Honestly, I love it when characters relapse. When someone who’s gotten over their anger issues falls into a situation so out of their depth they fall back on their old habits. When someone who’s learned to open up becomes a recluse again in order to cope with something outside their control.
There’s just something so horrible, so toxic, about watching a character grow and then slip back into their old selves in order to cope, bc you know they still care, that they’re the same inside, but watching them hurt so hard they don’t know what else to do brings a sense of catharsis.
#writeblr#writing#writers on tumblr#writing community#creative writing#my writing#fanfic#fanfiction#one of those tropes that has to be played carefully tho#it’s important to show them wresting with it#and realizing what they’re doing#but being so lost in their pain they don’t know what to do#show they’re contrary feelings and that they’re still the same inside#it’s just a defense mechanism#also don’t make it seem like a flick of a switch#a slow process of relapse and a slow process of recovery from it is also important#not a plot twist for the sake of it#or played for drama#but a legitimate change with real consequences#just yappin#writing prompts#writing tropes#writing stuff#writing characters#characters#character arcs#oc stuff#tropes#trope talk
