#also what bugs me is his mischaracterisation!!!!!!

[digitalspool]

need more soft smiling ratio… actually adore him so much he’s so silly. i will eat hjm

[comma-tose]

Something I noticed that I REALLY don't like is just how much current borderlands seems to be trying to diminish Rhys and Fiona's personalities and achievements.

It started out with Rhys in Borderlands 3, where Vaughn implied he was fake and that they haven't spoken in years for some reason??? Then it happened again in New Tales, where Rhys was written as incompetent, and an awful boss that fires his employees for having ONE bad idea.

It also essentially calls him a warmonger that's focused entirely on profits, and has no moral compass beyond "the almighty dollar". Going as far as to explicitly state that that is literally Atlas's motto.

Aside from all that it also says that Atlas is essentially failing and that Rhys has absolutely no idea what he's doing, which is especially weird considering how in Borderlands 3 it's stated that Promethea is finally starting to do well for itself again, and through Echo logs you hear that even Marcus is impressed with how well Rhys is doing.

So for Rhys we have him losing connection with his best friend and being called an idiot, fake, being mischaracterised as a terrible person that apparently learnt nothing and has regressed as a person to a borderline unrecognisable state.

----------------------------------------------

And now we get to Fiona. Since borderlands 3 treats the female protagonist of Tales as if she just doesn't exist, Fiona's story continues in Debt or Alive so...

SPOILER WARNING FOR DEBT OR ALIVE.

Not only is Fiona characterised VERY strangely in the book but they also just give Sasha credit for some of what Fiona does, and Fiona alone tends to be the target of blame in the book. Oh and she gets compared to Handsome Jack for good measure.

To start off with, Fiona doesn't even get her wish from the Vault of the Traveller. She gives it to Sasha, and Sasha wishes for a rare Vaultlander figurine of Typhon DeLeon which is destroyed a couple of chapters later. So not only does Fiona not even get to use her wish but the product of the wish gets destroyed anyway so it's entirely pointless.

Fiona also just decides to not be a vault hunter. That conversation she can have with Rhys SECONDS before this happens, about how it suits her, about how she's sad the adventure is over? It's just ignored. She immediately gives it up because she doesn't want Sasha vault hunting and getting put in danger again. Sure she still likes vault hunting but it is immediately given up. (I could write a whole other post about why this bugs me and I probably will).

Fiona has flaws that are addressed in the books, as they should be, all characters have to have flaws, but she is the only one out of the sisters to have flaws addressed. Sasha's are treated as if they don't exist, even when they're very apparent. Fiona learns to not be overprotective, and that she can't stop Sasha from doing things she wants to BUT Sasha doesn't learn anything. She does impulsive things that endanger both her and Fiona, and her risking their safety for fun or on a whim is just never mentioned. (Again something else I'll definitely talk about in another post).

Fiona is also consistently the one who comes up with the plans in the book, while Sasha is either not doing anything or suggesting they take the easy way out. Fiona is the one to start removing the debt cuffs from people while Sasha stands there bewildered, asking what she's doing. Fiona is the one to come up with the plan to scam the billionaires so that they can use the money to free everyone from debt while Sasha suggests just funding Gaige's revenge scheme (and assumedly just abandoning the people in debt??). And Fiona is the one to figure out how to get into Holloway's panic room and save everyone.

Fiona having her moments to shine would be great if they consistently didn't end with her being called an idiot, getting badly hurt, failing, or at one point being compared to Handsome Jack of all people. (Additional point: Sasha doesn't even defend her when she's compared to Jack, which is weird and very out of character.)

This might be petty but the book also gives credit to Sasha for Fiona surviving Bossanova's murder rally in Tales. Which is really weird considering Sasha and Fiona were separated during the entirety of that event. So instead of mentioning a time where Sasha actually helped save Fiona, like in the bio-dome when she was caught by Finch and Kroger, I guess they're actively retconning an event to give Sasha the credit. For some reason.

Fiona also has to confront Sasha about how she's treating Rhys, but then like a chapter later she literally apologises for all that, despite having every right to call Sasha out for that. So again Sasha's flaws are not being recognised as actual flaws and instead it's Fiona who's somehow in the wrong and Sasha learns nothing. Sure by the end of the book she considers Rhys her boyfriend but she is never the one to tell him. Fiona is, because Sasha just doesn't bother to, because it never treats her as someone who has to grow as a person. Sasha is usually either just used as a plot device to progress things or just doing almost nothing while being given credit, instead of being developed like a proper character. I'd call her a shell of what Tales Sasha was but even that feels too generous.

I used to really want to see the Tales characters in other borderlands media, but at this point I just dread it. Because why would I want to see my favourite characters being wildly mischaracterised and mistreated by the franchise?

[blood-orange-juice]

last time ill talk abt it (i promise) but it just bugs me how ppl just characterize him as just a killer only when we don’t even know that’s true. for now id like to think he hasn’t actually killed anyone and he’s all talk only because he still has that “good” in him and there’s hope for him to be the ajax in his father’s stories. maybe it’s possible to climb the ranks of the fatui without killing ppl and just slaying horrible beasts like in his char stories. ofc if someday they revealed he has it’s not like ill love him less!! and ppl are free to have their own hcs about it like if he has ruthlessly killed someone. what i mean is i find it annoying how ppl r so quick to just call him a killer and create a misconception in the fandom that he has no other nuance to him.

also im rly sorry if i sent this twice!! my tumblr was being weird with the sending bar not going up at all (im on mobile) 😭 and thanks for indulging me in this discussion

Np np, I love discussions! (and you didn't send it twice either)

I think I understand you! There's a tendency in fandom to mischaracterise this guy as someone who is bloodthirsty and enjoys killing, which is pretty ridiculous. He is established mutiple times as someone who seeks challenge and self-improvement, not the rush of killing another. Also as someone who actively avoids killing people when he can.

Personally, I think whether he has killed anyone or not doesn't change much about him. He can still have that good in him and do horrible things because he's a complicated person with conflicting ideals. His ethics is also more about fairness than kindness or compassion.

In support of your idea: he is terrible at being intimidating. One would think that having killed a lot and doing it easily would come with the ability to threaten others more effectively.

[faiyx]

I’m always sad when a great artists stan se*x predator sanji. like what’s the deal? Not enough decent character in one piece?

ok heres the deal. Its okay if you dont like sanji as a character and if his characterisation makes you uncomfortable. Honestly the way hes been written around women makes me uncomfortable as well but I still appreciate the parts of his character that were not ruined by the writer. I think sanjis horrible behaviour around women is actually mischaracterisation over the years, its a character archetype that sadly went way overboard especially after we reached the new world. its a character archetype typical for anime, that works for very one dimentional gimmicky characters but not for a long running show, for a character thats very well rounded and has an otherwise very realistic and believable personality. it shouldve been dropped years ago but we all know they didnt.  I actually think this extreme behaviour is out of character for him since it stands in direct contrast to all the other values he holds. Sanji is probably the most emotionally intelligent character in the strawhat crew. He is very much in tune with everyones feelings and we see him trying to prevent emotional hurt several times ( him calling luffy a monster on drum island to make sure chopper has a positive representation of a word thats otherwise deeply hurtful to him, him providing snacks and sweets when the girls dont feel good without being asked to do so, etc). The treatment of women shown in canon would be very hurtful to them, of course it would, so I think if he was written in character he wouldnt hurt them in this way. It literally doesnt make sense if the writing is supposed to be consistent. But Oda probably thinks this shit is funny and its a slap in the face to all the female characters in one piece and sanjis character, because he has other great personality traits going for him. I dont want to present this as unproblematic and in fact not disgusting behaviour tho. It very much is. And it bugs me as well. But you have to understand that 1. i am an artist, i make my own interpretation of things, you probably noticed i change things around when it comes to character designs and i do the same with parts of the writing from the original source material i might not like as much you know? 2. of course there are many great and amazing characters in one piece and i have a lot of favourites but sanji just stuck with me from the moment i watched an episode for the first time which was when i was literally 12. This horrible behaviour isnt his only personality trait, its a gimmick oda and the anime producers took way too far . There is still a whole lot to like about him if you ignore the issue weve been talking about ( not saying you should on a broader level, sexual harrassment and the depiction of women is very much a problem overall and in the anime industry but for my personal comfort enjoying this amazing series i chose to do so and do my part by not depicting him engaging in that behaviour and in drawing the women of the series in a more respectful way ) I love that he is so supportive, he loves his friends to a degree where he was about to sacrifice himself for them on several occasions, I like the way he can put himself into someone elses position and really feel with them, I love how he treats his crewmates, how he always makes sure everyone is healthy, how he is able to adapt to different social situations, how polite he is and so much more. On top of that i really like his character design. I know you probably dont care about this, the way you worded your message implied that you were probably planning to rile me up or something but i hope you can understand where im coming from. its okay to like a character who has flaws especially when theyre so obviously bad writing. but its also okay if you dont like him so. also feel free to unfollow me if it makes you that upset

[agirlofwinterfell]

I'm mobile but do an unpopular opinion on your muse

Unpopular opinions - include topic or I wont answer 

There’s a lot of... anti arya in the fandom. And it bugs me. There’s also a lot of mischaracterisation. 

- Arya isn’t meant to be Sansa’s sword, or exist solely to protect Sansa. Arya’s story, and season 8 bc they’re going back to George’s plan, doesn’t surround Sansa. 

- Unpopular opinion but certain ships don’t work because of Arya’s existence, and her relationships with characters

- Unpopular opinion, Arya is actually a soft little girl, and you’re all fools for not acknowledging her softness

- Arya picked flowers for Ned, stood up for Mycah, played with Mycah, Loves the small folk, runs around with no care of getting dirty - something pretty gowns are impractical for but w/e, is left handed- which i think a lot of her stitching problems come from. She’s been doing it right handed for so long, and it’s not working for her. Even in Essos she does them right-handed, even though Syrio said her sword hand is her left hand? She’s learning everything she needs in the HBAW, she protects and loves orphans and adopts them, she loves other people’s babies so much? Arya Stark has the makings for one of the best queens in the series and y’all really ignoring it. She is a !! good !! girl !! Maisie says what D&D tell her, Liam Cunningham doesn’t understand her or the culture of the world “She’s a killer” so’s fucking Stannis, and Brienne, and Jaime Lannister, and fucking Jon Snow go fuck yourself, idc what the cast or d&d have to say, she is a soft little girl and does what she has to to survive. 

- The girl never said she doesn’t want to get married or have children. She just rejects societies sexist definition of lady after years of traumatic bullying by her perfect sister because she couldn’t do things right. Arya has watched Ned and Cat her whole life, she probably wants a love match rather than a political one to an old man that’ll r*pe her and force her to have as many sons as he wants. The woman is important too

- Arguably the most feminist character in the series, and has suffered misogyny so much in her short life that calling her a misogynist for rejecting the notion of a lady, and typical feminity rejecting her, well you’re just wrong. 

- Bisexual AF, fuck y’all. The girl hyper fixed on those prostitutes in Braavos, change my mind 

- She’s been near sexually assaulted in the TWOW chapter, threatened with rape so many times- how the hell is she still trusting men? Like fuck off @ men forever, leave my daughter alone.

- Arya Stark is the Key to the North, and when George was still writing for the show, that was gonna be a season five plot point but D&D have faves 

- Arya Stark belongs in the North, the children of the forest want her home, and she wants to go home, even if her home in Jon Snow change my mind 

- Jon Snow would name his daughter after Arya, and not Lyanna, a woman he knows very little about and associates her as a dead woman in the past, whereas Arya is his favourite sibling and person in the whole world don’t @ me 

- Why would Arya name a daughter after Lyanna? She has very little reason to. She’s a ghost to her. She named her wolf Nymeria, I’m thinking a daughter would be named after a dornish woman, or a woman Arya cares more about and relates to a bit more than who she’s told she’s like. 

- George has created Jon as Arya’s standard for an ideal man. If they don’t pass Big Brother’s test or standard he’d left, bye bitches 

- Arya and Jon probably value their relationship more than a romantic relationship with other people. If one of them is truly super not happy, it probably wont go far. Arya would drop Gendry no matter how she feels if Jon was super upset and not okay with it for more than Big Brother Protectiveness (The boy wanted to choke out Ramsay for daring hurt “Arya”, she’ll know what he is and isn’t okay with). 

- Arya Stark is beautiful

[knownoshamc]

I feel like Tyrell suffers the most from mischaracterization in fandom. He becomes a caricature of himself, either completely unhinged and violent, or a crybaby, or too fluffy and sweet. I've tried reading so many fics but none seem to capture his complexity. Sure, he's emotional, but he's also smart and he's far from irrational. I just wish there were fics where Tyrell is reasonable and closer to his season 1 appearance, you feel? Make Tyrell smart again lol

One of the reasons I don’t read fanfics is because I don’t think they always make the characters justice -or at least they don’t interpret them as I do and that seems a bit off to me.You’re right though, Tyrell is really mischaracterised in the fandom. “He is a bad person cause he murdered Sharon for what it seemed to be nothing unlike Angela who didn’t kill anyone and Darlene cause she killed because that woman was a bad person”, “he is a good person cause he has always been nice to Elliot and didn’t betray him like Angela and Darlene did”.First of all, it bugs me that some people can talk about characters only when they compare them to others. You can’t compare people to analyse them, especially when they are so different. ANYWAY, that’s salt for the fandom, let’s move on.I think the problem with Tyrell is that we haven’t seen much of him. We have only seen him how he acts on the present and if we don’t try reading behind his actions (and since every character on the show is complicate, I think we should) he seems one-dimensional. But again, we know nothing about his past. I mean, what do we really know about him that hasn’t happened in the past year? Every other main character has talked about the past. Not even mains at these point. We know a lot about Elliot, Darlene, Angela...We have a short story about Dom and that woman that proposed to her, we know Irving was with White Rose. What has Tyrell really told us that has given us any event about his past? I have seen a lot of people thinking that Tyrell was always snobbish/a rich kid that just wanted more. Now we don’t know for sure, but I doubt that this was the case. This could make a whole new post but I am gonna try to keep it short 1.Tyrell is really afraid of losing everything, and lbr rich people rarely do because they don’t really know what living without money is like. 2. I don’t think it was random that beat up a homeless man. There are so many other ways to let out his frustration, other people he could hit. Now don’t get me wrong, I am not excusing his actions, I am just trying to understand them. But my HC is that his family had been in a similar situation before (in homelessness/poverty) and maybe they had ended up there because of decisions his father made. 3. we can’t leave out the poem of course. not only it gives a rural tone in Tyrell’s past, along with the fact that he used to cut logs, but I think it also puts him in lower class and that his father was sort of proud for it --it meant very much to him. 4. and of course, if his father had money, why wouldn’t he want to be like him? I will not share my HCs now tho, don’t worry haha. But anyway, I think Tyrell had a very different childhood and it wasn’t a very good one.

Which brings me to my other point. I think that for the most part Tyrell acts the way he does because he has been through complex trauma as a child/teen. A trauma he never dealt with. He goes between violent outbursts and thinking some people as inferior/objects to use to get what he wants, to being romantic, caring and idiolising people (Elliot and Joanna) willing to do whatever they want. Those kind of behaviours are not just random, they result from either a disorder he has or --and that’s where I’m leaning on-- something that happened to his past. After all, all of the characters in Mr Robot are greatly affected by their past. Tyrell didn’t just magically appear in 2015 in America, he had a life before, a life he hated.

ANYWAY. point is, he is really complicated and it’s sad to see that people reduce him to tropes and certain traits. I am sure there are people that do that with others as well, but I mostly see things about Tyrell, perhaps cause I look for things about him more.