#trying to see who the most unpopular 'antagonist' is

[shepherds-of-haven]

[zuko-always-lies]

Incomplete list of metas (2022)

Mai is not afraid to show people affection in front of Azula

Zuko and Not Learning the Lesson

Zhao’s War Map of the World

“Katara’s Blind Hatred for Fire Nation People”

Does Zuko blame Azula for Ursa's "death"?

ATLA Characters By the Number of Times They Stole/Scammed Things from Civilians/Noncombatants

Who is Zuko Shipped With, Anyways?

Most Popular Zuko Ships on 01/01/2020 on AO3

ATLA trauma and suffering and its effects

Toph's Opinions on Nonbenders

Unpopular Opinion: People Frequently Completely Miss What’s Terrifying About Azula as An Antagonist

The Class Divide in ATLA

Suyin being awful to Lin

Zuko believes that suffering made him a better person, but it's not true

Azula Never Had Control of Mai

Zuko vs. Azula on the threat posed by the Water siblings

How Katara's grief over her mother was handled poorly

Mai would hate Ozai way more than she would hate Azula

Zuko throwing Fire at someone out of frustration in his introductory scene!

Does Azula not Get Enough Credit for Her Intuition?

Zuko’s Arc is Very Forced (in that the narrative pushed him strongly in certain directions at critical moments)

The Dangerous Ladies are Hated in Proportion to the Degree They Violate Gender Norms

Zuko’s Agency in His Fights with Azula

Ty Lee and Zuko are Not Friends

Zuko Doesn’t Get Why Katara Doesn’t Like Him

“Now my Dad Talks to Me”[Zuko Meta]

Does Zuko forgive anyone in ATLA for the wrongs, real or perceived, they inflicted upon him?

Zuko, Zuko’s perception of honor, and Agni Kai’s

Zuko and Classism

One thing that I almost never see addressed is how odd Zuko wanting to join the Gaang was as a decision

Azula doesn't fake vulnerability

Foreshadowing for Zuko siding against Aang at Ba Sing Se

Zuko would find being Firelord boring and frustrating

more on that

Toph was forced into joining Team Avatar more than she chose to do so[Toph meta]

Zuko's reaction to Aang and Iroh allying

The semi-canon Earth Kingdom Chronicles have interesting takes on Zuko and Katara in the Catacombs at Ba Sing Se

“Good” impulse in Zuko comes from empathy and (sometimes) personal loyalty, not really from duty or morality. 

How Well does Iroh Live Up to His Own Wisdom?

how many times do we see Katara comfort Sokka during the series?

Little Azula trying to impress Little Ty Lee

Ty Lee terrifies Katara

Do Zuko and Azula believe in auras?

Azula Maturing and Overcoming Her Jealously?

Mai defending Ty Lee from...Zuko?

Azula’s Objectives for the DoBS, in Order of Importance

When Can We See Azula Being Polite?

People realize that it’s Sokka who brings up the idea of Katara being the Team Mom, empathizes that she’s been mothering him for years, and says this is a good thing, not Aang, right?

How was 13 year old Zuko really like?

Iroh’s finest moment–at The Crossroads of Destiny

There’s Zero Evidence that Ozai Abused Show!Canon Ursa.

How Would Zuko’s Actions when He’s 13 Years Old Look within Fire Nation Elite Culture?

Azula doesn’t think love is weak and stupid, she thinks that no one will ever genuinely love her.

Ty Lee is Mean!

You know, I think Mai just doesn’t like beaches

Mai tried to kill Katara (and not because Azula made her)

Empathy drives Zuko's goodness

Almost every time someone abandoned or betrayed Azula, she was powerless to prevent it, regardless of her actions

Book 1 & 2 Zuko didn't care about the war

Traumatic experience that Zuko received (that no one remembers)

The Zuko-Katara Scene Under Ba Sing Se Didn’t Have Any Great Emotional Significance for Zuko

Mai, Azula, their relationship, and Mai's parents

I find the idea that Mai doesn’t understand “the real Zuko,” while Katara does, quite confusing and questionable. Like...

Zuko's status anxiety

Zuko’s ill-timed comment in the war room was not a matter of him opposing the war

Zuko Parallels

Azula's luck at love in fanfiction [not really mine but I had to include it]

Zuko's lack of reckoning with his personal imperialist violence

Zuko’s Book 3 Unhappiness

Zuko does little to no emotional labor for the females in his life,

 Sokka very much doesn’t like people from the Fire Nation

Aang's maturity and wisdom

Settler Colonialism, Sokka, Katara, and Jet

Azula fic character tags

Ty Lee and pride?

Zuko bringing up his Agni Kai with Ozai

I was just trying to describe Sokka to someone…

Zuko was crown prince in first half of book 3

Azula's charisma

Azula wanted to talk things out with Mai before taking action at Boiling Rock

"Zuko is the perfect brother postwar” fics impress me with how little respect they show for Zuko’s trauma.

some of the better evidence of Zuko’s dissatisfaction with the more militaristic aspects of Fire Nation culture.

Ursa’s departure, and another reason why Azula hates herself

People love acting like “realizing that Ozai also abused Azula” was part of Zuko’s arc...

Azula playing with Ty Lee

The big problem with “Zuko switched sides because of Ozai’s plan to burn down the Earth Kingdom”

Ty Lee the outsider of the Dangerous Ladies?

Every Refence to Azula’s Relationship with the Court and General Public in the Fire Nation

Zuko only comforted people four times?

Zuko’s Avatar Hunting Strategies

Bonus:

How does Iroh talk about Ozai vs How does Iroh talk about Azula

[nicosraf]

What was ur thought process into making or developing Samyaza?? Or all of the watchers..I’m like 50% into the book and he’s hypocritical to me like he makes these back handed remarks abt azazel having a man but like does it matter cause you all are sinners in the eyes of god and it seems he wants to get rid of everybody on earth so far

It seems like most of the watchers still hold some type of bias towards the “sinners” of Heaven for being a “whore” but you guys aren’t even in heaven (and won’t be treated the same when u return) and you guys are doing the same thing :/ even having tons of babies like did you guys even think abt this being a possibility???

I feel like this is an unpopular opinion but I kinda dislike Samyaza it seem like after everything that’s happened he still doesn’t try to see different view points on life on earth apart from his. He chalks up Armoni not particularly liking his wife (that he was practically forced to marry) as just Armoni being his usual distasteful self. :(

I may just have to reread a couple of pages to try and understand Samyaza or any of the the watchers. But I LOVE your works and I think they’re amazing and I didn’t want this to come off as passive aggressive I guess I’m just confused abt some of these characters since I don’t think like they do

I realized this just seems like a rant but still you’re writing is AMAZING💕💕💕 you’re really inspiring as a writer 😋

a&m spoilers

Hello! I'm curious if your thoughts have changed since you sent this ask, but disliking Samyaza definitely isn't a minority opinion!

I think almost all my betas disliked Samyaza at the start, but they all liked him by the end. I think, for most readers, Samyaza is hypocritical, selfish, and etc., but the amount he suffers by end makes it so that.... well, yes, Samyaza might be a bit aggravating at times, he definitely didn't deserve any of what happens. And he does change as a person, at least I think so.

The story of Enoch sort of lends itself to the interpretation of a husky, tortured fallen angel who sweeps a beautiful woman off her feet and has to choose between her or God, his Father. I like to say this is the version of Samyaza that I would have been able to write if I wasn't as gay as I am, but my reasoning for not making him that is a little more complicated.

I like writing hypocrites, and I liked the idea of an angel that saw his struggle similar to a woman's, feeling a solidarity with her instead of just sexual attraction. One part of Enoch that always struck me is the passages about the Watchers crying and begging Enoch to talk to God for them. I thought the angels being unsure or not really knowing that this would make God as mad as it did was interesting. I liked the idea of him being an angel associated with water because of his role in the flood, so I made him a lesser angel of healing. I can go on and on.

In my original concepts of A&M (YEARS ago), I intended for Samyaza to be much more of a bad person, almost an antagonist to Azazel. But as I outlined, I started falling in love with this version of him.

Btw, it's okay if you dislike Samyaza and even dislike him after finishing the book. Not all characters have to be loved, and Samyaza would agree with you that he doesn't really deserve anyone's love or forgiveness after what he's done.

I can talk more about the Watchers if you like! I really like all of them :') Thank you for the ask! I'm happy you like my writing. I hope you enjoy the rest of a&m

[ussjellyfish]

What about Michael Burnham for the character ask game?

Michael Burnham

How I feel about this character

Michael is one of the most compelling characters I've ever found. She goes on such a journey from favored first officer to rock bottom to science and then command again maybe but she spends a year by herself in a whole new world and then she finally finds where she's meant to be in the captain's chair and she's a better captain for the journey, but it was long.

I really adore her becuase my life imploded around the same time hers did and she found her way back and I found my way back, and I have a good life now. There's a peace in sharing that with her that I really love.

She's a good captain, a wonderful partner, a brilliant friend, and she's always trying to be better and she still has some deep-seated things to work on and she knows about them, she's working on it. I love that too.

All the people I ship romantically with this character

I enjoyed watching her relationship with Book because of the way they built it up and came back to each other. Their chemistry is lovely too. I very show-ship them. They're cute, and happy, and kind to each other. Their relationship feels very nearly tied up to me so I don’t find I seek for fic it.

I intensely ship her with Laira Rillak, because that relationship is so fun for me. There's so much potential for how their relationship could be together and how they might fit around each other. Also I really adored their chemistry in season 4, so that one is absolutely the ship of my heart right now. I love how they started out antagonistic and then ended with so much respect for each other.

My unpopular opinion about this character

I liked watching her journey from where she started to where she ended up. I don't think I would have connected with her as much if she'd been the first officer who became captain. How far she fell and how hard it was to come back really means so much, and it was narratively compelling to me. I love her in the future too, because she's what they needed at that time.

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon.

I'd love to see her on the Academy show for an episode or two, doing what she does. I also would have found her and Laira having a relationship on the show fascinating. It would have been a different show, but I'd be there for that.

I also hope she and Book had more than one kid.

Thanks for asking!

[tigerlyla-of-metinna]

for the ask game: the witcher - Emhyr, your OC Sarah, Ciri please

and for Baldur's Gate 3: Halsin and Raphael please 😁💜

That is a barrage of arrows hitting the bullseye of my heart! Ok Ok lets tackle them all!

Warning: It's going to be long, so I'll answer under the cut.

How I feel about this character

Emhyr

My love for him burns like a thousand suns. Fascination at first sight. Of course I knew Emhyr from the game first before I knew him fully in the books, which enriched him more. He is an antagonist I love to love, and I know he's done many heinous things (war, unpopular decisions), I can't help but admire the reason behind each horrible decision. And I love the humanity that shines through his armor. You could imagine that shard of ice shifting a lot when he acts human instead of the iron fisted sovereign.

Sarah

My friend from birth. I can't really explain it in normal terms. It's like a childs' imaginary friend growing up with you. She frequents my dreams as a child. Always the woman with wavy black locks, green eyes, attractive smile. Someone that I wanted to be but can't. I have created many OCs: pieces of my secret soul, personalities I couldn't express in real life: Lyla the feisty, fiery, foxy red head. Violet the loud and flashy rockstar (similar to HEART), Sarah Delgado the tragic green-haired spanish fencer. But Sarah is my OC ideal: wise, pragmatic, noble and a smile that could melt any frozen heart (which I can picture her effect on the Ice Emperor Emhyr <3)

Ciri

-Brat, Brat, Brat. And she wears that title proudly. Were it not for Geralt and Yennefers' affection for her, I would've disliked Ciri at the start. But you can see her caring and protective heart when it comes to children and those she love. She's idealistic, as Avallach pointed out correctly, but I love putting her through tough decisions which led her to make the most adult decision and walk the path of the empress. Still, the brat title never goes away and it make the boring empress life much more interesting.

Halsin

This guy.... After being on a steady Emhyr diet, it was Halsin who got me to try a different fare. He was just my type! Big protector type with soulful eyes and a winning smile. Personality wise, the complete opposite of Emhyr. When playing BG3, I couldn't bring myself NOT to jump on him because he is that likeable. Whereas Sarah had to content with crumbs from Emhyr because of his imperial priorities, Halsin would give Tav the whole loaf and would sit beside Tav just to watch Tav eat and ask if all is to their liking. It is hard not to fall for Halsin!

Raphael

There is always that one NPC that is unreachable/un-romanceable not because they are unlikeable, but because fate (writers) says so. He is a goal you can never reach, and you make it so in fanon. Raphael is suave, sexy, debonair, and sinfully seductive that it is difficult (not impossible) to not sign your soul away. You have to roll a critical 20 just to break his grip on your heart and soul!

All the people I ship romantically with this character

Emhyr: except for Sarah, all his ships are platonic. But I do enjoy reading others shipping him with anyone. Depends on the writing.

Sarah: Emhyr. Only Emhyr. Everyone stays behind that friendzone barrier.

Ciri: Morvran Voorhis is the main love interest. Always! He is so calm and superior with everyone else, but when it comes to Emhyr's lil princess, he turns into this bumbling goof trying to impress her with his Nilfgaardian charms (lol). Honestly they grow on me as they do each other. Other than Morvran, I pair Ciri with anyone so long as they are written well, and isn't forced on me (you know who I mean).

Halsin and Raphael: besides Tav, anyone in the fellowship (maybe except Jaheira and Minsc). Also not with the Emperor.

My non-romantic OTP for this character

Emhyr

Yennefer: shared aims that doesn't extent into the bedchambers. Also I think Emhyr is allergic to mages due to his past as The Urcheon.

Mererid: Loyal chamberlain. Purely servant to his master.

Geralt: Co-parent of their Child Surprise. Can't stand each other, but for the sake of Ciri, they have no choice but to work together.

Sarah

Mererid: he is her stuffy stick-in-the-mud uncle, and loves him that way.

Morvran: she treats him like a brother and ally. Nothing beyond that.

Ciri

Hjalmar..... HAHAHAHAHAHA!

Halsin

Minsc: The Rashemaar cant stand him and would love to one-up him on something!

Raphael

Mizora: they could compare souls they acquire and even make a bet on which of them could collect Tav's soul... or get to make out with Tav.

My unpopular opinion about this character

Emhyr: He is better for the Continent unlike the current rulers.

Sarah: Gurl, just tell Emhyr the truth and damn the consequences1 But then the fic wouldn't be this long if she just spilled the beans, eh?

Ciri: Girl is about as darling as mouthful of wasabi. She is an acquired taste, but once you do acquire it, you will defend her with your life!

Halsin: I wish it didn't take that long to connect with him on a romantic level because I had to spurn Astarion, Gale, Wyll, Karlach and Laezel (sorry Shadowheart) to live a monogamous relationship with him. Yeah I know he is into poly, but I am not.

Raphael: I want to see more of his horned form. I find his demon self sexier than his human skin.

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon.

Emhyr

I wished he didn't fall for Vilgefortz bullshit. Then he wouldn't have to freeze himself and become an emperor with an ice block for a heart, thinking of doing the unthinkable to save the world. Thank goodness Emhyr didn't go through with it.

Sarah

Carrying the beacon (what is the beacon? It's a burden only she can bear). If not for it, she'd live a normal life as a noble. But without it, she'd never have met Emhyr.

Ciri

Wish she could renounce her powers, or never ended with The Rats. Honestly it was the darkest time of her life that I hated slogging through, so as much as I hate him- thanks Bonhart!

Halsin

Wish he went bear savage on those drows who captured him and had their way with him, instead of just taking it in and taking his time until it felt normal to him.

Raphael

Wish we could really get it on with him, and not just his incubus.

Thanks for the ask! Whew! Hope my answers entertains!

[cadybear420]

I'm not sure if this is a popular opinion or not, but I feel that Zoe's redemption arc in HSS book 3 was really...I don't know, rushed? I'm saying this because even in the beginning of the book she was really bitchy to MC & Co. , and showed no signs that she was genuinely trying to be a better person, and then at the baseball game when Brian tried to hurt Myra, she just did a 180 degree arc?

Don't get me wrong, I liked that we get to see a redemption for her, especially if you play the truth or dare game and even later on she doesn't exactly become buddy-buddy with MC, but rather focuses on improving herself as a person, but I feel it's a rushed edition to the book.

Send me unpopular or popular opinions about anything Choices and/or HSS related, and I will rate them on the aforementioned scale and elaborate if possible

My Rating of this opinion:

strongly agree | agree | neutral | disagree | strongly disagree

My Elaboration below:

I'd say I mostly disagree, but I do also see where you're coming from and I have thought about this before. Through most of Book 3, she is still pretty antagonistic towards MC and friends. I haven't done the cheer route in Book 3 yet, so there could be some character details that I'm missing, but it's also probably safe to assume that she's in a similar boat as Max, Brian, and Terrence.

I think I would say that it is a little bit rushed, but it's not out-of-place or out-of-nowhere.

To start, Brian's continuous hitting on Myra is by no means arbitrary. Early on in Book 3, he shows a pretty clear resentment for Zoe having moved on with a new boyfriend Terrence. Brian is established as a womanizer, he brags about going after multiple girls and even hits on a few other girls like Sydney. But eventually he persists on Myra. Why persist on her? Quite simply, Myra, like Terrence, is a band kid.

I bring all this up because Brian was definitely targeting Zoe with his behaviors to Myra. And there's no way Zoe didn't pick up on that. It's at least very likely that that motivated her to stand up against Brian.

I think it's also worth noting that while Zoe is still antagonistic to people like MC and Maria, throughout Book 3 she seems to have more or less moved on from both Caleb and Brian. Even when they're on the prom committee together, she more or less leaves Caleb alone. She doesn't try to spite either of them like Brian was doing to her, nor does she try to win either of them back or asskiss them like she did to Caleb in Book 1. She's got a new boyfriend now. She moves on, but Brian does not.

Not only that, but there's a significant difference between how Caleb and Brian react towards her behaviors as well. When Caleb gets cheated on by Zoe, he's angry at her for it and rightfully calls her out, but in the end he ultimately moves on and doesn't try to get back at her. When Brian gets cheated on by Zoe, he retaliates by spending weeks on end trying to spite her... which pretty much counts as indirectly bullying her.

Basically, Brian's choice to continously purposefully target Zoe over the Book 1 cheating fiasco even after she's moved on from all of it, could have very well been a driving force in her choice to stand up against him and start improving herself.

I think the other big reason why it didn't feel too rushed to me is, like you said, the fact that she simply starts to improve herself. As opposed to just suddenly "turning good". At prom when she warns MC about Max and Kara trying to scare people away from voting them for prom, she says something like "I really am trying to be a better person".

In that sense, I'd even argue Zoe's arc is less so a "redemption" and moreso an "atonement", or at least the beginning of an atonement– although Caleb does forgive her out of having realized all the problems with their relationship and having moved on from her, the narrative still treats her as someone who needs to work on improving herself and is set on that path.

[felixravinstills]

Send Me a Character & I'll Tell You✨️ - Festus

Ask Game

Thanks, anon! I feel like I haven't talked about Festus in a bit...

My first impression

(Somehow, I had heard about him before I read the book.) Snow has a friend who's like a golden retriever? huh. interesting.

My impression now

Wow, whoever I talked to pre-reading the book really misled me into thinking he was a one-note golden retriever type. He's like so empathetic and sweet to people he's close to, but he can be so callous at times. I love it!

I am also less vocal about it than with Felix, but I also have visions of dissecting Festus. Pulling back the layers, but like imagined visually.

Favorite thing about that character

The dogfights. I'm not joking. The moment he mentioned them in the book, I was all in. I was invested.

Least favorite thing

Needed more of him (me with every mentor). Wish we could have seen more of him. I would have loved to hear more about him and Lysistrata in the Epilogue especially.

Favorite line/scene

“I couldn’t save her,” he said. “I couldn’t stop the blood.” “I don’t think anyone could have. At least you tried. That’s what matters,” Festus consoled him. [...] “Come to my place,” Festus said, but when they reached his apartment, he suddenly broke into tears. They saw him onto the elevator and said good night. (Ch. 7)

I just know he's a good friend, okay? He might make you super uncomfortable (Coriolanus and the Train Station Alleyway Bet <- and i personally have always read this as very uncomfortable), but he's like trying? Which counts for something in my book. In the Capitol.

Favorite interaction that character has with another

This was going to go in the above section originally, but then I decided it fit better here:

Heavensbee Hall erupted around Coriolanus, and Festus organized a few classmates to lift his chair and parade him around the dais. (Ch. 20)

A character that I wish that character would interact with more

What I would give for Festus and Sejanus interactions in the book. I want to see what type of behavior led to his invite to the post-mortem birthday party memorial.

Another character from another fandom that reminds me of that character

Berga Gandor from B!, and yes, I know that no one know who that is. Alternatively, there is another character, but I think I'd get beat to death in an alley if I made that comparison, so I won't. I just think people would misinterpret what parts of each character, I'm trying to compare.

A headcanon about that character

I think he has like normal Capitolite parents. They are just the average sort you'll find. I named them Daphne and Meleager because Greek Mythology tree related names (I also named them in like February, so idk, maybe I could come up with better names now, but I've gotten used to them).

Anyway, the Creed parents are you know in a marriage of convenience. Meleager's not particularly present but not really absent. Daphne's just kind of sitting pretty and a little bit of an alcoholic but from the sounds of it most of the adults in the Capitol are having problems with alcohol. Festus can't really connect with them very well, but their dysfunction isn't as bad as... some other families both in canon or otherwise (my Ravinstills)...

A song that reminds of that character

Need More Bandages by the Mountain Goats. idk, I just do. Y'all, I am music illiterate.

An unpopular opinion about that character

I've said it a couple times, but I can imagine movie! Festus being him at his most callous. Like I'm still bummed out that he doesn't have any of his nicer scenes in the movie, but I can still imagine book! Festus acting like that in the right circumstances. I still understand why people make the distinctions between the two though. The movie's framing is def wanting us to read him as a more antagonistic character.

Favorite picture

Picture of Festus I've had saved for a while, because I liked it, but there wasn't enough movement to make a gif.

[adhd-merlin]

unpopular opinion: arthur (as much as i like him as a character) was useless in terms of prophecy and liberation of the magic people. not just bc he never ended up lifting the magic ban but bc literally anyone sitting on the throne could have done that. i see no reason why it had to be arthur specifically. but the show liked to pretend like he was the only way to achieve a positive future bc the opprressed community cant simply help themselves that would be silly ig? no no they need to patiently wait that maybe one day their oppressor (whos literally continuing his fathers genocide even if less zealously) has a change of heart and they wont be hunted down like animals anymore. never mind the countless people that will have to die in the mean time. merlin can kill a bajillion people on screen and thats fine and for the greater good but if someone tries to kill One guy sitting on a fancy chair with a fancy hat suddenly thats too extreme. half the time it felt like the show was pointing to merlin as a poster child of how to act when oppressed. the fact that morgana growing bitter about uthers reign is framed as inherently bad and what directly lead to her becoming evil tm is particularly infuriating to me. the choice to create this very ya dystopian setting and then cast the oppressors as part of the main cast and the final solution is just very weird to me. i think it wouldve been objectively for the best if the magic community had overthrown arthur (or uther really but thats not really contested.. unless youre the bbc. this show is so british (derogatory))

in that vein: mordred has never done anything wrong in his entire life and that includes killing arthur

one more for the "arthur was a loser" folder

[ok but about the rest!! I have many thoughts about it. merlin as a member of an Oppressed Minority. his betrayal of his own kin. I'm putting it all under a cut bc you guys don't need to see me rambling about this and the disir again]

you make a good point — the way in which a story is framed, even the moment we choose as a "beginning", determines what characters we'll feel sympathy for, even when the facts at our disposal are the same.

I don't think the writers were trying to create any kind of deep social commentary btw. just so we're clear. merlin is the hero of the story and his mission is to keep arthur safe. we've got to root for them both.

to have a king with a hatred (fear) of magic gives us a convenient antagonist within the court. merlin having to defend the men that would have him killed for his magic is a great source of dramatic tension. it sort of follows that the people he has to fight against to defend the king/prince are other magic users, or magical threats. (it also keeps things interesting because there would be no challenge for merlin otherwise).

there isn't much of a point in exploring the motives and backstories of other characters with magic (with the exception of morgana, perhaps). They are only briefly touched upon — so these characters remain vaguely antagonistic for the most part. Neutrally aligned at best (see mordred).

We are shown that the druids are (mostly) aware of the prophecy that marks merlin/emrys as the saviour of their kind.

what I find fascinating are merlin's interactions with magic people who are either not aware of this prophecy (gilli) or have no faith in it (kara, possibly?) Because we're never given the chance or the time to see things from their perspective. To see merlin through their eyes.

When gilli says:

"It is time that someone struck a blow for the likes of you and me. And if you're too weak, then I will." (!!!)

It makes him sound like some kind of extremist, but really, when you think about it. isn't his anger kind of justified? I'm not condoning his violence, I'm just saying — it's understandable. uther has killed so many innocent people. literally drowned innocent children. and merlin's like "violence isn't the answer!" — and I can see his point!! but I can see gilli's just as well. and I find it so interesting that he's still addressing merlin as a brother ("the likes of you and me"), even when expressing disappointment in his actions and calling him weak. because they are the same. he's saying "you're deluded, and cozying up to the enemy won't save you"

this episode also contains what is (probably) my favourite dragon call. when merlin summons kilgharrah in other episodes, he's usually in the middle of some Urgent Situation. matters of life or death. there is nothing urgent here, really. yeah, it is arguably a matter of life or death, but nothing merlin couldn’t have stopped on his own. he really just called on kilgharrah to have a heart to heart with a friend — a member of his class.

("You are a creature of magic, and only a creature of magic could hope to understand.")

this episode is about merlin looking for kinship and still feeling isolated from his magic brethren. there's something tragic about the way the prophecy makes him unable to connect to some of the people who would be best placed to understand him.

and gilli plants a small seed of doubt in merlin's mind. "You've been pretending for so long now that you've actually forgotten who you are" (!!)

but kilgharrah reassures merlin that there's a golden age coming. so merlin does what he has to do — he saves uther once again. before gilli leaves, merlin reassures him that one day they will be free.

he tells mordred the same:

"It won't always be like this. One day we will live in freedom again."

and then, when he has the unique opportunity to use his influence on arthur to sway his opinion in the right direction. he fails.

he condemns himself, and the people he spoke to of freedom, to keep living in fear and in hiding — and what's even more upsetting, he does so while talking of a "just and fair kingdom"!

("You must protect the world you spent your life building, a just and fair kingdom for all." What an interesting choice of words. camelot isn't just and fair to all — as merlin knows well. he's lying to arthur, and possibly to himself.)

imagine being gilli or mordred and hearing him say that "there can be no place for magic in camelot." (!) What a slap in the face.

I've read meta suggesting that the disir were testing merlin just as much as arthur (or even more so than him). I'm inclined to believe it — I want to believe it. If anything because it makes the story all the more interesting and tragic. (I know what some are going to say — if mordred's destiny was to kill arthur, it would've happened anyway. but remember what else kilgharrah said — the future is never clear. there are many paths).

I understand why merlin did what he did, I really do. but for a moment, the fair and just kingdom he spoke of was within reach, and he failed to grasp it.

so was gilli wrong after all?

[and kara. I feel quite sympathetic towards her. we know arthur. she can't see him from our (merlin's) perspective. for her, he might as well be uther. magic people are still persecuted under camelot's law. she has spent her life on the run, she has seen people she loved be killed. and from our (arthur's) perspective, she looks like some kind of fanatic. but in reality. put yourself in her shoes. when arthur offers her a chance to save herself by "repenting" for her crime, she says she has nothing to repent for. "it is not a crime to fight for your freedom". that's the belief she's willing to die for. did she deserve to die for it?

(I also think there's an interesting parallel in merlin failing his kin in the disir, and arthur failing mordred in ep 5x11 by condemning kara to death. something about pinning all your hopes on someone who's going to fail you, and doom you both. idk idk.)]

sorry anon. you were saying

[true-blue-sonic]

🎀, 🌸, 🗝️ ? :>

🎀 a ship others like but you don’t?

I'm not a fan of Sonjet. I have no idea how common it is, but my disinterest is two-fold: I both don't like Jet or the Babylon Rogues much anyway (due to little engagement with the Riders games, I presume), and I think the ship is one that mostly likely has as central focuses Sonic and Jet being hella competitive and Jet constantly starting discussions or trying to prove himself better as Sonic. That's not a ship dynamic that I like much, since I cannot envision a more affectionate nature in it.

🌸 a ship others dislike but you don’t?

Does Sonamy count? It's not unpopular, but I also see a lot of dislike towards it for various reasons. But I think the two of them match well, haha! Both Sonic and Amy are kind and helpful spirits who love adventure, and I think in that they have a very close bond. It's not at all a ship that I figure will end very "traditionally" since Sonic will always want to be travelling and running, but I think Amy has learned to be okay with that over time. And imagining the two of them hanging out and being close together just makes me happy!

🗝️ favorite antagonist?

Favourite-favourite is probably Infinite: I love his edgy nature as a deconstruction of that specific trope, and how he thinks he's the most powerful infallible being ever while Eggman has him on a leash the whole time, and he doesn't even realise that until it's too late. I also like Eggman Nega, because of how he's interlinked with both Silver and Blaze, and I am intrigued by the fact he despises Eggman despite either needing the good doctor for his ploys (Rush and Rush Adventure) or having to steal either his (Metal Sonic 3.0) or others' (the camera) technologies to be able to get anywhere in the first place. He hates Eggman for being an alleged failure who sullied the Robotnik name, but he's more of a failure than Eggman could ever be, nor does he seem to be particularly good at unsullying his reputation, and I find such hypocrisy deeply intriguing.

[lemonhemlock]

What do you think of Tyrion? Also do you think he is similar to Aegon?

I think Aegon and Tyrion are similar in a superficial kind of way, in the sense that they are both rich party kids. And perhaps in the fact that they are both disabled, though in a very different way.

As a Lannister stan, Tyrion is family & I'd never throw him to the wolves but he's the kind of family to me that I'd really want to stab sometimes. He's a very complex and compelling character, but I really hate having to share him with the dudebros, the incels and the losers, since that's the fandom he seems to attract. No shade to Tyrion fans, but shownly casuals are many and they are the ones who keep voting Tyrion as the most popular character, while simultaneously having the worst Tyrion takes.

What can there be said about ADWD!Tyrion? The fact that people don't recognise that he's become one of the antagonists is expressive of the media literacy crisis. His chapters were difficult and gross for me to go through; I do not like to think of how he thinks of his siblings.

I haven't really done a review of Tyrion meta, so I don't know the extent of the material, as I don't necessarily seek it out and don't go in the tag either. But, from what I've read online over the years, people really tend to minimise the extent of Tyrion's flaws. The point of the Lannister trio is that they're as bad as each other, there's no point in creating hierarchies of morality. Tyrion is a very funny character, though, with an intriguing sob story and that underdog trope that people just love rooting for. He is also greatly boosted by the fact that he doesn't do much of anything that's reprehensible during AGOT, at least not off the top of my head, AND he also gets POV chapters from the get-go. So, fans get sucked into his POV and, since he's very charismatic and convincing, it's very easy to adopt his side of the story.

So, by the time we get to ACOK, people have already established him as a trustworthy character in their minds and tend to view every decision he takes as reasonable and correct. But is it really so? Someone needs to do an overview of his time as Hand of the King, because some of the shit he pulls is unreal. He is unnecessarily antagonistic to Cersei, when he should be trying to work with her, takes her children away from her without her consent and without even informing her, sends Myrcella to Dorne of all places when he knows full well the Martells have serious beef with the Lannisters, threatens to rape Tommen, poisons Cersei etc. GRRM really does Cersei a disservice because we don't see her POV until AFFC, when she's going off the rails, but these are all seriously unhinged acts to do to your sister who is supposed to be your team mate, all the while there's a war going on in the background with people actively trying to kill you both. Up to that point in the story, Cersei has been mean to him and maybe bullied him, but she does volunteer information to him when he arrives in KL and tries to work with him in the beginning. Maybe an unpopular interpretation, but I feel like she does put up with a lot of Tyrion's shit before she finally decides to retaliate and goes searching for his whore.

Again, I need to do a re-read for this, but IMO Tyrion just spends most of his time getting involved in petty squabbles that do not pay off in the end, because he's preoccupied with bolstering his sense of self-importance. His father expressively sends him to King's Landing to act as Hand in his stead, yet Tyrion doesn't seem to have a notion that this gig is temporary until Daddy comes back and that he should be thinking of forging his own place at court, that's not derivative of his position as Hand. Certainly, he's not dealt the best hand (lol), there's a lot of ableism and the political situation is such a nest of vipers that very few people could successfully sort it out, but he's not exactly trying to make alliances so much as he is interested in one-upping people & alienating potential friends.

So, after the Battle of the Blackwater, he gets into this state of lamentation that's he's getting sidelined and is underappreciated that is really effective at garnering the readers' sympathy. His grievances are not invalid or phony, but there's also this element to it that other characters are just sick of his shit that completely flies over people's heads. His trial for Joffrey's murder is half-sham, but also not entirely far-fetched, as he's exhibited hostile behaviour in the past and even cruel methods of retribution (i.e. that one time he turns a singer into soup, so check for murder and also cannibalism). Had we had Cersei's POV in ACOK and ASOS instead of Tyrion's, her stalwart belief that Tyrion is actively planning her downfall would not appear so outlandish.

[henrysglock]

unpopular opinion: the people who say Billy is an irredeemably evil character are the same people who fail to see that there's no actual explicit scene where Billy keeps Max away from Lucas for racially motivated reasons (he's mostly just trying to cover his ass to avoid getting beaten up by Neil, who's likely the bigger racist influence; Billy isn't racist by default so much as it would likely be learned behaviours from Neil. Don't even get me started on how Billy's effeminate Glam Rock aesthetic is likely seen as a huge Disappointment to Masculinity in Neil's mind as well, but I digress) and in the same breath as saying "Billy fans are evil for supporting a character who doesn't have a shred of good in him", will turn around and write multiple paragraphs about how Henry isn't evil by choice because he's a victim of Brenner's abuse, the Upside Down is what made Henry so evil, etc etc. While completely ignoring the fact that most of Billy's notably problematic behaviour was a result of the Mindflayer and likely wasn't a conscious decision. Or if they were conscious decisions, Billy made those decisions because he was raised in an environment that didn't allow him alternative ways of thinking. Just. Like. Henry. My point being... the people who idolize Henry but demonize Billy at the same time are straight up hypocrites.

You see, Anon, that's the inherent tragedy in characters like Billy and (in my own pet addition) Jason. They were both around the same age: teenagers. Did they do horrible shit? Absolutely. Was any of it excusable? Absolutely not.

Did they still have a whole life ahead of them to turn it around? Yes, and that's the tragedy.

Billy was a racist, though. There's that scene in ST2 where he tells Max to stay away from "certain types of people", and that type of person is Lucas, the black boy. So yeah, he's a racist. Undeniably so. He was also abusive to Max in major ways in ST2. And yes, he's got some major masculinity issues. That's no excuse for his behavior. This is all pre-Mindflayer. This was just Billy. However. He was 18. He was 3 months into adulthood, and while his actions are his own and there would have been necessary reparations/people who wouldn't and shouldn't forgive him...Billy's response to those old memories of being loved showed us that he had a chance, however slim, to turn his shit around if he got a proper bonk on the head (several, perhaps). His chance at changing was taken away from him. That's the tragedy of his character.

Jason is much the same. He was grief-maddened by the death of a girlfriend he refused to admit he didn't actually know. He watched his friend die under incomprehensible conditions. He was not 'evil' from the get-go. He wasn't even a proper antagonist until Chrissy died. He was looking for someone to blame and maniacally set his sites on the police's scapegoat club leader. Hellfire club wasn't even on his radar re: Chrissy until the cops leaked it. He's more complex than most people like to admit. Was any of his shit excusable? Absolutely not. Is it explicable? Yes. There's a logical progression to the things he does, despite his behavior being properly unhinged...and that wasn't the type of behavior we really see him engage in before Chrissy's death. Therein lies the tragedy: He wasn't always that way, and any chance (however slim) at walking it back was taken from him.

One is much the same in a multitude of ways: He wasn't always like this, his circumstances pushed him, and his actions remain inexcusable.

So I completely agree that it's confusing to see people treat the three of them so differently from each other. They're the same guy in different flavors.

Send me unpopular opinions!

[mania-sama]

So, I have ask these questions (ask game) to quite a few people, but most of their unpopular media, at least I know one of them. Except yours (sorry). Can I ask what made you love these 3 media : Child of Light (Video Game), School - Live! (Anime), The Unlisted (TV Show)?

Also, it's okay to be an Oikawa fan (he is also in my top 3 fav Haikyuu characters). And yes, I agree with all you say about him as a character. Though, I pity him a little because in twitter he must be on the same list as any other anime antagonist/villains that are murderer or terrorist or worst 😑😶

Have you finished Haikyuu, Mania-sama? A bit spoiler : he became Argentinian citizen and at the end of manga, his team vs Japanese team (with Kageyama and Hinata). Oh and Iwaizumi became athletic trainer in Japanese team (ironic, right)....

Oh, can I ask what do you think of Oikawa/Ushijima and Oikawa/Kageyama ships?

Some say, Ushijima or Kenma or Miya twins are the best antagonist of Haikyuu. But come on, we know better, right 😆😄? (Along with the majority of Haikyuu fans)....

P.s Do you know why Furudate sensei don't draw Oikawa that many? Because "He is an ikemen (so handsome), that I have to make him look good in every panel (and that is hard)"...😉

hello again!!!

No worries! That's why I listed them - I NEVER set people talk about those three online. EVER. I was not expecting for you to recognize them, or anyone to for that matter!

Child of Light -> Honestly, just an incredibly spectacular game. It takes about ten-twelve hours for a full playthrough without breaks, including side quests and messing with certain crystal combinations for upgrades. It's short, it's simple, it's sweet, but it is just. Beautiful. Very unique, and I haven't quite found a game like this since. One of the stand-out parts of this video game is that it is written entirely in verse. All of the character's sentences and words rhyme, aside from one character, Rubella, a jester, who consistently doesn't say the right word to make the rhyme complete or flow. The introduction of the game is also told in a soothing voice. The vibes are impeccable. Then, not to mention the visuals of this game are in a watercolor art style. It's just... unique and absolutely stunning to look at. The soundtrack is just banger after banger. I strongly encourage everyone to listen to it. Not that you have to intensely focus on the music, but just enjoy the atmosphere it brings. I was actually among the artists' top listeners on Spotify last year, and it was only from listening to the Child of Light soundtrack. The story itself is simple, but that doesn't mean it's not fun or impactful. You play as a little girl who has, well, died from illness, and wakes up on an altar in a "strange, new land" that has fallen to darkness. It is up to you to save the land of Lemuria from monsters and the evil, dark queen. The monsters are really fun to fight and look at (as in, their designs and the way they are drawn are phenomenal). The upgrade system isn't hard to grasp at all, either. You collect characters and help them in their stories. It's a fun, turn-based combat RPG. Everyone should play it, honestly. It's my favorite game. (Oh, yeah, you have a cute sidekick with a quick-wit, too).

School - Live! -> Okay, this anime isn't as phenomenal as Child of Light, but it sticks out in my mind anyway for the way it masterfully portrayed the world it's set in. It's about a group of girls who have a club at their school where they essentially live together at the school. Seems kind of odd, but they are happy with it and enjoy being each other's friends. Well. Turns out the main character is very, very delusional while trying to cope with the world around her. And the world around here is trapped in a zombie apocalypse. It's intriguing to me how her friends try to preserve her delusions (obviously a coping mechanism that I love seeing portrayed in media) while also keeping themselves alive. The narrative bounces back and forth between the main character's delusional reality where everything is normal to the bloody classrooms, reeking dead bodies, and boarded windows. The characters are all flawed individuals who, while being able to deal with the apocalypse, still struggle and flounder and yell and scream. It's just absolute whiplash tilting between these two realities, and it's done very well. Also, the intro song is a banger.

The Unlisted -> This TV show has more similarities to School - Live!, than it does to Child of Light, but is still pretty unique. It's about this organization that brings dental health to students in Australia, but in reality, they are chipping students in the mouth with trackers that can, essentially, brainwash and mind control the kids into mindless machines. The trackers also increase their strength and dexterity (I don't know how it works; some suspension of disbelief is required to enjoy this). The main characters, two twin brothers, find out what's going on in their school after one of the twins purposefully goes into the "dental checkup" twice in place of his brother. The main characters then find out about the existence of a group of runaway kids who are being tracked by the organization because they are all "Unlisted" - kids who were meant to be chipped, but somehow escaped - and conspire to both help the kids and inform the world about the truth of the organization. It's VERY entertaining. I fell in love with the characters and their relationships. The acting is... rough, especially in the beginning, but you get through it for the plot I swear. All of it pretty much hits my fancy; runaway kids, trauma and injury, mind control, funny banter, and family. I just. Really like it. And everyday I think: wow, what a shame this never got a second season. Because it is good and I love it :(. I've attempted to write this as an AU multiple times for different fandoms, but I never succeeded. Who knows, maybe one day I will.

Anyway, Oikawa being "the most evil anime villain" jokes will never not be funny to me. He is just so easy to pick on. I did see recently on Tiktok a video where they said off-handedly and in seriousness that Oikawa and Dazai Osamu from Bungou Stray Dogs were very similar, and I had to do a double-take. No. They are not similar. Not in the slightest. One has conspired to murder/has murdered HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE and is a LUNATIC. The other is a high schooler who plays fucking volleyball. Can we NOT. (It is really, really funny though. I hope the Internet never changes.)

I've considered rewatching the anime because of my recent sudden and violent re-hyperfixation, but I don't know if I'll ever get around to it. I have never actually read the manga for Haikyuu, but I do know about the time skip and how it ends. In fact, I've been writing a fanfiction about the IwaOi during the Japanese vs Argentina 2021 Olympic gold match (not rooted in reality, where Argentina received bronze and Japan came seventh in the actual 2020 Olympics). I hope to release it sometime soon. It's... interesting, I suppose. I'm up to my usual bullshit, and "usual bullshit" means that one character gets unreasonably hurt in some way. It brings me unparalleled happiness.

As far as OiUshi and OiKage, they aren't my favorite but I can certainly see the appeal. OiUshi less so - I think they have negative chemistry, but the idea of them being together is funny enough to be enjoyable for me. I have read one or two drabbles of them before. OiKage is a rather controversial ship, which I understand. I don't think it works well when they are high schoolers at all, but the idea of something shifting in their adulthood is a fascinating concept. I don't mind it, honestly. It would show a lot of character growth between the two characters both individually and together.

[bloodiedbeloveds]

🛼 🍬 🧩 (and hugs!)

thank you!!! these are out of order, for reasons, and also in an inconsistent writing style because we're very blurry and too tired to enforce an idiolect

🛼 ⇢ describe your latest wip with five emojis

👩‍❤️‍💋‍👨🐺🩸🫀😥

(iirc this one has not yet been discussed on the blog, try to guess what's up with it)

🧩 ⇢ what will make you click away from a fanfiction immediately?

Any variation on "Eliza deserved better", "Eliza is a cinnamon roll", or "Eliza is the peppy neurotypical therapy friend". Weirdly, asserting that Eliza "deserves better" almost always goes along with not caring about her at all and having no interest in writing her, which is deeply annoying. People who don't care about John simply don't talk about him, which is much less irritating-- people who don't care about Eliza assert that they love her and she deserves all the good things in the world and then never actually think about her. We totally get not being interested in stories about infidelity, but it's actually very possible to write about her suffering in other ways! We do it all the time when we aren't being peer-pressured out of it.

🍬 ⇢ post an unpopular opinion about a popular fandom character

we have no idea what opinions are unpopular in this fandom, actually, so here's a grab-bag of Musical Character Thoughts:

people are really into this idea of mulligan as the dad friend based on that one (1) line and you know I just don't see it. we have written him as being slightly more put-together and experienced in the world (read: in ADBT he tells alex to stop being such a fucking asshole), but the guy spends too much of his limited stage time being rambunctious and causing chaos for us to see him as being Actually In General Responsible For These Idiots

i don't get why anyone is invested in ships involving washington at all. sorry! i just don't. (it seems like a large part of it is people having a thing for older men which might explain why we, daddy kinkless, do not at all care. but it's still kind of baffling)

honestly we also do not understand why people like jamilton

[intended to write something judgmental about ways people write laurens that we don't like, but instructions were unclear and we're coming up with a new au instead]

lots of people see alex as having a terrible sleep schedule in the sense of accidentally staying up til two in the morning while getting really into something he's working on. we see him as having a terrible sleep schedule in the sense of going to bed medium-late, waking up medium-early, and ending up with at most six hours of sleep a night every night. he's not that disorganized or distractible, he just refuses to acknowledge the human body has limits

alex is a switch. if you think he can stick to just one sexual script you're wrong, he needs variety and also wants to be good at everything

under the cut we've included some opinions we know for a fact are controversial, but which relate to Mo Dao Zu Shi, a danmei novel you have presumably not read. hopefully you are baffled/entertained by our Very Strong Controversial Opinions and/or concerned that a BL romance novel has this many war crimes

(cw: discussion of torture & cannibalism)

The most infuriating thing we see regularly is people arguing that Jiang Cheng is evil because he tortured people, but Wei Wuxian is perfect and good and has never done anything wrong in his life. Like, did you guys miss the part where Wei Wuxian forced a man to eat his own legs??? That was On Page??? Torturing Demonic Cultivators Makes You Irredeemable But Forcing Someone To Commit Autocannibalism Is Okay????

(Wei Wuxian has killed thousands of people, for the record.)

Similarly: people who like Xue Yang (unhinged murderer) but consider Jin Guangyao (scheming murderer) uniquely horrible and evil are complete hypocrites. This is a book where every major character has done very immoral things! Jin Guangyao isn't uniquely evil just because he's the main antagonist. (We aren't arguing you can't like Xue Yang more-- we ourselves are passionate about Xue Yang but only sort of care about Jin Guangyao-- but acting like Xue Yang is a better person is baffling.)

In fic, it's weirdly common for people to portray the Jiang parents as being cruel only to Wei Wuxian, and to dramatically tone down Jiang Fengmian's favoritism for Wei Wuxian over Jiang Cheng, which is... sure a choice! Every time people write modern AU fic where Wei Wuxian got kicked out of the family and Jiang Cheng & Jiang Yanli's relationship with their parents is tense but not actively damaging, we shed a single tear

So. Many. People. write Lan Wangji as speaking in a weird and ungrammatical fashion, for no reason we can discern. Yes, he's taciturn, but he's also very formal and serious about doing things correctly! We are a firm believer that in English, he would speak in crisp, short, to-the-point sentences and start about half of them with "therefore". (we do have a wip where he has low verbal capabilities, but that's projection).

[veliseraptor]

12, 13, 16

the unpopular character that you actually like and why more people should like them: I feel like a solid percentage of my fandom experience is pretty much me picking a if not unpopular then probably controversial character and then proceeding to talk loudly and ad nauseam about why I think people should like them.

but if I gotta pick just one, and thinking about characters who I feel like are actively unpopular (as opposed to controversial, which is a different category; like, I'd put Xue Yang in the latter but not really the former, since he's got a middling strength group of core fans)...

since I mentioned Black Jewels Trilogy I'll throw one out for Jaenelle Angelline who I recall people really not liking back in the day, at least (I'm not actively in the fandom now so maybe this isn't the case anymore), or at least didn't find interesting as a character. and I get that because on the one hand sure, she's a classic "all the good guys love her, all the bad guys hate her, all-powerful chosen figure" character, but I've always been deeply fond of her because like. she's weird. she starts out weird and continues to be weird, she's really fucked up psychologically actually, she's kind of socially awkward and this combination of shy and insecure and exuberant confidence. she's sweet and compassionate and also vindictive and capable of horrific cruelty.

I think I have kind of a thing for characters who are extremely fucking powerful and also a complete mess as human beings and that's how I always felt about Jaenelle? yeah, she can decimate a planet and makes friends with unicorns but also doesn't really know how to be a normal human person. I don't know. I don't actually expect other people to be with me on this but I am.

but also, a while back I went looking for Wang Lingjiao fic because I was like "there's interesting material there about this woman from a nobody family who ends up in a relationship with the son of a major sect leader, and, like, what was she thinking? did she try to catch Wen Chao or did he notice her and she either (a) made the best of a bad situation by turning it to her advantage or (b) actively decided that she was going to improve her own life via this guy? like, yeah, she's petty and mean and vindictive and I want to know what's going on in her head. in a story that has a lot of people who come from low station and suffer for it, and sometimes even more for trying to get out of it, I'm prodding at her version of that and going "there's something here, give it to me."

sometimes think about that half idea I had where Wang Lingjiao notices Wen Chao coming onto her, doesn't like the idea, and basically tries to escape by glomming onto Wen Qing instead. Wen Qing/Wang Lingjiao rights, is what I'm saying.

worst blorboficiation: my first reaction to this was "oh no, are we going to make "blorbofication" the new "woobification", I was glad when we left that word behind and I don't want to see it replaced, I really don't."

but also. in my heart I immediately knew my answer and it's perfect good boy Wei Wuxian. singlehandedly turned me around on my feelings for a character and I don't really know how to get the good ones back at this point and I would really like the good ones back. I got into this fucking fandom because of him as basically an antagonist-as-protagonist model (i.e. a character who could be an antagonist in most stories but narrative positioning complicates things) - in CQL, even, so this isn't just adaptation decay or whatever - and now...augh.

idk man it makes me sad to think about too much. going back to thinking about Wen Qing/Wang Lingjiao rights instead.

you can't understand why so many people like this thing (characterization, trope, headcanon, etc): so many and I feel like a lot of them have come up in answers to other questions...going to throw this one out though to the people who insist that Xue Yang never had any squishy feelings for Xiao Xingchen and all his motives were bad and evil forever, not just because hey that's my baby but also because it is, as I've said before, both an incredibly shallow read of the story as a whole that strips it of part of what makes it so painful and good and also makes that whole dynamic so much less interesting.

it just makes me feel kind of crazy, also, the way I look at that arc and see the reiteration of themes across MDZS and across MXTX's other works and feel like I'm just going "LOOK AT IT. LOOK AT IT, YOU DON'T HAVE TO LIKE IT BUT AT LEAST SEE WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT" and meanwhile there's another post in the tag throwing "no empathy" around as a shortcut to indicate "bad and evil."

anyway. I'm tired. every month or so I have to block another one.

[demonsfate]

🔥 I had to~ I always appreciate your level minded takes~ I honestly don't think that Jin or Kazuya will ever get the redemption arcs they deserve. Thoughts?

unpopular opinions from the mun // accepting !

Most people say the point is Jin's not supposed to have a redemption arc in TK8, the point was him just moving on and learning to live with his sins. Which yeah, may be it, but most people still see it as a "redemption arc" when the Bad Guy is Good, and everyone's just friends with him now.

But you already know how I feel about Jin's characterization as a whole. When it comes to what he deserves, Jin should've never had to need a redemption arc to begin with. However, they definitely went about it wrong in T8. Which yes, again as I said above, technically Jin's story wasn't a "redemption arc". But we still had characters acting far too forgiving toward him when they shouldn't be. Jin asking, "do I deserve the right to desire life?" is sweet in the context of T8, but in the context of T6, it just makes you think "well buddy I'm sure those thousands you've killed also desired life, too." And again, you also find yourself questioning why this matters so much to Jin when it clearly didn't matter much to him in T6. I barely consider T8 to be Jin's "development" beyond him not wanting to die anymore, but instead just a return to basics (how he behaved in T3-T5) But Jin's arc of dealing with his T6 actions is over and I don't think they're really gonna revisit it again unless Miguel pops up and says "you killed my sister" and Jin says "sorry" and Miguel goes "oh right. Okay then."

As for Kazuya...

The problem is, I'm a very critical consumer. In fact, it's a surprise I haven't tried to become a more "professional" critic. I'm also a no-nonsense writer. When it comes to villains and if they're redeemable, I think there is a certain line they can't cross. Killing thousands of innocents, some potentially being children, is that line. However, clearly this works differently in Tekken. In Tekken, terrible actions aren't treated with the same weight that they're treated with in other stories or real life. Sure, nobody forgot what Jin did, but they also didn't exactly treat him like a mass murderer who's killed thousands, potentially millions. Lars doesn't act like Jin got his best friend (Tougou who?) killed, along with giving him and his girl PSTD, along with forcing his girl to fight her and "killing her", along with all the disrespectful, nasty things Jin said to Lars and the others.

I do think it's a high possibility Kazuya will be "redeemed" in T9, that we might see him and Jin make amends with each other. But I just don't think it's gonna be satisfactory to me. Canonically, both Kazuya and Jin's actions weren't worthy of a redemption that either didn't involve their deaths or them being virtual "outcasts" from society. I've had people try to argue with me, saying "but what about Vegeta from DBZ" - and it's like that's the thing. I don't really care for many animes or their tropes. Now, there are some animes I love. But... the majority of tropes and how it handles these villains is something I don't care for. So, if I watched DBZ, I'd probs be critical of that aspect, too, lol. Darth Vader is a character that comes to my mind because he was also a war criminal who killed millions, including children. He was redeemed, but only through death.

It's just hard to imagine Kazuya or Jin getting to live out happy, domestic lives after they've ravaged the world and ruined so many other lives. Of course, it's something I want more for Jin just because of the bad writing. Kazuya was always meant to be a villain or antagonistic character. He's been this way since T2. Jin, however, wasn't. Jin was only turned into this character in the 6th game after Harada insisted on it. But like, when the games tried to continue going with "Yah Jin did all that, what of it?" Then... yes, it is hard to imagine him living out a normal happy life with his only consequences for his many murders is just he felt bad about it and his daddy beat him up a few times.

T9's Kazuya will probs be a "slower" process than Jin, but in the end - he'll probs be redeemed by Jun's love, say "I won't try to kill our son anymore :3" and then help Jin defeat Reina.

So yeah. I just don't think neither will get a truly deep redemption arc, but honestly? It's about time where that much depth and consideration should be expected from the writing.

Also I guess an unpopular opinion of my own regarding Kazuya is that... I don't care if he gets redeemed honestly. As heartwarming as it is seeing the what ifs and him, Jin, and Jun being a happy family. I also just don't care if that happens or not. After all, not every villain needs a redemption arc. And with Tekken? We're at the point where they've been trying to convince us that Heihachi isn't that bad, and then they're trying to convince us that the motherfucking DEVIL cared about Jin and was actually good in a way. So like, not every character needs to be redeemed or needs a "oh wait, they're not as bad as you think!" As I said, it mattered so much with me about Jin because Jin should've never been depicted as a villain - it goes against his entire character and why I loved him. But Kazuya was always conceived as a villain. Therefore, the push for him to be redeemed just isn't as strong regardless of his tragic backstory.

And I mean that in all seriousness. Kazuya is a tragic character, but he's intentionally written as one. Not tragic because the writers did him dirty. Villain characters often are tragic and surrounded by tragedy. Because tragedy and trauma is what shapes many bad guys into the person they are. Not every villain with a tragic story needs a redemption arc - even if he does have loved ones, too.

Of course, this isn't to say I'm against Kazuya's redemption. I'm just explaining why I wouldn't care if it didn't happen.

[ledstuckatred]

Unpopular thought:

I think that Maura and Daniel have chemistry, and that their relationship / marriage is real. Maybe just at some time-limited point, but I believe he does exist.

Sure, she also has a connection with Eyk, but she hesitated quite a long time to tell him that she also has that letter and that she's seeing things that shouldn't be there.

Having somebody else live through the same things as her could've helped her staying sane throughout all this madness, and yet she decided to play alone as long as possible.

Her main interest seems to be herself, always, and it wouldn't surprise me if she were an antagonist in the end, too. What speaks against this is the fact that she helps Tove early on, but her scientific interest simply might be stronger.

I wonder if her connection (if you can call it that) to Elliott is because there is some part in her brain remembering things, or because it's the classic "I was told I can't have children and I suffer from it, so I adopt the first random kid I see"?

Due to being face blind, I still have no idea who's on the ship at the very end. I do believe that they are in space and that this is most likely the actual reality, not another simulation, but the reason remains a mystery to me...

Some say they needed to find a new habitable planet and used the time to work with people's minds to strengthen them, and that her brother was supposed to take care and went mad instead.

But living through this also has a high chance of breaking them, no matter whether the simulation initially was supposed to be a positive experience or not. People usually don't really do well with actually believing in things to be real, only to find out that they weren't...

Also somebody pointed out that the coordinates only have two values, while three being actually needed. But the third might be hidden somewhere throughout the series, who knows.

I think Daniel might be a scientist just like her, but that she went down a path he didn't want to follow her, so he tries his best to get the old, nice Maura back instead by playing the simulation game, and trying to have her make positive decisions.

Elliots room being in a grave and him reacting so emotionally to the "truth" makes me think that he was also real, but died at some point. Maybe he was traveling on the space ship as well, but couldn't survive everything due to being an untrained child.

In the end, Maura feels very emotionally detached to me.

My theory is:

She clings to Eyk because he's a mirror to her mental damages, whatever they have been caused by, and wants to be in the role of a mother because that's generally seen as a positive human quality.

But I think she might not be the person we saw throughout the show so far, and crossed the fine line of scientific research that's still acceptable.

The whole dialogue between her and Daniel about what is the actual reality is mildly concerning to me, because: both are valid in my opinion, but the type of reality around you is the defining part for society and humanity in general.

One can not exist without the other, because the "personal reality" is essential to your mental health, and the "outside reality" is essential for social interaction. We already do have people where these two collide, and we all know how good that works...

I think Maura might be some kind of antagonist in the end, and that Daniel still exists in some form somewhere and tries to save herself from the things she created.

This being said, I also think there's a lot of truth in the words of her father. With him being also part of the simulation, he caused a lot of misery for both Maura and Elliot who she's trying to save, and while horrible things happened on the ship she has never been actually emotionally or physically damaged (unlike everybody else). So why would she build a simulation where she's confronted with her father? Having him tell a lie would have proven her point that she's not crazy, but what he said was indeed proven to be true, at least in parts.

This seems to be a bit odd considered how much control she actually had over everything in the end, except from this truth being brought up. Or maybe not control, you could call it blissful ignorance what others went through. She barely interacts with most of the people suffering after all... Even if Elliot was only part of a simulation, this didn't invalidate her father's words after all.

I'm really looking forward to what the showrunners have planned further on, and I hope that they don't try to make it too complicated and thus too absurd.

I also think that everything we saw so far has happened in reality in some was, with all being realistic enough for every time episode to happen.