#his views of dorian at times are unhealthy (i.e dorian can literally do no wrong) but he'll never be perfect either

[rotttnapple]

let's talk about Cain:

Cain is, among other things: homophobic, transphobic, misogynistic, racist, aggressive, and highly possessive. He's a great big asshole manbaby, in short, and absolutely deserves a swift kick in the nuts at all times.

but Ed!! you're saying, aren't you trans? Aren't you a big gay?? yes, yes I am, which may make it seem odd that I would actively write and develop a human trashcan like Cain Harris

But two things that really gets my giddie going are human behavior and, lord save my soul, redemption arcs. Cain (along with baby brother Charley) was born into a very religious household, and not the 'accepting' or 'progressive' sort, more or less the kind that would have happily burned a woman at the stake on the off chance that she might be a witch.

Cain was always the Holy Son to Elijah Harris, the heir to the throne, the one who could Do No Wrong. Cain, essentially, grew up on the knee of his father, whereas Charley was more of a 'momma's boy'. This is really the key of what makes these two brothers so different from each other. Part of it also has to do with their inherent nature, essentially their inborn personalities, but much of it has to do with how they were nurtured throughout their respective childhoods.

If you were to take these two and put them in a more normal household, not the witch burning sort, Cain most certainly would have grown up to be a reserved, quiet man, and his brother more outgoing and bubbly. Cain would certainly possess some of the dumb shit views he has today (there's a 'man' and a 'woman' in a homosexual relationship, for instance), but he wouldn't be hateful or harmful, just uneducated, but accepting, and typical of someone who has over time absorbed dumb shit misinformation that has unfortunately spread. He would also be very willing to listen to proper information and change these views accordingly. He would have also very likely come to accept and understand his own homosexuality far sooner in life.

Instead, before he was even old enough to understand he was taught that homosexuals are 'sinful' and 'broken', transgenders are outright freaks of nature, extremely wrong and extremely bad things. He was raised on the knee of a man staunch in his (many, and disgusting) views that a woman's duty in life is to produce children, cook, clean, and shut up. He was taught that it is a husband's duty to 'correct' a willful wife - Cain and Charley's mother, Catherine, was a far different woman before her husband's iron fist.

But ED!!! You're yelling now, you're making it sound like these behaviors should be excused!!

Absolutely not. Such behaviors - products of nurture, should not, and should never be excused, as they are absolutely inexcusable. They may not be products of nature - who one essentially Is - but they should also not be allowed to continue. To carry on being an actual walking turd is just unacceptable, and Cain has been that person for a very long time.

But the difference between Cain Harris and his father Elijah Harris is his willingness to change, his willingness to learn.

As Cain has grown and developed as a character he has come to accept his own homosexuality, something he took and buried deep, deep down inside of himself. His excuse for not 'finding a wife' and 'settling down' is that he hadn't found the 'right girl' - he hadn't found the white, meek and mild Catholic girl of his father's ugly dreams. As he has grown, he has fallen in love with an incredibly willful man of color, Dorian Pavus, who does not, under any circumstances, allow his backwards bullshit to carry on.

Cain has, slowly but surely, come out of the flaming shitcan he has been rolling around in for most of his life and that is why I write him.

Cain will never be a kawaii!!! uwu sweet baby, his history will never change, will never be excused, but he himself is changing, he is trying, and it is very interesting to write. He is fiction, but with a base in very real humanity. I never expected him to engage in the arc he has but I have to admit, it's great. It gives me some hope in a small way that people in real life have the potential for change themselves.

Next time I'll talk about how his relationship with Dorian has brought out things of his nature, because honestly that man is what he's needed since forever.