#trying to see who the most unpopular 'antagonist' is

[shepherds-of-haven]

#sorry to the Prihine/Croelle fans #they're not villains but some people still dislike them so I had to include them for an unbiased survey 😔 #trying to see who the most unpopular 'antagonist' is #leave a write-in comment if your option didn't make it 👀 #the faceless lords don't count!! #and i left [chapter 7 villain] out due to spoilers #i admit this one's primarily for the alpha build players lol #the editor's random but she's mean and regularly shits on the Shepherds so I don't like her lmao she's truly a background villain #you can actually meet her in person in a later planned route if you're commander-legate! #Shepherds of Haven #poll #spoilers #mild #silly

[yuikomorii]

DL characters from most to least intelligent?

// Oh, this is going to be interesting!

Disclaimer: This top incorporates intelligence as in brain power, perceptiveness and so on. It also has nothing to do with morals or the DL Tokutens, since those are just for fun and not the most accurate version of the characters, therefore it’s based on routes, serious CD dramas and official short stories.

1. Laito

It's no longer a secret that Laito is extremely intelligent to the point of being terrifying. I've already discussed his big brain in this post, but I'll try to summarize it here. This man can read everyone like a book; he can easily absorb and apply any type of information. He's also the only character who can manipulate everyone, including the AB boys, and even Carla was surprised by his intelligence in Dark Fate. I've said it before and I'll say it again: he could twist every DL main cast character around his finger if he wanted to, too bad he’s not good at reading himself.

2. Carla

Literally the Diaboy who would make the best king. Despite the fact that I can't bring myself to ship him with Yui because the couple is far too disturbing, he is a wise and great ruler. We were able to see that best in LE, he's good at plans, logical, and knowledgeable on a variety of topics that can help him get out of uncomfortable situations.

3. Shu

Shu may have many flaws, but he is undeniably intelligent. He appears apathetic, as if he doesn't care about anything, but he knows far more than you'd think. I believe he is the best candidate for king among the Sakamakis because he is open-minded and can reflect on his thought process.

4. Kino

Probably a very unpopular opinion since people don’t really seem to like Kino and yeah, he seems kind of dumb at times, but I'll give him credit for being a really good antagonist. He beat the Tsukinamis on this one; this guy is really good at devising different evil plans in order to sabotage the Diaboys, which I find really interesting.

5. Reiji, Ruki

The boys who like belittling others, despite being more on the booksmart side. They're very knowledgeable for sure, they both have a lot of information in their heads, and they're also more strategic than their brothers. In a nutshell, their intelligence is beneficial. However, because of their overconfidence, they are prone to reacting incorrectly when things do not go their way, which can lead to serious breakdowns.

6. Azusa

Azusa is most likely the character who speaks the least; he is timid and silent, but isn't it true that quiet people have the loudest minds? He pays close attention to everything that goes on around him, and I firmly believe that he is one of the best characters at seeing through people.

7. Kou

Another unpopular opinion since people like to portray Kou as a dumb guy, but that’s not the case. Sure, he doesn’t care about many things and doesn’t always pay attention to what others are saying but that’s because he simply doesn’t want to. I know Kou acts occasionally childish but he has a very mature point of view. Even if his magical eye allows him to read people’s hearts, he must be very cunning to know how to manipulate everyone based on this without coming across as obvious. Additionally, he has an unpredictable nature.

8. Ayato, Yui

Mr. “I’m impulsive and don’t care about others’ opinions” and Little Miss “I act without thinking and have to face consequences afterwards”. Not counting the fact that Yui has more morals and knows more about human stuff (since she’s human after all), they both have the same number of brain cells. Both canonically have little knowledge, they require help most of the time when doing something, and their plans are literally dead ends, BUT I can't deny they're very perceptive at times. I wrote more about Ayato here; he appears ignorant but notices important details and analyzes the behavior of those around him. The same can be said for Yui, who can also be a good observer.

9. Shin

He has more knowledge than Ayato and Yui and was quite clever in Ruki's DF route, but SORRY his LE route made him appear so stupid in my eyes. All of his problems could have been solved if he had tried to use his brain, but he didn't, which is why his route was so frustrating. Don’t get me wrong, I understand that every character has dumb moments, some more, others less, but come on... he didn’t try to logically solve his problems and only suddenly had the big realization to do so, which was IN HIS VAMPIRE ENDING. I excuse characters who make mistakes or act on a whim, but Shin crossed the line in LE. I can't imagine a Diaboy in his own route as dense as Shin was there; he kept getting himself into more and more trash, which is a shame because he would have been much higher on this list if they didn’t do him so dirty there.

10. Subaru, Yuma, Kanato

I feel bad for rating them so low because I really like Subaru and Yuma; Kanato is intriguing too, but the problem is that they almost never get the chance to prove themselves. I understand Subaru's situation because he doesn't have any deep bonds with anyone, after all, he's the only Sakamaki without a brother from the same mother, and he's also quite asocial, so it's not like he'd pay attention to anything that's not his business, but I really don't get why the others didn’t get a big chance to use their brains. Yuma is very useful though, but Kanato's case is a whole other story. I can’t deny that he’s actually sly sometimes but he was Laito's closest brother during childhood; why is Ayato the one to best analyze Laito and not him?? Ayato was literally locked away in his room all day, unlike him, who played with Laito on a daily basis… so much lost potential.

#yui komori #ayato sakamaki #kanato sakamaki #laito sakamaki #shu sakamaki #reiji sakamaki #subaru sakamaki #ruki mukami #kou mukami #yuma mukami #azusa mukami #carla tsukinami #shin tsukinami #kino #diabolik lovers #dialovers #admin #(I hope you meant from the main cast) #(if not then Karlheinz is the most intelligent one)

[nicosraf]

What was ur thought process into making or developing Samyaza?? Or all of the watchers..I’m like 50% into the book and he’s hypocritical to me like he makes these back handed remarks abt azazel having a man but like does it matter cause you all are sinners in the eyes of god and it seems he wants to get rid of everybody on earth so far

It seems like most of the watchers still hold some type of bias towards the “sinners” of Heaven for being a “whore” but you guys aren’t even in heaven (and won’t be treated the same when u return) and you guys are doing the same thing :/ even having tons of babies like did you guys even think abt this being a possibility???

I feel like this is an unpopular opinion but I kinda dislike Samyaza it seem like after everything that’s happened he still doesn’t try to see different view points on life on earth apart from his. He chalks up Armoni not particularly liking his wife (that he was practically forced to marry) as just Armoni being his usual distasteful self. :(

I may just have to reread a couple of pages to try and understand Samyaza or any of the the watchers. But I LOVE your works and I think they’re amazing and I didn’t want this to come off as passive aggressive I guess I’m just confused abt some of these characters since I don’t think like they do

I realized this just seems like a rant but still you’re writing is AMAZING💕💕💕 you’re really inspiring as a writer 😋

a&m spoilers

Hello! I'm curious if your thoughts have changed since you sent this ask, but disliking Samyaza definitely isn't a minority opinion!

I think almost all my betas disliked Samyaza at the start, but they all liked him by the end. I think, for most readers, Samyaza is hypocritical, selfish, and etc., but the amount he suffers by end makes it so that.... well, yes, Samyaza might be a bit aggravating at times, he definitely didn't deserve any of what happens. And he does change as a person, at least I think so.

The story of Enoch sort of lends itself to the interpretation of a husky, tortured fallen angel who sweeps a beautiful woman off her feet and has to choose between her or God, his Father. I like to say this is the version of Samyaza that I would have been able to write if I wasn't as gay as I am, but my reasoning for not making him that is a little more complicated.

I like writing hypocrites, and I liked the idea of an angel that saw his struggle similar to a woman's, feeling a solidarity with her instead of just sexual attraction. One part of Enoch that always struck me is the passages about the Watchers crying and begging Enoch to talk to God for them. I thought the angels being unsure or not really knowing that this would make God as mad as it did was interesting. I liked the idea of him being an angel associated with water because of his role in the flood, so I made him a lesser angel of healing. I can go on and on.

In my original concepts of A&M (YEARS ago), I intended for Samyaza to be much more of a bad person, almost an antagonist to Azazel. But as I outlined, I started falling in love with this version of him.

Btw, it's okay if you dislike Samyaza and even dislike him after finishing the book. Not all characters have to be loved, and Samyaza would agree with you that he doesn't really deserve anyone's love or forgiveness after what he's done.

I can talk more about the Watchers if you like! I really like all of them :') Thank you for the ask! I'm happy you like my writing. I hope you enjoy the rest of a&m

#a&m spoilers #mine #ask

[adhd-merlin]

unpopular opinion: arthur (as much as i like him as a character) was useless in terms of prophecy and liberation of the magic people. not just bc he never ended up lifting the magic ban but bc literally anyone sitting on the throne could have done that. i see no reason why it had to be arthur specifically. but the show liked to pretend like he was the only way to achieve a positive future bc the opprressed community cant simply help themselves that would be silly ig? no no they need to patiently wait that maybe one day their oppressor (whos literally continuing his fathers genocide even if less zealously) has a change of heart and they wont be hunted down like animals anymore. never mind the countless people that will have to die in the mean time. merlin can kill a bajillion people on screen and thats fine and for the greater good but if someone tries to kill One guy sitting on a fancy chair with a fancy hat suddenly thats too extreme. half the time it felt like the show was pointing to merlin as a poster child of how to act when oppressed. the fact that morgana growing bitter about uthers reign is framed as inherently bad and what directly lead to her becoming evil tm is particularly infuriating to me. the choice to create this very ya dystopian setting and then cast the oppressors as part of the main cast and the final solution is just very weird to me. i think it wouldve been objectively for the best if the magic community had overthrown arthur (or uther really but thats not really contested.. unless youre the bbc. this show is so british (derogatory))

in that vein: mordred has never done anything wrong in his entire life and that includes killing arthur

one more for the "arthur was a loser" folder

[ok but about the rest!! I have many thoughts about it. merlin as a member of an Oppressed Minority. his betrayal of his own kin. I'm putting it all under a cut bc you guys don't need to see me rambling about this and the disir again]

you make a good point — the way in which a story is framed, even the moment we choose as a "beginning", determines what characters we'll feel sympathy for, even when the facts at our disposal are the same.

I don't think the writers were trying to create any kind of deep social commentary btw. just so we're clear. merlin is the hero of the story and his mission is to keep arthur safe. we've got to root for them both.

to have a king with a hatred (fear) of magic gives us a convenient antagonist within the court. merlin having to defend the men that would have him killed for his magic is a great source of dramatic tension. it sort of follows that the people he has to fight against to defend the king/prince are other magic users, or magical threats. (it also keeps things interesting because there would be no challenge for merlin otherwise).

there isn't much of a point in exploring the motives and backstories of other characters with magic (with the exception of morgana, perhaps). They are only briefly touched upon — so these characters remain vaguely antagonistic for the most part. Neutrally aligned at best (see mordred).

We are shown that the druids are (mostly) aware of the prophecy that marks merlin/emrys as the saviour of their kind.

what I find fascinating are merlin's interactions with magic people who are either not aware of this prophecy (gilli) or have no faith in it (kara, possibly?) Because we're never given the chance or the time to see things from their perspective. To see merlin through their eyes.

When gilli says:

"It is time that someone struck a blow for the likes of you and me. And if you're too weak, then I will." (!!!)

It makes him sound like some kind of extremist, but really, when you think about it. isn't his anger kind of justified? I'm not condoning his violence, I'm just saying — it's understandable. uther has killed so many innocent people. literally drowned innocent children. and merlin's like "violence isn't the answer!" — and I can see his point!! but I can see gilli's just as well. and I find it so interesting that he's still addressing merlin as a brother ("the likes of you and me"), even when expressing disappointment in his actions and calling him weak. because they are the same. he's saying "you're deluded, and cozying up to the enemy won't save you"

this episode also contains what is (probably) my favourite dragon call. when merlin summons kilgharrah in other episodes, he's usually in the middle of some Urgent Situation. matters of life or death. there is nothing urgent here, really. yeah, it is arguably a matter of life or death, but nothing merlin couldn’t have stopped on his own. he really just called on kilgharrah to have a heart to heart with a friend — a member of his class.

("You are a creature of magic, and only a creature of magic could hope to understand.")

this episode is about merlin looking for kinship and still feeling isolated from his magic brethren. there's something tragic about the way the prophecy makes him unable to connect to some of the people who would be best placed to understand him.

and gilli plants a small seed of doubt in merlin's mind. "You've been pretending for so long now that you've actually forgotten who you are" (!!)

but kilgharrah reassures merlin that there's a golden age coming. so merlin does what he has to do — he saves uther once again. before gilli leaves, merlin reassures him that one day they will be free.

he tells mordred the same:

"It won't always be like this. One day we will live in freedom again."

and then, when he has the unique opportunity to use his influence on arthur to sway his opinion in the right direction. he fails.

he condemns himself, and the people he spoke to of freedom, to keep living in fear and in hiding — and what's even more upsetting, he does so while talking of a "just and fair kingdom"!

("You must protect the world you spent your life building, a just and fair kingdom for all." What an interesting choice of words. camelot isn't just and fair to all — as merlin knows well. he's lying to arthur, and possibly to himself.)

imagine being gilli or mordred and hearing him say that "there can be no place for magic in camelot." (!) What a slap in the face.

I've read meta suggesting that the disir were testing merlin just as much as arthur (or even more so than him). I'm inclined to believe it — I want to believe it. If anything because it makes the story all the more interesting and tragic. (I know what some are going to say — if mordred's destiny was to kill arthur, it would've happened anyway. but remember what else kilgharrah said — the future is never clear. there are many paths).

I understand why merlin did what he did, I really do. but for a moment, the fair and just kingdom he spoke of was within reach, and he failed to grasp it.

so was gilli wrong after all?

[and kara. I feel quite sympathetic towards her. we know arthur. she can't see him from our (merlin's) perspective. for her, he might as well be uther. magic people are still persecuted under camelot's law. she has spent her life on the run, she has seen people she loved be killed. and from our (arthur's) perspective, she looks like some kind of fanatic. but in reality. put yourself in her shoes. when arthur offers her a chance to save herself by "repenting" for her crime, she says she has nothing to repent for. "it is not a crime to fight for your freedom". that's the belief she's willing to die for. did she deserve to die for it?

(I also think there's an interesting parallel in merlin failing his kin in the disir, and arthur failing mordred in ep 5x11 by condemning kara to death. something about pinning all your hopes on someone who's going to fail you, and doom you both. idk idk.)]

sorry anon. you were saying

#merlin meta #more like brain vomit really #there is nothing particularly insightful in here #do you have an episode or a scene that makes you lose it #for me its that scene in the disir probably #I just [insert stick figure violence meme] when I think about it #many thoughts about merlin and the druids and those who knew him as 'emrys' #you have people like alator and finna - with an almost fanatic level of faith #but surely there must have been skeptics #druids who were like ��what is he even doing. he's been in camelot for years” #“are we sure he's the right one” #it's just... from an outsider & skeptic perspective. merlin is a race traitor #defending uther and arthur like that #merlin iscariot #betrayal is such an interesting concept #but yeah I love it when he talks of freedom to his fellow oppressed sorcerers #bc it's easy to forget how much he suffers because of camelot's stance on magic #even merlin is so busy looking after arthur that he doesn't seem to have much time to dwell on his own oppression. if that makes sense #and meeting other sorcerers. it brings it back to the forefront #these are the people he's fighting for. brothers and sisters. #asks

[true-blue-sonic]

🎀, 🌸, 🗝️ ? :>

🎀 a ship others like but you don’t?

I'm not a fan of Sonjet. I have no idea how common it is, but my disinterest is two-fold: I both don't like Jet or the Babylon Rogues much anyway (due to little engagement with the Riders games, I presume), and I think the ship is one that mostly likely has as central focuses Sonic and Jet being hella competitive and Jet constantly starting discussions or trying to prove himself better as Sonic. That's not a ship dynamic that I like much, since I cannot envision a more affectionate nature in it.

🌸 a ship others dislike but you don’t?

Does Sonamy count? It's not unpopular, but I also see a lot of dislike towards it for various reasons. But I think the two of them match well, haha! Both Sonic and Amy are kind and helpful spirits who love adventure, and I think in that they have a very close bond. It's not at all a ship that I figure will end very "traditionally" since Sonic will always want to be travelling and running, but I think Amy has learned to be okay with that over time. And imagining the two of them hanging out and being close together just makes me happy!

🗝️ favorite antagonist?

Favourite-favourite is probably Infinite: I love his edgy nature as a deconstruction of that specific trope, and how he thinks he's the most powerful infallible being ever while Eggman has him on a leash the whole time, and he doesn't even realise that until it's too late. I also like Eggman Nega, because of how he's interlinked with both Silver and Blaze, and I am intrigued by the fact he despises Eggman despite either needing the good doctor for his ploys (Rush and Rush Adventure) or having to steal either his (Metal Sonic 3.0) or others' (the camera) technologies to be able to get anywhere in the first place. He hates Eggman for being an alleged failure who sullied the Robotnik name, but he's more of a failure than Eggman could ever be, nor does he seem to be particularly good at unsullying his reputation, and I find such hypocrisy deeply intriguing.

#thanks for the ask <3 #sometimes I ponder over Sonic and Amy getting children but like... Sonic just does *not* seem like the type for that haha

[lemonhemlock]

What do you think of Tyrion? Also do you think he is similar to Aegon?

I think Aegon and Tyrion are similar in a superficial kind of way, in the sense that they are both rich party kids. And perhaps in the fact that they are both disabled, though in a very different way.

As a Lannister stan, Tyrion is family & I'd never throw him to the wolves but he's the kind of family to me that I'd really want to stab sometimes. He's a very complex and compelling character, but I really hate having to share him with the dudebros, the incels and the losers, since that's the fandom he seems to attract. No shade to Tyrion fans, but shownly casuals are many and they are the ones who keep voting Tyrion as the most popular character, while simultaneously having the worst Tyrion takes.

What can there be said about ADWD!Tyrion? The fact that people don't recognise that he's become one of the antagonists is expressive of the media literacy crisis. His chapters were difficult and gross for me to go through; I do not like to think of how he thinks of his siblings.

I haven't really done a review of Tyrion meta, so I don't know the extent of the material, as I don't necessarily seek it out and don't go in the tag either. But, from what I've read online over the years, people really tend to minimise the extent of Tyrion's flaws. The point of the Lannister trio is that they're as bad as each other, there's no point in creating hierarchies of morality. Tyrion is a very funny character, though, with an intriguing sob story and that underdog trope that people just love rooting for. He is also greatly boosted by the fact that he doesn't do much of anything that's reprehensible during AGOT, at least not off the top of my head, AND he also gets POV chapters from the get-go. So, fans get sucked into his POV and, since he's very charismatic and convincing, it's very easy to adopt his side of the story.

So, by the time we get to ACOK, people have already established him as a trustworthy character in their minds and tend to view every decision he takes as reasonable and correct. But is it really so? Someone needs to do an overview of his time as Hand of the King, because some of the shit he pulls is unreal. He is unnecessarily antagonistic to Cersei, when he should be trying to work with her, takes her children away from her without her consent and without even informing her, sends Myrcella to Dorne of all places when he knows full well the Martells have serious beef with the Lannisters, threatens to rape Tommen, poisons Cersei etc. GRRM really does Cersei a disservice because we don't see her POV until AFFC, when she's going off the rails, but these are all seriously unhinged acts to do to your sister who is supposed to be your team mate, all the while there's a war going on in the background with people actively trying to kill you both. Up to that point in the story, Cersei has been mean to him and maybe bullied him, but she does volunteer information to him when he arrives in KL and tries to work with him in the beginning. Maybe an unpopular interpretation, but I feel like she does put up with a lot of Tyrion's shit before she finally decides to retaliate and goes searching for his whore.

Again, I need to do a re-read for this, but IMO Tyrion just spends most of his time getting involved in petty squabbles that do not pay off in the end, because he's preoccupied with bolstering his sense of self-importance. His father expressively sends him to King's Landing to act as Hand in his stead, yet Tyrion doesn't seem to have a notion that this gig is temporary until Daddy comes back and that he should be thinking of forging his own place at court, that's not derivative of his position as Hand. Certainly, he's not dealt the best hand (lol), there's a lot of ableism and the political situation is such a nest of vipers that very few people could successfully sort it out, but he's not exactly trying to make alliances so much as he is interested in one-upping people & alienating potential friends.

So, after the Battle of the Blackwater, he gets into this state of lamentation that's he's getting sidelined and is underappreciated that is really effective at garnering the readers' sympathy. His grievances are not invalid or phony, but there's also this element to it that other characters are just sick of his shit that completely flies over people's heads. His trial for Joffrey's murder is half-sham, but also not entirely far-fetched, as he's exhibited hostile behaviour in the past and even cruel methods of retribution (i.e. that one time he turns a singer into soup, so check for murder and also cannibalism). Had we had Cersei's POV in ACOK and ASOS instead of Tyrion's, her stalwart belief that Tyrion is actively planning her downfall would not appear so outlandish.

#i'm postponing main asoiaf meta for when i do a proper re-read #after i submit my paper #ask #anon #tyrion lannister #cersei lannister #house lannister

[henrysglock]

unpopular opinion: the people who say Billy is an irredeemably evil character are the same people who fail to see that there's no actual explicit scene where Billy keeps Max away from Lucas for racially motivated reasons (he's mostly just trying to cover his ass to avoid getting beaten up by Neil, who's likely the bigger racist influence; Billy isn't racist by default so much as it would likely be learned behaviours from Neil. Don't even get me started on how Billy's effeminate Glam Rock aesthetic is likely seen as a huge Disappointment to Masculinity in Neil's mind as well, but I digress) and in the same breath as saying "Billy fans are evil for supporting a character who doesn't have a shred of good in him", will turn around and write multiple paragraphs about how Henry isn't evil by choice because he's a victim of Brenner's abuse, the Upside Down is what made Henry so evil, etc etc. While completely ignoring the fact that most of Billy's notably problematic behaviour was a result of the Mindflayer and likely wasn't a conscious decision. Or if they were conscious decisions, Billy made those decisions because he was raised in an environment that didn't allow him alternative ways of thinking. Just. Like. Henry. My point being... the people who idolize Henry but demonize Billy at the same time are straight up hypocrites.

You see, Anon, that's the inherent tragedy in characters like Billy and (in my own pet addition) Jason. They were both around the same age: teenagers. Did they do horrible shit? Absolutely. Was any of it excusable? Absolutely not.

Did they still have a whole life ahead of them to turn it around? Yes, and that's the tragedy.

Billy was a racist, though. There's that scene in ST2 where he tells Max to stay away from "certain types of people", and that type of person is Lucas, the black boy. So yeah, he's a racist. Undeniably so. He was also abusive to Max in major ways in ST2. And yes, he's got some major masculinity issues. That's no excuse for his behavior. This is all pre-Mindflayer. This was just Billy. However. He was 18. He was 3 months into adulthood, and while his actions are his own and there would have been necessary reparations/people who wouldn't and shouldn't forgive him...Billy's response to those old memories of being loved showed us that he had a chance, however slim, to turn his shit around if he got a proper bonk on the head (several, perhaps). His chance at changing was taken away from him. That's the tragedy of his character.

Jason is much the same. He was grief-maddened by the death of a girlfriend he refused to admit he didn't actually know. He watched his friend die under incomprehensible conditions. He was not 'evil' from the get-go. He wasn't even a proper antagonist until Chrissy died. He was looking for someone to blame and maniacally set his sites on the police's scapegoat club leader. Hellfire club wasn't even on his radar re: Chrissy until the cops leaked it. He's more complex than most people like to admit. Was any of his shit excusable? Absolutely not. Is it explicable? Yes. There's a logical progression to the things he does, despite his behavior being properly unhinged...and that wasn't the type of behavior we really see him engage in before Chrissy's death. Therein lies the tragedy: He wasn't always that way, and any chance (however slim) at walking it back was taken from him.

One is much the same in a multitude of ways: He wasn't always like this, his circumstances pushed him, and his actions remain inexcusable.

So I completely agree that it's confusing to see people treat the three of them so differently from each other. They're the same guy in different flavors.

Send me unpopular opinions!

#asks #unpopular opinion ask game

[bloodiedbeloveds]

🛼 🍬 🧩 (and hugs!)

thank you!!! these are out of order, for reasons, and also in an inconsistent writing style because we're very blurry and too tired to enforce an idiolect

🛼 ⇢ describe your latest wip with five emojis

👩‍❤️‍💋‍👨🐺🩸🫀😥

(iirc this one has not yet been discussed on the blog, try to guess what's up with it)

🧩 ⇢ what will make you click away from a fanfiction immediately?

Any variation on "Eliza deserved better", "Eliza is a cinnamon roll", or "Eliza is the peppy neurotypical therapy friend". Weirdly, asserting that Eliza "deserves better" almost always goes along with not caring about her at all and having no interest in writing her, which is deeply annoying. People who don't care about John simply don't talk about him, which is much less irritating-- people who don't care about Eliza assert that they love her and she deserves all the good things in the world and then never actually think about her. We totally get not being interested in stories about infidelity, but it's actually very possible to write about her suffering in other ways! We do it all the time when we aren't being peer-pressured out of it.

🍬 ⇢ post an unpopular opinion about a popular fandom character

we have no idea what opinions are unpopular in this fandom, actually, so here's a grab-bag of Musical Character Thoughts:

people are really into this idea of mulligan as the dad friend based on that one (1) line and you know I just don't see it. we have written him as being slightly more put-together and experienced in the world (read: in ADBT he tells alex to stop being such a fucking asshole), but the guy spends too much of his limited stage time being rambunctious and causing chaos for us to see him as being Actually In General Responsible For These Idiots

i don't get why anyone is invested in ships involving washington at all. sorry! i just don't. (it seems like a large part of it is people having a thing for older men which might explain why we, daddy kinkless, do not at all care. but it's still kind of baffling)

honestly we also do not understand why people like jamilton

[intended to write something judgmental about ways people write laurens that we don't like, but instructions were unclear and we're coming up with a new au instead]

lots of people see alex as having a terrible sleep schedule in the sense of accidentally staying up til two in the morning while getting really into something he's working on. we see him as having a terrible sleep schedule in the sense of going to bed medium-late, waking up medium-early, and ending up with at most six hours of sleep a night every night. he's not that disorganized or distractible, he just refuses to acknowledge the human body has limits

alex is a switch. if you think he can stick to just one sexual script you're wrong, he needs variety and also wants to be good at everything

under the cut we've included some opinions we know for a fact are controversial, but which relate to Mo Dao Zu Shi, a danmei novel you have presumably not read. hopefully you are baffled/entertained by our Very Strong Controversial Opinions and/or concerned that a BL romance novel has this many war crimes

(cw: discussion of torture & cannibalism)

The most infuriating thing we see regularly is people arguing that Jiang Cheng is evil because he tortured people, but Wei Wuxian is perfect and good and has never done anything wrong in his life. Like, did you guys miss the part where Wei Wuxian forced a man to eat his own legs??? That was On Page??? Torturing Demonic Cultivators Makes You Irredeemable But Forcing Someone To Commit Autocannibalism Is Okay????

(Wei Wuxian has killed thousands of people, for the record.)

Similarly: people who like Xue Yang (unhinged murderer) but consider Jin Guangyao (scheming murderer) uniquely horrible and evil are complete hypocrites. This is a book where every major character has done very immoral things! Jin Guangyao isn't uniquely evil just because he's the main antagonist. (We aren't arguing you can't like Xue Yang more-- we ourselves are passionate about Xue Yang but only sort of care about Jin Guangyao-- but acting like Xue Yang is a better person is baffling.)

In fic, it's weirdly common for people to portray the Jiang parents as being cruel only to Wei Wuxian, and to dramatically tone down Jiang Fengmian's favoritism for Wei Wuxian over Jiang Cheng, which is... sure a choice! Every time people write modern AU fic where Wei Wuxian got kicked out of the family and Jiang Cheng & Jiang Yanli's relationship with their parents is tense but not actively damaging, we shed a single tear

So. Many. People. write Lan Wangji as speaking in a weird and ungrammatical fashion, for no reason we can discern. Yes, he's taciturn, but he's also very formal and serious about doing things correctly! We are a firm believer that in English, he would speak in crisp, short, to-the-point sentences and start about half of them with "therefore". (we do have a wip where he has low verbal capabilities, but that's projection).

#asks #thank you!!! #this got long and judgmental #for the record we don't dislike anyone who thinks differently!!! we worry about offending people #and we do not mean to! our judgment is mild

[veliseraptor]

12, 13, 16

the unpopular character that you actually like and why more people should like them: I feel like a solid percentage of my fandom experience is pretty much me picking a if not unpopular then probably controversial character and then proceeding to talk loudly and ad nauseam about why I think people should like them.

but if I gotta pick just one, and thinking about characters who I feel like are actively unpopular (as opposed to controversial, which is a different category; like, I'd put Xue Yang in the latter but not really the former, since he's got a middling strength group of core fans)...

since I mentioned Black Jewels Trilogy I'll throw one out for Jaenelle Angelline who I recall people really not liking back in the day, at least (I'm not actively in the fandom now so maybe this isn't the case anymore), or at least didn't find interesting as a character. and I get that because on the one hand sure, she's a classic "all the good guys love her, all the bad guys hate her, all-powerful chosen figure" character, but I've always been deeply fond of her because like. she's weird. she starts out weird and continues to be weird, she's really fucked up psychologically actually, she's kind of socially awkward and this combination of shy and insecure and exuberant confidence. she's sweet and compassionate and also vindictive and capable of horrific cruelty.

I think I have kind of a thing for characters who are extremely fucking powerful and also a complete mess as human beings and that's how I always felt about Jaenelle? yeah, she can decimate a planet and makes friends with unicorns but also doesn't really know how to be a normal human person. I don't know. I don't actually expect other people to be with me on this but I am.

but also, a while back I went looking for Wang Lingjiao fic because I was like "there's interesting material there about this woman from a nobody family who ends up in a relationship with the son of a major sect leader, and, like, what was she thinking? did she try to catch Wen Chao or did he notice her and she either (a) made the best of a bad situation by turning it to her advantage or (b) actively decided that she was going to improve her own life via this guy? like, yeah, she's petty and mean and vindictive and I want to know what's going on in her head. in a story that has a lot of people who come from low station and suffer for it, and sometimes even more for trying to get out of it, I'm prodding at her version of that and going "there's something here, give it to me."

sometimes think about that half idea I had where Wang Lingjiao notices Wen Chao coming onto her, doesn't like the idea, and basically tries to escape by glomming onto Wen Qing instead. Wen Qing/Wang Lingjiao rights, is what I'm saying.

worst blorboficiation: my first reaction to this was "oh no, are we going to make "blorbofication" the new "woobification", I was glad when we left that word behind and I don't want to see it replaced, I really don't."

but also. in my heart I immediately knew my answer and it's perfect good boy Wei Wuxian. singlehandedly turned me around on my feelings for a character and I don't really know how to get the good ones back at this point and I would really like the good ones back. I got into this fucking fandom because of him as basically an antagonist-as-protagonist model (i.e. a character who could be an antagonist in most stories but narrative positioning complicates things) - in CQL, even, so this isn't just adaptation decay or whatever - and now...augh.

idk man it makes me sad to think about too much. going back to thinking about Wen Qing/Wang Lingjiao rights instead.

you can't understand why so many people like this thing (characterization, trope, headcanon, etc): so many and I feel like a lot of them have come up in answers to other questions...going to throw this one out though to the people who insist that Xue Yang never had any squishy feelings for Xiao Xingchen and all his motives were bad and evil forever, not just because hey that's my baby but also because it is, as I've said before, both an incredibly shallow read of the story as a whole that strips it of part of what makes it so painful and good and also makes that whole dynamic so much less interesting.

it just makes me feel kind of crazy, also, the way I look at that arc and see the reiteration of themes across MDZS and across MXTX's other works and feel like I'm just going "LOOK AT IT. LOOK AT IT, YOU DON'T HAVE TO LIKE IT BUT AT LEAST SEE WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT" and meanwhile there's another post in the tag throwing "no empathy" around as a shortcut to indicate "bad and evil."

anyway. I'm tired. every month or so I have to block another one.

#conversating #stripedroseandsketchpads #lise memes #lise's aggressively bitchy opinions about irrelevant and unimportant matters

[demonsfate]

🔥 I had to~ I always appreciate your level minded takes~ I honestly don't think that Jin or Kazuya will ever get the redemption arcs they deserve. Thoughts?

unpopular opinions from the mun // accepting !

Most people say the point is Jin's not supposed to have a redemption arc in TK8, the point was him just moving on and learning to live with his sins. Which yeah, may be it, but most people still see it as a "redemption arc" when the Bad Guy is Good, and everyone's just friends with him now.

But you already know how I feel about Jin's characterization as a whole. When it comes to what he deserves, Jin should've never had to need a redemption arc to begin with. However, they definitely went about it wrong in T8. Which yes, again as I said above, technically Jin's story wasn't a "redemption arc". But we still had characters acting far too forgiving toward him when they shouldn't be. Jin asking, "do I deserve the right to desire life?" is sweet in the context of T8, but in the context of T6, it just makes you think "well buddy I'm sure those thousands you've killed also desired life, too." And again, you also find yourself questioning why this matters so much to Jin when it clearly didn't matter much to him in T6. I barely consider T8 to be Jin's "development" beyond him not wanting to die anymore, but instead just a return to basics (how he behaved in T3-T5) But Jin's arc of dealing with his T6 actions is over and I don't think they're really gonna revisit it again unless Miguel pops up and says "you killed my sister" and Jin says "sorry" and Miguel goes "oh right. Okay then."

As for Kazuya...

The problem is, I'm a very critical consumer. In fact, it's a surprise I haven't tried to become a more "professional" critic. I'm also a no-nonsense writer. When it comes to villains and if they're redeemable, I think there is a certain line they can't cross. Killing thousands of innocents, some potentially being children, is that line. However, clearly this works differently in Tekken. In Tekken, terrible actions aren't treated with the same weight that they're treated with in other stories or real life. Sure, nobody forgot what Jin did, but they also didn't exactly treat him like a mass murderer who's killed thousands, potentially millions. Lars doesn't act like Jin got his best friend (Tougou who?) killed, along with giving him and his girl PSTD, along with forcing his girl to fight her and "killing her", along with all the disrespectful, nasty things Jin said to Lars and the others.

I do think it's a high possibility Kazuya will be "redeemed" in T9, that we might see him and Jin make amends with each other. But I just don't think it's gonna be satisfactory to me. Canonically, both Kazuya and Jin's actions weren't worthy of a redemption that either didn't involve their deaths or them being virtual "outcasts" from society. I've had people try to argue with me, saying "but what about Vegeta from DBZ" - and it's like that's the thing. I don't really care for many animes or their tropes. Now, there are some animes I love. But... the majority of tropes and how it handles these villains is something I don't care for. So, if I watched DBZ, I'd probs be critical of that aspect, too, lol. Darth Vader is a character that comes to my mind because he was also a war criminal who killed millions, including children. He was redeemed, but only through death.

It's just hard to imagine Kazuya or Jin getting to live out happy, domestic lives after they've ravaged the world and ruined so many other lives. Of course, it's something I want more for Jin just because of the bad writing. Kazuya was always meant to be a villain or antagonistic character. He's been this way since T2. Jin, however, wasn't. Jin was only turned into this character in the 6th game after Harada insisted on it. But like, when the games tried to continue going with "Yah Jin did all that, what of it?" Then... yes, it is hard to imagine him living out a normal happy life with his only consequences for his many murders is just he felt bad about it and his daddy beat him up a few times.

T9's Kazuya will probs be a "slower" process than Jin, but in the end - he'll probs be redeemed by Jun's love, say "I won't try to kill our son anymore :3" and then help Jin defeat Reina.

So yeah. I just don't think neither will get a truly deep redemption arc, but honestly? It's about time where that much depth and consideration should be expected from the writing.

Also I guess an unpopular opinion of my own regarding Kazuya is that... I don't care if he gets redeemed honestly. As heartwarming as it is seeing the what ifs and him, Jin, and Jun being a happy family. I also just don't care if that happens or not. After all, not every villain needs a redemption arc. And with Tekken? We're at the point where they've been trying to convince us that Heihachi isn't that bad, and then they're trying to convince us that the motherfucking DEVIL cared about Jin and was actually good in a way. So like, not every character needs to be redeemed or needs a "oh wait, they're not as bad as you think!" As I said, it mattered so much with me about Jin because Jin should've never been depicted as a villain - it goes against his entire character and why I loved him. But Kazuya was always conceived as a villain. Therefore, the push for him to be redeemed just isn't as strong regardless of his tragic backstory.

And I mean that in all seriousness. Kazuya is a tragic character, but he's intentionally written as one. Not tragic because the writers did him dirty. Villain characters often are tragic and surrounded by tragedy. Because tragedy and trauma is what shapes many bad guys into the person they are. Not every villain with a tragic story needs a redemption arc - even if he does have loved ones, too.

Of course, this isn't to say I'm against Kazuya's redemption. I'm just explaining why I wouldn't care if it didn't happen.

#littledancingphoenix #✏️ - ᴛʜᴇ ʜᴏsᴛ ᴡɪᴛʜ ᴛʜᴇ ᴍᴏsᴛ // (ooc) #✏️ - ᴡʜᴀᴛ ᴅᴏ ʏᴏᴜ ᴡᴀɴᴛ ? // (inbox) #// i feel like most of this is incoherent rambling? i hope not #// i looked over it twice and edited it #// but i still fear i sound like i'm going on a tangent jdgfjgn

[hellsdisneyprincess]

‽: An unpopular/unusual ship with my character that I love

((That's a hard question to answer since I've not really seen anyone ship much with Charlie besides Chaggie and Charlastor/Radiobelle. And both are quite popular. I've seen people add Emily to the Chaggie mix too, but I'm not a fan of that since she is too similar to Charlie. So I guess to cop out, I'll give my general views on shipping for Charlie.

I think the best kind of partner for Charlie is someone that supports her in a way that challenges her. Someone who doesn't see her as her role or what she can do for them, but who she is, while also helping her grow and mature.

Most characters available either are too much like Charlie (like Emily), fulfill the role in a familial/parental figure/mentor way (Rosie, etc), don't have enough meaningful interaction for me to see as much beyond platonic (Niffty), or would be too antagonistic without the redeeming qualities that Charlie would need without significant overhaul (The Vees or Lute).

- Chaggie: I think this ship does accomplish a lot for this, though I really do wish they explored the whole "you were an Exorcist" thing rather than focus almost entirely on the lying part. Because while that is important and that they'd ultimately get through it because of who Vaggie is now, it shouldn't have been dismissed so easily that it was Charlie's people Vaggie was killing before. I also do wish that Vaggie had a little more pushback than she does, but I don't think it's a total pushover situation that I've seen people criticize it as. She's supporting Charlie as she can, but doesn't want to control her either.

- Charlastor/Radiobelle: This one is a weird case for me since when I was watching the show, I'd put their dynamic in the familial camp at best and antagonistic via manipulation at worst. But I have seen SO MUCH fanart that is really damn cute that it's shifted me a bit. So now there's like... Multiple versions of their dynamic in their mind. One is the antagonistic/manipulative where the positive interactions were fake from the beginning and everything is one-sided (or at least he makes the choice to remain this way once he starts caring instead of being genuine and that his goals are more important), platonic mentor figure (where he goes into things for his own reasons but ends up caring without despite efforts otherwise and may try to work towards other interests than JUST his own if he can), then the ship version where catching feelings entails romantic feelings rather than platonic ones.

EDITING TO ADD: I don't usually like toxic ships, but the idea of it being one-sided for Charlie to be met with an ultimate betrayal is juicy as hell and I LOVE that angst. Even more fun if Alastor realizes he DOES have feelings of some sort for her, but prioritizes his own goals first, so he is also hurt by his own betrayal even if the ends justify the means for him. GUH.

All that said, I think a POTENTIAL ship besides all the ones mentioned that I think has a shot is with Angel Dust, assuming he is played with a different orientation or they're queerplatonic with each other. But I haven't seen enough of that to have a clear idea where that ship would go.

Also, this is subject to change with RP. Since different versions of characters provide different interaction potentials, as well as OCs. But I can't go into those LOOKING for a ship because just like real life, can't really force that chemistry. And that is important to me. I'd rather not RP a ship at all than to force a square peg into a round hole.

#megs the mun #hopefully that wasn't TOO off course #but a good opportunity to talk about where i stand with shipping in general #voxiiferous

[ledstuckatred]

Unpopular thought:

I think that Maura and Daniel have chemistry, and that their relationship / marriage is real. Maybe just at some time-limited point, but I believe he does exist.

Sure, she also has a connection with Eyk, but she hesitated quite a long time to tell him that she also has that letter and that she's seeing things that shouldn't be there.

Having somebody else live through the same things as her could've helped her staying sane throughout all this madness, and yet she decided to play alone as long as possible.

Her main interest seems to be herself, always, and it wouldn't surprise me if she were an antagonist in the end, too. What speaks against this is the fact that she helps Tove early on, but her scientific interest simply might be stronger.

I wonder if her connection (if you can call it that) to Elliott is because there is some part in her brain remembering things, or because it's the classic "I was told I can't have children and I suffer from it, so I adopt the first random kid I see"?

Due to being face blind, I still have no idea who's on the ship at the very end. I do believe that they are in space and that this is most likely the actual reality, not another simulation, but the reason remains a mystery to me...

Some say they needed to find a new habitable planet and used the time to work with people's minds to strengthen them, and that her brother was supposed to take care and went mad instead.

But living through this also has a high chance of breaking them, no matter whether the simulation initially was supposed to be a positive experience or not. People usually don't really do well with actually believing in things to be real, only to find out that they weren't...

Also somebody pointed out that the coordinates only have two values, while three being actually needed. But the third might be hidden somewhere throughout the series, who knows.

I think Daniel might be a scientist just like her, but that she went down a path he didn't want to follow her, so he tries his best to get the old, nice Maura back instead by playing the simulation game, and trying to have her make positive decisions.

Elliots room being in a grave and him reacting so emotionally to the "truth" makes me think that he was also real, but died at some point. Maybe he was traveling on the space ship as well, but couldn't survive everything due to being an untrained child.

In the end, Maura feels very emotionally detached to me.

My theory is:

She clings to Eyk because he's a mirror to her mental damages, whatever they have been caused by, and wants to be in the role of a mother because that's generally seen as a positive human quality.

But I think she might not be the person we saw throughout the show so far, and crossed the fine line of scientific research that's still acceptable.

The whole dialogue between her and Daniel about what is the actual reality is mildly concerning to me, because: both are valid in my opinion, but the type of reality around you is the defining part for society and humanity in general.

One can not exist without the other, because the "personal reality" is essential to your mental health, and the "outside reality" is essential for social interaction. We already do have people where these two collide, and we all know how good that works...

I think Maura might be some kind of antagonist in the end, and that Daniel still exists in some form somewhere and tries to save herself from the things she created.

This being said, I also think there's a lot of truth in the words of her father. With him being also part of the simulation, he caused a lot of misery for both Maura and Elliot who she's trying to save, and while horrible things happened on the ship she has never been actually emotionally or physically damaged (unlike everybody else). So why would she build a simulation where she's confronted with her father? Having him tell a lie would have proven her point that she's not crazy, but what he said was indeed proven to be true, at least in parts.

This seems to be a bit odd considered how much control she actually had over everything in the end, except from this truth being brought up. Or maybe not control, you could call it blissful ignorance what others went through. She barely interacts with most of the people suffering after all... Even if Elliot was only part of a simulation, this didn't invalidate her father's words after all.

I'm really looking forward to what the showrunners have planned further on, and I hope that they don't try to make it too complicated and thus too absurd.

I also think that everything we saw so far has happened in reality in some was, with all being realistic enough for every time episode to happen.

#1899 netflix #1899 series #maura franklin #daniel solace

[nerdyenby]

Unpopular opinion but I like that they didn’t give Lloyd a villain arc. I would’ve been down for it but I support the final decision. It’s more real, more humanizing. Sure, he could’ve snapped and taken over the world, but that not Lloyd. He’s been fighting to evade that destiny since s1.

He was the son of the dark lord, he was abandoned by his mother and left at an evil orphanage, where he was an outcast. He was pushed aside again, bullied, he sought Allie’s and they betrayed him, each more painful than the last. Then he finds out that he has to fight his father, and he does it, and he wins.

He was thought to be destined to destroy the world back in s3 (the whole “Golden Master” shabang), and even back then his friends didn’t believe he was capable of that, because he’s overcome too much to fall that far. Because he’s grown so much, that’s not who he is, nor who he ever was. Even back when he was a primary antagonist, he was just a kid, overwhelmingly hurt and abandoned again and again.

He was repeatedly held as the most powerful elemental master (and just person) in s4, but that never manifested itself in greed or selfishness. When others desired his destiny in s5 is when he learned to let go of the notion that every battle had to be his, that he can rely on and trust his loved ones. When he was formally named the ninja’s master in s7, he got caught up in the fear of what he could do wrong before he realized that he needed to trust himself and his friends. When he thought said friends were dead and he was powerless in s9 it broke him, but not to the point of rage or greed or desperation, but to feeling aimless. Without the family he’s found himself, what does he have left? Nothing to fight for, no one to fight with. This is the pattern we see throughout the following seasons. There’s no greed or desperation, he’s just a kid trying to keep his family whole and make the world a safer place. He’s sick of losing people, to death or to darkness. He’s no longer afraid of loss, he’s too acquainted with it for that dread to be anything more, but he’s terrified of being the reason, of losing himself.

Lloyd has been angry and tired and distraught and selfish, but he keeps himself anchored in his family. After all he’s learned, endured, and conquered, the only thing he has left to fear is himself, and he’s not about to lose that fight, not after all this time.

#idk he’s just a kid #he’s lost so much he doesn’t need to lose himself too #also the fear of becoming hateful and vengeful and like those who have hurt you the most is far more compelling imo #battling those insecurities and anxieties and mistrust of himself makes a lot more sense to me than a villain arc #it wouldn’t really fit his character tbh #it’d be a cool full circle ending but his motivation for almost the entire show has been finding and protecting his family #it just wouldn’t make sense for him to turn on them imo #would’ve been cool tho #ninjago #lego ninjago #lloyd ninjago #lloyd garmadon

[fereldanwench]

so i finished my rewatch of s1-s3 and new watch of s4-s7 of the 100 aaanddd i wanna ramble

spoilers and, from what i've gathered, unpopular opinions under the cut lmao

i watched the first three seasons in 2015-16, iirc (binged s1 and s2 on netflix; watched s3 as it aired)--i remember losing interest towards the end of s3 so i wasn't super hyped about s4 and just kinda forgot about it. on rewatch, i was also getting bored with s3, lmao. it starts off pretty strong, and the end revelation is a banger, but the last 4 eps or so just draaaggggg

i really liked seasons 4 and 5, though, with one big exception: giving clarke a daughter-figure to go all mama bear over was quite possibly one of the most obnoxious character development choices they could have given her

clarke in general is kind of a frustrating character for me because on one hand, i fuckin love a female character who does awful things for what she believes are good reasons, and that is clarke 100%

but in spite of that awesome set up, she manages to be so fucking boring

i think a lot of it is the actress' performance, tbh--the acting on the show overall generally isn't anything spectacular, but i find her particularly bad. i cant quite pinpoint my gripes, i just find her very bland

and given that the show is basically one extended trolley problem and there are dozens of characters who are also constantly put in the position of making the most difficult decisions in the universe, that just isn't enough to make her compelling

i found myself really drawn to echo in the later seasons because i am predictable af and i love a character who is loyal to a fault and bases their entire identity off being a loyal follower. i do feel like the relationship with bellamy was a little shoehorned, though. like i see the enemies to lovers potential there, but i think having most of that transition happen off-screen took all the fun from it

and i was stunned when i went looking for echo gifs to find out that most people hate her but love clarke apparently, lmao. hard opposite

s5 also delved into one of my favorite dark apocalypse tropes: what will push people to become cannibals to survive? it's always been a morbid fascination and i wasn't expecting them to get as fucked up with it as they did, but it was compelling shit

s6 had interesting elements to it--the worldbuilding/lore i think is part of the reason i got so sucked into the show, and seeing how becca's influence managed to reach a whole other planet was cool. i also liked the personality chip stuff bc it gave me ideas for valerie, haha. i also liked russel as an antagonist--love a very polite and calm villain being pushed to their limits

but i could see it was starting to lead into a setup for a whole metaphysical aspect to everything that had happened, and i just really don't like that shit

oh, also, kane and abby were my absolute favorite couple and i'm very sad they didn't get their HEA

so s7 was very meh to me. lovedlovedloved echo, dioyza, octavia, and hope getting to be badasses together, but that's about it. the transcendentalist shit was so fucking tedious, and bellamy got done dirty. and i've found myself overly fixated on the logistics of the "finalkru" situation with clarke and her buddies living on earth for the rest of their lives with no hopes of procreation or extending the human race

like at some point there's just gonna be one person remaining, right? and they have to spend their remaining days all alone? unless they do some kind of death pact? or how exactly do the transcendents ensure there are no babies? can the humans undo this? like what if they clone themselves or do in vitro fertilization? i have questions!!!

i don't mind a story ending with unanswered questions--i even really like that sometimes--but ending with a bunch of new unanswered questions is annoying lmao

plus i find the premise of finalkru surviving and maybe trying to figure out a way to continue the human race to be more interesting than 87% of the plot of s7

also two of the big themes throughout the show was never giving up hope and always seeking to rediscover their humanity after doing horrible shit--i just don't feel like this ending really tied those motifs up in a satisfying way. 99.9% of the human population no longer experiencing pain because they basically don't exist anymore feels less like a reward for Good Behavior and more... idk, just unsettling to me.

i mean, it's basically sci-fi rapture, and the whole idea of the rapture always freaked me out too lmao

i know the show is based on books, which i haven't read and don't plan to, so maybe some of this would be better explained there, but i've also seen commentary that it deviates a lot from the novels so who knows

anyway, i do like the show overall. there's a lot of juicy stuff here, but very weak ending. reminded me a bit of how i felt watching lost, actually, although not as egregious

#t: wench watches stuff #shows: the 100

[palin-tropos]

1, 12, 13?

the character everyone gets wrong

You'd think I'd answer a controversial character but my literal ass must try to think of how to fit in the *everyone* claim. Like I think a chunk but not all of the fandom gets Kim wrong for a variety of reasons (I pointed this out in my "please analyze him in chronological order and in context" post). I also think that it's funny how "there is only one pre-canon Harry" was so hegemonic in fandom as the foundational analysis despite being coded into the game to not really be true.

But my answer to the most widespread fandom incorrectness would have to be Kras Mazov. The empty Ao3 tag is proof. Like Dolores Dei has a couple of pages at least but not Mazov even though both are distant mysterious historical figures. The overwhelming majority clearly see him as simply a Karl Marx expy and therefore untouchable with humanizing or complicating headcanons because he's less fictional than the other characters. I'll save you Mr. Mazov. I'll blorbofy you.

12. the unpopular character that you actually like and why more people should like them

I mean, see above? Mazov is not exactly unpopular just not seen as a "real character" so much. Like yeah I get it that it feels more... delicate? You poke a leftist idea with a stick once and then you trigger the infighting thunderdome. But every political ideology is fraught as hell, again, it's not like playing around with Dolores Dei is any less fraught you know?

I also am more amused and fascinated by Measurehead and Gary than I should be, although it should be obvious that it's like staring at some really hideous bugs under a microscope. I don't think anyone should *like* them but also I would do more with them than other people would. That one art of Deep Lore Measurehead is the only time I felt seen. And Gary... I'm fucking sorry it's so funny to me that he's embarrassed by the fact he delivers gluten-free vegan topping pies. Unparalleled levels of pathetic. I find enjoyment there.

Joyce Messier is also a character who people feel ideologically obliged to hate but like she fucking rules actually. I don't want her in charge of my society lmao but she's iconic. A friend suggested the idea of her having a non-affair with Harry to piss off her husband, like a platonic sugar relationship. Although they would probably enjoy antagonistically flirting. Kim would have no idea it's fake and is miserably jealous like listening to sad speedfreak music alone in his room while the rain streaks down his window kind of jealous.

13. worst blorboficiation

It's got to be Jean. I get why people would blorbofy him but it's the part where certain portrayals have more sympathy for him than for Harry particularly in post-game, that I just don't get. Unless you're playing the worst Harry you can, which again ties into the false assumption—that sounds like really deep analysis but still is kind of an exaggeration of canon IMO—that all of Harry's possible choices exist so equally simultaneously in his soul that even if he didn't do the most fucked up things he's still 'the kind of person who would do them' and therefore he must have abused Jean and the way Jean treats him in the latter half of the game is therefore sympathetic and not, like, uncalled for and shocking. I guess I would accept Jeangst more if people accepted the multiplicity of Harry.

#asks #when you think about it 'there is just one harry' isn't even true in game #he comes off as plural with all his headmates #I don't think it's my place to plant my flag on a hill about that but it's obvious to me?

[ninadove]

For the other ask game: Felix Graham de Vanily=)

My son. Protect this boy at all costs. 💜💙💚

First impression:

A bad one, in all honesty. Felix’s debut episode introduces him as kind of a petty jerk, with no clear motivation and a disregard for consequences. Many people are still (understandably) pissed about the whole trying-to-kiss-Ladybug debacle (which, honestly, is not that surprising given the writers’, uh, WEIRD philosophy of consent), and it’s been detrimental to their appreciation of the character in the long run.

In retrospect, though. That introduction was brilliant in many other ways. I wrote about it here for those interested!

Impression now

A BABY. A baby created specifically to cater to my tastes, might I add. I’ve been wanting to make a list of all the reasons I love him, so here goes:

1. Huuuge Clive Dove vibes (complex antagonist, smartest character in the show, identity fraud enthusiast, willing to tear down oppressive power structures by force — they even share a sense of style)

2. Clear queer metaphor (more on that in another post from yours truly, which never showed up in the tags for some reason — Tumblr is homophobic)

3. (Implied EDIT: not implied anymore) abuse survivor

4. Growth! Between the aforementioned kissing fiasco and his talk with Kagami in Pretention, Felix has learnt to accept and respect boundaries. To me, this is key — the most important aspect of a character is not where they start, but how they evolve as the story progresses.

5. He has a complicated relationship with the adults in his life, but an immense love for his cousin/clone (although he sure has a strange way of showing it)

6. Quick to fall in love with a girl who can and will kick his butt. I mean, is anything more relatable than that?

7. The Greek mythology reference??? Hellooo???

8. Peacocks were my favourite bird growing up. One day I will tell you all the story of how one of them chased my father and I through a park when I was a toddler.

9. I also break into musical numbers in the midst of important tasks, just because I can. Perks of working from home most of the time.

10. Also, PURPLE. Can’t forget the purple.

Favorite moment

Him exchanging Ladybug’s yoyo against the Peacock Miraculous at the end of Strikeback. Her panicking in parallel really sold how monumental of a move this was.

Rule of thumb: if a character is smarter than everyone else in the room — especially if they’re an antagonist or morally grey figure outsmarting an abusive a**hole like Gabriel — there’s a strooong chance they’re going to be my favourite.

(POST-REPRESENTATION EDIT: Scratch that. It’s the lovely little heart on the lovely window to make his lovely girlfriend giggle. Sue me.)

Idea for a story

I’d love to see what Adrien and Felix were like growing up. It’s clear that their relationship means a lot to the both of them, and it would certainly add some depth to the Sentibeing storyline.

Also, if I could change just one aspect of Felix’s arc, it would be to make him explicitely queer (the exact label doesn’t matter that much to me).

EDIT: I lied. This boy is transmasc and demi bi now. Deal with it.

Unpopular opinion

Maybe not exactly "unpopular" but rather "controversial", as the fandom seems to be pretty heavenly split on the matter: I really, really like (EDIT: LOVE ADORE WORSHIP) Feligami as of now.

I was quite worried over how the ship would play into Felix’s arc, but so far it’s been written so well it feels natural: of course the two queer-coded abuse survivors would be perfect for each other! It makes sense from a thematic and character-driven perspective.

Both kids bring something to the table. Felix hands Kagami the keys to her freedom; in turn, she keeps him in check when he’s being a jerk. Because we see them work so well together (and understand why they work so well together) almost immediately, Feligami doesn’t feel rushed like I feared it would; in fact, I find it quite refreshing after 5 seasons of whatever is going on with the Love Square.

Now here’s hoping the writing team keeps building their relationship into a strong, healthy one!

EDIT: AND THEY DID

Favorite relationship

I love Felix and Amelie’s relationship so much. The fact that they both trust each other blindly warms my heart, especially now that we’ve learnt about the implied (EDIT: OH GOD NOT IMPLIED NOT IMPLIED AT ALL) abuse from Colt. They’re each other’s person.

EDIT: While I still love love LOVE Amelie, Feligami and the Senticousins have definitely taken over my brain now. Also, give us some more Felix and Duusu crumbs pleaaaaaaase —

Favorite headcanon

Queer Felix! I especially like trans and ace headcanons.

Thank you @dragongutsixofficial! 💖

For anyone interested, the ask game can be found here.

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