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#i was talking with some friends how the elders are treated by the fandom and im just so done
tac-bat · 1 year
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Why I hate how the elders are treated and misinterpreted in a big chunk of the fandom. Rant!
Before we start
I mention fat phobia, and talk about how certain hair types and cultural clothing is described as "food" as a response to what some of the elders are perceived by alot of the fandom. These comments are not only directed at some elders, but many folks who have gotten representation from them are also affected these comments that many thrown around freely.
I’m at my breaking point and will get heated on an array of things but I don’t care
You're entitled to your own opinion, even if i heavily disagree with it. If you don't wanna read then just scroll, because I will rip apart the interpretations I talk about under the read more tag.
If you "don't see this happening" or believe this "doesn't happen" that doesn't mean it didn't happen, Tumblr isin't the only social media I have. I've dabbled in the official Discord, on Instagram, and god forbid Pinterest too, i've seen it all.
Let’s go in order, most issues I have a bone to pick with are more prevalent in some elders more than others.
Daleth
They’re just forgotten, really. Even with knowing what Isle looked like before. Flourishing even, populated seen in the switch trailer and even making an appearance in the Auroras' concert for runaways, they’re pretty much never talked about. And if they are they're just kinda only the butt of pee-paw jokes
Ayin
Their characterization is just confusing to me. I've seen a lot of them portrayed as happy-go-lucky. I’m not saying they can’t be happy, but from what I’ve seen, that’s all they are to a lot of folks in the fandom that I’ve seen. Which really confuses me because in their cutscene they wake up in a daze, notice us, are sort of like "ah, hi," and get straight to work. And they’re gentle, tipping the pot to the butterfly they make to enter. But then there's their orbit cutscene, where they look tired and a tad grouchy after being woken up—not mean, just tired. Again, nothing wrong with it, but it’s pretty one-dimensional to me to just see them as all that.
On a more bitter note, i've seen alot of "fat jokes" or straight up fatphobia in art and comments alike about their body, "Why are they so fat?" -a comment i've actually seen in the discord regarding Ayin. it's disgusting.
Teth
I have so much shit to say about them.
They're not mean simply because they took your light.
"But they snatched it away." Motherfucker, you're looking surface level. THINK!
Imagine you're dead, stuck in limbo for god knows how long, rotting away without anything to do. And you enjoy building and creating, and you were possibly the catalyst for the production of darkstone; your temple could be a goddamn factory for it! So much so that your anvil and hammer are in your constellation; they're a part of you. It’s what you love. And now that you're dead, with no light to fuel, no life to live, forced to sit there with broken shards, it'd bore you, drain you. And then a child appears with a flame; and for the first time in thousands of years, if not more, you can create, build, make something.
And you do.
You take the light without a second thought, regaining your strength and setting to work to help this child pass through your realm to the other elder. You just put all your focus on making the diamond, and when you finish and are proud of it, you send it up to the sky. You’ve created again. And in your orbit cutscene, you're much gentler, no longer bound to that soul-sucking abyss of nothing, so you honour the children who gave you light, your gift. Taking your time and presenting it to them with grace.
That’s what Teth does; that’s what they do. Yes, they seem like a more serious person, but they’re in no way mean. Did they take your light away? Yes. But putting yourself in their shoes for just a moment can make you understand why.
Samekh
I love the twins; I’m a fan of them, and I love Sah in particular with all my being. Which is why this one I will get very passionate about.
It baffles me how those two got the impression of being idiots who share a single brain cell. I don’t mind the jokes, but some people think that’s all they are. Which is just so wrong, like? How can you be so wrong? Would a ruler who built their fucking realm, Valley Triumph of all names, in a goddamn mountains? Would the most prosperous, decorated, and successful realm be led by idiots? Let me repeat that, They built the realm Valley of Triumph, in the fucking MOUNTIANS! Do you know how hard it is to make a city that size in those conditions? MOUNTAINS ARE FUCKING BRUTAL, WITH LESS OXYGEN, EVEN LESS WITH MASK'S, AND FOR HOW UNPREDICTABLE THE WEATHER IS ITS INSANE. Yet valley thrived! They thrived in those mountains, creating impossible architecture, floating buildings, and sports ranging from sliding to flying to manta racing.
Would idiots who share a brain cell accomplish that? No! It's incredible what the twins achieve—an amazing realm and, in my opinion, the capital of the sky. Eden, on the other hand, seems more like a sacred place where you ascend. Not to mention the Citadel? Hello??? It's fucking fantastic; it's incredible how they created such a beautiful realm in the mountains. They wanted races; they got them; they wanted enrichment; they have theatre, gondolas, even the coliseum, and races too.
The twins can be silly and serious, and they are shown to have the same rivalry as all siblings do. But they are not dumb idiots, not in the least.
Tsadi
Tsadi, like Ayins, is just confusing. I’m not too well versed, but I’ve seen iterations of them where they side with "Resh," who is really just a concept art character that has definitely changed from the base game in concept art. Even then, they've never officially appeared in-game; you just have those statues in Wasteland. And in those interpretations of seeing Resh as a full-fledged character, they’re seen as "evil," which I don’t agree with at all. I mention them because most of the time, Tsadi would side with Resh in the war to mant; them seeing Resh as pro-Darkstone in the war (the diamonds Teth makes, and that we light up, basically the main power source for sky), this would imply Tsadi destroyed their realm because they followed the "king." However, their sun shield is right there; based on the memories of wounded warriors, it shows that they were on the "sun side" of their friend. If they we're pro darkstone and was on the same side as the hypothetical "king" wouldn't they have a diamond shield?
"But the spear falling in warrior's and seeds memory could be them," would you expect Tsadi to attack their own realm, where civilians are in warrior memory? Attack their own PEOPLE for the reasons I stated above?
Lamed
Like most of the elders, they're pretty much forgotten. And frankly, I haven’t seen any character interpretations that stick out, so their section is more about how they’re mistreated. Mostly on their headscarf, which is confirmed to be based off a hijab by one of the devs, Ash. Who explains why we should be respectful about it.
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And god, so many POC deal with shit already because their hair or cultural clothing are described as food or even worse which many hate. It's disheartening to see almost every joke or comparison refer to Lamed being an "Egg".
More stuff that piss me off
"Bad rulers"
I despise when folks call the elders "evil" or "bad rulers," not seeming to care for their people or even being seen as lazy, which baffles me. Have you watched the vault cutscene?
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ALL OF THEM ARE ASSISTING ANCESTORS, AND EVERYONE IS LEADING, GUIDING, OR CREATING THINGS FOR THE ANCESTORS IN SOME WAY.
For fuck's sake, Flight Guide is Ayin's apprentice! Would someone who doesn't care about their people bother with an apprentice? Even a flight guide shares the same pattern on their pants as Ayin, and the same pattern on the flight post's. It's ridiculous how folks can spew the most disproven zero reading comprehension ever when this shit is right here.
And they're not saints; they made mistakes, of course, but I see them wanting the best for their people and the kingdom. But in the process, they made huge mistakes that piled up and spilled over, resulting in the kingdom's downfall. But it wasn’t done out of malice; they tried and messed up big time, but they weren't evil, not one bit.
How many treat Lamed and Teth when it comes to shipping
I can’t stop who you ship; as long as it’s not weird and illegal, it’s whatever for me. Some pairs are not for me because of personal preferences/ familial head cannons, but I do dabble in ships. Yet it’s more mellowed out to me just saying "cute" when I see fanart and moving on. But it irritates me that when Teth or Lamed are shipped with most people, they appear to be more submissive in some ways. I’m not saying they can’t be happy, but to me, in so much ship art, it seems like just because they look more feminine, they’re suddenly almost always a blushing or shy mess, or (and I hate to use this term) a tsundere for Teth in some other cases. But that’s completely my biased opinion.
Fucks sake in my earlier time in the fandom, I was a Lamed/Tsadi fan, but again, it’s mellowed out to me just seeing fanart and thinking it's cute and moving on if it comes naturally. But I didn’t make one meek and the other an alpha male or some dumb shit when I used to draw them as I've seen many do. I mention this because I can see some folks calling me hypocritical for pointing this out. But the reason it irritates me is when Teth or Lamed are paired with someone (who often appears to be masc) almost always seem out of character simply because they're with said person. Which rubs me the wrong way since they are usually almost always seen as fem presenting in many folks eyes. Again, I don't have an issue with the pairs themselves; it just irks me when only their personalities seem to be changed for the sake of it, where it's just out of character.
How some elders greatly overshadow others and leave them in the dust
I'm guilty of this, fucks sake most of my content is twin stuff. And while I can feed on alot of twin content here, many folks who are fans of any other elder's barely get crumbs, even less so with Daleth, Ayin, And Lamed who are pretty much left do the dust. Which I hate because i know why.
The reason, Twins and Teth and even Tsadi are so popular when they others aren't is because they're "conventionally attractive", all are fit, all are gorgeous and can be attractive to many. Yet so can the others be appreciated, yet they aren't. Again, i know a hypocrite because of my blog being mostly twin stuff, yet even blogs like mine that don't focus on a single elder barely draw Daleth, Ayin, and Lamed. It sucks ass.
I think that’s all. I’m just sick of how the elders are treated by everyone.
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thesupernaturalhouse · 2 months
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Right so- Emily's personality ir charlies design for the hazbins Fallen au?? Which should I talk about first??
Let's go with Emily-
Alright! So, Emily is still her cheery self but also due to the nature of the au defiantly isnt all niave and trusting and stuff
In this au, she's learning about seras lies from others, which I think would give her trust issues. I also made her more, angry
I imagine in the au she holds grudges a lot more, mainly against alastor, and has more of a silent anger type personality- here's a small snippet of the pilot for the au
Emily: alright so now we watch *Katie starts throwing insults* ...oookay- vaggie, spear, down *gently holding said spears tip down
Vaggie: wha- but, come onn
Emily: no 'come onn' I don't think you scaring people with you angelic spear is a good ide- *Katie says soenthifn homophobic* .....neveemind *releases spear* do whatever you want ant. I want that bitch to fear for her life
Or it'd go something like that, I'll work out any kinks when I start writing the story, first I wanna awake an episode layout whoch is harder then it loks- I have the ideas but I need it in a list so- jsut gotta sort through all that
Like she isn't like Vaggie, spear raised, but not like Charlie, easy to forgive.
I do imagine she bites her tounge however if you ask for her hienst's opinion, she will NOT hold back. I think once she and Husk become more of a father-daughter duo, he starts rubbing off on her, and she starts blurting some ruder things out
He is so proud of his little(200k year+) girl
It's probably the most evident when I have her tell of Alastor- which will also be one instance of her being super protective over her found family.....listen I know yall love Alastor i do to, but I think he fandom over hypes him, and so does he himself, and I want Emily to kinda call him out, and threaten him in this au
But that'll be another post :)
Remember how I said charlie and slaviathen are like Ron and Tammy 2 but without all the sex? Yeah, well, then Emily is Diane! Vaggie is to but vaggie mostly focuses on getting them out and stuff. Emily and slaviathen just have passive aggressive argument and comments thrown at each other
"Always a pleasure to meet you charlies friends" "*strained smile* always a pleasure seaweed hair stranger" "oooo-Kay let's go- and let charlie Dela with this"
Why vaggie is passive with sleviathan and Emily is the protective one? Honestly idk but I think it's funny :) maybe it's cause Vaggie knows Charlie doesn't tale shit from slaviathen one bit so lets her gaurd down more because she knows charlie has it, so she's more passive or smth
Emily meanwhiem can't STAND being talked down to so absurd bites back no matter what. Which is also why her breaking point would be Katie calling them a slur.
She hates being talk down to, which stems form her years in heaven being treated as a child by almost everybody, good intentions or not it was still always so condescending to her. Especially when it was from Sera or the other heaven born and elder/arch angles
So she definitely internalized that, remember how I said she was often referred to as 'lucifers replacement' by many elder angles?? Yeah, that's where it MOSTLY stems from
She'd also have resentment and hatred for lucifer because of it all, like "I never want to meet whoever the fuck lucifer is" kinds mentality, it's due to this that she refused to search him uo and relaize he was her girlfriends, one of them, DAD
So the dad beat dad episode is...fun!! Emily gets piss drunk with HER dad, husk after realizing the short man in the middle of the living room is lucifer
It's after that whole song at the beginning happens does she realize he's lucifer, cause charlies only referred to him as dad so-
......I should start drafting a psot for her and Peter's relationship- mlm and wlw solidarityyyy
She also be a lot more sexual active I think because liek heaven is restricted so being in hell with norestricrions she definitely is THRIVING on that freedom
I have a scene planned out for when Angle takes them to that bdsm club that involved her buying black silk stuff because why not-
Anyways, the finale change in Emily, I think, for her personality that is would be she absolutely take sfter a more Sloth like sin
"Screw both of you I'm sleeping in!" She absolutely HATES waking up early in the morning, especially if it's after a night of certain events. Vaggie will throw clothes at her and force her to get up. Charlie will already be downstairs full of energy-
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Serious question. With the direction of RWBY going doing you think their is some favoritism over the female villains than male villains?
Exhibit A: Adam and Ironwood treated badly even though they have justified motives.
Adam being an extremist with how mistreatment of Fanus, being a product of child slavery by a white privilege company, and joined WF that is equivalent to any modern radical group fighting for rights (Black Panthers). Got reduce to "crazy stalker bf, disregarded his fellow fanus comrades, became power hungry for no reason, and what he was suppose to be got dumped on Ilia".
Ironwood a dignified and selfless military leader. Willing to help team RWBY with anything, risked his life to evacuated the citizens when Becaon got under attack, and gave team RWBY extra training with a senior group that put his trust in him and vice versa. Got reduce to a "liar, manipulator, disingenuous, child shooter" even though he gave RWBY man signs to put his trust on him and the situation in Mantel could've ended differently.
Exhibit B: (Bit bias cause I really hate Cinder and wish the worse for her and I hope you get betrayed by Salem). When compare to Salem, Neo, and Cinder.
Salem the first women with magic and was locked in a tower Rapunzel style. Barging with the brothers to resurrected Ozpin and discovered the see humans as playthings and wanted to change the cycle. Started to get a little power hungry and when she found out Ozpin betrayed she tried to kill him AND ALSO KILLED HER DAUGHTERS WITH NO REMORSE. Responsible for the destruction of Mantel and Beacon and the deaths of civilians. Torture and manipulate Cinder to do her bidding knowing Cinder is disposable. Uses people with Silver Eyes as weapons.
Cinder a product of child slavery and trafficking. Abuse by her elder sisters and mother. Eventually killed out of revenge and killed her mentor and the only person that cared for her. Threatened Adam to join Salem or else she killed the Fanus. Was responsible for the death of Penny TWICE. Throws a tantrum when things don't do her way and gets owned by Watts. Betrays Neo to get the lamp to get her praise by Salem when next volume Salwm will torture her again for her handling of Mantle.
Neo is the partner in crime with Roman. Manipulate by Cinder to kill Ruby when in reality Cinder is really at fault since she hired them. Emotionally Manipulates Ruby in her weakest state to commit sucide and use her deceased friends to her advantage. Realize that her whole goal of revenge is pointless and she never think this through. Get used as a puppet by the cat forcing her to talk. Gets her happy ending and stay in wonderland.
Tell me out of the two groups who gets love by the fandom and which gets hate?
I just think that RT is bad at writing for this show-
Long Post Ahead
For the writer's side on this, it's clear that they simply do not know how to process the nuances of morally gray characters like Ironwood, that's why he was straight up villainized by them. As for Adam, it's just because they're racist. That's it.
The nuances of both of these characters were beyond the scope of understanding that CRWBY were willing to explore, or else they will be confronted with the fact that they're racist as fuck, and their stupid fucking pride about being rightfully criticized prevents this show from actually improving. People wanted Blake and Ruby to talk? Ham-fist it in. People want the criticism about how the world of Remnant was written to be heard? Let's have this cat character mock them via sarcastic inquiries about said critiques on said world.
As for the FNDM? Yeah, there is a blatant disconnect when it comes to atrocities committed by female villains versus male villains in the fans to the point that it treks into full-on bigotry at times.
This isn't to say that the writers didn't fuck up on both, oh no. Salem is a boring ass main villain, James got fucked over, Cinder is a nuisance, and Adam got butchered. All of their villains aside from Tyrian and Watts suck ass, and Watts also got killed off! By Cinder!
But the FNDM has a habit of disregarding abuse when it's a male character being abused by his female confidante (Ozma, Sun, Ren, and Whitley), but are willing to completely demonize a morally gray male character like James in V7 when he would not agree with Ruby's plan. WHICH IS COMPLETELY FINE IN A WRITING STAND POINT.
The RWBY FNDM, to me, has been dragged along by a shitty lie made by RT that "this show is a feminist show because it has female main characters" and are now desperately trying to keep up that lie themselves, even though RWBY has stopped being about the girls for a while now. There is no passion behind their characters, it's all for Jaune. But admitting that will mean admitting RWBY is bad and not feminist, so they lash out at people who rightfully criticize the show and demonize the characters they don't like despite their reasons being stupid as hell.
I've seen people making ableist fucking comments to James, denying that Adam was a slave, and calling Ozpin a groomer. These same people would woobify Cinder, Salem or Neo all the while, even though all of these characters has all done terrible things to our protagonists. Keep up the same energy for both or stfu.
Sorry for the rant. This is just a topic that I really despise because people would act like rabid hyenas, which will turn into harassment which is something I do not want on my blog. But yeah, there is a favortism towards the female villains by the FNDM, but CRWBY hates all of their characters aside from Jaune equally.
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jasper-pagan-witch · 2 years
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How to Start Pop Culture Deity Research
So you’ve figured out that you want to work with a pop culture deity in your foray into pop culture magic and/or paganism (PCM or PCP). Firstly, congratulations! Choosing to work with a deity first instead of waiting for them to reach out is always nerve-wracking, and I’m proud of you for getting this far!
“Thank you, Jasper. But how do I do research into the pop culture deity?” you may ask. Pop culture deities tend to get little press, and you’re not alone in your struggle to find information on offerings, associations, or even domain. As I only work with pop culture deities at this time, that’s what I’m covering here. I’m also not going to cover picking the deity, as that’s a deeply personal process and is honestly just like picking a non-pop culture deity to work with or worship.
Luckily, there are six basic steps that you can take:
1: Scour canon and supplemental materials.
Checking the canon material is kinda self-explanatory for pop culture magic. While non-canon materials can often contradict canon, they can also provide some further insight into a character (when written well). If you’re working with a deity from supplemental material, I wish you luck, because this is going to be more irritating.
2: Fandom wikis.
If you don’t have access to the canon/supplemental material, fandom wikis are a good backup. They are sources of knowledge that are absolutely dedicated to a piece of media and can help you learn more about a specific pop culture deity without making you play through a series of 60+ hour games or spending a small fortune on books if you don’t have a library or your library doesn’t have the series.
3: See if anyone else has covered the deity in a PCP context.
For more popular series such as the Elder Scrolls or the Legend of Zelda, their deities may already be worked with by other pop culture pagans online. Trying to find PCP spaces (Tumblr tags, Discord servers, etc) can help you learn others’ perspectives on the deity you’re trying to study for.
4: Check fandom writing blogs.
Headcanon and fandom writing blogs are a pop culture pagan’s best friend. These fine folks put endless hours, often for free, into some top notch stuff. Many take requests or commissions, and you can tip them for their help. Really, go befriend a writing blog right now.
5: Unverified Personal Gnosis (UPG) and personal headcanons.
I consider these two things to be the same but some other magic practitioners say that UPG comes from experience and headcanons are just “there”, so take whatever definition you’d like. They’re essentially the same in a PCP context because non-pop culture practitioners are going to treat everything you ever say as UPG and fandom blogs (because you will inevitably get those unless you make a point of saying “this is a religious post, fandom blogs do not interact”) will think they’re just weird headcanons written from an in-universe perspective. You really can’t win here.
Anyway, through personal experience and associations, you can learn more and more what a pop culture deity is associated with. This is an important step in the process of any form of deity relationships, not just with pop culture deities.
6: Just ask the deity.
At this point, you’ve decided that you want to work with this deity. You’ve done your deep-dive into canon. You’ve reached out and learned a few initial things. Now, you’re talking to the PCP deity in some manner, so any questions you have about them...you can just ask.
This ties back into number 5, in that whatever you find out with be UPG/a headcanon because you can’t point to something in canon.
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brightlotusmoon · 7 months
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I really want an adult TMNT cartoon I also feel like that's something TMNT needs it has to go to more matured audience I'm not saying going all murder I'm just saying that the story's in TMNT are really dark and was always meant for adults and the kid rating is obviously holding the show back from being able to go in more depth with the Characters You can even tell that some of the show runners are annoyed they can't go darker with he series.
You, me, and all the elders in the Fandom. It's a pipe dream to get Adult Swim TMNT. We like to talk about what it would be like, the sheer grit and depth.
Whenever we talk about the franchise, we have to explain that it was never for kids. It was a hand made independent comic with violence and death and fear and hope and queerness and
WEIRDNESS
And it was a toy company that made it kid friendly, and it rolled from there with a cartoon and so on.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles changed the face of independent comics forever and it introduced a collective entity that rivals Cthulhu in popular culture. People get into fights over how characters get treated in fanfiction, isn't that insane? I got death threats for asking "what if Raph hurt Mike and felt bad about it" and my friends got death threats for putting characters in relationships. Can you even believe that?
Could you imagine what those immature people would think of a real adult TMNT cartoon? Like, on the level of other dark gritty adult animation? Hopefully they would stay the fuck away. I'm already imagining the death threats from whiny kids who think Raph doesn't gets enough angst and that Mikey needs his head caved in?
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alinatk · 1 month
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Satoru Gojo's Ticklish Punishment
Fandom: Jujutsu Kaisen Characters: Satoru Gojo | Suguru Geto | Utahime Iori Lee!Gojo Ler!Geto Ler!Utahime Summary: Satoru Gojo is many things. Annoying and arrogant are adjectives that are at the top of the list and not even your friends can take it anymore, so why not make him change a little and at the same time have fun with a little revenge?
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"G-Guys, what does that mean?"
Gojo had agreed to go to Geto's apartment to discuss the new mission they received the day before, but the last thing he expected was...
He was sitting in an armchair, his arms tied behind his back and his legs stretched out, also tied on the living room coffee table.
"It was one of my sleeping curses, you were only unconscious for as long as it took for us to contain you" It was Geto speaking, he was standing next to him, leaning on the same armchair.
"I asked Geto to help me, I wanted to get revenge on you" Utahime was sitting on the coffee table, next to Gojo's feet, with a triumphant expression on her face.
"What? but why?" Gojo's eyes widened. "And why did you agree to this, Suguru?"
"Ah, I had nothing to do, so it's a chance to have fun and get out of the boredom" He smiled.
"A chance to have fun? But-" He stopped talking when he felt a scratch on his sole. "H-Hey, Utahime!"
"It is really true!" She had a sparkle in her eye.
"Y-You.." He had already understood. "You can't ahahahahahahahahaha" And he couldn't help but laugh when he felt her fingers moving across his sole.
"Yes, I can, and how can I! You keep disrespecting everyone, especially me, it's time to stop" She used her index finger to trace imaginary lines and paths that went from the heel to the base of Gojo's toes. "Geto agrees with me"
"Ahahahahahahahahahahaha Utahime, w-wahahahahahahahahait!"
"She's right, Satoru, how many times have I told you to treat your elders more respectfully?! At some point the consequences would arrive" He smiled.
"Wait a minute, you can't ahahahahahahahahahahahahaha" He couldn't finish the sentence.
"I'm tired of waiting" Utahime started scribbling his fingers all over Gojo's right sole.
"Ahahahahahahahahahahahahaha nohohohohohohohohohoho" He laughed as he tried to shake his foot away from her hands. "hahahahahahahaha stop stahahahahahahahahahap"
"Oh no, we're just getting started. You come too, Geto" She pointed to Gojo's left foot.
"S-Suguru nohohohohohohohohoho take me out of here ahahahahahahahahahahaha"
"I will eventually, but for now.." He joined Utahime, trailing his fingers along his sole.
"AHAHAHAhahahahahahahahahaha no nohohohohohohohohohoho wait ahahahahahahahahaha" Gojo was overcome by sensations.
Utahime strummed harder, concentrating on the center of her sole, while Geto covered the entire sole of the foot with softer strokes. But they both watched as Gojo laughed and doubled over, trying to free himself from his bonds.
"Ahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha no nohohohohohohohoho stahahahahahahahap" Gojo was a mess, his face slightly red, his hair disheveled and tears forming in the corners of his eyes.
"Did you hear that, Geto? He doesn't want us to stop" She giggled.
"Haha, how mean, Utahime" He stopped. "Let's give our friend a break"
"E-Enough.." Gojo said trying to catch his breath. "Get me out of here"
"That's up to you, Satoru.. Are you going to change your behavior?" Geto went to his side, leaning on the armchair again.
"I also want you to apologize to me!" Utahime said, crossing his arms.
"Me? You're the ones who should be apologizing! You can't just-" He was interrupted.
"Yeah, you said it right, Geto" Utahime sighed. "He's proud and doesn't make it easy"
"Yeah... But it's okay, there's another spot I want to test" He said, poking Gojo's ribs.
"AH! He shrank away. "You wouldn't dare.."
Geto knew about Gojo's sensitivity, he had discovered it naturally with a few touches here and a few pokes there, until one day he took better advantage of the opportunity and Gojo ended up laughing and completely defeated on the floor.
"I have nothing to lose.." He smiled and fingered her ribs.
"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA SUGURU NO HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA"
"Wow.." Utahime watched, amazed, as Gojo bent, thrashed and laughed against Geto's tickles. "I want it too"
"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA NO NO, STAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAP" This time it was Utahime who squeezed his ribs while Geto held him by the shoulders, keeping him leaning so he wouldn't get in the way. "AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA STAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAP THAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAT, PLEASE!" And they stopped.
"Oh, I'm surprised you say such a polite word like that" Geto mocked. "But you still haven't said what we want to hear"
"Make it easy on yourself"
"I-I don't.." Was all Gojo said while breathing heavily.
Utahime and Geto exchanged a look, at the same time they sighed, but they weren't surprised. While Utahime sat down again near Gojo's feet, Geto pulled a chair to the side of the armchair and sat down.
"You asked for this! " They said together.
"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA NO, NOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHO HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA STAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAP" Gojo was surprised by Utahime's fingers running over his soles and Geto's fingers pressing his ribs. "HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA I WILL DIE, HAHAHAHAHAHAHA PLEASE STAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAP"
"Begging won't help, even though it's great to hear from you" That's what Utahime said and Geto approved with a smile.
Gojo wasn't able to think straight, he could feel the way Utahime's fingers slid across his soles, hitting all the sensitive spots and the way Geto's fingers traced his ribs, alternating between squeezing them one by one. He wouldn't last long.
"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA OK, OKAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAY I'M SOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHORY" He finally give up.
"What did you say, Satoru? I couldn't understand.." Geto wouldn't miss the chance to tease him.
"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA I'M SORRY, I'M SOHOHOHOHOHOHOHORY HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA" He screamed and they stopped.
"Thank you for doing this voluntarily, Gojo, I forgive you" She smiled and turned to leave.
"And you have nothing to tell me, Satoru?" He threatened to tickle him again.
"I-I'm going to change!" He said quickly.
"Haha, that's good, I'm pleased" He smiled and free him. "Now we can talk about the mission"
But Gojo just stood there, recovering and thinking how much he liked and hated those two at the same time.
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amewinterswriting · 16 days
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Writing Patterns Tag Game
Thanks for the tag @late-to-the-fandom! I've also never done this one before, but variety is spice and I (occasionally) aim to be spicy. The rules are to list the first line(s) of your last 10 fics and see if there's a pattern, so I'm going to be going between fanfic and original fic a bit.
Tagging: @by-allison-kai, @winterandwords, @author-a-holmes, @authoralexharvey, @ahordeofwasps, @tailoroffates and @sam-glade
Magic's Servant (original novel)
Desidero hated these little gatherings. In theory, they were to foster positive connections between reapers - those who should have died long ago and only lived because they were foolish enough to take a demon bargain. In practice, they were an excellent way for said demons to keep a close eye upon their investment.
Two Lefts (original short)
No one ever claimed it would be easy. Yet, as Chwith crept further down the dark hallways, she couldn't help but think that her task had been going ridiculously smoothly.
The Landlady (original novella)
Scarlett opened the cupboard doors for the fifth time. As she had expected, nothing new had materialised in the last hour. All that lay within were a few lonely packets of instant noodle flavouring, a can of pinto beans and a jar with a thin smear of solidified honey in the bottom. The fridge was a similar story, except a couple of the fresh vegetables she had once been ambitious enough to buy were now creating new civilisations of fungal inhabitants.
An Arrangement (original short)
The Otherworld was rather an exclusive bar in Camden, hidden to most. It's clientèle were predominantly non-humans, all of whom agreed to a strict non-violence pact at the door, so here it was not uncommon to see demons brushing shoulders with angels, different packs of werewolves huddled together in their close groups or Fae practicing their charms upon specters.
Doctor (original short)
Pearly white teeth stretched out in a soundless scream. The man's – the subject's – dark hair stuck in strands to his damp forehead. His eyes screwed tightly shut as though it would shut out the pain.
A Ravenwatch Party (Elder Scrolls Online fanfiction)
Tamriel had been quiet for many long months. Since the troubles at Markarth, barely a whisper of danger or strife had reached Arianne. She was trying to take advantage of the quiet while it lasted, resting in her comfortably cozy home in Fell’s Run, yet she found the sudden peace hard to get fully accustomed to.
A Single Light (RWBY fanfiction)
Snow covered the ground everywhere metal shards did not. Fires claimed some of the oily wreckage, whipped into a steady blaze by the winds howling across the tundra. Shouts were swallowed by the gale and uniformed men and women ran across the site.
In the midst of this chaos, a woman struggled her way out from a pile of debris, hauling herself inch by agonizing inch across twisted and sharp fragments digging into her skin. Her hands were numb and aching by the time she fell into clear snow, but shakily, she pushed herself up onto her knees.
You Don't Know Me (Final Fantasy IX fanfiction)
The rain always fell heavy over Burmecia. That one constant had never changed, even as repairs transformed the ruins to a tentatively recovering city. New additions had sprung up; memorials and statues, celebrations of those who had saved the nation alongside reminders of just how much had been lost. Freya wondered exactly which purpose the statue of Fratley was meant to serve.
Heart to Heart to Heart (Final Fantasy XIII series fanfiction)
Noel's first impression of Snow left much to be desired. From hearing Serah and her friends talk, he had gained the impression that Snow was kind and generous and a little brash but good-hearted with it. Yet the Snow he had met was reckless, rushing into danger half-cocked. It was selfish, treating his own well-being with such disregard. He had left Serah behind with promises that he had no ability to keep and threw himself headlong into mortal peril. If he had died out here, flung far forward from his own relative time, how would the Serah he believed was safe at home ever get word of his death? It was selfish and cruel, to just let her keep on waiting and hoping for Snow's safe return, never hearing news of her fiancé.
The Purifier (Tales of Zesteria fanfiction)
It was reasonably common for seraphs to spend their first hundred years without discovering their true name. It was somewhat rarer to be two hundred years old and still not know their true name. It was downright embarrassing to be three hundred years old and nameless. Lailah was a significant amount older than that - though naturally, she would never divulge exactly how much older - and her own name was still a mystery to her. 
I do tend to shove characters in at the deep end, huh? Get straight into the meat of the story as quickly as possible, usually highlighting a negative aspect of the plot that needs to be solved over the course of the tale. The only one that doesn't is 'The Arrangement' - that sets the location first and the 'plot' comes in through the next few paragraphs.
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someartistsammy · 4 months
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For the character Asks: Matt, Angeal, Godo Kisaragi
Oh wow this is an interesting lineup actually. I'll start with Matt but put Angeal & Godo under a read more.
Matt
Sexuality Headcanon: Bisexual man. I know this with my whole heart. Gender Headcanon: Cismale A ship I have with said character: N/A - We don't really have a whole lot to run off of for the characters currently and I view the others as family. A BROTP I have with said character: Glenn + Lucia. I think the three of them are just some weird found family. In my heart Sephiroth, Angeal, and Genesis are also included in this. A NOTP I have with said character: Anything that could ever possibly involve the kids. A random headcanon: In talking with a friend I got really attached to the idea of him being from Cosmo Canyon! I'd also like to think that being around any of the elders is what encouraged his love of knowledge. General Opinion over said character: He doesn't have a whole lot to work off of in canon currently, but I do enjoy him anyways. He's one of my little guys and I'm excited to see more of him. I also mourn that we didn't get the main protagonist Matt that was originally concepted.
Angeal
Sexuality Headcanon: Bisexual man as well! There is no way I will be convinced he's a straight man. Gender Headcanon: Cismale A ship I have with said character: Sephgeal my beloved. I also don't mind Gengeal or even occasionally AGS (Needs to be written a specific way) but Sephgeal.. they've had my heart for quite a while now. A BROTP I have with said character: Zack! Those little sequences we get of the DMW showing those silly little scenes are so good to me. Also LGM as well. A NOTP I have with said character: Same as above. They're all too much like family to me. A random headcanon: It's canon that Angeal is good at cooking with leftovers, but I'd also like to think he's good at baking. Something that when involving apples can always remind not only him, but Genesis of home as well. It's one of the few ways he can bring home and the smells of it with him. General Opinion over said character: Ohh Angeal how I love you and wish the fandom understood you. He is so painfully misunderstood and misread by everyone and it hurts a lot. He has so much love and care and the want to protect in his heart and in the end it's also what undoes him. He's grown to be one of my favorite characters.
Godo
Sexuality Headcanon: Straight Gender Headcanon: Cismale A ship I have with said character: N/A. I've never really thought about it too much but I can imagine he's too strung up on Kasumi's death still. His heart continues to remain there. A BROTP I have with said character: N/A. The only option I could ever think of is Yuffie but its just the factor of her already being his child + The way she gets treated.. sigh. A NOTP I have with said character: N/A. Or the listed above. I don't think I've encountered too much of anything with Godo too often honestly. A random headcanon: I think the active war + Kasumi's death strung him out so much that he thought he could never properly raise Yuffie, and his disconnection and damage from the war showed throughout the years. This only went to truly drive apart their bond as father and child. I think later on he tries to correct it, but in being overprotective/ locking her away during Geostigma, he only damaged things once more. General Opinion over said character: I think he's an interesting character in getting to know his motivations and the reason he took the actions that he did. However he gets soiled for me by the way he originally ignores Yuffie/denies her existence, and then when things look as if they've gotten better, she's imprisoned by him at the time of geostigma arriving. I'm interested to hear about what the changes are with him probably in part 3 of 7R, but I struggle to think of him in a good light.
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quietwingsinthesky · 1 year
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I have been tagged by @sugaraddictarchangels! ^-^
Your name: I am Will. Still debating acquiring other names.
Your first fandom(s): HP, but let's not talk about that. The real shit was in the Warriors fandom. I survived wars in there. Cat wars.
Your current fandom(s): Primarily Supernatural. (It's my special interest! I do not have a choice in being here! uwu!) but also, rotating around Mass Effect, Succession, and if Cat succeeds in drawing me back in, I'm gonna end up in my Elder Scrolls phase again.
How did you first get into fandom? Well, you see, I was given far too much unrestricted access to the internet as a child. And I wanted to read Everything.
How long have you been engaging in fandom spaces? Forever? Forever. Long as I can remember, anyway, which to be fair, isn't very long.
How often do you read fanfics? Well, damn, dude, I just set one down to come answer this. (Really though, a lot. Idk I like seeing the blorbos dance. And also I'm still experiencing some burn-out from having to be autistic and in college and such so actual books... no. only blorbo.)
Top three characters from your current fandom(s):
Supernatural: Sam Winchester the most character of all time. Lucifer! Second most character of all time! and rn, Michael. but that third slot is always subject to change. Last week it was Raphael lmao.
Mass Effect: Legion. They're my favorite robot, I want their gender and their name. Tali'Zorah nar Rayya, genuinely my favorite teammate and I think she has the best plotline through all three games don't @ me. and hm. hard choice. Joker. Because he is funny. Because his relationship to Shepard is maybe my favorite out of anyone's, even the romance options. (Tiptree + "Anderson told me to take care of you" conversation in my mind always at all times...)
Succession: (okay this is cruel this is actually like asking me to pick a favorite child. but i will.) Shiv my beloved my queen i would die for her. Gerri my other beloved and queen i would also die for her. and Roman, my favorite little guy with everything in the world wrong with him.
Elder Scrolls: Martin Septim & the v specific version of Hero of Kvatch who does mantle Sheogorath, yes, both of them together, they are a set but the point is that they are separated by fate and godhood. and then also Nazeem. because he is funny. I wrote a whole fic about him.
Have you ever written fic for a fandom? YES! someone go read my silly mass effect fic i just wrote i crave attention
Have you ever drawn fanart for a fandom? Also yes. I don't post much and what I have I delete later because it's never good enough. i am. hard on my art.
Share a personal headcanon that you feel very strongly about: sam is queer of sexuality and trans of gender. end of story. (and the reason I feel strongly about this is people who claim he's 'too boring' to be queer. first of all, you're wrong, he's amazing. second of all, you don't earn queerness by being cool. you just are. fandoms stop treating queerness as a reward for some characters and being cishet as a punishment for others challenge.)
You’re trying to convince a friend to get into your current fandom(s) with you. what episode, clip, or scene are you showing them? Depends on the friend. But I stand by that if you want to infect someone with the spn brainworms, give them a copy of john's journal and watch the rot set in.
And finally, what does fandom mean to you? it's all of us sitting around a campfire sharing insane takes.
I am tagging... hm. @godsprettiestprincess, @synesindri, @archangelsammy, @herefortears, @ladyknightskye, @thnks-fr-th-samulet, and anyone else who wants in. :3
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mmtions · 2 years
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I love Buck and Eddie, I think there could have been so much potential with them two as a romantic pairing but honestly im losing hope. With the way the show has been going and the way Buck and Eddie have been written, individually and as a pair, do you really think there is still a realistic way to have them actually get together?? And i would love your opinion on this because you are an incredible writer yourself and ive been following your works from your Flash days
Hi anon! Thank you for messaging and for your kind words, and following since the Flash days! Guess we're both suckers for best friends in love, huh?
So if you're looking for more of a proof-based answer, @kitkatpancakestack talked more about some s5 choices that is very interesting and I think there's some amazing meta going around like @matan4il who I think has gone through like every 5b episode analysing.
Unfortunately, my answer is probably not the one you're looking for. Because it just... doesn't bother me if Buddie go canon or not?
So I'm putting the rest of this under read more to save other people's dash. And I should clarify that yes, I will be popping champagne like everyone at any and all 'canon' moments we get. I was screaming with the rest of y'all at Buck being in the room, and fixing the walls, and taking Eddie to the ranch. That's great content! That's fun! I love those goobers so much!! And I am also not saying I don't care about Buddie at all because, uh, my AO3 word count would disagree.
But what I mean by not caring is: what is canon and what is not does not affect my enjoyment, and I think it's a lot more fun to interact in fandom with that viewpoint.
Now, one caveat here is that I am a fandom elder (in my mid-twenties lmao). I've shipped a lot of ships, from canon to rarepairs to both-of-them-literally-died-in-canon (pour one out for the spn homies). I've shipped m/f, f/f, and m/m ships. I didn't get into Buddie because I thought they were a ship guaranteed to go canon. (I got into Buddie because this insanely gorgeous man was all over my dash apparently leaving whatever the 118 was and I needed to know more. Then I read some fic, and then I watched the show, and then I realised I was gone for about 8k into writing the PTA fic.)
I treat fandom like I treat literature. (No, I'm not saying they're the same, go away if you're about to quote classic greek at me.) What I mean by that is: the skill of literary analysis does not hinge on whether the curtains are blue. I don't give a damn what the author meant by choosing blue curtains. What matters is my skill in linking the blue of the curtains to a pattern or motif I've seen in the text, and my skill in explaining it to other people.
It's the same with fandom. I love the show - the found family, the humour, the characters, the drama - but when the episode ends, it's fanfictions and gifsets and fandom analysis I turn to. It's about the transformation. I mean, if I read one fic where it's Buck pining, or another where it's Eddie, or another where they're astronauts or cowboys or strippers or married in vegas or bake-off contestants, or they get together in the early hours of the morning or they get together after a harrowing emergency - one doesn't negate the other, you know? The skill is how the creators have transformed it. The gifmakers who made links between like, 1x04 and 5x17 and made it gorgeous to look at. Video creators, podfic makers, readers who comment and bookmark and make rec lists. Fanartists!! That's the fandom for me, and the show is the source from which we decide if the curtains are blue.
Now, truly I'm not saying this to condescend to you. I get where you're coming from, and I've been there. But I found that I take much more pleasure in my fandom experience by ignoring actors and interviews and twitter nonsense. If this is stressing you out (again, I have been there, I know it can be genuinely stressful when you care about these characters so much) you need to make a decision whether you're going to take a completely insulated approach (join me! who is ryan guzman? I don't know and now neither do you!) or you're going to lean into looking for proof in all the small moments. That's up to you.
Your fandom experience is yours to curate. If naysayers are stressing you out, block them. Read more fic, reblog more gifsets, spread more art! But I can't be the one to reassure you. If you're not enjoying the fandom, then - and I mean this with real love - take a step away.
If you think the curtains are blue, they're blue. If you wan to go out to bat to prove the curtains are blue, that's okay too, if you enjoy that! If you're constantly worrying that an executive producer is going to declare they're green, I would really recommend you come join the blue curtain club where we sew our own.
Canon is the source, and we choose what to take from it. And that's unfortunately all the reassurance I have for you, my love.
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crellanstein · 4 years
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Prodigious
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I find it odd how the fandom focuses so much on Aang’s childhood being ruined when he learned he was the Avatar at 12, but there’s very little talk about how discovering she was the Avatar as a toddler affected Korra’s life and how she was raised.
But we’ll circle back to that...
Because this is a good starting point to talk about one of the most prevalent themes in the story, which the mainstream discussion of tends to only focus on a few characters -- That is the Child Prodigy. 
We’ll start with the two most obvious. The ones we always talk about.
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Azula.
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The clearest example of your typical child prodigy (if there is anything typical about a prodigy). Azula showed early mastery of very advanced Fire-Bending techniques, and is the only Fire-Bender to use blue flames, which was intended to make her stand out amongst the other villains but is also indicative that her Fire-Bending is more pure and powerful (blue flame is produced when burning pure O2 or fuel without contaminant at a very high temperature). 
All this lead to her being praised and favored by Ozai as a child, but as double-edged swords go, this also meant she had a lot of pressure on her shoulders to never fail, and she rarely did. Her ego matched her talent, and let’s be honest she was the baddest bitch the show had ever seen. Conquering Ba Sing Se, defeating the Avatar in combat, and dropping some of the most devastating lines of dialogue in villain history; she was a force nobody wanted to reckon with. 
And that become a problem for one asshole in particular...
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Being jealous of his own child is just one item on a laundry list of reasons why this guy is the worst father in the history of fathers. Azula had begun to outshine him with her victories, and Ozai’s maniacal ego couldn’t handle that, so he left her behind to babysit the Fire Nation while he went out to burn/conquer the world, which also was her idea.
And while this wasn’t the only thing that aided in her demise, it certainly was the final straw which sent her spiraling down into this...
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In the end Azula is a sad example of how certain unfair expectations are placed upon talented children, and the more they succeed, the more these expectations grow and weigh on the them until they either disappoint those looking down on them or surpass and embarrass their elders.
It is a lose-lose situation which inevitably destroys them.
There is a similar example of the child prodigy, but his story goes a little different.
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Aang.
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Even as a twelve/thirteen year-old boy Aang by far has the most impressive stats among any character in the Avatar universe.
Basically mastering 3 of the 4 Elements in less than a year, after mastering Air by the time he is twelve (not to mention inventing his own Air-bending move, the Air scooter). 
Aang is an example of a child prodigy who had too much thrust onto him at too young an age because of the talent he showed; because of this he panicked and ran away, and the world was worse off for it. 
Aang/Sokka/Katara’s story is all about how in times of War, responsibilities normally handled by adults are pushed onto kids who then have to grow up very fast in order to deal with it all.
The message is clear. War robs the young of their childhoods. 
Now, let’s talk about a different kind of child prodigy.
The Unacknowledged. 
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Yes, of course I’m talking about Toph, the greatest Earth-Bender to ever live.
Because of her blindness, Toph’s family tried to keep her sheltered and safe by hiding her from the world. Refusing to believe she could ever be more than helpless. Anyone who has seen the show knows that is far from the truth.
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But because her potential went unseen, there were some negative effects to her personality. Initially, she resented her parents, and rebelled; which established a certain level of independence, a bad attitude, and a hot-headed streak. Over time spent with the Gaang these behaviors subsided because she finally had friends and they accepted her for who she was. By the end of the series she was fully willing to accept aid from them when she needed it, like holding on to Sokka’s arm in environment where her bending couldn’t help her “see”. 
Toph’s story is a foil to Azula’s, both showed immense talent and badassery, but while recognition of Azula lead to ever-mounting pressure for her to succeed; the lack of recognition for Toph created a need for her to be acknowledged and set an undercurrent of frustration which leads to her acting out in the ways she does.
The lesson to take from Toph’s story is not to shelter your kid from the world out of fear for their safety, and to be open to recognizing their talents, not shun them.
Next are two more Unacknowledged.
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Katara and Sokka.       
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Their story, and the reason behind their circumstances, is one of the more complicated and nuanced ones in the series, so here we’ll focus on how it fits into the subject of discussion.
Because of the War, Katara was robbed not only of her mother but also of any Southern Masters to train her, and any role models Sokka could have looked up to left with his father to fight. Because of this Katara’s potential and Sokka’s genius went unacknowledged not due to neglect but rather due to circumstance. (Yes, I think Sokka is a genius, how many 15 yr olds do you know that can plan an invasion, design submarines, and spit poetry off the cuff?).
This is a further example of how War robs kids of necessary childhood experiences, and these two robberies had particular effects on both Katara and Sokka’s character developments.
Sokka had the responsibility of protecting his home put upon him at a young age. The men of his tribe leaving prevented him from completing his rite of manhood until the Gaang ran into Bato of the Water Tribe, and early on Sokka was constantly trying to prove himself as a man and a leader. Sokka is one of the smarter characters of the series, but he rarely got credit for it until the third season. Not to mention that because he wasn’t a bender he often seemed less useful than the others. The circumstances of war made his talent go unnoticed and because of that he often was unsure of himself and overcompensated to prove something.
Speaking of talent going unnoticed.
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Katara is definitely one of the more talented benders of the series. After training herself for years with little progress, she essentially mastered Water-Bending in a few weeks under Master Pakku. While her anger towards the Fire-Nation mostly centers around the loss of her mother, it can’t be ignored that the delay in her training was a direct result of the Fire-Nations’ actions.  Toph’s anger and frustration vented itself as rebellion. However, the same frustration and anger is within Katara, but because she wasn’t as natural a bender as Toph she sought to learn and be respected, and when that was denied to her is when that anger bubbled to the surface in some terrifying ways. 
While Toph’s talent went unnoticed because of her families neglect, Katara and Sokka’s wasn’t acknowledged because there was nobody to acknowledge it. Because of that both brother and sister wanted to prove themselves to the world.
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And then there is Zuko.
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I know what you’re thinking. Zuko wasn’t a prodigy, his Fire-Bending skill didn’t catch up with Azula’s until the finale and he never mastered Lightning-Bending, but this section is about the Unacknowledged.
Zuko had many other talents besides Fire-Bending, he was a master swordsmen, and was able to successfully break into every secure facility he attempted in the show (which was almost every secure facility the show featured).  Unfortunately, these talents were never recognized, because the only thing the royal family cared about was bending ability (It’s possible the reason he learned the sword was because he lacked skill in Fire-Bending). 
As per usual with Zuko, this part of his tale is quite sad. Many can relate to being outshined by a sibling, and when it becomes all too clear that one cannot match another’s talent it’s quite understandable to focus on what they do excel at, but even then there is no promise of recognition for their own talent. Zuko was even mocked by his father during the solar eclipse when Ozai tried baiting him into attacking with his swords. 
This lack of recognition is one of many sad aspects of Zuko’s early life, but it is a definitive example of one of the hardest unacknowledged prodigy’s cross to bear. The Outshone prodigy, one whose talents are never noticed because a bigger and brighter star stands in the way of such recognition, and arguably the most frustrating type mentioned here. Toph/Sokka/Katara all came from situations were there was no recognition being given to them or anyone, but Zuko had to bear watching massive amounts of praise be piled on to his sister while he and his accomplishments went by the way side.
Ozai summed up the situation best.
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“Azula was born lucky, Zuko was lucky to be born”
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Alright now where have I been going with all this?
So, far we’ve covered a lot of wrong ways to treat a child, whether they show talent or not, and how the circumstances of war can also take many things from children.
But what happened to Korra?
(Before we get into to this I should state that I like Korra, and the purpose of this is not to bash her as a character or her arc, but rather to give a little of my insight into it.)
It’s well established that Aang was told of his heritage too young, and that was a detriment on his development into an adult, but what would have happened if he realized his powers himself not long after he could walk? We’ll never know, but we do get to see the effects it had on Korra. 
When she revealed herself as the Avatar, Korra set her entire life in a new direction, and because Aang tasked the White Lotus with finding and training her that direction was out of her control. There are two key differences between Korras’ and other Avatars’ lives.
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1. She grew up in isolation on a White Lotus compound.
Every Avatar before Korra we know of spent a portion of their early lives traveling the world in order to master the elements; along this journey they not only learned how to bend the other 3 elements, buy also many things about the 3 other nations and the world they are tasked to protect as a whole. By confining Korra in safety and bringing the masters to her the White Lotus deprived Korra of this opportunity to learn and grow and understand the world and the people within in. It also deprived her of learning modern bending styles until she reached Republic City.
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While this might have kept Korra safe from the Red Lotus, it grew within her a naiveté about how the world worked, and because of this when she actually did venture out into the world she was terribly unprepared for it.
2.  She was trained and mastered 3 of the elements by the time she was 16.
Most Avatars don’t know they have this power until they reach 16 and then they spend several years learning to control it. Korra’s natural talent in the bending lead to her training being expedited not by necessity like Aang’s, but due to her talent and eagerness. Korra excelled at the physical part of being the Avatar and because of this by the time she reached maturity she had become over-confident in her abilities and true to what her Fire-Bending master said in Ep.1 she lacked restraint.
I’m not saying her bending isn’t great, but rather because it is so great it’s her go-to solution to anything, and she enjoys that so she uses it with enthusiastic gusto and not a lot of thinking before striking.
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This overconfidence coupled with her naiveté of the world is what lead to many of her rash decisions and actions, most of which had negative consequences, and I believe are the reason behind some fan are dissatisfied with her. Aang had been almost the complete opposite, even by the age of twelve he was an experienced world traveler and an incredibly humble guy. 
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Some may have been dissatisfied by these character decisions, but they served a purpose, they are only the beginning of her arc. The internal challenge Korra must overcome through 4 seasons is to humble herself before the world, and learn from it. This was finally achieved in the 4th season when the metal poisoning in her body forces her to face others in the world as equals, only then had she completed her journey.
And why did it all go this way?
Because she is a very unique child prodigy, what she demonstrates in the first episode of LOK would be akin to a toddler playing the violin or hitting a three-pointer; she could bend 3 elements close to just after learning to walk. That is the kind of prodigious talent rarely seen because it is mostly impossible. How does a rational person handle a child like that? 
It’s a tough question, and something this essay has been circling around the whole time. Each example here is the wrong way to handle talented and different children, but what is the right way?
As always look to Iroh.
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Who treated his surrogate son Zuko with both respect and compassion. 
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Unlike Toph’s parents, Iroh worried over Zuko’s well being, but also allowed him to be independent, make his own decisions, and take his own risks.
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Unlike the Nomad Leaders, he didn’t want Zuko weighed down by his position in the world and the responsibility that came with, and always encouraged him relax and take advantage of the moment.
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Unlike Ozai, Iroh would always be there to support Zuko in his victories and his failures. Iroh shows him the right path but does not force him down it.
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And even after Zuko betrayed and abandoned him.
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Iroh was never angry with him, and embraced him upon his return.
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He wanted Zuko to grow and be a better man. Even if Zuko wasn’t a prodigy like his sister. 
And that is the answer here. The way to raise a prodigy is the same way anyone should raise any child. Love, Support, a Guiding Hand rather than a Forceful Shove, Recognition of What Makes Them Unique, and Forgiveness When They Falter. The problem comes along when you start treating children differently because you see them as different or special. All children are different, all children are special.
Kids are kids, and they all deserve a proper childhood.  
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miss-kittyy · 3 years
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Rewriting Briarlight and Longtail’s Deaths
So I am disabled, like very disabled, I am %50 of the teenagers ever diagnosed with my special combination of pain disorders, and I also unfortunately hyper fixated on warrior cats, which is bad news for me because warrior cats is super ableist, and to add insult to injury, the fandom can also be pretty ableist.
My biggest problem with the majority of “anti-ableist” AUs is that they “fix” the ableism stemming from the narrative and able bodied characters by making the disabled character less disabled, this so bad for many reasons. I’ve talked more about in other posts. The justification that real life disabled cats are less doesn’t make it not ableist, since when was warrior cats meant to be realistic? If you’re making an au where the disabled cats function like actual disabled cats you also have to make all the cats genetically accurate, and retcon Lionblaze lifting a tree.
My problem with warrior cats is not that the disabled characters cannot become full conventional warriors, I’d like it if they got to choose what duties the perform instead of being crammed into the medicine den, but I don’t care about Cinderpelt not being able to complete a marathon. Most of the fandom seems to think the issue is that the disabled character are not useful enough, instead of the way that able bodied characters deny of them agency and make remarks like “you wouldn’t want to return to a life like her’s would you?”. Disabled people do not need to be “useful” to be worthy and empowering.
It’s very obvious that most of the fandom just wants the disabled cats to be more palatable to abled bodied people, so I’ve decided to make my own rewrite instead to hopefully make myself feel better. A lot of these things are inspired by my own experiences and not every disabled person is looking for the same things in representation, this is totally self indulgent.
The goal of this AU is to highlight the many unique and valuable aspects disability and how being disabled does not infringe upon anyone’s worth, ever.
- Longtail doesn’t die in the storm, Briarpaw is still injured, but he’s found besides her, trying his best to help her cling to life.
- after Briarpaw begins to recover he stands up to Millie and other cats insulting her quality of life, he says her journey will be hard, but it is one worth taking.
- She asks him why he’s an elder, and he decides to request to have his warrior ship restored as Briarpaw is dreading the life of an elder.
- On his first patrol the cats accompanying him insist on speaking to him in an incredibly infantilism tone, and whispering amongst themselves over what he can or can’t do, without consulting him,
- He initially gives up on patrolling after that insufferable experience.
- Briarlight begins to create marks and blobs on the wall of the medicine den using crushed up dead herbs she asks him to retrieve some berries for her, and he complies.
- Jayfeather shows him how he navigates the territory with the help of some of the sighted cats, and Mousefur is quick to volunteer as his guide. He finds her company surprisingly empowering. He realizes that it was not his blindness which was limiting his abilities, but the other cats attitudes.
- Mousefur and Longtail return with mouthful of berries and herbs, Briarlight describes to him what she’s drawing on the side of the den and he helps he mound the materials into paint.
- The cats begin to pop into the medicine den to see Briarlights painting and soon Jayfeather has to kick her out occasionally so they’d stop crowding him, she’s given the walls of camp to decorate instead.
- She begins to illustrate Longtails stories of the old territory and Bloodclan, and this new form of storytelling becomes a tradition amongst Thunderclan.
- because more young cats are aware of the clans history it becomes harder for the dark forest to recruit them, unfortunately, Blossomfall’s resentment towards her sister means she never cared to listen.
- Ivypool is still recruited and trained like in canon, given her relationship with the dark forest was much more emotionally charged and manipulative than just plain lies.
- at a gathering Longtail meets Grasspelt who inquires about Briarlight, Longtail is surprised about how little he knows as the she-cat had mentioned how well they got along as apprentices. Despite Millie nagging him not to tell him the truth about her daughter he does anyways, but puts much more emphasis on how well she’s doing than Millie expected. Grasspelt thinks this sounds really cool and decides that he is going to see her and her paintings, and that nobody can stop him. Longtail makes sure to put any opposing cat in their place, but Briarlight is a very respected Clanmate, so most warriors don’t say anything.
- Briarlight is nervous and doesn’t want to come out of the medicine den at first, but when Grassheart darts into the den holding berries and flowers for her to paint with she quickly warms up to her visitor.
- Grassheart is happy to tell Briarlight that he’s never been able to be a “functioning” warrior, and that he has always imagined that his spirit is shaped different, the medicine cat says his body is normal, but he’s never been able to keep focus in a fight or react as quickly as he should be able to while hunting. (He’s autistic because I say so)
- As dusk nears he’s visually hesitant to return to Riverclan and when Longtail inquires on why he says that he hasn’t felt so “here” for a long time. On the way back he wanders off and comes back with a chipmunk, when returning to Riverclan territory his father, Mintfur, is shocked to see his catch. After talking with his family a bit he realizes that it was the noise from the river that was making him so tense and dissociated, Brackenfur, who was escorting him, notices that he keeps rubbing himself on the ground and wincing.
- For the next couple moons Grasspelt returned to Thunderclan to bring Briarlight plants that only grow in Riverclan territory, he begins trying to fish from the quite lazy stream in their territory and soon both him and Briarlight have got it down.
- Longtail notices the sadness present whenever Grasspelt left and exclaims that it’s rather stupid that he’s living somewhere so unsuited for him just because of words long repeated.
- Grasspelt confesses that he feels the same, but knew he wasn’t supposed to say anything. Briarlight tells Longtail that her and the Riverclan warrior had been thinking of each other as mates for moons.
- Longtail accompanies Jayfeather to the next half moon meeting where he proposes his addition to the warrior code, “no cat should be confined to laws which harm them due to an inherent physical or spiritual difference.” (Cats don’t really know how brains work, so they see mental disabilities as a difference within a cats spirit)
- A moon later the leaders meet to discuss this proposition, it is accepted and Grasspelt makes the journey to Thunderclan for the final time.
- Grasspelt is renamed Grassspirit when becoming a Thunderclan warrior, unlike prior renaming of disabled cats this is a celebration.
- Grassspirit spends most of his time taking care of the elders and kits, he’s incredibly compassionate especially with kits and is able to solve many problems within the nursery.
- When twigkit and Violetkit arrive in Thunderclan Briarlight and Grassspirit help raise them, after Violetkit is taken Briarlight and Twigkit paint her on the side of Thunderclan camp.
- Briarlight still gets sick and her illness progresses without any treatment, Grassspirit notices her trying to hide it and when Longtail finds out he’s very upset. Jayfeather frantically treats her, expressing his frustration that she didn’t tell them sooner, the second Millie steps out she breaks down and explains that she just wanted to deal with it herself, and perhaps if she were successful Millie would finally treat her like an adult.
- Longtail gives Millie a stern talking to, he tells her that Briarlight is a warrior of Thunderclan and as her clanmate she should show her some respect.
- Millie is inherently very reactionary, as she had not realized the full extent of her suffocation, but eventually after a couple moons her and Briarlight begin to rekindle their relationship, like adults.
- Blossomfall sees how Brairlight wasn’t basking in their mother’s attention like she imagined, and feels the urge to seek out an actual sisterhood after ignoring Briarlight for moons and moons.
- Briarlight isn’t really mad at her sister, and understands why she felt the way she did. Jayfeather suggests that Blossomfall help Briarlight with her painting, Blossomfall seems put off with the suggestion of being her sister’s assistant.
- The interactions that follow are less than ideal, Blossomfall commends Briarlight’s able friends (Thornclaw, Poppyfrost, Alderheart, etc) for being so nice to her, as if that’s not what friends do. She seems very sad the entire time, sighing when her sister dragged her legs around with her mouth to sit more comfortably, even though she was completely fine. When watching her paint she comments that it’s good she has “something to keep her busy”, and finally she expresses her view, of Briarlight’s injury and her (Blossomfall’s) suffering being all worth it because of her talents, as if her life was not worth living to begin with.
- Briarlight tells her that if that’s truly what she wants she’s going to have to put more effort into understanding and respecting her way of life, and that she won’t apologize for their mother’s actions.
- When Blossomfall has her kits they take a liking to Auntie Briarlight, and Blossomfall seems to have reflected on their past interactions, trusting her sister to watch her kits. Briarlight teases a bit, a subtle way of telling her not to rush things, but they do begin to feel like something close to sisters.
- Right before Briarlight’s Nieces and Nephews are made warriors Longtail dies of Greencough. Throughout the entirety of his sickness he kept his sense of humour, his mean streak, and his immense love for what he had made of his clan.
- At his vigil Grassspirit began whaling like a bird in new-leaf, he insists that the vigil is too sad, and that Longtail wouldn’t want everyone moping around, for Starclan’s sake, his life was good. Standing amongst them, Longtail’s spirit can feel every cat in Thunderclan standing around him, singing the song of a life well lived.
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pineau-noir · 2 years
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(G, 1.1k) For @ihopeyoubothstaysafefromharm
Happy birthday my dear friend. Have some fluffy fluff about our favorite niffler.
Thank to so much to @mosrael for the beta, I got all gushy on ao3 and probably exposed my not-so-secret fandom crush.
Here it is on ao3 for anyone who doesn't want to read below the cut.
Marcellus Horatius Cornelius Flavius the Magnificent, First of his Name— or as he was better known to his humans: Peanut Butter Tater Tot; or even more colloquially: PB— was having a weird day.
He had hitched a ride with the emerald boy to the big area with all the people. He saw the elder emerald human packing things up and chattering about 'school', something that PB knew would necessitate a trip out, so he hid in the younger emerald human’s bag. He had a lovely nap on the way.
When he awoke, he was at the shining place with all of the beautiful serving spoons. Sneaking out was simple; no one was paying him any attention. PB thought he could easily grab a couple of spoons for his hidden collection. But as soon as he emerged out of the pocket, he saw something even better than spoons. He saw a boy who was made of silver.
With a brief pang of guilt, PB snuck under the table, away from the younger emerald human, and crawled into the silver boy’s bag.
The bag was lovely. Warm and cosy, smelling far better than the emerald boy's bag. There was a scarf, PB realised it was identical to the one the younger emerald had, so he curled up in it and went back to sleep.
Afterall, sneaking was a tiring business.
——
When PB awoke, it was because the silver human had pulled him out of the bag. He seemed excited to find PB hidden away. PB preened, because he knew he was an exemplary example of his species. There was some chatter, but PB ignored it because it didn’t involve any of his favourite words: outside, spoons, Gringotts, or treat.
Then a platinum person appeared. He seemed a little cross. The silver boy smiled and talked about how lovely PB was, but the platinum man only frowned and said things like ‘pest’ and ‘Potter’. PB actually knew what Potter meant, he lived at Potter house. Why the emerald one had named their house Potter, PB didn’t know.
PB had named their house Hermann House, because the older copper woman always said the house was ‘full of too many men’ and the emerald man always said ‘hermmm’ after she said it.
Before PB could figure out what the platinum man called his house, an aquamarine person stepped out of the bad, scary, loud, bright place that PB’s humans loved to use. PB had tried, unsuccessfully, for years to get them to only use the fast, dizzy way, or even better, the high in the sky, windy way to travel.
He had never understood why humans were so odd.
But after the platinum man moved a bunch of things that PB hadn’t even noticed, the silver one and aquamarine one were giving PB pets and, even better—food. It was just a green, branchy mini-tree, but PB was starting to get hungry, so he allowed his new humans to feed him.
Then, even better, the silver boy and aquamarine woman moved to the soft lump of blue in the middle of the room and sat down to cuddle PB. The platinum human said something to the people on the blue lump and the silver one got up to move some other things that PB liked, but not as much as he liked spoons. The aquamarine human pulled a round ball of fresh, bright, light orange out of her pocket and picked the gross covering off, then started to feed PB again.
He thought it only appropriate to purr at her. She was an excellent human and this house was much quieter than Hermann House. PB thought he could be very happy at this new house, even if he would miss the copper girl and emerald boy. The smokey quartz boy was fine, but he didn’t sneak PB treats or spoons.
The silver human came back in and the aquamarine woman handed PB over. They were both very gentle and PB let out a little yawn. The snacks they had given him had filled up his belly and the silver boy was warm. With one last look at his new home, PB drifted off to sleep.
——
PB woke up after his new people had done the loud, fast travelling and he was back at his old home. The platinum man and the emerald man started talking and PB heard his name. He briefly perked up, but he was still warm in the silver boy’s arm so he snuggled back in.
The silver boy followed the smokey quartz boy, the copper girl, and the emerald boy into PB’s room. He immediately jumped out of the silver boy’s arms to make sure no one had gotten into his cache of spoons while he was on his adventure.
Seeing everything where it was supposed to be, PB sneaked out to try and grab a new spoon for his collection. The young humans were talking and didn't notice him. He made his way through the halls, into his secret tunnel, and then he was in the big, bright room with all the spoons.
The older emerald human was talking to the platinum human. They seemed stiff and awkward, so PB grabbed a spoon— gold with leaves at the end— and made his way back to his hidey hole.
He started to rearrange his collection and was almost done when he heard shouting. Tired of being left behind, PB decided to follow the noise. When he got to the room, he saw the emerald man sitting on the big brown lump in the middle of the room. The platinum man was smiling and his face was as red as a ruby.
All of the humans were laughing and no one was paying any attention to PB, which was just not on, so he jumped into the platinum man’s lap. He was the only one who had paid no attention to PB the entire day, which was something that needed to be fixed. As soon as possible.
The platinum man smiled down at PB. The older emerald human leaned over and did something weird to the pointy thing on the front of the platinum man’s face. The younger humans all laughed and clapped so PB reckoned it was probably something good.
Then the best thing happened. The platinum one, who still apparently thought PB’s name was ‘pest’, picked PB up and rubbed their faces together.
PB had no choice but to purr at him.
When he was lowered back to the platinum human’s lap, he decided it was time for another nap.
So he slept. And dreamt of new spoons, new, shiny humans, and best of all, his own shiny family.
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scorpionyx9621 · 3 years
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Do you think Jason Todd fandom is kinda toxic? Because it seems like NO MATTER what DC do, there'll always be complains. Forget the bad adaptation like Titans. Even Judd Winick cannot escape the criticism with how he potrayed Robin!Jason. They just never satisfied.
SORRY, IT TOOK ME SO LONG TO RESPOND TO THIS. I just moved from Washington D.C. to Seattle, which, for my non-American friends, that's 4442km away. And I DROVE THERE ALL BY MYSELF. And now I'm trying to find new work in a new city and trying to stay mentally healthy and positive. Life is exciting but hard and scary.
*sighs*
As someone who was a fandom elder with V*ltr*n. I've seen some of the worst when it comes to fandom behavior. I'm talking people baking food with shaving razors and trying to give them to the showrunners. I'm talking leaking major plot details and refusing to take it down unless they make their ship canon (I am looking at you, Kl*nce stans) For the most part, DC Comics has had a decades-long reputation of treating their fans like trash and not caring what they think so from what I've seen, we all just grumble and complain in our corners of the internet about how we don't like how X comic portrays Jason Todd.
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The challenge with Jason Todd is that he's your clinical anti-hero, the batfamily's Draco in Leather Pants, he's a jerkass woobie, and on top of all of that, he's a Tumblr sexyman. It's a perfect storm for a very fun but frustrating character to be a fan of. It doesn't help that every writer decides to re-invent the wheel every time Jason comes up so his canon lore is confusing at best and inconsistent as a standard.
I guess starting with a general brief on who Jason is and what is uniform about him with every instance he's appeared in comics/media.
Grew up in a poor family in Gotham with a dad who was a petty-mid-level criminal, and a mother who dies of a drug overdose.
Survives on the street on his own by committing petty crimes and potentially even engaging in sexual acts to keep himself alive.
Is cornered by Batman and taken in after Dick Grayson quits/is fired
Becomes the second Robin, but is known for being the harsher, more brutal Robin.
Is killed by Joker after being tortured, but somehow comes back to life and regains senses through the Lazarus Pit
Resolves himself to be better than Batman by basically being Batman but kills people.
Where there has been a lot of conflict in the fandom is the fact that Jason Todd is not a character that is written consistently. DC Comics loves to go with the narrative that Jason was "bad from the start" and was the "bad robin" when, yes, he has trouble controlling his anger, but he also still is just as invested in seeing the best of Gotham City and trying to be a positive change for the world as any other DC Comics hero.
Where I get frustrated with the fandom is its ability to knit-pick every detail of a comic they don't like while completely disregarding everything that makes the comics great and worth it to read. My example being Urban Legends. To which most people had pretty mixed reactions to. I was critical of the comic at first but as it went along I ended up really liking it. I have a feeling DC Comics went to Chip Zdarsky and told him he had 6 issues to bring Jason back into the Bat Family, and honestly he didn't do a bad job. Did it feel rushed? Absolutely. I wish there was more development of Jason and Bruce's characters and their dynamic as a whole. However, where I see a lot of people being angry and upset with Urban Legends is that they feel Zdarsky needlessly wrote Jason as an incompetent fool who needs Bruce to save him.
Whether or not that was the intention of Zdarsky is up to debate. However, and this may be controversial, but I don't think he wrote Jason Todd out of character at all. For as fearsome, intimidating, and awesome as Red Hood is. Jason is a character who is absolutely driven by his emotions. Why do you think he donned the role of Red Hood? As a response to his anger towards The Joker for killing him, and towards Bruce for not taking action against The Joker and for seemingly replacing him so quickly after he died. Jason didn't care about being the murderous Robin Hood or for being the bloody hammer of justice against N*zi's and P*d*ph*les. He only cared originally about making The Joker and Bruce pay. It wasn't until he trained under the best assassins in the world and realized most of them were horrific criminals who trafficked children and were p*dos that Talia began to realize that the teachers that she sent Jason to train under started dying horrific and painful deaths.
The entire story of the Cheer story in Batman Urban Legends was started because it finally forced some consequences upon Jason. Tyler, aka Blue Hood's father was a drug dealer who gave his supply to his wife and kids. And when Tyler's father admitted he gave the drugs to Tyler, it immediately made him fall within the self-imposed philosophical kill-list of Jason Todd. And Jason, well, he proceeds to kill Tyler's father. When this happens, Jason is in shock. Tyler's dad fit the bill to easily and justifiably be killed by Jason. We've never seen Jason having to deal with the consequences of being a murderous vigilante on a micro-level. When Jason realizes what he's done in that he's murdered Tyler's dad, he's shocked. He tells Babs the truth. He does a rational thing because he's in shock. He doesn't know what to do, he never has had to face the consequences of his actions as Red Hood and now the gravity of befriending a child as a vigilante hero who kills people just set in when he killed the father of the same child he was just introduced to.
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(Oh here's a little aside because it had to be said, Jason would not have been a good father or a good mentor to Tyler and absolutely should not have been his new Robin. Jason is a man who is in his early 20's (not saying men in their early 20's can't be good fathers at all) who is a brutal serial killer using the guise of a vigilante anti-hero to let him escape most of the law. the complications of having the man who murdered your father adopt you and make you his sidekick are way too numerous for me to explain in a long-winded already heavy Tumblr essay post. There's a reason why we don't advocate for a story where Joe Chill adopted Bruce Wayne or one where Tony Zucco took in Dick Grayson.)
The next biggest argument is that they feel that Jason is giving up his guns as a means to just be invited back into the Bat-Family. To which I will tell anyone who has that argument to go actually read Urban Legends. Already have and still have that argument? Please re-read it. Don't want to? That's okay, I will paste the images from the comic where Jason specifically says that he doesn't want to give up his weapons for Bruce and his real reasoning down below since the comic isn't exactly readily accessible.
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Jason gave up the guns because he felt the gravity of what he had done and knows how it'll effect Tyler. Thankfully his mom is alive and in recovery. But Tyler doesn't have a father anymore. And Jason killed Tyler's father. It may have been in accordance to Jason's philosophy, but it was a case where it blurred the lines. Jason Todd isn't a black and white character, just very dark gray. He doesn't kill aimlessly like the Joker. If you are on Jason's list you probably have done something pretty horrific, and also just in general, being in his way or being a threat to him. Mind you, in early days of Red Hood and the Outlaws (Image below) Jason almost killed 10 innocent civilians in a town in Colorado all because they saw him kill a monster. That being said, Jason isn't aimless in his kills.
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(Also can we just take a moment to appreciate Kenneth Rocafort's art? DC Comics said we need to rehabilitate Jason Todd's image and Kenneth Rocafort said hold my beer: It's so SO GOOD)
That being said, the key emphasis in the story of Cheer asides from trying to introduce Jason Todd back into the Bat Family and give an actual purpose for him being there, other than him just kind of being there ala Bowser every time he shows up for Go Kart racing, Tennis, Golf, Soccer, and the Olympic games when Mario invites him, is that Jason and Bruce ultimately both want the same thing. Jason wants to be welcomed back into the family and to be loved and appreciated. Bruce want's Jason back as his son and wants to love and protect Jason. Both of these visions are shown in the last chapter of Cheer while under the effect of the Cheer Gas. It's ultimately this love and appreciation they both have for each other that helps them overcome their challenge and win.
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Jason Todd is a character who, just like Bruce, has been through so much pain and so much hate in his life. The two are meant to parallel each other. While Bruce chose to see the best in everyone, giving every rogue in his gallery the option to be helped and give them a second chance, hence why he never kills, Jason has a similar view on wanting to protect the public, but he understands that some crimes are so heinous they cannot be forgiven, or that some habitual criminals are due to stay habitual criminals, and need to be put down. But at the end of the day, the two of them both try to protect people in their own ways.
I am aware that through the writings of various DC Comics authors such as Scott Lobdell and Judd Winick, the two have had a very tumultuous relationship. And rightfully so, I am by no means saying that Scott Lobdell writing an arc where Bruce literally beats Jason to within an inch of his life in Red Hood and the Outlaws, nor Judd Winick's interpretation of Under the Red Hood where Bruce throws the Batarang at Jason's neck, slicing his throat and leaving him ambiguously for dead at the end of the comic is appropriate considering DC Comics seems to be trying everything they can to integrate Jason back into the family. That being said, a lot of these writings have shaped the narrative of Jason and Bruce's relationship and have an integral effect on the way the fandom views the two. It doesn't help that Zdarsky acknowledged Lobdell's life-beating of Jason by Bruce at the very end of Cheer by having Bruce give Jason his old outfit back as a means of mending the fence between the two of them. That does complicate a lot of things in terms of how they are viewed by the fandom and helps to cause an even greater divide between the two.
Regardless, I want to emphasize the fact that Jason Todd is a part of the family of his own accord. Yes, he's quite snarky and deadpan in almost every encounter. However, Jason is absolutely a part of the family and has been for a while of his own will. There's a great moment in Detective Comics that emphasizes this. Jason cares about his family because it is his found family. Yes, they may be warry about him and use him as a punching back and/or heckle him. At the end of the day, we're debating the family dynamics of a fictional playboy billionaire vigilante whose kleptomania took the form of adopting troubled children and turning them into vigilante heroes. Jason Todd wants a family that will love and support him. This is a key definition of his character at its most basic. This was proven during the events of Cheer and is being reenforced by DC Comics every time they get the opportunity to do so.
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Now, none of this is to say that I hate Judd Winick. I do not, I don't like the fact that in all of his writings of Jason, he just writes him as a dangerous psychopath, and Winick himself admits to seeing Jason as nothing much more than a psychopath. Yet Winick is the one who the majority of the fandom clings to as the one true good writer of Jason Todd because 'Jason was competent, dangerous, smart' Listen, friends, Jason is all of that and I will never deny it. However, what I love about Jason isn't that he's dangerously smart of that writers either write him as angsty angry Tumblr sexyman bait or that they write him as an infantile man child with a gun. There's a large contention of this fandom that has an obsession with Jason Todd being this vigilante gunman who is hot and sexy and while I definitely get the appeal. It is very creepy and downright disturbing that all of you hyperfixate on his use of guns and ability to be a murderer. It is creepy and I'm not necessarily here for it.
What I love about Jason Todd is that despite all of the pain, all of the heartache, all of the betrayal, and bullying, and death, and anguish. Jason Todd is one of the most loving and supportive characters in all of DC Comics. Jason has been through so much in his life, but he still chooses to love. He still chooses to see the bright side in people. Yes, he takes a utilitarian approach and chooses to kill certain villains, but at the end of the day he wants to see a better world, and he wants to be loved. It takes so much courage and so much heart to learn to love again after one has been abused or traumatized. I would not blame Jason at all if he said fuck it and just went full solo and vigilante evil. He has every right to, but he still chooses to be with the Bat Family of his own accord. That's something that I see a lot of in myself. I have been through a lot of trauma and yet I try to be a better person myself in any way that I can. It is extremely admirable of Jason to allow love back into his heart when he really doesn't need to. He kills and he protects because he has this love of society. It may have been shaped by anger and hatred, but Jason has found his place amongst people who love him and value him. I think Ducra, from Red Hood and the Outlaws put it best in the image given below.
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To end this tangent, I love Jason Todd and all of his sexy dangerousness, but it's far more than that. As much as Jason may be dangerous and snarky, he loves his family without a shadow of a doubt. I look up to Jason Todd because despite all of his pain and all of his trauma, he still choses to love. Jason Todd is a character who is someone I love because despite all of his flaws and having a very toxic fandom, he still serves as a character filled with so much heart and so much passion. I wish more writers would understand that. But for now I will live with what I have. Even though the fandom may be vocal about it's hatred for his characterization, I choose to love Jason regardless because he is a character who chooses love and acceptance regardless of his pain. Jason Todd is by no means a good person in any sense of the word. He has easily killed upwards of 100 people by now. He is a character who is flawed and complex but ultimately is one who powers forwards and finds love and heart in a place from so much pain and anguish. That is what I love about Jason Todd. After all, to quote a famous undead robot superhero, "What is grief, if not love persevering?" Jason Todd chooses to love despite all of the trauma and pain and grief. Yes, he is hardened in his exterior, but inside there is a man with a lot of love to give and someone who deserves the world in my eyes.
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the-blue-fairie · 3 years
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Elsa’s scars are because of a complex interplay between the pain of the accident AND the pain of her upbringing thereafter.
I talk about the ways  in which the trolls’, Agnarr’s, and Iduna’s choices negatively impact Elsa and Anna a great deal. It’s a complex subject to discuss - and I feel like I’m always returning to it because the fandom often tries to reduce it to black and white.
On the one hand, there are people in the fandom who vehemently dislike Agnarr and Iduna and portray them very negatively.
On the other hand, there are people who love Agnarr and Iduna and try to defend their every action, even when their actions hurt their daughters.
And... the trolls don’t usually get brought up at all. I mean, there are definitely folks who point out that the trolls are to blame for stoking the whole royal family’s fears... but I don’t think people can see their pain as easily in the abstract magical characters’ actions, so they just don’t dwell on them as much.
In my opinion, both extremes are approaching the matter in the wrong way. I don’t agree with people who hate Agnarr and Iduna. I don’t agree with people who paint them simply as abusive parents. In both the first film and the second, Agnarr and Iduna are good people trying to do their best in a painful situation. BUT, at the same time, their parents’ actions and the trolls’ actions hurt both of the sisters - and I feel like, when people bend over backwards to defend their actions, people ignore the hurt they caused.
AND, in some ways, I feel like the second film encourages this black and white thinking. The second film WANTS viewers to ignore the negative ramifications of the trolls’ and the parents’ actions. That’s why the film proper never discusses Agnarr’s and Iduna’s or the trolls’ actions while the sisters were children - opting instead for the tie-in book Dangerous Secrets to discuss those events... a tie-in book that, however well-written, will only reach a select audience while the films will reach a far wider audience.
This bothers me because it usually means I see people ignoring many of the external forces that caused Elsa to grow into who she is as a character.
In some cases, these are people who simply treat Elsa like a bad person because they ignore all the context that informs why she behaves like she does.
BUT, at the same time, I have friends who are deeply sympathetic to Elsa... but can’t seem to process how deeply Elsa’s upbringing informed who she grew up to be. 
Like, I’ve had long discussions with friends who have told me that, if Elsa was raised differently, she would still grow up the same because her trauma comes from the accident.
I feel this represents a gross misunderstanding of how child development works.
Yes, Elsa was devastated by the accident. But consider her actions and body language immediately thereafter:
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Her first instinct is to run to Anna and hold her in her arms. Even after her parents coming rushing in and her father asks what she has done, she defends herself, saying, “It was an accident. I’m sorry, Anna.” She still holds Anna close:
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Elsa has to be taught to recoil, to shrink away, to keep her distance from Anna.
Elsa’s fear is learned. We only see her truly starting the pattern of shrinking away, of curling inside herself with fear of herself after Pabbie shows her an ominous vision, telling her there is “danger” in her powers.
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A fear of herself that continues thereafter, after she has processed that she is and so begins to see herself as a danger:
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Yes, the accident itself scarred Elsa. But to say that, “If Elsa was raised differently, things would have turned out the same because her trauma emerges from the accident” is simply wrong. 
Elsa was a child being influenced by adult authority figures who ultimately failed her.
Pabbie igniting a vague and fiery vision of danger before an impressionable child influenced her, helped to cement the idea in Elsa that she is naturally dangerous.
Agnarr and Iduna separating the sisters reinforces to Elsa that there is something wrong in her - something she has to repress.
Keep in mind, I’m NOT saying this to demonize Agnarr and Iduna. As this moment shows, they are heartbroken the more Elsa shrinks from them. They love their daughter, and hate to see her hurting like this: 
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BUT that doesn’t change the fact that their actions helped to hurt her. Inadvertently, I know. But they still did.
To ignore the influence of the adult authority figures on who Elsa became is to ignore the complexity of how children interact with the world, how they respond to elders who are in positions of power. Elsa trusts the signals given by the adults around her. When Pabbie tells her there is “great danger” in her powers, she believes him. When her parents tell her that it is a necessity that she isolate herself and conceal herself, she trusts them.
Sometimes, certain people make much of the nuances of Pabbie’s words  or Agnarr’s words. They point out that Pabbie also says there is beauty in Elsa’s powers and that “Fear will be your enemy” also refers to Elsa’s inner fear of herself. They comment that “Conceal it, don’t feel it” is not the same as “Conceal, don’t feel.”
The thing is, these readings put the blame on Elsa for misunderstanding - instead of putting the blame on the adults for inadvertently imparting hurtful messages to a child.
It shouldn’t be placed on the shoulders of a child to decipher a cryptically worded aphorism. It should be on the adult figure, especially when this adult figure is an ancient and wise being.
And really, for all the distinctions between “Conceal it, don’t feel it” and “Conceal, don’t feel,” their essence is still the same. The misguidedness of concealment, of not feeling something that is a part of you, is still rooted in the words regardless of which version we choose.
 Elsa, as a child, was still told by the adults around her that she should keep her distance from others for their protection and so, as she grew older, she took that more and more to heart. She grew into what she had been taught - even though the teaching initially came from a good-hearted place.
Sometimes, I’ve had my friends ask me, “But by putting all this focus on Elsa’s influences growing up, are you sure you’re not losing focus on the pain Elsa feels because of the accident itself?” And... no, I’m not. That’s why the title of my post is, “Elsa’s scars are because of a complex interplay between the pain of the accident AND the pain of her upbringing thereafter.” Because I WANT this post to be a nuanced reflection.
But... if Pabbie hadn’t shown a vague and terrifying vision to and impressionable child and her frightened family... you can’t tell me things would have been the same.
If Iduna and Agnarr hadn’t limited Elsa’s contact with people, you can’t tell me things would have been the same.
A friend once pointed to the trail of ice Elsa makes on the journey to the Valley of the Living Rock, arguing that this shows Elsa’s loss of control and panic before Pabbie stresses that she is dangerous - and therefore arguing that this highlights that things would still turn out the same for Elsa growing up even if the trolls and her parents made different choices because she fears what she can do:
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I feel my friend’s reading here is... a bit of a stretch. Elsa is scared, yes, but the self-hatred that defines her as an adult? That comes later. That, she has to learn. And it is that self-hatred and fear of herself that paralyzes her.
And I’ve had friends point out, “But Elsa WAS dangerous! She DID hurt Anna, and that’s tied into her stress with wanting to protect her, and that was before the trolls or her parents had any involvement...”
I don’t like this take because it seems to put an impossible amount of weight on Elsa as a child. It asks Elsa as a child to be perfectly composed. To not be scared for her sister’s safety. To... not feel.
It’s a take that follows the misguided logic the film ultimately refutes while defending the mistakes that caused that misguided logic to do so much harm.
And, yeah. Sure. Elsa becomes scared. In the ballroom and riding through the forest. She’s a tiny child.
That doesn’t justify teaching her to fear herself, actions that only make the problem far, far worse.
 And you can say, “Well, the adults didn’t MEAN to teach Elsa that-” I know they didn’t mean to do it.
But showing a terrifying light-show to a little girl will impact her, regardless of what Pabbie meant. Especially when he does not clarify.
But slamming the gates shut will have a powerful psychological effect on both Elsa and Anna, regardless of what their parents meant.
Elsa was a child.
Children learn from their surroundings. They respond to the actions of adults they trust, adults they love. While the accident itself impacted Elsa, we cannot ignore that the way she was brought up thereafter also had a profound effect on the way she saw the world, the way she responded to the world. 
Elsa was a child being influenced by adult authority figures who ultimately failed her - and the fact people are so willing to put the weight of that on a child instead of the adults surrounding her is troubling to me.
The fact that the second film kind of tacitly puts the weight of that on Elsa’s shoulders by only making abstract references to “fear” - instead of openly talking about the complex circumstances Elsa and her parents found themselves in - is troubling to me as well. It allows viewers to disregard the more complicated elements of Elsa’s relationship with her parents and only focus on the positives the second film puts on display.
(Keep in mind, I DON’T intend this post to be anti Agnarr and Iduna. I love them as characters - ESPECIALLY Iduna, with the backstory F2 offers. Agnarr and Iduna are good people. They are loving parents. They were put in a horribly complicated position... and ultimately their actions - for all their good intentions - had negative consequences.) 
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twst-campos13 · 3 years
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UwU welcome to the twst writing fandom~ Aha finally a blog that can write for male! mc,I haven't seen them for a while nor there are a lot of~ Can i request hc with the first years with a male crush reader~? Hope that you'll get many followers! ahehe~I dunno what to say. Hope that you have a great day, UwU -🍵🌱✨
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Hello there Tea Non! (can I call you that qq?) Sorry for the wait!! Jack’s part feels a bit too short and Sebek’s quite long,, ^^’’
Warnings: mild language! internalized homophobia (Epel’s part!) Tags: fluff, male!reader
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➸ Ace is a little shit bastard, but he (along with Deuce) practically became best friends. You're one of the people he would tease to death and annoy with but also he would stand by your side no matter what.
➸ You banter a lot together. You'd fight, argue, and even tease each other which is considered "too mean" to other people.
➸ Though your arguing turns to flirting sometimes. You didn't even realize it, Ace didn't even realize it, but your friends did and they're placing bets if you two are actually into each other or not. 
➸ How long did Ace figure out that this isn't just a normal bro-thing? Well, suddenly, seeing you scowl at him and swear at him is becoming more than amusing—it's becoming endearing. He likes the way you look at him or even gets hyped up in annoying you when you fire back with remarks.
➸ The fluttering feeling in his chest only grew when you two were play flirting. He grinned cheekily at you about maybe needing some company while doing library duty. You know what you said to him back? 
➸ "Awe, Ace. Do you want to be alone with me that much?"
➸ His brain tried what just happened and why that he was so red right after that whole exchange. You two always flirted and bickered, right? Why does it feel kinda different now?? What??? Hnajgejegegaeg????
➸ Then you started to do intimately nice things to him—like that one time you had to tend to his hand after burning himself during potions class—then oh, oh. Fuck. Oh fuck. He has a crush on you. Does that surprise him? To have a crush on a guy? Not particularly, because this isn't the first time it happened. 
➸ Before Ace met his ex-girlfriend, he already experienced what it's like to have a crush on a guy. He didn't understand why or why that feeling is the same feeling he has for a girl. 
➸ His brother found out first then he came out to his mom. She did call it a phase but in a way that she was supportive of him questioning his sexuality. His mom assured him that she wouldn't love him less if he's bisexual.  
➸ Ace just hopes this little crush of his doesn't develop. He doesn't want things to get awkward between the two of you! Just because he likes the way your cheeks reddens when he slings an arm around you and pinches your cheek, doesn't mean you can do the same to him...okay, maybe he'd like that a little bit
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➸ Deuce is a smart student. He's loyal, reliable, and diligent. However, sometimes he just comes off as dense. 
➸ He's comfortable with his sexuality. Whatever it is that is seen as too intimate for two bros to share is normal for him. After all, you're his best friend! Along with Ace and Grim. There's nothing weird about how he's treating you because he treats his friends the same way. 
➸ Said friends watch his imaginary ears and tail wag when you praise him or compliment him. Okay, who's gonna tell him? 
➸ It's like they were the ones who realize Deuce has a crush on you first than Deuce himself. They started placing bets on when he's going to realize it or if you'll be the one to find out and Deuce still hasn't realized what he's feeling is infatuation.
➸ It's rather cute, actually. Deuce is already cute but he became quite endearing when he smiles at you. How he's always making sure to see if you're comfortable, checking in on your wellbeing, and asking if you need help.
➸ He's a little protective of you, too. Granted he controls himself to not get into too many fights. He doesn't want you to get roped into the fights and get hurt. However, if some mob student even dares to mess with you when you aren't even doing anything, you got some backup. (Don't mess with the First Year Squad).
➸ Ace teases him about his little crush on you which leads to Deuce punching his arm all flustered. He's a little shit to Deuce about this too, always making kissy sounds when Deuce gets too cute around you.
➸ The funny thing is, Deuce doesn't even realize he's infatuated with you. Again, he thinks you just have a special place in his heart. You're his bro and he's willing to fight with you. 
➸ He finally realized when he talked to his mom about you and she commented how glad she is that her son found someone he can be happy with. She reminded him to take his crush as a motivation in his studies, and Deuce nodded at her advice.
➸ Wait WHAT—
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➸ Epel is by no means weak. This boy worked at a farm before he was in NRC. That pretty face doesn't mean a pretty heart (sometimes). 
➸ Though the urge to pick him up out of nowhere is tempting. No one in the squad tried to do it to catch him off guard (Ace attempted to while Deuce stopped him, Sebek doesn't think it's necessary, and Jack only picked him up because they were working out together). Besides, he isn't some damsel to be hoisted out of nowhere! He doesn't like it...or so he thought when you picked him up by the torso to move him out of the way. Epel didn't see Grim running at full speed on the ground because his tail got bitten by a live crab. Your first instinct was to just grab and lift him—you didn't mean to startle him, really. 
➸ Needless to say, Epel developed a new emotion. He doesn't know what to call it or if there's even a name for it. Is there a name for "brain shutting down for brief moments after being picked up with ease?"
➸ Does he like you? Does he actually have a crush on you?? He never had a crush on a guy before—he never had a crush on anyone. Does the fluttery feeling in his chest when you touch shoulders mean that he likes you?? ahufaeofaufea????!!
➸ He's just...lost. So lost about what he's feeling towards you. A lot of invasive and absurd thoughts flood his mind. Do you have a crush on him too? Will you like him? Would you find him weird? Who's gonna "wear the pants" in the relationship?? He doesn't want that! Liking a guy doesn't make him less manly, right? RIGHT??
➸ "Hey Epel are you—" | "I DON'T LIKE HIM." | "...dude I was just gonna ask if you're finished with your essay..."
➸ The squad (sans you) have to reassure Epel that his feelings for you are valid and that doesn't make him less manly than he already is (Jack and Deuce). Liking a guy is the same as liking anyone else (Sebek). Worrying about a certain role to play in a relationship between same-sexes is kinda homophobic (Ace). 
➸ That assured him, atleast. He isn't familiar with liking a guy. Plus, with where he came from, it's definitely uncommon. However...there is one thing that Epel is familiar with.
➸ He definitely fantasized about meeting someone to grow old with. Someone who will love him back and share dreams with. No one knows about this of course—what are you talking about? He's not a sappy, romantic person. Not at all!!
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➸ Jack would deny it 100% 
➸ There is no way he has a crush on you! He can't do that to you—no way. He respects you enough to keep your relationship as just friends. If you're bros, you're bros.
➸ Yeah, that doesn't really work out well for him.
➸ It's easy to tell if Jack likes you or not because he's good at hiding his emotions through defensive remarks (plus his resting face is a scowl). The Kouhai Squad would look at his ears and tail wagging when you even smile at him or congratulate him for a job well done. He's like a puppy,,,
➸ Whenever the Squad would point this out he will deny it. There is no way in Twisted Wonderland that he has a crush on you! He doesn't! Those are...just instinctive bodily reactions!
➸ "You held hands, dude." | "So? That isn't weird." | "Your tail is wagging." | "NO IT ISN'T!!"
➸ It's not like he doesn't like you, he's just...embarrassed. It's like you know what makes him flustered and that makes his heart do a little tap dance. He (somehow) wants to do the same to you. Make you flustered, embarrassed, happy...it's only fair! 
➸ He needs to get over this little crush of his...because you're starting to catch up on why he's acting weirdly. If he tells you how he feels about you, how would you take it? He doesn't want to ruin your relationship with each other...aghh why is this so hard?? Jack wishes working on his feelings is as easy as training in Magift...
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➸ Admiration and pride are something Sebek is familiar with, but infatuation is new.  
➸ Admiring someone and having a crush on them are two similar but different things. When your bond with him develops he...starts to get a little confused. 
➸ Has those feelings always been there? Are they different? He wasn't being this weird back then! A simple bump on the shoulders shouldn't spark so much electricity inside him to cause him to tense up! 
➸ Sebek was good to hide these new reactions towards you...somewhat. He has to atleast act like everything is normal so he can evaluate what kind of feelings he has towards you. Which works and kinda doesn't since when you do something a little intimate (like a shoulder pat, a cheeky smile, or even praise) he gets a little red. Red. Nevermind Deuce and Jack are asking if he's okay while Grim judges from afar. 
➸ He still doesn't understand why he feels so weird around you so he decided to ask someone who has experience—an adult if you will! A humble, wise, elder fae that surely has some explanation for the weird fluttery feeling in his stomach.  
➸ "You are infatuated—or to put it simply, you have a crush on the Prefect," Lilia explained to him. Sebek needed a few moments for that information to sink in. He has a crush on you. Okay, that's the mundane mystery solved. What is he gonna do with that information? Carry on with your friendship knowing things might get awkward around the both of you? 
➸ Luckily, Lilia gave him three questions to answer personally so he may evaluate his feelings for you. In that way, Sebek knows what the next steps to take without rushing in blindly. You consider him as your friend and he returns that sentiment! He wishes to respect you as you respect him. 
➸ Are you a distraction? Oh, definitely! Ever since he started to harbor feelings for you, his thoughts often lead up to you. When the young master is talking about you, he finds himself listening in, not just because Malleus is talking, but because he wonders about what kind of human is friends with his young master. This caused him to write a few words related to you in the essay he was supposed to be writing! When he and Silver are sparring, Silver has the audacity to throw your name into his comment which caught him off guard. In other words: you are despicably distracting!
➸ Are you a motivation? Well...yes. Sebek is proud to be a knight for the young master and he continues to strive in his position. He knows there is still much to learn as a knight and he is willing to develop his skills more to become better. Somehow, you acknowledge his diligence and even commend him for it. Yet you look after him, saying that he needs someone to fight for him. He laughs at that incredulous thought. Sebek prefers he do that to you along with his friends, instead. All of the squad are an odd bunch, including you. Sebek...wants to protect you as well. Somehow, knowing that you are safe urges him to make sure that you'll remain safe.
➸ Are you an inspiration? Sebek ponders on that question. Somehow it is related to the second, but he thinks carefully about it. He noticed how most of the poetry he makes is because of you—he needs an outlet for his feelings, don't take it weirdly—and although the theme varies, the subject of interest is you. 
➸ Now that he answered all three of those questions...shall he proceed with courting you? No, that's too fast. Lilia told him to enjoy his youth and don't dive into relationships quickly.
➸ However! He shall confess to you to rid of the constricting feeling in his chest! Sebek wants to talk to you normally again without any hidden feelings!
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