#but hey whatever reason you've got for liking your obscure or strange fave...go you!! i hope they make you happy :3c

[starleska]

What do you find attractive in warren/gen?

you know despite the tone tag i can't quite tell if this is meant in a 'oh i'm curious' kind of way or in a 'seriously what the hell do you like about that monstrous little creature' kind of way sdfghds but i'll try my best to answer 💖 popping it under the cut as it's a little long, and i'm flustered!

honestly? i've always been attracted to Warren's specific kind of bastard: manipulative, incel-coded, discomfiting sort of characters with serious boundary issues and an unhinged intensity in everything they do. these aren't traits i'd find attractive in a real life-partner - i'm very happy in my actual, healthy, long-term relationship, and can assure you my real partner is nothing like that 😂 yet there are parts of me which take comfort in enjoying characters who express their desires in ways which would not be socially appropriate 😳 Warren is a damaged guy. whatever he's got going on, it's not healthy...but he pursues his desires with motivation. yes, he's pathetic and weedy and kind of hideous to look at, but at the same time, if someone like that wants you...they're going to really want you. think of it like the vampire fantasy so many people have. being 'taken' in some way by a strong, supernatural creature removes a lot of the agency and stress that comes with navigating the waters of a real-life relationship, even if there's the little caveat of them wanting to suck your blood. sometimes, you just want a creep whose canon actions imply that they would become obsessed with you 💖 i think myself and a lot of the other Warren fans view his 'unlikable' behaviour through the lens of our neurodivergence and/or trauma. not picking up on social cues and making everyone uncomfortable, being intense about his interests, having an identity which doesn't correspond to how other people perceive him...those are things many of us can relate to, so we end up seeing Warren as relatable, even if his behaviour isn't justifiable in a real-world context (which i shouldn't need to say!). the attraction may come from the fact that he is overtly supposed to be repulsive...horror and attraction are much closer together than you might think. enjoying a character with traits which are designed to be off-putting can make you feel...special, in a way. like you'd be the only one they'd want 😖 so, on a surface level? i genuinely do like Warren's unusual, reedy voice, his cute, crooked teeth - even his beady rat eyes 😂 he's cute! i'm a person who thinks Augustus St. Cloud, Baldi, and Freddy Krueger are attractive, so it's really not a shock - everyone has different tastes. but it's less about what the characters are, and more about what the characters represent to us. i find Warren's behaviour - invasive, aggravating, upsetting in a way which lingers - to be attractive in the same way some people (also me 😭) find slashers attractive when they're doing their murdery business, you know? it's not that i want to be murdered by Freddy, but i sure wouldn't mind being on the other side of his attention! with that said, concerning Warren: just because i wouldn't want to be cornered by some sweaty podcaster irl doesn't mean i don't find the thought absolutely riveting in fiction 😳😳