#and you treat your characters as if their arcs and emotions mean absolutely nothing

[pinkmandias]

these quotes from rian johnson are exactly why i loved breaking bad so much and stopped watching the w*lking d**d after they fully admitted to needlessly and brutally killing off characters to drive the story forward/service other characters/upset their audience

[fantazygirl-blog1]

So tired of everyone (or almost everyone) making Misa into a kind, weak little victim, manipulated by Light.

That woman may seem sweet, but she's absolutely ruthless. She's selfish, obsessive, stalkerish and emotionally abusive (perhaps not in the traditional way but I will explain)

Way before she even met Light, she managed to kill law enforcement (which might I add, she probably didn't even know was law enforcement) and news reporters just to prove a point. They were just a means to an end to her. She wanted to thank Kira for killing her parent's murderer, but she didn't even stop to think once if the people she killed had families of their own, children of their own. She only had one goal: what she herself, wanted. More than that, Misa literally offered to immediately off her friend, that helped her with the tapes (and if someone offers to help you with that, they're a very close friend for sure) and it wasn't even Light's suggestion. It was all Misa, who saw killing her friend as a way to get Light to trust her. It's clear that girl is willing to kill anyone and anything if it'll help her achieve her goals.

Also, she's super obsessive. My girl traded half her lifespan with no hesitation on the off chance that she might be able to meet Kira. (Yes, she had a plan but there was no guarantee that her plan would even work)And the instant she saw Light, she started stalking him (even though she herself had problems with stalkers) to the point that she just turned up at his house with no warning. Imagine if a stranger just shows up at your house like that, pretending to be a friend and your mom lets them in. That's fucking horrifying.

Also, Misa barely knew Light for like a few seconds and she decided that he was going to be her boyfriend, and NOTHING was going to stay in her way, not even Light himself. She pressured him into being in a relationship with her, even though it was clearly unwanted, Rem literally threatened to kill him if he refused, and then she had the gall to tell Light she would kill any girl she suspected would go out with Light if she saw her with him. This is where the emotional abuse comes from (even though I dunno if I should call it that but I don't know how else to classify it). Misa doesn't really consider Light a person. For her, Light is more like a doll she can project her feelings on. She attributed him emotions according to her whims and acted like those were the reality regardless of Light's real feelings. She made herself the main character in his story, even after told and shown repeatedly tha she wasn't and got mad when years later she was still neglected and barely paid attention to.

I'm not saying all this to hate on Misa and this in no way a Kira appreciation post (my favorite Light is Yotsuba arc Light, I hate Kira tbh) but I'm just saying, if you're a Misa fan you should be able to accept the reality: she's not a weak, sweet little girl, manipulated by evil Light. She's capable of all the horrible things she does all on her own thank you very much and I'm tired of reading fics where Misa is treated like only a victim and given leniency while Light is treated as the only true monster.

I'm just saying, the girl didn't need a boyfriend, she needed a therapist. Badly.

[verdantcreek]

thinking about the reboot mw games collectively and it’s so sadly unfortunate because like. when put up against the other two, mwiii fails so visibly.

first of all you’ve got their thesis/emotional core, right. for mw19, it’s all about the personal motivation of being a solider, the cost of war on an individual. what it means to fight and discovering the importance of what you’re fighting for. for mwii, it’s about trust. the importance of knowing that your team has each others backs, the weight that it has between individuals. what happens when that trust is broken and how it’s found again through vulnerability, because that’s how you truly know you’re there for each other.

and then there’s mwiii..? you should let your sergeant kill a prisoner illegally so said prisoner, when he breaks out of maximum security prison, doesn’t kill your sergeant 4 years later? you should illegally kill people who piss you off (shepherd)? sure there’s the whole “never bury your enemies alive”, but where does that come in to play outside of the soap/makarov interaction? it’s definitely not a valid reason for price to kill an american general in his own office. they could’ve used it for graves if they wanted to take it a step further, but no— graves doesn’t betray the team again, for whatever reason. we’re expected to consider him just a much a member of the team as anyone else, and the narrative treats him as such outside of a few bristly reactions to his involvement.

secondly i take a huge issue with how characters were handled in mwiii. literally everyone is here, and there is no reason for several of them to be. alex felt like a cameo— you see him actually on screen for maybe 30 seconds. farah’s missions feel forced for the sake of her involvement. not that farah shouldn’t be in this game, but makarov’s flimsy reasoning for targeting the ulf is so clearly an excuse to involve her. it feels very random and transparent as a decision to reuse her character because she’s familiar. again with graves— why is he here? i still genuinely do not understand why they decided to retcon his death. it was a perfect arc for mwii to kill him, and him being alive adds absolutely nothing to the story. he has nothing to do in mwiii and there is zero reason for his involvement other than “people liked him in mwii and he has a cool accent.”

within the 141, it’s mostly rehashing of the growth/personality that each of them showed in previous games. none of them have an arc, except maybe price if you’re willing to call the *post credit scene* where he commits cold blooded murder a completion of an arc. gaz, soap, and ghost are static versions of themselves that simply are just … there for most of the plot. they’re not out of character or ruined, but none of them individually have anything going on that can’t be tied back to price.

i think a lot of it comes down to the way they tried to shoehorn mwiii into the original trilogy’s storyline. people loved those games, and nostalgia sells. i don’t think it’s a coincidence that makarov was a big marketing factor for this game— and that’s not to say that mw19 or mwii didn’t abuse that either, but in execution you can feel the difference. price, gaz, soap and ghost are all their own characters miles away from their original trilogy counterparts. makarov… isn’t. he’s a poorly written villain riding on the success of the original trilogy— he’s scary because he’s *makarov*, not because he’s a real threat. it’s cheap. the knockoff “no russian” mission felt insulting. it’s a callback with no real impact in the story, just simply “look! remember when we did this in 2009 and everyone loved it?”

and all of it culminates into a shit ending with shock factor that it tries to make you feel emotional. i’m not sad over this character death. i’m mad, because it’s unearned and lazy. i realize it’s a lot to ask a multi-billion dollar corporation to actually put effort into their stories, but… it’s such a let down when the previous games actually had at least an ounce of passion. i’m just still so disappointed with this game ruining what could’ve been a really interesting and unique story.

[adracat]

yes, hello. I’d like to attack you with unrelenting happiness for the next few minutes of your time. it’s a feedback loop originating from and re-projecting back to you.

first of all, seeing your deconstructions after stumbling upon your ao3 makes me regret missing out on the live updates from you and the community here (aniwave comments are dogshit)

thank you for your posts. they let me think critically about and appreciate g-witch that much more from novel analysis perspectives. reading back a bit, especially to your take on scenes such as ep10’s communication clear up, and seeing these pieces given the gravity and respect they deserve, is taking the bite off of the series’ conclusion.

speaking of treating the sulemio shaped hole in the networks from now on, a red tempest is the kind of fic one wishes they could distill and take intravenously at maximum drip.

it won’t be for everyone, and you think law of causality is your best (haven’t read it yet), but it feels like you’re writing professional grade work just for me with how it seemingly doesn’t miss or waste a line. you present a tight ship regardless of whether that’s how you run it. the story feels compact and layer woven yet flows along seamlessly and with that wonderful sense of OC unlimited potential, dropping shadows here and there but keeping me fully on my toes. still in the rising action, but hopefully multiple full arcs…? (worth!)

the spots of canon that you spun into a universe feel weighted, alive with the way your voice gives an inherent gravitas even to small supporting details, and nothing is more alive than your characters.

you do them so well, it’s impossible to stress enough. regardless of where they’re going in the future, where you’ve had them come from and be is so genuine and, in most cases, compliant/paying close homage in their personalities. your dialogue is a breath of life. eri and chuchu particularly, and prospera especially.

there are small things that are subtle like suletta being a bit less anxious at the start, and there are larger things that are less subtle like all of prospera— yours of whom I love— but everything’s working believably and in sync as you craft this beautiful story. my only complaint is that I think the next release is gonna be a sulemio heavy chapter during the job’s sudden distress, and it isn’t this weekend’s release date yet.

there’s a lot else, like the many juxtapositions, the slow burn, and other emotional/literary devices, but while I’ve already spent too long trying to put just this much of a review/praise bomb together, I’ve gotta jaw on a bit more about your fantastic perspective work with clear voices for each heroine. it’s so exciting getting into the younger couple’s heads when it comes to each other. you’re probably going to slaughter me with elnora and notrette, but ch11’s suletta and mio are already doing it with their pining.

thank you. it’s a joy and a pleasure. I hope to read you for a long time to come. I’d ask to share some of your brain chemicals, but reading the product makes mine just as happy. I hope that means we share a brain cell; then I could rise and meet the caliber. o7

That’s so sweet of you! And absolutely; sending you spiritual braincells 🤗 I put a wealth of thought into all my works but something about Sulemio and Prospera✨ sends my brain into overdrive. Law of Causality and A Red Tempest are passion driven works that I’m happy to share with likeminded people. If you ever do decide to give AASB and its sister works a try you may find interesting connections. ART is a bit of a spiritual sequel in a way. Though admittedly ART Prospera may be a rascally devil but is intentionally more likable than LoC ‘Prospera’. I decided to make her pathetic in ART for funsies 👏

Thanks so much for the kind words ❤️Encouragement gives me wings to confidently move forward—just like our merry cast!

[hyperfixingfr]

big fan of your peacock design for Hoagie because idk maybe I’m reading too into it but the show making him a walrus (I think?? Been a while since I’ve seen the episode) just felt like a cheap and lazy “haha fat character” joke

It was actually worse than a walrus, it was a hippo! And yes, you're right. That was exactly the point of him being made a hippo. Big, fat, and hungry.

CW// a bit of some serious criticism of KNDs writing.

Hoagie was a comedic relief character who was supposed to be viewed as mock worthy material, no matter how much it extended to real life bigotry. One of the biggest flaws of the show is the mediocre at best writing. It had good jokes, but that all goes to shit the minute they use other people's harmless traits as a gag. Plus, they were horribly inconsistent. The treatment of Hoagie was horrible and I don't mean that in a, "ohhh no my favorite character is being bullied!" kind of way. That's not how you pick on a character unless you're also intending to give the character severe mental issues and self image problems, which never happened in canon beyond slight hints that he was merely anxious. Hoagie was always portrayed to be this completely oblivious and lacking of response character who you could freely pick on because he never felt bad about the way he was talked about. Not only is that completely unrealistic and taking away his character, but it's also implying that you can just... Say those things to people. And they won't feel a thing.

If Hoagie being mocked in those ways happened to be some sort of emotional arc, I would understand that. But the problem is that, it wasn't. Hardly anything came of it. He didn't even seem to flinch despite him being young and susceptible to a more difficult time handling emotions. A kid his age would be ruined with that kind of treatment. People who were treated like him at his age end up in places I shouldn't even mention right now. And they show clear signs of it. I know they do, because I was one of those kids. Yet, Hoagie really never budged beyond maybe a frown in the aftermath he'll hold for like... 5 seconds. Max. Suddenly, he's over it. Like he's a mature adult capable of handling feelings and understanding that they're wrong and why they're wrong. I wouldn't expect them to go ham on anything, but shit. At least a more accurate response, like keeping his head down and holding a frown the rest of the episode. No kid would hear the kind of bullshit he hears and experiences and does nothing. Children would cry, become sad, get angry. And he's not one to get angry, so it's kind of obvious what he'd do otherwise. Probably more likely to sit in silence than cry, but my point stands.

Absolutely horrible to have done what they did with their writing. Not only did they feed the flirty Asian girl stereotype and the chill motherly black girl stereotype, but they also enforced the idea that healthy but fat people are flawed for their completely normal body. The fat jokes weren't even funny. They could've made fat jokes without bringing down fat people.

And I don't even wanna hear the whole "but it was made in the 2000s" bullshit because I can name five shows that aired before KND with fat main characters that never, EVER made a harmful fat joke. There's a reason why Ed, Edd n Eddy was considered peak comedy and KND wasn't. Because Ed, Edd n Eddy never made derogatory and degrading jokes about completely harmless things like a person's body. And that's with Ed and Eddy being fat! It's pretty simple - the show just... Wasn't well written. The time period has little excuse considering how easily other shows had been funny without their weird mockery. And I'm telling you right now, KND definitely had at least a minor impact on how children viewed fat people. If they didn't provoke the thought in the children who watched, they enforced it with their jokes. Not exactly a great thing to have done.

If you need to put someone down to be funny, you aren't funny. Simple as that. Hoagie could have gotten so much more development if they were being more realistic. This is Sci-Fi, of course he'd still be a human with human reactions. And they could have done so much with it, too. It would have been nice for there to have been a plot relating to his struggle with bullying. I would've loved to see him develop his character... Hoagie and Kuki hardly developed like the others. And I'm reaching to say Abby did because it's far less than the other two.

And really, it sucks. I love seeing fandom interpretations of him because they try to take into account his true character. He's a sweet, nerdy boy who loves to use comedy to cheer himself and others up. He's the pinnacle of empathy development in children (excluding the, uh... Weird misogynistic stuff...). He's such a loveable character but the show really did their best to try and ruin him and his reputation.

Sorry for the long rant but it gave me an excuse to dish out this information. I don't think everyone realizes just how intentional the mockery of Hoagie was.

[rdng1230]

More Ted Lasso Musings

Before I start let me say once again that this season has contained absolutely wonderful moments and is still a wonderful bit of light in a buuuuunch of darkness. Also spoiler warning.

Cool, so I've figured out what's bothering me this season and its that they're either showing us everything and telling us nothing, or showing us nothing (of actual character significance) and telling us everything. in the showing us everything and telling us nothing category we've got my love Keeley Jones. I feel like we've spent a massive amount of time at KJPR and I still feel like I'm scratching my head as to what they were trying to tell us. They've set Keeley up to be this incredibly competent and bright person, and when they give her her shot it all goes to shit. and I get it "you can't always get what you want" so says the song for this season's trailer, but I'm struggling to understand the thing that she got that she needed that she didn't already have. She had Rebeccas love and support, I mean she has Roy back but this does not seem like the show where the moral of a long story about her starting her own business is that she has her boyfriend back. I actually would love people's take on what you think we're supposed to get out of Keeley's storyline.

Onto the telling but not showing category we got my guy Nate the Great. He has been so totally short changed this season on his redemption arc. It is HARD to become a better person. It is HARD to admit you fucked up. It is HARD to turn against your own knee jerk insecurities and reactions. It is ESPECIALLY HARD to do that in an environment that is actively incentivizing you to act on those insecurities and reactions. So even though I absolutely believe Nate deserving and capable of these huge leaps forward in overcoming his own internal crap, I think we've completely sidelined that narrative of what's pushing him to actually take those huge leaps forward. At the end of season 2, it was clear Nate was really struggling, and I'm not gonna lie I hated the way he treated those around him, like Beard said it was "personal, and weird" but I also felt a huge amount of sympathy and compassion because no one gets that way without something horrible happening to them first. So when the last scene of season 2 happened and he was teased as this big time villain, I was sad, but not surprised. I expected him to get his redemption, but I also expected that to be a really difficult journey for him where he was likely going to get worse before he got better. So now we're in season 3 and he suddenly just makes all these huge leaps forward, they feel from out of nowhere, not because I don't feel like he's capable of it, but rather that should've been more difficult to do, and also it should've been a moment of great personal triumph for Nate! The way I think of it is imagine if Rebecca had just waltzed into teds office in season 1 and confessed about the sabotage with no context. Sure we would've believed her capable of it, sure we would've believed she deserved forgiveness, but we all would've been scratching our heads as to what made her have this reckoning within herself. they would've told us Rebecca changed instead of shown why and how she changed like what they're doing with Nate.

I actually think there's so many parallels between the relationship of Nate and Jade and the relationship of Roy and Jamie. Both Nate and Roy made stupidly bad and self destructive decisions around the end of last season. Both are in a low point in their emotional journeys, almost all of Nathan's emotional scenes have been with Jade while all of Roy's emotional scenes have been with Jamie. The thing is, that's not where their respective internal work really needs to get done? Nate already took the plunge and asked out Jade last season, and Roy already showed real vulnerability when he hugged Jamie after the thing with his dad (not that I think that means everything wrapped up with a shiny bow or anything, but just that each character has much bigger fish to fry in terms of character growth) I do think Nate and Jade have become really cute just as Roy and Jamie's scenes have felt ripped straight out of a fluffy fanfic. but do these scenes actually show us that Nate/Roy are getting better? We've already seen Nate being an absolute sweetheart with the women in his life who he loves, his mother, his niece (even if we didn't actually see her till this season it was clear that they had a very warm and positive relationship) and Keeley, so him being able to be vulnerable and open up with Jade is lovely, but not really that new of a territory. If we could just see Nate having a shift maybe with his coaching staff or the West Ham players, this would feel more meaningful because we saw him struggle way more with people he perceives as part of his own hierarchy structure. Its the same with Roy. We've seen Roy open up to Jamie in the past so their relationship, while fucking adorable, is not doing anything to address the real struggle inside Roy that he's ignoring. It would be way more meaningful to see Roy have moments where he chooses to have joy instead of running away. Instead we get scenes like where the sports pundit squad just says oh by the way Nate left West Ham, in the same way that Ms. Bowen says to Roy that he seems less stuck. Umm what? Since when? what happened? All tell and no show. Or showing only the least character growth relevant scenes and then just be like oh by the way they fixed it.

reblog and comment away because I'm interested in people's take on this.

[mermaidsirennikita]

ARC REVIEW: Two Can Play by Ali Hazelwood

4.25/5. Releases 10/1/2024.

The Vibes: video games, workplace rivals, snowed in, pining

Heat Index: 7/10

The Basics:

Rival indie video game design companies end up on a work retreat to collaborate on a new project. The problem for lead designer Viola? Her co-lead is Jesse, the quiet expert she had a crush on for years... until, of course, he made it very clear that he wasn't interested. They're equally invested in making this project a success, however. And as the snow falls, extending the retreat even further, Jesse and Viola realize there's a lot more to their friction than what initially met the eye.

The Review:

So cute! I needed something quick and refreshing, and this was exactly it. With a heavy dose of heat, especially for how quick a read (listen? This is a Spotify exclusive and audio only) it is. I actually started the book a little curious as to whether or not it would feel too crunched; it's half or less than half the listening length of a typical Hazelwood audiobook. But it kind of worked perfectly?

The retreat is key, I think. This is going to be perfect as the autumn and winter temperatures close in. I loved the details of the retreat, the snow, the hot tubs, the warm beds... it was all very cozy, and coziness is absolutely in Hazelwood's wheelhouse. However, it's never a boring coziness. The snap of her dialogue, the humor in the character dynamics, keeps it from being slow even when it's wholesome. Which is easier said than done!

Viola and Jesse are charming, likable leads. Speaking of Hazelwood's wheelhouse—nothing here reinvents her wheel. Which I think is less "big guy, small heroine, they are nerds" and more "He's into her from afar but for reasons can't act on it and she interprets his ambivalence as loathing" (though Not in Love was a notable exception). Personally, I think she does it very well, and as long as I'm entertained, I'm good with it.

You're not going to be shocked by the fact that Jesse's feelings for Viola may be more complicated than she thought. I found his reasoning to be pretty solidly realistic, even if the problem could've been resolved sooner. It's a normal miscommunication to me. Not too dramatic, not too slight. Just right.

I found the video game backdrop pretty fun and not too difficult to follow (I say as someone who knows approximately nothing about video games). I actually really liked the insight on the art of designing a video game, which I've always been tangentially aware of but enjoyed learning more about. There was a sweet, not super subtle but still fun, connection between the love story and the game—and speaking of? Kinda want to play the game now.

Side note: There's a subplot that's not quite a secondary romance between Jesse and Viola's bosses... I want SO much more of that situationship. I'd take a whole book, Ali!

The Sex:

OOH BUT THIS WAS SO GOOD? And I didn't expect it. I mean, Ali always writes good sex scenes, but I kind of thought this might skimp a little since it's on the shorter side. But uh... no. You get several sex scenes, and they're all very hot (I didn't expect THAT in a quick book, but I wasn't mad about it) while also maintaining a bit of emotional softness.

But what I loved most about the sex scenes was how confident Viola is. She's a good lay! Jesse's very overwhelmed! We love an overwhelmed hero!

It's quick, it's to the point, it's going to scratch your itch for a Hazelwood "nerds in love and also banging" book. And it's ideal for fall and winter.

On an audiobook note, Kelsey Navarro Foster did a great job with this one. This format served the book well; it felt like a little treat. I'd definitely recommend, especially if you're going through a bit of a reading slump.

Thanks to NetGalley and Spotify Audiobooks for providing me with a copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

[celestie0]

🪷 ALSOALSO just as I hit the ask button I just..thought about how utterly tragic gojo's life was when he was alive. Nothing but a vessel to hold power, a vessel used by clan structures to maintain the rotting society, a weapon that was seen as a threat or hope but never as a human with his own emotions or feelings behind. None of that was reserved for him.

I know people think Gege is losing his mind but honestly I'm not surprised they went down this route. It's cruel and absolutely fucking brutal but I feel like that's the whole point. To not be freed from the label of "the strongest" even in your death, to the extent that your corpse has to be used to win a fight or get an edge against the villian is a brilliant and cruel way to show the burden of the duty that fell on his shoulders.

If it's any consolation atleast he's with his most cherished people now. I did kind of tear up at the chapter because holy hell. His arc and entire character is genuinely tragic. Everything that has happened so far somehow showed why gojo was so deeply attached to geto and those three years despite everything that went wrong between the two of them. He had someone who saw him as Satoru first and not the six eyes user, who shared his burden and thanked him for his efforts instead of just treating it as something he's supposed to do anyway. It's not in the least bit surprising that gojo still considered him his one and only best friend, regardless of the differences that ultimately separated them.

At the very least his death was kind. To go back to the time you cherished so dearly, surrounded by people you care for, being able to be vulnerable and to finally be able to let go of that burden on you as the strongest. Enjoy your time now, you did everything and so much more to have deserved this freedom.

Man it just hurts ☹️ sorry for rambling but you know I never quit with my yapping

aaa do you mean you sent another ask too bb? i don't think i received it if you did :(

i know. i am so devastated by latest jjk. you're so right, he never had a chance to just be a human. always bottling up his emotions because he felt they didn't matter, he always upheld the burden of being the strongest for the sake of others. even in death, he cannot rest peacefully. i saw a really sad tiktok edit to phoebe bridgers song lyric "always an angel, never enough", and that RUINED me. he was always a weapon, and never a person.

"To not be freed from the label of "the strongest" even in your death, to the extent that your corpse has to be used to win a fight or get an edge against the villian is a brilliant and cruel way to show the burden of the duty that fell on his shoulders."

i agree. it's so wildly dehumanizing and i despise gege for going in this direction, but there is also a part of me that thinks it's an interesting direction to take gojo's character. the problem is, there is no window of light through the story he is telling, and it's starting to become too much. it's different if there was a balance of angst and relief, but to do such a thing to such a beloved character when we haven't known a single chapter of peace in so long is just too much. i personally cannot handle it, but even through my sadness i can kinda see the vision.

"Everything that has happened so far somehow showed why gojo was so deeply attached to geto and those three years despite everything that went wrong between the two of them. He had someone who saw him as Satoru first and not the six eyes user, who shared his burden and thanked him for his efforts instead of just treating it as something he's supposed to do anyway."

agreed, it's so tragic how things ended up for him and geto but i always loved the detail that he never truly hated him, he just hated the things that he did. it's so hard to let go of a connection w someone like that, after all geto was the only one to truly see him as a person. also this is random but people feeling bad for shoko when gojo said geto was the only person he truly called his friend sfkshdfkjsd after latest chap it's so obvious why he didn't really think of her as a friend AHHAH

it's so tough. even in death he simply cannot be put to rest. UGHHH why can't we just have happy things gege. i will go read my hurt comfort fics n cope

-ellie (insert frog emoji here sorry im on pc rn)

[positively--speculative]

Not to be mean, but it seems like fandom on Tumblr confuses analyzing characters with creating headcanons.

They are not the same.

For instance, I can be cute and make a post about how Jonathan Crane has a junk food habit but also enjoys those little cutie tangerines as well and that his favorite horror movie is Candyman.

That is headcanon. It's based on nothing in any of the comic books or in any of the Batman movies or shows he's appeared in. It is, instead, based off of my projections and idealization of the character. And there is absolutely nothing wrong with having fun with characters like this. It allows me to be creative with one of my favorite characters.

If I were to do a basic critical analysis of the character, I could make a post about how Jonathan is an illustration of the long-term psychological damage that is inflicted on a person when they are traumatized from bullying and abuse and several of his arcs can serve as a cautionary tale against bullying, abuse, and not receiving the proper mental and emotional support.

This analysis is based on several backstories given to Jonathan Crane, as he is abused by his peers and his own family which ultimately leads to his downfall. I could also go on and provide research on the effects of bullying and why it is important that people traumatized by it have access to the help they need. It's not to suggest that everyone who gets bullied will end up like Jonathan, but receiving help can possibly help you to work through the trauma so it doesn't have to rule your life.

The problem is so many people on Tumblr follow the blogs that treat silly headcanons as actual character analysis and the people who write this stuff are, themselves, convinced of this, so they write them so confidently and insist that their fave is a sweet little bean and everyone who says differently, even when they use actual sources from the material and research to counter them, are "fandom bullies."

It's pretty much anti-intellectualism that disguises itself as intellectualism. And it's annoying as hell.

[transmascwillbyers]

This could be a bit of an unpopular opinion, but do you know what I actually love about Mike's character? He's a queer character who's just... allowed to be an absolute f**king jerk sometimes. And I know that probably sounds like a weird take when you boil it down like that, but let me explain.

So often when we get queer representation, the characters are very black and white morality-wise- either they're these perfect angels who can do nothing wrong, or they're literally the queer-coded villains of the story. While the former is definitely better than the latter here, it has the unfortunate effect of minimizing some characters' impact and complexity, since they have to be 100% perfect people all the time or else it's "bad rep". To be clear, I do think that having queer characters on screen being good, functional people is still great representation, and it shouldn't be taken for granted, but I also feel like the experiences of queer characters can often get sanitized onscreen for the sake of straight audiences "understanding" us, or not having cisallohet people take a look at a queer person doing bad things and think "oh this queer person is doing bad so I'll go use that as an excuse to be homophobic now yay!"

Plus, while bad rep does exist and absolutely should be criticized, I think that sometimes we can be so nervous about something being queerbaiting or bad representation that even minor flaws or problematic things in a story feel like they're attacks on us, creating this very binary and unuanced idea of what good representation is (rep exists on a spectrum of good and bad! there's good and bad aspects of most rep!) Of course, I don't fault anyone for feeling disappointed with some stories, and I know that different people can feel represented in different things more than others. If you really like a work, shout it from the rooftops, and if you want to criticize it, you are fully within your right to do that as a queer person! We just need more nuance in the way we think about queer rep, and we need audiences to be MUCH less homophobic, because otherwise there's this effect where queer characters can't really do bad things and behave badly without backlash from both sides (but mostly homophobes). Remember everyone calling Will a homewrecker after s4 for... having an unrequited crush on his friend? Yeah. That happened.

Well, enter Mike Wheeler. As much as we all love Mike, you have to admit, he makes a lot of bad decisions on a fairly regular basis. He blows up at his friends because of his own internalized homophobia (iT'S nOt My fAUlT yoU DoN'T lIkE gIRlS), he has his parents constantly nagging him about how he's acting out and doing badly in school, and his entire season four plotline basically consists of him... treating his girlfriend badly and then going off and having an emotional affair with someone else once she gets arrested. Okay, obviously that's kind of an unfavorable look at it, but this is what I mean! He makes bad decisions, he does bad things sometimes, but the narrative actually manages to strike a balance between making us feel sympathy for him without completely justifying all his actions. If Mike does something bad, he (usually) faces consequences and does something good about it later, to furthur his arc. He's a queer character who's allowed to screw up and be somewhat morally grey sometimes, and you know what? I love that. I love that because it feels real, and authentic, and because the Duffers aren't sugarcoating the struggles of being queer and how internalized homophobia can make you act out and be a jerk sometimes.

More importantly, Mike's actions do get called out in the narrative, but we as an audience aren't supposed to find him irredeemable or morally bankrupt just because he makes bad decisions. He's a classic anti-hero (it's me, hi, i'm the problem, it's me) in the sense that the characters in the text make him face consequences, but the writers themselves don't treat Mike like he's a bad person in the greater context of the story. It's a complicated nuance, mainly about how the characters view another character vs. how that character is treated within the story, tonally and archetypally. We as an audience can make our own decisions about Mike- is he a good person? A bad person? Likeable? Unlikeable? No one f**king knows! And the fact that we get to have a queer character who people don't unanimously like is actually really cool when you think about it!

Ugh. This was so rambly, and I'm so sorry, but istg I have so many creative writer thoughts about Mike it's not even funny. TL;DR, I personally really love Mike as a queer character, because in ST it doesn't feel like his experience is sanitized or sugarcoated for the sake of making him seem "likeable" to an audience that doesn't understand the experience of being queer. He's allowed to make mistakes, he's allowed to be somewhat morally grey sometimes, and the fact that we can have a queer character who isn't perfect for the sake of seeming appealing is just... ugh. I don't know why but I just find it so f**king cool as an english nerd. His character is so interesting, and asdfghklj- I'll stop now.

I'll finish off with this- Equality for queer people and queer representation in media WILL NOT be achieved once we have a character who's perfect, unproblematic representation. However, it will be achieved when we can have a character who makes mistakes, does bad things, even royally screws up sometimes, and no one bats an eye- because people won't be homophobic enough to use them as an example of "why queer people are bad", and queer people will be secure enough in the world so that they won't have to worry whether representation is good, bad, or somewhere in between.

[hamliet]

How To Write Badly 101: The Season

Or, I review The Dragon Prince season 4, at the urging of a friend who is much more invested than I am. If you do not want to read immense salt and criticism, this is your warning.

My expectations for were extremely low and somehow the show managed to dig a tunnel beneath and go lower than I thought possible. Disclaimer: I've never been hugely invested, so I'm mostly amused about this game of how low can you go?

Claudia continues to be the only actual character of substance, while Once Characters Rayla and Soren slowly lose their potential. Never a Character Callum continues to be a lamp passed around the plot who gets things just for being a lamp.

A lamp character is a character who could be replaced by a lamp and there'd be minimal to no change on the actual story. It's pretty bad when your main protagonist is a lamp. What makes him even worse than, say, Alina in Grishaverse, is that Callum is treated like he's a special lamp when there's canonically zilch special about him. At least Alina is like, literally light and no one is like her. Callum is just an IKEA piece. He's a mage but cool, what does that cost him?

The time gap supposedly had major events happen off screen--especially romantically. Except... none of it is really explained, and thus it falls flat. Rayla and Callum broke up because there's never been tension between them and they offer each other nothing at all in a ship, which becomes apparent especially when they're together. Breaking them up is a way to at least manufacture tension. If you can call that tension, because their breakup added nothing at all to their character arcs.

Not that Callum's ever had an arc. But honestly, like, you need to show conflict. You need to have Callum saying that it triggers his fear of losing people, show him distressed more than just moping. Show him distressed by his actions, or present passivity as a flaw, but Callum has never had an actual flaw introduced so there's no place for this plotpoint to build besides "let's create tension for shippers."

Rayla... I like her. I want to like her even more, but her leaving is never explained. She seeks Claudia for... reasons? Presumably her parents? But y'know, you need to actually show consequences for leaving, and explain why she decided to come back more than just "the dragon queen was coming!" Was she lonely? What provoked her to come back? What are you trying to tell us? (Nothing. They don't have a story.)

Rayla's choice towards the end of the season was utterly ridiculous. The coins needed to be mentioned, like, way earlier in the season to remind us rather than just coming out of nowhere. Her grief needed to be explored, and her running away was like... an opportunity there, but it wasn't explored, so her choice to trade Terry for the coins had no resonance at the end. There were no consequences, no results, no impact of that choice. It was just empty. Like the show.

Terry... hoo boy. I want to like Terry. I kind of do despite how much of an obvious "morality pet" he is in the plot. His relationship with Claudia is very sweet, but again, it comes from nowhere. We have no exploration of what this means to them, no idea of what drew Terry and Claudia together, no idea of the basis of their emotional bond. You can't build a compelling ship without that.

Lastly, Terry's rebuke of Claudia towards the end was... bizarre, and nonsensical writing-wise. Like. The end of the last season showed a body. Claudia clearly killed people to bring her father back. So why is Terry horrified by Claudia taunting Rayla with fake coins about her parents, especially when it's to save his life? Terry also has previously killed someone who was about to kill Claudia. Make it make sense.

Soren... baby. You absolutely cannot cut the reunion between him and Viren. And yet! They did! I'm sorry but???? You absolutely can't skip that? For either Soren or Viren's arcs? Unless you're dropping both arcs, which it sure looks like you're doing.

Also, the plot. Nothing. Happened. The entire season. We need to free Aaravos in 30 days! At the end of the season, he still ain't free, and I'm begging him to appear because dear dragons someone needs to shake up this world.

Oh, okay, sometimes threats needed to happen. I wouldn't really call it plot, but there were occasional moments of pretend peril. The dragon went nuts in the end and almost killed them for... reasons I guess? I'm sorry but I don't understand why and the why doesn't matter in the end; it was the peril that was important because stakes! Except there aren't any.

Rule 1 of writing: anytime you have "and then" instead of "because" or "but" linking events/plot points, you're f*cked. It's boring.

Also, the sun elf subplot... was awful. Janai had no arc, and the story didn't parallel or link with the A plot. Her romance with Amaya is cute but again, the bond between them is not explored this season--it's told. Show us moments where they only have each other, moments where duty and love both tug at the heart!

The actual story itself was like an attempt to copy Black Panther, with the brother challenging the heir, but make it pointless because boring is clearly the vision they're aiming for. Because the Sun Elf Queen just wins because she's good, and people are good. Which is not itself a bad theme, but the point is that this whole plotline went nowhere and changed nothing for the story as a whole. It's dumb. Listen I am all for optimism in stories, especially those catered towards kids, but make it matter! Otherwise it's just boring!

And sure, maybe these things will matter towards the endgame? Maybe? But it should matter this season as well, and considering how poorly the show has done making everything matter so far, well, I am not holding my breath.

[caatws]

I saw your post and I don't understand Gunn. What does a real family mean? I'm so confused. He dragged her butt back to the guardians and had her go through all the emotional turmoil of the whole movie for her fake family? Okay I guess but that seems stupid. Does she still get to be sisters with Nebula at least or is that now off the table.

Really though why does nothing about Gamora's story make sense anymore? She fell off a cliff and everything went to shit. I realized that Peter has basically been depressed since 2018 and falling apart drinking since being unsnapped. Nebula had one thing she wanted and that was a sister and she had to go without that for 5 years and then suddenly she gets her back and that's it. The rest of them don't even appear to fully grasp what's been going on. All this stuff happens off camera and then we're in vol 3 and before you know it the story is over.

The only way I can make sense of any of it is to see it as a story of Gamora dying and everything fell apart. Peter decented into a black pit of despair, the guardians couldn't figure out what to. Nebula trying to help running around like a chicken with her head cut off. Then Rocket nearly dies before dealing with his abuser and they all free some people before parting ways at the end. Otherwise the lack of information and explanation of why certain things are happening, have happened and some characters appearing checked out of the situation entirely, is just too much to comprehend. Noone else who died in IW or EG has had this crappy of an emotional follow up or further exploration of character except maybe Heimdall. I just don't understand it.

yeah i totally agree with you anon, like i was just telling some of my friends the other day how i think gamora honestly has like the WORST arc in the mcu bc of this whole thing. like other characters had arcs that ended rly stupidly (like steve lmao) bc they were ooc or did nothing but i think gamora's is like, a separate level of Terrible bc it's not even like she got an ooc ending or regressed or something, her "arc" was her life after thanos just being straight up ERASEDDDD in canon like. my god

and you're so right abt how the other characters who died in iw/eg have been treated better by the narrative in the time since, save for heimdall - like yesterday i was specifically trying to think of gamora's arc vs natasha romanoff's specifically in how both (after being fridged) have been grieved in the canon narratives since then, and, oh man...gamora truly got the worst of the worst here. like, we have gotten to see yelena and clint have actual arcs in their separate grieving processes for natasha (in addition to seeing tony, steve, bruce, and thor all grieve her in endgame), and bc it's become such an integral part of yelena's character specifically, i think it's fair to say we're probably going to see natasha's legacy continue in yelena's future stories

gamora has literally gotten nothing to this extent, bc we only ever see peter and nebula grieve her, and in vol 3 there are TWO TIMES where someone mentions gamora being dead and another character is like Well, Actually, She's Alive, She Just Doesn't Remember ! which essentially creates zero space in the narrative for the rest of the gotg to express grief for her, since it's established that they've apparently all made peace with 2014!gamora existing as a replacement but wanting absolutely nothing to do with them before the film which just seems ??? like you're telling me drax, rocket, mantis, and groot - none of them miss THEIR gamora EITHER ?????

like obviously i get gamora isn't gonna be swayed to do much after 48 hours (although how much time passes in vol 1 before the gotg start deciding they're a team/family....?) esp with the baggage of the original gamora vs 2014!gamora weighing over everything (except that the narrative shows and establishes only peter being the one to be struggling with this baggage, suggesting 2014!gamora could have relationships with the rest of the gotg without this conflict at all lol), but just....idk it's messy! (also when peter tried to gatekeep being a ravager from gamora during that one scene LMAOOO there was something so satisfying in that)

ALSO to continue making a long answer long...considering all the variant character nonsense the mcu has been trying to put us through in recent years with all the multiverse stuff, i think it's fair to look at gamora through that lens. bc that is literally what mcu phases 4 and 5 are abt. the multiverse. and what characters are like in different timelines.

between the loki show and no way home, we get the idea that there are certain values and truths that are inherent to each character no matter what world or timeline they live in - as the loki show so succinctly puts it, "what makes a loki a loki?"

so that brings me to ask, what makes a gamora a gamora?

and i don't think a gamora can exist without being part of the guardians family, so it's disappointing that our onscreen, canon narrative, ends before that can happen, and it's more disappointing that the language of "real family" suggests a conflict with gamora achieving that.

(inb4 someone's like WELL IT'S OPEN-ENDED IT'S WHAT HAPPENS OFFSCREEN AFTER ETC bc yeah i agree that could be a natural next step in 2014!gamora's story. which is the problem. THE STORY IS OVER. we aren't GETTING gamora or the gotg anymore, besides peter allegedly, whatever tf that entails lmao. so no matter how open-ended this is, it's still the last we're seeing of them in canon, so it deserves to be criticized as such - the canon end of the franchise.)

[daughter-of-water]

“I find it funny that a reylo lover who claims ben deserved a living redemption and HEA when ben solo killed lots of people turned around and vilified mako for mishandling a love triangle ( he never intended to hurt asami ( korra kissed him etc his issue was him trying to avoid hurting people  he wasnt some womanizer)  and acted like mako not being specifically punished at the end of b1 and him getting with korra is somehow him being rewarded for those flaws. Not to mention claiming mako deserved to end the show single because he made a few minor mistakes that if the show ended with makorra getting back together or a hint to it that it would somehow be rewarding those mistakes. ( korrasami was just a last minute retcon thrown in at the last two minutes)

  I mean ben solo killed tons of people and you say that didnt need punitive punishment but by your logic ben solo not being punitively punished is a reward for those actions. “

Hey, I would have gladly taken a real redemption arc for your guy too where he became a better person and started afresh with someone new but for some reason, you Mako stans, insist he basically did nothing wrong there and god forbid, your beloved one dimensional Makorra not happen. Oh, the absolute horror.

Regarding my apparent lack of consistency in your eyes regarding Ben Solo and Mako, I will remind you as to what the character of Ben Solo is. Ben Solo is not a a people pleaser as you think Mako is or even a self serving liar as I believe Mako is, Ben Solo is a man who was targeted since birth for his powers. A predator constantly spoke to him in his head feeding into his insecurities and negative emotions in a manner that parallels the intrusive thoughts those who suffer from mental illness have. Said predator, in the way all abusers do, isolated him from his network of emotional support until he had nothing left to rely on that very person who was abusing him. His abuser convinced him to kill his father and unlike Mako, he was torn asunder by his actions. He was riddled with GUILT in every scene he was in and it was palpable. Do not tell me Ben Solo was not punished. His entire life was a punishment. And unlike in Legend of Korra, there was never a time that Star Wars treated Ben Solo’s actions as a joke, of little significance or as another one of your brethren termed it, the hijinks of a teenage boy. 

Do you know what I find funny…no, actually disturbing? Every day I get messages from stans just like you regurgitating the same things over and over. Like I really hope you all are different people or else my god, you got a problem that really needs help. Perhaps this may be true of all of you even but the lengths you go to defend this behavior to me almost makes me think it is personal. That you have acted in this same manner as Mako did and are looking for absolution from me for it. If that is the case, I cannot give that to you. 

[melina-ya]

What they’re like as boyfriends;

Characters; Seishu ‘Inupi’ Inui, Hajime Kokonoi.

Warnings; a bit angsty.

Seishu ‘Inupi’ Inui;

Don’t you dare hurt this man’s feelings. I’ll be coming for ur neck.

You better treat him right, because he would go to the ends of the world for you.

He doesn’t want to lose another person in his life so he’ll always show you how much he values you and how much you mean to him.

It can be hard for him to find the right words sometime, that doesn’t stop him from showing you little acts of service and physical affection to make you feel loved.

Wants you to feel comfortable around him, at all times.

Is in general a very considerate person, but especially when it comes to your feelings. So you will never witness him trying to down play your emotions.

He is in touch with his feminine side and holds absolutely no place for toxic masculinity in his life.

I fr want his fashion advise.

Would never judge you for anything. Especially not for your body. He loves your body.

Beats up everyone who dares to talk bad about you. Can’t stand people who only have the courage to talk shit about you someone behind their back.

Loves laying on your chest. He says it’s more comfortable than a pillow, but actually just listens to your heart beat.

If you two were together while he was still in black dragons, he’d make you be besties with Koko.

Koko’s approval of your relationship is important to him. They’ve been there for each other for a very long time now an he really wants Koko to like you and you two actually get a long great.

After Tenjiku arc he’d have some kind of complex about you thinking of him as something/ someone he isn’t is.

Doesn’t want you to leave like Koko did. He isn’t Akane, you have to assure him you know that. You also don’t expect him to be, which takes time for him to understand.

When a insecurity or a issue pops up he isn’t too shy to talk about it, that’s why problems in your relationship never last that long.

He’s very mature, but knows when to let loose and also be childish for once.

He’s such a cutie.

Hajime Kokonoi;

This man-

Treats you like a princess. Like u deserve.

Spoils you so bad. You’re literally swimming in designers bags and clothes.

Does not care how many times you decline his gifts, you will accept them. Period.

In the end you always give in anyways. I mean why wouldn’t you lmao.

Let’s you do his makeup and even goes out with it on if it looks good. The healthy masculinity is immaculately.

When you want to try out a new makeup look on him and it doesn’t end up the way you wanted it to, he’ll tease you a bit, but would encourage you to try again and again until you get it.

He’s very patient, so just take your time and don’t stress. He knows you can do it.

Always believes in you and supports you. Is your personal cheerleader.

You know how Aang looks at Katara? Yeah that’s how he looks at you.

After Akane it was hard for him to fall in love again.

When you to met it took him a lot of thinking and time. But he did it, he moved on from her.

Don’t get me wrong she will always hold a special place in his heart as his first love, now nothing more or less.

Sometimes tho, in the itsy bitsiest moments you remind him of her. Even if it’s just for a second, he’ll feel so bad.

After sometime he’ll find the courage to talk to you about it. You’ll literally have to beat it out of him. When he admits it you just look at him as if he’s dumb, ‘they’re just intrusive thoughts, it’s not your fault. It’s okay.’

And since he moved on it’s most likely that you only got together later on, where he was already part of the Kanto Manji gang.

Meeting Mikey and the rest of the gang was an experience for sure. Even more so if it was after the fight of the three deities. Sometimes you question if he’s in a relationship with you or them, considering how much time he spends with them.

a/n; is it obvious that inupi is one of my favs lmao? Anyways I had a lot of fun writing this and thank you for reading.

[dragynkeep]

Did I really just read that other Anon say:

"it doesn’t matter that aang’s arc apparently doesn’t centre on treating his close friend & future girlfriend with respect for her autonomy & consent first he train under her and has say how great katara is as water bender"

Really? It "doesn't matter" that Aang mistreated his close friend and future girlfriend and did not respect her? It "doesn't matter" that Aang violated the physical and emotional boundaries that she had set for herself?

It "doesn't matter" that Aang doesn't respect his future girlfriend.

They say that it "doesn't matter" that Aang DOES NOT RESPECT his close friend and future girlfriend.

You can bet that if the roles were reversed and if Katara had mistreated Aang's boundaries, this loser would be crying in the streets about "respect," but since it's a guy mistreating a girl, it's apparently just her "being difficult."

Also, "he has said that Katara is a great water bender" SO?! So you're saying that if a man verbally acknowledges that a woman is skilled in her chosen field of study, it means that she owes him a relationship??? Good god, Anon, just don your fedora, grab your white rose and go cry to the other Nice Guys, seriously.

It doesn't matter if Aang's "arc" was about other things: just because his "arc" was about defeating the fire lord doesn't mean it's okay that he mistreats his friends and doesn't respect them and violates their boundaries and disregards their feelings.

If you want people to treat you well, if you want people to respect you, if you want people to follow the boundaries you set, if you want people to be considerate of your feelings, then guess what? Girls deserve that too. EVEN IF you compliment their work performance. My god...

that's the most worrying thing about all of this, that's there's a concerningly large swathe of atla / aang fans who don't think it matters that katara was kissed without her consent, twice. her consent, her right to her bodily autonomy & agency & her right to say no, wait, i need some time to think through this, was violated.

a major defense against this was "you're making a big deal out of nothing" which is basically the twin to "it doesn't matter" to which i have to reinforce that yes it absolutely does. because as i've pointed out before, children are one of, if not the most vulnerable group when it comes to violations of consent because their consent is already so ignored by society. it's normalized to just ignore what a child wants because "the adult knows best" & they are consistently ignored & talked over, time & time again. even more so for little girls who are told that oh if a boy is mean to you, he must like you. if he pulls your hair or pushes you over or hurts you, he has a crush. you have to just give him time.

it may seem to those people like this is people making a big deal out of nothing but when you look at children, a vulnerable group in regards to consent, now seeing characters their age acting this way & essentially it being condoned & normalized by the narrative, they will then internalize that themselves. little girls who see themselves in katara may see that even if they say no to kissing a boy, they eventually have to concede & "stop being difficult." little boys who see themselves in aang may see that if they like a girl & she says she doesn't want them, they just have to wait & "be persisent" because she'll stop being difficult & give them what they want.

katara deserved her respect as a waterbender & aang's sifu whether or not he was romantically attracted to her & even then, she's never gotten it to the level of zuko or toph, both of who are given the proper titles they deserved. even then, katara is still being subtly devalued & not given the respect she deserved by aang.

[idreamtofmanderleyagain]

Hot takes about Severus Snape are a wierdly decent glimpse into how a person with progressive values analyses things. Literally every time someone talks about Snape, it’s like this tiny window into how one-dimentionally people actually think.

Recently saw a twitter post that was a fantastic example. Here’s how it goes (paraphrasing):

Person A:“Snape is POC and Queer coded, that’s why you guy’s hate him uwu lol.”

Person B: “Actually I hate him because he was mean and abusive to children under his care uwu but go off I guess lol”

Both of these takes are designed to be dramatic and/or reactionary. They each use partial truths to paint very broad strokes. These are get-em-in-one-hit quips. This is virtue signalling, if you’ll excuse that loaded phrase. Nobody had a substantial conversation, but now everyone who sees their statement knows the high ground they took.

At least a hundred other people chimed in to add their own little quippy hot takes into play, none of which add anything significant, but clearly made everyone feel very highly of themselves.

So many layers of nuance and complex analysis is completely lost in this kind of discussion. On tumblr, you get more of this kind of bullshit, but you don’t have a word count limit, so you guys just spew endless mountains of weak overblown evidence backing up your bullshit arguments, none of which was really about engaging in a real conversation anyway.

Here’s the thing about Snape.

He is a childhood domestic abuse victim. His abuser is a muggle.

He becomes a student at a magical school that takes him away from his abuser and immediately instills in him the idea that being a part of this magical world is a badge of self-worth, empowerment, and provides safety and security - provided that he keeps in line.

There is a war is being waged in that world over his right to exist (he is a half blood).

He is a marginalized person within the context of the narrative, forced to constantly be in the same living space as the children of his own oppressors who are being groomed and recruited into a hate group militia (the pureblood slytherins). They are in turn trying to do the same to him.

He is marginalized person bullied by children who are also part of his oppressor group, but who have “more liberal” leanings and aren’t direct about why he’s being targeted (the mauraders are all purebloods, Sirius, who was the worst offender, was raised in a bigoted household, the same one that produced Bellatrix.).

He had a crush on a girl who is a muggleborn, and therefore she is considered even lesser than him and carries a stigma to those who associate with her. That girl was his only real friend. In his entire life.

For both Snape and Lily, allying themselves to a pureblood clique within their own houses would be a great way of shielding themselves from a measure of the bigotry they were probably facing. There would have been obvious pressure from those cliques to disconnect with one and other.

Every other person who associates with Snape in his adulthood carries some sort of sociopolitical or workplace (or hate cult) baggage with their association. Some of them will physically harm and/or kill him if he steps out of line. He hasn’t at any point had the right environment to heal and adjust from these childhood experiences. Even his relationship with Dumbledore is charged with constant baggage, including the purebloods who almost killed him during their bullying getting a slap on the wrist, the werewolf that almost killed him as a child being placed in an authority position over new children, etc. Dumbledore is canonically manipulative no matter his good qualities, and he has literally been manipulating Snape for years in order to cultivate a necessary asset in the war.

He is a person who is not in the stable mental state necessary to be teaching children, whom has been forced to teach children. While also playing the role of double agent against the hate group militia, the one that will literally torture you for mistakes or backtalk or just for fun. The one that will torture and kill him if he makes one wrong move.

Is the math clicking yet? From all of this, it’s not difficult to see how everything shitty about Snape was cultivated for him by his environment. Snape was not given great options. Snape made amazingly awful choices, and also some amazingly difficult, courageous ones. Snape was ultimately a human who had an extremely bad life, in which his options were incredibly grim and limited.

In fact, pretty much every point people make about how shitty Snape is as a person makes 100% logical sense as something that would emerge from how he was treated. Some if it he’s kind of right about, some of it is the inevitable reality of suffering, and some of it is part of the cycle of abuse and harm.

Even Snape’s emotional obsession with Lily makes logical sense when you have the perspective that he literally has no substantial positive experiences with other human beings that we know of, and he has an extreme, soul destroying guilt complex over her death. Calling him an Incel mysoginist nice guy projects a real-world political ideology and behavior that does not really apply to the context of what happened to him and her.

Even Snape’s specific little acts of cruelty to certain students is a reflection of his own life experiences. He identifies with Neville; more specifically, he identifies his own percieved emotional weaknesses in his childhood in Neville. There’s a very sad reason there why he feels the urge to be so harsh.

Snape very clearly hates himself, in a world where everyone else hates him, too. Imagine that, for a second. Imagine total internal and external hatred, an yearning for just a little bit of true connection. For years. Imagine then also trying to save that world, even if it’s motivated by guilt. Even if nobody ever knows you did it and you expect to die a miserable death alone.

There are more elements here to consider, including the way Rowling described his looks (there may be something in there re: ugliness and swarthy stereotyping). These are just the things that stand out the most prominently to me.

J.K. Rowling is clearly also not reliable as an imparter of moral or sociopolitical philosophies. I don’t feel that her grasp of minority experiences is a solid one, considering how she picks and chooses who is acceptable and who is a threat.

All of that said, this is a logically consistent character arc. Within the context of his narrative, Snape is a marginalized person with severe PTSD and emotional instability issues who has absolutely no room available to him for self-improvement or healing, and never really has. And yes, he’s also mean, and caustic, and verbally abusive to the students. He’s also a completey miserable, lonely person.

There are elements in his character arc that mirror real world experiences quite well. If nothing else, Rowling is enough of an emotional adult to recognise these kinds of things and portray something that feels authentic.

In my opinion, it’s not appropriate to whittle all this down by comparing him directly to the real world experiences of marginalized groups - at least if you are not a part of the group you are comparing him to. There have been many individuals who have compared his arc to their own personal experiences of marginalization, and that is valid. But generally speaking, comparing a white straight dude to people who are not that can often be pretty offensive. This is not a valuable way to discuss either subject.

Also, I believe that while it’s perfectly okay to not like Snape as a character, many of the people who act like Person B are carrying Harry’s childhood POV about Snape in their hearts well into their own adulthood. And if nothing else, Rowling was attempting to say something here about how our perspectives (should) grow and change as we emotionally mature.  She doesn’t have to be a good person herself to have expressed something true about the world in this instance, and since this story is a part of our popular culture, people have a right to feel whatever way they do about this story and it’s characters.

The complexity of this particular snapshot of fictionalized marginalization, and what it reveals about the human experience, cannot be reduced down to “he’s an abuser so he’s not worth anyone’s time/you are bad for liking him.”

And to be honest, I think that it reveals a lot about many of us in progressive spaces, particularly those of us who less marginalized but very loud about our values, that we refuse to engage with these complexities in leu of totally condemning him. Particularly because a lot of the elements I listed above are indeed reflected in real world examples of people who have experienced marginalization and thus had to deal with the resulting emotional damage, an mental illness, and behavior troubles, and bad decisions. Our inability to address the full scope of this may be a good reflection of how we are handling the complexity of real world examples.

Real people are not perfect angels in their victimhood. They are just humans who are victims, and we all have the capacity to be cruel and abusive in a world where we have been given cruelty and abuse. This is just a part of existing. If you cannot sympathise with that, or at least grasp it and aknowledge it and respect the people who are emotionally drawn to a character who refects that, then you may be telling on yourself to be honest.

To be honest, this is especially true if you hate Snape but just really, really love the Mauraduers. You have a right to those feelings, but if you are moralizing this and judging others for liking Snape, you’ve confessed to something about how you’ve mentally constructed your personal values in a way I don’t think you’ve fully grasped yet.

I have a hard time imagining a mindset where a story like Snape’s does not move one to empathy and vicarious grief, if I’m honest. I feel like some people really just cannot be bothered to imagine themselves in other people’s shoes, feeling what they feel and living like they live. I struggle to trust the social politics of people who show these kinds of colors, tbh.

But maybe that’s just me.