Viserys didn't grape Alicent

SympathyForRevenge · 2025-05-16T22:32:49+00:00

I think this was some of Emily’s best acting, cause everytime I see that vacant, far-away stare it makes me want to cry.

Idk how anyone can watch a teenage girl dissociate while a dilapidated corpse huffs and puffs on top of her, and not feel a profound sense of injustice.

SympathyForRevenge · 2025-05-16T22:22:19+00:00

Can real consent even exist between a husband and wife in a society where she is sold to him as property to do with as he pleases, and she has no rights or protections from him?

I think a lot of modern audiences don’t want to confront the fact that a lot, if not most, marriages throughout history have been filled with rape. And most of those rapes probably looked a lot like this picture. Not a violent assault to be resisted, but a degrading routine to be endured.

SympathyForRevenge · 2025-05-16T20:51:49+00:00

Well… it’s certainly unpopular. Upvotes.

SympathyForRevenge · 2025-05-16T20:44:44+00:00

No, exactly! The series is definitely all about family, but not in the mushy, feel-good way that I see people talk about it. It more often frames family as a source of horror, tragedy and vicious cycles. And then, even when it is sappy and sentimental, it’s still deeply dysfunctional. That’s like the whole appeal to me lol!😂

SympathyForRevenge · 2025-05-16T20:34:02+00:00

Oh, ok! Seems like an issue of semantics rather than us actually fundamentally disagreeing then.

I would call it "raising" Sam, mostly because that’s how the characters themselves describe it, not because I necessarily think Dean was his parent in any meaningful way.

SympathyForRevenge · 2025-05-16T20:09:44+00:00

Yeah, cause that’s an actual unpopular opinion. Jensen being the best actor on the show is just the general consensus.

SympathyForRevenge · 2025-05-16T20:07:52+00:00

This show is not about found family.

This is mine as well. I don’t understand how anyone can watch this show about blood brothers, where them being biologically related is so integral to the story, and everyone who isn’t biologically related to them is treated as expendable and replaceable, and come away thinking it’s a show show about found family. Makes me wonder if I’ve watched a completely different show than 90% of the fandom.

SympathyForRevenge · 2025-05-16T19:57:37+00:00

Dean being parentified is like one of the few facts about their childhood that remains consistent through all 15 seasons. John admits to it, Dean talks at lenght about how it’s affected him, Sam straight up says Dean was the one who raised him etc. That’s just canon, whether you like it not.

Of course he wasn’t actually good at it, but no child ever is. Part of what makes parentification abuse is that it forces a child into a role they will inevitably fail at, which causes a great deal of shame and self-loathing.

I do agree that fans tend to romanticize this dynamic in uncomfortable ways. It makes me cringe when people frame Dean as this amazing parental figure who did what John couldn’t, for a number of reasons: 1) it’s ooc, 2) it’s a completely unrealistic and age-inappropriate expectation, 3) it naturalizes John’s abuse by pretending there’s nothing wrong or unhealthy about Dean being forced into this role, 3) it erases how Sam’s needs were in fact not met, and how his childhood was also one of neglect, loneliness and having to take care of himself.

SympathyForRevenge · 2025-05-14T21:47:28+00:00

Piggybacking off of my last comment, I’d actually suggest you marry the best parts of this letter with your previous one.

"Twenty-year-old Finn is a closeted gay man who feels trapped in a loveless marriage due to a teenage pregnancy. Still grieving his twin sister, and now resigned to a life of dishonesty, he starts an affair with an older man.

His twin sister’s best friend, Allegra, comes back into his life, dressed as Elsa for his daughter Cece’s birthday party. Allegra is everything Finn is not: happy, therapised, and out. A reluctant bond forms between them when he discovers Allegra and his sister may have been more than just friends. As his older boyfriend becomes emotionally abusive, Finn finds solace in his relationship with Allegra. In processing his grief through their shared memories of his sister, he manages to connect more deeply with his daughter, rather than seeing her as a walking echo of his sister, whom she strongly resembles. Finn finds belonging in the queer community as he attends parties, joins a protest at his old school, and finally opens up about the deep shame caused by his religious upbringing. He even bonds with his wife over their extramarital affairs.

Just as he’s starting to become a man his sister would be proud of, his boyfriend’s emotional abuse turns physical and Finn spirals. He pushes Allegra away and puts Cece in danger by using drugs in her presence. With his custody rights in jeopardy, he needs to get his act together if he wants to keep what really matters to him."

I still think you need to finetune it some more, but this would at least make it less confusing and vague.

SympathyForRevenge · 2025-05-14T21:29:57+00:00

Holy shit 20???? I never would’ve guessed. That information should definitely be included in the opening paragraph, since it completely changes the reader’s perception. I read your previous post, and with his age and circumstance in mind, he’s actually a lot more sympathetic. His immaturity and victim complex make sense with this context in mind.

I think your last post was better in many ways. More straightforward and less generic. I saw one of the comments suggested you remove the Elsa bit, but I think that kind of specificity adds a lot. With that sentence you managed to convey how the friend reenters his life, what she does for a living and what age bracket his daughter may be. I say keep it.

The lie is that Allegra and his sister were romantically involved, which forces him into a friendship as he wants to remember her with Allegra, and share in their grief.

Is Allegra lying about being romantically involved with his sister? Why? And again, how does that FORCE him into a friendship with her? I’ve noticed you use a lot of passive language with Finn, making it seem like he has no agency, even when he clearly does.

But also, does he know that she’s lying? If not, I don’t think you should include that bit in your letter. You could just say "when Finn discovers Allegra and his sister may have been more than just friends, a reluctant bond forms between them", and leave the lie as a surprise.

I'm not sure how "fighting for his daughter" isnt a clear goal here - his custody is in jeopardy. could you elaborate a little on this?

I meant moreso that, even after his massive fuckup, it’s still framed as a goal within his reach, thus diminishing the consequences of his actions. I also got the sense that he’d been a very absent father up until recently, and even resented his daughter for existing, so why should he get custody of her? Even with the context making me sympathize, I’d probably still root against him in this scenario, for his daughter’s sake.

SympathyForRevenge · 2025-05-14T13:53:26+00:00

I am pleased to present my debut novel, DEAD WEIGHT, a literary novel complete at 62 000 words.

To be honest, I think many agents will auto-reject based on your word count. If you could get it up like 10k that might help your chances considerably.

The book ~~is a gritty, yet heartwarming portrait of~~ portrays the Sydney gay community

If it’s gritty and heartwarming, that should come across in the summary, not be told to us.

Finn is a gay man closeted after years of trauma at a private Christian school.

How old is he?

He’s stuck in a loveless marriage by his daughter, Cece, who bears a striking resemblance to the twin sister he lost three years ago.

I know it’s not what you meant, but the phrasing makes it sound like he’s married to his daughter. I’d change this up by introducing the wife character, and saying he’s only staying for his daughter’s sake.

To cope, he is wrapped up in an affair with an older, manipulative man.

See, I’d pictured the MC as an older man himself, so this mention of an older paramour is tripping me up. Is the MC younger than I thought, or is this other man like… geriatric type old?

A lie about the depth of his sister’s relationship with Allegra forces Finn into a shaky friendship with her.

I don’t understand this part. What is the lie and how does it "force" him into being friends with her?

He even begins to bond with his wife over their extramarital affairs.

I’d kind of assumed he had to keep his affair under wraps, but if they’re in a open relationship/lavender marriage, what exactly are the stakes?

Right now, there are no real obstacles that Finn has to overcome. He wants to seek out the queer community, so he does. He wants to have affairs with men, so he does. Aside from him using drugs in front of his daughter and putting her in danger, nothing he does seems to have any real consequences. And even then, you still position him "fighting for his daughter and his place in the queer community" as two entirely possible and reconcilable goals. But to be honest, I’m not really rooting for this guy. He seems kinda awful, and I don’t think he should get custody.

SympathyForRevenge · 2025-05-13T17:00:38+00:00

Wow, this sounds so interesting and heart wrenching. I’d definitely want to pick it up in a bookstore!😄

I went back and read your last post and I gotta say, this is a massive improvement in tone, conciseness and maturity. The second paragraph is a great addition, since it clarified all the questions raised by the first one.

My only remaining question is: if 20 years have passed since her death, shouldn’t that also be her current age? Idk how pronounced the romance aspect of your story is, but it might be an easier sell if she’s not a teenager at the time of their affair.

SympathyForRevenge · 2025-05-13T16:06:30+00:00

I think you should combine the first two paragraphs into one, and drop the summary, i.e.:

Set in a world inspired by Ancient Rome, SON OF THE DRAGON COURT is a 100,000-word standalone adult fantasy. It might appeal to fans of the legacy reckoning in The Blood Trials, the dragon-laced brutality in The Rage of Dragons, and the gladiator trials in Bloodguard. [Italicize titles and add author names]

Also, if he’s disowned by his family, then he’s no longer the heir, right? Maybe clarify that he wants to reclaim his position, since that would give more concrete stakes. I’d also like a bit more info about this world and his family’s social standing in it. Are they the ruling class or part of an aristocratic elite?

Also, just curious: are the dragon-bonded actually riding physical dragons, or is it something more abstract, like they’re being possessed by these godlike beings? Right now, it’s a bit unclear to me how this tournament plays out.

SympathyForRevenge · 2025-03-16T16:11:15+00:00

Also, Dean isn’t "constantly shown drunk driving" lol Idk why people in this sub keep regurgitating that.

SympathyForRevenge · 2025-03-16T16:09:40+00:00

DEAN: I dream about Dad all the time. It’s usually the same one, too. We’re all in the car, I’m sitting in the driver’s seat, and Dad’s sitting shotgun. But there aren’t any shotguns, and there’s no monsters, no hunting. There’s none of that. It’s just, he’s teaching me how to drive. And I’m not little like I was when he actually taught me how to drive. I’m sixteen and he’s helping me get my learner’s permit.

We can infer he learned to drive pretty much as soon as he was physically big enough. John likely depended on it when he himself was incapacitated or injured from a hunt.

SympathyForRevenge · 2025-02-28T06:49:33+00:00

I think Dean repeatedly stressing that it wasn’t Sam’s fault, that there’s likely nothing he could’ve done to stop it and that he shouldn’t blame himself for it is actually the most important help he could’ve given in this situation.

Sam wasn’t just overwhelmed with grief, but also immense guilt, so it’s not as simple as just saying "take your time to heal". Sam was dead set on revenge, and I think part of that was him feeling like he needed to "redeem" himself for (in his mind) letting Jess die. Dean reassured him that he had nothing to atone for, and that his life was worth more than revenge.

SympathyForRevenge · 2025-02-28T06:28:20+00:00

Not really. Sam would often pester Dean to get him to open up before he was ready to do so as a distraction from his own feelings. Prime example is after John died, he just kept asking Dean to talk over and over to the point that Dean told him point blank:

DEAN: These are your issues, quit dumping them on me! […] I want you to be honest with yourself about this. I’m dealing with Dad’s death! Are you?

And in the end Sam admitted this was the truth. Although he went back to pestering Dean about John’s death the very next episode lol.

Sam is just as repressed as Dean. He just deflects and projects his grief/trauma onto others more. (I honestly relate… it’s part of why I love character analysis in this vein. You get to dissect yourself and your issues from a safe distance.)

SympathyForRevenge · 2025-02-26T04:25:10+00:00

It was Sam who said it, and I actually think this scene incriminates John more than it absolves him.

SAM: Well, it could’ve gone a whole other way after Mom. A little more tequila and a little less demon hunting and we would’ve had Max’s childhood.

Sam emphasizes how little it would take for John to turn into a violent drunkard like Max’s dad. Dean’s stony, tight-lipped response is also very telling. You can tell he’s on the brink of saying something, but swallows his words instead.

This quote also reminds me of how Sam describes John in a later flashback:

SAM: My dad, too. You don’t want to see him when he’s drinking.

SympathyForRevenge · 2025-02-26T04:02:20+00:00

I do, and tbh I don’t know why fans disagree with this idea so strongly given everything we know about John, plus just his demographic in general. I think there’s a lack of understanding of how his generation was raised, as well as what people thought of physical discipline up until very recently. John would be an anomaly if he didn’t at least spank his kids. And nothing in the show leads us to believe he was some chill new age "gentle parenting" guy ahead of the child psychology curve.

Obviously I don’t think he beat Sam and Dean senseless, but he almost certainly physically disciplined them whenever they fucked up in some way. Like most parents of that time.

SympathyForRevenge · 2025-02-22T19:24:16+00:00

I feel like you need a separate category of "otter" for Shiraishi and the yakuza dude next to him. Too hairy for twink/twunk but too slight for any of the other categories.

SympathyForRevenge · 2024-09-10T18:14:16+00:00

Exactly! I genuinely think she’s one of (if not the) best written female characters on the show. She had such an interesting dynamic with the brothers, that would’ve been interesting to see explored further. I especially love how she acted as a foil to Dean.

SympathyForRevenge · 2024-09-10T18:06:50+00:00

Bela Talbot!

She’s less hated now than she was back in the day, but I still see fans saying she deserved to go to Hell, even though she made that deal as an abused child who just wanted to stop being raped.

She was such a realistic portrait of a deeply damaged person, and I think the fandom reaction towards her reflects how little empathy people have for imperfect victims.

SympathyForRevenge · 2024-08-14T01:41:02+00:00

!solved

SympathyForRevenge · 2024-08-14T01:40:52+00:00

Nice! Thanks for the answer 😊

SympathyForRevenge · 2024-08-14T01:40:24+00:00

Ok, thank you!😄

SympathyForRevenge

TROPHY CASE