#this is NOT meant as a criticism of the character

[writers-potion]

Do yoh happen to have any resources for how to write a stripper character? In my novel idea the stripper character is a secondary character more meant to teach the protag that the world is filled with just as much beauty as there is cruelty and will eventually take in the protag after they escape their creator's clutches at the very end of the novel (Frankenstein inspired)

Writing A “Story B” Lead Character

Hello! First of all, thank you for this beautiful question. I know your question started by asking about how you should craft a stripper character, but I would like to pay more attention to the function that your stripper character is serving – the Story B Lead. 

What is a Story B Lead? Simply put, they are characters that lead the side plot in any story – most typically, the love interest (if you have a romantic side arc, the most typical type of Story B). 

The main job of the Story B Lead is:

Give the readers a break from the main plot. Story B shouldn’t be as serious or daunting as Story A — let your hero have some fun, explore new things, and find love while he figures out how to fight the big bad boss.

Convey the theme of the story. The easiest example is the love interest in superhero stories. When the hero is too focused on the fight, the love interest often provides a new perspective to find the critical clue or make the hero realize there are more important things than chasing power. 

Be a part of the sucko ending. Whether your Story B has a happy or sad ending, the conclusion of all the fun the hero has must supplement the main story’s ending in some way. 

So, let’s construct your stripper character based on the criteria outlined. 

Give her a backstory that will hit the protagonist differently. Think about the relevance of the stripper in your protagonist’s character arc. Is she someone your protagonist can look up to? What was her struggle of living as someone’s creation? Does your protagonist fear that they will become like her? 

Make her attractive, fun, quirky. Story B is where we get to stress a bit less about the main conflict to explore more of the story world. Use your stripper character to show what it means to be a creation – do other strippers alienate her? Physical quirks? Some things only she can do because she was “created”, not “born”?

Give her a thematic statement that summarizes what she stands for. For example, she may say: “Some say that beauty is terror. I say there’s beauty in the most terrible things.” as she drags a crying protagonist onto a packed stage. 

Don’t let her drag your protagonist around. Taking in the protag sounds like a fully closed happy ending, but remember that your protagonist must choose to be with your side characters – not the other way around.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* . ───

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💎Before you ask, check out my masterpost part 1 and part 2 

[nina-ya]

A/N: Hi!! I wanted to get back into the groove of writing regularly again with something short and sweet like this. I did plan on doing this for other characters as well! Pairing: Luffy x reader CW: none WC: ~500 Other Versions: Luffy Zoro Sanji (more to come) • masterlist • ko-fi • discord server •

✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦

Loving Luffy is loving your best friend. It is the comfort of knowing that he will always have your back, no matter where life takes you. He is one of the only people who truly just sees you for who you are and never expects you to be anything but your truest self. With him, there’s no putting on an act, there’s no facade with him, there’s just a raw and unfiltered companionship. Luffy will always laugh with you, always fight alongside you, and always hold you in those moments of quiet when the world slows down because he knows that you are always meant to be by his side. 

Loving Luffy is understanding that his love may be wordless at times, but it’s far from empty. He stays away from grand declarations and shows it in the ways he always lets you wear his hat or how he shares the last bite of his food with you. It’s those small, simple gestures that say more than words ever could. His love is the pure and untamed essence of who he is.

It’s the way he rests his head on your shoulder, that brief pause where he is not the future King of the Pirates, just Luffy. In those moments you get to see the man behind all the bravado, the one who sometimes just needs the quiet comfort of someone who understands him. It’s in the way that he absentmindedly traces patterns on your arm or the way he learns into you when he’s feeling sleepy, trusting you with a vulnerability he tends to hide from the world.

Loving Luffy is embracing the mayhem and unpredictability that comes with being with a man of his nature. It’s knowing that you might be yanked to another one of his adventures with no warning or finding yourselves in the middle of an escape from anyone that threatens your freedom, yet you never once question if you’ll make it out because Luffy is by your side.

Loving Luffy is knowing that no day is ever the same, and yet each one is as unforgettable as the last. He wakes up with that infectious grin on his face, ready to take on what the world might hold for him. He never needs a plan, only the belief that whatever the day holds is an adventure worth having. 

Loving Luffy is laughing until your sides hurt, dancing under the stars with no particular rhythm, staring at each other with smiles that make your cheeks hurt, and holding hands just because. It’s freedom. It’s wild. And it’s knowing that even when he runs off chasing his next adventure, he’ll always pull you along for the ride. 

Loving Luffy is learning to love yourself more. He sees you in a way that no one else does, stripping away each and every insecurity, every doubt, every fear, and reminding you that you are more than perfect the way you are. There’s no room for second-guessing or self criticism. He looks at you as if you are the most important person in the world, cherishing you and holding you close to his heart even when he’s too busy chasing his dreams to say it out loud. 

[sokkastyles]

I feel like the people who get worked up about Zuko being Fire Lord at 16 are also the people who get mad about the concept of Robin and other teenage sidekicks in comic books. They'll accept aliens, demons, and mutants but apply real-world standards to only the sidekicks. It's ridiculous

I feel like the deconstruction of the Robin character comes from The Dark Knight Returns and other grimdark interpretations of Batman, but they're grimdark on purpose, they're twisting the genre and aren't meant to be actual criticisms. Which is funny because a lot of these kinds of fans hate grimdark but will absolutely apply grimdark standards to cartoons.

There's also a context to apply. Robin is one of the youngest characters in Batman, but in ATLA, Zuko is the oldest of the child heroes. Sixteen is actually not that young to save the world or inherit a throne, by fantasy standards. Which again, doesn't mean it can't be fun to deconstruct things, but be honest that that is what you're doing, instead of acting like some kind of crime is being committed.

[cityofmeliora]

notes / thoughts on the Papas' (lack of) involvement in the songwriting process and their connections to the concepts / themes of their albums

thanks for the kind words and thanks for the ask! these were great questions and really enjoyed writing this response. your questions really made me think! (and when i start thinking i always think too hard and take forever to answer– sorry this took so long!)

i'm putting these questions together because i feel they are closely related. this is a topic i've recently been thinking about a lot, actually.

A Ghoul Writer was first mentioned in that 2010 interview with Primo. the Ghoul Writer is Special Ghoul, the Nameless Ghoul character who gave interviews in Eras 2 and 3. in interviews with him, either he himself or the interviewers would usually mention he's the Writer. i'm not linking anything specific here because you can find this happening in pretty much any Era 2 / 3 interview. (though there's one Era 2 Nameless Ghoul interview that refers to the Writer as a separate character.)

the only Papa who wrote his own music was Nihil. the music video for The Future Is A Foreign Land shows that he and his Nameless Ghouls wrote the song together, and he's credited as a writer on Seven Inches Of Satanic Panic. (pic: back of the SIOSP record)

after Nihil, none of the Papas were involved in the songwriting process. everything after Nihil was written by A Ghoul Writer.

PITCHFORK: On the new album, the songs/lyrics are credited to "A Ghoul Writer." Are you this "Ghoul Writer"? If so, what inspired the words? PAPA EMERITUS: I am not the Ghoul Writer. Pitchfork (April 2013)

Does Papa contribute to the composing process? NAMELESS GHOUL: No, Papa doesn’t contribute to the song-writing. Metal Paths (August 2015)

so the later Papas were interpreters of the music, not writers.

as for the question of whether the Papas embody the sins of society or criticize the sins of society by parodying them, i think it's a bit of both– and i think it depends on which perspective we're looking from.

obviously from a real-world perspective, Ghost as a whole is meant to criticize and parody the issues the music is about, and the personality and characterization of each Papa is closely tied to the themes of his album.

from an in-universe lore perspective, as interpreters of the music, each Papa has his own relationship with the themes of his album. i think the Ghoul Writer writes each album for / about the Papa who's going to perform it. however, this is not necessarily a positive gesture.

here are my notes / thoughts on how each Papa relates to the themes of his album:

(trigger warning for mentions of misogynistic violence / rape / forced pregnancy)

Opus Eponymous and Primo: Primo refuses to comment on his interpretation of Opus Eponymous, but it's pretty clear what he thinks. Primo is a misanthrope who believes humans are “vermin” that have doomed themselves due to their “intellectual decline”. in his eyes, humanity is unworthy of life and will eventually be destroyed. Opus Eponymous has been described as an "orthodox devil-worshipping" album, and it is a very violent album, which is great for Primo because he's an orthodox devil worshiper and he loves violence and murder and wants everyone to die. 'Elizabeth' celebrates an alleged serial killer who is said to have killed hundreds of women / girls. 'Stand By Him' is about a woman being raped by a priest, who then accuses her of witchcraft and has her burned at the stake in order to cover up the assault. and the overall narrative of Opus Eponymous is about a woman being raped and forced to carry + birth the Antichrist, which will eventually kill her. this is something Primo thinks is good and anticipates happening because he believes in the cult very literally and agrees with its message / mission of human extinction. Primo is definitely a villain.

Infestissumam and Secondo: interestingly, there is actually an instance of Papa telling us about his interpretation of this album. in Secondo's own words, "the new album is about the presence of the Devil. The title, Infestissumam, means 'the biggest threat' and refers literally to the arrival of the Antichrist, but what it is also is about is what man has traditionally regarded as diabolical presence– namely female form and swagger." Infestissumam is about how humanity can connect to the presence of the Devil, both physically and spiritually. i think this theme really shows through Secondo. to him, all the things traditionally regarded as sin –especially sexuality– are good things. to him, Satan is the way to freedom and enlightenment. on the flipside, all the things promoted by christianity –holiness and virtue and repression– are stupid and stifling. Secondo is a jerk and he loves to have sex and party and he just doesn't care. Secondo, more than any other Papa, is dedicated to indulging in sin and saying "fuck you" to christianity.

Meliora and Terzo: it's complicated. i don't want to give a detailed explanation right now because i already have a separate post in my drafts about my analysis of Terzo's relationship with the themes of Meliora (it will be long). for now, this is what i'll say: Meliora is about the absence of god, and it's described as futuristic and "pre-apocalyptic." the title "Meliora" means "for the pursuit of better", but it's meant to be ironic. it's about the mistakes people make / the bad things people do in pursuit of better. so as your ask states, it criticizes ambition, greed, and abuse of power. i think Terzo wants to criticize those sins. but i think that he also embodies them, to a certain extent, and i think Meliora is also criticizing him.

Prequelle and Cardinal Copia: we don't really have any canon material that indicates Cardi's personal opinions on the album, but there is certainly a connection between the character and the concept / themes of the album. Prequelle is described as a "positive" album about the plague. it's an album about society falling apart during the apocalypse. it's also an album about celebration and survival in spite of being faced with the inevitability of death. i think Cardi certainly embodies this. Cardi is surrounded by death. Prequelle Era begins with Papas I, II, and III being murdered in order to promote Cardi's success, and it ends with Papa Nihil dying, which allows Cardi to ascend and become Papa IV. in a way, Cardi is both a plague rat and a survivor. it's not his fault they died. he didn't ask for them to be killed, and he was not their killer. but he is the herald and the carrier of the true killer, the actual driving force behind everything (Sister Imperator). through all this, Cardi is having a good time! he's dancing the night away! he's glad everyone standing in his way has dropped dead! he is a rising star and he feels invincible! and he is certain he will survive this.

IMPERA and Papa Emeritus IV: the main themes of IMPERA are "spiritual annihilation", reactionary sentiment, and regression. it's about how people who fear progress are afraid of losing their sense of meaning / purpose and their place in the world, so they turn to misogyny, violence, religious dogma, and fascism. they cling to the idea of having a cause to fight for. i think Cardi is certainly criticizing these issues. he doesn't agree with any of this at all. however, there's still a connection between the narrative of IMPERA and Cardi's character arc in this Era. narratively, IMPERA is a concentrated / condensed version of the apocalyptic narrative that plays out through the first 4 albums. it's about the cyclical nature of the rise and fall of empires. IMPERA Era begins with Cardi ascending to the title of Papa. but after the feeling of triumph wore off, Cardi became very aware of and very fearful of his own inevitable end. he knew that no matter how great his achievements were, he would be forced to step down so his successor could take his place, just like his predecessors had for him. Rite Here Rite Now is about Cardi struggling to make peace with this idea. as a side note: i really like the irony of the fact that Cardi was never actually the leader of his own empire– he was a puppet emperor who got his marching orders from his mother. it connects to IMPERA's theme of political manipulation.

[nqueso-emergency]

people really like to conflate "X character is Angry" with "X character is Abusive" and its just. exhausting.

Eddie can be angry without being abusive. Eddie can be a bad friend without being abusive. Eddie can be a bad parent without being abusive. but apparently in the minds of some of these "fans", the only way that Eddie can possibly be "bad" in any way is for him to be abusive.

(these same people also conflate "criticism" with "hate/bashing" so yknow. I don't have high hopes for their literary comprehension skills)

But my issue is that Ryan said Eddie will fall in line. To me that meant, "yes, sir" "No, sir" and just do your job.

It doesn't mean Eddie is even bad it just means he's trying to survive

[ihopesocomic]

It's such a shame how many good brother-brother duos or sister-brother duos there are compared to sister-sister duos

I know it stems from writers always feeling the need to add a man in every woman's life

A lot of writers can only make a character who's a sister if she's a sister to a brother and it's a real shame

Honestly I think Nothing from MP is a pretty good example of that

Look at her relationship with her female siblings/cousin vs her male siblings/cousin

Fire ended up being horrible and Feather is a toxic positive "lemme make you feel bad for wanting to change your ableist name even though it literally doesnt effect me" dirtbag

But Nothing had a better relationship with vs her younger sisters/cousins

Farleap and Silentstalk bullied her and Feather's sisters thought she was weirdo though they like literally never interacted

It's just always suspicious when a writer seems to prioritize a female character's relationship with guys over her relationship with girls

Like their gender shouldn't matter but they'll always pick their male characters first

The sexism in writing still to this day is wild. Especially where so-called independent creators are concerned. Because I thought the whole point of being indie was creating stuff you wanted to see in mainstream media but didn't get, but a lot of it is just more of the same crap you get from bigger productions. So either people want more sexism, or its just baked into their brain and they don't even realize it.

A lot of better stories out there are about brothers (well, I could argue that a lot of it is lazy and that there is no point to the characters being brothers, especially when strong emotional friendships between men are practically nonexistent in media.) and anything having to do with sisters is as I said, either petty nonsense or there's no point to being sisters at all.

And then there's as you said, an inherent need by creators for women to have men be relevant in their lives when that same standard is not applied to men. You can throw a rock and hit a movie or show with a female pov where her only motivation has to do with a man. Father, son, brother, husband, boyfriend, abuser. Whatever.

That's not to say any of these are bad stories. But when its the majority of supposed woman-focused media, it loses its edge as woman-focused when the women in question are focused on men. The writers either consciously or subsconsciously don't get that women have motivations beyond men. This even happens with lesbian characters, where men should have even less relevancy? LOL And it doesn't even matter who the writers are, whether they're men/women, cis/trans, straight/gay, everyone does this. You'd expect better from queer creators but even then there's a clear preference. And they're wont to bring up that "gender shouldn't matter" but only when it pertains to asking why they're so opposed to women being the focus. Its quite interesting.

MP is in an interesting position of hating both men and women at the same time while not commenting on how the patriarchy has negative effects on both men and women. Not an easy feat but Tribble sure made it look easy. She made Feather Nothing's prime motivator for leaving the pride, and while I have my own criticisms of Nothing's "subtle" motherlyness towards Feather, that wasn't extended to the female cubs. Fire is Nothing's other motivation for leaving the pride, and then he turned out to be a wannabe dictator. Quickmane was shown to be a sympathetic and caring mate who definitely wasn't homophobic, but had no qualms about killing children. And then there's alllllll the women who are meant to be oppressed to the same extent as Nothing, but they all somehow manage to be even worse because the narrative wants us to side with them.

And even Nothing's abusive relationship with Quickmane as we've stated in our review is arguably less fucked up than the relationship she has with her own mother. Because we know what they think about each other, and Powerstrike still insists that Nothing's existence is a burden on her soul or whatever. Like what the fuck is up with that?? I'm sure they could've made Powerstrike less-bad than Quickmane, was this some sort of weird equalizer of the sexes? And you can count Nothing's relationship with Sharptongue if you're so inclined to, but even if you ignore everything else she did, Sharptongue would still be the only positive female influence in Nothing's life. But not a key motivator in Nothing's story. Like not even a little bit.

[naggascradle]

also on the back of my red wedding post and like i dont think grrm likes blind nihilism and having fun in pain as much as most of us don't really like it. the show adaptation seemed to rejoice in the concept of everyone will die and it means nothing? for some reason? but like one of the reasons why the red wedding is so heavily foreshadowed and works so well is that it lets you mourn before the characters are even dead. robb wasn't meant to last from the start of the series, why else would the oldest stark sibling not have a pov when every other stark does (excluding the literal 4 year old)? like i dunno taking two looks at the dunk & egg novels that grrm discusses so fondly in interviews and they're basically the epitome of chivalrous high fantasy underdog fiction that people say game of thrones (tv) is made to deride, and suddenly that criticism feels odd to hear i guess. a song of ice and fire is a series of earnest and thoughtful high fantasy novels but with an edge of ugliness to them that makes them compelling. i like reading all of the character descriptions and how unsightly and strange they can look it makes them feel more human. i doubt that i'll ever finish the tv show but it does make me sad at times to see people criticize asoiaf as being hatred for the genre when the series revels in it so delightfully.

[bloopitynoot]

Reading SVSSS: Chapter 13

For those who don't know, I am reading SVSSS for the first time and sharing my thoughts!

If you have not read it, there will be spoilers! Consider this a warning.

Also- if you want to follow along, I am aiming to post updates daily. You can find all the posts in the tag bloopitynoot reads SVSSS. You can also check out the intro post for context on my read.

I'm here! Finally posting yesterday's read.

Last night I was watching critical role and making flower crowns for the ren faire today and I totally lost track of time. But I did read earlier and I have the notes!

Anyways; no tea- I slammed this coke zero. The flower crowns ended up being real cute though.

Here we go; last chapter of book 2!

I'm already nervous :( this chapter is titled coercion. Coercion of who?

Well. Shen Qingqiu arrives and the mountain is already under siege- solid start. p283

This is less a reflection on this current chapter and more a thought about the longevity of this character; but I feel like Luo Binghe is going to inevitably perish. The reckless abandon in which he approaches anything Shizun adjacent is going to end this man. Like in this chapter- fully just tells everyone he's of demonic heritage- 0 fucks, no care for his own life now or in the future. Sure, he's powerful as hell but like eventually he has to sleep. p284

Oh gosh. Both Yue Qingyuan and Liu Qingge are in a bad way AND they are in the same room as Luo Binghe. p285

Okay but to be fair, when it comes to the body of Shen Qingqiu I am on the side of the sect here. Like bare minimum even if this man supposedly committed all the crimes (he didnt and they do know this) he still deserves to have proper death rites. Luo Binghe did do some unhinged things. pp 286-287

RIP Shang Qinghua LOL everyone knows you are an opportunist with nary a loyal bone in your body. Congrats on your entire sect knowing now p288

OOP. the audacity of Luo Binghe to Liu Qingge "ah! The loser I defeated" I mean not wrong but you dont have to be a dick about it. p289 Luo Binghe is so cocky!

and here we have SQQ inserting himself into mortally dangerous situations that he could have walked away from. The self sacrificing he has been doing this entire book (intentional or not) is so wild. This man cannot do anything in a stealthy way- everything dramatic and loud and at the centre of attention. p290

WAIT! "caught you shizun" p290 He did know! I had a suspicion!

What did you expect SQQ ofc he meant to draw you out. He could have tracked you but he lost the ability to do so with the other demon. p293

as an aside I am now wondering how this is going to work out. The Zhuzhi-Lang can also torture and track him at a distance- this is going to be a later problem for SQQ and Luo Binghe no doubt

oh poor buddy "you're not a fool...I am" p293

ooooooo. "didn't my sweetness make shizun oh-so happy?" p294. that's not even it oh no so much emotional damage

Also Shang Qinghua exposed again with the mushroom info p294

I am on SQQ's side with this one. How can the sect be mad about him not going there right away when he was kind of underground and also had to relearn how to move his own body p295

I am annoyed at Liu Qingge and I think, maybe, unjustifiably. I feel like his character is complicated and eventually I want to read a character study or two about him for more insight. What prompted this is: he is both acknowledging that SQQ is doing something utterly selfless for the sect but also pissed that he's doing it at all. Like- is it him feeling inadequate? Or is it how he feels about SQQ or the sect? idk- I will continue to think about him. p297

Luo Binghe was not satisfied with mushroom-zun he also wants the original body?? p299

RIP all of SQQ's dignity and his mental health "I've already submitted to you" p299 his word choice though LOL

His body is missing?!?!?!?!?!? p300

what a cliffhanger! Now I need to know who stole his corpse! If it ends up being 2 SQQ's OR that Luo Binghe's dad is using SQQ's original body I am done done LOL.

We finished book 2!

Thank you to those who have been reading along- this has truly been so fun! I appreciate all the comments and clarifications; they have been helpful and have been making this reading process super engaging. Getting to chat about the thing I am enjoying with others who also love The Thing has been a solid highlight of my days!

[fiona-fififi]

Okay. I'm about to say something that's probably going to get me run out of the fandom, but.

I don't actually think Tommy leaving their date early had anything to do with him not wanting to pressure Buck (regardless of what he claimed later). Instead, I think it had everything to do with Tommy being annoyed and no longer into it that evening, and I think that is both okay AND significantly more interesting than taking him at his word later and framing it as some selfless act by a sanitized elder gay shepherd just trying to do right by Buck.

[nellasbookplanet]

Every time a critrole cast member gets blindsided by their character catching romantic feelings the funnier it gets. Taliesin 'my character is irredeemable and will never be happy' veering straight into 'actually he's in love and will get a happy ending whether he wants to or not'. Liam entering c2 set on no romance only for Caleb to fall hopelessly and uselessly in love with first Jester and then Essek. Marisha being set on Beau being a fuckboy with zero attachments only for her to start falling for Yasha in literally the first episode and going on to develop a crush on Jester as well. Ashley creating a character in mourning with zero thoughts on romance who falls SO HARD for Beau. Travis KNOWING going in that Laura would try to romance him, set on not letting her succeed, and then falling headfirst for it anyway. Marisha and Laura both entering c3 like 'best friends!!' only to, at almost the same time, go *surprised pikachu face* 'why am I experiencing jealousy???'

Never change guys

[shikisai-san]

Ah yes, my favourite Critical Role dynamic. Sad Wizard x Other Sad Wizard.

[reineydraws]

had to draw this to understand the way i feel about him now that the manga's ended. 🥲 on that note: if you like hawks and his ending, maybe don't read my tags lol. it's not bashing (imo) but they're not v nice. 😅

bg + unobstructed pose under the cut!

his expression's a lil different 'cuz i only changed the merged layer, all the lighting effects already flattened onto it. 💀 alas.

[arson-09]

I think about sjm trying to say this was about rhysand in acomaf. like did she read her own writing?? god it pisses me off so much😭 Feyre hadnt even met rhysand at this point im pretty sure plus the suriel directly implicates that it means tamlin “high lords manor” like goddamn feysanders rlly hunting for scraps to justify their shitty little retcon ship.

[fromtheseventhhell]

I can tell I'm Arya-pilled to the max because I'll see other Arya stans talking about the questionable morality of her executing Daeron and I'm just like "That was so Lady of Winterfell-coded"

[quotidianish]

All my having motel redesigns so far!

[impossibledial]

i hate the idea that being with the doctor made clara “lose her humanity”. she may have become more or less desensitized to death but she was still the kindhearted woman the doctor met in series 7. she always put others before herself, the only difference is the stakes got higher in series 8/9. the doctor didn’t “corrupt” her, he just made her believe she was invincible.

she convinces the doctor to “save the day” in every one of her series since she stopped him from destroying gallifrey in day of the doctor.

in series 8, she makes the doctor realize that earth is his home and it’s his duty to help protect it when it’s in danger. in series 9, clara stops the doctor from destroying the universe just to bring her back.

clara was never a selfish character. even when she lies to danny, she says it’s for *his* own good and i think she truly believes that - she just doesn’t realize she’s lying to herself too. much of series 8 is clara denying herself what she truly wants due to expectations she puts upon herself.

part of this is because she knows what to expect from a routine life, routine job, and a normal boyfriend but she doesn’t know what to expect when she’s with the doctor. it’s enticing like an addiction as clara puts it.

unlike other companions, clara is wholly aware of the risks of being with the doctor. she won’t let herself drop everything on a moments notice to fly off with him because she knows there’s a chance she won’t make it home for dinner. she tells him that they will only travel together on wednesdays. she doesn’t stand for the doctor putting her in danger without her knowledge. she doesn’t stand for the doctor treating her as if she’s second fiddle to him.

unlike other companions, clara knows that being with doctor can’t last forever.

one of clara’s greatest lines is, “nobody’s ever safe…tomorrow’s promised to no one doctor but i insist upon my past. i am entitled to it. it’s mine.”

and much of series 7/8 is clara putting distance between her and the doctor to keep herself safe - not just physically but emotionally too. falling in love with the doctor has the ability to wreck her. considering her reaction to eleven’s regeneration, it’s no wonder she put even more of distance between them in series 8.

she’s trying to move on and she gets herself a boyfriend. of course, twelve makes this difficult even though he’s doing his best to do the same thing she is. if they don’t put a label on what they feel for each other, they can just as easily pretend it isn’t there. clara can pretend that she isn’t hurting danny when she lies to him about where she’s been. the doctor can act like seeing clara with a new boyfriend doesn’t hurt him deeply.

the central conflict between clara and the doctor in series 8 is miscommunication not corruption. clara wants to believe that the doctor makes her worse just as the doctor does because that’s easier than admitting that they make each other better. it’s easier to think they were better off when inevitably one of them gets left behind.

their dynamic is interesting because of the role reversal.

for once, the doctor is the one forced to deny his feelings. the doctor has to wait (until wednesday) to see clara. the doctor forgets that this thing between them can’t last. the doctor is the one risking the universe for the person they love.