Character neg + mentions of child abuse
Every day I get the urge to just do a whole post about how much I hate Derek in my rewrite. I mean I post small snippets a lot (like I did today) but I don’t think I’ve actually said everything he’s done in my rewrite.
But then I realise I could just do a character neg of canon Derek and I would still have a lot to say.
He canonically gave Aaron C-PTSD. Y’know what you have to do to give your kid C-PTSD??
Abuse them.
And not even just some light isolation. Actual physical and emotional abuse, repeated, across years of their childhood.
What actual excuse can you give him to abuse his kid??? ‘Oh but he thought he needed to. He was probably brought up the same way’…. Okay, if that’s the case… address it that way.
‘He’s a bad guy but he has reasons, and he should be held accountable, but as long as he continues to show signs of changing, I will allow myself to like him’ is a lot different to
‘BuT hE’s NoT a BaD gUy FoR wHaT hE dId, hE tHoUgHt It WaS jUsTiFiEd. So It’S nOt bAd If I lIkE hIm!!’
Okay. I can respect the first one. If a character is showing signs of change from their previous problematic behaviours, you can begin to like them. But you can’t use an abusers excuse for abusing as your own excuse to like them. That’s not how it works.
This turned from Derek Neg to Derek Supporter Neg. And I apologise.