#sympathetic impulse

[veliseraptor]

"...what is gained in granting characters some say in their own destiny might easily be lost in dimunition of audience sympathy. It seems to have been a risk that Shakespeare deliberately elected to take. In his last few tragedies, he made increasing demands on the humane tolerance (or perhaps on the Christian charity, in the most radical sense) of his audience. We are not expected to agree, in every case, that the protagonist is more sinned against than sinning; we are expected, on the basis of our common humanity with the offending protagonist, to offer sympathy unqualified by the necessity for exoneration. It is a demand too radical for Aritotle, for Farnham, for most audiences. Most are too ready to rue the absence of less deeply-flawed heroes, too ready to accuse Shakespeare of having sat down to eat with publicans and sinners."

L.T. Fitz, "Egyptian Queens and Male Reviewers: Sexist Attitudes in Antony and Cleopatra Criticism", Shakespeare Quarterly, Vol. 28, No. 3 (Summer, 1977)

[gretahayes]

This kid is such a strange, fucked up, sad little freak, I can’t believe they didn’t keep him around longer

[cluescorner]

Randomized Robins AU - Ages + Worst Trait Exercise:

Steph (25):

Says her worst trait is her murderous rages (she is exaggerating for dramatic/comedic effect, she’s killed 3 people tops and for very good reason)

Thinks her worst trait is her spitefulness (one of the few traits she definitely got from her father + one that prevents her from fixing her relationships and living her best possible life. She’ll refuse to interact with someone she dearly loves after an argument (happens significantly less after Tim’s death) or will say things she knows are hurtful just for the sake of having the last word. This trait will worsen in some ways as the list of people who have wronged her and those she loves grows, but will also ease up as she matures and realizes the harm it’s doing to her relationships with those she loves most.)

Her worst trait really is her spitefulness

Cass (26)

Says her worst trait is her self-righteousness (she believes that her goals are righteous and, as a result, she is righteous. Cass becomes very defensive whenever someone questions the mission and often does not second-guess herself. This is a trait she only develops later in life as she grows closer to Bruce/learns to understand herself more/starts to love herself more. But she knows she isn’t perfect and when somebody she trusts criticizes something she is doing she is willing to listen. She just usually isn’t the one to START the introspection.) 

Thinks her worst trait is her self-righteousness. 

Her worst trait actually is her obsessiveness (she gets it from Bruce and, while not as bad as him, she will easily become preoccupied with her night-life and the mission if someone isn’t there to pull her back. She will do this to the point of self-destruction and it hurts her relationships with the people she loves, especially Steph.)

Tim (24)

Says his worst trait is his spitefulness (he actively rejects the idea of mending his relationships with the older members of the family and this causes him to also lack good relationships with the younger ones)

Thinks his worst trait is his obsessiveness (similar to Cass, if he gets fixated on a task or idea he will neglect everything else in his life in order to dedicate more time to it. Unlike Cass, he will almost never be dragged away from it unless Pierrot snatches control of the body and forces them to take care of themself.)

His worst trait actually is how manipulative he is (the KING of guilt-tripping and using people’s emotions against them. He’ll do whatever he needs to do to get what he wants, he’s not above crocodile tears. And he will do it to whoever he needs (or wants) to with little care for how his actions impact others.)

Pierrot (Insists: “Age doesn’t apply to me! And even if it did, I'd probably be the oldest. Or the youngest! I’d never be a middle child, though.” Mental assessments by the Bats have put him around 21, with a margin of error of 3 years. Pierrot has called this “blatant character assassination by my eternal rival!”)

Says his worst trait is that he is an irredeemable psychopath without any regard for the wellbeing of others (this is a lie and everyone who's important to him understands this). 

Thinks his worst trait is his parasitic nature (he literally would not exist had Tim not suffered the way he did. Plus he is a living reminder of one of the worst things that happened to many of his loved ones. He is a parasite injected into a functional person's body and contributes to his continued suffering. This is also a largely incorrect judgement of himself, caused by his actual worst trait.)

His worst trait actually is his limited sense of self (he doesn’t really know who he is outside of ‘inheritor to the legacy of the Joker (a man he despises yet also views as a father)’ and ‘chip in Tim’s brain that became sentient’. He slowly develops an identity over the course of his life and relationships with other people, but he lacks the foundations of identity that most people have. Pierrot will often almost become a caricature of himself and what others perceive him to be because it's the only person he knows how to be. This causes wild swings in how he behaves and relates to others, sometimes to the detriment of himself and others.)

Dick (17) 

Says his worst trait is his clinginess (he is a very extraverted person who likes to be around others, which mixed with his fear of abandonment after his parents died means that if he goes a few days without seeing/talking to a friend he will get very anxious.)

Thinks his worst trait is his anger issues (he gets ticked off very easily and will explode on people. He’s kind at his core and is usually very nice, but he has a temper that can escalate significantly. Spoiler (and later Twist) help him channel this anger into something positive.)

His worst trait actually is his anger issues.

Barbara (18)

Says her worst trait is her disability (internalized ableism, she thinks of herself as less valuable than the other Bats because she cannot be out there in the capes like they can. She will grow out of this as she matures and as she learns how invaluable her support for the team is.)  

Thinks her worst trait is her disability 

Her worst trait actually is her overly-independent nature (In an attempt to overcompensate for everything she can no longer do, she has resolved to do literally everything that she possibly can without any help from others. This results in many instances where she either takes on too much and winds up not being able to fully realize any of her tasks or where she makes her life and the lives of others significantly harder by refusing help when offered/not asking for it when she needs it.)

Damian (16)

Says his worst trait is his perfectionism (he is overly critical of both himself and others, taking any flaw or problem and amplifying it to an absurd degree. This is due in part to his life with the LoA (where even a brief misstep could lead to death), in part to how others treated him initially as Spoiler (any flaw was fixated on and used as a reason to either mistrust him or portray him as unworthy of the mantle), and in part due to the fact that he is Bruce’s son (the only person with worse perfectionism problems than Damian). Gradually, Damian has improved in this regard but it’s still a massive barrier to both his own happiness and his relationships with others.)

Thinks his worst trait is his perfectionism 

His worst trait actually is his perfectionism

Duke (16)

Says his worst trait is his definitely-real secret evil side (says this as a ‘my dad is a villain so who knows??’ joke)

Thinks his worst trait is his impulsivity in his words (Sometimes he will crack a joke or say a remark without thinking it through, leading to a LOT of hurt feelings and drama. He’ll say something without thinking it through and wind up seeming insensitive. This isn’t done because of malice, rather because Duke is someone who’s quick to act and speak. But while the mantle of Insight and his awakening powers have helped him with his actions, they do not always help with his loose tongue. As such, Duke gains an unfair reputation in the media as an instigator and will accidentally cause family drama through what he says.)

His worst trait actually is his impulsivity in his words

Jason (14)

Says his worst trait is his bad manners (he grew up on the streets and has no idea how rich-people society works, which he’s pretty insecure about considering he’s now the youngest kid of Bruce freaking Wayne). 

Thinks his worst trait is his reactiveness (Jason never got the privilege of planning ahead for various events in his life, so he instead needed to rely on being swift and harsh in how he could react to situations. It’s saved his life on multiple occasions and helps significantly in his role as Spoiler, but it can also lead to extreme overreactions (accidentally causing kidnapping scare after Jason ran away following a fight with Dick) and a struggle to plan things out ahead of time. As he grows more secure in his place in the family and in life, this trait will lessen but never fully dissipate.)

His worst trait actually is his reactiveness

[spekktors]

I'm tempted to blacklist Kipperlilly Copperkettle because people are so goddamn annoying about her

[givemewallywestorgivemedeath]

Hmm.

I still kinda think these two are double agents and are secretly on the speedster's side.

I keep questioning how they're having such a hard time finding ten brightly colored speedsters when they're not even remotely trying to hide. Surely the elite task force would know how to track down some speedsters? How are a bunch of civilians outsmarting them by... doing nothing? And I kinda think that they're purposely not finding them.

But this just adds to that theory for me. Because Barry and Ace are not stealthy. Not even a little bit. I have a hard time believing that they weren't seen/heard here.

I'm high-key thinking that they did see them and they just said nothing and kept walking tbh.

[deathdxnces]

i think about this a lot...

[steorran]

i feel like the secret shortcut answer to a lot of interpersonal relationship issues is "you are not in control of what other people do, only what you do" but people don't like that answer very much bc they would like to be able to move other people around like barbie dolls

[kyouka-supremacy]

Being in the bsd fandom is fucked up because I keep finding myself wanting to comment under fics / posts “you made the characters extremely ooc and I'm 100% positive they would never act like this in canon. That is to say you made them way more likeable and sympathetic and I honestly love them so much more like this please keep it up” and have no idea if Op is going to take it as an insult or a compliment

[angorwhosebabyisthis]

it's wild because over the years i've gone from shipping nive with some degree or other of fluff/happy endings (or at least hopeful ones; or if it does end badly, it's due to external factors) to just unabashedly wanting them to make each other Worse

[hierarchyproblem]

Kinda like this passage from Altered Carbon

[the-dalseum-duet]

does the heaviness of the entirety of The Lore hit you out of nowhere entirely sometimes or is it. is it just me

like. just thinking about crow’s childhood. you’re THE princess! but you can’t leave the palace. no one needs to see you. but WE all need to see you at all times to make sure you’re okay. we know you don’t like it when Sara has to touch you for hours on end but you’ll die if she doesn’t. you don’t understand why you have to take those pills yet. you don’t understand why Sara broke down sobbing on your first birthday. your mother is rotting away mere feet below where you first learned to walk. she was so mistreated that she could see the outline of your body in hers when she held her breath. you never got to meet the man who is the reason why you’re alive. he sewed you clothes. he embroidered your name on a blanket. he knows who you are. he watches you grow up from miles away. his couch is stained with your blood. he can’t afford a new one.

and all you have is your sister. she’s well-behaved. she has nothing wrong with her. suddenly YOU’RE not the princess anymore. sometimes she speaks in a language you can’t understand. you are not the child of the person who married your father. you are a pet— a pretty little toy worth little more than the woman they poisoned years ago. you have her nose.

she paints you things. she decorates your bandages and gives you stickers for your cane. her hair is shiny and smooth. it’s good for braiding. your father washes yours for you, and he puts some sort of cream in it. he’s gentle then. you see scars on his face when he kisses your forehead. he puts out a cigarette in the bath water when you’re done. you don’t know what “magwi” means yet. your sister taught you “kaek.” that’s your name in the language the tall pink-haired phantom speaks with her.

your father has pictures on his arms. you like the butterfly— “it’s a death’s head hawkmoth” he tells you. your love for bugs started then. he’s nice to you when he’s alone. you knew the smell of alcohol before you even knew what it was. you knew those were nights you would be staying with Sara.

Sara is kind when she isn’t hurting you. she says she’s trying to help you. her pills taste bad. she calls you her friend. sometimes she calls you blaire, then catches herself. you think she’s silly. she likes to listen to you talk about your favorite bugs. she has a picture of a snake where he has his moth. she likes to do your makeup for you. you always think Marie looks much prettier.

[felidthing]

i just had a very long complicated dream about some very ooc homestuck kids. jade might be rooted in some form of fanon at least but i dunno

[autumnday19]

.

[theodysseyofhomer]

i've noticed that when people attempt to handle the horror of the hanged women in the odyssey with care, there is an impulse to make penelope sympathetic to them. one problem with this is that i've read the odyssey, and she clearly isn't, but more tellingly: we know that she used to favor melantho, but any care she had for her has been shoved firmly into the past tense since melantho put a toe out of line. because melantho isn't a real daughter, she's a slave. because this is an issue of class, not female solidarity.

whatever penelope may believe about herself, she is not capable of caring for enslaved women in any meaningful way. this also goes for the rest of the slave-owning class in homer, and probably homer himself (if for the sake of brevity you want to call "homer" a "self"), which i bring up because i think you have to understand the perspective of the text to challenge it. but i notice this problem particularly with penelope because i find her complex and fascinating and i want other people to find her complex and fascinating and give her her dues, but i simply do not think you can do so by making her care about women she owns.

[burntoutdaydreamer]

To Write Better Antagonists, Have Them Embody the Protagonist's Struggles

(Spoilers for The Devil Wears Prada, Avatar the Last Airbender, Kung Fu Panda 2, and The Hunger Games triology).

Writing antagonists and villains can be hard, especially if you don't know how to do so.

I think a lot of writers' first impulse is to start off with a placeholder antagonist, only to find that this character ends up falling flat. They finish their story only for readers to find the antagonist is not scary or threatening at all.

Often the default reaction to this is to focus on making the antagonist meaner, badder, or scarier in whatever way they can- or alternatively they introduce a Tragic Backstory to make them seem broken and sympathetic. Often, this ends up having the exact opposite effect. Instead of a compelling and genuinely terrifying villain, the writer ends up with a Big Bad Edge Lord who the reader just straight up does not care about, or actively rolls their eyes at (I'm looking at you, Marvel).

What makes an antagonist or villain intimidating is not the sheer power they hold, but the personal or existential threat they pose to the protagonist. Meaning, their strength as a character comes from how they tie into the themes of the story.

To show what I mean, here's four examples of the thematic roles an antagonist can serve:

1. A Dark Reflection of the Protagonist

The Devil Wears Prada

Miranda Priestly is initially presented as a terrible boss- which she is- but as the movie goes on, we get to see her in a new light. We see her as an bonafide expert in her field, and a professional woman who’s incredible at what she does. We even begin to see her personal struggles behind the scenes, where it’s clear her success has come at a huge personal cost. Her marriages fall apart, she spends every waking moment working, and because she’s a woman in the corporate world, people are constantly trying to tear her down.

The climax of the movie, and the moment that leaves the viewer most disturbed, does not feature Miranda abusing Andy worse than ever before, but praising her. Specifically, she praises her by saying “I see a great deal of myself in you.” Here, we realize that, like Miranda, Andy has put her job and her career before everything else that she cares about, and has been slowly sacrificing everything about herself just to keep it. While Andy's actions are still a far cry from Miranda's sadistic and abusive managerial style, it's similar enough to recognize that if she continues down her path, she will likely end up turning into Miranda.

In the movie's resolution, Andy does not defeat Miranda by impressing her or proving her wrong (she already did that around the half way mark). Instead, she rejects the values and ideals that her toxic workplace has been forcing on her, and chooses to leave it all behind.

2. An Obstacle to the Protagonist's Ideals

Avatar: The Last Airbender

Fire Lord Ozai is a Big Bad Baddie without much depth or redemptive qualities. Normally this makes for a bad antagonist (and it's probably the reason Ozai has very little screen time compared to his children), but in Avatar: The Last Airbender, it works.

Why?

Because his very existence is a threat to Aang's values of nonviolence and forgiveness.

Fire Lord Ozai cannot be reasoned with. He plans to conquer and burn down the world, and for most of the story, it seems that the only way to stop him is to kill him, which goes against everything Aang stands for. Whether or not Aang could beat the Fire Lord was never really in question, at least for any adults watching the show. The real tension of the final season came from whether Aang could defeat the Fire Lord without sacrificing the ideals he inherited from the nomads; i.e. whether he could fulfill the role of the Avatar while remaining true to himself and his culture.

In the end, he manages to find a way: he defeats the Fire Lord not by killing him, but by stripping him of his powers.

3. A Symbol of the Protagonist's Inner Struggle

Kung Fu Panda 2

Kung Fu Panda 2 is about Po's quest for inner peace, and the villain, Lord Shen, symbolizes everything that's standing in his way.

Po and Lord Shen have very different stories that share one thing in common: they both cannot let go of the past. Lord Shen is obsessed with proving his parents wrong and getting vengeance by conquering all of China. Po is struggling to come to terms with the fact that he is adopted and is desperate to figure out who he is and why he ended up left in a box of radishes as a baby.

Lord Shen symbolizes Po's inner struggle in two main ways: one, he was the source of the tragedy that separated him from his parents, and two, he reinforces Po's negative assumptions about himself. When Po realizes that Lord Shen knows about his past and confronts him, Lord Shen immediately tells Po exactly what he's afraid of hearing: that his parents abandoned him because they didn't love him. Po and the Furious Five struggle to beat Shen not because he's powerful, but because Po can't let go of the past, and this causes him to repeatedly freeze up in battle, which Shen uses to his advantage.

Po overcomes Shen when he does the one thing Shen is incapable of: he lets go of the past and finds inner peace. Po comes to terms with his tragic past and recognizes that it does not define him, while Shen holds on to his obsession of defying his fate, which ultimately leads to his downfall.

4. A Representative of a Harsh Reality or a Bigger System

The Hunger Games

We don't really see President Snow do all that much on his own. Most of the direct conflict that Katniss faces is not against him, but against his underlings and the larger Capitol government. The few interactions we see between her and President Snow are mainly the two of them talking, and this is where we see the kind of threat he poses.

President Snow never lies to Katniss, not even once, and this is the true genius behind his character. He doesn't have to lie to or deceive Katniss, because the truth is enough to keep her complicit.

Katniss knows that fighting Snow and the Capital will lead to total war and destruction- the kind where there are survivors, but no winners. Snow tells her to imagine thousands upon thousands of her people dead, and that's exactly what happens. The entirety of District 12 gets bombed to ashes, Peeta gets brainwashed and turned into a human weapon, and her sister Prim, the very person she set out to protect at the beginning of the story, dies just before the Capitol's surrender. The districts won, but at a devastating cost.

Even after President Snow is captured and put up for execution, he continues to hurt Katniss by telling her the truth. He tells her that the bombs that killed her sister Prim were not sent by him, but by the people on her side. He brings to her attention that the rebellion she's been fighting for might just implement a regime just as oppressive and brutal as the one they overthrew and he's right.

In the end, Katniss is not the one to kill President Snow. She passes up her one chance to kill him to take down President Coin instead.

[dilf-c0nn0isseur]

Can you please do one where the reader gets nipple piercings and Logan goes feral over them? So maybe the reader pulls up downstairs in a braless top and he notices the imprint of the piercings. But maybe everyone else is also downstairs and the other guys notice too. It makes Logan a little possessive but also so horny knowing his girl got her nipples pierced and that he can now do whatever he wants with them.

oh my god loveeee this idea

logan howlett x fem!reader

18+

getting your nipples pierced was an impulsive, spur of the moment decision; you had been out with storm that day and passed the piercing shop, and it took little to no convincing for you to go in and get them done on the spot.

so when you walked downstairs to the lounge that evening, logan was left completely shocked.

your new piercings were no secret when you walked in since you weren’t able to wear a bra, as it would disrupt the healing process. you crossed the room to logan, feeling the eyes of the other people gathered there on you.

“hi babe,” you smiled. “notice anything different?” you planted your hands on your hips as if modeling yourself. logan’s eyes dropped to your tits and narrowed.

“the fuck is that?” he sounded genuinely perplexed.

you became aware that the other people in the lounge had noticed. you grabbed his hand in yours, pulling him up. “come upstairs and i’ll show you,” you said under your breath. he followed you reluctantly, staring down each one of the guys that had dared to catch a glimpse of the jewelry that imprinted against your thin shirt.

he was interrogating you immediately as you got upstairs to your bedroom and closed the door. he shot what seemed like a million questions at you before you rolled your eyes and lifted up your shirt, exposing your bare, freshly-pierced nipples to him.

“they’re piercings logan.”

his jaw dropped slightly at your sudden nude reveal. he felt his jeans tighten around his crotch, the effect on him immediate. his arousal quickly turned into jealousy, his possessiveness over you showing.

“so you’re just inviting everyone to take a look at your tits?,” he growled.

you couldn’t help but laugh at his sudden jealous spark. “is that really what you think?”

logan scoffed, his eyes flicking back up to meet yours. “i’m the only one who gets to look at these like this, you understand bub?”

“yeah, yeah. already knew that.”

with his claim on you made, logan began realizing all the possibilities that this new addition to your body opened up. lust flashed in his eyes. you took a quick step back as he reached for your tits, holding your hands up to block him.

“nuh-uh logan, way too fast,” you scolded. “not all of us have regenerative healing.”

he scowled and you crossed your arms, raising an eyebrow at him. “i just got them. they still hurt.”

logan groaned, his head falling back. “so, you’re telling me i have to wait?” he was thoroughly disappointed. he hadn’t given it a thought that they were gonna have to heal before he got to try out his new theories on them. patience was not one of his strengths, especially when it came to you.

you nodded and gave him a sympathetic smile. “yeah, but don’t worry, you can look all you want.”