there comes a time in fandoms/other community environments when you should take a good long look at it and ask yourself - hey, if there seems to be a distinct absence of a specific marginalized demographic in this space, is there perhaps a reason for that? is there something in this space that may be a consistent red flag or otherwise deterring/barring an entire group of people from wanting or being able to enter this space and interact with it?
and then hopefully you should take steps to remove that thing/improve the situation so that your community is more open to more people
it's very funny to me how people in the fandom think of ethan as the titan army's moral paragon in contrast to luke, i.e. "ethan is who luke defenders think he was," "ethan was the one actually fighting for a good cause unlike luke," when i think his appearances in the narrative make his complicity in the tragedies of the titan war pretty clear. his pledge of loyalty is what ultimately revives kronos, he nearly releases iapetus from the underworld, advises and guards kronos, refuses to give ground in a parley, releases the drakon that kills several ares campers and silena, etc etc.
was he used as a disposable pawn by his mother and kronos? yes. but he affirms his continued loyalty despite the lives he knows it will take in several instances. did he have doubts? yes, and so did luke! ethan certainly has more clarity about what he wants achieved, his ends more self-effacing and devoid of ego than luke's, but ethan treated the participants of the war in the same way that nemesis reduced him to the function (and body parts) he can offer, right until the real endgame was in front of his eyes.
and more simply: both ethan and luke are traumatized older teenagers/very young adults with immortals influencing every decision they make. you're overestimating their mental clarity and capacity for self-determination.
immortalizing @sleepyvib-es’ tags because EXACTLY. this fandom’s tendency to moralize or villift everyone based on how they treat their favorite character or ship whether that’s in fanon or canon is SO irritating…
lowkey i forgot how to color but it's ok we live laugh love
ficlet under the cut:
A crick is forming in Ethan's neck. He doesn't move. He could, if he wanted to, but Alabaster is settled on top of him like a particularly lanky greyhound, long limbs snuck between the narrowest spaces possible—arms looped around where Ethan's back met the couch armrest, legs stubbornly squeezed between Ethan's thighs.
He's heavier than he looks, Ethan thinks, as though he's ever forgotten the ridiculously large broadsword Alabaster wielded effortlessly, or the way he never seemed to run out of breath in combat despite twisting incantations down and around his tongue. So much power in a single, frail-looking demigod two years his junior.
"He's not ready," Nemesis had said to him acerbically, "despite what Hecate thinks."
"He's easily the strongest demigod on our side."
"It's not his power that concerns me. It's his ability to bear it, rather. He's young—" Aren't we all? Ethan tiredly thought— "and recent events haven't quite helped. Hermes' son was a hard loss on all of us, but sacrifices must be made. He does not quite understand that."
Ethan had tried his best to not flinch as his mother's voidlike presence brushed against his back.
"But you do."
"Then what would you ask of me?"
He hadn't dared look, but something like a smile curled the edges of her words. "That you... help him understand.”
The tip of Ethan's finger pushes down into something damp and soft—he looks, and it's the seam of Alabaster's mouth.
A terrible heat coils in his stomach, and his other hand balls into a fist.
Alabaster is snoring soundly—tired from his latest mission, most like. A mission that he'd argued against but ended up leading anyway because Ethan had advised as much.
An opinion Alabaster listened to and actually mused over rather than ignoring it like he always could, being a General now, because Ethan did things like letting him sleep close at night, when the silence deafened Alabaster with doubts and nightmares. Because unlike the other older demigods, Ethan didn’t try to be smart with Alabaster out of insecurity about their ranks.
Because Ethan saw how Alabaster looked at him, blazing green eyes adoring instead of haughty and scrutinizing, and said nothing, just let him step a little closer.
Alabaster’s soft breaths are barely audible against the roar of Ethan’s pulse in his ears. It pounds even against what feels like a piece of lead expanding where his neck’s positioned awkwardly.
It’s for the cause. And if it’s for the cause, it means it’s for his own good, too.
Ethan’s day clothes scratch at his skin. The muscles around Ethan’s empty eye socket twitches against the sweat gathering underneath the eyepatch he doesn’t take off.
It’s not that I’m enjoying it…
The hand that’s wrapped around Alabaster’s head remains where it is, fingers lingering near the corner of his mouth.
also my problem with the ethan origin fic series is that the events that are most BOOGSH but also relevant to canon happen after ethan leaves camp so it's like. how do i keep MY as well as readers' interest going during the kind of little slice of life pre-canon bits of ethan's life... doesnt help that ive always had a hard time with linear writing jsahfjsdhjfs
hmm smth about demigods all throughout the series constantly being told that knowing too much of their fate could be dangerous. something about ethan’s godly parent directly telling him his lol
old ethan doodles i never posted here... hes accepting forehead kisses
then me trying my hand at drawing an older (alive...) ethan 🙁 he has two manbuns hehehehe twin space buns but vertical... he's still kinda babyfaced lol he has to have the scruff
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