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#I’m horrible and inconsiderate and uncaring for not continuing to just be used
oglegoggle · 2 years
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I would like to have my neck and chest kissed. I would like to feel another’s arms wrapped around me. I would like to rest comfortably against somebody. I would like to have my body rubbed where it aches the most from old wounds and the general stress of life. I would like to experience gentle and tender love. I would like to feel at peace. I would like to feel safe. I would like to live with someone who will put as much effort into me as I would like to put into them. I would like to have my needs respected and health & well-being considered. I would like to have a support who will stand with me when I need it the most. I would like to not feel so alone against the world.
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Mermay prompt (Laiken) Part 3
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**Laiken**
I’d been standing there for pretty close to 20 minutes as he continued his tirade. I was inconsiderate, uncaring and most of all I was a horrible daughter for putting him through what I did. It didn’t matter that I’d traveled nearly 14 hours to get where I was. All he cared about was that he wasn’t the first priority after I’d landed. “Are you listening to me, Laiken Skye?”
I groaned at the utterance of my middle name which only spurred him on more.
“I knew I should’ve let you leave. You’ve been there for what, a few hours and already you’re acting like your mother. Like you’re too good for me.” I braced myself for his tongue lashing. He only brought up mom when he was pissed off. “Don’t forget that she dropped you like day old garbage just the same as me, Princess.” he spewed venom at me over the phone line “She will toss you aside again and then you’ll have to come home to me.” I cringed at the thought of going back home. Of staying in that house with him for the rest of my life.
Tears were streaming down my face not because of him yelling at me but because I was letting him do it. Here I was 3,500 miles away from him yet I’m still afraid as if he was standing in front of me.
I took a deep breath before pulling the device from my ear and hanging up on him mid sentence. I turned off the phone for good measure because I knew he would be calling me back and I didn’t know if I had the strength to deny his calls after he would deploy his tactics. They would always reel me back in. Not this time though. Thankfully enough he wouldn’t dare try something so nefarious on someone else’s phone. He didn’t want his precious reputation besmirched by something so odious.
I stood there trying to will the tears away but I was left standing on the deck weepy eyed. Who does this to their children? What made him think this was ok on any level? I sniffled and a tissue was thrust in my direction making me jump in response. How hadn’t I known that some came out here?
I took the tissue and dabbed at my eyes before dealing with my nose. “Are you ok?” His voice wrapped around me again just like the first time I’d heard it. “You’ve been crying.” I winced as the pad of his thumb made contact with my cheek where he’d wiped a rougue tear away. “I’ll not hurt you, Laiken.”
Crazy to say, but I believed what he’d said. “Thank you.” He just nodded before joining me at the railing that skirted the whole home. We stood there in comfortable silence for some time listening to the water crashing around us before making our way back into the cottage where the party was still in full swing.
“Come on.” He slid his hand onto the small of my back before ushering me through the house straight to the restroom “Clean up, I’ll wait here till you finish.” I blushed but complied, cleaning up my tear streaked face and pinning my hair back in place before heading back out to the waiting guests. True to his word Taine was waiting right outside the door for me. His smile was something you’d dream about and it elicited one from me in response. “Barnabus is looking for you, I’ll take you to him.” His shift in attitude could be sensed but I said nothing about it. It’s like he’s almost irritated but… not with me.
Again his hand was laid on the small of my back as he ushered me forward. It’s silly to feel grounded with someone you don’t know, right? My mind was sent a flutter feeling the warmth of his palm pressed against such an intimate area though. I stole glances when I could but his eyes stayed forward and his smile was all but gone. What happened?
Even with my mind elsewhere I didn’t miss the way everyone was looking at us including my mother. The attention was really starting to get to me but just when I thought I’d lose it I was placed in front of Barnabus and the hand that was planted on the small of my back promptly left my form leaving me wanting it back where it was. “Sparrow, let’s go talk.” We walked away leaving Taine where he stood. “This is a lot, tell me how you’re doing? I heard you were crying on the deck.” I sighed before telling him just what happened. “Ahh, I thought it was Taine that upset you. I’ll need to apologize when we get back inside.” I let out the most unladylike chortle in the history of chortles before kissing his cheek.
“Da, he’s just getting to be too much. Living with him is nightmarish and I’m sure you know just what I mean.” He nodded before pressing his own kiss to my temple. There was no way he was able to ignore the way my father treated my mother over the years especially when it came to her seeing me. To say he was holding a grudge would be a gross understatement.
“I know but let’s not focus on him tonight. There are still people in there vying for your attention and wanting to get to know you.” I watched a slow smile cross his face as he took in my dress. “This suits you.” He spun me around and I giggled. This is something you do with your toddler, not your fully grown daughter but he didn’t care. “I am so happy to have you home, My Sparrow.” Home. How I wished somewhere so beautiful could be my home.
“Stop keeping her to yourself, Love. She’s here for 2 weeks so how about you share her tonight?” Mom and her flair for the dramatic. We’d only been on the deck for a few minutes but according to her, it’s like we have been out here all night.
I watched as he advanced on her before planting a kiss on her lips declaring his love like he always did. I wanted that. Wanted what they had with one another but who would put up with someone so damaged?
I followed behind the pair into the house breaking away from them when I found a group of women to chat with. They didn’t look much older than I was so I figured this was as good a place as any to start my night in. Lots of gossip about some other clan and their Chieftain flitted about but all I did was sip my drink and nod along until I found a place in the conversation to leave respectively. Their chatter left much to be desired and I found myself surfing the room in search of some type of engaging conversation.
“Not having fun?” Taine. I looked up at him and shook my head. I felt out of place like I always had. I didn’t know anything about life here or how the social structure worked so I was just a wall flower all over again. I didn’t want that for myself anymore. “Wanna get outta here? I know this place down by the water where we can watch the moon rise.” Tempting, but my mother wanted me here where I could talk to our Clan.
I looked around the room trying to gauge whether or not I could actually sneak out but I found her watching me from the corner of the room. Creepy. “She would kill me if I left this little get together” I pointed to where she was standing “but I will take a raincheck.”
We ended up moving around the room together for the rest of the night. Where I was Taine stood right next to me if not right behind. I found my in when the conversation shifted into one about the environment. That I could work with and I did for the next few hours.
Who knew being social could zap your energy reserves like that? I didn’t. I tried in vain to will the sleepiness away but nothing helped. I was in a near perpetual state of yawning when I was lead away from the conversation. I listened as Taine excused the both of us and deep down I was thankful for it. I wasn’t sure how much longer I’d be able to last in the state I was in.
I was transferred from one set of arms to another before I was escorted up the stairs to my bedroom. I stripped off my dress before washing my face and climbing into bed. My head hit the pillow and sleep took me quickly.
There were no nightmares to speak of. This time I was greeted by the sweet embrace of another. Large, warm and rumbly my companion was. “I’ve been waiting for you, Laiken .” A soft caress against my cheek followed by a warm chuckle. “Sleep now, nothing will harm you while you’re in my arms.” I believed him, whoever he was and for the second time in moments I’d drifted off.
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**Taine**
I made it all of 15 minutes of waiting for Laiken to walk back through the door before leaving Barnabus with the rest of his family. At first I was just gonna wait at the door but when I heard the crying I had to go make sure she was ok. Why I all of a sudden felt this need to go to her I would never know but it wasn’t something I could just ignore. Just like the sudden pull I felt when I laid eyes on her, this time was no different.
I stepped out onto the deck, sure to close the door behind me quietly. There she stood against the railing wiping furiously at her face trying to stifle the tears that still demanded to be let loose. I offered her a tissue. Albeit a little roughly since I was trying to control my own irritation at the situation. “Are you ok?” I watched her dab at her eyes before unceremoniously blowing her nose into the wad of paper. She didn’t say anything, just stood there looking worn out.
When a rogue tear slipped from her eye unexpectedly I stepped into her space catching it with the pad of my thumb. Soft. Her skin was so soft but when she winced I crumbled a bit inside. “I’ll not hurt you, Laiken” I speak the deepest truth I’d dared ever to to speak. I wouldn’t hurt her. Not if I could help it.
She seemed to relax a bit and I was able to just stand out there with her listening to the waves crash the beach. I didn’t want to break these moments of peace for her but there were people inside waiting to get some time with her. I looked at her face before we walked inside and figured she’d want to clean up before meeting some of these people for the first time. I lead her to the restroom and let her know I’d be waiting for her once she came out.
I wasn’t the only one that noticed her face and I was rushed by an angry Barnabus “What happened?” He didn’t even give me the chance to respond before starting again “I leave you to court her and I find her crying not even 30 minutes later? Did I make the wrong decision? Maybe I should’ve gone with one of the others you mentioned.” He threw his arms up before turning away from me “Bring her to me once she’s out of there.” And with that he walked away from me leaving me pissed. If he would’ve given me the chance to explain he would know I had nothing to do with her crying.
She came out looking like the episode never happened in the first place. I smiled and got one in response before remembering Barnabus and his little request. “Barnabus is looking for you, I’ll take you to him.” I tried to hide the irritation in my tone but watching her reaction I can tell I’d failed at that. Instead of trying to explain myself I just led her to where Barnabus was waiting to talk to her. I didn’t miss the way her body shivered at my touch nor the glances she kept throwing over her shoulder but I needed to get her to the Chieftain. I didn’t want any more misunderstandings where Laiken was involved.
I watched him walk away with her no doubt getting ready to interrogate her to find out just what I’d done to her to make her cry. I hope he feels like shit when he realizes I had nothing to do with it.
Having no one else to converse with, I pulled out my phone to make sure all was well within our territory. There was a report of Eion on the island but that wasn’t abnormal considering he ran tourists around the beaches in hopes of them meeting real selkies. It was ridiculous but the money was good and he didn’t make issues for us so he was fine to be here as long as his father stayed at the harbor.
My eyes drifted to the door when it was opened and she drifted through behind her parents. She really was beautiful and that dress just framed her perfectly. My eyes followed her as she tried to find a place to belong. That lasted all of a few minutes before she left to fill her drink yet again. “Not having fun?” She shook her head before looking down into the red liquid in her cup, swishing it around as she did “Wanna get outta here? I know this place down by the water where we can watch the moon rise.” Her head snood to the side where her mother was seated watching us like a lion would watch a gazelle. Why is she so intense?
“She would kill me if I left this little get together” she pointed to Danae and I sighed in defeat “but I will take a raincheck.” That just made the whole night better. I wasn’t sure before but after everything else I’m pretty sure she feels something.
I spent the rest of the night being close to her as we moved around the house. She introduced herself then did the same for me like everyone there didn’t know me already but I said nothing about it. She was adorable and I was basking in it while I could. I had to make a show of dominance when one of Barnabus’ nephews tried to make a move. I quietly put him in his place with a well placed hand on Laiken’s hip and a not so subtle glance into her eyes as she smiled up at me. Oh yeah, she feels something alright. The connection was there and I silently cheered in my head as I watched her blossom when the conversation shifted into something about our environment here.
Hours passed and I watched her yawn more and more frequently until she was just about swaying on her feet. She wanted to stay engaged in the conversation but I excused us both before leading her away from the group in search of Barnabus. “I’ll take her. Thank you for keeping her company, Taine. I am sure Barnabus is on the deck likely talking to his brothers. I know he wanted to have a word before you left tonight.” I nodded in acknowledgment before placing a kiss on Laiken’s hand.
Her sleepy smile was just as good as when she was full on beaming. I wanted to witness all her smiles. “Sleep well, Laiken. My number is in your phone should you want to get in touch.” She hmm’d in response before she was lead up the stairs. I would never have guessed that I would find my mate, let alone her being the Chieftains daughter. Mates were all but legend amongst our people these days. Denying her would’ve been the biggest regret of my life.
I’d stayed behind to help clean up the mess and rearrange the furniture if needed. Even with the guest of honor tucked into her bed conversations were still being had amongst the other guests. Around 1am Barnabus started showing people the door and I was only too glad to help in shooing the last couple of people out of the house.
I knew it’d been a while since I’d seen Danae and chuckled when I found her sprawled on the couch still holding a bottle of wine. I don’t think I’ve ever seen her like this. “You wouldn’t believe how stressed out she’s been.” I turned to look up at my Chieftain. He was picking up his mate. “She’s been planning this for what seems like forever. There were hiccups along the way but I’d say it turned out pretty good.” I nodded in agreement before picking up a few cups.
I’d had just about everything taken care of when he tapped my shoulder. “Forgive me for my temper. I- I just want good memories for her here and I got  so caught up thinking you’d fudged that up. I’ll try to refrain from doing it again.” He pulled me into a hug, patting me hard against my back.
“Think nothing of it. I’ll be heading home now if there’s nothing left to be done.” I waited for a beat before heading toward the door “Thank you for trusting me with Laiken. She’s amazing” he just smiled and nodded in agreement.
I left his house heading straight for mine. I grabbed my pelt and headed back out straight for the beach. The water had been calling me for a while and I needed to feel it against my skin. I tucked my pelt around me willing the shift. Safely cocooned I moved toward the ocean diving in soon as I had the ability to.
After some time I pulled myself onto a large rock where I could bathe in the moonbeams combing from the full moon above. How I wished I was able to bring Laiken here to witness this. No matter, she will see it soon enough.
Having remembered about the early morning I had ahead of myself I cut my swim short and made my way home. I looked around the small cottage once I was inside and started thinking of all the ways I could improve it, expand it and make something Laiken would be proud of me for. I felt like a lovesick pup but I was fine with it.
I showered before climbing into bed. I must’ve been more tired than I realized because I dozed with the phone in my hand, right after shooting off a text to Laiken.
The next 2 days were pretty routine outside of me making time to spend with Laiken. We’d done a few things like going out to lunch or grabbing ice cream after the dinner Danae had invited me to. I wanted to spend all my extra time with her but that might not bode well seeing as she doesn’t understand our customs.
“Laiken.” She looked up at me smiling nodding for me to go on “Now that you’ve been here a few days how are you liking it here?” She finished chewing the candy in her mouth.
“I love it. Albeit I haven’t seen it all though the things I have seen are beautiful. I could see myself moving here.” That made me happy. “I’d just need to find a place to live. I could live here but there’s only so much hanky panky I can handle when it comes to hearing my mom and Barnabus doing it.”
She made a gagging sound and I couldn’t help the chuckle that spilled out of me. “I get it. I have an extra room if ever you want to get away for a night or so. No expectations. I just want you to know you have options.” She nodded before turning back to the pie she was making. “Alright so, why is it called a cobbler instead of a pie?” She looked at me before shaking her head in exhaustion. I knew why but I loved the way she explained things to me.
“Taine, are you kidding me? I’m pretty sure we’ve gone over this.” I shrugged and she smiled knowingly before she went over the differences. Again. I hung off of her words and watched her mouth as she spoke. I loved the way her teeth would sink into her plump bottom lip when she was to think about her word choice. “Are you even listening to me?” I nodded before looking up into her eyes. I reiterated what she’d taught me, making her smile even bigger.
Dinner was served and dessert not long afterward. The meal was made by Laiken and I and it was delicious. I lingered around the cottage for longer than normal this time because I’d be gone for the next couple days for work. Barnabus had been tucked away with Danae while Laiken and I watched a movie.
“When I come back home from the outing would you fancy a proper date with me?” She looked so surprised I almost laughed but that would’ve been bad. “You can say no if you’re not interested.” She shook her head before speaking.
“I’d actually like that a lot. I just didn’t think someone like you would want someone like me.” Has she really not picked up on my flirty texts and touches? “We will settle plans once you’re home. I’m getting sleepy so I should walk you to the door.” And she did.
I made my way home where I sat thinking about why she’d possibly think so little about herself. She’s smart and gorgeous. Perfect in my book. Perfect and mine.
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**Eion**
It had been days since I’d seen her on the ferry and I was starting to give up hope until she climbed aboard yet again. She wasn’t carrying luggage, just a small backpack on her back. I watched her as she sat alone looking out over the water. How bad I wanted to just talk to her but I can’t risk it. What if I stammer? Will she ridicule me?
No, she doesn’t seem the type to do that yet here I am still scared shitless. “Eion, get up here and help man the vessel.” I took another glance before turning to head back toward the navigation area. She was watching me. Our eyes locked and my stomach flipped. “Eion, get up here!” I grumbled before heading up to where my father was.
He was likely hungover after drinking well into the night. He did this far too much. I took charge of the vessel while he went about spewing his guts out in our private restroom.
I missed my chance to speak to her this time but I did notice the bow she wore in her hair. It looked like Tartan but I’d only seen one like it. Barnabus’ clan wore something spot on and that made me wonder just who she was. Perhaps I’ll get my chance to ask when she boards to head home?
I continued ferrying people back and forth from the mainland keeping an eye out for that beautiful woman. It wasn’t until late in the day that she’d stepped aboard and she was weighed down by her trip. “W-would you like a hand?” Her eyes met mine before a smile tore across her beautiful face. She had the cutest dimples that adorned her freckled cheeks.
“Yes please.” She extended her hand and I took the bags from her, depositing them next to where she’d sat. “Thank you” it was my turn to smile and I knew I resembled a loon.
I started to take my leave only to be stopped by her touch. “You’re Eion right?” I nodded “I’m Laiken, It’s nice to meet you.” If she isn’t the sweetest thing.
“Nice t-to meet you, Laiken. I should be goin’ this boat won’t navigate itself.” She chuckled before nodding in acknowledgment. Her laugh was like a breath of fresh air after being cooped up for days on end. I loved it.
The vessel started moving and I made my way to the navigation area where my father had taken control. “I have it from here. Find something to keep yourself busy.”
At his dismissal I went back to sit with Laiken. Laiken. Her name tasted amazing on my tongue and caused a smile to break out on my face. I hadn’t even noticed I was standing in front of her until she started giggling “You ok up there?” She queried looking up into my face.
I rubbed the back of my head nervously getting my fingers caught in the locks. “Yeah, I just wanted to know if you were interested in taking a tour.” She quirked a brow before shaking her head. Rejection.
“Not a Selkie tour but maybe... one of the islands?” She smiled up at me and rested her hands in her lap. “I’d like that a lot actually now that I think about it. Would you happen to be up for that kind of tour? I can of course pay you for your time.” Pay me? Just her spending time with me was more than enough payment for anything she wanted to do.
We were getting close to docking so I didn't have much time left. “You need not pay me, Laiken. I w-would be honored to take you on a t-tour of wherever you choose.” she nodded before pulling her phone out and handing it to me.
“Put your info in there so we can plan this out. I will call or text you tomorrow so we can start.” she was beaming “My mom is gonna be so excited when I tell her about this.” she was practically bouncing in her seat.
Again I noticed the tartan that was in her hair. Who is her Ma’? Before i could think to ask i was being summoned to the back of the ferry to prep for docking. “I gotta go.” i looked down at her sheepishly before turning on my heel and rushing toward where I needed to be. I smiled when I heard her call after me.
“I’ll see you soon, Eion.” her voice carried a subtle lilt to it making her sound almost playful. I loved it, I wanted to listen to her speak all day and night but right now I have to focus.
I ended up having to take care of a leak below deck and missed seeing her leave the ferry but I clutched my phone in my pocket remembering that I had an in now. “Best you stay away from that human, Boy.” I turned around and glared at my father. “Mark my words, that one is gonna be trouble.” I would never. According to him all humans are “Trouble” . Why would Laiken be any different?
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marrowskies · 7 years
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that post i promise is here
and it’s long
imo you can see moffat's failings even in the episodes he's hailed for. like okay so one of the things is that in empty child everybody lives, but the everybody lives thing gets twisted as the show continued under him because... well... he's the doctor! everybody lives!
EVERYBODY.
LIVES.
EVERY. BODY.
THE time lords? his entire race dead to separate it from the original show in a definable story driven way that elaborates on an aspect that the doctor always had? terrible decisions he's had to make for the sake of good, even though he dislikes making horrible decisions that kill people????????????????????????? WHICH MAKES THE DECISION REALLY BAD???????????????????????????????????? AND DIFFICULT?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
fuck that shit the doctor is awesome! everybody lives!
"JUST THIS ONCE?"
HOW ABOUT JUST THIS EVERY SINGLE FUCKING TIME EVEN IN RETROSPECT BECAUSE FUCK YOU. I WANT THE DOCTOR TO BE AN INFALLIBLE MESSIANIC PIECE OF SHITTY WRITING but not in like an interesting but flawed way that RTD always tried to do even if he didn't always succeed but at least messianic bullshit was presented as a FUCKING FLAW and not just another DOCTOR IS AWESOME HIS FLAW IS JUST THAT HE IS TOO AWESOME ALL THE TIME
LIKE okay so I've seen that post going around that's like HAHA LOL NUWHO FANS DON'T KNOW THAT THE DOCTOR WAS ALWAYS MORALLY AMBIGUOUS BECAUSE IN THE FIRST EPISODE HE NEARLY KILLED THAT ONE GUY WITH A ROCK BECA-FUUUUUUCCCCKKKKKK OFFFF
that scene is so poorly indicative of what the doctor's character would become that it's been post-explained TWICE in TWO DIFFERENT FORMATS OF THE SHOW. YES the doctor can be morally ambiguous YES he has done horrible things and HE WILL GO ON TO DO HORRIBLE THINGS EVEN IN CLASSIC!WHO - but that is typically, for the rest of the show's existence, brought up as a THING HE'S GOTTA DEAL WITH, not some bullshit as "but he knows best" fuckery. the way that the Eight Doctors deals with it isn't half bad, actually, considering he basically confronts his younger self as a cocky "i know best" kind of idiot who hasn't had the 7 lifetimes to understand that it's not the right thing to do (especially when by now we understand that he's been living on an entire planet of "snarf snarf we're the best and lower lifeforms are primitive and pointless" assholes)
this argument also bothered me because OF COURSE nu!who fans would think this! there are lines all over the series indicating how awesomely badass the doctor is, how wonderful, how amazing, how just so fantastically remarkably brilliant and good he is to the point that MOFFAT RETROACTIVELY REWROTE THE FOUNDATION OF THE REBIRTH OF DOCTOR WHO ON THE SIMPLE INSISTENCE THAT THE DOCTOR WOULD NOT DO A BAD THING. of COURSE there are people confused about the mixed messages the show is giving them! is he an infallibly good awesome messiah? IS he MAYBE perhaps SOMETIMES BAD? oh, let me just HINT AT THAT A FEW TIMES but OVERALL NAH! HE GOOD! good is always a real, quantifiable thing that you are, and difficult decisions are... never difficult! because there's always a good one!
moffat's ALWAYS been like this! even in empty child i will argue! even in blink!
blink and empty child are often bandied about imo as "when moffat was good" and the video makes a point about how moffat is good in small doses, but empty child and blink are recycled so constantly that you realize that moffat's shit stank from the beginning much in the way that s4 sherlock reflects how sherlock has always been shit. empty child's premise worked because it was out of context with moffat's overall writing - how everyone ALWAYS lives, how women are ALWAYS WRITTEN through his perspective.
blink is so caught up in its obsession in being a cool thing for cool people that it shits on its own premise eventually. that becomes more clear when moffat brings it back constantly. but it's still pretty evident in that episode alone
"you can't look away from the angels because that's when they move"
"well we've figured it out! so we'll keep an eye on them now!!!!"
"well you can't because they can turn lights off for no reason!"
"what? why?"
"because FUCK YOU IS WHY also there would be no tension going into this final scene if i didn't make some bullshit up to make your solution pointless but anyway let me also ruin this two seasons from now by letting you see US MOVE"
blink's premise is fucked just mildly enough that we can ignore it and then because moffat has been squeezed of what creative juice he had left and then fucked it up some more, but more flashily! with budget! and guns!
god and his stupid fucking "crying is happy for sad people" just fuck entirely off moffat, yes? keep the preteen "i'm sad because i'm emotional and deep" shit to your 40 year old journal you keep up to date on how misunderstood and genius you are.
i haven't even gotten to the fact that sherlock isn't even sad or validated when moriarty dies. he isn't like well that fuckhead who was fucking with me is dead but at least crime is over. the video doesn't even go into a core aspect of sherlock holmes which is that he solves crimes because he wants crimes solved. that he maybe solves this stuff in particular because he cares about people and dislikes bad things because he’s a person, even if he does morally ambiguous things for the sake of a mystery. one of holmes’ enduring traits is supposed to be THAT HE GIVES A SHIT ABOUT PEOPLE. that he wants murder to have justice, that he wants a thief to be caught, and if he didn’t want those fucking things he wouldn’t solve crimes, he’d be fuckin mycroft. THAT’S BASICALLY LITERALLY THE WHOLE FUCKING POINT OF MYCROFT AS A CHARACTER, TO SHOW WHAT SHERLOCK WOULD BE IF HE WAS AN MISANTHROPIC PIECE OF INCONSIDERATE SHIT, holing himself up in an intellectual elite club full of uncaring shits who work in underground politics i mean i know that gets sort of elaborated on later on but CHRIST sherlock!sherlock would fit right fucking in at diogenes, except it wouldn’t be silent because he’d constantly need people to tell him how fucking smart he is all the fucking time
i'm so sick of this character on a fundamental level because moffat isn't the only one who does this - yes he's the one who has unfortunately laid waste to my current enjoyment of two of my favorite stories - and for those of you who counter often with "well you don't have to watch it" - you're right. I don't. and i've honestly never given Sherlock the time of day past its bullshit Orientalist episode, but as a fan of Holmes it is literally impossible to say that name without people pouncing in with how awesome Sherlock is. it's impossible to talk about Doctor Who without someone talking about the more recent season. DO YOU SEE? DO YOU SEE HOW UNAVOIDABLE.
Moffat as a writer has always capitalized on a particular archetype, the misanthropic genius. the misanthropy can be on a scale, but the genius part is paramount. the misanthropy adds a mystery to the character - because he doesn't LIKE people, his inner machinations lay undetect, but this can be done through various means. sometimes it's just done through being so sheer genius that they cannot be understood, like sherlock-archetypes almost always are, or they're so WACKY that they cannot be understood. whatever the case is, they're sometimes unlikeable, and are paired with people who don't UNDERSTAND them, but *understand* that they are so brilliant that they cannot be understood and therefore put up with whatever shit bullshittery they might be going through. (usually they're queerbaited because that character tends to be male)
here are some examples i can think off the top of my head: kingkiller chronicles, big bang theory, pure genius, dirk gently as written by douchebag mcfuckface Max Landis, frankenstein as written by douchebag mcfuckface Max Landis, most main male characters in stuff written by douchebag mcfuckface Max Landis, stargate atlantis (shared by mckay and shepard), basically every single adaptation of Holmes that didn't understand the fucking point (including house), arguably Elementary too tho that's actually dealt with in the show as a real tangible character flaw, Ender's Game, honestly as much as I love LeGuin - Wizard at Earthsea, and Catcher in the Rye to be honest, and... and... god what was that show about the guy who takes a FUCKING PILL TO BE SMART? (looked it up: Limitless), Will in Hannibal, APB WHATEVER THE FUCK THAT WAS?, HONESTLY JAKE FROM BROOKLYN 99 ALSO TOES THE LINE FOR ME especially in the early seasons but Jake is a NICE. BOY. AND christ the list goes ON and it NEVER ENDS WE ARE STILL WRITING THIS STUPID FUCKING CHARACTER.
this. shitty. character. a deep, philosophical, genius so beyond our normal human being's conception that they don't have to be nice to be liked. they just have to be smart. beyond smart. amazingly, stunningly, inconceivably smart. so smart that even their bad thing is a good thing. even their bad decisions turn out to be good ones, and their flaw is some manufactured bullshit like drugs! (House) or unfairly poor! (Kingkiller) or possibly autistic! (bbt). none of these aren't real, actual that real people have to deal with, of course, but they're USED in these cases to artificially insert a character "flaw." (and being an addict or poor or autistic isn't a fucking flaw! fucking stop it!!!!) the ultimate male wish-fulfillment character. don't require physical attractiveness or humor or charm or kindness or money. just smarts. then the women will love you!
this character has been around for so fucking long in media i feel like we've been tricked into thinking it's a good character. it's in so many well known classic things because shitheads like moffat and joss whedon and max landis and patrick rothfuss have been around forever, perpetuating their own bullshit since forever and i'm fucking sick of it. it's the writing equivalent of a white guy with acoustic guitar. a lazy, self-serving piece of writing that only serves to help the writer put his head up his own ass in an attempt to outwit himself with the most uninteresting archetype that exists. this is worse to me than the DREADED Mary Sue, because Mary Sues don't tend to be FUCKING ASSHOLES that people LOVE ANYWAY. They're just blank slates for people and that's FINE. everyone needs that at some point in their life! DO WE NEED MORE WHITE GUYS BEING AMAZING GENIUSES BUT WACKY ASSHOLES BUT SO GENIUS THAT EVERYONE LOVES THEM???? DO WE? DO WE NEED TO PERPETUATE THIS EXHAUSTING PERCEPTION THAT BEING RIGHT IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN BEING KIND????????
WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY
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