“Daddy issues” is an unfair term in real life bc it’s a judgment that carries different implications, either that someone is functioning badly bc of a bad relationship with their father, or that they had too good ofa relationship with their father and are spoiled; etc.; there is a wide range, but it basically all boils down to the cheap jab: “That person has daddy issues.”
When I see that term used on fictional characters, it’s more about people outright shitposting or having a touch of dark humor (sometimes more than a touch!) because we know these characters are not real people, they’ll never actually hear us insulting them. And what’s intriguing to me about that term used in analysis or in canon about these characters is that sometimes it’s considered a huge fault, something you say to put a character down; but at other times, it’s a badge of honor that a character can function so well even carrying the burden of “daddy issues.”
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(530): THAT GUY IS NOTHING BUT TROUBLE. HE’S 40% PRETTY HAIR AND 60% DADDY ISSUES.
Loki and Tony Stark are great examples of fictional characters w/ “daddy issues,” bc they both had unhealthy relationships with their fathers and it was a very formative experience for them. They are very layered and intellectually stimulating characters, would they be this way if they’d had the benefit of better relationships with their fathers? Isn’t there a kind of catharsis in watching them struggle and battle through their demons in order to reach their goals? Isn’t there extra reward when we see them succeed despite the emotional burdens they bear? And especially when others taunt them about their “daddy issues” and they are strong in the face of that adversity, too?
Google gives the definition of “Daddy issues” as:
“a pejorative for a lot of social, psychological or behavioral issues that may OR MAY NOT stem from an unhealthy relationship with one’s father. It’s usually used to marginalize issues women are having, though to be honest men are perfectly capable of having “daddy issues” too.”
I was asked this a few months ago and it’s a delicate subject bc, again, “daddy issues” is a pejorative, and therefore it can belittle/marginalize real people who have ‘social, psychological or behavioral issues that may OR MAY NOT stem from an unhealthy relationship with one’s father.’
But since these are fictional characters I feel like we can discuss it without causing harm, and I would agree with @vampires-and-witches who had made commentary that Claudia would probably be the fictional character with the most daddy issues in VC [X].
^And yet, in spite of her “daddy issues,” Claudia had persevered (at least, temporarily) when she thought she had killed her own dad/maker. As much as I love Lestat, he did have that coming to him, he deserved it, and he doesn’t even blame her for doing it. So when Claudia rose up and attacked the one who had wronged her the most? 12 year old me was thrilled, cheering her on! I wasn’t about to copy her and kill my parents *eyeroll* but what it showed me was the immense strength of character, someone who was at a great physical disadvantage, AND burdened with “daddy issues,” and yet she executed her plan entirely on her own and succeeded!
I will add that I think VC has a ton of terrible fictional parents (mortal/biological and vampiric/makers). Many are neglectful, abusive, manipulative, etc. or a combination. A terrible or absent parent/maker can affect someone’s future relationships with everyone they interact with. It’s those fictional characters who bear that burden and rise up and succeed (or at least keep trying!) despite it, those are some of the best characters in the series, in my opinion.
So I’ll open this up, anyone can reblog/comment about the characters with the most “daddy/maker issues”!
I was going through my inbox, and felt like doing some deeeeeep excavation, here’s a really old one, do you think this anon is still attracted to me, or have they given up? Or are they still waiting on a reply?? *laughcries*
Thank you for this comment, bc I did some real percolating on it and I am happy to answer you.
I tagged it that way bc often I’ll see posts on my dash where someone has used a gif from a source, which hasn’t been tagged, and I’ll see tags or comments like, “Who is this hot guy?!” “Where is this from?!” which is so sad, bc they might really want to know and get into that fandom! So in tagging it #Supernatural, it’s actually free advertising BACK to Supernatural; someone might see my post on their dash, and think, “What is this from? Oh, it’s tagged Supernatural. Maybe I should check that show out, this guy looks like he could be a great actor…” And then you might gain awesome fresh blood in your fandom, who could turn out to be your new best friend (or even something more!, ppl meet the love of their life through fandom, I kinda hope to do so, too) ^_____^
I also enjoy the fact that other fandoms bleed into each other sometimes, bc fandom is an umbrella concept over so many of them (if not all). There are even crossover fanworks (fic, memes, etc.) between fandoms and different works of media, often enriching the experience of both. Especially when you have someone who can make really great meta-analysis comparing some aspect of one fandom to another, they might even make you ship smtg you never thought you’d ship.
As an example: One of our fandom ppl has moved onto the MCU!Avengers, but specifically the Steve Rogers/Tony Stark ship, and they convinced me that that ship has alot of similarity with Louis/Lestat. And now I can’t unsee it, and you could all lose me to Stony someday.
^Lestat/Louis meet Tony Stark/Steve Rogers, hilarity ensues. This is a fanwork that crossovers two different fandoms, and so much is conveyed without any dialogue at all, it’s all in the facial expressions and body positions and it gives me such feels whenever I look at it. Drawn by @americancaptaincomic
All that said, I’m sure I’m not the only one who has posted that gif with the #Supernatural tag. If you want a pure SPN tag, you can run your own blog and keep it as pure and clean as you like! And I don’t say that w/ any intended sassy attitude, it’s just a fact, and even though I wanted to keep my blog purely VC, I have found that embracing other fandoms is more inclusive and really does enrich the experience.
Ah! Such high praise, thank u! That means a lot, coming from you.
Of course I am more than happy to explain u all a thing or two or a bazillion about VC *u*
Please feel free to ask or share or participate in any way at all, bc of reasons.
And I learn so much about Captain America from americancaptaincomic! Children of Darkness (<—what we are perhaps calling ourselves now),
People Off the Page (<—what I have been calling ourselves before), my fanged little trash kittens and monsters (<—new thing I started calling ourselves), go check out this fanart/webcomic, the style is so charming and the writing so smart, you may find yourself slipping into being a Stony shipper, as I have become.
Psssst Steve/Tony is similar to Louis/Lestat! Ego size comparisons are a match for Lestat and Tony, har har har…
People Off The Page? THAT’S BRILLIANT.
Here’s this I prepared actually years earlier.
I LOVE this! Both couples! What a crossover! Tony is all, “There’s a 5 ft protective radius around Steve and you better BOTH respect it unless you want the package deal of testing out the business end of the flamethrowers I just installed.”
(People Off the Page: If you like this style as much as I do which is ALOT, I’ve got some more of it under #Therapy with the Vampire)
“People Off the Page” is pretty damn clever if I do say so myself. Unfortunately it has the same acronym as the group who slavishly follows our fandom’s creator but WHATEVER.
I-want-my-IWTV 