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castiel-left-his-mark-on-me · 2 years

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I know a million people have already shared their opinions and thoughts on Jensen’s “brother” comment in regards to the confession, so this may be nothing new; but I can’t stop thinking about it so I wanted to write it down.

One of the main reasons I love (and kept watching) SPN over the years was because of Dean’s character-growth. He is just so human—and that is a testament to both Jensen’s acting, as well as Jensen’s age when he started playing Dean.

For fifteen years, we got to observe all those micro and macro changes within Dean’s character; much like a parent watching their child grow up. We noticed how Dean’s face changed, how his voice and confidence and openness morphed and grew … but we also got to see all the ways he stayed the same. We got to see his habits resurface again and again; and we got to see him make the same mistakes over and over. And even though it was frustrating to watch at times … it was also very, very human. It was natural. It felt real … and I think that was both intentional and unintentional on Jensen’s part.

But just like how our growing child can’t see all these changes within themselves, I don’t think Jensen can see them all within Dean—not like how we can. He’s too close; but that doesn’t mean he hasn’t psychoanalyzed Dean Winchester.

I think it’s become obvious in the last couple of years just how much Jensen has thought about Dean’s thought process, both individually as well as in the SPN canon—and he thinks of Dean as a real person. His answer at VanCon proves that. Like @pray4jensen said: it’s clear that Jensen doesn’t know where he ends and Dean begins. And how could he know? He started playing/shaping Dean in his late twenties; and science has proven that most people’s brains are still malleable at that age. He then went on to grow with that character well into adulthood—through all the formidable and pivotal moments in his own life … marriage, fatherhood, life and death. Dean IS part of him. He wasn’t just an “act” to Jensen. So much of his own development couldn’t help but sneak into Dean’s mannerisms, which made Dean feel very, very real on screen.

Think of it this way … so many of us have had difficult/complicated pasts. We have had to code-switch all our lives. There’s a version of yourself that you have to display in certain company and in certain environments; and sometimes, that version pops up without warning—when triggered by something familiar or traumatic.

Now, I’m not saying that playing Dean was a “trauma” for Jensen (at least—I hope it wasn’t), I’m just saying that we’ve all had experience playing a role in our lives; and even though we know that it’s just a role, we still think of it as a version of ourselves. We still feel like we’re just a moment away from reverting back to that person. But can you define all the qualities of that other version of you? Can you explain—in detail, just how and when and why that version pops up? No.

You can identify some things, sure, but not all. That’s why we seek out therapy. We need an outside perspective to help us find a way to bridge these versions of ourselves and make them whole again.

This is just human nature. It’s human psychology.

Dean Winchester is a version of Jensen. He is a real part of Jensen’s life. So, when Jensen answers on Dean’s behalf, he can’t help but put himself directly into that character’s boots—exactly where they stand, here and now.

And if we flash back to that confession—Jensen knows that Dean Winchester would not have been able to comprehend all the ways Castiel meant “I love you” because Jensen was Dean in that moment. And after Cas was taken, Dean still wouldn’t have been able to understand, because all the love he has ever known in his life—all the true, dependable, reliable love, has come along with the fight. Jensen knows—because he lived it all with Dean, that any love his character felt was a direct result of his battles to save the world. Sam, Benny, Mary, Charlie, Kevin, and on and on … all of them of course cared for Dean—Dean knew that, but since the constant fighting framed every one of those relationships, he couldn’t help but view them all the same way: as soldiers, fighters, products of war. They were family, yes ... but they were all still soldiers. Even those he tried to keep out of the war, Dean still knew the reality was … they had to fight in order to stay alive. That was just the way it was. That was the way of the love Dean felt. Any kind of love beyond that was impossible, because war would inevitably take it away too. That’s why he ended things with Cassie and Lisa. That’s why he only ever pursued shallow flings and one-night stands. And that’s why, when he saw hunters who actually maintained romantic relationships—he always stared at them in wide-eyed-wonder.

Out of all the impossible things Dean had witnessed in his life, that was the one that consistently shocked him.

Hunters … in love and happy.

It felt unreal, even though it was right there in front of his eyes.

He couldn’t understand it. So, even though it apparently was possible for others, he never believed it was possible for him. It had nothing to do with sex … sex wasn’t a part of love for Dean. Sex was just a physical movement, like fighting and eating. It kept his body alive and moving forward. This impossible love he saw others maintaining … it had everything to do with heart; and for nearly fifteen years, Dean believed his heart was worthless.

It wasn’t until an angel stood in front of him on the brink of death and said: Dean, you are not a weapon to be wielded. You are beautiful. You are a man full of love who deserves to be loved, and I love you, that Dean thought any different.

It wasn’t until he heard Castiel say Dean was more than just a soldier, that Dean actually started to believe it. But that realization was still a long way off from what Castiel was actually telling him.

And Castiel knew that Dean wouldn’t understand—he knew that Dean wouldn’t be able to fully grasp his words and take them to heart; but he hoped that if he at least said them out loud … if he said them to Dean’s face and saved the man’s life, that Dean would go on to live and grow; and then someday, he would see that someone did actually love him once. Cas truly loved him—not because Dean could protect him in a fight. Not because he was a good hunter or the savior of the world, but because Dean was Dean, and that was enough.

And you know, if Dean got to live to 100, he just might’ve realized that; but he didn’t. He died too soon. And so, he never got to truly grasp what his angel was saying, and I feel like that’s what Jensen understands about Dean the most.

He understands that Dean never got the chance to understand love.

Not in that way. Not in the way Castiel meant it.

Dean was still too naive, too broken, too jaded; so, he did what all humans do, he put the complex into terms he could understand, and that was that Castiel loved him the way that Sam loved him. The way that Benny and Charlie and Kevin loved him, the way that all his found-family love him; and after Cas was gone, he buried his face into his hands and wept because once again, he failed to protect his family. And even worse, he failed to at least let Castiel go knowing that Dean loved him too—in the only way he knows how to love, he was too broken to say even that.

He let Castiel down in every way possible, so he curled into himself and sobbed.

He should have said it back.

He should have held the angel close and said it back.

Dean realized it too late, and Jensen knows how much that hurt him.

It wasn’t about sex.

It wasn’t about romance.

It was about love and loss, and Dean was all too familiar with both—but only in the ways he had seen all his life.

The love of family and the loss of family.

He never had the chance for more.

He never got to see what else his own heart was capable of.

That’s what I feel Jensen meant with that answer, and that’s what I think he understands the most about Dean's character. We may be able to see the bigger picture because we're on the outside looking in; but Jensen was in Dean’s boots every day for fifteen years.

All he could ever see was what was right in front of him—and when Castiel made that confession, Jensen could only see it through Dean's eyes. He could only feel what Dean felt. He knows that when Castiel said those words to him, that was his best and truest friend in the world saying goodbye.

Another brother-in-arms was lost to him; but this time, it felt different. It hurt more, and if Dean just had a little more time—he would've been able to understand why.

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thisisadonaldduckblognow · 6 months

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i for one would like to know where this "family therapist bearing everyone's feelings" mikey fanon even comes from

to say nothing for "raph and leo were having constant terrible arguments and poor baby mikey was so upset and traumatized about it that he curled up hidden away in donnie's lab where donnie comforted him, powerless to do anything about the fighting" bc like

well the family therapist thing fascinates me but i think i've talked about that and why it doesn't read true to me before.

and the pre-movie raph and leo fighting so bad headcanon stuff, though, bugs me doubly hard bc i would assume that start of movie is like. as bad as it got for that tension. the breaking point. like, lecturing and needling that didn't come to a full head (raph punching out leo's wall and then trying to square up w leo) until leo specifically messed up a mission that involved the foot clan (which i would imagine is kind of a trigger point seeing as the last result of "foot clan gathers mysterious artifacts" was "the world almost ends, we lost our home, gram gram died in front of us, we nearly lost our dad etc").

like. mikey was fine as anything blowing off training w leo! he was having a grand ol time, doing his best lil bro copycatting of leo's smugness, playing the "every time raph says hero take a bite of pizza" game no complaints, no looks of doubt. heck, donnie's fine going along with the goofing off too! when raph follows leo into his room to try to talk to him, mikey and donnie both straight-up have their faces pressed to the window to try to eavesdrop! they both look equally freaked out about the sudden escalation to Big Punch!

like idk the evidence is just not there for me to buy the fanon interpretation on this one. there's no world where mikey and donnie wouldn't get fed tf up and stick their noses in that business if it was so upsetting imo. i think everyone's movie characterization suffers a little bit overall tho tbh, that's a whole other post though

#rottmnt #rottmnt movie #rise of the tmnt #rottmnt mikey #idk man there's just.#a character being more emotionally open than his fam doesnt automatically make him the family therapist #esp when a lot of what we do get of the dynamics in show makes it pretty clear mikey is 100% The Baby and sheltered #like it kind of grates on him even esp coming from raph! bc he WANTS to be seen as on more even ground etc

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hiinamori · 14 days

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I just skimmed through the entire manga to gather new icons and Momo really is just the entire series' punching bag huh....

#emotionally manipulated by the man she admired most in the world #almost fatally stabbed. twice.#having all of her bones broken by ayon and requiring organ regeneration #slammed into the ground by gerard #can kubo leave my girl alone during her appearances for FIVE MINUTES #— out of character.

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fahbee · 6 months

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Who really truly actually thought that ofmd would end with steady hands???? When you see the utter lovesick mooncalf soppy af way that Ed and Stede have been shown to feel about each other over and over and over again - and some people honestly thought that Izzy was going to join that relationship???? Like. Come on, man. Be serious.

#ofmd spoilers #ofmd s2 spoilers #honesty this ending is the best thing to ever happen to that ship #it was NEVER going to happen in the show #OBVIOUSLY #but this ending gives fic writers so much room #fucking hobbit fandom has masterpieces based on ‘nobody dies’ au fics #here izzy is redeemed for his hateful past w Ed #reconciled with both Ed and Stede #just write an AU where he didn’t die #they left all three characters in a good place emotionally and with each other #fertile ground for those AUs 🤷🏽‍♀️🤷🏽‍♀️🤷🏽‍♀️

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scoopsgf · 2 years

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im really conflicted with lorelai because on one hand, she raised her daughter by herself after becoming a teen mom and basically got her life together on her own. on the other hand, she’s not a great parent- i hate to say it but if lorelai fed her daughter junk food and was flaky as a mom, but great as a best friend, most people around her in the real world would question her parenting style. i get that her relationship with her parents is unstable due to lasting traumas but the way she treats her parents even after they paid for rory’s school irks me. she didn’t treat max right, she wasn’t always great to sookie, and it’s just a multitude of things that make me appreciate her, but not like her.

hmm… i can see this, but i feel like lorelai gets demonized for a lot of normal, little mistakes that most parents and people in general make. coming from someone who wishes that they had a lorelai for a mom, i’m more willing to look past the tiny infractions. the junk food thing is purely for comedic effect so i really don’t take it into consideration when i judge lorelai’s parenting skills (plus we see fruits and vegetables in their fridge on multiple occasions, and while lor and rory often go out to eat, rory could easily order like, a salad from luke’s if she wanted. he’d be happy to make that for her, meaning she does have access to healthy foods, not to mention her chilton lunch meals are definitely nutritionally balanced). anyway, i wouldn’t call lorelai a flaky mom at all. in fact i’d say she’s almost overly invested in rory’s life: she always wants to know what’s going on, she goes out of her way to make sure rory has what she needs, and she’s constantly trying to maintain an open line of communication with her daughter. while she doesn’t always go about this the right way, it’s her intentions that really matter—she wants rory to know she can come to her, that she can trust her. she makes rory dresses from scratch and fills their house with books and music and goes to business school so she can make a better life for them. she puts aside her pride to ensure that rory’ll have the best education possible. yeah, she can be selfish and immature at times, and she screws up, but so does everyone and that’s literally the point of the show: all the characters on gg are meant to be realistic, they’re meant to frustrate the audience at times and piss people off, because that’s just human nature. no one can be perfect, but lorelai is definitely a really great mom. she just has deep-seated issues when it comes to things like boys and intimacy and secret keeping, which given her upbringing is kind of hard to put her down for (though it does drive me crazy at times). anyway yeah, idk, my point is that of course she can’t be perfect but compared to a lot of moms (both in fiction and irl) she does pretty damn well.

#asks #anon #gilmore girls #lorelai gilmore #i rag on her a lot for her treatment of jess and stuff but like #other than how she handles rory’s romantic relationships and all that #she does such a good job of raising rory?#and while it was of course generous of emily and richard to pay for rory’s tuition #that doesn’t mean lorelai is obligated to just forget her entire past with them and worship the ground they walk on #they did kind of treat her like crap. i mean they gave her opportunities and made sure she was in great schools and all that #but that’s kind of the bare minimum considering their lifestyle #and they refused to understand who she was as a person. they emotionally neglected her. they shamed her for being a normal teenaged girl #anyone growing up in that household with all of those unrealistic expectations would feel suffocated and resentful #lorelai didn’t really get to have a childhood. she wasn’t a ‘kid’ she was a ‘young lady’#and there’s a big difference in how that affects a child from a developmental standpoint. believe me i’ve been studying this stuff #for the past three years #treating a kid like they should already be behaving with maturity and putting them down for every mistake #screws with their brain chemistry #anyway. hhhhh i will criticize her but i will also defend her. i have so many mixed feelings about her #which if anything is just a reflection of how three dimensional she is as a character

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navree · 22 days

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Not sure if this has been mentioned anywhere else here but which are your favorite Jason Todd comic book runs?

Honestly, probably any of his stuff from when he was Robin in the 80s, I love Robin!Jason and he gets so frequently mischaracterized not just by the fandom but literally by modern writers within DC canon that someone needs to stick up for the little guy. I also include For The Man Who Has Everything in that because there's something very Good about little twelve year old Jason being the one who saves Batman from the Black Mercy, Superman from Mongol, and literally defeats Mongol in the process, I wish more people remembered that.

For Red Hood Jason, I hate to be a disappointment but I don't really keep up with modern DC because it pisses me off so egregiously (I tried guys, I did, but Gotham War is the last fucking straw, someone call me when they're sort of back to normal because what the fuck do you mean Bruce doesn't have a hand anymore???). So for Red Hood Jason, I tend to stick to Under the Red Hood, it's a solid story and has some great individual moments and I think it gives some solid characterization to a new iteration of Jason (that following stories immediately forgot but that's because DC didn't know what the fuck to do with Jason).

And for individual stories that have Jason in them, I wish I could remember the name and issue, but the book where Jason kidnaps Mia Dearden is great, I'm never not thinking about it, and Jason has a great moment during that whole arc where Kate Kane kills Clayface (I think it's Batman #951 or #967 but the number could be wrong, I just know that it's in the 900s). Also, it's not canon and I don't really care for the characterization or artwork, but Gotham Knights: Gilded City #5 had a moment about Jason that is simultaneously heartwrenching and also hysterically funny (both Jason and Tim are in trouble and Bruce is trying to figure out who to get to first and, upon being told by Alfred that Jason can handle himself and Tim is arguably in more danger, proceeds to ignore all of that and monologue about how he needs to go halfway around the world to get Jason because he's suffered too much already and he doesn't think either the family or he specifically could survive losing him again, which is very emotional but also sends me into fucking fits because he really just bowled over the fact that Jason could be fine and Tim might need him more without a second thought, it makes me so grateful my parents only had two kids and I'm the eldest so that I never had to witness the parenting of a middle child).

#personal #answered #anonymous #comic recommendations #ironically there's a reason for why when my mom asked for comic recs (long story) i gave her jed mackay's doctor strange run #even tho i'm much more emotionally invested in dc's characters #modern dr strange is enjoyable for me to read and modern batman Has Not Been #i would just like a character i have loved since age 7 to stop being written as an absolute shithead #just to appeal to a male power fantasy that does not jive at all with his established characterization #and to also stop being awful to his fucking children #the only good thing about That moment from gotham war is that someone actually stood up for jason #so grateful dick beat bruce into the ground for it i'm glad someone had jason's fucking back and was angry For him #and the harm done to him #but yeah read eighties jason he's a little baby and i love him so much #(also read detective comics 571 if you want to cry cry cry due to unintentional foreshadowing)

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sharkneto · 2 months

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How is Migrations rated that highly on Goodreads. Absolutely insufferable book, glad to be done with it.

#maybe its got good emotions going on idk #I couldn't get over how fucking bad the science in it was #wish the main character had been a real scientist instead of whatever the fuck franny had going on - which was /a lot/#less franny's emotionally disturbed problems more actual apocalypse of All The Animals Are Dying would have gone a long long way #man the longer i sit here thinking about it the madder i get #i would beg the author to have talked to actual animal and environmental scientists before she wrote whatever that was #''i random woman who longs for the sea is the only person who wants to follow these terns - some of the last birds on earth - on their--''#''--full migration and i have to beg to do it (but for my own personal selfish reasons and not actually for science or conservation)''#/in what fucking world/#one of the ''conservationists'' in the book actually said ''we cant just follow a bird's full migration'' SINCE WHEN #and they forced some fish-eating birds to eat seeds so theyd ''adapt'' and have a better chance to survive #and and mc's husband - a man with a phd in ornithology was like ''oh dont touch that bird egg or the bird will smell it and reject it!''#/it was a crow. it was an ///egg/// on the ground. it would have been /fine//#///he was a professor of ornithology and the author had him say that bullshit///#god im so curious if my twin will like this book or not #shes the one who was originally curious about it and i just happened to pick it up first #i am curious the reading experience if you are not someone who works directly with actual ornithologists #book club

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wizardelf · 3 months

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i feel like the only person in the world who prefers the gameplay and exploring more than the characters in bg3

#sorry most of them are meh to me #like they're fun lil guys i enjoy playing my game with but karlach is the only one who has made me feel something beyond #'wow that's crazy'#theyre my beloved coworkers ❤️#i definitely emotionally connect w wyll the most. hes the most grounded character to me #nicely done colette

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unofficialadamtaurus · 2 years

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100% on everything you said.

it’s just like. as a woc and a wlw, i can see how i’m treated differently based on both.

for many queer or gnc people, they can hide their identity to protect themselves. in the workplace this is called “covering” and can happen to a lot of different groups.

but i can’t hide my race/ethnicity. it’s visible from the moment someone looks at me, reads my name, sees my Very Ethnic features, etc.

racism shares certain aspects in common with queerphobia/transphobia (of course). but fundamentally these types of discrimination end up being two different things and trying to speak over one group because you’re part of the other doesn’t make sense.

white queer people trying to speak over poc in the fandom and excusing racism isn’t good and i’ve seen it happen in the rwby fandom WAY too much.

anyways mood below

Well said.

#illusory-torrent #unofficial adam answers #rwby #racism in fandom #adam is a fascinating intersection of multiple types of bigotry (projected and otherwise):#racism (against him and in how his character is written)#homophobia (projected because he fought the bees)#misogyny (projected because he hit blake + emotionally manipulated her)#and because the racism is the one thing that's 'in favor' of his character #(i.e. not just another reason to spit on his corpse)#people do not seem capable of looking through the other hot topics to flip their understanding of him as a character #and particularly from a meta perspective #so they instead see accusations of racism as someone 'grasping for straws' to 'defend Adam'#but that's missing the point #while yes adam was (imo) completely justified in wanting to burn the world to the ground...#most of the racism comes from how the writers planned out his arcs and traits and so on #so it's not about 'defending adam' - it's about dissecting why his character should never have existed as it does in canon #we should never have gotten to this point.

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sourstiless · 2 years

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i’m not gonna lie to you. you’re friends are not prepared for this fight. hawkins will fall.

song: exit music (for a film) – radiohead

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crypt1dcorv1dae · 1 year

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static brain rot still going strong, guys. love this gaggle of nerds so much

#like in the cartoon im not that emotionally invested in anybody but the mains but in the new comics??? i love them all #virgil and daisy and frieda and darius and richie and virgils family and- ???? theyre all...... so good. i love them all so much #like they all show up for not altogether very many panels and yet the ones that they are there they just... i love em #especially daisy like shes so good and i feel like she has more facets to her character than in the show #and for the original comics i cant really say cus i havent read far enough in for her to really show up more than once #but ywah the added dimensions to daisy in the new comics with her being a meta is exactly what was needed #and adding darius into the group rebalances things really well too... hes a grounding presence i feel like??? like hes... hes so good #i love darius sm

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davlucies · 1 year

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remember when imbalance came out and people managed to be upset griffin handled dav's perspective about cycle 92 & his relationship with lucretia with sensitivity, nuance, and realism

#imbalance #discourse wank #i'm still upset about this... people don't ever explore/care about how dav thinks/feels... all they care about is hating on lucretia #this was such a moving thing to hear articulated too... imagine saying you like dav but not caring what griffin says about/as him??#bc you'd rather see the sole canon woc vilified and insulted.. and all the complex moral and interpersonal issues in canon glossed over #i mean if my headcanons had been jossed more aggressively in imbalance maybe i'd be upset but idk. it's just more angst/meat to write abt!!#think of it as a good fun creativity-inducing thing!!! come write emotionally complex dav fics that engage w canon!!! please..anyone.... 🥺#there is so much interesting there & it's the worst feeling being alone in thinking that... and having no one to write for & talk to....#i miss when fandoms were fun & creative and like a positive thing. just liking the characters/story and chatting & making stuff about them #i still remember when imbalance happened and someone got mad at me for being happy about it bc of course... of course. it's a taz fan!#i couldn't even be happy about imbalance with anyone because my harmless ship is so bad and weird to every single taz fan! cool!!#they're fucking friends! he regrets not supporting her and letting her voice be heard! he thinks he shares some of the blame for it all!!#sorry but you can personally dislike a ship without collectively & baselessly gaslighting me that it's abusive bc of what you're projecting #i'd daresay after 100+ years of friendship davenport nd lucretia love each other deeply despite everything..imbalance propped that up a lot #but you don't even wanna write or read about that do you...#dav having emotionally grounded and complex thoughts and feelings? not in this fandom. lucy being treated kindly? banish the thought...#also davlucy is CUTE. they're nerds. they're hardworking and devoted to saving lives and to their friends. they care for each other !!

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gothmods · 1 year

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Started watching interview with the vampire since i finally got in the right headspace ( watching of heavier things requires the right mood) but yeah wheres that post about lestat prancing around like a pony on ket i thought i bookmarked it and yet

#im only 2 episodes in but im very interested in his deal #not in a relating way more like i find him very emotionally immature in a weird way though since its clear he knows how to manipulate the #emotions of others #louis' character has a lot more in terms of looking at doubt and shame and ironically the complexities of very human experiences #i like him i think theyve done a really good job fleshing out a character you really feel for and also like #someone for whom vampirism as a vehicle to explore the negative works #i like his dynamic with daniel #the skepticism and bluntness is needed to keep things from getting too?#theatrical? idk like it brings louis back to reality in a way #reality as in it grounds him i suppose #im bad at explaining i just feel all the changes have made for a much more interesting louis but also one who you can connect with #meanwhile lestat is on another planet and its fun to watch but i do not feel for him and you can tell he doesnt retain any real connection #or at least thats what i think after 2 episodes #to having been human and behind his careful calculated actions he still feels very self centered in a careless impulsive kind of way #whereas even without daniels questioning louis clearly still exists as part of the world around him

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reachexceedinggrasp · 1 year

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I've come to realise that as much as I'm completely fine with formula and will happily enjoy formulaic stories, I just really dislike the standard romance outline that includes the Second Act Break Up. I hate break ups after the definitive get together. I want it to be When You Know You Know and there never being any doubt that this is The Person no matter how much doubt there is about practical problems you might have to face to be together.

Internal obstacles are for pre-mutual feelings acknowledgement. After the mutual feelings acknowledgement, I want external obstacles. And if anyone tries any post-get together noble idiot bullshit where they pretend not to love the other person for x (usually stupid) reason, I want the other person to see through it basically immediately. A misunderstanding should not be able to break up the main couple after they have an established connection. Misunderstandings are for before there's real communication happening and when everyone is super insecure. Once there's a relationship, they should be talking to each other.

(Thus my constant refrain that any problem which can be solved by a thirty second conversation there is no reason for the characters not to have is unacceptable as a dramatic conflict. It is insulting to the audience and makes your characters look stupid. Comedy is different, it can have ridiculous conflicts, but it's a sliding scale where how long the conflict lasts is inversely proportional to how silly it is. To keep the plot going, comedy has to constantly escalate by heaping new problems on top of the original problem, every attempt to fix it making it worse until the climax when it all explodes. Comic characters try to have the conversation, but it keeps going wrong. The secret to this not being infuriating is it being fast-paced, funny, and not played for drama.

Having a comic conflict and suddenly asking me to take it super seriously is death for so many romcoms. Actually, it's been death for many dramadies in general. It's just bad writing, my dudes. Comic events can have dramatic fall out if handled skilfully enough, but comic conflict cannot support a dramatic plot arc.)

#writing #I'm just babbling #I'm very 'this is my one person whom I shall love forever' orientated #the otp has to otp themselves or what is the point #people can despair of getting to be together but I don't want them to be like practical and grounded #looking at getting into a relationship like it's a business merger kind of stuff #I want them to be thinking 'alas I will pine forever' not 'well that's a shame we seemed fairly compatible'#wanton romanticism or nothing okay #this is why multishipping and causal shipping is against my religion #even if I try to do it it ends up in shameless romantic idealism anyway #I'm contributing nothing of value I just keep being reminded how annoyed I am by second act breakups #it's okay if they're not definitively together yet or if the characters think they will be forcibly separated #(never accepting the separation will mean their feelings will change)#but I can't stand them just giving up on their relationship or emotionally checking out for cheap drama

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waterfall-ambience · 2 years

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not me weighing the pros and cons of each prose pov in order to maximise the horror and tragedy of a story

#auri rambles #'yes yes if i write exs pov we get the horror of knowing something terrible is happening to you and being powerless to stop it #and the tragedy of ex accepting their fate but desperately trying to convince themself that everything is going to be fine'#'but if i do worm man's pov we get the horror of watching someone you care about go through so much pain and being powerless to help #also it can set up important themes and ideas about The Narrative and its greater importance in his arc #as well as the horror of the situation- being caught in a system thats so incomprehensibly big and powerful that you cant do anything about #and 3rd person omniscient? well at this point we're just risking head-hopping and im struggling to keep it focused and grounded #it could work but the narrator is more detached from the characters and might diminish the emotional weight and confusion they go through #unfortunately the tragedy is about both of them in different ways and it marks a turning point in their individual and joint arcs #considering the subject matter 3rd person omni- seeing the characters through the eyes of a distant god- doesnt work that well #even if the point is that they are cosmic playthings having an all-knowing pov would work to better effect if the situation wasnt meant #to be so emotionally important for both of them #do i just write the same scenario 2-3 different times?#ugh i'll sort this out later

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novlr · 8 months

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How to Write Betrayal

Betrayal is a powerful plot element that is represented in countless stories. The gravity of betrayal brings a profound depth to character dynamics, plots, and themes alike, making it an indispensable tool for writers to explore emotions, conflicts, and the complexities of human nature. Let’s explore some quick tips on how to write betrayal!

Behaviour

Secretive actions

Dishonesty

Becoming emotionally distant

A sudden change in routine

Pushing people away

Nervous or fidgety movement

Frequent lying or making up stories

Unexpected aggression or irritability

Unjustified mood swings or emotional outbursts

Increasingly defensive

Interactions

Disturbed interpersonal relationships

Frequent misunderstandings or fights

Withholding information

Avoiding personal discussions

Insincerity in conversations

Frequently cancelling or missing plans

A sudden shift in relationship dynamics

Quick to deflect or place blame

Frequent subject changes

Gradual emotional detachment

Body Language

Avoiding direct eye contact

Defensive stance and crossed arms

Covering mouth or touching face

Shuffling or restless movements

Forcing smiles or laughter

Constantly looking around or at the ground

Stiff, tense posture

Heavy breathing or frequent sighing

Avoiding touch or skin contact

Exaggerated gestures

Attitude

A lack of concern or empathy

Increasingly personal and hurtful arguments

Erratic or unpredictable reactions

Self-centeredness

Insincerity

Dismissive or negative attitude

Callous disregard for other's feelings

A negative or pessimistic outlook

Inability to handle criticism

Withdrawal from relationships

Positive Story Outcomes

In the wake of a betrayal, a story can manifest various positive outcomes that add depth to the plot and its characters. Relationships can be strengthened, showing their resilience. Characters may discover newfound self-reliance and learn valuable lessons about trust and forgiveness, leading to an increase in empathy and understanding, personal growth, and the reinforcement of personal values. These experiences can encourage a clearer understanding of personal boundaries, prompt self-reflection, introspection, and the development of healthier coping mechanisms. Ultimately, these positive outcomes can bring about improved communication and honesty, forming the silver lining in the cloud of betrayal.

Negative Story Outcomes

The aftershocks of betrayal can reverberate throughout your story. This might include an irreparable fracture of trust and damage to relationships. Betrayal can trigger psychological trauma, leading to an increase in suspicion and insecurity. Feelings of inadequacy or self-blame may surface, and characters can experience a heightened sense of isolation. The fear of forming new relationships or trusting others can become overwhelming. There may also be an escalation of conflict or violence and the reinforcement of negative behaviours or patterns. Damaged self-esteem or self-worth may be another repercussion, and this can encourage destructive coping mechanisms.

Helpful Synonyms

Treachery

Deception

Double-crossing

Duplicity

Backstabbing

Two-faced

Disloyalty

Unfaithfulness

Infidelity

Falseness

Perfidy

Treason

Fraud

Deceit

Slander

Misrepresentation

Falsification

Chicanery

Double-dealing

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