#i think it's also an issue of people seeing morally grey characters as black or white good or bad

[fallenrain40]

sometimes i wonder if people dont like Tigerheart x Dovewing simply cause Ivypool hates him.

[wispforever]

Some thoughts on Itachi

So, I've seen a lot of comments circulating about my tags on this post, and I'm intrigued at the interest. I didn't expect it, as I see much more pigeonholing of Itachi's character than honest to god analysis. No hate- I'm no stranger to Kishimoto's writing. Some of his characters were unfortunately butchered or never given the chance to be developed properly, and Itachi is most certainly no exception. That said, I like to grant him a bit more nuance than I see on most blogs. I think people get a little wrapped up in the supposed "moral implications" of exploring how Itachi was also a victim of the system, as well as someone who victimized many people. But it's silly to equate character analysis and context consideration with condoning genocide.

I have a good laugh every once and a while at the metaphorical gymnastics people do in order to stay in the good graces of a bunch of internet trolls who are just Waiting for any opportunity to tell you you love murder and think it's delicious just because you made a post exploring a character's background. Media is grey; it's layered and wonderfully complex. There are many wrongs and rights in every story, and many wrongs and rights within those wrongs and rights. That's what I love about Naruto. Often times it's really too much like real life. Instead of people being black and white, right or wrong, bad or good- they're usually in a tough situation, trying their best and falling short, don't have all of the information, acting with good intentions or acting on what they believe will bring about a lesser evil, and then end up hurting others.

But it is much easier to assign blame and move on. A so-called bad person will always be the perfect scapegoat for issues bigger than them. In Itachi's case, the fascist government in the Leaf. It's easier to say Itachi could have just refused and decided not to be involved, than to recognize that like almost every other character in the narrative, he was under extreme duress, living in a military state. He was a child whose existence, along with all the other children and adults in the Leaf, was only valuable as long as he could serve as a tool for the war machine in the shinobi world's fucked up political system. And saying this is not the same as saying he was not capable of better decisions or that everything that he did thereafter or in general should not be read critically or subject to hypothetical consequences. It is the same as a saying his actions cannot be fully understood without complete context, and the themes of Naruto will never come through if every villain is just "evil" with no further nuance. And it would be boring too LOL

That said, I love to think about Itachi's situation back then. The ages in Naruto are a bit muddled, a little inconsistent, subject to change and interpretation, but Itachi was a child when he murdered everyone in the Uchiha compound. Most sources say he was 13. It should go without saying that someone so young isn't capable of the same decision-making or critical thinking as say, a 30-year-old, someone whose brain is finished developing and has much more experience on Earth.

Itachi's experience at this point in his life is informed by his age, and it's obviously informed by his childhood, as he has no other place from which to draw conclusions. Itachi grew up in a warring state. He saw people die and was subject to extreme violence in his formative years. To make matters worse, he was taught that war was inevitable and the only thing he could do to guard against it was kill others before they got the chance to kill him (threaten the village). Thusly, Itachi internalized at a very young age that what was in his power was to minimize damage (to himself, to his village, and to the world). What was not in his power was to stop this violence entirely (by adopting a critical mindset and going against fascist powers).

A part of this I think people often forget is that Itachi has absolutely nowhere to adopt this mindset FROM, as even though his father and the other members of the Uchiha clan seek equity in the Leaf, if they were to overthrow the Hokage and create a new system, it would still presumably center around the same ideals (minus, of course, the oppression of the Uchiha as a group). Fugaku is the head of the Uchiha clan at this time. As someone who imposed near impossible performance-related expectations on both of his sons, and withheld love and affection whenever they came up short (so often that it was at the cost of having any considerable emotional bond with either of them), there is absolutely no good reason to believe that Fugaku would reform the Leaf using a non-fascist ideology. And if he did, there is no good reason to believe that he would be some kind of visionary LMAO

This is important to remember because when it comes down to Itachi's decision to either kill everyone in the Uchiha compound and his family, or be part of the coup that would overthrow the Leaf, some people treat it as though it's a choice between fascism and non-fascism, which it most certainly is not. And if it was, Itachi, as a child who had grown up immersed in this ideology, would not be able to appreciate the difference. This context allows us to understand further what Itachi was really weighing in that moment. Accounting for his young age and limited worldview, the only valuable difference in this moment to Itachi was the amount of bloodshed that he would "allow" to happen. Essentially, he sees the options as follows:

Either give in to Danzo and kill everyone in the Uchiha compound, or facilitate a coup where the current government is (hopefully) overthrown and risk starting another war.

Here, Itachi pauses. He has known war. He knows how it affects children, adults, families, and whole nations. The peace he's living in currently is bought with blood, but it's the only peace he's ever known. The alternative is horrifying. And a war in this context, Itachi likely thinks, would be his fault, as he has now been put in the position to "prevent" it. Danzo and the whole shinobi system have groomed him into thinking so. Itachi, at age 13, cannot understand that there would be no war; it exists only as leverage for Danzo's argument at this point. His sensitivities are being played on.

Fugaku, though he is not the same as Danzo, offers about as much help as he does (that being none). Fugaku has no interest in avoiding war; if a war breaks out, it's justified because it will still mean his clan will no longer be living in oppression. This idea is valid, as fascist systems and discrimination can only cease to exist when we rise up against them; unfortunately, this most often calls for righteous violence, as the oppressive powers will not be moved with peaceful shows (not to mention they are willing to go to extreme lengths to avoid losing their hold on the people they have crushing power over, i.e. the Uchiha massacre). But Fugaku has no words to explain this to Itachi, who fears the worst and further fears being responsible for the worst. All he does is act as if it's a moral failing that his 13-year-old son is unwilling to stage a coup, which he believes could mark the abrupt end of a peace that's only just begun.

That said, let it be known that Itachi does appreciate this situation with SOME nuance, though it isn't of the kind that might have enabled him to see he was being manipulated. He at the very least understands that Danzo is a warmonger and oppresses those he fears (the Uchiha). He understands that the rights of his clan have been sorely disrespected, and that the issue needs correction. He understands the anger of his friends and family. This is why it takes him much deliberation before he can even come close to making a decision. He plays both sides right up until the end, listening to Danzo, as well as Fugaku and Shisui, paying attention to the current atmosphere in the Leaf as he tries to decide.

It is something he doesn't want to do. Here's where I get to the part I put in the tags of my drawing.

In this situation, it's almost worthless to write an analysis about Itachi's feelings at this time, his understanding of what was actually going on, his loyalty to his clan or his loyalty to the Leaf, because really, he could not grasp it. He was never prepared for this. He never knew he would be asked to make a decision he could only understand as "your family or the world?"

Itachi was put in a position that had no happy ending. There was no decision he could make that would not hurt. That could not result in a cataclysm that split him right down the middle. There was no version of this story that a 13-year-old could carry out thinking "I have done the right thing."

And that's the important part. Both sides asked him to make this decision, and so both sides are guilty of placing an immeasurable pressure on a child who should never have been put in such a position. Regardless of ideology, regardless of price, regardless of oppression or loyalty or devotion or any other thing- someone else should have made this decision for Itachi. Someone else should have been responsible. An adult, at the very least. Someone who COULD understand the implications of both options. Someone who COULD go forward and appreciate the evil of fascism and know that a coup was necessary. Itachi was never capable of such a thing. If he made the "wrong" decision, than every child who can't explain to you what a fascist government in a military state looks like and explain what the difference is between a hate crime and resisting a hateful power, is also wrong. Here is the nuance. These are things a 13-year-old in this universe cannot be expected to understand unless they are taught. And Itachi had no teacher. Quite the opposite. There were only forces pressing him from both sides, saying "choose."

Had his father done this for him, had Shisui been in this position, had any other adult Uchiha acting as a spy been put to this task, it would be a much different narrative. But of course, it had to be Itachi, who Danzo knew he could manipulate. It had to be a child, someone skilled enough to do the job, but inexperienced enough, afraid enough, to be willing to sacrifice everything they had to see the mission through. Someone you could whisper "greater good" to and have them hand over their well being on a plate. Someone who didn't understand they had the power and strength to destroy the system threatening them.

On a narrative level, Itachi exists to illustrate this point. How young people are systematically indoctrinated to serve a greater purpose, be it under a specific government, religion, or otherwise. We see it in real life fascism, in real life cults. There's no mistake. It isn't an accident that Itachi's story begins like this.

Which brings me to the rest of his life. The reason I drew the picture in the post referenced at the top. Itachi's character is a bit of a mystery the rest of the anime. Be that because of bad writing or an intentional omission, his motives, thoughts, and opinions are largely left ambiguous. However, there are still a few moments that interest me as far as the implications of his development.

When Itachi first comes back to the Leaf village, he faces Kakashi. On the one hand, this could simply be a narrative tool- the big bad meets the big good. He takes Kakashi out of commission! The first rogue shinobi we see who is able to defeat the pillar of the Leaf, the Copy Ninja, and without even breaking a sweat!

On the other hand, I find the brutality of Itachi's attack very intriguing. Again, it could be the tough guy act, but he's able to keep three jonin busy easily using standard genjutsu (with the help of Kisame). It wouldn't be a stretch to say that using the tsukuyomi is overkill, and at a considerable price, we learn later.

Why then would Itachi, who has been shown to have excellent battle intelligence, who is strategic to a fault, be willing to jeopardize his health among other things just to... scare the Leaf? Make sure Kakashi wouldn't be a nuisance in the future? Sure, the last one would make collecting Naruto less complicated, but they dispatched Kakashi easily enough, and surely Jiraiya, who Naruto was with at the time, would pose a bigger problem than Kakashi.

It doesn't make strategic sense, which makes me wonder if Itachi has a special animosity toward Kakashi. Being his superior in the ANBU before the Uchiha massacre, someone who was willing to conduct surveillance of the Uchiha compound without question, Kakashi could have become a symbol of the indifference of the Leaf for Itachi. He could very well have been a reminder of the inoperable position Itachi was put in when he was still a child, and Kakashi, of course, was an adult. Another adult who did nothing. Noticed nothing. Did not help Itachi.

And while I'm certain that Kakashi would have taken severe issue with the goings on in the Leaf at that time, judging by his reaction when he finds out the truth in Shippuden, Itachi knows him only by what he did then. Facilitated surveillance of the Uchiha compound, was a supportive superior, but nothing greater. A bystander whose compassion, while well meaning, was entirely unhelpful.

I don't think it's far fetched that Itachi fucking crucified Kakashi because he was so angry at what being in the Leaf did to him. At some point, as he got older, he realized how terrible it was. He realized there were people like him. Children who were "born killers". Pawns in the game of the shinobi powers.

After leaving the village, Itachi joins the Akatsuki, who are also seeking peace through war (another story). He is supposed to spy for them, but doesn't follow through in any enthusiastic way (that we're shown). He works alone for quite some time, or else with a group (briefly he was shown with Conan and Kakuzu). He is partners with Orochimaru before he's expelled from the Akatsuki. He is partners with one of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist. He grows up and meets many people, sees lots of stories unfold. He learns that he isn't in a minority. Many shinobi are just like him.

And then, as an adult, he is partnered with Kisame, who he finds excellent camaraderie with because of their similar backgrounds. We see in this relationship that he understands what happened to him and what he did enough to acknowledge that, while neither of them are monsters, as many people say, they are human. And humans make mistakes. Humans are complicated. Wrong and right and wrong and right. They understand each other, and Itachi understands more clearly what the world puts these children up to. What it forces shinobi to become. That it isn't all his fault, but he still did it. And so he is responsible. He appears to be able to live with that.

But when he returns to the Leaf, those feelings bubble up. He hates the Leaf. He hates that system. He hates what he did. Maybe he even hates being a shinobi, how his excellence was weaponized, how being an Uchiha doomed him and his clan. And for what?

Itachi is played as a character who is only sensible, only logical, only interested in practical things, has nothing to express. But the way he behaves toward Kakashi in that moment bares all his grief and anger. I just like to think about it. We have so few moments where we get to see Itachi genuinely. The fight with Kakashi, the Sasuke/Deidara fight, his thoughtful moments with Kisame. Just makes me wonder what could've been if Itachi's story had gone a little differently.

Anyway, if anyone would like me to expand on any points or has additional thoughts, feel free to hop in my ask box or leave a comment. Thanks for the interest, I love to talk.

[elysianymph]

🔥 anything about sirius because i am being a little hater towards some characterisations too

i've already talked your ears off about this on discord but i'm happy to talk to about it again bc i fucking HATE new sirius black with a burning passion. i hate him as much as i love my sirius black that marauderstok can pry from my cold dead hands bc i'm not letting him go. i don't know when it happened and why but marauders fans are particularly persistent on taking away any interesting traits sirius had and leaving behind a whimpering pathetic twink that cries when someone looks at him the wrong way. sirius has been scrubbed clean of any morally grey traits he might've had (he's not allowed to care for his family (unless it's regulus) or long for them bc they are bad, he's not allowed to have any prejudices even though he was literally raised with pureblood mentality and taught he was superior to everyone else from the day he was born, he's not allowed to be an asshole bc he's not like his family guys!! and when he is an asshole it's always used to victimize the character he's being an asshole to and sirius is painted as the villain with mommy issues that can only be fixed by getting dicked down apparently)

i cannot stress this enough: LET THIS MAN BE A COMPLEX CHARACTER!! and no, giving him mental illnesses that miraculously disappear when he gets together with remus and making him attempt to kill himself post prank because he feels bad is NOT making him complex! you're just weird. you're just romanticizing mental illnesses and i can't believe you don't see anything wrong with it. giving him bipolar to justify his actions is?? not??? representation??? it's offensive to people who actually have to deal with these issues in their day to day lives and yet here you are using something that will impact their life forever as a plot device for your uwu sadboy mlm fanfic.

and that's what new sirius boils down to. he's a plot device, an accessory to everyone else's story that's never given much depth other than "oh his mom used the cruciatus on him and now he's traumatized". no hate to jegulus but hate to specific jegulus fics that turn sirius into an overdramatic caricature of his former self for the sake of drama and angst.

also, some of these wolfstar shippers... wtf are you guys on?? idk when and why (that's a lie i do but i'm not gonna say it) remus became sirius black in a werewolf costume but here we are. oh sirius was cool and effortlessly smart and handsome and girls wanted him? well guess what? snatches all of those character traits and throws them onto remus they're his character traits now. ignore how it doesn't make any sense for the werewolf child who was isolated from the rest of the world to be a smooth talking alpha casanova who plays basketball actually. while we're at it, ignore how unrealistic it is for a boy who was raised in a family that believed they were superior to everyone else based on blood status, who was raised to be the perfect heir and checked off all the traits needed to be one to be insecure?? and unsure of himself?? and stupid??? and a loser??? i don't understand what the point of flipping the wolfstar dynamic was when you're left with a shallow copy of the original but ok. you do you ig.

to summarize, my sirius is cool and effortlessly smart and egotistical and a complete asshole who thinks he's the best thing ever. is it an act to cover up how damaged he thinks he is because of his family? possibly. but i also fully believe sirius thought he was a god amongst men and everyone should be glad to be in his presence. he talked down to other people because he considered himself smarter, he rolled his eyes when students asked stupid questions and made fun of them when they got an answer wrong. he's a teenage boy let him be a dick with no excuses.

(also i find it funny when people write about sirius getting into a fight with james or remus and crying because they said something mean. as if sirius wouldn't throw hands the moment someone started criticizing him. he's toxic and that's what makes him interesting. that's his purpose! characters exist to make stories interesting, to start drama, not to be your moral guide on how to act. stories become so much more fun once you let go of the need to make every character a good person. also liking a character doesn't equal liking them as a person. i love sirius but i would hate his guts irl)

[the-badger-mole]

Azula stans really need to stop projecting the tough childhoods they had unto her. She is not some helpless little girl who never did anything bad on her own accord. Her fangirls are nothing but toxic terfs who think any criticism for them are sins from the patriarchy, please.

Idk enough Azula apologists to say they are all terfs or not, but I think the larger issue is people aren't comfortable rooting for the bad guy anymore. I, personally blame Wicked. I love the show, and I really liked the book, but it kickstarted this trend of What If stories that make villains more sympathetic. In a lot of cases, they just outright flip who was the villain and who was the hero, which is the least interesting thing you could do in terms of exploring a villain character's motives (glaring daggers at you, Maleficent).

No one is all black or all white. Everyone exists in shades of grey, and that includes villains. There's nothing wrong with exploring the grey areas of villains. Some of the best villains in literature are multi-dimensional. Some of them are even sympathetic, but at the end of the day, they are villains and nothing justifies their destruction. The best recent example I can think of is Killmonger from the Black Panther movie. He wasn't wrong to criticize the exploitation of Africa and the Black Diaspora by the West. He wasn't wrong for thinking that Wakanda should've stepped up and intervened. His anger was absolutely justified, but his methods absolutely were not. As an audience we can both love and empathize with Killmonger but also admit he was the villain.

That is, unfortunately, not how a lot of Azula's staunchest defenders approach her. Instead of allowing themselves to feel empathy for her, even though she is definitely in the wrong and has definitely made decisions on her own accord that show her own moral compass is broken, they have to turn her into a victim of circumstance. I think that is actually a very sexist way to look at Azula, though I don't really think for the most part her defenders are trying to be. Azula made choices she didn't have to. She was a child who was likely abused (albeit in a different way from Zuko). She was also an abuser herself, and very ruthless and cunning in her own right. All those things can be true at the same time, but Azula defenders can't seem to accept that.

Now I could speculate on why this is, and personally, I think it's because of this really annoying trend of needing your fandom opinions to align with your morals. I don't have much to base that on, though. I don't spend a ton of time engaging with a lot of people on the opposite end of the fandom from me, so I haven't heard directly from the more rational Azula defenders on why they think the way they do (the ones I've interacted with have been just...the worst and I didn't care to engage with them for long). Even if I did, who is self aware enough to say "my need to defend this villain is because I don't feel comfortable liking them if they are truly bad"? My opinion is based entirely on the posts that I see on my feed sometimes of mutuals getting asks that accuse them of terrible things because of the characters and tropes they like. Also, on the metas I sometimes see explaining how rather than being the villain, Azula was a broken little thing who had been failed by everyone around her, including her brother- who was a child himself, and her uncle- who couldn't have intervened even if he wanted because Azula wouldn't have ever accepted his help.

I could be right, or I could be way off base, but I think if we're ever going to see a decline in the rabid defenders of characters like Azula, we have to get to a point where we can admit we like bad guys without trying to make them heroes. It's okay to like a character and still want to see them defeated in the end. Or to want to see them win, even if it means that evil has triumphed. It doesn't mean anything about you as a person. It just means that you like a good story.

[loserboyfriendrjl]

since people are asking for them, here are my unpopular marauders opinions

(note, and i mean this in the most serious way: please, for the love of god, if you don't agree, just scroll. there is no reason to cause drama over some unpopular opinions of some random tumblr user just because you don't agree with me.)

remus is my least favorite character. don't get me wrong, i love him to bits, he's just the least intriguing to me. he's the character we've been given most of; not only that, i find sirius and james' character, as well as peter's (and his betrayal), as far more interesting

i don't really like jegulus for the same reason as remus; the dynamic is interesting, there is a lot to work with there, including the death eater and order member dynamic, but i just find some ships as more interesting

most of the characters are written as super one-dimensional and therefore i do not like most fandom characterizations which is a crucial point, to me, in whether i read the fic. i like fics in which the characters are written as real people, with human emotions and flaws, and not some qualities thrown together

some wolfstar shippers are pretty much the most annoying people in fandom (coming from a wolfstar shipper). shipping the only consistent ship in this fandom does not make you inherently better than everyone else, and just because someone else splits wolfstar for other ships dynamics does not mean anything

the black sisters and the evans sisters, if written well, can be more interesting than the black brothers and i don't think we talk enough about them (i also find the black brothers are really interesting, and i need more fics in which the intensity of these dynamics are explored)

i dislike the main characterization of regulus in fandom, being a huge fan of morally grey regulus. however, each with their own characterization, and i'm no one to judge next. i find him to be a very interesting character, however, and i like fics that dive deeper into his character

people who ship jegulus and hate lily for no reason need to chill; furthermore, people who hate mary and lily for "getting in the way" of their mlm ships are... i'm not going to comment on this, but you probably know what i mean

"stan bambi" comments on snape videos are really annoying because the very same way we don't like (and sometimes get aggressive) over snape lovers attacking the characters we like, why are we doing that to other people?

i need more peter-centered fics, and i do not like him only being a sidekick or ignored. also, mary is also a very interesting character, and i don't think we credit her enough for it

dorlene > wolfstar

the girls are far more interesting than people make them out to be and i NEED an atyd-like fic (long canon compliant etc) from their povs. it's not a want, it's a need, and i might just write it myself, because i think that a fic like that has a lot of potential

dorcas is morally grey and i need more fics in which that is a thing

this might be my most unpopular opinion but i prefer lily to regulus; i find them both to be very interesting characters, but i find myself more drawn to lily

pretty privilege is REAL in this fandom. bet that if peter and snape were conventionally attractive, they would be as loved as evan, barty, and regulus

i do not see sirius as transfem but why do people have to be so pressed about this hc. lif you don't see it, shut up, move on with your day, and let people who see it do their thing; this fandom is TOO pressed about other people's hcs

i kind of dislike fanon james because they strip him of all humanity and emotions, and make him a ray of walking sunshine with no issues (hence my essay on it, which you can read here)

james would choose sirius over regulus any day

[sarcastictissy]

Hola :D I just wanted to thank you for being so positive lately and looking at things regarding the qstudio situation with nuance. It feels like people have been so stressed and angry after all of the admin stuff came that they began to take every bit of news we hear as some sign that bad things are to come . I think a lot of people underestimated just how long this process can take, there a lot of factors to be considered here, including: q's lack of experience, the union, the laws, the admins. And unfortunately there is no way to satisfy everyone when it comes to stuff like this. This was never going to take a week or two, I feel like people didn't fully understand that.

Some admins are going to be pushed out of the project due to the lack of funds and the fact that this is a legal issue first and for most. It's unfair but it's the law. Not everyone understands that and because of that people are going to say things without understanding the situation. Not every thing is black and white and sometimes things aren't going to work out the way we want them to. Nobody is perfect and we shouldn't expect people involved in this situation to act like that. Which is why you should always look at the situation from multiple perspectives before forming an opinion.

It makes me feel tired to see the same takes over and over agian with no nuance. So your post have really helped me feel better :) I've seen people from both qsmpblr and qsmptwt act like every ccs involved in this is a war criminal or like this is a admins vs quackity or french/brazil vs quackity. It's kinda drove me off most social sites and forced me to only watch YouTube and stuff (on the good side of things, I've been watching quackity's discord videos and some dsmp vods :D it's been fun)

What I am trying to say is that, scrolling through your blog feels like a breath of fresh air and has made me feel 8× more calm about this situation. I don't think doomposting is necessarily bad but after seeing so much of it, sometimes you just need to distance yourself and look at the good parts of life. No matter how much I complain, I am never changing the course that qstudio is headed and neither can any one else, The only one who can do that is quackity. I hope that he does the right thing and the studio gets better. I love the characters that qsmp has brought us and the community it has formed, qsmp is a beautiful project that I want to see thrive. For now the only thing I can do as a viewer is hope for the best <3

I'm sorry if this came off as a trauma dump, I just really wanted to thank you.

So, this has been in my askbox for a while because I was so grateful and happy to hear I've helped someone!! Thank you sm anon that means a lot to me and knowing I'm keeping others optimistic, helps me feel optimistic too! :D

This is a very complex situation with so many moral grey areas mixed with black and white. It's not simple, it's not easy. These things cannot be fixed in a matter of weeks, you're absolutely right about that.

I also agree doomposting isn't necessarily bad! It's a good way to get off some steam and vent/ rant for a bit. There's nothing wrong with that. We all need it at times. For me, personally, it becomes toxic when that's ALL I'm seeing in social media. When I go on my phone and all I see is negativity, that's when I need to call it quits and start blocking people or start taking time away (which is why I deleted twt off my phone) everyone's tolerance levels are different ofc, so, not everyone is affected by that negativity, but I certainly was. This is why I want my blog to be positive and uplifting and you know what? Each and every time I get a ask or a message thanking me for that, I gain faith in humanity and it just encourages me to keep being positive! I'm so thankful for your ask and dw it wasn't trauma dumping at all!! :D I hope you're doing well anon! Take care of yourself. You matter

[cjbolan]

Honestly the issue with the GOT fandom is that they see everything in black and white, when the whole point of GOT and HOTD is that they're all morally grey characters. Yes, this person both has redeeming and endearing qualities while also doing objectively bad things. Yes, this character is cruel and wicked to people he doesn't care about but is genuinely loyal to those he does. They just can't grasp nuance.

Like one weird example was how people actually DEFENDED Aemond for chasing Luke and Arrax with Vhagar "because Luke bullied him as a kid and blinded his eye!" Yes, we're supposed to *EMPATHIZE* with his motivations while not *SYMPATHIZING* with his actions. We know his emotional reason for doing something while understanding what he did was bad. And while the whole incident was an accident, Aemond was still fully at fault for teasing his cousin with what was essentially a flying tank with a mind of her own.

Agreed.

I partly blame the GOT writers for this , as they turned all their morally grey characters purely good or purely evil after Season 4. If the GOT writers show 0 nuance then no doubt they will attract fans who think the same way.

Compared to GOT, HOTD’s characters are much more morally grey. The only purely good character in HOTD who’s still alive is Helaena.

And you’re right; Aemond should’ve known better. He should’ve known he could easily get Lucerys killed, even if he didn’t want that. And it doesn’t help that Aemond shows 0 remorse for killing him.

[popironrye]

What's the appropriate standard for shipping discourse?

Pretty much a vent post on the whole pro vs anti shipping discourse. This is gonna be a long one.

Would love to hear your thoughts on this, but please read the whole thing.

So I like and share a lot of shipping prompts, positive self-ship posts, and no shame attitude to fandom ocs and indulgence in general as a frequent oc shipper. I mean, it makes sense right. I create a lot of fan characters of my own and it's a fun time.

What I can't help but notice is how much more frequent it is to see positive shipping posts with an abundance of 'proship dni' stamped somewhere in the post. I tend to ignore them, as I do not call myself proship because I feel like it's an unnecessary label in shipping spaces, but this one post I saw was a very good self-ship positive post with the same 'proship dni' at the bottom, but the only comment on the post was the op talking about adults being sexual with minors and it made me pause.

If you hear the word pro-ship and immediately think of pedophilia, then I think that's more a you problem than anyone else.

The word 'pro' in proship is a prefix meaning 'in favor of'. As in an 'argument in favor of fictional shipping'. It doesn't mean "problematic shipping", at least not to a lot of people.

But that's where the problem lies. The standards of morality, especially in fiction, is actually incredibly subjective when you think about it and even the darkest of subjects have nuances to why the creator chooses to explore it. Where is the line drawn for what is considered 'the bad kind of proship'? Not every dark theme is created with the intended purpose to 'glorify' it.

You will never catch me defending or engaging in works of biological incest OR pedophilia, I don't care if it's fictional or not/meant to be screwed up or not. I have a problem with those types of subjects, but I certainly won't wish harm on people who do.

But beyond that, there's always the issue with the more pearl clutch types to view other types of ships as morally wrong in all sense, even if the creators don't. Like is it still problematic for fictional adults (both of legal age) because of a massive age gap? Is it problematic to ship villainous characters without completely rewriting them as to not have villainous traits? What about fictional monsters and murders? Are they not allowed to have human dynamics because they're monsters and murders?

Morality isn't as black and white as people think and it REALLY isn't black and white in fiction because fiction should be a place to explore the topics for all kinds of reasons.

In my many years of making fancharacters and sonas, not all of them exist for shipping, but some of the ships I do have are not all gonna be this perfect wholesome cotton candy clouded wonderland of niceness. Characters are flawed, it's what makes them more interesting. While I completely understand a lot of people not liking ships that are straight up abusive and a certain level of toxic (myself included) there are ways to write "problematic" ships in an interesting and thought provoking way.

I've come to a realization something about myself through my sonas. My sona ships either involve giant class difference/power dynamics or some exploitation. Basically it's either my sona lets themselves be taken care of by someone else or they take care of someone.

And for some oc ships, while there are plenty of wholesome cute ones, I've also dipped my toe in morally grey and even villainous personalities. Unwholesome things like mutual drug abuse and criminal activity. Codependent incapability. Brutal enemies to lovers. Actually got a few enemies to lovers funny enough. Huge age gaps (between adults). Master and mentor and of course canon villains being shipped at all.

While none of my ships have the obvious gross stuff people associate with proship, I know plenty of anti ship spaces who would have problems with other ships of mine for being too "toxic" or "problematic".

Basically what I wanna say, if you don't like a ship. Just scroll on. Mute the tags or block the poster, but move on to something you'll actually enjoy. And certainly don't attempt to dox, harass, or tell the posters you hope bad things happen to them.

[saveraedae]

What is The Mark Side?

★ THE MARK SIDE follows the life of MARK REED— an unconventional and flawed protagonist navigating a drama-filled life while pushing everyone to their limits in the meantime!

Filled with angst, complex relationship dynamics, LGBT characters, and comedy! A story with a deeper meaning than you'd think!

Throughout the show, I aim to tackle a lot of serious issues like mental health and abuse with morally grey characters.

Here's a new and improved TMS introduction thread!

Featuring some new information for TMS's returning audience! ★ Happy Indie Animation Day! Make sure to follow me for updates on the show and fun community stuff! Go to @ask-tms for fun ask blog shenanigans and check out themarkside.com for more!

Help boost by reblogging to support the show. :)

See below the cut for more!

Show premise:

The Mark Side centers around titular character Mark's strained relationship with his childhood best friend Benjamin, who due to years of communication issues now absolutely despises him. Mark however, seems blind to the obvious deterioration their relationship has had, as he harbors major unrequited romantic feelings towards him.

Mirroring the two are Jonathon and Kenny, the other half of the friend group who through their years of knowing each other have communicated and helped each other through hardships, presenting as a strong, healthy couple today because of it.

After a summer of not being on speaking terms, Mark manages to wiggle his way back into the friend group again only to find a new guy has 'replaced him'— Ash, Benjamin's new boyfriend.

It takes place in the fictional town of Ohwell, Texas in the late 2010's!

Season 1 will showcase the arc of Mark struggling to maintain his place in the friend group despite his jealousy whilst also dealing with a plethora of emotional and complex family issues.

The main takeaway theme is that most scenarios are less black and white than one may assume at first glance, showcased by the characters being the antagonists of themselves instead of portraying one character as the villain.

All while maintaining a good balance of humor through an expressive and cartoony style! Humor and style draws lots of inspiration from 2000's Cartoon Network and Disney XD shows!

★★★★

The characters:

Mark Reed —

Master of chaos and making people hate him! He is voiced by Collin Weiler!

Benjamin Washington —

Mark’s aggressive former bestie who’s not afraid to speak his mind! He is voiced by Andre Grandpierre!

Jonathon Washington —

He thinks everyone deserves a second chance… Even Mark! He is voiced by Kruyo!

Kenny Peterson —

He navigates life with a smile even amidst his friends' chaos! He is voiced by XephThePanda!

And much to Mark's dismay...

ASH POWYRS —

Benjamin's boyfriend! ...May or may not be Mark's replacement! He is voiced by Jaden!

Wanna read about Mark's family?

They'll get character sheets soon, don't worry! I'll update this post when they get them!

But for now, you can read about them on the website! Darcy is voiced by Katherine Black, Boss is voiced by Josh Portillo, and Leon is voiced by DarkMage!

And that does it for season 1 info!

If you want EVEN MORE info, and to learn the extensive history and development of the series, give the wiki a look!

Beware of both spoilers and outdated content!

★★★★

YOU MADE IT TO THE END!

Thank you sooo much for reading to the end! You're a real one!! Again, follow me, the series' showrunner and creator for updates and information regarding the series, and follow @ask-tms to get involved YOURSELF by submitting to the character ask blog!

The merch store and support tiers will launch sometime soon! For now, the best way you can support the series is by GETTING THE WORD OUT! SPREAD THE WORD! HYPE IT UP!

WE HAVE SO MUCH PLANNED FOR THE MARK SIDE AND CANNOT WAIT TO SHOW EVERYONE WHAT'S IN STORE!

[guesst]

MANHWA REC LIST PART 2

WAR OF THE PRINCESSES

i finished catching up to this like 2 minutes ago [EDIT: WROTE THAT THE DAY BEFORE YESTERDAYM NOW ITS 2 DAYS AGO] and i genuinely really liked this. for a manhua its amazing!! the plot is unique and keeps you guessing, the characters are entertaining and NOT cookie cutter cutouts of isekai tropes, theres been some interesting reveals and a lot of people in the comments were hating on ml but personally i found him super fun; hes very morally grey n has definite flaws but thats what makes him a good character to read about !! not to mention the main character herself is great. i hate that my bar for good manhwa/hwa characters has gone down to 'has more than 2 personality traits' but she is leaping over it for sure

PLEASE REPENT, YOUR GRACE!

i dont read yaoi i dont read bl. i have never ever read it . however the vibes were so strong that i had to go back and check the tags because.. if you read it... you will see. its so strong. it radiates. (all that aside i really like the relationship btn the mains i think its really fun. they may not be gay (????🤨🤨🤨🤔🤔) but its still highly enjoyable i love it)

THE BABY SAINT WANTS TO DESTROY THE WORLD!

ive read 2 chapters but i just think the 'evil character reincarmates into the pinnacle of goodness' trope is the funniest thing in the world. i have no clue if its going to be a generic collect the characters take over the world type of thing but i just think its funny and its the newest one ive read.

IT SEEMS I'VE TRANSMIGRATED SOMEWHERE

i have been waiting for aomethinf like this for SO LONG hahah the main character is so diddly darn confused the entire time cus in her past life shes read too much rofan etc and now cant figure out what novel shes trandmigrated into. regular manhwa reader fr,, anyway theres a strong case for second hand embarrassment in this one, especially in the first few chapters or so, but i genuinely really like this just cus its so self aware, it keeps poking fun at all the tropes and its a nice lighthearted read. also theres a decent amount of plot despite it all and OH I ALMOST FORGOT the male lead is an absolute 10 personalitywise i genuinely love him. hes here for drama and thats it its amazing. so yea id say tropey but Well Written super fun 👍👍👍

HIDING THE ARCHDUKE'S HUMILIATING HISTORY

i think this is the first manhwa ive read where the ml pisses himself in fear the first time he meets fl (theyre both children)(hes scared of something else not fl but still). anyway its nothing particularly unique but its pretty fun! its one of those novel isekai where mc reincarnates into a little kid and the structure makes it a sandwich which has been keeping me very invested. this isnt a very good advertisment but its a good way to pass the time i think. heres a nice reaction pic

SUSU, HAN

oh my god??? just binged this whole thign in one go. first of all ots complete, second of all i guess you can say tjis is a character study in manhwa form. there isnt a particular overarching antagomist, its the characters learning to grow and face their own personal issues. but its also a slice of life, and lighthearted family drama, and comedy. its not a rofan this time lol. also the sibling relationships in susu, han are so good !! and theres so many lovely platonic relationships too. i really really enjoyed it.

THE TALE OF GOLDILUCK, THE BLACK KITTEN

WHOLESOME !!! WHOLESOME WHOLESOME WHOLESOME absolutely adorable, centres around a black cat that gets adopted by a young noble in ancient? old? korea. so so cite, read to soothe your heart

olay ive hit the image limit again. would yall like more

[fantomette22]

(For Bloodborne)

10, 16, and 18?? 💀

I answered 10 here ! As for the rest it is quite long so putting it under there. Hope you ready 😅

16. you can't understand why so many people like this thing (characterization, trope, headcanon, etc)

Hm... wait I need to remember all the things I don't appreciate... and try not to make ennemies 😓 (it's really not my goal it's just personal preference mostly. Seriously depending how things are explained and presented there's lot a thing I can actually enjoy! While I would dislike when it's just throw and spam without context.)

Hm well you know as for characterisations when it's reduced to like 2 traits or extreme good / extreme bad it's hm... yeah. I mean I know I ain't a good exemple but I barely share dark headcanons 😓 but they do exist hehe.

Of course absolutely don't mind and love silly shenanigans (when you're hanging with your friends and having fun it's not always very serious) and also more dark and matures ideas. When people share it doesn't mean it's all they think to the characters! Gotta take the all picture!

But it does bother me when people believe in almost caricatural interprets like it's canon and talk down on others with different views. Somehow like they are the worst thing...like wtf.

Also well typical extreme talk about Gehrman, Maria and mostly Laurence I suppose (maybe a bit Lulu aka the holy blade but it bother me a bit less because people are generally not spamming to or being annoying as much as the others. Oh Micolash too). When people reduced them to just 2 things or an extreme. I feel it really doesn't fit with the infos within the game. I'm not a fan at all. They are all morally grey and humans. They are not clearly all black or all white. they are morally gray, they are humans!

In more details now. Well for Gehrman you know my stance already. Clearly yeah he had some issues in his life and did bad things but clearly I don't think he was a misogynistic asshole and all the stuff. Like it just don't make sense to me. I don't even wanna vent about it today XD

As for Maria well. Look I don't have a problem with the headcanon of her being a butch lesbian. I mean it's even one of my AU actually. (to put it really really simply. Bc I like having several interprets disconnect to each other in their own settings). It can be very interesting in an overall big story I think. The problem I have is when it's apparently her only unique traits and if you think or headcanon otherwise for any reasons you are apparently the worst shit to exist and getting block. Being labelled as sexist, homophobic etc. Well idk but that kind of reaction kinda tell me who the real -phobic one is 😕 really that is sad like wow who hurt you people?! to have this much anger to people just trying to have fun. Thankfully it's clearly just a minority of people who are agressive like this. And I hope they will grow, gain maturity and realise there's really no need to be that mean about such a thing. But it's been a while saw smt like this so I prefer to put this behind me there's hope.

As for Laurence I'm not really a fan of him being the ultimate bitch devil (or angel but nobody has that take almost. That would be a change. the tragic vicar who only had good intention but accidentally fucked up and try his best until the end😔 I mean I don't agree with that either but that's a change). I mean by this, that I think he did both. Good and bad things. That he had honorable intentions at first but overcome by a bit of ego and pride he fucked up really bad. And then realised his mistake but it was too late to correct it... his theme inspire great strength but who end in tragedy and pity. So overall tragic these too. Him being depicted as just a smug unlikable bitch is something I have a hard time with. I mean yes I like to imagine him being a smug bitch too at times for sure! it's fun but not like all the time and making it his entire personality. If that make sense. I don't see how he could be an important religious figure, doctor and having so much support by just being a manipulative ass all the time. Especially if he start from ground 0.

And hm... i have nothing again it and people so that we're clear but hm EXCEPT in certains very specific context* I am not personally a fan of Laurence being drawn with horns on his head. It just isn't my cup of tea. I'm not sure to understand what's the interest don't make sense to have Laurence looking normally human + just horns but it's just me.

*EXCEPT WHEN : symbolism and symbolic art (no prob I like those actually. Horns + when he's burning in human form for exemple onlooking like religious symbolism) ; "decoration" like lil detached horns, like you would put flowers or sparkles or little emoji next to a portrait of a characters ; before he transformed but with other signs of beasthood (actually him human with horns can be nice but I prefer when it's like mini horns not full cleric beast ones + idk a giant arm with claws and fur growing, eyes looking weird, teeth growing, his hair being longer and messy etc).

Now last I will stop after...

I think a whole fic or interprets on a really dark and realistic Bloodborne universe like our world can be super interesting! But I don't enjoy when people seem to think Bloodborne is 100% our 19th century with just a couple of eldritch things in it? Ok it's closer to us compared to medieval fantasy like DS or elden ring. But I feel it's fantasy too. if we had a map I won't be surprise if that's not Europe or a map that existed in real life. Lot of things don't fit to be actual victorian era. It's just inspire by it : invention and technology aren't on the same lvl. Either they are missing important inventions or are too advanced. (Molotovs appeared during spain war and were named like this during WWII) people don't seem to have 10 children working in factories or mines as well. Women are doctors, academic, hunters etc No steam machine or electric bulb but who knows. I could make an entire things... Looking at all the real life inspirations for the game is great! Create a very realistic story is very cool! But I would personally be more on the side that's it's more of a victorian fantasy. Like Sekiro can't be in our world or how Dark souls is a medieval fantasy as well and isn't medieval age accurate.

Oh boi i forgot about victorian london. Jokes are fine but bloodborne is more inspired on Prague and eastern europe i feel. You and Katy developed it more anyway

18. it's absolutely criminal that the fandom has been sleeping on...

Ok I don't know how to answer this so have a list (of ideas in my head I need to share /write one day lmao) :

Maria backstory (no seriously I want stories on her childhood, her family, what happened, how she felt toward them. Conflicted? Good terms but separate ways? Actually work for them for a while? Disowned? I wanna know! If she's actually close to Annalise ? More important in royal family that we know? Or really a random noble related to them?) Is her pyromancer real?! why she dislike blood blades?

How she got her Rakuyo

How she met Gehrman? her training? WHAT HAPPEN I NEED TO KNOW uxkcblkDOLFMBOEAMl: (sorry XD) work for Laurence & co too

Important lore Charcacters backstory before this whole mess (Laurence, Gehrman, Ludwig, Willem etc yeah basically everyone lol I won't do the entire list XD but how did they meet each other what bound them what happen.)

Stories how the healing church + blood transfusion actually came to be?

Byrgenwerth era (yeah sorry I love it XD)

So yeah overall timeline before the hunter arrive (help)

Cainhurst, Annalise, vilebloods, potential KING of Cainhurst

So yeah Logarius too

Loran, Isz and pthumerians lore??

Dores and Gatekeeper my beloved

Caryll (yeah just Caryll)

Izzy and bestial hunters. How the bestial rune was forbidden, why Laurence had it etc

Ok is everyone except 5 persons gonna ignore the fact freaking Gehrman can make more than just weapons?! well wood stuff are oblivious but how did bro can make such refined clothes hello?!?!

Religion practise how it works in Yharnam, how citizens and clerics actually practise it.

What's their history, their legend, how the geopolitic within the country is and others XD (it's more a critic about the game in itself than fandom really) In truth I'm a bit sad we know lot of countries and regions within Dark Souls but almost none with Bloodborne! Like many people are from foreign countries and we have 0 names compared to the dozens in DS. we just have like vaguely Yamamura asiatic country, Eileen's one, Valtr's city, Loran and Isz. As for Gascoigne Gilbert Brador and all the others we don't know anything. In Dark Souls we have names and we know where people came from : Catarina, Astora, Forossa, Mirrah, Carim, Vinheim, Lordran etc)

Event being seen by random citizens or young characters growing up could be interesting!

I mean many characters again

I might stop here or it will never be over sorry... I'm not even sure it's really slept one but I wish we have more. There's just so many possibilities and things that can be created!

[lullaebies]

While I know that a lot of the things of the books are vague and therefore are open for different interpretations HOWEVER Ryan's interpretation of the dance is the worst I've seen, and I've seen alot of different takes/interpretations since I've been there in the fandom for like 9yrs, but Ryan manages to come up with the worst. Especially with Aegon's character, like I know Aegon (&his mother &his brothers) plays the role of antagonist or at least the closest one to such role, so I wasn't expecting him to be a jesus-like figure in the show but the way Ryan has made him sooo cartoonishly evil (he is objectively worse than Joffrey) but also so pathetic without any endearing qualities that cool villains have is soo jarring and annoying to me especially when Ryan pat himself thinking that the abomination he has created is some sort of "grey complex character"

See I don't really hate everything on the show; clearly if I did I wouldn't be half as obsessed with it, but I feel they chose one of the most dumbed down options for the Dance in the matter of the political debate and intrigue. If they took the Greens and their concerns any type of seriously we could've had a show more on the level of the first seasons of GOT. Most of the Green characters suffer from characterization issues, Aegon is simply the one you can tell on the most because it's fucking ridiculous with him lmao. (this is not to say TB doesn't suffer from characterization issues, but the vast majority of them are kids rn who frankly just didn't get screentime so that's a damn shame. The adult TB character's suffer more from lack of consequences and critique from the narrative imo). As for the Aegon section of the ask - You know the real kicker is that the use Joffrey in interviews as a measuring stick to say "he's no Joffrey" like... did you by any chance... read what you wrote? As you said, he's worse. And even worse are the inconsistencies - you expect me to believe he goes to fighting pits and rapes girls every sunday before sept mass when this man cries at his mother looking at him pointedly? Like, you can glean characterization off of Aegon, you can make him interesting if you tried, but they did not try to make him any sort of grey character in the first season. (in fact, the sympathetic parts of his story are glossed over and he is villainized over them!) He's just a menace that we are told to watch like: "look at this loser the greens are trying to replace Rhaenyra with". And they set it up from the get go with him as a child being a bully and a pervert, being mean to everyone around him, and I don't need to talk about adult Aegon, do I? I genuinely feel like the first season as a whole did its best to say "he sucks, he has no redeeming qualities, do not support". And it's so stupid, because people would've supported Rhaenyra regardless. She has an actual plight trying to ascend as the first queen in her own name. But the showrunners will masquerade Aegon II as a grey character while writing his actions and words as morally black as the night to act as if they don't have a favorite side. I don't know. I hope Tom managed to plant so ideas in their head as to how to handle him better, I do hope we get some sort of character development after the initial events of S2, but in the matter of being truly sympathetic in any way and morally ambigious they already shot themselves in the foot.

[three--rings]

Do you think Wei Wuxian was at fault for any of the things he did in his previous life? Cause from my own vantage he never started anything. It was all self defense and the only time it wasn’t was when he was freeing the Wen Remnants. Some guards died during the escape but they were responsible for the deaths of some innocent remnants. We don’t even know how many. It’s like mianmian said. It was retaliation but not one that was uncalled for. The second time he caused damage was when he was ambushed but again he didn’t start it. It was self defense. He wouldn’t have made it out alive if he didn’t. Like imagine if a civilian were to suddenly be ambushed the police (who are aiming to kill) otw to a baby shower, and while defending themselves another civilian died in the crossfire, would that be entirely the first civilians fault? And another in universe issue is that Wei Wuxian was the only one being held accountable because they were looking for a scapegoat. A reason to justify their prejudice against him and the wen remnants.

Even at night less city the clans attacked first. The only reason WW was even there was to witness for himself the declaration to massacre the remnants despite WN and WQ having already given themselves up.

Some readers keep insisting that WW was working in a grey are but it was all black and white to me. Proven by the fact that as soon as WW was dead the clans killed all the remnants in cold blood. Majority made out of women, children and the elderly.

It never felt like the clans were held culpable for any of their crimes either. I don’t really blame the narrative for that but I do wish there was more acknowledgement of it outside of how it relates to WW and more to how it was just horrible morally. In the real world if a more powerful coalition murdered a smaller group of innocent people in cold blood we’d be screaming for justice but the clans never do.

For me the reason where I will never like Jiang Cheng (or feel bad for most of the other clan characters outside of the main ones we see) isn’t just because of his behavior but because he took part in that massacre. Imo at the end the clans were no better than the Wen clan.

At the end of the day they had no justification. At the end of the day they were all murderers.

Also some fans believe that WW’s ‘arrogance’ in regards to his abillities was his downfall. But what pushed him to that? He died because of his desire to protect the people he cared about. Not because he was arrogant. Like a mother bear pushed into a corner with her cub by a group of hunters, weren’t his actions justified?

Do tell me if I’m wrong. I’m just frustrated

Sorry anon, but you're coming into my inbox and asking me to rehash the absolute bitterest fights of the MDZS/Untamed fandom that have torn apart people and friendships and the entire fandom for five years now. So I don't really feel like engaging in it.

But I strongly believe that when it comes to morality the point of MDZS is that literally everyone in the story's actions are very reasonable and justified from their own POV (some slight exceptions like Jin Guangshan and Wen Ruohan.)

People in MDZS react in emotionally understandable ways given their upbringing, environment, and specific situations. It's a book about not throwing around moral judgements carelessly, not about who was Most Right.

[velvet-vox]

INDOCTRINATION F####NG SUCKS

AND WHY IT HARMS ART TOO.

The title is self-explanatory yet it cannot overstate the massive damage and impact that culture, society, and any other type of long term influence has on the human mindset and its artistic output.

You may be thinking, what is this post talking about? Well let me explain.

You see, the thing about me is that I tend to enjoy more complex stories with complicated characters and dynamics, but not in just the political, real world type of way like Arcane politics, I am towards the type of stories that allow for good characters to remain good and for the status quo to change in a substantial way; for antagonists to be complicated while not having them all be morally grey but showing that even the more seemingly black and white ones are not just pure evil atrocities and are still worthy of a shot at redemption; to not have said redemption be served on a silver platter but not just permanently locking people out of society just because they required said society to invest too much time and effort in helping them become the best version of themselves, because unfortunately, despite the opposite being also true, we are not born equally and some people are going to struggle more than others due to things outside of their control like their personality type and lack of mental fortification.

I want balance in storytelling! Not just gore or wholesome, not just morally grey or black and white, not just big spectacles and pause moments, but all of those combined in ways that force me to reflect on the media I consume and the way I consume it, to dig further in the limits of artistic expression and the classification of art as a whole.....

And indoctrination just ruins all of that, period.

We all, from a young age, are conditioned to uphold certain standards and to not challenge said standards in fear of being cast out by the people around us and the world we live in.

Art, as a medium, should be used to counteract the rigid lines of thinking that we're asked to uphold, but unfortunately, even if just subconsciously, the harmful, more strict lessons that we learn growing up still make their way into our works because of the mass consumption of simplicity we endured in our childhood.

From a very young age we are taught simple, clear cut definitions of right and wrong, and then we are subsequently told to simplify all of our real world problems into easily computable boxes so that we can be more efficient at our job, from moral decision making down to choosing what to eat for dinner; the adults tell us that it's ok to ask questions when in reality we're often punished or ignored for asking them and we all grow to internalise a passive acceptance of the status quo because that's what the status quo taught us to do in the first place.

I wanted to write this post because I was getting angry at myself for screwing up my own ideas due to my pathological need to divide right and wrong into easily checkable boxes and thus creating issues of the "these two ideas cannot interact or mix with each other anymore because of the way I segregated them" kind. I am always afraid of punishing my villains too much and not punishing my heroes enough and it's very hard for me to find that balanced middle ground that all works of art should strive to achieve; and then I realised: the problem has less to do with me and more on the unfortunate mindset that I internalised in my youth that keeps popping back up slowing down my output for thought provoking stories.

Admittedly, this is a larger issue that (contrary to what our collective nurture has drilled into our heads) cannot be easily resolved and probably requires a vocal discussion of some kind since typing can be extremely tiring and doesn't have the same engagement value of a dialogue, I'm very sorry if you found this post amateurish or you think I haven't conveyed my ideas well enough, I hope someone with a cleaner picture can show me what I got wrong and would like to share their opinions with me.

[bagheerita]

For the unpopular opinion edition! 💚 🖤 💖

Woot! I’m gonna do SGA, bc it’s my main fandom, and SGU, bc I know it’s more your favorite.

(I do wish I was more aware of what the unpopular opinions in the fandom are bc I have no idea how mine rank on a popularity scale...)

💚: What does everyone else get wrong about your favorite character?

My favorite SGA character is Todd, and I’m not sure I can think of a specific something that I think everyone gets wrong about him. I encourage people to have more, wilder takes on Todd. Maybe always pairing him up with John is something I don't like? Lmao, it’s the pot calling the kettle black, but I do wish that there were more fics that explored him in other relationships. They do have good chemistry, so I get it, but I guess I'm just a rare-pair shipper at heart and now that John/Todd is getting more popular I want rarer stuff. 😅

My favorite SGU character is Greer. I do not remember ever reading anything that I felt got him wrong, so... Please have wrong takes about Greer, world. Reading bad takes annoys me and makes me want to write my own fics. 😂

🖤: Which character is not as morally good as everyone else seems to think?

This is so interesting, because SGA is the war-crimes apologist fandom, so I don’t think everyone thinks anyone is particularly morally good.  I’m gonna say Heightmeyer. I can never forgive her specifically for the way she lied to Michael, betraying her profession and his trust, and I was unmoved by her death. I feel like she has a few fans so that’s probably an unpopular opinion.

SGU is a morally grey character hot spot so... Maybe Caine? I think we’re supposed to think he’s “good” but I’m not sure if everyone actually does. I'll say also that Riley is really annoying me on my current watch-through of the series. I feel like he'd be that friend who's always like "we should do this because it's the right thing to do" in whatever situation, when actually it's just the most annoying thing to do.

💖: What is your biggest unpopular opinion about the series?

I’m not sure about biggest… I feel like this is probably pretty niche, but I’ve seen a couple takes about Kolya being sexually abusive to Todd during his captivity. I don't know if people are taking this as a headcanon or just a fic idea... but while I think it’s an interesting idea, I disagree with it having happened. Mostly just because I don’t see Kolya as being a sexual person, I don't get that energy from him. (Yes, he is certainly a sadist, he gets pleasure from breaking people down, but I don’t think it’s sexual for him.)

For SGU, I once got a repudiating comment on a post because I was ragging on the show for having bad writing, but I don’t necessarily think that’s an unpopular opinion. How about, I wish Amanda was in more episodes and I wish there was more exploration of Amanda and Ginn being in the ship. I think Amanda is a fascinatingly flawed character with a lot of potential that is never realized, because of the aforementioned bad writing issues. Stop focusing on her obsession with Rush and explore her general hedonism! (I'm thinking of the episode of SG1 where Daniel gets addicted to the sarcophagus as a model... give us more of Amanda being obsessed with being able to "feed herself" alien strawberries or whatever, and she makes it a problem for the whole crew because she's stopped caring about fixing the ship.) If I'm not going to complain about needing to rewrite the entire arc that ended them up there, I think the show cuts off the idea of Ginn and Amanda being "spirits in the ship" right when it could have gotten interesting, not that that is unusual for Stargate. We can't have nice things 😭 and I would have liked to explore that more as a plot point, and also had more for Eli and Ginn to do. The whole "together but apart" and "dead but still here" thing is super tragic, and I would have liked to get more of it explored through a lens that wasn't just Amanda's obsession with Rush.

Thanks for the ask!!😁

(unpopular opinion ask game!)

[ironwoodprotectionsquad]

The anon with why cant they shut up about ironwood. I have to say, honest to god, i think they need a character that people are excited about but oppose the girls so they can dunk on that character and the fans, cause they are insecure about their writing (especially regarding morally grey characters) and feel threatened by the popularity of said character. I was here since the trailers (thats why i still keep up with rwde cause i am curious about this train wreck) and people were really excited after the black trailer to see adam at the end of v2 and then in v3. The same thing with ironwood, folks were excited to see him again in v4 and then in v8! More then they were excited to see what team rwby is up to. And thats a big no no. For me this cartoonish villain turn was the writers saying: you are enjoying the media we created wrong! So now we make sure you cant enjoy it your way.

Also the other villains are way to underdeveloped or one dimensional to be good dunking material. But thats only my opinion.

Unfortunately that is very true. The behavior comes from a place on some level of them realizing the writing is subpar but not wanting to accept that because if they like something that is bad that makes them bad, which is not how this works but its how they think it works which is an issue.

It's an unfortunate symptom of the bad writing the show has. The mains are not well written characters, so people latch onto characters that actually are well written but fans don't like that because we're supposed to like the mains and follow the mains story and they're supposed to be our favorites but they're not well written, they're hypocritical and sometimes even cruel to people who need their help the most.

I would also have to agree that the writers are very self conscious and are trying to convince people they are good writers without putting in the work to improve their craft and punishing people who do not consume the show the way they have decided it should be. A good writer wouldn't have these issues but they're not good writers largely because they refuse to accept criticism and learn from their mistakes.

Back to James, he was accidentally written better then the mains and infuriatingly rather then embrace the well rounded character they threw a fit and threw him in the trash so they could delude themselves into thinking they're good writers and its so odd to me. Theirs nothing wrong with having interesting background characters, it makes your story richer and feel more alive. The issue is the writers threw out what made the mains fun and interesting and are surprised the fans are annoyed and latch onto a character that was still at the time well written.

Unfortunately most characters in the show have become boring and poorly written. The really fun characters are few and far between and even then some of the fun characters as you said are one dimensional like Tyrian or are now dead like Watts and Roman. I also cannot ignore the fact that since they're woman the fndm thinks they cannot be dunked on or criticized because that would be sexist not realizing that by refusing to allow woman to make mistakes and be held accountable for them you are being sexist.

The fndm is a train wreck that won't stop and it just so damn unhealthy.