epel felmier is one of those characters people either completely misunderstand or flatten into something he’s not
and i’m gonna say this first so no one starts arguing in circles
not in a cartoon villain way, but in the way he associates femininity with weakness and something to escape from. and yeah, that is misogyny. it doesn’t come from nowhere, but that doesn’t make it not there
because for epel, femininity was never a choice, it was something forced onto him because of how naturally it came to him
he grew up valuing strength in a very real, physical way. hard work, endurance, being able to stand your ground. he biked miles to school, he fought back when he was bullied, he didn’t just sit there and take it
and then he gets put into pomefiore, where suddenly everything about him is reshaped into something soft, polished, and controlled
and that’s where the disconnect starts
people love to reduce him to a twink with a country accent or, somehow worse, a misogynistic femboy which completely ignores the fact that he doesn’t enjoy being seen as feminine in the first place
that perception isn’t something he embraces, it’s something that’s been forced onto him over and over again
so of course he pushes back
but instead of just rejecting the expectations placed on him, he starts rejecting what those expectations are tied to. softness, beauty, elegance. femininity becomes the thing he fights against, instead of the system forcing it onto him
and that’s where his character gets messy
because epel isn’t just angry at how people treat him, he’s angry at what they see when they look at him
every “you’re cute” or “you’re pretty” isn’t a compliment to him, it feels like being dismissed. like people are choosing not to take him seriously
he clings to strength, aggression, anything that proves he isn’t what people keep boxing him into. not because those things are inherently better, but because they’re the only things that feel like they’ll get him respect
and respect is what he actually wants
he doesn’t want admiration, he doesn’t want praise, he just wants respect
and that ties directly into his roots, which people also ignore way too much
epel takes pride in where he came from. his hometown, his family, the way he was raised. that part of him never goes away, even when he’s surrounded by pomefiore’s expectations
it’s the reason he studies potionology with a goal in mind. he’s not just there to fit into vil’s world or chase beauty for the sake of it, he wants to create something useful, something that helps his home
he has direction, he has purpose
which is also why i can’t fully agree with the idea that he should just follow the path vil sets for him
vil does care about him, but that care comes with a very specific vision of what epel “should” be. more refined, more controlled, more aligned with pomefiore’s standards
and sometimes that just… doesn’t fit
it feels less like helping epel grow into himself and more like shaping him into something else entirely
and yeah, that tension is important to his character, it’s where a lot of his duality comes from
but it also shows how often epel is put in situations where he has to trade pieces of himself just to be accepted
he’s stuck between two worlds
one that raised him to be loud, strong, and real
and one that rewards him for being quiet, pretty, and controlled
and neither side fully lets him exist without conditions
of course he rejects the things he feels are being used to confine him
that doesn’t make him shallow, and it definitely doesn’t make him weak
it makes him someone who’s been forced into an identity that doesn’t fit and is fighting, sometimes badly, to break out of it
epel isn’t trying to be admired
he’s trying to be taken seriously
and he’s still figuring out how to do that without losing himself in the process
(yall PLEASE don’t execute me for not posting🙏🙏 it’s finals week rn)
