Idk I have a... pet peeve I guess? about characters made to look stupider/more clueless than they actually are. Or more innocent, infantilised... that sort of thing. And I see it happen to Cullen and Jasquier. I think the latter is way more courageous than people give him credit for, and that the former gets mistaken for naïve when he is just awkward in certain social situations (and possibly unexperienced in some sexual ones, but even that is... let's say it's not necessarily a given. I once wrote "Cullen spent a lot of his life in crowded barracks with other men. What he's done is up to you, but he knows, okay.") And while I'm at it: Cullen may be blunt but he is also smart and dangerous and definitely not the innocent suffering cinnamon roll that he's sometimes made out to be.
(Ugh, sorry for the rant but I have opinions, okay. I started a "trauma boys notepad" weeks ago and because my mind is often elsewhere I only jotted down a few sentences so far and every single one is like "Here's my DON'T list for those characters. Also, Cullen is a blond, not a blonde. The Latin for my lion would be leo meum, be careful not to use the female form mea." I am grumpy like that.)
Seriously, I am SO HAPPY that the religion prompt is your jam. Considering how often LGBT people struggle with their faith because their religion (or religious leaders/institutions) does not accept them, I would find that fic especially poignant and powerful. Besides, bi!Cullen is just... idk why exactly, but it means something to me and it means twice as much seeing him come to terms with it. I know the South is mainly fine with same-gender attraction but that still doesn't mean that it is normalised per se (the couples would still be a minority,) that there aren't homophobic pockets still, or that there isn't a conflict between some traditions/sacred texts and lived reality.
Re: Dorian/Cullen
Idk I have a... pet peeve I guess? about characters made to look stupider/more clueless than they actually are. Or more innocent, infantilised... that sort of thing. And I see it happen to Cullen and Jasquier. I think the latter is way more courageous than people give him credit for, and that the former gets mistaken for naïve when he is just awkward in certain social situations (and possibly unexperienced in some sexual ones, but even that is... let's say it's not necessarily a given. I once wrote "Cullen spent a lot of his life in crowded barracks with other men. What he's done is up to you, but he knows, okay.")
And while I'm at it: Cullen may be blunt but he is also smart and dangerous and definitely not the innocent suffering cinnamon roll that he's sometimes made out to be.
(Ugh, sorry for the rant but I have opinions, okay. I started a "trauma boys notepad" weeks ago and because my mind is often elsewhere I only jotted down a few sentences so far and every single one is like "Here's my DON'T list for those characters. Also, Cullen is a blond, not a blonde. The Latin for my lion would be leo meum, be careful not to use the female form mea." I am grumpy like that.)
Seriously, I am SO HAPPY that the religion prompt is your jam. Considering how often LGBT people struggle with their faith because their religion (or religious leaders/institutions) does not accept them, I would find that fic especially poignant and powerful. Besides, bi!Cullen is just... idk why exactly, but it means something to me and it means twice as much seeing him come to terms with it. I know the South is mainly fine with same-gender attraction but that still doesn't mean that it is normalised per se (the couples would still be a minority,) that there aren't homophobic pockets still, or that there isn't a conflict between some traditions/sacred texts and lived reality.
(Please stop me before I talk your ear off.)