since apparently in 2024 I’m just saying stuff
I do not want fictional characters to go to therapy.
therapy is a great way to begin to see yourself more clearly, to pinpoint the ways you’re self-sabotaging and make changes which will allow you to strengthen and deepen your relationships. and obviously, we here at redemption.com want to see our favorite characters do that. after a while a character with no self-awareness starts to grate; we usually want them to figure out what they’re doing wrong and have some positive forward motion.
however. therapy is not the only way to have these epiphanies about yourself, or the only way to learn a new way of living, trusting, being a friend. sometimes a series of coincidences will put you in the one situation which will throw a mirror up in front of you and allow you to see and recognize yourself. sometimes you meet just the right person at just the right time who will love you in such a specific way that you’ll realize how wrong your old understanding of love was. it’s less purposeful and less sustained a method of growing than therapy is, it’s more of a winding road with occasional lightning strikes.
and I don’t know how to explain why I only ever want to see characters growing in this way, except to say that when they aren’t, then precisely what you’ve failed to create is a cohesive story. at best you have a story going on while the character privately sorts out their issues at the same time, with themes and climactic moments occurring in neat parallel. (I think Ted Lasso does something like this in season 2.) at worst, you don’t have any story at all, you have a character study in the form of a soliloquy, which happens to be delivered to a therapist. (a lot of fanfiction is like this.) it might be a very good character study! but it’s not a story.
it seems to me that fiction should be a window into the way we can learn from our experiences in the world and from our relationships with others, by being open to seeing ourselves anew and being open to change. and I’m not saying I want all the supporting characters to therapize the protagonist. I’m saying I want my protagonist to listen to the supporting characters and glean the truth of what they say as if they were a very good therapist—even if what they say is delivered in an incomplete way or in the middle of an argument. I don’t want an oracle to appear and point-blank tell the protagonist their fatal flaw. I want the fatal flaw to become exquisitely, inevitably clear in a moment of terrible dramatic irony, when the knowledge seems to come too late. and personally, I want this to happen always in the most dramatic way. I do not want my friends to reach rock bottom in order to start learning and changing. I do, sometimes, want to see fictional characters reach rock bottom. why? well. because there’s a story there.
I don’t just want to see characters changing. I want to see a story about characters changing.
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“Oh shit,” Joly said, sounding mildly concerned as he scrolled through his phone. “Something’s going on with Twitter.”
“Given the way the year of our Lord 2023 has gone thus far, I’m going to need you to be a little more specific,” Bossuet said.
Joly turned his phone so Bossuet could read. “They’re limiting how many tweets unverified people can read.”
Bossuet squinted at the phone screen. “Is Elon really that hard up for cash?”
“I mean, probably,” Joly said with a shrug. “Midlife crises are not cheap from my understanding.”
Bossuet laughed. “Ok, so we all switch to a different app for a hot second,” he said. “It’s not the end of the world.”
“It’s not the end of your world,” Joly corrected.
Bossuet scowled at him. “Pretty sure it’s not the end of anyone’s—”
Joly cut him off with a single raised eyebrow. “Grantaire,” he said, a little grimly. “It’s the end of Grantaire’s world as he knows it.”
Bossuet’s brow furrowed. “I don’t think Grantaire even has a Twitter account.”
“He doesn’t,” Joly said. “Enjolras does.”
“Oh.” Bossuet was silent for a moment before his eyes widened. “Oh. Oh no.”
Joly nodded. “Pretty much,” he said, sounding equal parts grim and self-satisfied that he’d understood the implications of this latest development first.
“Do you think we should warn him?” Bossuet asked.
“Should?” Joly said thoughtfully. “I mean, probably. We are his friends, after all, and his boyfriend is about to lose his fucking mind at his ragescrolling being potentially indefinitely interrupted.”
Bossuet nodded slowly. “But we’re definitely not going to warn him, right?”
Joly grinned. “Of course not,” he said. “Where would be the fun in that?”
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I always assumed the white side of my family was French and I have absolutely no idea why I think it’s because I found my grandmother fancy as a little kid and was like oh yes candle sticks that must be French… I’ve endured years of people teasing me for being French as a MISTAKE!!!!
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🚨 🚨 ULTIMATE TOMGREG BETRAYAL THEORY
BUCKLE UP 🚨 🚨
As of S4 ep 2, Roman is very possibly (probably) joining Logan. Tom is in the way of this.
Shiv will always hate her father, but now, she really hates Tom.
Shiv wants to hurt Tom in the worst way possible, but she has no power with Logan. What does Tom care about the most?
Oh, it’s Greg.
Shiv can’t manipulate Greg directly; how could she prove Tom will betray Greg when Tom never has?
So, Roman offers to talk to Greg.
Tom and Greg are at a bar, and Shiv calls Tom. While Tom’s distracted, Roman calls Greg and they meet up.
Roman lays it all out for Greg, Tom’s manipulation of him, inevitable betrayal, etc. Greg is (so far) safe, so he is unmoved.
Then, Roman shows vulnerability and relates to Greg as being the “other” relative. He talks to Greg as an equal, and indirectly cites his “thing” with Gerri, and how Logan makes any healthy relationship impossible.
Roman alludes to his possible new positioning with Logan, and the company’s shaking structure. As Roman puts it, right now Greg is working for Tom, not Logan, and ultimately, even though they go out for drinks, Tom will always see him as a tool, and nothing more.
Tom broke his wife’s—your cousin’s— my fucking sister’s heart, dude. What do you think he’s going to do to you?
Greg pauses. He asks Roman if there really are cameras everywhere Logan is. Roman scoffs, and is confused, because of course there aren’t.
Greg asks, “Could there be?”
As this is happening, Tom and Shiv are in the office, engaged in a heartwrenching explosive argument. Shiv leaves, and Tom is absolutely devastated. Of course, he reaches out to Greg for comfort.
Greg meets Tom at the office. Tom is on edge, and for some reason, Greg is just pushing his buttons and triggering him— it’s unintentional, of course. Greg is being particularly dense and annoying, and finally, Tom lashes out, hitting him and screaming. Greg fights back, and Tom stops, despondent and overwhelmed.
There is a pause. Tom can’t bear to look up. Greg walks to Tom and kisses him.
Tom panics, but quickly submits. It’s very sloppy and bizarre and passionate. Greg pulls up for air, and asks about the cameras. Tom rolls his eyes, and says of course there aren’t any cameras.
Except this time
There are.
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