#LET CHARACTERS BE COMPLEX FOR THE LOVE OF GOD

[thorn-rosed]

fallenangel!evan x priest!barty

when evan fell, he was hurt, weak and confused. barty found him in his most vulnerable state, taking him to the church and caring for him. during this time, evan was willing to do anything for barty. his mind was confused, he didnt know what happend, evan only knew that barty was a good man that cared for him. despite his usual disliking for body contact, during that time, evan basically clung to barty's side, not wanting to leave him, feared that he would get hurt again. barty welcomed that. he liked evan a lot, by that time, he didn't know that evan was a fallen angel, he only knew that he was a very attractive young man that needed help and was hurt. the more he talked to evan, the more barty fell in love with his character too. with time, evan recovered, and talked more. he commented on things barty did, sometimes nice, sometimes meaner. but he also got more demanding, he got confident. barty was fascinated by his strength even as a fallen angel. he started worshipping evan, which didn't help his devolving god complexes. soon evan turned from a wet puppy in need of affection in care, to a powerful wolf that was protective over barty and wouldn't let anyone near him.

[dceasesd]

nah listen. jason isn’t an angry character but he is a character who is angry AND WE CANNOT ERASE THAT

i am tired of seeing characterizations of him in fanon/canon be so blatantly black and white, either he’s ANGRY MEAN EVIL or he’s PERFECT ANGEL SWEETHEART and it’s like. WHY CANT HE BE BOTH

this is mainly about jaybin characterizations tbh even if it still applies to red hood, like yes he was an adorable sweetheart but he was also an extremely defensive kid who hid his fear and desperation behind a veneer of wrathful arrogance!!! let my man exist!!!!

his anger is real but it’s important to remember that a good portion of it is a performance

[necrotic-nephilim]

i think stephcass could have been potentially interesting if fandom let steph be herself and not ultimate uwu girl boss erasing all her negative traits. where is her jealousy? unhealthy obsession with her crush and complete lack of understanding of the concept of boundaries ESPECIALLY if that person is already dating someone? where is her almost manic urge to push away other potential love interests (and at this point i realized she would NOT have been so chill with ives if tim had come out much earlier yikes)

BIG AGREE OH MY GOD YOU PUT IT INTO WORDS.

because i love TimSteph for the reasons you listed!! there's something very unhealthy and teen girl-ish in the way Steph approaches relationships. she's angrily jealous and she thinks about Tim in a possessive way. like she is just so consumed by him and it's meant to be male comic writers writing how they think teen girls write about boys in their diaries- but it comes off as incredibly toxic. it's one of her deepest character flaws and what endears me so much to 90s Steph. she throws herself so deeply into romance when she has it, like she's afraid if she lets go of it for even a second it's going to leave her. and god forbid you be the person she falls for bc you will never maintain a healthy relationship with someone she views as competition, she *will* sabotage it. and to me these are all pros of her character. i *like* seeing how vigilantes struggle to maintain normal relationships- *especially* teenage vigilantes. Steph struggles to balance her "regular" life with being Spoiler and what things deserve a Stephanie Brown reaction and what things deserve a Spoiler reaction. and when she's dating, it's almost *always* going to be a Spoiler reaction and she shades her relationships through that lense. it's why civilian partners for Steph never really interest me. (besides the fact they always feel forced and clunky, like Steph's recent think with Maps' older brother?) it doesn't explore the way Steph loves to her fullest extent and how far she goes when she's into someone. there's no sweet puppy love for Steph, when she's all in, she's *all* in. she will do what she thinks is best for Tim oftentimes by her own will without his knowledge or approval, and sometimes massively fucks things up for him. bc she's just so wrapped up in what she believes is best, consequences are secondary.

and sure, she maintains healthy friendships. bc most fodder with StephCass is very healthy and soft. bc it's a *friendship*. and it changes radically when Steph is involved romantically. it's why there's such a difference in how Steph regards Tim when they're just friends as to when they were dating. she loves him and he's always going to be important, but that obsessive passion isn't what drives them anymore. so it's something you have to consider with *any* Steph ship in which it's a character she's had a friendship with- that how she interacts with them as a friend doesn't necessarily inform how she'd regard them as a lover. and that's the issue with StephCass. even the StephCass content that *is* comics informed (tho, a lot of it isn't and while i don't think fanon needs to be based on the comics to be good, i do think Steph and Cass are difficult characters to tackle if you aren't at least semi-familiar with their canon content bc of how warped they are in the fandom-) comes off with such a rose-colored lense that sours it for me. hell, even on Cass' side, things she's *canonically* done have been weird and obsessive about Steph. but that's never explored.

(tbh dare i say it's something to do with the phenomena in fandom that yuri is morally pure and perfect and yaoi is always dirty and bad- there's this almost sanitizing of sapphic ships sometimes to make them perfect and cute together and while i'm not here to yuck someone else's yum, i do think it's *telling* that women in fandom never get to explore the complex depths of unhealthy and toxic love in the way men do bc if you make a woman evil, it's misogyny. if you sexualize a woman too much it's misogyny. if you write her doing morally fucked up things even with the understanding it is her canon character, it's misogyny and you're villainizing her. i can sit here and say Tim is canonically shitty at relationships and ppl will not. if i say the same about Steph, then i'm critiquing a woman and holding her to an unfair standard. it's exhausting. it feels like StephCass only ever exists to depict Steph and Cass as morally pure and in love angels kissing in the background while the men get to do complex and nuanced and fun things in the foreground. this thought has probably been far more explored by others with more developed nuance on it, but i just wanted to point it out bc it's a very real thing i keep seeing *especially* in the Batfam fandom-)

and equally i think Cass' reaction to this intensity and obsession from Steph could be interesting. Cass historically has had poor reactions to knowing everyone is attracted to her and thinking about her, so that level of intensity i think could cause some negative reactions out of Cass that would add some very layered conflict to the ship. some of Steph's most negative traits *do* clash with Cass' wants and needs. it makes the ship more fun! it puts Steph's flaws on display as well as Cass' flaws and her internal issues surrounding romance. StephCass could be so weird and fucked up. but it's been defanged by this fandom in a way that turns me off to it. i love both Steph and Cass and i love exploring sapphic Batfam ships, so it *should* work for me. but the irony of it being popular in anti spaces combined with no one being able to acknowledge the flaws either of these characters have for the sake of making them kiss just. bores me and it's sucked any interest i could have out of it. bc god forbid women just be a little fucked up. </3

[rosewood-multifandom-writer]

People simply cannot handle complex characters like Vergil (god forbid they play Metal Gear Rising, because with how media illiterate too many people are in fandom, it’s gonna be a new nightmare…). He really is the backbone of the DMC series. He was in the first game as one of the many boss fights in DMC1. He is a lot more than just the “power guy” to Dante’s “pizza guy.”

Plus, he’s trying to get more power because he went through a traumatic experience as a kid. I can relate to that because I’ve been hurt emotionally before and I despised feeling weak and vulnerable, and it feels cathartic for me to play as a character like Vergil and if I’m ever stick in a situation while playing as him, I can get myself out of it. Writing about him, although my writing for him needs so much work, also feels just as satisfying for me.

Vergil could’ve easily been a typical power seeking villain, but he’s far from that. There was a set of headcanons I loved seeing about Vergil being with a partner who is like him in a way and one detail I adored the most is how he chooses to not pry, because if he was in the same position as his partner (more importantly because he’s been there before) he would also hate being lectured at. He let his partner be the one opening up about why.

I’m getting ahead of myself here, but yeah, Vergil is more complicated than people give him credit for. You cannot simplify a character like Vergil in character analysis or explanations without getting his character wrong.

vergil is the backbone of the entire devil may cry series and people still reduces him to the guy who simply wants more power for the sake of power oh my god why are you clowning

[lovesickeros]

lord its so dark in here the sahara desert of tsaritsa content you are like a shining oasis. your characterisation of her compels me & mihoyo would be hard pressed to top it imo.!! caaaaan i humbly request yr thoughts on her first meeting w a reader of any kind, or maybe even multiple kinds (sagau, sagau god au, isekai, etc) if you so desire...

it really is like a desert here. being the fan of a character we aren't getting until the last damn nation is driving me up a wall but i will persevere bc if nothing else i support morally bankrupt women in media. we r in a severe drought over here but i do my best. unfortunately nothing i say is ever coherent so pull out your translation notes its abt 2 be messy

also this got out of hand but thats bc first meetings w the tsaritsa are tricky to write + a LOT of her characterization lies in deeper exploration then just surface level yknow...NOT A DIG AT YOU this is just my excuse for rambling. gently pats the tsaritsa she can hold so much complexity i do not have the word count to delve into it completely :]

gonna talk cult au for a bit here though because that's 99% of my content. and honestly? she thrives in sub au's of the cult au like villain au + imposter au. it's basically made for her. i mean, early days, the imposter au had been going around for a little while but one of the first few ideas was the Fatui taking reader in so like. it kinda technically actually was. pretty sure cult au Tsaritsa popped up because of the imposter au. a lot of it's writers kinda left though which. man am i getting old or.

anyway.

there isn't much of a chance her first impression is all that positive. at best it's usually neutral, imo, but rarely if ever positive. specifically because i view the Tsaritsa as someone who isn't as fanatical as most of the acolytes typically are towards the creator. she's not exactly going to worship the ground you walk on unlike a certain geo lizard. which is partially why i think she thrives in the sub au's i mentioned.

imposter au, for example. she meets you at your lowest. there's no gaudy extravagance or pampering from the acolytes waiting for you because your own acolytes have turned on you. for all intents and purposes you aren't a "god" at all. which is why i don't think she meshes well with normal cult au reader. the Fatui are made up of outcasts, basically, and imposter au slots right in just perfectly. you're weak, at your lowest, when you meet the Fatui in the imposter au. and the Fatui can help you, too.

a mutual exchange, really. the Tsaritsa sees a tool she can use to one up the rest of the nations and especially Archons, and she has no qualms about you using her and the Fatui in turn. you both want something out of it, after all. whether you just want to be safe from the rest of the acolytes, or you want revenge, or whatever else..she'll give you the power to fulfill it, and she gains the strongest piece on the chessboard when all is said and done.

the best way i can describe the first meeting is "practical", i suppose. she sees an opportunity in you. the ultimate gamble. because if she "saves" you, and you dont trust anyone else because they tried to kill you, well..she holds all the cards, doesn't she?

but the Tsaritsa, imo, is just as capable of being just as fanatical towards you as anyone else. she just won't worship you as the creator. but as yourself? clawing your way back to your divine power and taking back what belongs to you? the Tsaritsa is, to me, a character who's character flourishes in long-term fics more because she changes a LOT between "just met reader" and after having been with reader for some time. she's practically apathetic at the beginning but a lot of her character, in my characterization, shines through LONG after the first meeting.

[softcryz]

Still can't draw but I've been thinking about when people put their own little twist on a character's design. Make up and add their own little things. It genuinely makes me very happy

[starriva]

I’mma just going to say it Caname is a fun ship in three scenarios one classic high school sweet hearts and lovers , the next just two dudes who fuck, and the last one being where Alfred is not a good person and neither is Matt. Which is a lot of fun! I absolutely love complex takes on their relationship, of any variety because they just vibe so well together.

[jasontoddenthusiastt]

Observing peoples reactions to morally gray or black actions committed by different characters is so funny. Throughout all of G. War the character tags were chock-full of people unironically enraged claiming “Bruce isn’t even capable of doing something bad like that.” about an action that is pretty well in line with his character journey thus far, meanwhile there are still new posts that gain traction that open with lines like “I know Jason has committed his fair share of sins/crimes but” like bro when. In 2010?

Also. The whole premise of the b*tfamily™ that you so love is built on the load bearing wall being that they are a crime family. Hell, do people just collectively forget the part where Bruce manufactures and freely uses weapons with his own furry brand logo plastered all over them, causing all sorts of 'explosions and more!' property damage all over the streets of Gotham? Pretty sure that makes him a terrorist but you people don't feel the need to go around reminding fandom of that every five minutes.

[starstaiined]

*deep inhale*

I LOVE THE CARPENTER SISTERS SO FUCKING MUCH, LIKE YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW

[khruschevshoe]

My Hot-Take/Controversial Ranking of Doctor Who Seasons (excluding specials bc my special order is really unhinged)

3 > 1 > 10 > 4 > 5 > 8 > 11 > 12 > 9 > 7b > 2 > 6 > 13 = 7a

Disclaimer: I have favorite episodes that come from every single season on this list, including 7a. For example, even though Season 6 is low on the list, the God Complex, Almost People/Rebel Flesh, and Impossible Astronaut are some of my favorite of the show. I do really love the Power of Three. These are based on season arc/average feeling per episode/rewatchability on a subjective level.

[amischiefofmuses]

.

[alliumbunny]

I need people to explore the trauma Tim has with his family that isn't him going "but you've done nothing wronngg, i may have trauma but i'm clearly the one who messed up!!!" like girlie no u ain't, he beat the shit out of u for no good reason.

like girlie

no.

like, Please i just want tim to not like(at least at first) the people who have literally harmed him, like physically. omg.

anyways

if u ever catch me posting a dcu fic it will be that.

[zsbrainrot]

I just bingewatched all of season 1 of Heaven’s Official Blessing and I am UNWELL

[glacialswordsman-a]

on another note ill never forgive people who think of yaya as nothing but a fucking womanizer who would betray/cheat on you at the drop of a hat. that is the furthest from the truth and it drives me insane.

[maraslesbian]

we finally finished s5 of the dragon prince with my roommate and man that show is doing things to me... the last 2 episodes were absolutely incredible i am. on the floor

[intyalote]

dr who fans: it's not that we hate female characters, they just aren't given good feminist stories!

dr who female character: *forcibly takes back her agency and refuses to let her story be rewritten by a man*

dr who fans: lol what a bad character anyway let's talk about how great [male character played by a sexual harasser] is instead