#im tired of this trope

[theintrovertedsculpter]

When you are reading a story and the guy who has assaulted the fl 2x says he's going to win her over.

[relaxxattack]

people will really write rose as a badass girlboss as if her main character trait isn’t hubris. as if her main story arc wasn’t her fucking things over for everyone time and time again by assuming she was better and wiser. oh you think rose is a girlboss? rose who intentionally allowed herself to be corrupted by morally ambiguous terrors because she thought it might give her a slight mental advantage on the game? rose who willingly went along with the manipulation of a groomer because she thought his idea of putting a tumor into the universe was smart? THAT rose? that rose??? why don’t you ask her where the green sun is. since she’s such a competent and intelligent boss bitch

[birdricks]

i think one of the reasons i find rick so compelling as an autistic character is that a bunch of his autistic traits are not treated as either purely good or bad but instead a mix of both. or just neutral parts of him as a person.

like on one hand his tendency to hyperfixate on things heavily contributes to his creativity and problem solving when it comes to his inventions and schemes. but he also often gets far too carried away and it ends up causing issues later down the line (eg: gotron)

like its very refreshing to see a character whose autistic traits arent … mutually exclusive. it makes him feel more real and less like a caricature

[invalidstories]

Enemies at the Café

Warnings: suicide mentions, dark themes

The moon hung low in the night sky casting a soft glow casting over the rooftop where Hero and Villain always found themselves locked in conflict. Each breath they took was visible in the cold foggy night.

Villain's eyes gleamed with malice as they observed Hero's approach, every step deliberate, every movement calculated. They had spent their whole night planning and preparing to show of their newest device to Hero.

But as Hero drew nearer, Villain couldn't help but notice the weariness etched into their features, their shoulders slumped with the burden of their endless battles, and the dark circles under their eyes from sleepless nights.

"You're late," Villain taunted, their voice dripping with contempt as they walked towards their nemesis.

Hero rolled their eyes, a wry smile playing at their lips. "Oh, please," they retorted. "Like I have anything better to do than deal with you."

Villain bristled, their grip tightening on their weapon. But before they could act, Hero held up a hand, resigned.

"Save it," Hero sighed. "I'm done playing this game. Just shoot me and get it over with."

Caught off guard by Hero's surrender, Villain hesitated, their weapon hovering in midair as they stared at their enemy in disbelief. Never had they imagined Hero would surrender so easily.

"There's no fun in fighting a hero who doesn't want to fight," Villain replied softly, their voice gentle as they lowered their weapon and took a step forward. "Come on, let's get you out of here."

Hero said nothing as they allowed Villain to hold their hand and lead them away, their footsteps echoing in the stillness of the night.

As they disappeared into the darkness, Villain couldn't shake the feeling of unease that settled over them. At that moment, they realized that victory meant nothing without a worthy adversary to challenge them.

As they reached the end of the street, the Villain hesitated, turning to face Hero.

"Hey," they said softly, "I know this might seem like an odd question, but... do you want to grab a coffee with me?"

Hero blinked in surprise, the weariness momentarily forgotten as they met Villain's gaze. And for the first time in a long while, a small smile tugged at the corners of their lips.

"Yeah," Hero replied, "Sure."

Entering the cozy coffee shop, the atmosphere shifted from the chill of the night to the warm embrace of coffee and soft murmurs. Hero couldn't help but chuckle at one of Villain's jokes, the tension of their earlier encounter slowly easing.

Sitting across from each other, Villain couldn't help but notice the subtle shift in Hero's demeanor. The weariness that had weighed them down moments before had been replaced by a spark of life in their eyes.

"You seem a bit better," Villain remarked, a teasing grin playing on their lips as they took a sip of their coffee.

Hero chuckled, a faint blush dusting their cheeks. "Yeah, well, you're surprisingly good company," they admitted, their voice soft.

"Told you," Villain smirked taking another sip of their drink.

But as the laughter faded, Villain's expression softened as concern crept into their features. "Hey, Hero," they began, their voice serious. "I know we've had our differences, but... I think you could benefit from some help."

Hero's smile faltered, their gaze dropping to the table as they considered Villain's words. It wasn't often that they heard genuine concern from their nemesis.

"I'll think about it," Hero replied, their voice soft but resolute. "Thanks though, Villain. For everything."

Villain grinned, reaching across the table to give Hero's hand a reassuring squeeze. "Anytime, Hero," they said, "Just don't forget to bring your sense of humor next time."

The hero couldn't help but smile at the playful jab, the weight of their troubles momentarily lifted by the simple act of having an unlikely but nice companion. As they walked home, Hero felt a glimmer of hope that maybe they didn't have to face their struggles alone anymore.

"In the end, we're all just humans, trying to find our way in this chaotic world."

Masterlist

[technoacidraveasgore]

"we need more morally complex mentally ill characters" yall couldnt even handle basil

[shorthaltsjester]

i do not want to dig a hole but i am too much of a laura bailey pc enjoyer to not make this post so:

selfishness ≠ a lack of kindness 

selfishness is a theme that has come up with all of laura's main campaign pcs. that doesn't mean that her characters are always making selfish choices or that they don't care about the rest of the people they're with or that they're not good. it's just that, for the most part, the first thing they're thinking of when they take action or make choices is themselves. 

in jester and vex both it is more typical and obvious selfishness. vex's developed because she needed it to keep herself and vax alive and as safe as possible and it grew into a behaviour that she had to actively work to avoid. it's evident in her greed, her theft of the broom, her reaction to her own death which relied heavily on i'm okay/i survived to which keyleth reminded her that she wasn't the only one who had to witness and reckon with her death. in jester's case, she grew up in an environment that literally trained her to make every decision based on two things - her mother's opinion and her own. so, when she's out in the world without marion for the first time, her choices are those that will benefit her and her actions are those that consider her own thoughts and not really many others' (aside from the traveler's). 

it isn't a criticism of either vex or jester to say that they are characters who act selfishly. in fact, i'd argue that to claim otherwise does a great disservice to exactly how immense both of their character arcs are. because the nuance of both jester and vex is that they are selfish, and they also hold extreme room for self-sacrifice and empathy. vex is much more brash than jester is, and jester is much more trusting than vex, but both of them are characters who begin with selfish impulses who grow with them. neither ever truly shed those impulses, but they use them in new ways, typically transforming them into impulses towards things that are in the best interest of the party. 

you may have noticed the lack of imogen in this post about laura bailey pcs and that's because of two reasons. one, we are an unknown amount of time into her story, i can't analyse her development the same way i can vex and jester's. two, imogen's selfishness isn't the blatant quasi-self-aware selfishness that we see in things like jester complaining about her lack of money to caleb or vex stealing a broom. instead, imogen's is very internal, like a lot of laura's character work with imogen. it is a bit similar to jester’s in the sense that it comes from a lack of awareness moreso than vex’s practiced behaviour, but imogen’s is a lot more tied to inherent beliefs she has about the world and the people in it.

as a consequence of her powers, imogen sees people's thoughts as their entirety, she holds it above their actions to be the truth of who they are - to act against what they think or to say something that doesn’t cohere with what they’ve thought is akin to lying, so for her to act empathetically is to act in tandem with what someone else’s thoughts are, not how they act, which is typically not all that wanted. the same as vex’s greed and jester’s naivety, this is a trait that makes narrative sense and it’s one i find quite compelling, especially when read in the vein of someone struggling through trauma that has made them assume that the world is against them. imogen’s cynicism is coherent cynicism, i can’t say that in a similar situation i wouldn’t have the same predisposition towards the world.

the part that is particularly self-interested comes in if you look at how imogen has actually been treated in the campaign (quite well) in comparison to the cynicism that she’s developed from her past (something that speaks to a world out to get her). certainly, a bunch of shitty things have happened to imogen in the time we’ve known her, but the same can be said for everyone in bell’s hells and pretty much everyone in exandria at this point in time. but, in a fight to save the aforementioned world, imogen’s focus was getting her mother back on her side. which, while very consistent with her character and a choice that i enjoy, is a very selfish one. the fun thing (to me, obviously) about imogen is that she has, more than most, an insight into the opinions of others and she also tends to seek others’ opinions out and genuinely engages with them and supports their choices. but she still very much acts towards what she thinks is best. it’s one reason i enjoy looking at the dynamic between her and orym as one between foils, as orym tends to be stalwart in his beliefs and doesn’t care too much for other’s opinions if he’s already sure of his own, but his actions tend to favour collaboration and protecting others.

as i mentioned earlier, imogen is a harder case to look at because she is still in the process of her story. however, the circlet is clearly influencing how she interacts with the world and in the wake of the solstice, the hostile reaction towards ruidusborn people has started to become more and more apparent and i’m interested to see what route that ends up leading imogen down and how it will influence her relationship with the rest of bell’s hells. (for better, i think, based on recent conversations, but if it's for worse i will be just as seated and excited).

all of this is just to say, please stop assuming that claiming a character has a trait you think is a bad one is criticism or a hate post. in light of the fact that i know that people who don’t believe this will continue to not believe this, i’ll encourage anyone confused about the ability of a character to be good and kind and selfish all at once to look to what the text itself says, specifically scanlan’s words to pelor when asked what vex means to him:

“Her name is Vex, and she is greedy and mean sometimes, and she can steal a lot. She’s a little bit not the greatest person, but her flaws highlight everything that is right about her, which is she does all these things to protect her friends and her family. She would give her life for any of us and for anyone who was truly in need. And she’s not perfect but she’s the most perfect of all of us.”

would you look at that... an ability to be a multitude of things, some in conflict with one another. i know that's hard for fandoms to believe, especially about female characters with agency, but i promise its true!

[cheeriochat]

Hmmmm DMC headcannons 3!!!!

This one's a bit wordy

☆•☆•☆•☆•☆•☆•☆•☆•☆•☆•☆•☆•☆•☆•☆

• Dante and Vergil are the type of twins that when they are close by, are touching in any way possible. Sitting together? Dante is leaning on Vergil. Standing together? Vergil has his arm resting on Dantes shoulder. Walking together? They keep bashing into eachothers side. They can spend time apart (obviously) but when they are close there is always some form of contact.

• Nero felt phantom pains where his hand used to be, but when his arm grew back they kind of just became ordinary pains. He wasn't sure if it was a side affect of growing a whole ass arm back or something but he was happy when they went away.

• I kind of think Kyrie would have depression. I mean she went through a lot and lost her parents and brother but she lived, so I feel like she would have survivors guilt but due to constantly being busy she wouldn't really have the time to process it. It's a sad headcannon but I feel like it just seems right :(((

• On a bit of a lighter note, I feel like Kyrie would have a good support system though. I mean she has Nero obviously, but also I think she would have Lady, Trish and Dante there for her and eventually Vergil too.

• Talking about Trish, Lady and Dante. I feel like Lady and Trish would go shopping Bayonetta 2 style, and have Dante carry all their stuff around. (He gets compensated for his work when they stop at a Cafe and he gets a parfait, although he doesnt mind helping his friends)

• Nero has a huge sweet tooth, but because of the kids, he can't keep anything to satisfy his need for sugar around long enough. Vergil likes to buy him sweet stuff though as a form of peace offering. He's found Nero likes Lemon Sherbets, Sour patch kids, and controversially, Liquorice.

• Vergil likes Hotpot and Shabu Shabu. I don't know, I just feel this in my soul.

• Dante is jealous that Vergil gets a tail and he doesn't. Vergil is jealous Dante's horns are fancier than his. They are both content with the wings that they have. (Also vergil has long skinny fangs with sharp teeth and Dante has wider, stubbier (but still as equally sharp) fangs with more "human" teeth)

[sulfies]

Fuck…

Fuck. Fuck.

"Fuck fuck fuck fuck-"

They would not stop chasing him, It has been hours.

Every turn, dip, jump and drop were followed by the heavy footsteps of the guards. Desmond was exhausted. They never chased this long before.

The Borgia must have updated their training…

Jumping into a roof garden Desmond tried to catch his break.

"He Jumped in!"

 A small rest of less than a minute. 

Desmond jumped out again, running and running, his vision blurred and he did his best to even out his breathing to save energy but he was tired. If he had any stamina left he would have just fought them off but it was too late for that. One punch would take him out at this point.

He crossed the wires between buildings shakily as the ground and the crowd below him wobbled. He jumped across halfway through and rolled onto the opposite roof. 

"Water... I can lose them in water"

He had to... He jumped roof to roof to get to a canal he knew was nearby. 

It was so close, he just had to make this jump.

So he did the jump, he grabbed the windowsill with a clammy hand and reached again with his other to pull himself up.

Then he slipped.

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

Water rushed out of his lungs all at once.

“Bit late to go for a swim Desmond don't you think?”

Coughing up the remainder of water in his lungs, he opened his eyes to find Ezio sitting right next to him leaning over his face just as drenched as he was. Desmond was laid down on the cold stone ground, his wet clothes an uncomfortable weight on him.

”Nah just the right temperature…” he said weakly as his body gave a shiver, now that he has crashed from his adrenaline-filled day all his muscles were catching up with him. He spat onto the ground, mucus filling up his nose and throat from the water. Muscles he didn't even know could hurt were hurting.

 “How come you were here to…” save his ass just as he drowned.

Ezio placed his hands on his knees, his teasing tone taking a serious turn “You were gone more than four hours Desmond. I was, of course, looking for you!” His wet hair partly covered his worried eyes. “You should have been back hours ago and now I-, thank God I did, I find your body cannonballing into the Venice canalé!” Ezio’s hand wiped his face as he leaned over to check Desmond with his worried gaze. “If I wasn't just around the corner…” He shook his head disapprovingly. “What even happened? Are you hurt? It was not a hard mission, why did you take so long…”

God, this guys worried puppy eyes were a weapon on their own. Desmond groaned as he sat up, “They would not stop chasing my tail” Pushing a trembling hand through his short curls he shook the water out of them “I swear they must be high off of something like coke because they chased me the entire day and their stamina is never that good usually”

”…the guards?”

Desmond rubbed his legs as tremors started on the overworked muscle, “Yep… It was insane. I took so many different turns and hid so many times but one of them always found me in minutes and alarms would go off all over again once they did. I was actually planning on losing them in the canal… which I guess kind of worked… not that I planned on adding drowning” He grinned at Ezio “What happened to the guards that were after me? Did you fight em off for me, my prince? or did they leave after laughing at my belly flop to water?”

Ezio chuckled  “No one was here, I took a turn after hearing a giant splash only to find a sopping wet pile of you, passed out face DOWN in the water”

Desmond sighed as he squeezed the ends of his tailed robe, grimacing at the water that was dripping out “Yes yes, thank you for saving my life…” Gathering his legs under him he tried to get up only for them to fail underneath him, trembling and looking as sturdy as jelly instead of bones. “If all it took was water for them to leave me alone I would have done that in hour two, I can't believe they didn't even try to get my supposed dead drowned body after chasing me so long…I am almost hurt” Ezio's open hand appeared in front of him, he clasped it letting himself be pulled up to a sturdy chest he could lean on.

”Yes, how very rude of them, to leave a body such as yours alone and wet…”

Desmond rolled his eyes at that “Let's just go home, I need a warm bath and a bed and get Leo to invent painkillers by tonight”

”Yes Signoré, at once.”

——————

It was happening again.

It had to be the same batch of soldiers and If they did this again… next time Desmond might have to kill them. He refused to believe the Borgia’s suddenly employed every renaissance-crossfitter in the city.

Maybe his drug theory was right because he had been running for close to 3 hours now with the footsteps never-ending behind him. His lungs were starting to hurt and he really didn't want to have to take a dip in the water to lose them again.

”He went to the left!”

Heels hot behind him he kept on running, arriving home 5 hours later drenched in sweat and pieces of hay stuck all over him.

———

It happened again, and again then again. It wasn't every time but it was happening enough that Desmond was getting extremely annoyed and tired from it.

It never happened when he was in group patrols or with Ezio so at this point he was getting the feeling they were targeting him specifically. Him having to run a triathlon every other day was getting old fast.

The others were also starting to get worried, and that was most likely why he was face to face with a brooding Ezio in the main room of the hideout at 4 am when he finally came back from the last mission he was sent on.

”You were supposed to be back yesterday…”

Desmond collapsed onto Ezio's chest facefirst and groaned “Hello to you t-”

”Evening… you were expected back yesterday evening.”

2 arms wrapped around his shoulders making him humm tiredly onto Ezio’s heat. 

“Desmond, this can't keep going on…”

He looked up from his place between Ezio. “They are clearly trying some strategy or aiming for you to get hurt with this.” Their eyes focused on one another, and Ezio’s lips formed a flat line.  “No solo missions till this ends.”

Desmond clicked his tongue, putting a palm between the two “I don't need to be babysat Ezio.”  Ezio didn't change his expression as he grabbed his hand and placed a gentle kiss on his gloved fingers. “It's that or you are off duty fully.”

”What! That is not fair!”

”Take it up to the Mentoré if it bothers you, oh wait that's me… such unfair world”

Desmond kept his colourful language to himself, he knew why Ezio was worried. He knew this was their best option and he couldn't keep on doing this but it was annoying to be benched. Why him? What did they gain from stalking him like a prey for hours upon hours… It's not like they ever caught him and their arrows never hit. So why?

He wrapped his free arm around Ezio’s waist,

”I should just kill them next time”

He could feel Ezio’s smirk form on his glove.

”I fear that might be an actual solution Amó”

———————

He hated to admit it… but the babysitting was working.

He had been doing patrols and small paired missions for the last week and hadn't had to apply to the Olympics even once this week. But Ezio’s looks into new juiced guards were coming back empty. From what anyone could find their training had not changed and no guard or soldier was bragging about leaving Desmond near faint at his doorstep every other day.

Surely someone would talk about a new enhancer drug they take supplied by the Borgia’s but no one was taking anything but wine and opium for the unfortunate.

”I almost feel a bit jealous Desmond, they never tried that hard with me” 

Desmond fake laughed from where he was crouched on the roof.

”Oh now it's okay to joke about?”

”Now that your life isn't in danger every tuesday? yea, it is.” Ezio said as his eyes scanned for guards with a big grin on his face, they were to intercept a small message that was supposed to leave with a poor lonely messenger.

He replied with a sigh “Shut up…”

”No you shut up, he is here.”

Both of them looked directly at their target, 2 streets over painted yellow in their sight, walking in hurried steps.

They started stalking him crouched, above the rooftops like two alleycats cornering a sad mouse. The man must have felt a chill in the air because his steps hurried faster.

Ezio sped up keeping to the man's left while Desmond stayed behind him.

He dropped down a level onto a wooden platform just as the unlucky carrier took a left to an empty alley. Desmond took to the floor, feet landing silent, blocking his exit as Ezio's dark figure placed himself to the top just right.

The man went down smoothly, and the pair was exiting the alley with the envelope in hand the next second. Passed out figure was hidden in a nearby haystack as the two of them walked the empty night streets slowly with a smile on their faces.

”Nearly scared him to death there Ezio, poor dude…”

”Nearly is the word you should be focusing on my dear, he will be very grateful to have kept his life once he wakes up.”

Desmond bumped his shoulder teasingly “A whole night in a haystack? death might have been a kinder option”

Ezio opened his mouth to reply but a voice drowned whatever Desmond was about to hear.

”ASSASSINÓ! THIS WAY!”

Someone saw them. 

He could hear a group making their way around the corner.

”This way Ezio!” Desmond grabbed Ezio's hand immediately and yanked, running up to the roofs and pulling him along with him.

”Desmo-“  “Wai-”

Ezio surely knew better than to talk and run for their lives at the same time, Desmond kept on running, letting Ezio follow his steps as he dove into a rooftop garden after a sharp turn.

”De-“

”Shhhh”

He pulled Ezio in who was taking his sweet time putting one leg over the garden’s fences with no hurry. He listened quietly for the footsteps hearing them slowly get farther. Something told him they hadn't shaken them off yet.

“Desmo-“

”SHHH! They are not gone!”

Sure enough, he heard them again. Coming closer and closer. Desmond jumped out of the garden fast hoping to shock whoever was about to check into where they were hiding.

”This way Ezio!”

They ran for 20 more minutes as Desmond led the way, each time they stopped Desmons would notice a figure coming towards them so they would run more. After 30 more minutes Desmond had a feeling these were the same guards that were torturing his solo missions this past month.  At Least this time Ezio was here.

”I think if we climb there we could lose them on the way down!”

He shouted back to Ezio pointing at the huge tower they could perform a leap from.

”Desmond I don-“

”Less talking more running Ezio, trust me you are gonna need all your energy to outrun these fuckers!”

as his hands grabbed the first stone of the tower Ezio pulled him back by his collar.

”Desmo-”

”What! We need to keep runn-“

”Desmond!”

The hand on his collar turned him around fully. “Desmond, stop for a second please!” Ezio panted at his face, breathing harshly through his nose to catch his breath he looked exhausted with sweat making his hair stick to his skin 

“Listen…” “I don't think they are after us…” 

Desmond did, taking a big gulp of air he focused around them… there weren't any footsteps or shoutings around them anymore. He smiled.

”OhThankGodTheyGaveUp!”

 He slid down the wall of the tower to squat on the ground. “Oh thank whatevers up there…” Wiping the sweat from his forehead he laughed, tension leaving his body now that the coast was clear. “Do you see what I have been dealing with all this time now? oh man, I thought I was going crazy with how long they keep up with me!” 

Ezio looked down at him with a slight worry on his face.

”to think you have been running like this for hours at a time for a full month now…

Desmond laughed again “I know right! Man, I am glad they gave up earlier than usual… I was thinking we would be at it for hours with how much one of them kept popping up every corner.”

Ezio remained standing up where he was looking down at him “So you see them…”

Desmond looked at him one eyebrow up in a question, grin still on his face “Of course I saw them, did you not? Do we need Leo to prepare you glasses, Ezio? They weren’t that far behind…”

Ezio sighed long and loud while looking at the sky, and squatted down to Desmond’s level… his hands moving on top of Desmond's knees kindly.

”I did not see them.”

Desmond scoffed “Really Ezio? I was joking about the glasse-“

”No Desmond, I did not see anyone… the whole time we ran”

Now his brows were crossed because “What do you mean? They were right behind us this whole time, you must have looked behind you at least once!”

Ezio’s thumb rubbed on his knee slowly as he gave a smile that couldn't hide the look of pity on his face.

”Oh I did… multiple times. Even with my sight.” He took a slow breath and gave Desmond a guilty look. “Desmond…. I don't think there ever was anyone”

Desmond’s ears started to ring. “If you are pulling a prank…Because if you are... ”

Hands on his knees moved to his thighs. “I know”

Desmond shook his head “I am not lying!”

”I know…”

”I really did see them” His shoulders started to shake and the hands on his thighs moved to his back as Ezio pulled him in.  “I really did… They were there I swear…”

“I know, carissimó…”

How could he have not realized… No training was changed, and no new performance drugs were taken Desmond was just getting chased by ghosts. Ghosts his own mind was supplying. 

He buried his face into Ezio’s neck as he shook.

”… so fucking unfair…”

Ezio hummed in an answer as his hands rubbed his back. They stood there as Desmond cried into his shoulder staining the white cloth with tears and snot till he calmed himself down enough.

——-

”So I was on the right idea with thinking I was going crazy” 

Ezio snorted at the first sentence Desmond chose to say after his crisis.

”You are not crazy…” then paused “…well…”

”Even you have to admit running from imaginary friends for a whole month for hours is pretty crazy”

Ezio chuckled and squeezed him into a tighter hug between his arms.

”Ehhh yeah Benè, you are pretty crazy... Good thing that I am crazy for you too, vita mia.”

Desmond made a gagging sound in his arms “Oh my god, that was so sweet I want to drown myself again”

”Oh the drama!”

----

After @a-little-buggy s fanfic I had to write one too lmao tho theirs is like a masterpiece this was fun to write

[bellamyblakru]

one trope that always gets me is when person a traps person b away from them when they (person a) are about to do something stupidly sacrificial bc they know person b will stop them bc of the most stupidly sacrificial thing of all: love.

[thwackk]

do i HAVE to color or even clean things up ?can i just start shit posting

[whump-queen]

god I live for when a defiant whumpee thinks whumper’s bluffing. they snap at them and keep struggling, hoping if they just order them in the right tone, whumper will let them go.. little do they know just how long whumper has been waiting for this exact moment.

[scattered-winter]

there's something sooooooo heartbreaking about quests as a narrative piece. you set out on this journey to rescue someone or defeat a great evil and along the way you face hardship and horror and you grieve and fight and love and lose and then when it's all over you come home. everything is the same as when you left, but you're so irrevocably different that you no longer fit in the one place you used to be truly at peace. you're tired from your journey but you find no rest or recovery, only ghosts. and you almost wish for another quest, another dangerous mission, because at least then you know your purpose.

[lesiasmadness]

Im at work but MS Paint is my friend and O had to get this out of my system

[sttoru]

idk who needs to hear this but write what the fuck u want man 😭😭 drabbles & long fics about whatevaaaaa. jus do what YOU want, not because you feel obligated to

[gomacave]

First love

[tangledinink]

bad news: i think i am sleep deprived enough to have opinions on the internet.

one 'trope' that's always really bugged me from the rottmnt fandom is the "poor mikey has to be the family therapist/most emotionally mature even though he's the youngest!!!"

and i mean? like, yeah, the 'family therapist' thing by itself has its merit, because I don't think anyone should have to be the 'family therapist' (though I don't necessarily think that describes mikey? like I think he WANTS to and does 'therapy' his family sometimes but I also don't think that this is something that everyone seeks or expects from him all the time?) but it's more like

the

the youngest thing

it grates on me when people act like it's such a tragedy or injustice that he's 'forced' to emotionally caretake for his family members at times when he's the 'baby.' but it's not like he's some child being taken care of/relied upon by adults? in both the show and most fanwork i've seen with this trope, he's doing a majority of this 'emotional caretaking' for his brothers. and like... raph is literally only two years older than him. why is it so messed up if mikey happens to have some more emotional maturity than him in some areas? why is it so horrendous if mikey takes care of raph? just because raph's a couple years older than him? this means it's bad for raph to ask for or want their sibling to take care of them sometimes? mikey shouldn't have to provide any emotional support or care, but raph should?

why is mikey not able to provide emotional support for his family without it being viewed as toxic or tragic just because he's the youngest? this is basically expected of raph as the eldest by the fandom. sure, there's lots of "aw poor raph had to raise his brothers" type stuff (which I also don't really agree with but that's another thing) but it's always in a light of "it's so messed up that raph had to parent his brothers instead of their dad" rather than "it's so tragic that raph is providing emotional support for his younger brother."

i hate this idea that because raph, leo, and donnie are a couple years older than mikey, they are able to protect and caretake for him and that's cute, wholesome "good sibling" content, but if mikey does the same for them, it's somehow tragic angst and reflects poorly on raph/leo/donnie.