#problematic characters

[xunehh]

off the top of my head

[thebellekeys]

so, i saw this post on instagram and my response is just the hardest disagree ever... you want characters who are morally black, or unhinged, or problematic, but you don’t want them to do, say, or think truly problematic, prejudiced things? listen, you cannot call for unlikeable characters in media who only do tasteful evils like murder but not uncomfortable evils like racism or hate speech. you cannot call for novels with characters who are acknowledged to be problematic and at the same time demand only a socially acceptable and clean form of problematic behavior. the reality of messy, problematic characters isn’t to have the reader root for or against these characters or even internalize their ideas. the point of these problematic characters is to reveal the harshness and complexity of the world, not to reinforce moral or political ideals. you cannot explore the truth of society and people in books if you will only accept characters who are sanitized of reality.

[thedeathwitchescats]

There are some characters that I am willing to take criticism on and then theres the aftg cast, nesta archeron, aelin and crew, fiona Gallagher, micky milkivich, sandy milkivich, Mandy milkivich, Damon Salvatore, violet sorrengail, xaden riorson and the rest of my problematic favs. They are the mfs that I just will not hear criticism on. You can point out their flaws till the cows are home, your blue in the face and Sunday had passed, i will not give two shits. They can do no wrong in my eyes.

[moonandris]

It’s not my fault I like to write and read dark and spicy fiction... 🥺

Me reviewing the list of trigger warnings for my scifantasy/dark romance WIP: Bahahaha, I am literally ✨ n e v e r ✨ getting this published. This is the kind of story where you finish writing it and yeet it out in the ether of the Original Work tag on AO3 before lighting up a cigarette and contemplating your life choices. 🤣😭

[himi-wiz]

If I have a nickel for how many pathetically toxic, practically irredeemable unless it's an au adult men I ended up enjoying, I'll have 3 nickels.

It's not a lot but it sure as hell weird. Also all three are involved in the stem field in some way who are determined to stick to their committed evil paths even if it sucks for them and two of them are retired military personnel that are pretty shitty dads or dad-figures in their 40s.

Guessing game:

First is a sorry excuse of a doctor running a Mafia whose greatest joy seems to be shipping his apprentices, acting delusional enough so people would underestimate him but also he likes being delusional anyways, game theory and bugging his ex-husband. Way too obsessed with finding optimal solution, please stop logick for once and have a heart, you managed that in a canonical au before why are you doing this.

Second is a conman who helped the current government overthrow the system by creating the setting's famed mind control musical device, may have helped created a bunch of pink clone children and is happily avoiding child support (for both his bio and clone ones) and spends his life on various schemes cheating people out of money. At least he's got drip and a very good voice. 100/10 will get cheated and wouldn't even realise it.

Third one is a sad mop of a failing med student pressured by his parents who gets obsessed with hunting down his current target because of jealousy when this walking inferiority complex can't cope with his daddy/mommy issues. Talking about why he is heinous is a serious spoiler but when your best friend is a little girl who understands you because you both have antisocial tendencies is not a good sign.

[manufacturedrainbows]

It's so hard naming Bad Guy Tm characters because then I feel terrible for every real life person that also has that name

[passionphantom]

Darren Jae Hallow ( an original character from my old dead dove comic called Dark Clouds )

I added his character and parts of his story into the story I have called Tears Of Iscariot ( a wip that will post in October 2023) and changed his design a little bit.

[glamrockdreams]

It's so hard liking a problematic character lbc I like them bc they're fucking hot not bc of some deep internalized fetish

[ashleyfableblack]

For the most part, agreed, very emphatically.

Good writing creates a world that draws a reader in. To create such a world requires characters which are relatable on a emotional if not intellectual level. This requires nuance and complexity.

"Good" people do "bad" things. "Bad" people do "good" things. All four of those concepts are built upon ethics and morality depending highly upon the individual's perspective- the sum of thousands of experiences, often unique to circumstance. NO two persons will hold the identical evaluations of another- even when both belong to the same group, race, ideology, sexuality, etc.

Not all fictional characters are perfect examples of the writer's worldview, nor SHOULD they be. Writing like that isn't writing fiction as much as giving a dissertation on personal politics in a mask.

If a viewer wants a story with clearly labeled "good-guy\bad-guy" archetypes with no clear actions of sex or sexuality in which all "inappropriate behavior" is directly addressed and admonished and the author always clearly dictates a punishment to the "bad guy" and the reader's sympathies are NEVER to be muddled nor their own ethics questioned, they're in luck. We had that in america in the 1930's. It was called "The Hayes Code".

It sucked. It's effects are still part of our culture but it's more or less still dying a much-deserved slow death.

I hate tumblr’s idea of ‘problematic’ characters so much.

An example of a problematic character would be a stock character of a marginalized group that’s reduced to a conglomeration of stereotypes that have a harmful effect on people from that group in the real world.

A problematic character is not a developed character with developed flaws and belief systems that people irl happen to be at odds with. It is not a character that interacts with other characters in ways that hurt them within the narrative. That’s what a story is. That’s what creating characters means. Developing a fleshed-out fictional person to serve a function within one’s narrative.

And characters that are solely mouthpieces for the creator’s own moral views and belief systems, regardless of what those views are, are bad characters, and make bad stories.

[everyonesadoptivedad]

Stole this for this fandom bc some pEOPLE need to hear this today.

[problematicbracket]

Hey. I wanted to do a bracket, but it took me a while to pick a topic. I finally got one. Welcome to the Problematic Bracket.

I'll be briefly taking character suggestions as well as including some characters that I would like to see thrown in. The only requirement for a character to be entered is that they're "problematic" in some way or another. That can be as small or as big as you like. It can be a character you love or a character you hate, as long as they qualify.

For the time being, feel free to send asks with the bastards you'd like to see in the running. If I need to, I'll make some kind of form. I'm not going to be taking this too seriously, and any hate received will be ignored. This bracket is for fun and doesn't condone the actions of anyone who is added or shown on this blog. All I ask is that if you explain why they're an asshole that you please do it in the least spoilery way possible. Thanks.

Also, for personal reasons, this blog will be kept somewhat anonymous. You can refer to me as Mod Haiji or Mod Towa if needed.

[leahdrawsstuff]

they can never make me hate you Caitlyn Kiramman. Girlboss girlfailure supreme. I support women’s wrongs and I love you

[mckitterick]

[ ID: tweet by downstar_ao3: Just a reminder that fictional characters aren't real people who need to be held to account for their actions. They are vehicles to tell a story. Their flaws and contradictions are a feature and not a bug. And appreciating the role they play in the story is not a moral failing. /ID ]

hey, writers: your characters don't need to be perfect human beings, especially not the villains and antagonists

even your hero or protagonist should learn and grow over the course of the narrative (just like, y'know, people do)

[passionphantom]

When you arrive in Hell and Satan gets to fuck you first.

(My OCs)

[general-sleepy]

Fic writers, put in the tags what the difference in hits is between your most and least viewed fics. Mine is 7,720 (7,779-59).

[folkdevilism]

I'm perpetually in awe at the number of people who are well in to their twenties and beyond who still think an on-screen portrayal of something, regardless of nuance or background context, automatically equates to inherent glorification or real-world endorsement of the actions being portrayed.