#i want to believe there's an alternate universe where i wasn't a scared little idiot and just went to see a psych specialist

[cryolyst]

~

[jerzwriter]

Lowkey wanting an angst series about T/C because I feel Casey forgives Tobias in every universe lol (Their Start/What we wish for...). So I'm a little curious about if she's capable of putting her foot down like with Ethan in other series. Am I asking you to make us suffer? Yes I am. Sorry tho haha

Hey Nonny. Thanks for the ask. Oh, you're going to get a long answer. lol

The only story where Casey has told either man "Yeah, no. We're good here," is with Ethan in DTI. And, dare I say, his transgressions in that story were a lot more severe than any we've seen in other series to this point. If Tobias's transgressions reach that level, she's likely to walk too. But mostly it's been miscommunication, misunderstandings, and him being an idiot because he's nearly 40 and never had a real relationship. In DTI, it went much deeper, and it wasn't a first time offense. She had already forgiven once in the past, and that makes a huge difference.

I had planned on DTI having three alternate endings, where the reader could pick their own. In one, Casey ended up with Ethan, the second Tobias, and in the last, she chose to go off on her own.

But, as I wrote DTI, I had many readers write to me about how it impacted them. Women who shared real-life experiences about relationships with people they loved, but who were no longer good for them. They shared their struggles to get out, and how it was so hard, but the right thing to do, and they saw themselves in Casey. There were also women currently in relationships that had become unhealthy, some were torn, and most wanted to get out but they were frightened or confused. They were scared. This was not something I expected when I began writing fanfic, and it impacted me a lot and changed my perspective of the story completely.

More below...

Many readers entered the story already loving Ethan's character, as did I. I never intended to end the story without him having a happy ending, and he got that, but it wasn't with Casey, and that was unacceptable to many. I lost readers. I got A LOT of hate, but in the end, my concerns lay more with the women who were kind enough to share their own troubles with me and were looking to Casey's character for inspiration.

This is fiction, and I could pull miracles, but in real life men who have issues, and act on them, as Ethan did in DTI change about .0001% of the time. And there was no way in hell I was going to take part in making them believe otherwise. Forgiveness and reconciliation took place in DTI, Casey and Ethan love each other very much but realize too much had taken place.

A friend, who is also a writer, recently told me that if she viewed the story from an outside perspective if she was not already devoted to Ethan, she 100% agreed that it was the only appropriate ending for them.

All that is to say - I don't have a "Casey will forgive Tobias, but not Ethan" mentality. In fact, in DTI she forgive him once, gave him a second chance and it was only after flubbing that terribly she let go... and even then she forgave him and remained friends.

Now - for the future. I have some angsty stories in mind, and I don't guarantee happy endings, but given my own life circumstances right now, and given the toll DTI took on me emotionally because of content and the vitriol surrounding it, I'm more inclined to write angst with happy endings or at least somewhat happy endings right now. I'm not sure I want to break any pairings up. But that's right now. In the future, I could gut you all completely. :)

I bet you didn't expect that long of an answer, and I hope, especially given its length, that you found the answer you were looking for here.

Thank you!