him on his new outfits for the shows with his fans. It's all jokes.

"Are you still coming to the Grammy's with me, love?" He asked, now getting dressed he caught her taking sneaky pictures of him in just his leather pants, "why don't you ask me to pose for you?" He posed for her with his hands on his hips all his tattoos on show with hickeys she left just this morning on his neck and collar bones, making her giggle.

"I'm gonna put it on my wallpaper." She announced.

"It's only fair if I get to have your topless picture of you on my wallpaper." He smirked, pulling off the shirt from it's hanger and pull it over his head. She scoffed.

"Ehm, no?"

"Ehm, yes!" He challenged her, rushing towards her he attacked her with tickles.

"Harry stop!" She squealed, squirming under his touch.

"Come on lemme have a little glance." He teased as his finger tips dug in her sides gently.

"No, you had a glance this morning." She laughed with her eyes shit closed, out of breath already. Harry felt pitty and stopped beaming at her. "You're annoying!" She laughed still recovering from a tickle attack, she found him basically straddling her thighs.

"Am I?" He pouted, "but you still love me."

"Mhmm." She lets out a sigh.

"Gimme a kiss now." He demanded already leaning towards her with her face cupped between his hands, he pressed a soft kiss on her mouth. "You're cold." He commented.

"Yeah, you've got the AC on blast." She reminded him.

"I'm sorry, I'll turn it off." He got up from literally hovering her to reach for the remote to turn the air condition off for her. He fetched her jumper for her. "This dress really looks pretty on you baby." He pointed out for the fifth time today.

Harry hardly sees her in dresses, because most of the time she's at work and it's not very comfortable for her to move around in dress while working. So as cliche as it sounds he really loves it when she wear dresses. And she's been going off about the dress she's got on now since she found it at a thrift store she went to just before she came to New York.

"You told me that already Harry," she looked down at her dress, her cheeks turning flush as her palms smooth over the fabric covering her form. He remembered she did the exact same thing when he went to pick her up for their first date and he complimented the jumper she was wearing.

The knock on the door caught their attention.

"You're cute." He pecked her forehead quickly before he went to answer the door. It was Sarah.

"YN, would you mind helping me with my hair? Naomi is helping Elin and we have to be on stage in twenty." She said and glanced at Harry, "can I steal her for a moment please?"

"You've already stole her!" He scoffed jokingly, his faux-upset face was hilariously adorable.

"I'll be there, Sarah." YN nodded, the brunette gave her a thumbs up before she walked back to her green room. "You have to be in the box, get your mic transmitter on."

"Oh yeah," Harry realised he still had to do his hair, put on his rings and get his mic transmitter fixed on him. "I'll see you out, okay?"

"Mhmm." She nodded, leaning forward to ask for a kiss with pouty lips and kitten eyes. Honestly she didn't wanted to leave his side but she also promised her friend to help her.

"You'll have me tonight, and tomorrow, darling." He assured her, of course giving her the kiss she was silently begging for, "go help her now, hm?" He's got a premier of his new Marvel movie and she was going to be date tomorrow night.

"Yeah," she nodded making her way out.

"Oh wait, wear this. Don't want you getting sick." He fetched her jumper again, "it's gonna be cold at back."

......................................................................

"Be careful." Harry's guard warned him but it was too late he hit his head on the box.

"You okay?" YN rushed towards him.

"Yeah, yeah don't worry." He laughed as he didn't hurt himself at all.

"Best of luck." YN smiled blowing him a little kiss before he was being rolled in the box to the stage as the band was already on the stage. She followed Jeffery and Glenn outside. Harry was on the stage in no time.

Already three songs in, his fans started to notice YN in the pit with Glenn beside her. She was already feeling the cameras and eyes on her.

"Do you want to go get a drink?" Glenn offered already seeing her anxious.

"Mhmm." She nodded and followed her to go get drinks. Now that put her to ease, Harry was reading a few signs and talking to fans all the attention was on him, as it should be.

"The next song is really, really special. Wrote it with three of my best friends, Miss YN..." Harry started making the crowd scream he chuckled upon mention of her name, "yeah, let's have a cheer for her!" He hyped the crowd, "and I also wrote this song with Tom and Tyler. If you know the words to this one please do join!"

He started with As It Was, as always it was a blast of a song to play. YN noticed few girls walking upto the barricade by the back of the where she was stood along with Harry's friends, the same girls who were on the flight with her talking shit about her relationship like they know it inside out first hand. It made her heart beating like a race horse. Jeffery approached the girls, it looked like they said they wanted to talk to her because he called her over.

"Oh my god, Hi!" The blonde girl greeted her the same way she did on the flight, "I literally had no idea you were The YN! You were literally so sweet, we just wanted to say Hi."

"Oh hello," YN smiled, "thank you so much, you're so sweet!" Her experience working at a cafe came handy in moments like these.

"You know them?" Jeffery asked.

"We were on the flight together," YN shared.

"Yeah, please tell Harry we said we love him!" The brunette said to Harry's manager.

"Sure will." Jeffery smiled and escorted YN back to where everyone was stood.

As much as people might hate this man, he's grown to be a good friend of YN. He's protective of her like an older brother. Like the way her own brother was never protective of her. And she respects Jeffery so much for that. He has been nothing but sweet and kind to her since the day Harry decided he wanted to take her around his friends, who definitely were so much different than her. Never once anyone made her feel small about her, or talk bad or even judge her when she told them what did for living. Unlike her own family she was born and brought up in.

YN loved everyone, especially Sarah! She's like the sweetest little being YN has come across in years!

Through out the show, more of Harry's fans came over to talk to her. Some even asked for pictures to which she politely declined to because she did not felt comfortable enough. There were just couple of people who looked at her weird but all of them were nothing but respectful towards her. Many were filming her. Especially when Harry sang Matilda and she was crying as Glenn hugged her warmly, she wasn't the only one crying there. Even Harry was teary eyed at some point. But YN had a great time, dancing and jamming to her boyfriend putting on one of his best shows. He was extra happy today because she was there, he said to her before he got on the stage. He even performed Kiwi twice, it was the last show of the tour anyway.

At the end, YN followed Harry's body guard out to where his car was waiting for him before Harry ran down the stairs. He had his mic transmitter removed and handed over to the technician.

"Did you enjoyed the show?" Be asked, opened the car door for her to the passenger side.

"I did," she nodded and got in, "thank you." He kissed her cheek before he'd shut the door and run to the driver's side.

"Well, I did my best!" He grinned making her smile too. She looked more exhausted as he had adrenaline pumping through.

"I think I started my period." She shared with a sheepish smile on her face, she haven't got any period products on her, not even at the hotel.

"Did you wanted to use the restroom back at the venue?" He asked, worried that he'd dragged her with him.

"No, I, I don't have pads on me." She mumbled but he heard her.

"Okay, we'll drive to the store first." He announced making a turn. "Did you not get any with you?"

"I forgot to pack some with me."

"That's okay, we'll get you some." He assured her. "Do you need the pain medication too?"

"Mhmm." She nodded. He parked by the nearest convenient store.

"Let's get icecream too." He suggested, walking both of them to the frozen food aisle. He picked out her favourite flavour and few of her other favourite snacks, before they both headed to the til and head back to their hotel.

......................................................................

The very next morning, Harry ordered breakfast in. He waited for her to get off the phone with her mum.

He have noticed her family's been after her since the day they visited to see her grandma. Yeah, her family doesn't approve of Harry.

It was like he got hit in face with a bucket of ice water when he was so upset why his girlfriend didn't wanted him to meet her family.

Whilst her grandma didn't care, well, she was sick so why would she, her parents were not impressed by her choice of man to be with. Her parents have been bugging her to go move back in with them because it isn't really appropriate for girls to live alone when they're not married. Bullshit, he called it.

That's the reason why YN moved to Hampstead with Brielle and her mum making an excuse of wanting to go to a different school at 16, and she never went back. It didn't seem problematic to Harry until she told him she have been living away from her parents since highschool. But she makes it seem like it's not a big deal.

Apparently YN even had to lie about her degree until the day she graduated, her parents thought she was getting a law degree this whole time along with Brielle.

They even thought she was making up excuses and lying about her chronic pain to avoid dance classes for the longest. Which was the hardest one to swallow. It made sense to him why she didn't wanted to dump all of this on him at the very beginning of their relationship.

Whilst her older brother, Asher, seemed the most understanding one, he was also the only person who was nice to Harry. They actually sat down after breakfast at YN's parents' with tea and had a nice chat. Her little Niece and Nephews were making a chaos in the backyard though.

"I apologise for anything our parents say to you, Harry." Asher began when they sat down.

"No, why are you apologising?" Harry was genuinely confused for a bit there.

"I talked to them after YN told me about you two dating, least to say they have been bickering with her to move back in." The brown eyed man said, "they have their many reasons, one of which you're closer to age to me than you're to her. But I don't see any problem there she's a grown up, and you really make her happy I've figured."

"I see," Harry nodded, letting it all sink in. He really makes her happy? That really warmed his heart. Yeah, he is quite a bit older than YN but he is younger than her brother but she doesn't see a problem with that, that's all that matters to him.

"Just don't pay a mind to them, they fear YN anyway." Asher smiled. And they went on to talk about careers and stuff for the time being. "I apologised because you're going to be my future brother-in-law. Right?"

Harry smiled at the thought, "In future, yeah! But please, treat me as your friend."

And yes, her parents did talk shit about him. But not to his face, they were being petty nice to him. No wonder why YN didn't wanted to stay at theirs for even one night. It wasn't as bad as his subconscious made it out to be though.

"Hey, what happened?" He cooed watching YN throw her phone on their hotel bed. "C'mere, my love." Grabbing a gentle hold of her hand he made her sit on his lap, tears brimmed in her eyes.

"Same old, same old." She sighed leaning into him.

"It's okay, love." He assured her, "just don't pay a mind to them. You're happy, aren't you?"

"Very!" She affirmed.

"That's all should matter." He smiled a dimply grin at her. "Is there anything else she said?"

"She was reminding me how you're gonna leave me."

"Never gonna do that, you know that right?" He rushed, "it's gonna take a lot to get rid of me, baby girl."

"Oh don't call me that!" She scolded him whining. "I'm not planning to get rid of you, ever!"

"Good." He smiled, "don't cry my love!"

"I just want them to stop and just leave me alone for gods sake!" The lump of a cry in her throat was starting to hurt the more she tried to hold it back, "they can't let me be happy for once. They're being so disrespectful towards you, towards me, towards us. That's not fair!"

"I know baby that not." He cooed, his voice soft and low, "I don't care what they think about me anymore, all I care about you and what we have. They talk all the bad stuff they want, doesn't matter to me. We know what have is right, special and sacred to us. And most importantly I love you too much to even care about what people have to say. I've said this before, not everyone in this world is gonna like us. But that's okay. We can still co-exist with peace. They're your parents and it's gonna be hard to cut them off- if that's what you want, I'm never gonna suggest that. But I want you to know that I'll be there with you to support you through everything, because I care for you and I love you."

"I love you too!" She sobbed hugging him tightly, "you're making me cry!"

"It's alright." He lets outs soft and quiet breath of a laugh. "You can cry and let it all out." She felt take in a deep breath, "not don't you dare blame it on your period."

"I wasn't!" She pouted, he smiled and pressed a sweet kiss on her tear soaked cheek.

"Do you wanna eat? Our breakfast is getting cold, do you want to eat now?" Swiping off tears from her face he peppered her with many more little pecks.

"Mhmm, I'm hungry."

"That's my baby" With a pat on her bum he urged her up so they can both go and sit at the table to eat. "Got your favourite."

Later in the morning, Lambert came over with Harry's fit and to YN's surprise, a dress for her too. Apparently Harry had Alessandro make a custom dress for her but it wasn't done on time, So Mr. Lamby went on a little shopping spree, he got YN a red blouse with puffy sleeves made of a flowy fabric and a pair of black pants with black loafers to go with it.

"Harry, why did you-" YN looked Lambert Interrupting herself.

"I charged it on Harry's card, don't you worry love." Lambert assured her which made her glare at her boyfriend.

"Haz, why? I already got an outfit." She turned to her boyfriend who was very confused on whether he should wear a undershirt or a tank top underneath his blazer.

"Baby it's okay. I wanted to match!" He whined. He'd got a red and gold suit custom made for himself to fit for his movie character, Eros. "Please wear it? For me, please!"

"I think you should YN," Lambert suggested, "you'll look amazing in this."

"Okay." She agreed because she has got no other choice, or she'd be making her boyfriend upset. She changed into the clothes Lambert got her. Harry was already dressed, he did his own hair and put on some concealer under his eyes and on little spots like all of the make up artists he's had over the years did. All he needed was to put on his blazer.

"Harry?"

"Hmm?" He sounded, buttoning his cuffs.

"I don't - would you mind braiding my hair?" She asked.

"Don't you want to style them baby?" He walked in the bathroom where she was.

"Well, I have never tried to before so I don't know." She shrugged, looking at him through the mirror. He looked perfect with his red pants on a gold, glittery shirt.

"Hmm, do you want to style your hair or wear it in a braid?" He asked.

"I don't know."

"Then just wear it as it is, you look pretty with whatever." He smirked a cheeky smile.

"No, but wouldn't it be too weird? My hair is all weird and half wavy and half straight." She pointed out.

"That okay."

"It's not. For me." She pouted, "suggest me something else please!"

"Okay, lemme help you curl them then, have a seat." He gestured her to sit on the closed toilet seat. Brought out the hair straightener he keeps with him and some heat protecting products. "We've got an hour left till we leave." He announced. It was enough time.

Now he's seen his sister and mum do this all the time growing up, even his past partners and even friends. So it was a second nature cor him to curl her hair which fell down to waves almost immediately, her hair was completely opposite of his.

"Don't burn my hair, Haz, please!" She requested as he got to the second to last strand of hair and she started seeing smoke coming out of the hair iron.

"Don't worry baby, it's not your hair." Be assured her, "it's the product I put in your hair."

"I am still scared!" She cringed hearing the little clicking sounds of her hair falling down from the flat iron in her ear.

"All the more pretty." He commented, "look." He urged her up so she can take a look at his masterpiece. It really did looked good. No wonder he's so good at doing his own hair. All she has been doing is wearing her hair in a simple, boring braid her whole life. Who knew a few waves in her hair would make her all that more confident in herself. "You like it?"

"I love it!" She beamed at him through the mirror.

"It's not done yet." He warned her, grabbing the hair spray he got into the hairdresser action. Fluffing up the waves as he prayed in the product. "Now it's done!"

"Oh my god, thank you Harry!" She exclaimed, "I don't think I can afford to pay you though."

He shrugged, "I'll take my payment in kisses tonight." With that a gentle peck was placed on her red painted lip. "It's good to keep your payment options versatile when it's your girlfriend."

"Mhmm, I see." She nodded mumbling against his mouth, "do I get a discount?"

"We'll negotiate it later." He was rewarded with another kiss.

......................................................................

"We see that Angelina Jolie brought her kids, Gemma Chan brought her sister with her as her date, who does Harry Styles have with him?" The interviewer asked, who obviously saw his brief interraction with his girl who was stood with Jeffery for the time being. "Did you bring your wife with you?"

"Yeah," he admitted not even trying to correct the lady there, that was going to be true in very near future. His fans can have a field day with this information if they like. "Yeah, she did came with me." He did not hesitate to glance at his girl fangirling over Gemma in the corner next to Jeffery. She's gonna have a field day when she finally gets to meet Angelina later.

Luckily the interviewer moved on to talk about the movie with him. He moved on to the next person, who also asked about YN but refered to her as his girlfriend which he didn't bother to comment on either. He was having with Interviews today, especially when the third and last one called YN his Fiancé. Alas, he got to be reunited with his girl.

He was away from her for three hours okay!

That's far too long. He had to leave from the hotel alone unless he wanted to walk the red carpet with YN, he would if she felt comfortable enough with it. He didn't force her and let her go with Jeffery.

It was one of the best evenings he's had in a long time. His girlfriend really enjoyed the movie sat next to him in the cinema hall. It really warmed his heart.

YN also got along with Gemma Chan so well they even exchanged numbers and Instagrams. Gemma promised YN that she'll let her know whenever she's in town to visit her cafe. Well, least to say YN almost passed out fangirling the moment Gemma moved on to talk to others.

"Oh my god, she's real!" YN exclaimed looking at her boyfriend who was giggling.

"I know." He nodded, "you're enjoying your time so far, baby?"

"Very!" She agreed without any hesitation. There was little dinner after words which she enjoyed as well.

......................................................................

It was the next morning and least to say, his fans were going crazy online, according to Jeffery.

But they still went out like he promised her before they flew back home. They went to the Central Park and the Zoo, did all the touristy stuff for her. It was pretty crowded there but not enough to suffocate you.

"Mommy!" A little high pitched voice crying was audible in the loud crowd of people moving around. It caught YN's attention.

"Did you hear that?" YN asked Harry, finally saw the little head of brown hair. Harry was confused at the little four year old didn't hesitate to run to his girlfriend and wrap her arms around her legs.

"Find my mommy please!" She cried.

YN seemed more calm to him than he thinks she in from the inside, and as confused as she was. Harry had no idea how they're gonna find this kid's mother who is clinging onto his girlfriend. He wanted to help her.

"Hey, it's okay little dove." YN assured her crouching to match her height, "don't cry. What's your name?"

"Emma." The little girl let out a soft sob.

"Okay Emma, we're going to find your Mummy." She assured the little girl. "Okay, ehmm..." She looked at Harry who was crouched by the little girl too. She seemed scared of his for some reason and moved closer to YN, "No, it's okay. You want some water?"

"Mhmm." Emma nodded and took the bottle from YN.

"Do you know your Mummy's phone number, we can call to her on?" She asked.

"Baby she looks to be about four." Harry reminded her.

"Kids now a days know their parents' number." YN said and looked back at the little girl. She had a little Mickey Mouse purse on her which YN checked and found a tiny note pad in, with a number. "Look, we'll call your Mummy okay? Don't cry now, hmm?" She held the little girl close to her and called her mother from her phone. Who came over to pick her daughter in no time, all frantic.

The lady had two more kids with her, no wonder why she lost one. But she was thanking YN hysterically crying, before they left.

"How did you know that?" Harry was surprised.

"You know my cafe is closer to two schools, and we surve out doors too. Well, we've had many stressed out and burnt out parents almost forgetting their kids there." She shared, "luckily all the little kids I've dealt with were in their school uniform and had their parents contact on their school IDs. Emma luckily had the little note pad on her, or else I was about to go to every corner and find her mother."

"Awh! You're so sweet baby!" He cooed, a breath of a giggle sounding through his chest as he pulled her in a hug.

"Just traumatised." She shrugged, "even I got lost when I was like five when my mum was picking me up from school."

"No, how?" He never thought she'd be the one to get lost as a kid, it's not something to think about. But she drives without a GPS which says a lot.

"It was back when we lived in India. My school was in a like a huge campus, so there was a huge rush and I didn't liked to hold my mum's had whilst walking." She smiled sheepishly, "so I ran back to my teacher in school and she called my mum there." He laughed at the story. It was adorable how she was smart enough to run back to her school and ask her teacher for help.

"You're a smart one," he booped her nose with his pointer finger, having her tucked under his arm as they made their way out of the zoo. Harry did spied a few cameras around which annoyed the shit out of him but he was successful enough to conceal his frustration. They went to eat and back to hotel as YN started feel her cramps kicking back in.

......................................................................

Twitter

Harrysleftshoe SHUT UP! HARRY IS MARRIED?!?!! WHEN DID THAT HAPPENED???

Replies

User1 wtf? When did that happen???

User2 He literally chose to not correct the interviewer. That's so harry of him.

User3 Nour! The other one call his partner his Fiancé and he didn't say anything! 😭

User4 He's so sick in the head for not telling us anything.

User5 He's so for real for this. Harry literally tell your fans nothing! We love your girlie no matter what!

User6 So you're telling me he secretly got married? 🥺

User7 Awww I'm so happy for him!!!

User8 He's gay! Get over it!

User9 It's a PR stunt. Get over it!

User10 User9 Literally, how it is a PR stunt when we don't even know her name yet? She's not famous!

User11 No, he's so cheeky. But his girl is so pretty 🥺 I wanna hug her and apologise for all the hate comments she gets

User12 SHE'S SO FUCKING GORGEOUS! HARRY YOU'RE ONE LUCKY MF

User13 Nah! This can't be real. Remember he said, what we see is just work? Yeah, it's clearly a PR

User14 User13 literally stfu. What have we seen. He's talked about her all for two times and they've been together for almost three years. Go get a fucking job!

User15 This makes me so happy!

IndianHarrie Y'all know that it's gonna big fat brown wedding. If he got married we'd know. So calm your tits! He just doesn't want to talk about his relationship!

User17 For real! If he talks about her, it's a PR. When he didn't talk about her, he was embarrassed of her. Get a grip for fucks sake!

User18 Wait, I've seen this man at the Central Park zoo the other day. My daughter got lost in the crowd and his wife helped her find me. They're both literally the sweetest. God bless the lovely couple with eternal love and abundance of joy! I don't know why people are hating on such a sweet girl.

User19 User18 Omg! They're so sweet for doing that.

User20 This man is such a good secret keeper. I love him!

User21 Anygays, you know what is today's date? 👀

User22 User21 *a GIF of Harry saying 'Shut up!'*

User23 He was way better with Kendall.

User24 User23 Ew! Stop, don't compare his current girlfriend to that. 🤢

User25 User24 Why are being a hater? You don't have to be so mean, Kendall is a human too!

User26 User25 Yeah she is, a shitty one to be more specific.

User27 Anyway, he wrote a whole album for Camille and more songs about her are on Harry's House which he wrote with her. Haha! I would be so pissed if my boyfriend did that. She's not his type anyway.

User28 Y'all seriously need to leave Harry and his girl alone. Y'all literally ship him with every white, blonde older woman he's pictured with but he admits to be dating someone who's a POC. Y'all are fucking racists!

User29 We 👏 Stand 👏 with 👏 Harry's 👏 girl 👏

User30 See this shows how y'alls feeling for Harry is not real, when y'all are not ready to support him when he's actually happy. He has been looking the healthiest since we have literally known him! Get a fucking life.

Tag list:

@vrittivsanghavi @buckymydarlingangel @sweetwritingfanficfriend @theroosterswife24 @sleutherclaw @melllinaa @michellekstyles @sunshinemoonsposts @marialikescherries @japanchrry @supersanelyromantic Lemme know if you want to added to the tag list

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elijahs-dumps · 2 months

Text

The Infantilization of Wylan Van Eck (within the soc fandom)

Hi! This is my first tumbler post ever, which is like super scary I wont lie. But I've had this project I've been working on since October and I'd love to share it with people, so here goes nothing!

Infantilization or to infantilize someone means to treat them as a child or in a way that denies their maturity in age or experience, and it qualifies as a form of mental abuse.

This treatment is common in fandoms, although it obviously isn't done in a hateful way on purpose. It’s often directed towards characters who are more innocent, more kind, or more anxious than the other characters within the universe. Or, sometimes these characters are literally just the youngest of the group. Some examples of this include, Entrapta from She-Ra and the Princesses and Power, Varian from Rapunzel’s Tangled Adventure, Number Five from The Umbrella Academy, Hunter from The Owl House, Little Cato from Final Space, and even Peter Parker from the MCU.

However, most of the traits found in characters that are infantilized are also traits found in neurodivergent people. These traits include, missing social cues, being easily excitable or restless, often feeling anxious hyper fixating on something (usually related to science or math), being an outcast from the rest of the group in some way, and so on and so forth. Therefore, infantilization within fandoms is pretty problematic on its own. People (usually online) think that characters with these traits should be babied or pitied or demeaned in some way, even though neurodivergent consumers usually relate to these characters because of those same traits.

Some evidence of Wylan being infantilized can include; the fact he's only referred to as cute or synonyms to that, while the other Crows or their actors are often sexualized more. People saying or implying he's smaller, weaker, or even younger than the others. And of course, people saying Kaz and Wylan are father and son... which is something I'll come back to later.

Why Wylan?

To better understand why exactly Wylan is receiving this treatment exclusively from the fans, we need to fully analyze the Six of Crows duology, which is exactly what I did!

When we are first introduced to Wylan in chapter seven (Matthias’ POV) of the Six of Crows, we see him sitting at the table and doodling while occasionally chewing on his thumbnail. He doesn't speak until Inej voices her doubts in Wylan’s demolition abilities. Jesper says Wylan “barely knows his trade”, and Kaz mentions that Wylan is “new to the scene”. Matthias also makes a comment about how Wylan “looks like he’s about twelve”. When Jesper and Inej continue to complain about Wylan being their demo man, Kaz tells them that Wylan is doubling as their insurance policy because Wylan is Jan Van Eck’s son, the rich merchant who’s paying Kaz and his chosen crew 40 million kruge in exchange for breaking Bo Yul-Bayur out of the Ice Court. This immediately makes everyone in the room think less of Wylan because of his privileged past.

This introduction sets up Wylan to the readers. His reserved body language, along with his inexperience and Matthias’ comment about his young appearance gives the impression that Wylan is more childish than the other Crows.

In the next chapter (Jesper’s POV) as the Crows react to the reveal of Wylan’s identity, Kaz tells Wylan that he’s “passable at demo, but excellent at hostage”. Jesper calls Wylan a “baby merch” and insists that Kaz leave him behind, less he slows the crew down. Wylan is annoyed that Kaz and Jpeser are talking about him as if he isn't in the room. Then, Kaz tells Wylan that the only reason he hasn't been mugged or jumped in the three months since he left his father’s house is because Kaz placed him under Dregs protection. In fact, Jesper even says that Kaz has been “coddling Wylan”. Jesper proceeds to call Wylan useless as he and Nina belittle Wylan for living in the Barrel “by choice”. This is also where the nickname “merchling” comes from. When the group continues to go back and forth over Wylan’s skills, Kaz repeats that he’s only bringing Wylan along because he doesn’t want to leave their hostage alone in Ketterdam. This makes Wylan the only Crow that wasn’t hired for their abilities, Wylan’s passable demo skills are simply a bonus. It’s a way for Kaz to keep the crew small and avoid splitting the money even further.

This entire exchange and interaction between our six main characters lays out the groundwork for the dynamic between Wylan and the other Crows for the majority of the first book. Everyone else in the room believes Wylan is just another spoiled rich kid. They make fun of him for his lack of street smarts, and the money he was born into. Wylan never really fights back too much when it comes to comments from the others, which just reinforces the idea that he came from a cushy lifestyle where he never had to learn how to defend himself verbally. Wylan’s inexperience and innocence is often mistaken for stupidity by the characters, and therefore the readers.

Kaz saying, “Always hit where the mark isn’t looking.” Only for Wylan to reply with, “Who's Mark?” is a great example of this. (Still chapter eight, Jesper’s POV.)

In chapter nine (Kaz’s POV) we see how Kaz views Wylan in his inner monologue. He says Wylan seems out of his depth, and even though he’s only a year younger than Kaz (making Wylan sixteen) he still looks like a child. Kaz describes Wylan as a silk eared puppy in a room full of fighting dogs. This pushes the concept that Wylan is more childlike than the others further onto the audience.

Additionally, in chapter eleven (Jesper’s POV), we see Jesper quite literally call Wylan “kid” during the attack at the docks, even though they’re also only one year apart. And in chapter fifteen, Matthias refers to Wylan as “the soft one” within his own inner monologue.

Since Wylan doesn't have his own point of view chapters in the first book, the reader’s entire understanding of this character is formed through the eyes of the other Crows. So, what we’re hearing about Wylan in the first book might not be entirely accurate, which is something people often forget. Part of the reason why the fandom treats Wylan the way they do is because of the way the Crows describe and talk to him throughout the entire series, The reader learns to rely on the others’ opinions on Wylan in order to learn more about him.

All of the evidence I have shown so far, and even some smaller things I haven't included, plants a certain mentality in the reader; Wylan doesn't have the same knowledge as the other Crows, so he must be weak and gullible. Weakness and gullibility are often traits associated with the “younger-one-of-the-group” trope, or the “Kid Trope”. So, since Wylan is displaying behaviors that we as media consumers have grown used to attaching to characters who are literal children, Wylan must be a child, or at least be treated like one.

However, the Crows don’t treat Wylan this way because they truly believe Wylan acts like a small child, because he doesn’t. Wylan’s behavior is perfectly normal, it simply sticks out in contrast to the harsh environments all the others have been exposed to. They treat him this way throughout the book as a sort of condescending joke, they belittle him for the stereotypes surrounding his upbringing and little else.

Still, like I said, the Crows’ mindset on Wylan is all the reader is exposed to for the entire first book, so the reader will subconsciously assume Wylan must be doing something to earn this odd treatment from the others. Sometimes readers don’t understand that it is not Wylan’s wealthy and sheltered background that makes him different, it’s the fact that the others are all criminals, murderers, soldiers, and convicts. Wylan is the only “normal” Crow on a very surface level, so his innocence is bound to stick out more.

As the first book continues, we see that there’s more to Wylan’s past than he lets on. We see first hand how smart and capable Wylan truly is, as his character grows with the story. It begins in the fight at the docks in chapter eleven, where Wylan uses his own flash bombs to help Jesper out. In chapter thirteen, Wylan openly questions and even challenges Kaz after he throws Oomen overboard, which shows great courage on Wylan’s part. This pattern of questioning Kaz when no one else really does is a common theme when it comes to Wylan. We also see Wylan explain who Pekka Rollins is to Matthias in chapter fifteen. This shows that he’s not completely incompetent, and is at least somewhat aware of what goes on in the Barrel. Then, in chapter seventeen (Jesper’s POV), Wylan expresses his natural curiosity and desire for knowledge about anything, from the mechanics of the Ice Court moat to the design of Jesper’s guns. All of this builds to chapter twenty-two, where the Crows are attacked on the ice by Grisha who were sent by the Shu, dosed on parem. Wylan does a lot of heavy lifting in this fight with his bombs, and everyone is impressed. Jesper even makes a comment about how Wylan’s “earned his keep” now.

Small moments like this that showcase Wylan’s natural resourcefulness and strength are crucial to communicating with the readers that the Crows were wrong about Wylan in the beginning. As Wylan’s true nature begins to develop further throughout the first book, we slowly see the Crows and their attitude towards Wylan change. It becomes more positive. In the future, when Wylan makes an ignorant comment, the others don’t poke fun at him as much. They’ll tell him to be quiet at most.

By the final climax of Six of Crows, chapter forty-six (Kaz’s POV), we find out Wylan cannot read. Jan Van Eck is open about his hatred and mistreatment of his son. When Jesper jumps to Wylan’s defense, he goes as far as to say Wylan is smarter than most of the others put together. Jesper is in love with Wylan at this point in the story, so his words might be a little exaggerated. But there’s still truth to them. This entire scene serves as evidence that Jesper and the other Crows have realized Wylan’s intelligence and worth, so they don’t even think twice when they find out Wylan can’t read or write.

If all the Crows’ preconceived notions about Wylan were proven wrong before the end of the first book, then why does the fandom still view Wylan in such a problematic way?

Blame Booktok

This is all mainly tied to modern day book consumption, and the obsession with “tropes”. Online reading communities such as “Booktok” or “Bookstagram” have normalized interpreting even the most complex characters through simple archetypes. This is something all six crows are a victim of, in fact, most characters within all kinds of media are.

A good example of this within Six of Crows is Kaz Brekker himself. Kaz, within “Booktok”, is often lumped together with several other male YA love interests in books, like Aaron Warner or Cardan Greenbriar . They all usually share very few qualities, like having violent tendencies, being extremely protective of their loved ones, and acting cold or mysterious towards others. Regardless of the fact that all these characters are so complex and different, from their relationship dynamics, to their morals, to their backstories, readers still often view them as one in the same because of videos online pointing out very minute similarities. A broader example I would use is the way the Hunger Games series was often marketed and discussed as if the love triangle between Peeta, Gale, and Katniss was the main focus of the story. But really it was just a subplot to a more serious and heavy narrative.

People will often focus too much on singular tropes because it makes books easily identifiable and marketable in this new era of self-publishing and online purchasing. It’s easier to judge a book by its cover if you have a broad sense of what might be inside based on the small character details or scenarios other readers liked from it. But what does that have to do with Wylan?

Well, because people often talk about books or even whole genres on a surface level, they also discuss characters on a surface level. This lazy form of consumption is what often leads to mischaracterization. People can obviously understand complex characters like Wylan, so it’s not a question of intelligence. Fans online are just used to discussing things within books fandoms in such a simple way and viewing a character through the lens of one trope. They’ll put the character in a box, and Wylan just so happens to check all the boxes for a character who would be infantilized. Even though there are interesting things about Wylan besides his “innocence”, people are less inclined to talk about it. In short, viewing Wylan as just another character who falls under the category of a simple stereotype is easier than including and discussing his nuances.

So who is at fault?

When it comes to talking about a more harmful fandom behavior, like infantilization, it’s important to keep an open mind. Sometimes, it’s the creator’s fault for writing a character in a problematic way, not the fandom’s fault for interpreting it that way. So, is Leigh Bardugo at fault here for writing Wylan in this light? Or is it the fandom’s fault for not looking past the obvious parts of a character?

I don’t think it was Leigh Bardugo’s fault. If you take the second book, Crooked Kingdom, into account then you can clearly see that the way Wylan is disrespected in the first book is something he’s dealt with his whole life, especially from his father. Wylan has been taught to believe that his reading disability makes him useless as an heir, and as a human being all together. This is one of the reasons why we never see Wylan truly snap back in an aggressive way in Six of Crows when the others insult and belittle him. A big part of Wylan thinks that the others are right about him being useless. Obviously, Wylan couldn’t have had his own POV chapters in Six of Crows, because then that would spoil his father’s true motives. However, I think the fact we didn't get to see his point of view in the first book serves another purpose. Wylan’s low self-esteem is definitely a major thing he needs to overcome in his personal story within Crooked Kingdom. So for the readers to fully understand this, we needed to view Wylan from an outside perspective. First, we get to view him as the other Crows do, as someone sheltered and weak who’s in way over his head. Then, we get to see why Wylan is the way he is. I think this sort of reverse style of character writing is really interesting and more fun to read. But still, not every reader accepted Wylan just because the Crows started to warm up to him. So by extension, this is also why Wylan is one of the most hated Crows. Nevertheless, I think the way Leigh Bardugo chose to write Wylan is inevitable for the story and vital to his character! It wouldn't feel the same if we didn't get to see how the others viewed him first.

The fault lies with the fandom when it comes to Wylan’s infantilization. But, are people online really just lazy when it comes to discussing characters, or is something bigger at play here? I think it’s both. People do misinterpret Wylan’s strong and resilient character because of laziness and the normalization of oversimplification and overconsumption within the book community. But this treatment is also rooted in subconscious ableism. To better explain what subconscious ableism truly is, I’ll be taking a deeper look at a specific dynamic.

Kaz and Wylan (are not father and son)

Despite these two characters only having a one year age gap, the fandom often views Kaz and Wylan’s relationship as one similar to a father and son dynamic. Which is understandable to a certain degree. Kaz is the very first person Wylan ever told about his reading disability. Kaz had Wylan placed under Dregs protection the minute Wylan set foot in the Barrel, which may have been for Kaz’s own selfish reason, but it still kept Wylan safe for a while. There are a couple scenes in the books where Kaz will give Wylan advice about life in general, or about having a disability, not just about being a criminal. We see Kaz take getting Wylan justice for his mother and stealing back Wylan’s inheritance very seriously. Wylan even starts to pick up some of Kaz’s mannerisms and facial expressions. All of these could be viewed as things a father and son would do, despite how small the actual age gap is. However, the fandom seems to take this relationship to the extreme, from fan fiction and fan art, to getting the characters’ actors involved.

It’s somewhat because of very minute subconscious ableism. People naturally view Wylan as younger because of his demeanor, but also because of his disability. The opposite is true for Kaz. His physical disability makes people naturally view him as older than seventeen in their minds. This is due to long standing ableist tropes within the media. People with mental disabilities are often depicted as stupider in some way, so they need to be babied or coddled. While people with physical disabilities are often depicted as very ill, or very old.

This might seem far fetched, but it’s true. And it’s quite obvious if you look closely enough at anything from books, to movies, to TV, to games! These are just some of the harmful stereotypes we see in our world every day,

How to fix this issue

Now, of course people aren’t just going to stop misinterpreting characters or stop viewing them through small scale tropes all together. But keeping yourself educated and aware is a good way to stop promoting these harmful stereotypes. Listen to the voices that are being affected in these situations! In this case, it’s people with mental or physical disabilities. Be sure to take into account what they have to say on matters like this one. Allow yourself to take the criticism and learn from their experiences or feelings. It’s important to be empathetic and kind to one another, and acknowledge that sometimes we do problematic things without intending to. When talking about characters with disabilities, it’s important to remember what they represent, and the fact that you can't always say whatever you want just because the characters are fictional.

As always, if you’re ever unsure about whether something you feel or think is harmful towards a certain community, never be afraid to ask questions and do your research!

#wylan van eck #wylan hendriks #six of crows #shadow and bone #grishaverse #analysis #jack wolfe #wylan x jesper #soc wylan #wylan van sunshine #crooked kingdom #kaz brekker

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caffeinewitchcraft · 2 years

Text

An Exercise in Mary Sue

(story under the cut)

This week’s short story is more of an exercise. I’ve seen a lot of discussion lately about “cringe-y” YA as more and more authors self-publish or get popular via social media.

When I was a teenager and just started writing, one of my biggest fears was creating a Mary Sue. Mary Sues were very Bad and could get you bulled online. They were too powerful, too beautiful, too not-like-other-girls. People would look down on writers who incorporated these elements into the MC and tell them to stop writing entirely.

Now, in my late 20s, I’ve been thinking about that time in my life more and more. Writing was my hobby, sure, but reading was my escape. And, as a teen, I wanted to escape. I wanted to read about characters who were all-powerful, who were confident, who were loved and respected. I wasn’t getting that fulfillment in my daily life, but I was getting that from books.

So why, when I loved reading them so much, was I so afraid of writing Mary Sues?

I don’t think there’s anything wrong in wanting to read or wanting to write an over-powered character. But I’ve come to the realization that it’s HOW you do it that matters. The biggest legitimate criticism against these types of characters is that they’re not believable. How does a teenager defeat a Dark Lord with fifty years of experience? Why does the orphan know how to wield a lightsaber better than those who’ve trained with it for a lifetime? Why is the prophesied hero wittier than the Generals who’ve been planning this battle all along?

“Mary Sue” stories are always missing an explanation. They “tell” rather than “show.” That style of writing never allows a reader to fully engage and forces them to remain in a critical position. There’s no information for the reader to work with! That’s a really frustrating experience and, as a connoisseur of the Mary Sue, it’s one I know well.

I rebel against the idea of “cringe” in writing. So this week I wrote the opening to a YA book with aaaall the hallmarks of a Mary Sue.

Our main character (Junipera, of course) is the most powerful vampire in her Family despite being one of the youngest. She has long silver hair and black eyes that turn red when she’s angry. She is gorgeous and seemingly all-knowing. She’s contemptuous of those around her and effortlessly outwits them no matter the situation. She is Edgy and Arrogant and everything I have tried not to write for most of my life.

BUT I sort of love how she turned out?

As I’ve worked on pulling together two books to release over the next few weeks, this has been extremely soothing for me. I’ve managed to keep finding the joy in writing because of this exercise and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Or, at the very least, I hope that those of you who may be skeptical are given a different angle to think about Mary Sues and their place in literature.

Thanks for reading!

She should have at least changed clothes before falling on top of the covers last night.

Junipera pinches the bridge of her nose without getting up. Her black button-down shirt sticks unpleasantly to her side and the scent of iron fills the air. She doesn’t need to move her legs to know that her jeans are similarly soaked alongside her black, leather boots. She’d been so tired last night that getting into bed with blood-stained clothing had seemed a good compromise to falling asleep in the shower.

Of course, she didn’t know she’d be having a visitor this morning. Or, rather, another one.

The knock comes right on time. Firm and loud in the quiet of the early morning. Junipera’s lip curls. Impetuous. If she was in her territory, no one would dare knock like that on her bedroom door after a late night. They wouldn’t dare to knock at all.

But she isn’t in her territory, is she?

“Come in.”

The door – pale pine with brass hinges, ornate as all things are here – glides open. The woman who slips into her room, softly closing the door behind her, is as familiar a face as any in this place. The “assistant” the Raven Family assigned to her when she first arrived is very good at looking harmless. Her wide, clear eyes are soft as they take in the dishevelment of Junipera’s room. If she has an opinion on the bloody footprints leading from the shattered window to the bed, she doesn’t show it. As an assassin, Madison is probably used to blood.

She should look surprised at least. Junipera sits up, wincing as her long, silver hair sticks to the pillow. A shower would have at least saved her hair from the matts of dried blood in it. If she liked Madison better, she’d tell her that before one of the Ravens noticed that she wasn’t very good at keeping her cover.

“Ma’am,” Madison says. Her voice is neutral and calm, but her lips are thin as she looks over Junipera’s boots. “You aren’t to go out.”

Ten years ago, Junipera would have laughed out loud at that. Hell, in her territory she might have at least smiled. But Junipera has been playing this game a lot longer than Madison knows.

Junipera hunches in on herself. Her vampiric complexion won’t let her blush, but she ducks her head against Madison’s gaze and averts her eyes. “I was hungry.”

“That’s what the servants are for,” Madison says. A note of disapproval rings in the words. Madison is getting comfortable. “They would have brought you something if you called for them.”

“I rang,” Junipera says. She eyes the bell on her nightstand and makes sure to rub at her fingers where Madison can see. While the Ravens are blessed with immunity to silver, Junipera is not. The silver bell is a taunt, though she doesn’t know from who. The Lord and Lady of the Family? The inner court? The servants? “I rang as long as I could, but nobody came.”

Junipera peeks out from behind her curtain of silver hair. Is that a smirk tucked into the corner of Madison’s mouth? What a fool.

“You’re expected at breakfast,” Madison says. She walks over the broken glass to the window and snaps the curtains closed. While the Ravens are able to walk during the day, full sunlight hurts them. Junipera is the one with immunity to that. Madison spins on her heel. “You’ve made quite the mess, ma’am. The servants will have a hard time replacing the window before evening.”

Does Madison expect an apology? Junipera feels her black eyes flare red and keeps her head ducked to hide them from Madison. She breathes in deeply through her nose. “…I didn’t mean to break the window.”

She did mean to throw her would-be killer through it last night. It breaking was unexpected. Her Family always kept bulletproof glass in the main residence. Maybe the Raven Family didn’t have the coffers to do the same?

“They will manage it,” Madison says. There’s a twist of satisfaction in her aura. Did she hear an apology from Juniper where none existed? “Raven Manor has grown accustomed to vampires with very fine control. It will do them good to be reminded of what lay beyond our borders.”

Fine control. Junipera has to admit that the elders of the Raven Family have it. Even she has a hard time sensing them in the manor, gathering in the depths to conspire against her Family. She says, “Oh…I see.”

“Breakfast is in one hour,” Madison says. She crunches over the broken glass to loom at the side of Junipera’s bed. Too close for an assistant. “You can’t go looking like that.”

Ah. Now Madison isn’t doing too good of a job of hiding her disdain. It seeps into her aura like swamp water. Why do I have to take care of this spoiled brat? Uncouth. Dirty. Not suited for the Raven Family.

Even Junipera has her limits.

She lifts her head to look up at Madison, tilting her chin just so. Her hair slides like silk over her shoulders and drapes along the curve of her hip. The rest is an instinct. Press her shoulders back, lift her chest, blink her long lashes just a few too many times, eyes wide and dark. She doesn’t dare let her aura touch Madison’s, not when she’s doing her best to appear harmless, but the effect is enough judging by the way Madison’s breath hitches. “Looking like what?” Junipera asks.

“J-just get dressed,” Madison says. She pats at her black bun as if checking for fly aways. She takes great interest in the Raven Family portraits on the wall. “Bathe. Be presentable.”

“In that order?” Junipera bites her lower lip as if in genuine confusion. “C-can I bathe first?”

“Obviously,” Madison snaps. She stumbles back when Junipera swings her legs over the edge of the bed, but then firms her stance. “One hour, ma’am.”

“That’s pretty fast,” Junipera says. Her fingers tangle in the bedsheets on either side of her and she presses her lower lip out in a pout. “Maybe if I had help in the bath…”

Madison pretends not to hear her. “I must go now, ma’am. Don’t hesitate to ring the bell if you need assistance.”

“But the silver hurts—”

Madison flees.

Junipera crosses her legs and leans her chin on one hand as she considers the door Madison just slammed. She accepted this mission from her Family out of boredom. It was different than being deployed to battle or sent to recover this or that ancient relic from ruins. The political espionage involved in this one had intrigued her. She’d gone into this with high hopes. She’d never seen the inner workings of a Family as well-established as the Ravens. She thought she might learn something from the vampires who were so famous for their speed, their wit, their bloodthirst.

Junipera didn’t expect to be bored here too.

She sighs, rubbing a hand over her hair as she stands. Too late to regret now. Until she finds the information her Family sent her for, she’s stuck here.

She goes to shower without ringing the bell. Truthfully, the pain of the silver doesn’t bother her that much. She could ring it, but why bother with something so futile? None of the Raven’s servants will answer her summons. They treat foreign ambassadors badly for a Family known for their politics.

If she has her way, they’ll learn to regret that.

-----------------------

Seriously had so much fun writing this and even more fun re-reading this exercise. The inner child in me already wants the next chapter.

Thank you for letting me post something a little off-beat today!

Patreon(X)

Next week’s story is already posted! Berthe the Green Witch (3rd person)

Summary: Traditional witches and green witches don't always see eye to eye. With a life on the line, Berthe is very persuasive.

Thanks for reading!

#my writing #short story #mary sue #long post

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