#It's also VERY interesting bc he WAS more of a rebel punk as a teen then he went to the monastery and now he is shown to be very

[bumblingbabooshka]

[TUVOKTOBER: Day 6] Based on this line of dialogue:

[toonbly]

thinking about like. taylor dndads and how he fits into s2s theming of like. “teens and having their identities and worldviews thrown into chaos as they realize their parents views aren’t always correct and how they react to that” bc honestly i think taylor Differs from the group in this sense? in that he’s like. the MOST secure in his identity and worldviews out of all of them.

normal has an identity crisis when sparrow reveals he’s not actually proud of his peppy teen mascot personality, now wondering if he should be himself or be what his dad wants him to be. it clearly causes a lot of confusion for normal and even resentment for his dad. he’s spent his whole life thinking he’s been accepted for who he is only to find out he never was, and it makes him wonder “Who am I supposed to be?” instead of “Who do I want to be?”

scary struggles with the duality of herself, she doesn’t believe she can be the goth-punk seeker of darkness who rebels against her new stepdad AND a peppy soccer player who considers herself and her mother to be a “just us against the world” duo. she doesn’t realize that she can be multifaceted, because i mean she’s a teenager you really don’t comprehend nuance at that age and it makes figuring out your identity confusing and frustrating.

lincoln struggles with his innocent worldview being shattered, desiring to be like his father who he believed to be pure and good up until grant confessed his more violent tendencies to him and BEGGED lincoln to be NOTHING like him, his world has been thrown into chaos and it’s clear such a sheltered kid doesn’t know how to react to this. he’s scared and for the first time he’s dealing with that fear without his dads backing him up.

but taylors like. he’s the most SECURE in knowing who he is, so much so to the point that he doesn’t react much to being told he’s half demon because he’s always believed he’s destined for greatness. like, “oh of COURSE that makes sense, obviously i’m special because that’s what i’m meant to be.” taylor is who he Wants to be and he doesn’t listen to what OTHERS want him to be. a clear example being when nick tells him to abandon his friends for a life of solitude, taylor turns back to save lincoln from the fbi agents because that’s what HE wants to do. it seems to me that a lot of taylor’s decisions are dictated solely by what he wants and what he believes. there’s also his mother, cassandra, who’s clearly supportive of all of taylor’s interests which contributes to taylor’s feeling of security in himself. unlike the other teens, there’s no tangible insecurity there at least not that i’ve noticed. so i think taylor’s arc isn’t about grappling with the shattered pieces of his worldview, but instead it’s about having his worldview knocked down a peg and how that NEEDS to happen.

now i wouldn’t call taylor selfish by any means-- as mentioned before he turned back into danger just to save a friend of his, no doubt about it that taylor is an EXTREMELY loyal kid-- but he obviously has a pretty damn big ego. he sees everything like it’s an anime that he’s the main character of, and honestly you could argue cassandra spoils taylor rotten. his worldview is very skewed by his upbringing-- he thinks he’s the main character, that he’s special, he doesn’t understand what “jobs” really are and believes there’s a GRAND MAGICAL DESTINY out there for him.

 but he’s not the main character, he’s part of a team. there is no magical destiny, just a series of fuck ups and trauma passed down from generation to generation. i don’t think taylor’s arc is grappling with insecurity, it’s grappling with reality. maybe one day it’s gonna hit him that he’s NOT special, he’s just like the rest of the kids he’s adventuring with. he’s not the main character, these people aren’t his sidekicks, they’re his team and he’s not even the leader of that team. he’s a member of it, just like everyone else.

i think the way that taylor fits into the themeing of this story isn’t that his worldview and identity is questioned from the Start, but rather his arc is the process of that worldview and identity slowly being picked apart until he crashes back down to earth and the reality of everything finally becomes clear to him. and i dunno i just think it’s SUPER interesting how he kinda stands out like that, as ironic as it is.