#but he's also not a “just a baby UwU his acts of cruelty doesn't actually count at all and he approves of worst things because ✨ trauma ✨” | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

dmbakura · 3 months

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Would you say AA has this sense of thinking he /needs/ to be like Cazador, because that's "what works" and what's "safe"? Like this is who he has to be, and nothing else is viable? That's how I interpreted AA's masking (especially during his sex scene, it seems very insincere and more like what he thinks he needs to be than what he wants) and I can't really make it work with Neil's statements honestly.

I also think he's very much capable of cruelty but the way AA acts is something else entirely to me because it's so goofily a Stereotypical Cartoon Villain Big Bad Sexy Vampire which doesn't really come across as honest in the way, let's say, Gortash's antics seem honest from what we know of the character. Maybe I'm misinterpreting what masking means, idk. I'm definitely not saying it's not honest that he wants to do all that power-hungry shit and that he's secretly a pure tortured soul because that's a lame ass reading that contradicts canon but everything about how he carries himself is so uncanny and all those underlying themes of being really fucking afraid and unable to face what happened/running away from it don't lead me to believe he's living an authentic life, more like he's trapped inside himself.

I don't really see how this contradicts anything Neil said. He never says AA is Astarion's most authentic self at all, or even that he's healthy and confident, only that he stops masking with theatrical deflections.

You also have to account for the supernatural element here too. In dnd lore, most true vampires basically succumb to personality rot and become paranoid and obsessive scheming freaks. I know the 'vampire ascendant' is a new thing and bg3 plays with the lore a bit more but considering this is alluded to by Astarion AND Cazador and heavily reflected in AAs behavior, I'm willing to believe that the vampire ascendant is literally just that but on steroids. Hence the cartoonish behavior lol

Astarion's a complex character. A lot of his arc is a question about how trauma can shape a person and what remains (if anything) after they've gone through something inconceivable, and if they can move past it and reclaim an identity for themself. I don't think it's a coincidence that his background is mostly vague and we don't actually know the kind of person he was before he was turned (unlike *those* fans, I also don't believe 'corrupt magistrate' means he was 'always destined to be evil' or some nonsense like that.) So much of his character is informed by the choices made in the game and how the experiences shape his worldview. He's by far the most dynamic character in the game and people want there to be a simple answer to his character (whether that be 'he's a poor uwu baby who did nothing wrong' or 'he's always been irredeemably evil and is incapable of change') when the reality is there just isn't one.

All this to say, same as what I've been saying from the beginning, both endings for him serve a purpose. They're two sides of the same coin for his character. They are both true to Astarion and his development and they're meant to contrast in ways that make you think deeper about him and his story. They absolutely cannot be taken in a vacuum and I am just so annoyed with people not engaging with the story on this level and wanting there to be simple moral platitudes to everything because they're uncomfortable with complexity.

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lucky-bishop · 7 months

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You’re the first person I’ve seen post critically but also rationally about Derek and I appreciate that so much.

Everyone posts about precious baby Derek and feral gremlin Stiles and I think while Stiles is definitely a feral gremlin, Derek is pretty amoral as well. That’s part of the appeal of Sterek in my opinion, not unlike the appeal of Steter. Derek has absolutely taken a lot of hits, of course he has, but he also makes super questionable choices that in my opinion disqualify him from the hero label.

Sure he gets knocked down but he gets up again and all that tub thumpin goodness, but pretending that Derek doesn’t have quite a lot of darkness embedded in his actions is ignoring a lot of his characterization. There’s violence in there that can’t be washed away with some flashbacks to his youth where he was “tricked” by Peter. I love that character, but he’s not a cinnamon roll.

Anyway 💚

I'm glad you enjoyed my thoughts on Derek! He's a very nuanced character. He definitely sees the world in more shades of grey than I think he is sometimes given credit for.

I think I can hold some of the opinions I do about Derek because I don't ship him as hard with Stiles as I do Peter (meaning both Stiles with Peter and Derek with Peter). I also think that this is once again a place where Derek being a born werewolf has more of an impact on the narrative than was actually addressed. The way he acts and thinks is always going to be a little bit outside of our standards.

I do think fundamentally that Derek does not take joy in cruelty in the same way that both Stiles and Peter express. Part of the reason I don't write much Sterek of my own is because I have a hard time seeing a relationship for them where Stiles doesn't hurt Derek intentionally or otherwise. Stiles is a very caustic person. Derek is a very sensitive person (I don't mean this as in precious soft baby uwu or whatever but just that he seems to feel things deeply and internalize things and take things very personally). The potential for true, unforgivable hurt in a dynamic like that is very high. So I enjoy a lot of other people's Sterek and their interpretations but that's why it's not something I ship as hard or write as often.

Thank you! 💓

#sterek #teen wolf #derek hale #stiles stilinski #ask #anon

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fyodorloveclub · 11 months

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Ahhh finally someone who also believes that (while being a murderer, terrorist, etc.) Fyodor has a good heart! As horrible as some people (fictional or real) are, I find it hard to believe that people can be purely and entirely evil at their core, with nothing good lying within them. I don’t believe that people just are evil, as in being born like that. People do horrible things because of their upbringing (believing that some bad things are normal), because of trauma, clinically psychological problems, actual brain damages/dysfunctions (e.g. being physically unable to feel empathy or remorse) etc., but I just cannot believe that some people are just bad.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not trying to excuse horrible/abusive/etc. behavior or evil actions, nor am I saying that „all evil people are just hurt and need a hug, uwu“, but I don’t think that bad people are bad people „just because, for no reason“. I don’t believe selfishness and cruelty is the „true“ human nature. Humans are capable of that, but it’s not all they are. At least that’s what I believe.

(Babies cannot survive without affection and love, no one can tell me that humans have an evil and antisocial core and are only good if it’s beneficial for them! Fuck you, Thomas Hobbes.)

Fyodor would probably still manipulate me for his own benefit and then kill me before tossing my dead body into a ditch if he was real, but I don’t think he was born like that, you know?

FUCK U THOMAS HOBBES FORREAL ive only taken intro to philosophy but i still hate that man

and i genuinely agree i think for the most part people are born not evil. that's why there's "villain origin stories" and not like. "good person origin stories" slkjdsakl for someone who commits such heinous acts like fyodor-type characters there's something behind that. he definitely doesn't just do it for funsies or because he has nothing better to do. and this is a very poorly worded response but i get what u mean and i hope u get what i mean <3 and id happily let fyodor manipulate me idc

#voices in my head #demons

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reesiereads · 4 years

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Let's talk about Virgil...

Note: Please for the love of God read the whole fucking post.

Let's do this.

So I'll start off by saying that this post is not excusing any of Virgil's actions. Canon Virgil has been an asshole lately and its very clear he doesn't plan on changing his actions. This is more a rant about why I believe he is being characterised that way, and why its a fucking problem (besides the obvious). If you don't like negitive stuff towards Virgil scroll past.

I'll say first that I believe Virgil's characterzation makes sense. His close knit relationship with Patton makes sense because Anxiety is often affected by your emotions and how you feel about certain things (your morality). His relationship with Logan makes sense (the threats, the shutting up thing, the talking over, the arguing) because anxiety often over rules logic and reasoning, and can make you impulsive and emotionally charged (people can actually be very aggressive or irritable when anxious, most aren't uwu soft or whatever the fuck get your facts straight) His relationship with Roman makes sense because motivation for creativity can be distinguished by anxiety, not to mention the fact that your anxiety and fears about perfection or whatever can affect your work. His relationship with Janus makes sense because anxiety and lieing have a very interesting relationship, you can lie about being anxious or while being anxious but you can also be anxious about lieing. His relationship with Remus makes sense because intrusive thoughts can be scary, and can make you anxious about how you'll act or if your a good person.

However: Just because Virgil is characterized well for Anxiety, doesn't excuse his actions towards the others

As someone who has very bad anxiety, and can get very cruel or irritable or sarcastic when anxious I can understand where Virgil is coming from (if you believe he also suffers from anxiety like I do) however having anxiety doesn't excuse your actions. Just because your in a bad mental state doesn't mean you can say whatever the fuck you want and not apoligize or make up for it. And it definitely doesn't mean that you can threaten to harm people.

I'll give you an example (because I know people need those): When my anxiety first started developing I had a very bad way of coping with it. When Anxious I would snap at people, be sarcastic to the point of cruelty, and insult people.

However, I've changed this behavior and have improved massively. I am working constantly on not hurting other people or snapping not just when I'm anxious but when I'm upset or angry or anything.

The problem with Virgil is that he isn't trying to change.

Virgil has acknowledged that he is mean, and he says its so that he can be 'heard' but he also knows this isn't necessary anymore. The others have made it clear that they are willing to listen to him, and yet he countinues to insult, degrade, threaten, and berate the others. He hasn't made any attempt to stop this behavior or even bothered to fucking apoligize (one time does not make up for doing in a million other times).

I love Virgil, but people need to understand that in canon, he isn't some fucking pure baby (he literally said he hates being called that btw) he is an asshole who needs to be put in check, and needs to understand that:

Anxiety isn't an excuse to hurt others

I understand others may not agree with me on this, and thats fine. All I ask is that if you comment do it in a respectful manner. You can love Virgil (I do to, I find him relatable) and this post isn't me trying to say you can't, but please don't curse me out or take drastic measures because I'm expressing my opinions.

#virgil sanders #ts virgil #virgil negativity #anxiety #sanders sides #unsympathetic virgil #Im only putting that because I dont want anyone coming after me #im honestly pretty terrified of posting this but it needs to be said #cursing #tw cursing #tell me if i need to tag anything else

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