‘No, I’m Dead, Sir’

For context, although if you’ve been following my blog for longer than 24 hours you should know who this idiot is, but if not, this is Sebastian Smythe. He’s a 16-18 year old gay teenaged character from the musical-drama show, Glee. He attends the also fictional private school, Dalton Academy in Ohio, where he is the captain of their show choir, the warblers, and also on the lacrosse team. Let’s be real here, for those of you who know his character you’ll know that he’s a bit of a menace with a cocky attitude, and we love that for him. He starts out as one of the minor antagonists in Season 3, and after having a character arc segment midway through his time on the show, he becomes more of a sidelined grey-character, or even an anti-hero at a push.

Now just as a disclaimer I’d like to say that if you do hc his parents as neglectfully abusive, homophobic, assholes, that’s alright. It does make for an interesting story sometimes, and just as I am free to dislike the idea, you are all very much free to enjoy it. (I always love when people can enjoy things that I don’t because it means that the talent and potential poured into fics that use these tropes don’t go to waste!). And if you do really like this hc, and are suddenly worried about interacting with me because we differ in opinion, please don’t be. The topic of parents can be cut all together during personal interactions, and you only have to enjoy whatever content it is you actually follow me for that doesn’t involve them. And finally if you agree with this post you are more than welcome to reblog it, but I’m not personally looking for a debate here. I know how I feel about this hc and I’m not willing to change my mind, so if you don’t happen to agree with me, which is absolutely within your right, it would be better for everyone if you carried on scrolling. I’m not expecting this to get a lot of attention, the post is more just a way of informing my mutuals, readers and followers as to where I stand here, because my fics are very Sebastian centric and will involve his folks from time to time. Absolutely no hate meant to anyone who uses this trope either, I’m sure you’re wonderfully talented, I’m just trying to explain why it’s not my thing.

I also just wanted to say that I know the term abuse is a huge spectrum and can be executed in very different ways and at highly different levels, but the main categories I’ll be arguing my disagreement for in this post are physical and verbal abuse, despite the fact I don’t personally think Sebastian was being abused at all. I mean absolutely no disrespect when I talk about these subjects, and can completely rationalise that every case is different, both fictionally and in person, this is not meant to demean anyone who may have been in a situation like this in any way, shape or form.

But with that all established, let’s move on as to why I really dislike this trope, for a character like Sebastian at least:

1) The excuses.

In a huge majority of the abusive Mr/s Smythe fics I’ve read over my time in the glee fandom, the neglect and abuse is more often than not used as a scapegoat for Sebastian’s terrible actions at the beginning of the show, brushing them aside to “he acts the way he does because his parents hit him/hate him. It’s not actually his fault.” It’s used as a way of clearing Sebastian’s messy history to make the character seem more victimised, and as a result, likeable. To me, it feels like an easy way out of his behaviour, and doesn’t tend to hit the desired effect.

As a person who likes delving into the gritty dynamic of a complex character, which Sebastian has the potential to be, I feel this trope is just too easy and almost paints actual abusive situations in a lighter, more…not so serious matter as a result, (which I’m sure is nobody’s intention of course!) mainly because it’s never addressed in proper context. Holding characters like Sebastian accountable for their actions, no matter what is going on that we or other characters cannot see, is extremely important, both morally and creatively, and I find this is done best with internal struggles over external situations. Not only does it aide his development by not letting excuses take the fall for his bratty actions, but I’ve found that situating a more personal ‘reason’ for his behaviour does a better job at humanising (not victimising) him rather than if we were to pull out an overused hc, it pushes home how ‘normal’ (by the standard of your average mentally ill queer /lh) he has the potential to be, which indirectly makes it easier to coerce this alongside other plot lines, especially in ship-fics. We are all human, we all make mistakes and have done awful things, Sebastian’s actions got out of control in comparison to your average teenager, yes, but we can see from circumstantial evidence that he admits to it, both positively and negatively in the end. (I have more to say on this but it’s straying from the topic at hand.) However I say again, when such a big event like child abuse is used in a similar sense, it’s much harder to push that redeeming narrative because where is the personal development?

(I agree that getting over an abusive situation is usually packed full of development both irl and fictionally, but when I say personal development here what I’m suggesting towards is the growth of a character getting over something either self inflicting, internal, something that while linked to other people isn’t life threatening, or just something similar along those lines. Something that, in a physical principle, they’ve never been able to walk away from because it’s tied to them at their very core, it’s them. Narratives like this are easier to root up growth for Sebastian because it is up to him specifically to want improvement. But when the toxicity comes from an outside source on a grand scale, faults and improvements are elsewhere and not directly on him, leaving may be a struggle but he himself is no longer the root of the ‘issue’, which pulls away his own development to an extent.)

Now, I’m sure it’s obvious that I think Sebastian was having his own issues at this point in his life, especially because we see how genuine he actually can be in ‘On My Way’, which leads me to believe that his mentality was a product of a source we weren’t made aware of in the show. But as an outsider, I just don’t think the matter at hand was hugely drastic in comparison to the likes of abuse. For those of you who have read or spoken to me about the beginnings of my fic, ‘A Glance Through The Hourglass’, you might see where I’m going with this. I think the drastic difference between some internal, unknown issues and “I’m being abused” sets up an extreme variety of reasons as to why Sebastian is the way he is. However, an intramural issue, something that due to his image and situation he wouldn’t want to share and would then cover with his behaviour, used as a somewhat disorderly coping mechanism that went overboard, opens up a field of malleable circumstances that can be used without excusing his actions, and this could be a myriad of things, maybe multiple at a time. I’m going to add on my own thoughts to the example here (so we’re straying from hardcore canon for a moment):

I’m not going to diminish how hard it is to pull yourself out of a dark place when you’re at such a difficult point in your life, and especially when we take into consideration Sebastian’s circumstances (new everything, school, country, friends, house, and operating under the fact his dad has just won the election for SA he is suddenly going to be very busy too, (see the point BP v AP for explanation there)), I’m sure that whatever was going on with him could’ve been extremely rough. But when these issues are internal to you alone, and as stern as this is about to sound as a sufferer myself I know this must be heard to push for growth, it is up to you and professionals to help get you out of that mental position. It doesn’t come from an outside source that you can eliminate, you have to work for it yourself. Although you feel lost, you can regain that control, and it is easier (as a writer) to manipulate the situation to fit both a compelling issue for Sebastian as a character, which would give reason for his awful behaviour and change of heart, while still having him take responsibility for his actions in the show. In comparison to the likes of him being abused, that is very much out of his hands, and getting out of that situation can be extremely difficult and debilitating, it also takes the responsibility of his behaviour off of his shoulders due to extremities and the fact he isn’t the ‘problem’ himself. Which leads me on to my next point.

2) Injustices and overpowering.

(Just to say here, I am generalising in this section. Out there I have come across a few fics that use this storyline and manage to do it well, but I’m speaking for the likelihood majority backed up by probability as a writer.)

I think these storylines can work well when they’re done right, with the perfect amount of attention on each section and how they all fit together in the end, and I also think they can be done right when it’s the focal point of the conflict, ie: “partner falls in love with Sebastian while helping him escape an abusive situation,” because it’s the bonding climax. Unfortunately it’s very rarely that this happens, and that has nothing to do with the writers (you’re all very talented!!) and more to do with the huge amounts of mindfulness both storylines need. Here are my reasonings:

Managing a ship-based fic with the side story of an abusive home life always equals out to one story not receiving it’s justice, something is always overshadowed because both events are such huge issues, especially if the story is developing the relationship from the beginning. (so for me as a kurtbastian shipper, it takes a lot to develop their relationship because it’s an enemies to lovers situation, it needs a lot of time and consideration which is hard to divide between an abusive parents storyline.)

If you focus on the Smythe half of the story, you’ll get a really well fleshed out overcoming fic, with a not so great development between Sebastian and his love interest, and if you focus on the ship, you’ll have a beautifully executed love story, with a sideline plot that feels underdeveloped and therefore, not done it’s justice as a circumstance or a story. Situations like this have to be done justice out of respect, and that can be difficult to manage. But even when they are managed correctly, there are still a few issues, such as:

3) The cliches.

Here’s not to say that the ‘rich children having borderline no relationship with their parents’ issue doesn’t happen, because I believe this can be common in all economical societies (look at Puck and Quinn to name a few examples,) but especially in fiction, I personally feel it’s gotten to a point where the desired effect this storyline intends to have with somebody like Sebastian (the antagonist) almost has no meaning anymore because it’s expected and even anticipated, which can sometimes make for a drab plot.

I’m not saying it can’t be used just because it’s been done before, but I am saying it becomes less and less valuable the more it happens. Before I developed my own ideas for the Smythe’s and started using my own version of how I see them in my head whenever I read fics, it became such a repetitive notion that it quickly grew stale. Once again I’m not saying this is a reason why these tropes shouldn’t be used, if this is what you like I’m sure you’re having a wonderful time with all of this media, I just think turning the tables slightly and giving a character like Sebastian a different home life to what you’d expect seems much more compelling, and would help readers engage better with a fic because they’re being kept of their toes for new information.

But with the statistical and writers approach points out of the way, here are a few research based points/my own gathered knowledge in co-existence with the show as to why I dislike this trope. Tiny disclaimer, a lot of my arguments here are backed up by fact, and I suppose you guys could immediately debunk me and say “well it’s a fictional show so I don’t have to listen to that.” And you’re absolutely right, it is a fictional show and I am the type of person who will define her characters to a shiny edge just to make sure everything fits as it should in the ‘real world’, not everybody is like that and that’s absolutely okay, I recognise that, but as I said before this is why I don’t like this trope, and as an analytical-soon-to-be pysch student with a taste for the idiocy of the American Supreme Court, these issues are justified to me, and mayhaps me alone. Alongside this I’m hoping to clear up some common misconceptions deprived from the show, which also relate as to why I don’t believe this trope to be too likely.

4) Busy parents VS abuse parents.

(First of all, I love this photo so much. Anyone who knows me will tell you it’s probably my favourite Sebastian photo. He looks so mad and for what 👏 god it makes me chuckle.)

Now right off the bat we have to recognise that we don’t actually know what Sebastian’s mother does for work. We don’t actually know if she works, or if she is even alive. My personal go-to is surgeon, I may explain why in my conclusion, but again, overall we don’t know anything about her so I’m working solely with Mr Smythe’s canon job in this regard.

(This point is simply law rambling, please skip if you’re not interested, it’s just to add context). Since Sebastian doesn’t say his Dad is the ‘State’s Attorney General’ and simply ‘A State’s Attorney’ (which are different jobs,) we can only presume this means he is the southern Ohioan District Attorney, which is also quite commonly known as the State’s Attorney. These types of attorneys represent a group of counties, usually divided into northern and southern of the state, in high legal cases committed in their areas, they have huge amounts of influential decisions to make, and are responsible for handling many prosecutions. (Fun little fact, they’re also the only broad attorneys able to participate in grand jury proceedings, which I think is kinda cool.) The State’s Attorney is also the leader of a group of prosecutors, who are known as Deputy District Attorneys, and SA holds overall responsibility for what happens amongst their firms and these groups of DDAs in court. In Ohio they are elected in throughout the local voters, and they serve for four years. For more information on this occupation I suggest a quick Google search or you could drop me a dm/ask where I’d go into more detail, as I don’t want to drag on about my law knowledge when frankly no one asked.

But anyways, after a bit of extra research on the jobs these people usually have before they’re elected, how many hours they work a week in both occupations, and reading through a few personal experiences actual lawyers themselves have posted about, I discovered that while they are extremely busy, work-centric and persevering people, they do still have time to sit down with the family for dinner most nights, one particular experience from a lawyer I read said that he still managed to tuck his kids into bed whenever he could, and had enough time a month to put a weekend or two aside strictly for the family. Yes, sometimes work got in the way, he said there were many days where he worked over, he may have missed a soccer game every once in a while, and sometimes weekly, potentially monthly, long business trips would take him away from the family, but if we take this experience, alongside many others, it’s very rarely that a lawyer or attorney occupation leads to a point of neglect, which is something I see used all of the time between Sebastian and his father in fics. Making Mr Smythe’s entire personality ‘I am too busy with work for my child’ doesn’t quite correlate because while his job does keep him extremely occupied, especially after winning the election for SA, his occupation alone isn’t enough for him to become neglectful, realistically at least. If this is a narrative you really want to push, I’d suggest have him spend his extra time elsewhere, but overall, it just doesn’t fit with the logistics of his job.

Personally, I can absolutely see Mr Smythe’s schedule growing busier after becoming the State’s Attorney, especially for the first few months, which would have a negative affect on Sebastian. This correlates well with his behavioural issues when he is first brought into the show, but I seriously don’t believe it would be driven to a point of neglect. Whether he is still accounting for a certain amount of family time or not, his ‘promotion’ still leads to a big step up in court. But being a busy parent, especially to a teenager, does not make you neglectful or abusive. It can be insanely hard, on both parties I’d like to assume, but at the end of the day why should he have to decline an insane job opportunity because he has a son? That’s the story that I’ve seen pushed on more than one occasion.

Not to mention, the idea of his mother and father suddenly becoming busier than he’s used to supports the idea that Sebastian’s parents aren’t going to notice him sneaking out over the weekend to go underage drinking, it’s a new ledge of confidence for him that he wouldn’t have been able to explore beforehand, and I think that’s how he gets in way over his head, but again that’s not what this post is about.

5) The evidence

As I said above we don’t actually hear much about Sebastian’s parents in the show at all, we get one line that gives us an occupation, and overall it’s an insinuated concept that they’re an extremely wealthy family, and he’s very use to getting his own way. I’m working with the very thin evidence I can, and most of this is speculation, not completely set in stone.

So first of all I want to address the occupational line “You see, my Dad is sorta what you’d call a State’s Attorney.” Maybe the boy is just an incredible actor, but here I see no reason to suspect he’s living in an abusive household, no quiver, no apprehension, just pure confidence. You’re probably thinking ‘you can’t assume all that from one throw away, taunting, threat line, especially when Seb’s surface level personality is cocky confidence,’ and you’re right, I can’t, especially because he was using it to threaten someone and, frankly be a bit of a jerk, but pulling together the info I do know and can work with its very unlikely that he would be willing to use such an intense place of power as a safety net if he knew his dad wasn’t actually going to provide that security for him, joke or not. What if Santana did go ‘all Lima heights’ and attempt to beat the crap out of him? What would be the plan of action if he didn’t actually have that underlying safety? Not to mention the following line is “I bet he could make sure that (a piñata) got to them,” again shows us no indication of resentment or ‘fear’. If anything, it shows that Sebastian’s parents, maybe his father specifically, would do anything if he so much as asked. Yes I’m still aware this line was meant more to taunt Santana instead of giving us a Sebastian backstory but I’m working with what I can, and this line aides the confirmed notion that Sebastian is very use to getting his own way, which is disclosed in his constant attempts to pursue Blaine, even after being turned down, and his desperation to win regionals. Traits like that are very much often a product of one’s childhood, which then correlates well to his Dalton tuition, the car he must have to travel from Westerville to Lima and to Scandals all the damn time, and the gas he’s got to be putting into said car for these journeys. Parents with a lot of money and child who’s use to getting whatever he wants? Screams spoiled to me, not abused.

(This is unrelated but one of my favourite hc’s is that Sebastian was so bummed out about the move from Paris to Ohio, which honestly even I’d be the same, that his dad notices and feels really bad because this change is inevitable due to his job, so he’s like “…if I got you a car in America, would it cheer you up? Any car you want, I’ll get it for you.” And Sebastian is just like “😔 a Porsche would maybe help.” Like idk why that’s pure gold to me, but it is.)

We also know that while Sebastian didn’t get into trouble with the authorities for what he did to Blaine’s eye, I’d say it’s pretty safe to assume the Anderson’s must’ve complained to someone on behalf of their son, whether that be Dalton or Sebastian’s parents directly. We know that McKinley did nothing, (because when do they ever) but Blaine never once discloses that their wasn’t an attempt of his parents part, and realistically I don’t think that’s much of a stretch to make. Now whether the situation was covered well by Mr Smythe himself or not, or if he was involved did he do it because he loves his son and knows he’s better than that, or because he just wants to salvage his name, that’s all up to the reader in question and their opinions. However, the fact that we see Sebastian still up to his usual antics when it comes to the photoshopped Finn pictures would suggest he hasn’t been scared or beaten into behaving. My personal go to is that an argument must’ve broken out amongst father and son, which would’ve left Sebastian annoyed because he’s essentially not use to being told ‘no’ or rightfully punished by his parents, and then that would’ve escalated into a further act of rebellion, equalling out to the Finn photos and him making that offhanded comment at Karofsky. I have more to say on this, but again that’s for another time.

6) Money.

Here’s a little bit of context concerning the differences between New Money and Old Money before I get into it’s relation with the Smythe’s. Old money is the type of wealth that has been passed down for generations amongst well-off families, it’s an inheritance of luxury rather than a self-earned income, and more often than not it defines a family as an instant upper class. Whereas new money is a type of income that comes from self earnings, their millions are very much due to their own hard work. Although a common example of new money earners are the likes of movie stars and entrepreneurs, it can be anyone who has made a harsh hand of wealth on their own skill and grinding within their occupation. While families who come from old money tend to not see their wealth as ‘just for them’, but for their family as a whole because they tend to pass this inheritance to the next generation, new money ascenders seem to be the opposite, choosing to spend their hard earned cash frivolously in the here and now. It is also a common practice for new money owners to be quite loud about their earnings, buying on whims and flaunting their extravagances, whereas people who come from old money know their fortune will speak for itself, even if they don’t shy away from prowling in their upper class status from time to time. And now you must be wondering, where do the Smythe’s fit on this scale of old money to new money? Well, from what we can gather from canon, we actually have no physical evidence that Sebastian’s family originates from old money at all. Is it insanely likely? Oh absolutely, I wouldn’t be surprised in the slightest, but while we don’t have anything to back that claim up, we do have circumstantial proof that Sebastian’s main income of wealth stems from his parents jobs, making their currency a type of new money, and here is why I think that is influential:

A District Attorneys salary is averaged up to around $76k a year, but they can make up to as much as $178k, now when we think about it, this is just Sebastian’s dads earnings and we have no idea what kind of bank his mom is bringing to the table. How does this link to abuse/lack there of? A lot of speculation surrounding the Smythe’s often originates from the typical view that ‘they must come from old money, and are therefore awfully privileged people who come from generations of assholes, which also makes them assholes’, and like I said earlier, while I wouldn’t be surprised at all if Mr Smythe did come from an old money family, but based alone upon the job we know he has, and therefore the income we know he earns, if this is the case he actually has his feet in both pools, he’s working smart and circulating each world. Like I said, is it likely that he comes from a wealthy family? Yeah, look at where Sebastian goes to school and look at where they’ve lived, and do I hc it too? Yeah I do, (without the ‘asshole’ connotation, at least on Mr/s Smythe’s part,) but we actually don’t have any canon proof that this is the case, we have no evidence they actually come from an old money background full of snobby rich Thomas-Jefferson like poeple. However just from Mr Smythe’s job title alone we know he is bringing in a huge income, which means he’s definitely circulating the new money systems at least, and it’s overtones. What are new money earners? Rich little flaunters. Who is a rich little flaunter? Sebastian. Who wouldn’t be able to flaunt his fathers rich earnings if he was being unfairly punished and abused, therefore having little to no access to these funds? Also Sebastian.

7) LGBT rights.

Can confirm, here I’m just listing a lot of dates, and from those dates I’ve made some probable assumptions, this doesn’t really have much to do with the post at hand other than proving that throughout these time periods progression was upon us, and people were changing for the better despite all of the hatred in the world. There is nothing mentioned in canon about Mr/s Smythe’s thoughts on Sebastian’s sexuality, we don’t even know if they know (I think it’s pretty obvious, but I also think it’s pretty dang obvious that I’m queer and my parents have only just started speculating, so who’s to say really?), so I really am just laying down some dates and making some comparisons to the canon approach in glee.

First of all some confirmed supportive adult allies to the LGBT+ community in glee are: Burt (actual icon), Carole, Sue, Will, Emma, Beiste, Roz, Pam, Leroy and Hiram, Isabelle, Unique’s parents, Paul Karofsky, Figgins (?), and Santana’s parents. Some confirmed not so supportive adults are Santana’s Abuela, Karofsky’s mother, and Blaine’s Dad. I know Abuela eventually comes around (not necessarily to supporting gays but wanting to be there for Santana), and Blaine’s Dad isn’t a confirmed homophobe, we just know he’s not exactly thrilled about the situation. This is just proof that at this point in time it wasn’t uncommon for people to be supportive, and those who weren’t were very susceptible to change and/or still made room to love their children despite differing opinions in sexuality. I also know that the world was and still is full of hatred, like I said this point really means nothing in my debate because as much as I could say “look, statistics good,” you can’t put a number on hate. But I will say that:

Being gay was legalised in 1974 in Ohio, and in 1980 in New York. In Paris, it was 1971, and France was actually labelled one of the most progressive countries in regards to LGBT+ support. If Sebastian’s parents had him around their late twenties/early thirties as most people did in the 90s, they would’ve been in their preteens-early teens at best when these things were going on. We don’t know how this relates to their opinion, as we don’t have any canon context, but young people of a higher privilege are much more impressionable to change because they have less ground to stand due to already established protection. In most cases they don’t quite care, as long as a spectacle isn’t made before the tide has changed. I’m not saying that that mentality is okay, it’s also not exactly how I picture his parents to think, but I’m saying it’s inherently better than a homophobic bigot who throws around slurs. Again, not much can be said here, it’s just an observation to think about.

8) My thoughts.

So by now you must be wondering “alright summer, we got it, you don’t like the abusive parent trope, you can stop shoving it down our throats. But if so, what exactly do you hc?” (I’m kidding, no one’s thinking that last bit, but am I still going to tell you? I absolutely am.)

Family is and always will be very important to me as a person and a writer, whether I’m writing for a romantic ship, a platonic friendship, or even just a childhood fic, the main character(s)’s family means a lot to me, both for the development and for my own background knowledge. This is why as soon as I took an interest in Sebastian I got to work exploring his parental relationships and their potential dynamics, (which is actually how I gathered the majority of the research for this post, although I’m also just a loser who knows a lot about lawyers). I have a Google doc dedicated to how I planned Sebastian’s life pre-Dalton, all the way back to his parents first meeting in college, and if anybody would be interested in looking at that please feel free to ask me because I would absolutely love to discuss exactly how I see the two of them. But, until then, to keep this short and sweet, I see Sebastian’s parents as busy, very work centric, but still loving and extremely spoiling people, especially towards their son. I think they try and make as much time for Sebastian as they possibly can, but when they find themselves overrun with work they fill the gap with material gifts, like (in his childhood) toys, expensive clothes, gadgets, and eventually a car. It’s a simple means of ‘we have the money to give him whatever he wants, so we’re going to do exactly that.’ I have many different reasons as to why I think he is as spoiled as he is, ranging from Sebastian being what is known as a ‘miracle child’ to the differentiation in how his parents were raised, but I won’t go on about it too much here, so once again, if you’re interested, drop me a DM. Individually though, this is how I see both Mr and Mrs Smythe.

Sebastian’s father: I picture him to be the type of person to be quite family oriented, but still extremely work dedicated and a determined lawyer, which is why he’s a role model to his son. His job doesn’t allow him too much flexibility in regards to when he works, so while he puts in as much effort as he can in his free time, sometimes work can be a hinderance (but again, not to the point of neglect). Equally, between him and his wife, I see Sebastian actually having his dad wrapped up around his finger in comparison to his mom, who I picture to be a little sterner. (maybe that “I bet he could make sure that got to them” line stuck with me a little too much, considering it’s context.) And overall I see him as the slow-burner parent, one it takes a lot to anger, Sebastian has to really push his luck in order to disappoint his dad, but if he does happen to get mad (ie: after the slushy incident) he’s going to simmer in it for a little while, which I think would cause healthy conflict between father and son. They’re close, so when somethings gotten between them, you know its no joke.

Whereas in regards to Sebastian’s mother, as I previously said I see her as the more hotheaded, ‘sparky’ parent, the type of person who can be quite argumentative and headstrong (which is where Sebastian gets it from), but tends to come down easier, which resolves problems quicker. While her husband is reluctant to punish Sebastian unless it’s something serious, she is quick to reprimand his bratty quips and bad attitude. As a person I see her as very work motivated and not at all fussed about family life, that is until she actually has Sebastian, and despite the fact that I see them as very similar in regards to personality, which means they happen to clash quite often, she adores him with her whole heart. I think they both do.

However, no matter how spoiled I picture Sebastian to be, his parents are not pushovers. He is not getting away with extremities, like the slushy ordeal, and even though I am forcefully set in my ideas about these people not being abusive, I still think there’s going to be arguments and disagreements, especially when it comes to these sorts of things. Not only are arguments common in all families, but when it comes to appropriately punishing a child who is so use to getting away with everything, it’s going to spark a conflict. Which is one of the few reasons I feel Sebastian continued pushing his luck when it came to the New Directions, things were cracking at the seams due to his own actions, and his determination to come out on top dug him a hole he couldn’t climb out of without admitting he was in the wrong and apologising.

I have developed a lot of ideas as to why I think Sebastian Smythe is the way he is, varying from the likes of internal mental issues, rebellious freedom, his parents getting busier, and in general just his over confidence in himself and determination to win. But you know what? No reason will ever be ‘reason’ enough for the crap he was pulling back then, nothing he was facing makes blinding Blaine or being rude to Karofsky or the Finn photos acceptable. I just like to think these side stories make his redemption- something that he had to learn to deal with instead of taking out his losses elsewhere- all the more sweeter, because at the end of the day, he has to want it. (Shameless plug but my fic ‘The Family I Found At Dalton.’ starts to explain the surface of this relationship despite the fact chapter one is about Nick Duval, and chapter two will delve much deeper into Seb when I get around to finishing it.)

I’ve made the in-depths of the Parisian move and Sebastian’s coming out far too complex to discuss in this already huge post, so again I say, if you wanted to see a different opinionated take on how that would work without abusive plots, please ask, because I have a lot to say.

Also I have dubbed Sebastian’s parents as Nathaniel and Gabrielle because them having long, French names you can shorten just like Sebastian makes my heart do the flips. It has been actual hell not referring to them by those names this entire essay by the way.

9) Conclusion.

At the end of the day, we know nothing about these two people as individuals, canonically we don’t know their names or their personalities, or their relationships with Sebastian, and as Glee is a fictional show with awfully inconsistent storylines and correlations to the real world, if we went back in time and gave the writing team this post, they would most likely just ignore every point I made in favour of doing their own thing, which yknow what? They’re entitled to do so, just like you guys are. Every point I’ve made today can be ignored simply because you like the trope, and that’s awesome for you. I don’t want it to seem like I’m trying to sway anyone or be inconsiderate to those who like this hc, that’s the beauty of fanfic, you can make and enjoy whatever you like and avoid the stuff you don’t. This was simply a way for me to express why I’m not a fan of this ‘popular’ idea, why I don’t think it personally works in context of the occupational knowledge I have and the impact it has on Sebastian’s development, and that be all. I’m very set in my ways about this personally, and I’m exceptionally attached to my version of Seb’s parents (Jamie and Hannah will tell you,) because like I said, family and originality mean everything to me as a writer, and as my discord friends know, I spent and still am spending a lot of time fleshing them out with original flaws and highlights of their own.