#complex jack

[shallowseeker]

You've shared some things about seeing Jack as a baby as being ableism and I was wondering where you stand on this issue?

I'm assuming this is about the poll I shared. I think where I land right now on this particular issue: I assume the most charitable view I can. Escapism is the point for a lot of folks, so I try not to begrudge them that.

Some other, more rambling thoughts:

1. Jack had a longer anticipation phase: Unlike Amara and Emma, who are also supernatural born-adult cosmic entities, there was a longer anticipatory phase with Kelly, where we were excited about her pregnancy and anticipating her baby.

We journeyed with Kelly through being anguished over her decision-making and bonded with Cas over buying diapers etc etc. We also got to know Kelly (and Kelly's parents) way more than Emma or Amara's human parents. I think this attenuates some of the fandom preferences. NOTE: (Amara refers to herself as a child when she came to earth, saying of Crowley, "He tried to control me when I was a child." So I think the prodromal phase to her primordial emergence isn't as cut-and-dry as we'd like either.) But the thing with all of them is their growth is clearly presented as abnormal and outside the scope of a typical "human" experience. They are all characterized by their powers and their massive, massive intake of information. They all overshadow human sensibilities with their vastness, and over power them by leaps and bounds.

Simply put, they're much much much higher on the food chain, and that causes intense anxiety in their human relationships, something AU Michael keys into for Jack in The Spear:

via @spnscripthunt

Jack was afraid Michael was right. That he'd grow into thinking of his familial loyalties the same way we humans think about hamburgers or clothes.

I'm also thinking of this quote:

"As exquisite as the natural world is, however, there exists a violent underbelly that, for some reason, mostly goes unnoticed...In point of fact, the survival of any one species depends entirely on how successfully it's able to willfully kill--and usually eat--its neighboring species. Even human vegans and vegetarians survive by the demise of plants. Moreover, if you're wearing clothes as you read this, you're wearing death." -Randall R Scott from Entanglement is Not Spooky

In physics, the word information is closely related to microstates and probabilities. In some limited circumstances information is functionally similar to entropy. However, information is no substitute for knowledge and experience. I think the cosmic entities have way, way more information than humans, but not always more wisdom, so the power imbalances aren't super cut-and-dry. (This is why I write Jack-Harper like this.)

In fact, I think humans can naively latch onto the "perceived" playfulness and strangeness of the cosmic entities as a means to ease the anxiety of the inherent, extreme power imbalance. (Example: sexual inexperience is not a meaningful indicator of "innocence" when the same character is also an experienced war mongerer and cannibal. For a human to assume that is silly. Naive.)

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2. The Jack infant pushback analysis is helpful for me: I've found the ableism analysis really helpful for delving into Jack's own perspective of who he is, how he relates to and moves through the world, and how he is perceived by others.

Simply put, I like it.

I'm a weirdo, (I test around 21-23 on the autism quotient, around your average chess champion), but that's a long way from having enough autistic traits to say what is or isn't ableism on this issue.

Even if that's not your primary mode of viewing Jack, I found it helpful for viewing Jack, not as a fanon wish fulfillment (though wanting happiness for character is, as I said above, completely understandable) but instead as a complex character all on his own.

And for that, I love how it tickles my brain. I'll start tagging it #complex jack and #culture hero jack if that helps!

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3. Is baby Jack my favorite thing? No. But I've decided to focus on just...writing more actual Jack meta instead.

I want to emphasize the complexities of his role as WAR SON and the idea of his effervescence as at least partly defensive performance (a la analogous to performing!Dean). He's a pretty sassy mofo; Kelly Kline is too.

I think a lot of his interiority being similar to Mary is fascinating. (They are both child soldiers.)

I also like how the TFW dads’ views on Jack are often analogous to how they view themselves.

So you'll find I write a lot of that kinda stuff instead.

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4. Culture hero Jack: I think if I had to characterize where I'm at with Jack as a character, I get the most mileage out of the Born-Sexy-Yesterday trope (Like Vision from the MCU) and Culture Hero myths (which often features babies born as adult males who are at war with their murderous God!grandfathers).

It's not to say that's better or more right. I just dig it. You'll find that I write and share what I find personally compelling.

There are a lot of opinions that I find well-argued that...simply don't do anything for me right now. Sometimes it's a vibe I'm just not feeling, sometimes it's a topic I exhausted in my youth and am just extremely played out on.

For now, I just focus on the ones that do it for me. :-)

Sorry that got rambling.

I hope that answers your question and makes you feel open to me sharing some of this stuff without feeling like maybe I'm bashing you if you enjoy that content? Anyway... :-)

[jerich0two]

Jazz cat! (Lest we forget who my favourite is)

Been seeing a few posts with overlord-era Husk playing the saxophone and I am ALLLL for it. This post is for ME. I am the demand for Jazz Saxophonist Husk Content. If only I knew how to draw a sax... or someone playing one... oh, well!

[thedarkmongoose]

it's interesting that it pans to will fishing in the stream when chilton says "he likes to play god" bc speaking of religious allegories, will graham is a fisherman and a "fisher of men." both in the profiler sense (he catches criminals), and in the sense that he captures men's hearts (jesus urged his followers to be fishers of men to the gospel). except will's gospel is darkness, and while he doesn't forcibly push people towards it like hannibal, anyone involved with will gets dragged down into the inferno. for he is a fisher of (damned) men. subsequently, the "saving lives is just as arousing as ending them" bit could be said about god, which is a sentiment hannibal shares throughout the series.

[sexy-sapphic-sorcerer]

My dad's lack of media comprehension serves as a fascinating litmus test for gay subtext. He "didn't pick up on any gay breadcrumbs" between Stede and Ed until the moment they kissed, but he knew that Will Byers was gay just from "it's not my fault you don't like girls" in series 3. It took him way too long to realise that there was something fruity going on in Killing Eve, but he fully believed that Sherlock and John ended up together

[frau-kali]

Black Sails Anniversary Week

Day 2: Favourite Dynamic - Jack Rackham vs Woodes Rogers

"If no Anne, if no rescue, if this is defeat for me, know this - You and I were neck and neck in this race until the very end, but Jesus, did I make up a lot of ground to catch you."

[quadrantadvisor]

So I went to the Danmy Phantom tag on ao3, sorted it to only show fics from 2023 and 2024, and checked to see who the most tagged characters were

Batman is currently a more popular parental figure for Danny than either of his actual parents lol

[pespillo]

jack i know you believe in him but i dont think he believes in himself

[jubileepizza]

Truthfully I don’t think ianto jones even had a thing for suits, at least not initially. In his attempts at seducing his way into a job he tested a variety of clothing and it was the suit which finally got results. Jack had a thing for (ianto in) suits.

[wylanslcve]

The next time I see someone call Wylan "boring" because his trauma isn't "as bad" as the other Crows' (namely Kaz and Inej's) I'm going to throttle someone. Firstly, trauma isn't comparable: trauma is trauma, regardless of what traumatic experience a person goes through. The point of Six of Crows is that all the Crows are traumatised but find comfort and solace within one another and galvanise each other's healing process.

Secondly, Wylan is a victim of ableism and emotional, mental and physical abuse - which is traumatic - and his story makes me feel physically ill whenever I think about it. As a disabled child, Wylan needed accommodations that his father refused to give him: instead, J*n treated him as something that needed fixing, and treated his disability as pure stubbornness that could be forced out of him with punishment and abuse. He "tried specialists, tonics, beatings, hypnotism" - which are traumatic. J*n also manipulated Wylan into believing that it was his fault by constantly shifting the blame to him (a behaviour very typical amongst abusers). As a result, Wylan never acknowledged his father's behaviour as abusive, which is why he tells Jesper in Crooked Kingdom that "he isn't evil" despite J*n literally trying to kill him twice. In fact, Wylan tries to justify how his father treated him, claiming that he "had done his best to care for his son, and if he’d failed, then the defect lay with Wylan." He also takes it as a display of affection and the desire to protect him, claiming that "his father might sound cruel, but he wasn’t just protecting himself or the Van Eck empire, he was protecting Wylan as well."

Wylan blaming himself for his father's actions doesn't stop there: in the period after Inej is kidnapped by J*n, Wylan feels responsible for what happened despite knowing that "he couldn’t have prevented his father from double-crossing the crew and kidnapping her. He knew that, but he still felt responsible". The guilt is eating away at him because he's so accustomed to taking the blame for his father's wrongdoings. Even after finding out the truth about his mother, which was really the catalyst for him recognising that J*n is indeed evil, his initial response is him blaming himself for it: "it was me. I caused this. He wanted a new wife. He wanted an heir. A real heir, not a moron who can barely spell his own name." This is only made even more sickening when we learn that Wylan would hear how his parents "fought all the time, sometimes about me", which would only amplify his feelings of responsibility for his father sending Marya away, stripping her of her life, family and fortune.

This is all without him not being allowed to grieve his mother's "death". This is all without the imposter syndrome and self-loathing Wylan experiences as a result of all of this, the fear that the Crows would see him as worthless and defective the way his father did and abandon him.

tl;dr: stop overlooking Wylan's trauma because he too has deep mental and emotional scars.

[mhaikkun]

the unknowable man

[lazycranberrydoodles]

honoring my 13 year old self by drawing gabriel reyes in 2024

[shallowseeker]

i forget that my views on jack are not mainstream sometimes and it honestly freaks me out when i get too far away from my bubble

it feels mainstream to me

[greenpumpkinart]

Character lineup for who's mainly included in my universe, ofc there are others but I want to flesh these guys out the most.

[cyberdragoninfinity]

Courage and Power lead to a revolution for peace! Synchro Summon! Evolve! Life Stream Dragon!

So SO excited to get to share the full spread I did for @aygozineproduction 's Dragon's Den Zine! A celebration of medieval tapestries, my favorite 5D's duel, and one of my absolute favorite yugioh dragons ✨🌈

[phuuca]

You are Jack Howl.

You are a wolf; a pack animal, a family man, and painstakingly loyal to those you love, respect, and admire. You have a strong moral code and have the goal and want in life to treat people fairly.

You enroll in Night Raven College, you get into the dorm of your dreams, and find out: everyone here is out to get each other. Despite being the dorm with the most beastmen, you've never felt more alone in your life because nobody trusts you and your honesty.

You do your best to prove you are honest and worthy of companionship, but nobody believes you, because it's survival of the fittest; even when you're all civilized human beings. Your dorm leader and his vice are the slimiest people in the dorm who back stab and betray everyone, including their wards.

You are Jack Howl.

You are a wolf and wolves are pack animals. They're not the brutal hunters people think of in the stories. They're only like that when they have something to protect. But your family is in the Land of Pyroxene (The Shaftlands), and you are at Night Raven College.

Your morals have made you outcasted, and your close proximity to Leona has deemed you as a prime target. Because of this, it is likely you have no friends inside your own dorm.

You are Jack Howl. You are a wolf. Wolves are pack animals; they crave family, companionship, and something to protect. Despite being surrounded by people and fellow beastmen, you never felt more unsafe and alone.

[breesperez139]

Dc x Dp Prompt #5

Demon Twin AU only Damian never had a blood son phase and has “biological siblings” (how absurd):

Damian would like to start by saying he is not at fault for this… miscommunication. Truly, how was he to know sharing the same blood as Jasmine and Danyal would make them “siblings”? Not once has anyone mentioned such absurd claims. He has never and will never treat either of the two the way he would Richard or any of his other siblings, but apparently sharing the same donors when being created automatically makes people siblings.

Worse, father is upset at him and mother for “hiding away” two of his “children” from him. Richard and Thomas will not stop staring at him. Todd, Brown, and Drake will not stop laughing. Cassandra has not stopped looking at his body language since this whole encounter started. Alfred is giving him his patented disappointed face he oh so hates but what is he to do?

Damian was not hiding anything or anyone. Jasmine and Danyal have not nor will they ever be his siblings. They are the children of Jack and Maddie Fenton just as Richard and the rest of them are Bruce’s children. Blood has nothing to do with family. They are at best “god-siblings” or “cousins” if father refuses to believe they are simply childhood companions.

There is barely a hint of emotion as father purses his lips while his siblings continue looking on at him in disbelief. Damian is not understanding why they are having trouble comprehending such simple logic. It is common sense to know that siblings are the children at least one of your parents have raised other than yourself. Parents are the people who raise you. Talia raised him therefore she is his mother. He lives with Bruce who is now raising him and therefore he is his father.

Neither Talia nor Bruce raised Jasmine or Danyal, therefore they are not siblings. It is merely coincidence that he shared blood with both Bruce and Talia. After all, every time he’s visited Amity Park, most children look nothing like their parents. How can it not be coincidence when it is clearly far more normal to raise children who don’t share an ounce of blood with you, than those who do.

How can it not be normal when Jack Fenton took Jasmine in so easily knowing he didn’t share any dna with her? Even more so with Danyal who doesn’t share even a drop of blood with either Jack or Maddie. Look at yourself father. Out of all your children, only one shares your dna. Do not try and pin this on Damian for being the only sensible person in this family. Blood siblings, ha, don’t make him laugh.