#also I'm not gonna interact with works that have notps. I don't hate those friends. Never will. just not my cup of tea.

[dootznbootz]

"Don't like, Don't read" but I think people gotta understand that that means friends too.

Your friends may not want to read certain content that you make. You shouldn't see that as a sign that they don't care about you or love you any less.

Even if they have seen or interacted with your other creations before, they may not want to see certain ones. Whether it's a ship they do not like, has their triggers, or whatever it may be, that's not an attack on you. You can have someone else look it over if you need to.

Nor does that mean that you have to cater to your friends for them to care about you or stop creating that content! Friends don't pressure other friends to stop creating what they enjoy. Put up boundaries or drop them, if that's the case.

Either way, continue to make your good shit regardless!

[mattdcblog]

For the send a character thing, Ted Kord!

Favorite thing about the character:

A lot of these are gonna have multiple answers soz lol, but I genuinely really like his kooky sense of humor. While JLI is where most of my knowledge of the character comes from, theres even stuff from his 80s and Charlton runs that make me laugh, like this:

[Image ID: A panel from the Charlton Blue Beetle comics. Blue beetle fights a clay statue come to life. He thinks, "I'll keep pressing him...try to set him up so I can knock him off balance!" The statue thinks, "Why does he keep fighting me! He should run! He can't win!" In the midst of this, Beetle says, "I hate to tell you your business, but you're missing a lot. /End ID. ]

And the second thing I enjoy greatly about him is how he's portrayed with an incredible sense of humanity, and everything that entails. Like, he isn't the blue beetle because he's been gifted with some kind of incredible power. He doesn't helm the mantle willingly. He's presented with the responsibility and CHOOSES to shoulder that weight. Its like an inversion of the whole "with great power" line - he takes on the responsibility, and in that lies the power. Everything about that really drives home that he really is just a guy (albeit an incredibly technologically smart one) who wakes up every morning and chooses to put on blue spandex and fly around in a big bug airship. There's no divine prophecy, no freak accident, no sudden revelation. The one person in his life whom he trusted the most asks him, in his final moments, to take it on in his memory. When someone you're close to and greatly respect asks you that, in Ted's own words (Blue Beetle 1967 #2): "How can I refuse?"

Least favorite:

Theres really not too much about him that I don't like, honestly. Character flaws are really important things, and yeah he's got a few lol! But outside of that, one thing I don't like with him is more specifically how he sometimes gets written as either "the smart one," or "the guy with a weight problem." Don't get me wrong, these are both true things about the character, but having those be his ONLY traits really, Really hurts his portrayals, because he is So much more than that! He's a goofball sometimes! He can be a total asshole! He's also really funny, and observant, and nice at times! Infinite Crisis wanted so badly to make him this serious, hyper-intelligent guy that was Never Wrong and Everybody Liked Him and Respected Him. Completely ignoring that hes not a God, he's not batman, and he was a human being, yknow? Sometimes there are just gonna be people that you Do Not get along with. And also interesting to consider that Tora did not realy get the same treatment...

Favorite line:

[Image ID: A partially cut-off panel from JLI #21. As the JLI returns from Apokalyps, Captain Atom asks, "Beetle, what's been going--" He's cut off by Blue Beetle responding, "I don't know! I don't care! And if you ever ask me again, I'll shoot off your kneecaps!" /End ID.]

brOTP:

I can't choose just one lol, him and pretty much every member of the JLI (including booster) I would probably agree with having as a brotp, Scott and Bea especially. Barbara is also really interesting friendship, and hell throw Ray in there too why not. Honestly I could see him getting along well with mostly everybody.

OTP:

To the surprise of no one I have to say Booster. These guys are just doomed to be associated with each other until the end of time. If you've got a team name its already too late. I know it says "one true pairing," but truthfully I could see Barbara as well. A few of my friends convinced me of it (giorgia if you're out there...hehe), but honestly my view of ships is just like...if the writer can make the characters work together and interact believably, that's all I'm looking for.

nOTP:

Reiterating what I just said above, but also...I could see ways to pair him with Fire or Ice, but like, I don't want either to happen. Thats just another pair that are kind of intertwined forever in my mind.

Random HC:

I bet he really enjoys making models.

Unpopular opinion:

The rebirth storyline was really weird to me because aside from retconning the scarab to be magic again (which like. Why. Jaimes 2006 run was amazing and there's textual evidence to support why going the alien tech route made SENSE and Keith you fucking WROTE SOME OF THAT ROUTE YOURSELF WHAT WAS THE REASON??!?!?!?!), it didn't really feel like Ted and jaime gelled as a team, and Dan getting completely shafted from the story entirely and just being "Ted's neighbor who shows him a cool artifact" was certainly...A Choice. I get that dan has not had the amount of retooling or development the other two have had, but shouldn't that be More of a reason to make him fit more concretely into the story? Having him just be Ted's neighbor COMPLETELY destroys his entire basis for putting on the suit. This turned into just more of a general opinion oops so ANYWAY

Song:

certain things (read: fan fiction and select comic panels) have assigned Love Shack by the B-52s as Ted Kords Song in my mind. Nothing about it describes his character very much, but every time I hear it I go "this is his favorite song."

Favorite pic:

[Image ID: A lineup of the core members of the JLI. From left to right: Max, Guy, Tora, J'onn, L-Ron, Bea, Ted, Booster. Bea is sticking her tongue out, Ted is wearing a pair of beaglepuss glasses, and Booster is whistling and holding a sign pointing to Ted that reads, "I'm with stupid. " From Who's Who Update '88. /End ID.]