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princessofghosts-posts · 22 hours ago

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Nico's Powers and Rick way of writing them.

Honestly,I've been wainting to write this.

We all know Nico powers:

Can manipulate the shadows and travel in it (Umbra-kinesis);

Can sense someone's death and soul;

Can summon ghosts and talk to them;

Can summon skeletons that obey to his orders and fight for him;

Can use dreams to send messages;

Can unconsciously split the ground and create cracks or Underworld's openings;

Can turn someone into a ghost and make them forgot their life and ability to speak;

Can turn someone into a skeleton;

Has influence on the dead and can evade them when he has to;

Can create earthquakes (not major ones like Percy);

Technically has Geo-kinesis powers too (like Hazel);

Can summon zombies to serve him;

Can conditionate the CJ's lares speaking ability by forcing them to shut up;

Can influence the dead ones with his mood;

Death-touch;

(If I missed some feel free to add)

Other than this,you need to remember that his title as Ghost King give him some more leverage,and his sword is an uniqueness in the world that give him the ability to suck someone's soul in it.

By only this list you can tell that Nico is extremely powerful,and he is still younger than Percy,with a weak physical body (depression and ED do some wonders to you-) and wasn't never "officially trained" like him since he wasn't around camp much. But he still pulled insane acts even without being 100% ok most of the time.

Nico powers,differently from Percy and Thalia,are extremely versatile. While those two can use whatever source or form of water/lightning to fight,they can't do much outside of their fathers's domains. And then you have Nico. Nico that can use his powers to travel around the world and sending messages with a mental link,other than use them to fight. People always talks about Percy controll over all types of liquid (even poison or the Underworld's rivers),but there is still water in them,so it's normal for him to do so. Thalia can use lightnings because it's normal for her to do so since those are Zeus's main sources of power. But Nico's powers are more than just controlling the dead,he can manipulate dreams (something that only the Hypnos cabin can do if I remember correctly) and can use geo-kinesis too,even tho not as much good or frequent as Hazel (before she started to work with her mist affinity). He can do it all.

I'm not trying to pull the "Nico is more powerful than Percy" argument here,but more focusing on Nico's versatility usage of his powers. And Rick made a mistake here with him,that he realized later and tried to minimize.

You see,when you have a powerscaling system,you usually take the main character as the "default": it's from them that you start to build it so other people can understand where others characters stand,compared to the MC,on the scale. Most of the time,people want their MC to grow stronger after every fight,starting from the bottom,untill they are the most powerful character in the story. It's a format done everywhere (anime,movie,comics,fanfic,books,ecc...) and Rick Riordan also used it with Percy. And when you have as MC the "most powerful character ever" (in this case the most powerful demigod since Heracles times),you need to be careful with your side characters,especially when the author doesn't want them to outshine the MC. For this reason,most of the time,they are either weaker than them or have extremely excessive drowbacks. A good example of this is Jason: Rick introduced him to us as the roman counterpart for Percy,but made us understand that he wasn't never at Percy level of power. And when you have a "side" character as Nico,adding to the fact that he's most of the time the wild card for their victories and always know everything,you have a big problem.

Riordan made it clear that no one (for now) can surpass Percy in term of abilities. But he still went out of his way making Nico's powers more versatile than the others. Logically,he should have been stronger than Percy,especially because death cannot be stoped and it's part of everyone life,but canonically it wasn't going to happen since the MC is Percy. Riordan realized in a second moment that his powers were too much and decided to make sure Nico was always held back by something from going full out (like Jason).

Nico is the only child of the big 3 that,if he use so much of his powers,has extremely horrible drowbacks even when he shouldn't. I could understand during MoA-BoO events in HoO,he was either dying or disappearing into the shadows because of his kidnapping and Tartarus,and still had an extremely draining task to finish. But from HoO to ToA there is a big timeskip (I think 6 months or more but I'm not so sure) where he should had all the time in the world to heal and having back full controll over his powers. But he doesn't. Nico still faint after shadow-travelling,even tho after his trip with the statue he should have been stronger and not having problems for a normal trip. Which sucks,especially when Rick most of the time make him pull some jaw-dropping power-play that give you the full picture on how strong he really is.

I don't think Percy had so many downgrades with his powers,I never saw him almost fainting from controlling the waters. He get tired,yes,but that's it. Thalia has more restrictions because of her fear,but I also never saw her having so many problems after using her powers (after she went with the Hunters we never see her in general anymore). Neither did Hazel with her geo-kinesis powers (before Rick decided to make her learn mist manipulation). Jason is a whole mess because he faint every day when he gets hit by a brick,even when he isn't fighting or using his powers (Rick didn't do him justice either). It's only Nico that has so many negative effects.

And the fandom can explain it,in a canon logic,with: "He's s still young,he will have time to grow stronger." (I agree) ;"He wasn't never in a good physical condition so it's normal that he has this many negative effects." (Even dying he was still able to curse someone to literally becoming a ghost) ; "He was malnourished and depressed,since he didn't take care of himself before he still have problems,wait for him to be healthy." (Again,even in those conditions he still pulled insane stunts). But,outside of the narrative,Riordan totally nerfed him because he realized that he wrote his powers too powerful and useful compared to Percy's,and since he couldn't have his MC outshined,he made sure to slow Nico in any way possible.

In BotL and TLO there are 2 scenes that,for a long time,I thought I was the only one to ever have read them since no one talked about them.

In the end of BotL when Percy get out of the Labyrinth and went with Rachel to see the coffin,Nico created an earth barrier (or something closer to it) to help them escape form Kronos's attack. He never did that after it,and I never saw people acknowledge that scene so I legitimately thought that I was imaginating it. Which was strange since it came right after the famous "Did you just throw a blue brush in the eye of the Titan Lord?" scene,but no. It really happened and Nico did use the earth at his liking. After that Riordan decided to never bought it up and Nico never manipulated the earth in that way (he still split the ground a couple of times) again.

In TLO after Nico went to free Percy from the dungeons,they escaped the palace and went to the Styx. During their escaping Nico glared at the guards,while growing weaker and weaker with each one,and they ignored them. Again,since I never saw someone talk about it I genuinely thought I was remembering things wrong. Especially because it was part of the whole "Betrayal" plot that everyone know. But again,it wasn't the case,Rick just decided to never bring it up again. It was the only time Nico did something like that. Someone can say "Well,those are the royal guards and their boss is his dad they would never go against him." but the guards were against Nico,if he didn't do whatever the fuck he did,they were going to tell Hades about their escape. So,again,Rick realized he gave him a powerful trick and then hoped that one one would remember it after he used it one time.

All of this shows that,even if he is good at writing certain things,when it comes to others topics (like power-scaling,Tartarus's trauma and many more) he just can't write well and try to put patches on the holes,without having success. But that's for another post that I will do.

Rick lack of continuation in his work,and he needs to decide what the hell he is going to do with Nico,because the guy himself is a contradiction that needs to be solved. And if I see someone else say that he is weak because he continue to faint,I'm gonna crash out very very very bad since it's Rick's fault. Nico has grown enough in his power to stand tall and use them without having majors problems (if he abuse them,then of course he is in big troubles). He isn't anymore the 13 years old kid that was dying during a world-ending trip after days of being captive by the enemy,and Riordan needs to acknowledge it and move on from that.

#percy jackon and the olympians #percy jackson and the heroes of olympus #heroes of olympus #trials of apollo #nico di angelo #powerfull nico di angelo #ghost king nico #character analysis #powers analysis #writing analysis #percy jackson #plot holes #writing styles #rick riordan #if riordan fuck up nico's character i'm going to hunt him down #he needs to stop making nico faint for everything and start to write him like he deserved to be #pjo fandom #fan rage #i'll crash out if I see another post on whatever platform where they say that nico is weak #HE ISN'T FOR ZEUS'S SAKE #thalia grace #hazel levesque #jason grace #big three children #og big 3 trio #nico and percy and thalia #analyzing the characters and their similarities #rick riordan needs to establish a solid pawer scaling method because it's getting messy #he also need to reread his work because there are so many things missing

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edmundtheartist · 3 days ago

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Again this isn't about opinions with this character, it's about what is actually established. And second, if you don't want to listen to people being "rude" then I have the right not to listen to you either because you are no saint about politeness, you're immediate response was sarcasm and then you have the balls to lecture me about being nice and respectful, who are you fucking kidding? You want respect? Give me a good reason to respect someone other than "being nice" because I ain't buying it. You talk on a rhetorical level and I will do the same. You came at me first so you got no room to speak. I don't know what world you live in where you assume everyone will be nice because you ask them to, that isn't how it works. I make fun of this fandom because I no longer have the patience to friendly with them when they still refuse to consider an actual new perspective. Let me make one thing clear, I am a simply a guy who has time on my hands allowing me to do whatever I want, I talk about what my thoughts on certain matters, I am not your friend or your social worker, it's not my job to be nice to you nor do I owe you it. You are fake af just like various other people in this fandom. So spare me the virtue signaling.

The Fandom: "Connor is just an innocent dorky cinnamon roll who needs a hug!"

Literally Connor:

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pankielovesfan · 2 days ago

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The Prime Shimmer breaks Fan's code and that's really cool

I've recently thought more about just how incredibly important The Prime Shimmer IS to Fan's entire story and character, and about breaking apart from the show and helping him put in effort to improve. Even if this was already established and said countless times, I've started to understand it even deeper when I think about it more sooo I wanted to write this out

As the core part of Fan, he loves the show and all its characters. Everything he's ever known and been surrounded with has been related to it and he loves Inanimate Insanity very much and is practically made of that admiration. However, the first time he comes in contact with something from outside the show, it's the shimmer egg. Something he clings to desperately.

The fact that the egg is the first thing he's interacted with that isn't part of the show means a lot to his character, considering how he immediately attaches to it, takes care of it, and values it so deeply. As said by Fan himself on his blog - before he had the shimmer egg with him, he didn't even know how to care. It shows just how significant the egg is for Fan's development in so, so many different ways for representing his path in life. Not sure how to work this into it, but he's mentioned how the egg also helped him feel less lonely.

When he meets them, the way Fan treats The Prime Shimmer in the show is very unique to his character and has always been... so different. He's typically very disconnected from other people, especially with how he's supposed to be a "viewer" for the show, and experiences little to no empathy or care for others because of his love for inanimate insanity as a show, and how he claims to not even know how to care at first. The finale really highlights his feelings for the aliens. He immediately seeks to help them find their other lost child, prioritizing them over his own interests. He really really cares for them, for Fan standards.

All of The Prime Shimmer is so incredibly influential for him to recognize in this way. He actually puts in effort for others instead of sticking to old habits like he does, and I think his general feelings for them are what drives Fan toward progress since what he feels for them is outside of Inanimate Insanity. It's the main hope for Fan's improvement as a person, and I'm very glad Test Tube can still represent that feeling of "being outside of the show" because she came to save him from the ship if that makes sense, she's a part of this to some extent for him. Its lovely.

There's something so beautiful about Fan feeling so much love and protection for the entirety of The Prime Shimmer, creatures that are so removed from the show, something he wasn't made to love or care for. It makes it feel very genuine, caring for it in a way he doesn't care for the other contestants. Through caring about something outside the show, he also learned how to care about Test Tube and recognize her as separated from it, seeing her as an actual person which he rarely can do for many.

It's so fun how Fan can just always tie back to themes of change. Fan, notoriously inflexible and stubborn, allows himself to perceive change and opens his mind to that development to protect the lives he's learned to care for. Starts crying. i think this guy will be the end of me

anyway thanks for reading my insanity.. Fan is willing to try for the prime shimmer which can extend to other people he cares for yay

#ii #inanimate insanity #ii fan #pankie ramble #pankie yap

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lemnnshark · 1 day ago

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After months of chipping away at this and putting it off, I can finally present to you...

Firestar's Genetically Accurate Family Tree

Or at least my take on it. There's a lot of room for change depending on how you want them to look!

Here is the spreadsheet with all their genetics, including cats who aren't on the tree but were needed for certain cats' mates

Some notes:

-I tried to keep them as close to canon as possible. A lot on the bottom row don't quite make it, but their parents are more established characters than them, so they were more important to me

-Generally, I didn't care too much about eye color. If the way I did blue eyes doesn't line up with any existing blue eye mutation, pretend these cats magically evolved their own mutation that does what I want it to

-I did as little work as I needed to. All of the ?s in their genotypes just mean that pretty any allele would be fine, and some of their genotypes omit certain genes entirely

-I'm not super familiar with drawing realistic coat colors, so I apologize if any of them (especially the tabbies) are off. I might be able to make some adjustments if anyone has critiques

-I weeded out all the mistakes I could, but there might still be a few lurking somewhere. If you have a keen eye and happen to spot one, let me know and I'll fix it!

-I'm happy to answer any questions regarding this tree or cat genetics in general :> (although I'm not exactly an expert)

-Ignore the Larksong Sparkpelt cross in the middle. It's unfortunate.

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tired-demonspawn · 3 days ago

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im working on something else rn but a lil while ago i made a star wars au, so here you go :)

the main idea is written in the corner but imma tldr it(also i dont trust the upload quality of the pic): set in roughly prequel era robotnik used to be a high up republic special weapons group guy and, as a high up military guy, was assigned a jedi bodyguard, that being stone.

once his inventions got a bit too war-crime-y the republic had him jailed and stone (who fell in love with him) breaks him out and they start being weapons dealers

other misc details under the cut

okay so some of these are mentioned in the pic but i wanted to specify/expand/clarify:

stone never really falls to the dark side, that's actually why he couldn't bleed his own crystal (which let's be completely clear he would be willing to do for robotnik), he simply didnt have the hate and pain necessary to do it. he follows robotnik, his devotion and duty to him is what gives him strength in the force(think knights of zakuul)

to go with his brand, also just to show that he could, robotnik made stone a lightsaber with a black market red kyber crystal... smthn smthn your lightsaber is your life...

i went with orange for his original one because

it provides a nice contrast with the rest of his fit

it goes with robotnik's colour scheme

he simply does not have the temperament of a purple lightsaber, i dunno man the vibes are off

for my fourth reason let me present to you a quick clone wars episode concept:

(clone wars intro music)(random quote) UNCERTAINTY HAS GRIPPED THE REPUBLIC! the separatists have captured a republic military research vessel along with its scientists and military generals! it is up to only 3 brave jedi to save them.

(i fucked up the tone of the intro guy by the middle, and also i dont really have a 3rd guy i just wrote 3 cuz it seemed like a number they would use)

anyway gimmick clone wars intro aside

robotnik was forced entirely into the military uniform(including non special gloves) for a special scientific military meeting where "even jedi werent allowed" it obviously being a trap robotnik had a few aces up his sleeve, but even so, stone was told to stay on alert, because robotnik was most definitely getting kidnapped.

so when robotnik misses all 3 agreed upon check ins stone contacts the council(hes already somewhere with a lot of jedi, its not just a matter of "he thought it best to report"(and waste precious time that could be spent saving the doctor?) but "he literally cannot take a ship and leave without it raising suspicion"), he basically tells them something like "we cant waste any time arguing, im going. i am closest to the last reported location" so the council sticks 2 more people on him(if it was an actual episode they would most likely be already established, so we could see a "familiar face" interacting with this new character of stone)

anyway they find where did the seps take them because obviously robotnik chipped himself.

with the correct password(that only stone has(not that he knows that hes the only one)) robotnik can be tracked even through hyperspace(not exactly, but it at least gives a general quadrant of space, which ofc after leaving hyperspace gets pin-point accurate)

they get to the base, they sneak around trying to find how to get to the prisoners(because its nice that they have robotniks coordinates to the tenth of a milimetre, but they dont have the base blueprints)

during the dramatic peak of the ep, there's a weirdly menacing moment where the mild mannered jedi knight, that was kinda made fun of the entire episode for being "reduced to an errand boy" can actually swing a lightsaber around pretty well.

and then he unties robotnik, helps him up, asks if hes alright("of course not, imbecile! what took you?" "the tracker wasnt as accurate while in hyperspace as you theorised" "hm. well in any case none of this would happen if it werent for this stupid uniform" "i have a change of clothes prepared for you in the ship") aaannnd the errand boy is back

fast forward, robotnik was both arrested and freed, is now doing his own thing.

the two knights that were with stone in that "initial episode" are snooping around one of robotnik's labs, investigating this new arms dealer. they're on a terminal of some sort and behind them out of focus of the camera a bright orange lightsaber ignites, contrasting sharply against the red/blue tones of the lab.

"you aren't welcome here." the former jedi knight says.

and scene

so yea hope that last bit sold you on the orange lightsaber bit

originally wanted to post this au with more art attached but alas life had other plans.

anyway if you've read this far i hope you have a nice rest of your day :)

also dont be afraid to ask any questions about this au, i have so many thoughts about it, so im 100% sure i didnt include something i deffo have figured out because i either a) forgor 💀 or b) didnt know how to properly explain a vague feeling about a possible situation

#stobotnik #sth #sonic movies #dr ivo robotnik #ivo robotnik #agent stone #sonic agent stone #star wars au #my art #digital art #sonic the hedgehog

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justinspoliticalcorner · 6 hours ago

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Erin Reed at Erin In The Morning:

Judge Lee H. Rosenthal, a federal judge appointed by President George H. W. Bush, has blocked Texas A&M University from banning drag events on campus. The ruling comes in response to a lawsuit filed by the student-led LGBTQ+ group Queer Empowerment Council, which had hosted the annual “Draggieland” event for five years without incident. In her decision, Rosenthal found that drag is a protected form of artistic expression under the First Amendment, and that Trump’s executive order targeting so-called “gender ideology” cannot supersede students’ free speech rights. “Performances by men dressed as women are nothing new. Men have been dressing as women in theater and film for centuries. It is well-established among scholars of Shakespeare’s literary works that, when his plays were written and performed, female characters were played by young men dressed in women’s attire. See Royal Shakespeare Company, Women on Stage…” the court wrote, before concluding that the drag show qualified as protected First Amendment conduct: “The theatrical performance and the explicit discussion of the intended message are both protected under the First Amendment.” [...] The judge was not persuaded. In a separate line of argument, the state stated that the university had to ban the show because it promotes “gender ideology,” which it claimed was prohibited under a recent Trump executive order. “Given that both the System and the Universities receive significant federal funding, the use of facilities at the Universities for Drag Show Events may be considered promotion of gender ideology in violation of the Executive Order and the Governor’s directive,” the state wrote. The judge pointed out the clear contradiction in the state’s argument—on one hand, claiming the drag show ban had nothing to do with speech or expression, and on the other, arguing that the show’s expressive content warranted the ban. “The Board’s contention that drag shows, and Draggieland, are not expressive conduct directly contradicts the Board’s simultaneous assertion that drag performances promote an ideology,” the judge wrote.

Texas A&M’s ban on drag was rightly blocked by Judge Lee H. Rosenthal.

See Also:

The Advocate: Texas A&M's drag ban blocked by federal court as judge cites free 'speech rights'

LGBTQ Nation: A federal judge shut down a university that tried to ban students from holding a drag show

#Texas A&M University #Drag Shows #Drag Bans #Drag #Anti Drag Show Extremism #Lee H. Rosenthal

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physalian · 2 days ago

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Avoiding Plot Holes by Seeding Doubt

Having an “expert” character conveniently fuck up right when the plot needs it to happen, when they otherwise would never, always loudly looks like the hand of the author sabotaging things. Which is exactly what’s happening.

However, if you set up that scene in a way where that fuckup is possible and warranted, you can turn “this is so contrived” to “omg I knew that was going to happen”.

Some suggestions!

Firstly, if we’re dealing with humans, humans are not machines. Variability in skill even at the expert level happens. Go watch the Olympics or any professional sporting event and people have terrible days all the time.

In fiction, a conveniently terrible day because that’s just how this works doesn’t fly. Diablos ex machinas tend to go over easier than deus ex machinas, but a character failing at a critical challenge in the narrative for no reason screws with a lot of the tension and expectations. “For no reason” takes no effort by the author to set up and pay off, and it reads as cheap.

Behavioral variables

I am a novice archer. I write expert archers. I do not write supernaturally accurate archers. From the very beginning of my story, my expert, with four centuries of experience, isn’t nailing perfect kill shots with every hit. A) he doesn’t need to and B) leaving his enemy to die slowly and painfully is a low he will absolutely stoop to if he thinks it’s warranted.

He’s as good as he has to be and if he gets the job done, he doesn’t care if it’s a little messy. Him being messy and overconfident is what gets him in the end, too. If he’s trying, he’ll do better, but most of the time “eh, I got close enough, they’ll die eventually” is his mindset.

“Expert” in fiction being “this is a character who will reliably pass the challenges set up for them by the narrative”.

So if you have an “expert,” allowing them to get a little bit lazy and overconfident, or simply not think of themselves as needing to be perfect in a given situation, you allow yourself a lot of wiggle room for them to majorly fuck up.

Doesn’t work very well if I throw my archer into an archery tournament, but I haven’t done that, and I’ll get to that later.

Environmental variables

Using the archery example once again: Archery is finnicky and precision is key. So if you’ve got your archer, or any marksman, in a windy environment, they have to work that much harder to factor in the wind when setting up their shot.

If it’s rainy, or the sun’s in their face, or it’s dark, or it’s loud and they can’t focus, these things aren’t exact data points the audience is going to do the math on. Or, if they and their enemy are moving, which, in combat, is highly likely.

Physiological variables

Maybe your character didn’t get enough sleep, or they’re stressed about this moment, they’re cracking under the pressure, they’re doubting themselves, the enemy got into their head, or they’re distracted worrying about something else. Or they got drunk the night before, they ate too much or too little. They’re sick, their hands are sweaty, they’ve got a sinus headache. They’ve got cramps, or hot flashes, or earlier they pulled a muscle and it still tweaks.

These are all, once again, introducing doubt into the narrative so that, when they fuck up as the plot demands, the audience should consider “well they weren’t at their best, I believe it”.

—

The sloppy way to do this is to go, in the moment:

“But because it was windy, X missed his shot”.

Is this the first time the reader is learning that it’s windy? Pretty convenient to introduce it right as it becomes important.

Rather, establish your variable beforehand in a disconnected moment. Try to ground it to a different element, otherwise it might look like it’s being mentioned for no other reason than “this is important”. Or, if it’s environmental, bury it with the other sensory descriptors.

When establishing the scene and setting, casually mention how the wind is interacting with the characters—making their hair a mess, throwing pollen everywhere, making skirts billow, etc.

Have another character complain about this variable bothering them

Have the character instantly regret the decision they made the night before for unrelated reasons. Like, if they got drunk, now they’ve still got a headache.

Depends on the story and the audience, of course, but I personally think having the narrator explicitly call out the variable fuckery going on reads a bit hammy. I like letting the audience figure out what went wrong with the clues I give.

If the scene demands, I'll also let my characters get annoyed and upset about their shots going wrong and blaming the environment. So long as it's not "hand of the author here to tell you what went wrong" you've got options.

I wouldn’t pull this trick too many times, otherwise your “expert” ends up consistently not an expert and then their sudden success looks suspect and contrived.

If you are writing some sort of tournament where this character is deliberately setting themselves up for success and is considering all these variables… a great example I like is Todoroki vs Bakugo in My Hero Academia season 2.

Dude is an uncertain mess throughout the rest of his tournament once his “fuck you dad I’m gonna win by half-assing it” suddenly isn’t enough to beat Midoriya. He’s forced to face some Tragic Backstory and it throws him off his game—establishes doubt.

He has a string of successes once he starts taking baby steps with the other half of his powers, and in the finale, he’s up against someone where he really does have to give it his all if he wants to win. His brute force powers are up against someone who has honed his very specific and powerful abilities for a decade.

And he can’t do it.

The final fight stops being a matter of power metrics and who would win if they both were competing at their best with all the tricks in their playbook available, which is what most of the tournament had been up to this point.

Basically—it stops being a numbers game, and starts being an emotional one. If you have a character you need to fail at something, but who wouldn’t otherwise, consider shifting the battle from external to internal, so the task failure is just the catalyst for the real meat of the story: what this loss means to this person in the long run.

**Side note there are of course a ton of anime tournament fights probably better than this one, Rock Lee’s whole arc against Gaara is one of them, I just don’t remember it well enough to comment on it.

Not every reader is going to be savvy enough to go “well that’s going to be important later”. Use betas and editors to help gauge how vague or obvious your foreshadowing is.

But even if you have readers sussing out your foreshadowing: Part of the fun is figuring out how the journey will end, even if we know when and where. Otherwise tragedies and prequels wouldn’t be made.

The dramatic irony of knowing variable fuckery is at play when the character is unaware can be so fun as the audience. Horror films are kind of built on it.

#writeblr #writing #writing a book #writing advice #writing resources #writing tips #writing tools #plot holes #foreshadowing

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orfisheus · 2 days ago

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Resources and Other Assorted Readings

I'm back! Back out of the hospital and procedures and all that other not-so-fun parts of having multiple medical mysteries occurring in your body all at once. And after a few requests for additional readings related to positive disability representation, I have a few guides, blogs, studies, as well as tips for writing disabled characters in both fandom contexts and in original works!

Let's get on with it!

Advice for drawing Tord/Red Leader

First of all, let's establish a bit of a rule here. You can ignore canon. The End, and the later scrapped character for Super Average, while the basis of these fanon ideas, aren't... the best sources of accurate inspiration. The injuries and later scarring on his face are exaggerated and inaccurate.

"But Fish!" I hear you say, "Isn't it a cartoon? Aren't cartoons an exaggerated form of life?"

True! I am an animation major, and the advice that we get when animating is to not go for realism, but for what suits the movement the best. The same goes for character design, make the details fit the point of the design. However, disabilities and facial differences are not cartoonish aspects of a character. They are real, tangible parts of human existence. And since disabled people and people with facial differences are part of a minority group, there's a lot of bigotry and misinformation in fiction that are actively harmful. You know how gay people having the same kind of representation of an effeminate gay twink becomes degrading at some point? Same goes for disabilities. I see a depiction of disability that ignores or makes the disabling aspects of our lives tragic and I yell, "I'M TIRED OF THIS, GRANDPA!!!"

So, let's get into some guides to avoid overexaggerating scars.

If you look up "how to draw burn scars", you're not going to be met with a lot of correct information. There's only one good tutorial I've been able to find by @/saszor, which I will link below.

There's a few common ways that people draw his scars, at least from I've seen in my around 8-9 years in this fandom. I understand that many of us are working off of references from google or a similar search engine, so we can only attempt to achieve what we see in these images. However, from my research, I've found that there are specific ways that a healed scar would look like. And yes, please draw it healed. If it's not healed, he better have a compression mask on or proper wrappings if he's in the hospital.

The following drawings are not based on any artist in particular, just from memory.

On the left (Yes!) are keloid, hypertrophic, and contracture scars, respectively, observed from online images and saszor's guide.

Scars tend to be, when healed, at least, closer to the body's normal skin tone, but can have hyperpigmentation or hypopigmentation. The problem with the first two in the (eh...) column are that they push the pigmentation and appearance of the scar in one direction. It's an aware attempt to try to make the scars look healed, and some of these characteristics can be observed from references (hypopigmentation, leading to a lighter color of the scars in the first one, or a reddish appearance, in the second one). But, these are either one part of scarring (hypopigmentation in some areas), or only at a certain stage (If it is still that dark he needs to put that compression mask back on). Scarring with also have a direction The third one is relatively close, but the random direction of the scars gives... a kind of unnerving appearance to me, which is not what we should be going for.

The last one is just how it looks from The End. Please do not draw him like that. Bodies don't do that.

"But Fish", I hear you say again, "How do we draw these scars on him?" Great question!! Here's how I draw him in my style!

(Be kind to me, I made it at 3 AM)

The scarring here is still a bit exaggerated, but the texture and color are fairly similar to what you'd see with actual burn scars. Remember, not all scars are the same!

Few things I considered when I first made my design: The hair, with the severity of burns that necessitate amputation (so either 3rd or 4th degree), would be burned off on the areas on the scalp affected. While not every burn survivor will experience trauma to the eye (in fact, most will not), I wanted to explore the idea of why he would have an eyepatch, so I draw him with nerve damage to the eye, causing both forms of ptosis. Eyes themselves don't typically get injured by burns unless if they're chemical burns. His ear would also have damage, affecting his hearing on that side of his body. Depth perception is intact without the eyepatch. White pupil is not a cataract. It's a lore thing.

"But Fish," Wow, we're having a great conversation right now, "Your style is so realistic? How can I apply these tips to a more simplistic art style?" You're gonna love this part.

You can use lines to indicate the movement of scars, as well as subtle parts of color. If you really want to, you can add a subtle difference in color, but texture, instead of color, is more like an actual burn scar.

Second piece of advice, if you're indicating it with color... he would not be freaking red. I will find you and I will sit you down and we will watch Crip Camp: A Disability Revolution together.

DEFINITIONS

Keloid

an area of irregular fibrous tissue formed at the site of a scar or injury. (Google)

Hypertrophic

a thick raised scar. It's an abnormal response to wound healing in which extra connective tissue forms within the original wound area. The result a raised scar. (Cleveland Clinic)

Contracture

an abnormal occurrence that happens when a large area of skin is damaged and lost, resulting in a scar. The scar formation pulls the edges of the skin together, causing a tight area of skin. The decrease in the size of the skin can then affect the muscles, joints, and tendons, causing a decrease in movement. (Stanford Medicine Healthcare)

Hyperpigmentation

A common, usually harmless condition in which patches of skin are darker than the surrounding skin. (National Cancer Institute)

Hypopigmentation

a lightening of your skin color. Injuries or skin conditions are the primary cause of hypopigmentation. (Cleveland Clinic)

ADVICE FOR WRITING TORD

Fish tip: Take my word less as gospel and do your own research. I am not a burn survivor. I do not have a facial or limb difference. As stated prior, I have intense chronic pain (which worsened after I published part 1, much to my family's bank account's chagrin when I went to the emergency room for pain), unhealed injuries in my knee and foot (which have gone on long enough for it to also be chronic pain), and various mental illnesses and ADHD. These tips are mainly resources and my own perspective on how I try to tackle writing him.

Recovery from burns can take weeks to months, but recovery from burn scars can take longer. This is because the scars are extremely sensitive and fragile, and also require compression to heal. For his arm/chest, they would likely be wrapped with gauze, moisturized, and then dressed with antimicrobacterial wrapping. For the face, gauze would not be placed on it post-hospital discharge. Instead, he'd wear a compression mask (either fabric or clear. These have been described as uncomfortable by many burn survivors. Nonetheless, He Should Wear One.)

His clothes shouldn't be too tight, too warm, or too cold, as scars can be sensitive to that (learned from a @/cripplecharacters ask). Blisters can form if there’s too much tension on the scars. Uncomfortable!

Remember the rule about ignoring canon? The Red Leader mask, albeit reminiscent of the iconic Darth Vader, still perpetuates aspects of the disabled villain stereotype that treats disability and facial differences as something taboo, a moral failure, or something to shame and hide away. Ignore the mask. Unless if you can write it respectfully from experience, don't.

Understand that prosthetic arms will not function the same as a normal arm. "But Fish, this is fiction--" And prosthetic wearers have said they're tired of it. Listen to them first. The trope of the highly advanced prosthetic arm treats disability as something extraordinary, or aids as equal to original function. As someone who needs sensory aids, they will never replace my original hearing.

Don't make him depressed over the fact that he is disabled now. He can experience trauma from the fact that he received near-mortal wounds (and when it's described negatively, it's negative because they're dangerous, not that they're disabling. If his arm had to be amputated, it probably saved his life (infection, extreme tissue and/or nerve damage)), and can recognize the new adaptations he's had to make in his own life, such as different kinds of therapy (occupational, physical), the use of sunblock and sun protection, and living as an amputee.

More on him being an amputee, he's not going to a prosthetic wear an arm 24/7. In fact, there are many above the elbow amputees who actually prefer to not wear them. For one, they don't function like a normal arm, as stated prior. Two, they don't feel like an actual arm. The difference in weight is very noticeable, even the prosthetic is lighter than an arm. But, because the amputation is above the elbow (or at least is assumed by the fandom to be), the lack of balance can lead to back or spine issues. It may also be worn for specific tasks. So you don't have to disregard it completely, but understand that it's not a perfect fix.

Big trope I'm not a personal fan of: Having him be insecure about being disabled and wanting to hide it. It's not really a good message to send. But, if you have personal experience with amputation and facial differences, then, you're writing from experience and I wholeheartedly trust you to write from your own life. Can't argue with that, ya know?

For some people, having a prosthetic arm means independence to them. Understand and look into the nuances of the discussion surrounding prosthetic arms from the perspective of upper limb amputees (and know that many prosthetic companies are actively exploitative)

Thought occurred to me. Some upper limb amputees wear prosthetics because of societal pressures. That avenue could be interesting to explore with him as a public figure.

Combat: Will have to use a one-handed gun. Actually. It's completely possible to fight one-armed. Able bodied people do it all the time. But, due to the nature of modern war, a handgun or similar one-handed guns won't cut it. He'll likely not engage in actual warfare.

The above concept is something I explore in my own writing, where he switches from just being a competent fighter and soldier, to having to adapt to working behind the frontlines as a political and military leader, giving him proper experience to fully lead the army as Red Leader (A role he steps into in my AU, instead of him having that role from the start)

If your Tord is Red Leader the whole time, he'll have to have a proxy to step in for him while he recovers. Because recovery is not an easy road, and he'll need to focus a lot of time and energy on just recovering.

Yes, including phantom pain is good, but it's the bare minimum.

If you want to characterize him this way, have him ask for help with certain tasks, such as those that require two hands. But let's be real, it's gonna take a lot of character development to reach that stage.

Finally... DON'T HAVE HIS DISABILITY BE THE MAIN ASPECT OF HIS CHARACTER. Be conscious of how much focus you place on it as an able-bodied writer. I get it, it's hard to understand if you don't have the lived experience of being disabled, but we really only focus on it when it effects us, or we're doing something that isn't accessible or as easy for us. For chronic pain, sometimes we just completely go on with our lives while experiencing a 8-10 on the pain scale (I love trying to animate while my abdomen is in excruciating pain! /sar). But, you can include the above advice when it would be necessary to discuss it. That man's a military leader. He's not going to be thinking of how he feels about his prosthetic. He's planning on invading The Netherlands or something (I'm sorry The Netherlands you were the first to come to mind)

One last tidbit, most advice you will see will tell you to not have your villain have a facial difference, especially not if they're a burn survivor. A good ol' redemption story can fix that (and you'll follow the advice here, too, m'kay? He's still disabled and an amputee even if he's good or trying to do better, M'KAY?). But, if you're going in the route of him still being Red Leader, don't make him the only disabled character, nor the only character with a facial difference, nor the only burn survivor. We're trying to do damage control here.

LINKS (Not a comprehensive reading list):

FOUR BOXES

CLOTHING RELATED ASK

BURN SCAR TREATMENT

WOUND CARE POST-BURN INJURY

BURN DRESSINGS INFORMATION

CRIPPLECHARACTERSPROSTHETICTAG

HOW IT FEELS TO WEAR AN UPPER LIMB PROSTHESIS

SUBMALEVOLENTGRACE'S WONDERFUL POST ABOUT THEIR OWN EXPERIENCE AS AN UPPER ARM AMPUTEE

TIPS FOR DRAWING AND WRITING AMPUTEES BY CY-CYBORG

ACCESS TO PHEONIX SOCIETY FOR BURN SURVIVORS GUIDE TO WRITING BURN SURVIVORS

ADD MORE DISABLED CHARACTERS (ESPECIALLY THOSE WHO ARE GOOD!)

"Okay Fish, we get it, his existence as a disabled character is harmful as we have to be very specific in how we write him." You're learning! Yay! "How do we manage that?" Add other characters who are disabled. Remember... ignore... canon...

We go into further iffy territory with fanon. Let's see, what other disabled characters exist in fanon! Okay, Future Tom is commonly depicted as blind and needing an aid to see... and also portrayed on the side of The Red Army. Oh jeez. Future Matt! He's got an eye and jaw prosthetic! Oh, oh, because of. WTFuture, we usually get the same. Hey, can y'all keep them on the good side? Or just have other disabled characters? Who else... oh hi Paul. You're. Also. Red Army. Mm. Great. (I know a lot of people also don't delve into the implications of the Red Army's existence or write them as morally grey, but it still goes against the Four Boxes' clause of Vigilantes/Villains)

Not great. Few things. Many people depict Tom as joining the Red Army, and it's common to see the same happen with Matt. This phenomenon specifically occurs in the really dark future fics, which I've tackled myself (it's a WIP). If they don't write Tord as a disabled man well enough, they don't tend to fare the same with Tom, and Matt's prosthetics don't really get considered. Because Paul's injuries happen in canon, there's less care given to writing him (he would have limited depth perception if his eye is injured, so once again, fighting and plane flying would not be done the same way as pre-injury, let alone what other symptoms he'd have with it. It's most likely an open globe injury.)

Notice how Tom only gets a minor scratch in The End, where he's the hero of the story, but when he becomes disabled, people associate him with a morally gray or evil position in the story? Yeah. The major issue here is, these characters are either morally gray or villains. And yeah, the main 3 are very morally gray in general. There's no true "good person" in Eddsworld, but it'd certainly be nice to have more positive depictions of disability in this fandom. Want to add that? I introduce you to...

HEADCANONS... and... OCs!!

With headcanons, you can project your disability onto any character as a coping mechanism! I do it all the time. You get chronic pain, you get chronic pain, we all get chronic pain! And if you're not disabled, it's a good way to go beyond tropes, because oh boy are the canon/fanon disabled characters very reliant on tropes! Maybe Laurel has an autoimmune disorder, maybe Mark uses a mobility aid like a cane or a walker. Who knows! The possibilities are pretty much endless.

The possibilities become infinite when it comes to OCs! Add your OCs to the story. Do it. Make them good. Do it. You can add characters with limb differences, facial differences, burn scars, and have them still be good people in this comedic, satirical world.

From personal experience, I'm writing a more serious take on a post-The End narrative, which also includes an expansion of the lore and universe. There are OCs that play a huge part in the story, and some of them are simply there to bring life to the world itself.

For example, here's Symon and Ulyana (from some character development sketches I did)! Symon is a congenital bilateral above the elbow amputee, and Ulyana is a below the elbow amputee with facial scars, weakness of the zygomatic branch of the facial nerve, and a traumatic brain injury. Symon is a minor character, while Ulyana is a major character in the AU. Both of them have narratives outside of their disability, and are shown either adapting to their disabilities, or learning to do so. Ulyana, as a BE amputee, eventually wears her prosthetic less and less, learning to be comfortable with her stump, and only using it when she needs to complete specific tasks that require a two-handed grip. Both characters have positive philosophies, storylines outside of their disabilities, and are on the side of good. They're not the only good characters, let alone the only good disabled characters, but, on the topic of amputees and facial differences, they felt like the best duo to bring up.

So yeah! With a little bit of creativity, it's possible! While it's preferred to have disabled characters as major characters with their own storylines, having disabled characters or headcanoning characters as disabled anywhere, even if they're minor characters, shows a bit of effort.

Hell, you can even get super bold with headcanons and give characters completely new disabilities. You know, I don't see many disabled Edd headcanons... what if I just

MORE ADVICE ON WRITING DISABLED CHARACTERS

This next section is just advice that's practical for any application!

Step one... Know that we are people. And we are also disabled. Disability affects multiple, if not every, aspects of our lives. Know that, if a character becomes disabled, they will react, they will have to change, they may find it upsetting, but they must find their way to go on. Do not give us pity. Give us understanding. Give us support. Give us accommodations. And do the same for your character, too.

Step two... Generic disability based-research!

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE follow @/cripplecharacters . They are a great starting point and have great advice for how to tackle disabled characters in general, and also specific conditions. They also give advice for further research for writers

Understand the disability tropes I wrote about last time, and research negative portrayals of them in fiction.

Follow other disabled creators who discuss disability tropes. My favorites are Jessica Kellgren-Fozard (YouTube), Oakwrym (YouTube), themightyz0 (Instagram: NOTE, focuses mainly on writing Black and Brown female characters, but has some posts on writing mental health as well. Great content overall), cy-cyborg (tumblr)

Watch and read content made by disabled creatives (documentaries, movies, books, ect.). This one's more time consuming, but at least make an effort to seek out and support one piece of media! My favorite YA book, One For All, is a great OwnVoices story about a female fencer with POTS! There ya go! Fish recommendation!!

Oooo you wanna watch documentaries so bad

Step three... Specific research!

Find negative tropes related to the disability that you are representing and throw them out of the window! Thwart them, subvert them! Understand why they exist, and make your character in spite of those ideas.

Look into accounts from people who have the medical condition(s) you wish to portray, and give support to real people and activists with those conditions. Hell, if you can hire a sensitivity reader, get one.

Avoid looking at just medical studies and information, resources from the military/veterans office, or prosthetic companies. While helpful, they're not comprehensive enough of the disabled experience, and oftentimes are trying to push a specific narrative.

Do a lot of research into symptoms and how those specific symptoms impact a person's life.

Take your time. You're not going to get everything perfect on the first go. You're going to make mistakes. You won't understand everything. And, while awkward, it's okay to ask for advice. No, don't go up to a random disabled person and ask about their experience, but sending asks to blogs like cripplecharacters and blindbeta are totally okay (as long as you follow their guidelines and boundaries when it comes to asks!). For their sakes, though, Don't. Immediately go to their blogs and spam asks. Read through them first and their related tags to the disabilities you're looking to write. You most likely can find a suitable answer or advice to your question.

Value us disabled people first and our opinions on writing. You may be tempted to go off what you know (which is often fictional characters), but doing your due diligence will help more than simply assuming. If you're not willing to do that, maybe rethink writing a disabled character, and analyze why you don't want to seek out disabled people's opinions on writing

Before I developed my chronic pain (Always been neurodivergent, just didn't know it), I didn't really have a grasp on disability. A lot of my understanding of it came from fiction. After all, I "didn't know" too many disabled people in my own life (although, now that I'm older, I realize I hadn't known any wheelchair users. Once again, disability being synonymous with a certain "look" can be harmful). And that meant characters like Shiro from Voltron, with advanced prosthetics that made me, and others, believe that a prosthetic arm could actually be a superpower. Without knowing that disability is more than just having a limb missing or using one specific mobility aid, I had taken that into my own art and writing, and made inaccurate portrayals myself. Hell, I even took some inspiration from popular fanworks in my own Eddsworld fanart, and it... let's just say... did not look good. So, yes, fiction, and portrayals of disability in fiction can effect both able-bodied and disabled people's ideas, and especially can impact how able-bodied people view disabled people.

Visible Difference & Disfigurement in the Arts; Face Equality International

Step four... Go for it! You've got this! I know it's scary to write certain minority groups when you don't have the lived experience of being from that group, but do your best to be aware, do your research (do a lot of research), and remember, we're people first and foremost.

WHAT DISABLED PEOPLE (DON'T) WANT TO SEE

While writing this continuation, I asked a bunch of my friends, who are also disabled tropes they like and don't like, and what they'd want to see in the future. Keep this information in mind!

TROPES WE DIDN'T LIKE

The cured disability, or a disabled character on a search for a cure. Does this happen? Yes. But it's overdone. WE'RE TIRED OF IT, GRANDPA!! /ref. It's more important for us to gain acceptance of ourselves than to hate ourselves, ya know?

Oversimplified/flat representations. Mainly applies to mental illnesses and neurodivergences, but aside from a diversity of symptoms with each condition, people will cope with, act on, and manage their disabilities differently from someone else who has it. Once again, it simplifies disability experience and reduces it, allowing for more misinformation to take place

Having disabled characters either be disabled only in aesthetics, but functions like an able-bodied person, or have their struggles be erased/not discussed.

Homeless and fat disabled characters being demonized.

THINGS WE WANNA SEE

Characters who aren't able to do everything. Not in a condescending way, but simply as a fact of life. I used to play the saxophone. My ears are now too sensitive for that level of volume. One of my friends, Mackenzie (who is cool and awesome (I was told to say that) brought up their own experiences with not being able to participate in certain activities because of a disability. It's okay to write that! It happens! Just don't make it seem like we're incapable of doing anything at all. Even people with full-body paralysis are still people and have the autonomy to act.

On autonomy, having characters be autonomous, even if they could not be independent, was something that really struck close to home for many of us

Acknowledging social ableism (in the form of isolation, apathy, ignorance, ect.) and the impact it can have on characters. Don't use it to invoke pity on the disabled character, use it to show that some people suck and this is a real thing we have to deal with.

More characters with mobility aids! Canes, walkers, wheelchairs, crutches, ect.!

Young characters with mobility aids! Disability happens to young people, even if insurance companies don't think so! (I managed to get my medicine at an affordable price, by the way! No thanks to my insurance, haha!)

Maintenance of aids like prosthetics, or the experience of having to get a new aid because your needs are changing

Going to the doctor. Not in a traumatic way. Just as a fact of disabled life thing. Also, if the doctor you write is nice and listens to the patient you will be my favorite in the world because that is not common in real life. <3

Disabilities/conditions surrounding food (food access, food itself being harmful), such as conditions that need ostomy bags, feeding tubes.

Disabled characters making jokes about their disability. Why? Because we do it all the time. I'm so funny when I make jokes about my disabilities. It makes people very concerned for me!

Characters with autoimmune conditions!

Casual representation of disabilities. Characters who simply are disabled. Characters who are born disabled. Disability as just a normal thing to be.

Shout-out to every person who gave their input here!! The diversity of perspectives was really beneficial for me, and it was comforting to get to sit down with everyone and talk about our experiences together.

In conclusion, yeah, no, it's not a simple task to write a disabled character. And with Eddsworld, canon sets us up to automatically rely on negative tropes. So we have to do extra work to be able to avoid harmful tropes. My own writing is not a cohesive, end-all-be-all conclusion for what you should do, but I really hope it can lead you in the right direction. My advice is just that. Mine. If anyone has a different perspective, I'm open to conversation! Send your own tips in the reblogs and comments, send me asks (but be nice, because some people weren't last time. I even received some downright inappropriate and NSFW asks, which I was not comfortable with at all), I love conversation. I made a sequel because a person requested it, and I hope it's helpful to them!

"Fish..." Oh boy. "Was this really the best use of your time?" No. No it wasn't. See you next time where I criticize the US government. I am not kidding.

The Problem With the Eddsworld Fandom's Depictions of Red Leader/Future Tord, A Disabled Perspective

Disability is a contentious concept for most of society, with most either treating us with disgust, confusion, refusing to treat us as human, or to see our struggles as what they are. Ableism affects all people in many different ways, but as someone who focuses a lot of my energy in fandom spaces, the pervasiveness of ableism with how media and their fans interpet and react to disabled characters is a very personal situation for me. While many may argue that an ignorance to these topics in fiction has little bearing on real life, the prevalance of these tropes have echoed and led to feelings of othering for many disabled people, and oftentimes support the same notions that lead to the day-to-day ableism in our own personal lives.

In recent years, I have experienced this most often with the prevalance of negative disability tropes perpetrated by fanfiction surrounding the character of Tord, also known under the alias of Red Leader in some fanworks. It is a problem not just common in the Eddsworld fandom. A more recent, and much larger fandom in Mouthwashing also shares a common trend of repeated ableism in fan depictions and interpretarions of disabled characters. Most fan creators are unaware of these tropes and the harm that they cause, but as a disabled person, I am unable to ignore it.

For context on myself, you can call me Fish. Get it? Or"fish"eus? I like to think I'm funny. I am a mentally ill, disabled, and neurodivergent creative who has niche interests in representation in media and the intersection of intersectionality and fandom spaces. I experience chronic pain due to a multitude of conditions, all of which are invisible disabilities. I am NOT an amputee or have a facial difference, like the character I am analyzing. I can only speak based on my own research in my attempts to portray him positively, but I want to mainly focus on the ableist tropes I see and the real life effects they have. That is something I CAN focus on, because I've been dealing with it for years from conditions that came onset later in my life. I will be speaking from that perspective, but will be doing my best to try to educate on what I do know from my research to help authors, artists, and creatives create a better portrayal of him in fanworks.

The most common tropes I see with him are what I will call "The Disabled Villain", "The Innacurate Disability", and "The Ignored Disability". There are a few tropes in each, but for ease of organization (and the sake of your (and my) time), I will be talking about them together in these sections. There are also overlaps in many, but I will define the main issues with them.

The Disabled Villain

James Bond, Wonder Woman, The Witches. You name it. You have most likely seen this trope at work in cinema. A malicious evil-doer is revealed to have a "horrid" face symbolic of the true evil within their soul, while the beautiful, able-bodied hero is meant to stop them. It's a trope as old as time, one that goes back to even Plato. Tropes are tropes, people subvert them, so a few cases down the line may be excusable. But that has not been the case For many years, the most prevalent form of representation for disabled people was in these villains. Imagine if the only representation you had for yourself was narratives surrounding how the way you look or what your disability is and have it only be equated to evil people. It leads to a villainization of disabled people. People react to facial differences with disgust, because they are "shown" that it is "evil", or "ugly", or equal to being a horrible person. As stated by The Nora Project, "According to the book Disabilities: Insights from Across Fields and Around the World, disabled students are two to three times more likely to be bullied in comparison to their nondisabled classmates. The disabled villain trope contributes to this phenomenon in overt and subtle ways. For example, the trope implicitly encourages fear of disability and difference, while validating, and even elevating, those who fight against the evil, Disabled Villain. Bullying based on fear and disdain is almost a natural consequence of the trope when viewed in this light". Another big issue is that disabled characters have not been given space to exist outside of villainy. There are not many complex narratives surrounding them. This leads to our disabilities being downplayed, us being dehumanised, and we are seen more like props in real life, or simply tools to achieve a message in a narrative.

Tord's disability is never explicitly shown in the show. It is something more prevalent in Fanon, specifically in fanworks that focus on the "Future" era of the show's timeline, where the narrative and outside discussions on the show implies a high tech society, potentially dystopian, potentially a consequence of his actions. These ideas have taken a life of their own in the fandom, with many creators fully expressing these ideas. The problem arises when Red Leader falls in line with this trope. In many works, he is the sole disabled character, a figure of pure evil, or given little nuance in the narrative. Artists illustrate his scars as bright red, crimson, or, in TBATF, green. For some reason. In this way, they attempt to highlight the villainy by equating him with common symbols of evil: facial differences and disabilities. Unfortunately, these are not just symbols. These are conditions and scars that real people have, which the fandom tends to ignore in favor of dramatization.

This was a trope I most commonly saw explored in fanfiction when I first joined in 2016/17. The show, unfortunately, subtly and accidentally perpetrated it by having the only character visibly and irreparably "damaged" by the giant robot fight be Tord, despite the fact that Tom, who had a whole missile directed at him and got buried under a house, was fine with at most a leg injury and a cut on his arm. Luckily, we have grown past the need for ableist tropes, and the faults of the show can be left in the past!

... Not.

Disability tropes have simply evolved in how the fandom treats Tord. Even if it is now done with more consciousness and sympathy towards his character, ignorance still prevails. Let's talk about common pitfalls people fall into when writing him.

The Inaccurate Disability

In fanon perception, Red Leader is an amputee with a high tech prosthesis and a facial difference resulting from burn scars. Like many disabled characters, he suffers from a collective fandom lack of research. But never fret! That is what I have subjected myself to for the past four years, so your friendly neighborhood disabled Fish can tell you how to right your fandom wrongs! Just kidding! Take this as a pointer, and do your own research.

As is common with fictional prosthetics, his arm prosthetic is treated as a perfect fix for his amputation. It acts just like, if not better than an actual arm. The issue with this is that is isn't realistic. Yes, I know, I'm criticising Eddsworld fanfiction for not being realistic. STAY WITH ME HERE. Once again, if it was one instance, or a few, that explored prosthetics being incredibly functional in science-fiction, then it could be a cool concept. But when every sci-fi work has it, then that is no longer a concept. That is a misconception. And I have interacted with people who believed that prosthetics were 100% functional! The thing is, like all disability aids, it does not suddenly make us able-bodied. For example, I have ear defenders that I wear when I experience pain within my ears. But that does not mean my hearing will now become normal, and I will no longer experience pain from the sound I'm hearing. What WILL happen is that I will straight up not hear you. Like, literally. Can you repeat that? I had my ear defenders on. Oh, you're saying that my ear defenders aren't prosthetics and are not a fair comparison? Well, that's fair, but take this as an illustration of a disability aid and how they differ from able-bodied experiences. Also, many prosthetic users do many things without their prostheses, and some even prefer NOT to wear them. Blogs that explicitly cover disabled representation, such as @/cripplecharacters, have posts that cover WHY many amputees are not fans of this trope. The problem comes with that it erases disability, and yet also treats us like we are given a space at the table of representation. It's just another way that authors avoid actually doing research.

Other things that people tend to ignore are how burn scars, or any scars, would not only appear on a character, but also affect them. I have seen, aside from skin tones that looked like they were picked out of a crayon box instead of what would appear on a person, teeth exposed, wounds that look as if they are fresh from the explosion YEARS after they occurred, and what I like to call "paper shredder" scars. Because instead of them looking like burn or shrapnel scars, it appears as if his skin was put through a shredder. Once again, another consequence of the show's at most-30 second scene with questionable decisions that made massive ripples in the fandom. With the injuries Tord received, it is most likely that he would have two kinds of injuries: a burn on 18% of his body (minimum, based on rule of 9s), and/or shrapnel scars from debris. While shrapnel scars would manifest as darker scars, the burn scar would likely be a hypertrophic scar, as "70% of patients develop hypertrophic scars following burns" (Finnerty et. al). The scars, when healed, are warm toned on the boundaries of their areas and cool in between. When on a pale skintone, they are not too dissimilar, and would therefore not have such a drastic color difference as seen on skin. They would also not go down to the bone or skin, as that would be a completely different kind of injury, and are also commonly done to make him look "scarier", which then aids the Disabled Villain trope. It also treats these scars and injuries more like a work of fiction, rather than something that many real people have experienced, adding to continuous misinterpretations of real life disabilities and facial differences.

For writers wanting to include consequences of burns, what would be more likely to be affected are his hearing, vision, and nerves on the right side of his face, as burn scars can go as deep as nerve endings. Also, burn scars, especially third degree burns, require treatments, such as burn-specific skincare. Scars, especially burn scars, can affect you and become disabling. For artists, the main thing I don't see artists do is draw him with damaged hair follicles. Burn scars damage the scalp and eyebrows, preventing hair growth. I am sorry, but he would not still have fluffy, luscious hair. Do not kill me. He just wouldn't. And if you are saying that he had it in the show, I can't hear you because my ear defenders are on, but I hope you heard me, as we've gone over that the show is inaccurate and we should do our own research.

Even well intentioned authors and artists ignore many aspects of the disabilities he would likely have!

Which brings us to the last trope...

The Ignored Disability

Many well meaning people intend to give him nuance by trying to avoid the Disabled Villain trope. Accidentally, however, they end up completely ignoring his disabilities instead.

Just like the high-tech prosthetic, the real disabling aspects of having a disability are at best rarely mentioned. I have seen, in some fanworks, that he goes straight from amputation to having a prosthetic. And that is where his disability ends. Because the prosthetic ends up being a fix-all situation. Authors refuse, or forget, to include aspects of amputation, such as the healing process, stump or phantom pain. Artists will cover up his scars with a helmet or a mask, another trope that undermines his disabilities and attempts to brush it under the rug. I understand that there is a discomfort for able-bodied authors in thoroughly exploring how a character feels about their disability. That is something I think we should. Avoid. If you're not familiar with the experience of being that minority, you do not need to add commentary on it. And if you do, and it just falls into more negative tropes, I will send a salmon cannon at you (/j). However, I do not agree with brushing every disabling aspect of his life under the rug.

People can assume it's not a problem, like it isn't something blatantly apparent. But, if you assume that disability and being disabled is not a "big thing", you end up where your medication is denied because your insurance refuses to see your common procedure as not a necessary medical intervention because you're "too young". And that is not fiction. That is what inspired me to write this essay, because the day that I got that news was the same day I sat down and told myself that I needed to share my perspective on the perception of disabled characters by honing in on one of my favorite characters and how the fandom treated him.

Disabled characters deserve to be included in media, disability and all, with care given to how their life would operate as a result and what they would experience with their specific disability. That's why many people recommend sensitivity readers who can give proper insight upon that disability and can advise people to properly portray it.

But if you cannot afford or access that resource, what can you do?

Fish's Non-Cohesive List of Ways I Tried to Write Tord as a Non-Amputee Without a Facial Difference

Do research!! The more you are to try to understand what you are writing about, the less you are to misinterpret or misrepresent it.

Look into resources that focus on portraying disabled characters, especially with those you wish to write about. Read blogs, research tropes that are common in disabled characters, and hell, read medical journals. They can provide great insight (<< nerd who likes reading medical journals)

Include more disabled characters. Make the other boys be disabled! Want to be canon compliant? Create OCs who have disabilities! I have a bunch! It's 2024! Be cringe and be free! The character's disability would go against the traditional narrative form of "usefulness"? I'm an animator who can't wear headphones and a theatre performer who can't physically handle the volume of a band. And yet, we find ways to persist, to exist. We will always find our way to live in the way we want to, in whatever way we can.

Look into disability activism. Learn the difference between the Medical Model and Social Model of disability. Know what an invisible disability is. Listen to us when we say that we don't want to be treated as special or an inspiration for simply living (inspiration porn). The more you are aware of what we struggle in real life, the more aware you will be to not repeat those mistakes in your fiction.

Write what you can. Highlight little talked about aspects of having a burn scar or being an amputee, such as the recovery, or treatment for the chronic pain, or how different he would be in battle due to decreased depth perception. As a disabled author, I have personally touched on the experience of gaining a disability later in life, and how he copes with it. Now, not all of y'all can do that. But that is a personal experience I do have, and it is something I have highlighted in my own work. So, while I couldn't tell you the ins and outs of having a burn scar or a prosthetic arm, I could describe the shock and frustration that comes with suddenly experiencing difficulties, or even being unable to do what you had done before.

I ask that, if you are willing to do better, or to start on the right foot, you take what I have written, reflect on it, and treat disabled characters, and in turn, disabled people, better from here on out.

Fiction is not reality, but the way we deal with it is reflective of who we are and what we believe. The boundary for our own personal being does not suddenly stop within fiction. When we interact and interpret it and create for it, it is integral that we remain conscious that bigotry runs rampant, albeit often as an unseen force, within fandom spaces, and do our best to counteract that.

I have doubts that the new eddisode will treat this topic with the same respect. I hope you can all go forward with what you have read in this WAY LONGER than I expected essay, and do what those grown British men cannot. Even if they erase it, retconn it, or do not treat it with respect, let's all go forward and do better!

As for always, you can discuss more in the tags or my inbox!

I hope you have a wonderful life,

Fish

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tyrantisterror · 2 days ago

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What’re your thoughts on Dragonheart? (the 1996 movie with Sean Connery)

When I was seven, my older sister took me to that movie and watched as I fell in absolute love with that dragon. She also had the reading comprehension skills to realize in the very beginning of the movie that the dragon would have to die for the story to resolve, and thus had to sit in absolute dread of that inevitable moment of the climax, all while watching my little seven year old self get increasingly attached to this Very Doomed dragon, until finally the moment arrived and I absolutely exploded with primal grief in the theater. "DRAGON! NO!!! DRAGON!" screamed at the top of my seven year old lungs in a primal wail of agony and emotional turmoil.

In college I made a thirty minute stop motion short about a former evil minion of a generic dark lord of evil who has to figure out what to do with his life now that his master is dead. The mentor/companion of this evil minion was a helpful dragon, and when I voiced the dragon's lines I did it with a bad Sean Connery impression in homage to Dragonheart.

In book 2 of Wizard School Mysteries, a minor but plot crucial character recites the Old Code from Dragonheart - well, a paraphrase of it, anyway - and in the process describes the ideals of chivalry in a way that inspires one of the main characters to be a better person. It's one of the more plot-important allusions I've ever put in my work, having a ripple effect that's reaching to other Midgaheim stories - it's now an established thing that knight errants in this setting need to have a poem that lays out the virtues they wish to follow.

...

So yeah I like Dragonheart.

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dingodad · 12 hours ago

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genuine thought what do you think of jane's writing for all of postcanon? i feel like its been a big missed opportunity on both timelines to make her go down incredibly similar paths (really weakening a lot of themes about nurture > nature that homestuck previously loved doing), and i feel like everything involving her still is something that dogs the narrative when i read new updates. that could just be me though, i try not to read much opinion on hs2 outside of a few people i trust to post analyses of it LOL

it wouldn't be right of me to comment on this with any confidence or in any depth until i've done my Epilogues reread at the very least, and ideally reread Homestuck proper to get a real grasp on jane as a character, but i have already commented on how easy it is to see jane's descent into fascism as a pretty logical extension of her liberal-conservative leanings in youth.

the bit about both janes being largely the same character is, i feel, part of a completely different problem, which is that since the Epilogues' conclusion the continued story has struggled to make good use out of the two-epilogues premise. only a handful of characters really are meaningfully different across the two epilogues; and within the Epilogues themselves this works perfectly okay! because I don't think "nurture > nature" is really a fair simplification of Homestuck's philosophy; the characters' intrinsic natures are significant driving forces behind the story, and from what I remember of my initial Epilogues-reading experience we were never really meant to think of the two epilogues as different stories. rather, they weave together and echo and reflect each other as they show us how characters with the same nature respond to slightly different stimuli, just like different iterations of the same characters do in Homestuck proper. Jane maintaining a similar presence in each version of the narrative is one way it cements that connection.

it's unfortunate that for Jane it had to come together in such a way that dredged up all these implications about girls getting in the way of yaoi, but ultimately and without a doubt making some of the established human characters into the new villains was the most interesting direction the story could have gone in, and after all the spotlight Dirk has got I think it was about time one of the girls got a chance! and i think that's such an important consideration; if one allows oneself not to be bothered by sentimentalities about which characters they like, and which characters they think would or would not agree with their political opinions, evil Jane is a COOL development for her character. and my personal thoughts on the matter, which are largely echoed by Homestuck's sensibilities as a whole, are that female characters should always be allowed to develop in ways that are COOL, even if they are controversial.

the thing is that by the end of the Epilogues the two stories have truly diverged, and the sequel is given the unenviable task of continuing to give these two radically different takes on Homestuck equal reverence - immediately, the concept of two evil Janes becomes not an anchor keeping two similar worlds together but a redundancy keeping them from meaningfully exploring their differences. put another way, something just isn't COOL anymore when you have to do it twice. hence, I can only assume, the decision to grant one Jane the grace of Redemption while the other only spirals further into villainy.

the two takes on the sequel have taken radically different approaches to solving this quandary; HS^2 dedicated itself to a strict schedule of alternating meat and candy stories, which gave us a lot of variety in the kind of stories told but also contributed significantly to its overall really unfortunate pacing issues. Beyond Canon meanwhile has shown open favouritism to one particular storyline, which has allowed us to really immerse in and engage with that particular world but has all but sentenced the other versions of the characters to languishing in irrelevance the rest of the time. that being said, the glimpses we've seen of the other timeline have been able to set up some really intriguing hooks for future story developments, so it might just be too early to make any real judgements about Jane's treatment in this new medium. "good" Jane was put in a really awkward position by having her arc delegated to an exclusive patreon spinoff with no real place in the main story, but Beyond Canon has communicated a clear intent for this arc to pay off, so i fear we janeheads may just have to cross our fingers and be patient for the time being...

#hs2 #did i answer the question at all here. sorry. i ended up thinking about something completely different

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majosullivan · 2 days ago

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So I wrote a whole ass dissertation in the tags of your post (which will be posted in a couple of days bc I'm focusing on fundraisers rn) but I wanted to do another tangent here bc I'm sooooooooo mad that lenore very probably didn't kill annabel >:( like it would make only sense in a kind of double suicide situation Or in a "I'm killing us both to save us from our fate bc they just discovered that I'm a woman and they’re gonna lock us up and I want to save you from that, but I'm never gonna tell you making it Look like a betrayal" kind of way, but then it wouldn't work narratively bc then the story should have focused a lot more on Annabel's feeling of betrayal to have a big reveal moment where they explained what was actually going on. And that didn’t happen. Annabel was immediately hopelessly devoted to lenore so I think it wouldn't make sense.

BUT IT WOULD HAVE BEEN SO FUN!!!!!!!!!! STILL BEING DEVOTED TO THE ONE YOU LOVE BC YOU IMMEDIATELY UNDERSTAND WHY SHE KILLED YOU. OR EVEN IF YOU DON'T IT DOESN'T MATTER BC YOU TRUST HER ANYWAYYYYYYY WE COULD HAVE HAD IT ALLLLLLLLLLL

Congrats on the childhood friend for killing them in the most homoerotic way possible. I guess. Fuck you. I hope you at least got to have a rage fueled duel with a lenore blinded by grief. Grrrrr

(I think he's the guy who killed them bc the fact that he was even mentioned and the fact that they spent so many speech bubbles on a guy who hasn't even appeared makes me suspicious. I think we have a full season that needs to be filled with flashbacks still and I think he's gonna meke his appearance. Motherfucker. Stupid chekhov's gun coded ass.)

Up until episode 91, I always kept going back and forth on theories surrounding the idea that Lenore was the one that killed Annabel. It is such an intriguing idea but there was always something that didn't sit right. It continually felt like every time there was a piece of evidence that could shift the scale to one side, there was always another piece that would balance things out for me.

Even if Lenore didn't kill Annabel though, it appears we're still getting a similar route to 'still being devoted to the one that killed you whether you understand the reason or not' from Annabel. After all, Merry did state how it was fascinating it was that despite every reason they have given to Annabel to make her distrust Lenore, her convictions have only deepened. It is difficult to say for certain if the memories shown in episode 91 are the only ones Annabel remembered when she manifested or if there were further ones we haven't been shown yet. Solely going on what was present to us though, Annabel had memories of her death triggered for her and remembered that this girl she met at Nevermore's shores and immediately felt some sort of connection was apparently was the one that murdered her and went 'despite what the Deans made me remember, I also remember how I feel about Lenore, and how I feel about Lenore tells me that no matter what truly happened, a second life without her would be pointless'. The Deans just weren’t prepared for the endless power of sapphic devotion.

You are so damn right that Annabel's childhood friend being such a Chekhov's gun coded character. While Ira is currently my main guess for the person that killed Annabel, the detail we are given about him in episode 42 makes him stand out in such a suspicious way.

It would be one thing if it was simple established that Ira had prepared a suitable suitor for Annabel if no one manages to beat her at chess by the end of her third social season. It helps set up a time frame for Lenore's plan to save Annabel and it establishes more of Ira’s character before we’re officially introduced to him. Him being someone Annabel used to play with when she was younger? Fine enough detail to add on. Makes sense that Ira would prepare a suitable backup suitor from a family he is familiar with/already has a good relationship with. However, stating how he has been defeated by Annabel multiple times and in Annabel word's 'is terribly persistent'? Now that immediately caught my eye. It is the perfect early detail to start building the foundation that this man could potentially start causing problems/get violent if the woman he has desperately been trying to win the hand of and who was so close to being promised to him got engaged to this somewhat suspicious 'man'.

Like I mentioned, it's hard to make a further case about him given that we haven't heard about him since, but every time I think through theories around Annabel's and Lenore's deaths, I keep coming back to him in some form because it feels like he has to have some role in the future, I just don't have anything to prove it yet.

If he is the one that shot Annabel, god hoping that Lenore was at least able to shoot him before she died (ideally in the dick but I'm not picky)

#if/when this guy makes his first appearance I am going to be on such high alert #I’m working on responding to your tags right now #because you are brilliant as always and I need gush about some of the things you mentioned #and you also reminded me of a few things that I didn’t mention in the post but have been on on my mind #and I would love to hear your thoughts on them #nevermore #nevermore webtoon

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eliciana · 1 day ago

Text

Reverse SAGAU: The Weird Door At My Café

Masterlist

Blog Navigation

Tw: Reverse!Isekai!Sagau, Normal Au, Café Au.

Reader: Gn!Reader, Adult!Reader, Cafe Owner!Reader

Characters: Reader, NPC's, Venti, Nahida

Note: Restaurant to Another World animanga inspired au. There is a taglist if you want to be tagged.

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Mika, your part-time high school helper, scuttled between tables with three plates of lemon tarts perched precariously along her forearms while the bell above the café door sang its familiar chime. You watched from behind the counter, suppressing a grin behind your coffee-stained apron as she negotiated the crushed floor with all the finesse of a tightrope walker. Over the past two weeks, your once quiet café has changed into something alive, bursting now with the clash of silverware and the hiss of the espresso machine, as well as the warm hum of conversation hanging in the air even after closing time.

Mika had been a godsend. Quiet but sharp-eyed, she'd taken to the rhythm of service like she'd been born for it. Just this morning, she'd caught a customer's spilled latte mid-air without breaking stride.

"Table six needs their check," she murmured as she glided past you, now reaching for the dessert menus. "And the gentleman by the window asked if we could refill the lavender cold brew."

"You'll say yes to him, but only because he said something nice about Lena's macarons," I said as I jotted it down. "And by the way, slip him one of the test batches of her passion fruit ganache-discreetly."

Mika's lips quirked. "Bribery as a business strategy. Noted."

You looked at her smugly and giggled before signalling her to return to her work.

The kitchen doors groaned open and a billow of steam clouded with vanilla came pouring out as Lena carried her tray of perfect éclairs. Hands that moved like a composer-especially every motion being precise, and every garnish placed in intentional elegance-were the magic of this girl, former pâtissier to Le Ciel Blanc. The first time she brought to you a fraisier cake, more perfect than a photoshopped one, you almost kissed her.

"Taste," she demanded again, thrusting a spoonful of silky chocolate toward your face. "The new single-origin blend. Is the acidity too forward?"

You let the ganache melt on your tongue, thinking. "It's bright, but the hazelnut praline balances it. Joon's going to go crazy over this."

And that word summoned Joon to burst through the kitchen doors, his chef's jacket bathed with what seemed to be raspberry coulis. "We need to talk about the sourdough schedule," he announced, waving a clipboard. "The starter's doubling faster since I moved it near the oven. If we adjust proofing times-"

You raised a hand. "Breathe, firecracker."

Joon had reconstructed your entire kitchen within forty-eight hours of being hired. Freshly graduated from culinary school, he had enough raw talent without much common sense. When you had asked him why he chose your café over the Michelin-starred establishments that fought over him, he just grinned and said, "Because you talked to your sourdough starter like it was your emotional support animal. I knew this was where all the real magic happened."

Now, with the three of them settling into their roles, you finally had time to breathe.

Which meant that now you could bring your attention back to that door.

Mika hummed as she mopped the café now quiet without the last customer present. The sound blended well with the jazz record you'd left spinning on the old turntable.

"Are you sure you wouldn't want me to help close up?" she quipped, hanging up her apron with military precision.

You shook your head. "Go study for your chem test. And take these." You shoved a box of leftover madeleines into her backpack.

Mika simply rolled her eyes. "You're worse than my abuela. See you tomorrow, boss."

At that moment she slammed the door behind her, and the air in the café shifted—like the space between heartbeats. You turned slowly.

There, nestled between flour sacks where it had no right to be, was the door.

Ordinary in every way except how it wasn't. The wood grain shimmered if you stared too long, and sometimes—when the café was empty and the moon was high—you swore you heard singing from the other side.

You exhaled, rolling up your sleeves.

Okay. It is time for another experiment.

Experiment #1: The Witness Test

Mrs. Khatri, your regular patron most patient, was sipping her masala chai with polite curiosity while pretending you are reorganizing the storage shelves. You had been brewing tea, talking about her granddaughter's ballet recital, and keeping an eye on the door for two hours.

"Are you expecting any delivery?" she asked as you turned to the door for the seventeenth time.

You nearly spilled a jar of cinnamon. "Just... waiting on a specialty tea order."

The door looks like it doesn't want to open; it didn't want to have a single crease somewhere in it.

The moment Mrs. Khatri cleared out with her parting "The cardamom was perfect today, dear," did the brass knob warm up under your fingertips as a sleeping creature that stirs under the absence of its owner.

So. No witnesses. Copy that.

–

Experiment #7: Teyvat's Objects on Earth

The Mora gleamed innocently on your ledger, its golden surface catching the warm lighting of the café. You learned quickly that not all could survive from the other side and continue living in this world, though.

Mist Flowers disintegrated into puddles of sad water. Valberries wilted overnight. But the Mora—the Mora was different.

The jeweler's loupe did tremble in his hand when you brought it to him: "This shouldn't exist," he'd whispered, turning it around. "This metallurgy is impossible—this purity of gold with this level of detail? And the markings..." His eyes snapped to yours. "Where did you really get this from?"

You'd lied smoothly. "A family heirloom." Wow, you really know how to lie between your teeth, huh?

Still, his offer of $2,300 made your palms sweat.

Note: If Paimon ever finds out I'm sitting on a goldmine, I'm dead.

–

You were making some notes when the freaking door opened on its own.

Your pen froze mid-word.

Wind rushed in, not that stale city air you knew, but something wild and green, smelling of dandelions and distant thunderstorms. And then Venti tumbled through, catching himself hard against the counter.

He wasn't drunk, which was shocking.

The second was the blood matting his hair, the way his fingers trembled around his lyre like it was the only thing tethering him to this world.

"You," he hissed, teal eyes flashing with something ancient and dangerous. "What game are you playing?"

You raised your hands slowly. "No game. This is just my café."

His gaze darted around-the industrial espresso machine, the chalkboard menu, and the glass case displaying Lena's pastries. His nose wrinkled. "It smells like... burned sugar and regret."

"Caramel and ambition," you corrected, then winced. "And you're bleeding on my mahogany." You nudged the first-aid kit toward him.

"Who sent you?" Venti didn't move.

"No one." You kept your voice steady. "That door sometimes connects to other worlds. You're the second to come through."

"Second?" His grip on the lyre tightened.

"The Traveler and Paimon."

Something in his posture eased-just a fraction. "Hah. Should've known those two would find the universe's backdoor."

The antiseptic stung your own hands as you dabbed at his temple. Venti flinched but didn't pull away, his breath warm against your wrist.

"Stormterror?" you guessed.

His laugh was brittle. "Among other things." A pause. "You know much for a... what are you, exactly?"

"Café owner." You pressed the bandage gently. "Part-time interdimensional tour guide."

Venti snorted, then winced. You slid a mug of cocoa toward him-no alcohol this time. He sniffed it like a suspicious cat before taking a cautious sip. His eyebrows shot up. "Oh. That's... not terrible."

"It grows on you," you said. "Like moss."

"Or a fungal infection," he shot back, but the edge in his voice had dulled.

Outside, rain tapped against the windows like impatient fingers. Venti's hands strayed to his lyre, plucking a melody that made your chest ache-something older than nations, older than gods.

You pretended not to notice when his playing faltered.

By the third cocoa refill, Venti had migrated from "hostile intruder" to "annoying housecat," draped across your best booth with his boots on the upholstery.

"Sooo," he drawled, spinning his empty mug. "This 'café' of yours. You just... feed interdimensional travelers?"

"Mostly locals," you said, scrubbing an already-clean counter. "You're a special case."

"Aw, I'm touched!" He grinned, but his eyes stayed wary. "And what do you get out of it?"

You shrugged. "Good company."

Venti's smile faltered. For a heartbeat, he looked lost-then he strummed a chord sharp enough to make your glassware vibrate. "Liar."

You froze.

"Everyone wants something," he murmured, "the Traveler wants to find their sibling." He looked at the archons through narrowed eyes. "Whatever gods seek." His eyes pinned you. "What do you seek?"

The truth clawed at your throat - I just didn't want to be alone - but you swallowed it down. "A five-star Yelp review?"

Venti blinked. Then he laughed, genuine this time, the sound bright as sunlight through stained glass. "Fair enough. Though, what is a Yelp review?"

Soon enough he left.

You looked at the door blankly and took out a ledger.

"I'll put that on his tab." You scoffed. The first mug of cocoa you slid to him was just a welcome gift and free, not including his constant refilling.

Three days later, you nearly dropped the tray of éclairs when walking into the pre-dawn quiet café to find Nahida perched on a barstool and swinging her legs.

"Oh!" She brightened, hopping down. "You're the door's keeper!"

You choked on air. "How-"

"The door told me," she said now, as if there were nothing extraordinary about it. At your shocked silence, she tilted her head, "Not in words, of course. More like... a feeling." Her tiny hands cupped the Cecilia flower Venti had left behind, its petals glowing faintly under her touch. "This remembers you."

"Remembers?" you echoed weakly.

Nahida hummed, those eyes of hers far too knowing for someone who looked like a child. "Memories stick to objects, places, even people." She leaned forward, whisper-soft. "Some of yours smell like us."

Your blood turned to ice.

But Nahida just smiled, sliding off the stool. "Don't worry. I'm just not going to pry." She pressed a crisp recipe card into your hands, Moon Pie, the words flowing with calligraphy. "For when you're ready."

Then she was gone, the door clicking behind her.

The Cecilia pulsed once, twice,

and burst into full bloom.

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Sorry bout the constant "-" throughout the story. Was kinda having a hard time transitioning but like yes. We ignore that hahahhaha....

Taglist:

@kameyo-kumo @esthelily @haru-tofuu @udretlnea @shining-nebula2000 @ifeellikejumpingoffacliff @resident-cryptid @allblognamesaretakenlikereally @leilakaro @stvrbrighttt @chericia @evaline-ethan @ra404 @mmmhyperfixation @original-person @chaoticfivesworld @lexal-amber-rose @floofeh-purpi @time-shardz @animeobsessed56 @fantasyhopperhea @yuan1819

#genshin impact #genshin impact sagau #sagau #genshin sagau #genshin impct reverse sagau #genshin reverse sagau #genshin reverse isekai #cafe owner! reader au #gender neautral reader #gn! reader #genshin nahida #genshin venti #genshin impact nahida #genshin impact venti #genshin impact x reader #sagau x reader #•works[🍡]•

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