#thats why i write hea/rt ste/el sett the way i do

[weldfists]

Thinking about the levels of toxic masculinity that Sett internalizes across verses has been like a fun little exercise for myself.

Like main verse is high up on that list considering he has a reputation to hold, so it usually manifests itself when he's at the pit. But it's also something he definitely doesn't let go of when he's not there. Overall he's a lot more short fused and is a lot more prone to settling disputes violently. Tends to lean into macho man, "I'll give you something to cry about" type shit and in general is harsh on himself when he tries to express emotions to those other than his mom. He's made some progress but he defaults into it a lot and has to switch his mindset in the moment.

Surprisingly, Odyssey is right up there with main but not by his own choice I think. He falls more into perpetuating toxic masculinity in this verse out of survival. He tries not to be emotionally involved more than he has to with anyone, doesn't manage his anger well, and keeps a lot of his issues internalized that tend to manifest in a very specific violent matter. And then when you couple that with the only outlet being, well, fighting it tends to nurture this unfortunately (good for the Emperor probably though).

As I put more thought into Star Guardian (and hopefully write all the ideas down fr) I can say he sits at a solid middle ground with this. Being an outer guardian cemented him in having to unlearn a lot of bullshit he internalized so he's... better about it mostly. He's still short fused but directs his anger in a healthier manner aka I'm going on a walk if you need me I'll be one punching some space monster. Which, is ideal than taking it out on a fellow Star Guardian. He's a lot more in tune with his emotions here too, it's really just the anger and the violence setting him back a little bit.

Then you hit hea/rtsteel where for a majority of his life his dad's in the picture making both his and his mom's life a living hell with how genuinely up his own ass he was. For a majority of Sett's life growing up and having that as his only example of masculinity was detrimental to his, well, everything to be honest. But he unlearns a lot of the things that had been laid out for him to fall into, it gets easier when he's doing his own thing in the industry. But while yeah he has moments where he feels like he takes 5 steps backwards when he takes 2 forward, he's far more along than any other verse when it comes to out growing his toxic masculinity.