finally ready to talk about how dennis epitomizes growing up a woman (who’s gay):
obsessed with his body image/weight, but never sees it as good enough
constantly fad dieting dangerously
constantly seeking outside validation
has to do his makeup before he leaves the house or he physically cannot leave the house, his fixation with makeup also increases over time and develops more of a stranglehold on him over time. what starts as being for fun or a quick, sexy thing in the morning turns into an obsession
in love with his best friend but either won’t admit it or doesn’t realize it
absolutely refuses to make the first move even if he KNOWS it will be well-received because he can’t be 100% sure
actively mistaking same-gender attraction for platonic feelings & vice versa
constantly flirting with his same-gender friends but doesn’t seem to realize it, gets anxious and defensive about it when he’s called out
frequently engages in boring, fast, mostly-anonymous heterosexual sex so he never has to bother actually getting intimate with a woman. has as much of it as possible so that he can always use it as a gotcha! when his straightness is questioned
uses straight sex to prove he’s not crazy, uses it to ground him, uses it for pretty much everything except pleasure & intimacy. always drunk off his ass when it happens. obsessed with his ‘number’ of partners above all else so he never fucks the same woman twice if he can help it, because now that he’s had her he’s already bored. always pretty sure that the next woman will be different
isn’t happy with who he is so he’s always putting on personas trying to be somebody else, somebody palatable and acceptable to the people around him (and always fluid depending on who’s around him) but is ALWAYS depressed because he’s still himself underneath
agrees to go on straight dates to prove a point but is always immediately bored. uses sex and dating to cover up his insecurities, but hates the act itself
thinks he wants the nuclear family american ideal but in reality is disgusted by it
bad relationship with his parents
his father, who’s always berating him for not being good enough and sexualizing him against his will for his own gain/profit/because that’s inherently how he sees dennis
his mother, who pushed that he needed to be prim/perfect/beautiful to the point of detriment to his self-esteem
depressed and hates himself because of all the things he internalized growing up, so now he pretends to be cold and emotionless (and straight!) because it’s much easier than being himself at this point
is used to being used because of all of this so now he doesn’t know how to face, accept, or give in to genuine affection or requests to be vulnerable
abandonment & control issues
janainaart
dailybridgerton
snowghoul
tangentwithtanner
origamiaround
theartofmadeline
jacobvanloon
gummygunk
