#ableist characters

[firestorm09890]

Penny stardewvalley makes me so sad because she's SO sensitive to, like, basically everything you tell her (telling her that you can't stand children while two children are nearby is a pretty lousy move but -1500 friendship?? being a jerk to other characters' faces typically loses you about 50 points, and if you choose the option labeled "creepy" and ask Leah for a kiss in her 2 heart event she physically hits you and kicks you out of her house but that's only -100 friendship…) and so if you want to befriend her it's a whole lot of lying and tiptoeing around her feelings (2 hearts: George was right but saying that makes her feel bad. 6 hearts: her food sucks but even if you try to be polite about it she feels like a failure; only a bald-faced lie pleases her. 8 hearts: saying you don't want to be tied down with a family loses you a little bit of friendship and she's only happy if you say you want kids) and I can't help but think she's a product of her environment. She lives in a trailer with only her mother, who gets drunk every night and has something of a temper. Penny's like a skittish rescue animal who won’t even come out from hiding under something unless you leave her lots of treats

#stardew valley #penny sdv #I didn't mention the SECOND opportunity to lose 1500 friendship with her #because I think if you go out of your way to date her and then tell her that you don't like her that way then you deserve it #but yeah she's super volatile #i was upset for a little bit after reading that one post saying the ‘right’ answer in the 2 heart event is ableist #like nooooo not my favorite farming game :( #except that in the context of several other things in the game it becomes clear that winning someone over #does not always mean doing the right thing #looking directly at how the easiest way to befriend shane and pam is by enabling their alcoholism #which is framed as a harmful thing even if the characters themselves like it #you have to lie to befriend other characters too like with sam dropping his egg #and you can lose a little friendship based on preferences like sebastian asking about what books you like #though to be fair if i saw someone who could potentially be cool and i found out that what they like was stuff im not into id also #lose interest a little #anyway those are all examples spread around on different characters #penny's got it all at once #me post

[kabutoden]

Bugstuck mituna would be so totally rad to the max…

sure!!! *heir doom song plays* heres your totally rad 2 the max gamebro!!!!

#homestuck #buggy trolls #bugstuck #mituna captor #yellowblood #i feel like his character as in the comic is kinda ableist but i do like that people love him a lot #when i get asks my philosophy is to assume that people like just want to see characters they like and might have interpretations or #reimagine the characters that are better #everyone has reasons to love the characters they do #i just wanna make ppl requesting characters happy thats my feelin ok bye

[skallyeen]

GLaDOS's insults are interesting. Because they're so clearly prejudiced, right? She's making fun of Chell for being fat and adopted. These are scummy things to make fun of someone for, and things that would realistically be punching bags for prejudiced people interacting with this character.

But I don't think GLaDOS actually holds the sentiments she's expressing. Rather, they're a means to an end.

I get this mostly from her lines in co-op on the subject:

"Did you know humans frown on weight variances? If you want to upset a human, just say their weight variance is above or below the norm."

She calls Chell fat not because she thinks she's fat or that she personally finds anything wrong with weight variances, but because she knows calling humans fat makes them feel bad, and she's bitter about being killed and wants to make Chell feel bad.

Same goes with her being adopted. As soon as it doesn't emotionally or pragmatically benefit GLaDOS to make fun of Chell for being fat or adopted, she actively refutes Wheatley's attempt at bullying her for these things:

"And...? What, exactly, is wrong with being adopted?" "Also: Look at her, you moron. She's not fat."

She walks back her previous derogatory assertions as if they don't mean anything to her, because they don't. She never believed them in the first place.

She treats Rattmann's schizophrenia much the same way. She uses it to try and manipulate him, to make him doubt himself enough to come out of hiding where she can kill him, the same way she tries to make Chell doubt herself and turn back when she's escaping the facility back in Portal 1. The ableism she expresses is not a genuinely held belief, but a means to an end that she has no qualms about using.

Whether that makes it better or worse, I have no idea! I'd say worse on account of the intention to cause doubt or hurt to the target. But it's a very unique combination of values, isn't it? You're much more used to seeing the inverse: people being insulting, with no actual malicious intent, as a result of unchecked biases. Like, for instance, friendly little Wheatley unintentionally being super condescending about Chell's brain damage and muteness.

#for the record this isn't a condemnation of either character #in the 'therefore you shouldn't like them' sense anyways #like obviously these are immoral intentions and actions #but so is murder #moral slights are nothing new for her #i just found this really interesting #glados #yeenwords #portal #portal 2 #character analysis #portal analysis #skall got into the ramble jar again #i do think glados is legit ableist in regards to wheatley #but so is the writing itself #so it's hard to make a character judgement off of that

[shigayokagayama]

adhd reigen not in a “hes so goofy and silly” way but in a “he has a tendency to hyperfixate on things then drop them the moment he gets bored, has trouble forming genuine relationships with people because he’s so dedicated to making himself likable, is terrified of rejection and actively self sabotages to avoid it” kinda way

#all the random ass unrelated skills he has... glances nervously at all the unfinished projects i have #mob psycho characters are so good at being accurate representations of mental illnesses without even trying #maybe one day ill write that 'npd teru' analysis but for now im too scared of getting harassed by ableist weirdos #mp100 #mob psycho 100 #reigen arataka

[ursie]

Ok just saw a tweet that said Ashton deserves their chronic pain (among other ableist ones) for upsetting Fearne and being “selfish” so new rule if you’re not PHYSICALLY DISABLED you no longer get to talk about Ashton unless you personally pay every cripple you know five dollars-if you don’t know any cripples? Never speak again. I’m not joking I’m taking him away from y’all until you learn to behave.

#banging pots and pans Ashton is disabled first think five seconds before you post and if your internal biases are influencing your words #also if you’re not a cripple shut the fuck up about Ashton I mean it unless you can be normal and! you don’t get to decide if you’re normal #if other disabled people are like hey that’s not cool? listen to them! #ashton greymoore #critical role #cr #callowmoore #cr3 #tw ableism #I babble #I’m tagging Callowmore because it’s the shippers/fearne stans being ableist #this isn’t ship or character discourse I like the ship I like fearne #just at the fandom

[reallygoodguacamole]

hey. don't feel bad about writing submas angst. gamefreak did that to them. exploring that space and playing in it is entirely reasonable. it makes sense to want to look at the twins' separation, and the different ways things could go after PLA/what happened to separate the two of them. just tag it, like you would anything else, and move on your happy way.

it does not make you ableist to explore canon. and hey, as an autistic adult? ive written a power fantasy where emmet gets to be unhinged with an axe! i have 5k of nonhuman ingo human emmet written up and not posted because when i was a kid i always hoped i was some fae thing and not human! my power fantasies encompass those things and so much more.

none of this is inherently ableist. emmet did not go apeshit because he is autistic- he went apeshit because the world stole the most important person out of his life and he would not let that stand. in any of the many aus i have where one twin or the other is nonhuman, it's not because they're autistic, it's because they're copying the other twin, and there's other people in the world that are also like that! it's my personal power fantasy, and I'm going to write it! it's not inherently ableist!

finally, certainly none of this is comparable to an extended hate campaign intended to wipe autistic people out of existence. don't feel bad about writing these things. tag them, make sure you're not doing it Because they're autistic. and then don't espouse any autism $peaks bullshit and you will be fine.

if you try to argue that your experience is more authentic/important than mine i will block you. please learn about competing access needs, and move on

#submas #im just. fucking tired bro. #a whole event got eaten in some kind of ouroborus apparently #the angst is canonical. #pre hisui? those train men arent sad #during? god i do not know what characters you're talking about if you think ingo or emmet are happy while separated #i am not going to debate this! im just exhausted of writing what i an autistic adult want to write #and then going to dig in the tag and seeing a brand new wave of remember! dont be ableist! #im not. thank you. #i am experiencing autism power fantasy moments #the guacamole mutters

[bonefall]

I personally like Thunder's prosthetic. Explained it to my friend (who does use a mobility device, a cane and wheelchair, and listens to me rant and infodump about BB) and they agreed, it's important to know that not every person needs what someone wants to give them. It's another example of "bad ableist person does a thing that hurts a disabled person because they are bad and ableist".

Clear Sky got Jagged Peak killed and would have killed Sunlit Frost! He would absolutely force his disabled son to be "normal" and present it like a privilege. "I wouldn't do this for anyone else, it's special, why don't you want to be helped?"

Thunder Storm should toss it in Clear Sky's face. (I would say toss it into the river but we do not pollute waterways in this house)

Thank you for telling me this, and tell your friend I'm thanking them too! If they have anything else to add please forward what they have to say

Since BB!DOTC tackles some of the heaviest topics in the entire series because its canon equivalent is so dark, I think very carefully about what I do here and how I show it. I take feedback on its sensitive aspects very seriously. If I'm understanding the criticism properly, it's that I should avoid stigmatizing prosthetics by making sure Thunder Storm's not the only one with it-- which he's not! And I'll add even more.

I don't want to avoid something only because it's uncomfortable if the topic is important, and my portrayal is respectful. Ableism IS uncomfortable! There are some situations where a prosthetic is not wanted! I think the rejection of this particular one is both a good opportunity to show a type of ableism and ALSO is very fitting for the characters.

In BB!Clear Sky's mind, the villain, he's fixing an old mistake. He can't admit that he got Jagged Peak killed or take REAL accountability for it (though he will, occasionally, apologize insincerely), but deep in his bones, he knows what he did was cruel. He'll never tell anyone this because he doesn't really cognate it himself, but Thunder Storm NEEDS to take his gift.

If Thunder doesn't take it, it blows a hole in his newest story. You see, throwing Jagged Peak out was All That Could Have Been Done back then. It was a Tragedy and he simply Made A Hard Choice. He regrets it very much, But You Have To Understand.

But now? Now? Well, behold. Look at what he's accomplished since the tragic death of his little brother. His cats are well-fed, cared for, and stable enough to make such incredible advancements. If only Jagged Peak had been able to hold on longer, if only he could be here now, I could fix him.

Just like I can (MAKE YOU JUST LIKE ME) fix you.

"Everything I've ever done is for Jagged Peak. For Fluttering Wing. For you." Thunder Sky is SPECIAL, but if he rejects any gift, tries to turn down the "privileges" offered to him, in an instant that becomes ungratefulness and arrogance. He both forces him to be special, and then leverages it against him if it's rejected. "Spoiled brat, doesn't appreciate what I've worked so hard to give him."

It all goes back to him and his own guilt. He can NEVER be wrong. He can't accept his family doesn't have to be "normal" or reflect his own ability. He won't see himself as a bully, let alone a murderer. It was never about his son's comfort or finding out what Thunder Storm wants or needs, it was about his own ego.

...All that said I'm still taking feedback if there's anything else I should keep in mind, or if anyone has a counter point, especially if you also have experience here.

(In the interest of having a link trail for posterity, here's the critique/call for feedback this is in response to)

#ALSO also I will take suggestions on other characters who should have prosthetics #Sunlit makes sense and it will make a really nice character moment later for him to have one built #There's also an amputee in RiverClan few people talk about called Stonestream #I can give him one and bump him up into a bigger character. In BB he is the sibling of Willowshine #BB!DOTC #better bones au #Also just as a side note... I love writing BB!Skystar. My ire for the character comes from his redemption arc so I feel like I get to-- #--write the character I WANTED to see #Same with Bramble in other BB arcs #cw ableism #tw ableism #ableism #They're fascinating in that they always have to see themselves as the victim or the hero #They believe every lie they tell. #If you ever catch them in a contradiction they will still try to find some way to turn it on you and YOUR lack of understanding. #Interestingly both of them are ableist. Sky's is just more obvious because he's LOUDLY bigoted. #But BB!Bramble is *notably* less close to Jay for a very sad and very subtle reason. #Jay just doesn't serve his ego like the others do until much later in his life. #unfortunately most bigotry is like that. #the type you have a hard time calling out because it's a deniable bias. the constant gaslighting of being part of a marginalized group #Maybe I need to address the criticism by adding a character with a prosthetic to THIS arc even earlier #Problem is that like... Thunder's small merc group is already full of disabled characters and their THING is forming in response to ableism #OH maybe I'll put someone in the Forest Cat group which is lead by Slash? #I need to finish that last book and then gather up all the cats for sorting into allegiances

[rjalker]

Giving this part its own post.

Another tip: Let your fucking characters become disabled over the course of the story! If they get their fucking leg chopped off, even if it gets magically fucking reattached, there should be fucking evidence that they lost the fucking leg in the first place! Pain! Reduced sensation! Trouble moving it! Anything to fucking show that the injury fucking happened! Otherwise you just fucking did that to them for no point but to cause cheap, meaningless drama! That's just shit fucking writing!

I don't care if there's magical healing in your universe. I don't care if it's a Super Scifi Future and your character is a robot. (Yes, I am looking directly at The Murderbot Diaries!)

Getting a brand new fucking arm attached after the first one got blown or ripped off should still have physical fucking symptoms! The character noting that it's a different weight from before and constantly being distracted by this! The new arm has faster or slower reactivity to its attempts to move it! Having to learn anew how to do basic shit with a whole new system! Having to try and work with technology that's not actually compatible!!

If your characters receive massive injuries, let those fucking injuries have permanent effects. Stop fucking acting like being disabled is the worst fucking fate imaginable.

And if you don't want your characters' massive traumatic injuries to result in them being permanently disabled........don't fucking have them sustain massive life altering injuries. It's that fucking simple.

By handwaving this shit away and magically fixing everything back to normal, not only are you being ableist as fuck, you're just being an absolutely shitty, lazy writer.

Let your fucking characters become disabled over the course of the story. Your fucking audience will thank you for giving a shit about not only continuity and stakes, but disabled people.

#writing tips #writing advice #might have already given this its own post but I'm too lazy to check. #writing disabled characters #writing disability #writing injuries #writing prompts #scifi #science fiction #fantasy #sci fantasy #there is literally ZERO fucking excuse for not letting your characters become disabled in 2023 #if you have your characters constantly getting seriously injured and they're always fine at the end #you are fucking ableist #I do not give a single shit what kind of in universe explanations you have to explain it all away.

[aholotte]

since the dungeon meshi anime is now out, if ANYONE refers to Chilchuck as “minor-coded”……..(makes a throat slicing gesture)

Chilchuck is actually 29 despite his appearance and height.

#“Minor-coded” and “child-coded” are such stupid terms and I wish I could erase them from existence #If a character is short they’re “minor-coded” #if a character is autistic they’re “minor-coded” #It’s all just ableist and heightist and AUGHHHHHHHH #dungeon meshi #delicious in dungeon #chilchuck

[brucewaynehater101]

There needs to be an Oracle movie

Barbara Gordon and her time as Batgirl. The subtle implications of misogyny (from criminals, emergency services, social media, etc.) and her struggles of being slightly outcast from the Bats (maybe not intentionally, but it's still felt). Despite that (and how hard the role is), she admits to feeling alive and powerful as Batgirl. She loves her ability to help Gotham, the city her dad tries so hard to shape up to be better.

Then the Joker shoots Barbara. He doesn't shoot Batgirl, doesn't even know it's Batgirl that's being injured, but he shoots Barbara because she's the commissioner's daughter. Her life changing injury isn't even about her.

There's the hopelessness, the grief, the sense of loss, and then Jason dies.

The Bats, try as they might to be there for her, are drowning in their own grief. They can't be there for her even if they wanted to.

She's wasting away with the realization that she's lost everything and her father is bending under the weight of supporting her and his job as commissioner.

Slowly, an idea comes to her. Slowly, when she starts looking out at Gotham's skyline and sees the clock tower, she begins to pull herself back together.

It's not an easy process, and she does return to depressive spirals and bed rotting, but she starts to have more decent days than bad. She's puts away her first criminal as Oracle. She becomes a feared force the Bats can turn to for help.

The end of the movie will hint at her starting Birds of Prey.

#dc comics #dc universe #barbara gordon #dc oracle #if dc doesn't knock it off with their ableist and sexist bullshit #barbara deserves her own spotlight because she's cool as hell and not just an extension of the bats #i would pay good money to see a movie where barbara was the focus and the bats were BACKGROUND characters #barbara is badass and capable #her ascent to oracle is a riveting story #if the directors knew what they were doing the movie would be a great representation of disabilities #show me barbara beating the shit out of ableist bastards #subtle indications of barbara being extremely capable but limited to the restrictions the lack of accessibility force upon her

[rqg179]

very glad that they've removed the curse from lydia but i really hope this doesn't mean she's just magically totally healed and no longer disabled because that. sucks as a trope

#like there arent that many physically disabled characters in fantasy high and it would just. suck kinda #if they went 'and now by magic the wheelchair user no longer needs a wheelchair!' #like thats such a tired ableist trope yknow #idk i just. i have a lot of feelings about physically disabled characters and i hope they treat lydia right #my post #d20 #fantasy high #fhjy

[mikakuna]

my problem is that i always end up emotionally invested in the angry abuse victim character-- the character who is always the "wrong" kind of victim. the one who lashes out and is violent, a complete juxtaposition to their sunshine/lawful good counterparts in the media.

i end up resonating too hard with these characters that i always end up on the shitty side of the fandom where people will see you as a bad person for enjoying representation of an angry victim.

#and then i get brain damage from people's horrible takes that involve real life accusations #why the fuck would i support the death penalty because a fictional character kills people #are you using your minds #what part of seperate fiction and reality do you not understand #you genuinely CANNOT be a part of a fandom if you don't understand that rule #or there's the people in the fandom who don't know shit about abuse victims so when they write stories including such characters #they depict them in such clearly ableist ways #and in the victim blaming sense!! #like fuck #when is it my turn to join a fandom and become a fan of a character who doesn't induce such anger from other fans #jason todd #red hood #batman

[joyousanarchist]

another dump [cronus/cronkri brainrot] mostly class doodles but sometimes i put actual effort into things :3

#cronus ampora #kankri vantas #cronus x kankri #cronkri #dancestors #homestuck #openbound #fuck school work #im definitely not a fictive of one of these characters #definitely not #ignore me im being autistic #im diagnosed with autism thats not an ableist joke please guys please #my malewife likes my art

[yellowocaballero]

Omg hi Ms. Yellow Caballero big fan of your work <3 For real though, I'm really excited that your sharing the Weekenders, it was a joy to read and I'm bongocat-ing now that others also get the privilege to read it as well.

Referencing your tags, would you please elaborate of ableism in fandom and, like you said, how fandom treats characters with unpalatable disabilities?

Hi Ms. Bud Lite I'm a big fan of you <3

TL;DR A fear of writing characters of highly marginalized identities shields you from criticism and discomfort, but it's actively stigmatizing to people of these identities and as a writer you really need to get over yourself and write The Icky People.

I guess I'll come out swinging on this one and say that fandom doesn't like severe mental illness. (As a note, when I say severe mental illness (SMI) I mean illnesses such as psychotic disorders, bipolar disorder, substance use disorders, personality disorders, etc)

Obviously, nobody likes people w/SMI. It's just insanely egregious in fandom to me, since fanfic writers absolutely love writing characters or HC characters with depression, anxiety, or a specific variety of PTSD That Isn't Scary. People actively reject any character HCs for a SMI. When people write a character with SMI, they nicely downplay it, ignore it, substitute it for a disorder they like better, or rewrite it. It's completely untolerated, in both headcanons and in fanfiction, and every time I bring it up I always get the most interesting reasons why somebody couldn't possibly acknowledge a character's SMI in their writing. I've heard all of these:

"I don't know enough about the disorder to write it accurately." Do research.

"I'm not X, so I can't really depict it." You probably aren't a cis white man, but you depict those guys just fine.

"It feels insulting to the character." There is no shame in having a SMI.

"I can't understand what it's like, so it's better to be cautious and avoid giving characters stigmatized identities." There are LOTS of experiences that you'll never understand because you've never had them - you just don't want to write anything you're uncomfortable with. People with SMI make you uncomfortable, and you don't want to write anything that makes you feel uncomfortable, or think of a comfort character in an uncomfortable way. SMIs are marginalized differently than solely depression/anxiety/The Nice PTSD, and by refusing to write them you're actively contributing to the stigma.

I think (?) I've spoken in the past about how I believe that the rigorous external and internal policing of writing people of marginalized identities is actively harmful towards efforts to increase diversity of experience and background in fiction. A lot of fanfiction writers are just terrified to write people who they can't directly relate with, because they're worried 'they'll get it wrong' and be Big Cancelled. I think this is negative enough when it prevents people from going outside of their comfort zone, but on a macro level I think this results in people refusing to write characters of marginalized identities as all. It's an insidious thought process, and it's reflected in people's unwillingness to diversity their writing or acknowledge canon diversity.

'Well, I don't understand what it's like to be Black, so I don't want to write Black people'. 'I want to project on this character, so I only want to write them with mental illnesses and identities I have'. 'If I write a marginalized character incorrectly people will yell at me, so I won't write a marginalized character who's marginalized differently than me at all'. Can you imagine writing a lesbian character with a boyfriend because 'you feel uncomfortable writing lesbian experiences'? It's blatantly homophobic. But people do that with disability and race/ethnicity ALL THE TIME.

People with SMI notice that you feel uncomfortable with them. It's obvious. They notice when a character has a SMI + anxiety, and you only write their anxiety. They notice when a character displays symptoms of a SMI in canon, but you write it out. And POC notice when the characters of color are written out. I know we all like to project on the blorbos and relate to them, and in the joys of your own head do whatever, but as a writer if you only stick to identities you're comfortable with you are actively being a worse writer. Which to me is the REAL sin lmfao.

#my asks #thanks for enabling me lizzy if i didn't get this out i would have just vagued for the rest of time #even just beyond all of this on a more subtle lvl. HC people with SMI cowards. just do it. its good for you. #the two times me/a close friend have proposed on a fandom server "hey I read X as having a SUD/being on the schizophrenic spectrum' #there was actual fascinating pushback and rejection #people got MAD. #'blorbo wouldn't be an alcoholic he's not a bad person :(' fuck off #i dont use the word often but its ableism and you can be mentally ill and still ableist #if you dont feel educated enough on something to write it then do research #and while research wont give you everything it's a start #if you feel like you can only write people just like you then frankly? skill issue #i mentioned that the last fic was a bit of a spite fic - well #it was scientifically fascinating how the majority of a fandom wrote/acknowledged a character as depressed and anxious #but actively got incredibly defensive when someone suggested that the psychotic character may have had a psychotic disorder #it was so blatant. very annoying. anyway.

[sukibenders]

When it comes to Penelope I feel like a lot of her fans take any valid criticism towards her and turn it into hate, which does her character a disservice. While some people do hate on her, a lot of it holds valid reasons. Admitting that she has hurt many people isn't wrong because she has, it's been shown on throughout the show and the impacts it can have. From labeling Daphne as "unmarriageable" during her first season and events that followed, her labeling Eloise as being part of a group of rebels, the terms she used to describe Kate [and Simon]-- which carried racial undertones no matter how you try to spin it, who didn't even know personally at that point, what she did Marina. All of these were very harmful and to say that none of these characters should feel angry, that they should just forgive Penelope without any work put into it is very laughable (especially because she's still writing as Whistledown and put many, namely women, at risk during a time where reputation is everything--something in which Penelope herself faces). With this being said, criticizing her actions, at least for me, doesn't come from a complete place of hate but more so from believing that she can be better if she puts in the work. By ignoring all that she's done and having her get her happily ever after so easily in the end, to be honest, would ultimately feel lackluster. I feel like she still has room to grow, but it will take a lot of work and, I personally, think seeing her renavigate who she is with who she wants to be outside of Lady Whistledown would be very interesting.

#bridgerton #penelope featherington #idk if this counts as anti but I'll label it as such too #anti penelope featherington #bc some people don't see it her referring to kate as a “beast” was wrong as hell and definitely side eye worthy coming from this yte woman #like she didn't even know kate and wrote that about her #and her ableist comments towards george were absolutely unnecessary as well #so deny that none of these things holds impact would be highly untrue and make the story very flat #i do think pen provides valuable insight to a different perspective of the ton and was helpful in eloise seeing a different view #so that's one [of very few] reasons that i think she should have a chance of redeeming herself #but that also doesn't mean that any of these characters should forgive her either #penelope stans and/or polin stans do not interact if you can't be respectful! #(also bc some people like to say “but the bridgertons are privileged and got their happy endings” #one just bc they got their happy endings in the end doesn't mean that what pen wrote didn't put them in difficult situations or that she #should be thanked as if she helped them [with daphne that was mainly her and her own mother's doing] #[for eloise that different bc it puts her and her family under political scrutiny as well bc do you honestly think being labeled as associat #-ing with rebels would be a good thing?]

[aromacaque]

you want to analyze a cartoon that is something children can watch? ok here's the first and most important lesson ever.

have you ever heard of "suspension of disbelief?"

ok. next step. do you know what an unreliable narrator is and can you separate the character's perspective and opinions from the writers? because i promise you that the beliefs of the main character do not always reflect the writers and the point of analyzing media is to dissect that.

#like guys sometimes the silly jokes in the cartoon are JUST silly jokes you gotta let them be silly jokes #sometimes the shenanigans are super outlandish because it's a FICTIONAL CARTOON where sentient AIs and magic exist #i promise you. I PROMISE YOU that rottmnt's mind meld was not some elaborate problematic take on eugenics of all things #<- an actual thing i read with my own eyes #like i promise you that is literally not what the episode was doing #'they kept saying they made his brothers smarter which is incredibly ableist because it implies they weren't smart before' #ahem. it was donnie's idea of smarter #you know donnie. the one who constantly puts his intelligence on a pedestal to boost his ego #it was HIS definition of smarter and that is not the narratives definition #i think the series makes that abundantly clear with how much they make fun of donnie for whatever superiority complex he's got going on #and (in the nicest way possible) if you watch the episode it's not actually that they're getting 'smarter' what is actually happening #is that they are beginning to act more and more like donnie personality wise #and that the conflict starts with donnie feeling like they don't fully understand him. #and since donnie is a flawed character his way of coping with that is by being like 'well clearly they're inferior to my intelligence!' #(which .. if you really dissect his character is not actually what he means he just doesn't know how to constructively word his feelings)