#i also became more evil actually

[roseofcards90]

The fact that people were so willing to completely dismiss what happened in After Pain and Harrow after they saw It's Not My Fault and Deep Cover paint Mu and Kotoko in a worse light really shows that some people don't have literary comprehension 😭

#it's almost as if nuance is a thing and that their pain isn't mutually exclusive from their actions lmao #the fact that some people actually thought Mu was lying about what she went through??? 😭 no tf she didn't the whole point #is that she is both a perpetrator and a victim and her inno verdict in t1 validated her thinking #which is why in t2 she doesn't shy away from not acting completely innocent because she fully believes she didn't do anything wrong #that's why I also didn't understand why people were so quick to dismiss Kotoko's vigilantism and say it was a complete lie #because Harrow shows us that it never really was a lie but rather something that became more and more distorted over time #as well as something Kotoko uses to validate herself because of her self hatred which again Harrow already hinted at lmao #it only got worse in Milgram but the whole point is that Kotoko's ideals which were born out of strong feelings against the evils #of the world became distorted and more selfish over time #idk people just like to reduce them to completely bad people and it annoys tf out of me #deep cover spoilers #milgram #mu kusunoki #kotoko yuzuriha #my posts

[lord-squiggletits]

I know there are as many religious good guys as there are religious bad guys in IDW, but I think I pinned down the reason why it feels like the most prominent religious figures are all bad guys and it's pretty much due to the worldbuilding.

Maybe my memory of the comics is just really bad, but the religious worldbuilding in IDW is....kind of trash honestly. I'm not sure there's a single religion or religious custom that doesn't exist solely to further the plot along. Like, it's one thing for the Camiens to worship the Primes and that causes a lot of stuff in exRID/OP, but what does that worship actually look like? What are their holidays, customs, religious texts? What about "spectralism" which basically the only thing we know about is the Festival of the Lost Light and some hippie color coding and aura shit? Like sure, there are characters who are religious and their beliefs come into play sometimes, but it honestly feels (especially in MTMTE) more like their religiousness only exists when it's relevant to the plot and it's just kinda. Disappointing eh. Lacking in worldbuilding. Plus the more religious a character is the more it's written as their entire personality and the driving force making them evil so it just kinda made me cringe to read honestly.

#squiggposting #i think there might be more 'religious moments' than i remember since it's been a hot minute since i read #but i remember during my first read/while liveblogging it was something that disappointed me #i know it's probably unfair or whatever but it still makes me cringe so hard #that the reason tyrest suddenly became a religious zealot was because he got shot with a brain altering bullet #and his religious fervor is almost literally just a product of him being brain damaged and delusional #like oooooooooooooooooooooooof it's so fucking cringe lol #i'm not sure if i'm making sense honestly. it's not so much the NUMBER of evil vs non evil religious characters #but it's more like. the more prominently religion is part of a character's personality or motivation #the odds of them just being an evil guy shoots up to almost 100% #also then there's dr/ft who's a fucking clown and 'spectralism' is just some half baked hippie shit i can't take seriously #guess my problem isn't with IDW so much as it is with JRO lol #anyways not an objective analysis i might be wrong on some counts that was just my feelings as i read #and also i just don't like it when the worldbuilding around culture only exists when it comes to plot related stuff #it really makes the world feel less lived in/realistic when it's established that there are multiple religions #but then as far as actual customs- beliefs- texts- philosophies- etc there's hardly anything #so the good guys may be religious but there's not much about what their beliefs actually entail and how they impact their daily life #and on the other hand the bad guys are screaming about how they're god's chosen all over the place

[thesilverlady]

I'm not enough of a book purist to not being able to enjoy headcanons, crackships etc (as a matter of fact I do love them). But seeing newbies unironically and completely serious considering aemond to "trying to be the perfect son", or "heleana is the people's princess" or "rhaenyra is calm, collected and strategic", "Daemon is the family's clown, the agent of chaos" legit gives me a headache because they are nothing like that.

And I'm not talking about ppl writing fanfics with this type of characterization, but ppl legit having takes based on the terrible portrayal of the show. And even when they go to read f&b they still have the image the show gave them because they don't seem capable of letting go.

it just feels like Jon Snow/Daenerys Targaryen character assassination all of again.

There are so many people who consider Jon to be basically ned 2.0 and Dany a mad queen-girlboss-slay

I just wish we could seperate books from adaptations. That's all

#don't be a jerk i'm just venting ✌️ #anti hotd #I know the greens had 2% of actual characterization so fans are now making their own hcs but #my issue is they slowly legit believe them to be canon #rhaenyra was not chill. She was emotional. thought first with her heart. could be immature and had temper #aegon was not a loser crybaby. he was spoiled. had freedom to do as he wished and was simply lazy and unmotivated #aemond was already a psycho before his eye loss. and was obsessed with proving himself. he gave 0 shit about his fam #helaena only had 1 line in f&b and even that gives her more personality than the cringe show version #alicent was not a child bride. she was an ambitious woman. a big hypocrite who was obsessed w Rhaenyra and had beef with her since rhaenyra #Viserys was a girl dad and loved rhaenyra and heleana. he also loved alicent very much. aegon and aemond were simply red flags #daemon was not a deadbeat dad. he was ruthless and he wanted the throne and power. his marriage with Laena softened him a lot #and he became dedicated to his fam to the point he killed himself to take out Rhaenyra's biggest threat aka vhagar (not aemond) #otto was not a warm grandfather. he only cared about gaining power and he gave 0 shit about what his grandkids could be going through #grrm does write grey characters but he also writes ones who are meant to be interpreted as good/evil #and the greens are very obvious the antagonists of the dance #I'm not saying you shouldn't like them but fandom should stop trying to rewrite f&b with their hcs #people enjoy joffrey and ramsey but no soul says they were victims #f&b meta #hotd meta #anti ryan condal #Ryan will pay for his crimes

[moongothic]

Honestly what kind of changed the way I view One Piece was when I realized that Oda's transphobia isn't just a side-effect of him having an "outdated" view of trans people, but also like

One Piece is very much about Letting People Live How They Want To

And that includes not just queer people in general, but every single transfem person who either doesn't pass or doesn't want to pass, it includes not just the "acceptable, normal trans people" but also the kinda weird and/or horny ones.

Because Queer Liberation is for everyone

Like don't get me wrong, Oda may not fully understand the difference between GNC and trans people, and most of his transfem/GNC men (only lumping them together because Oda does that) look identical to how gender crits would draw "a trans person infiltrating women's spaces!!!!11!!!". And he does seem to have some actual gender essentialist beliefs (Luffy being "a vegan if he was a girl"........... Bro) with a healthy dose of misogyny thrown on top Generally speaking, it would be nice if his queer rep was more like 50/50 with the """"normal"""" (this is One Piece you know exactly what I mean) and weird queer characters instead of like 95% weird. Not just because it'd give queer people more characters we might actually want to relate to and see ourselves in, but also because it would maybe help drive home to queerphobic readers that One Piece is in-fact for Queer Liberation instead of supporting their beliefs that queer people are just "kinky men who like to wear women's underwear because they're delulu".

All this to say; no, the queer rep in One Piece is still kinda Not It. It could definitely be better*. Like I said at the begining though, realizing OP specifically has the belief that everyone should be allowed to live how they choose to and be free (something Luffy dreams of becoming, the most free person in the world aka Pirate King)... IDK it just changed how I view Oda's transphobia. Because it truly does not come from any sort of malice, it's just... misguided support

(*In fact, One Piece has/had the potential to be so extremely pro-Queer. Like we know trans people play a HUGE role in the Revolutionary Army and helping take down the Government already. We saw a FUCK TON of Queer people being held in Impel fucking Down, the giant prison facility that's meant for "the worst criminal's the world had to offer" that the government had to put away somewhere. I know the implication with the imprisoned queer people in Impel Down was that some/a lot of them were already imprisoned there for some other reasons (probably) and simply transed themselves because being a funny little queer in Newkama Land was a billion times better than being tortured by guards in the jail. Which is understandable. But like, my question is... How many of these people were imprisoned in Impel Down because of some crimes they commited, and how many were imprisoned for being queer? One Piece never exploring queer rights within its world is an absolute fucking shame. It is such a missed opportunity. Like all Oda needed to do was say "it's illegal to be gay on Island XYZ, these people were imprisoned in Impel Down for being queer". Just that, just one island could completely reframe how being queer is seen in this world. It would completely reframe the Revolutionary Army's queer participants, and it would not just remind the readers about why the World Government is Bad, but also drive in for those queerphobic readers that One Piece is, in fact, pro-queer. Like really rub it like salt into their wounds.)

#It's also good to remember that One Piece has never portrayed a Queer character as evil or malicious #(Bon-chan's being a frenemy for a brief time aside since they became a Turbo Friend right after) #Moon posting #Mind you I'm not saying that if OP had just one homophobic island it'd fix the transmisogyny because obviously it wouldn't #I'm just saying that it would make OP's Queer Liberation Message so much CLEARER #The amount of queerphobic OP fans is absolutely obscene and it's THEM who need it more than anyone else #Shit it took my queer ass like 15 years to actually get the message fully #Like I said. It's not good. It could be so much better. But IDK I think I just realized OP is weirdly more progressive than I thought?? #CW Discussions of transphobia #Sorry I just needed to get this out of my system

[ohfugecannada]

I’m pretty sure nothing’s been officially confirmed about how the 2023 miniseries fits into the comics canon. But I swear if marvel does anything to mess up Groot’s origin story in the 2015 comics imma start my villain arc.

#marvel #marvel comics #comics #gotg #groot #guardians of the galaxy #2023 groot comics #groot 2023 comics #2015 groot comics #groot 2015 comics #the 2015 version of groots origin has pretty much become the definitive version for me #groot defying his evil flora colossus society and not only becoming a hero #but also a more fulfilled individual inspite of his upbringing was some seriously powerful stuff #and added so much to his chracter #so the 2023 comics possibly throwing all that out the window #would absolutely suck man #I hope it’s just set an alternative universe #or maybe even a prequel from before flora colossi society became evil #maybe the groot we see in the 2023 comic is actually a younger version of the og king groot before he became an evil space tyrant #that would be pretty cool I think!

[kdramacrybaby]

The fact that’s it’s taken me so long to get back to watching Uncanny Counter is an actual crime. Especially with how the last episode I watched ended. I’m disappointed in myself 🥲

#the uncanny counter: counter punch #the uncanny counter #drama rant #uncanny rant #episode 7 #i feel so bad for the fireman like #his whole world fell apart and now he has to fight people he almost would have called family #but i do also feel like it’s super interesting with how they create him #just as So Mun is stronger than everyone else because he was actually alive when he became a counter #he’s a more powerful evil spirit because he was never actually evil just horribly depressed and furious at the world #i feel like it’s a good counter to So Mun’s powers #even if it hurts to see them fight

[void-tiger]

…wonder if being silly and trying to coax someone else to be silly is what makes me attractive? (Even when it’s honestly a defense mechanism on my part… thumbing my nose. Being belligerent to norms. Norms have always made itchy and depressed and anxious so I Ain’t Doin’ That Anymore, Deal With It.)

#tiger’s musings #…I sent a hellmo burnaway cake reel that was actually a rickroll #got a ‘gosh I love elmo’ #’cause well. a rickroll’s a rickroll. but also they made a hellmo jackolantern so…2for1?? #and…I swear it was right about when I just went. FUCK THIS. wore jewelry and converse and my denim jacket over the ghibli or flower print #because I had finally had ENOUGH!! of church being not just Don’t Say Liberal/Gay/Feminism #but outright a Free Platform for Right Wing Politics #and one speaker going on a tirade before RoevWade was officially disolved #about how evil and selfish women are. how ‘freewill’ in general doesn’t exist and is Sin Actually #and No One spoke up against it quietly in private or otherwise #I…yeah. I had enough #amped up my Manic Pixie more than ever #I will ONLY be ‘liked’ for my singing and because I’m a worker and generally kind #but nothing will ever be real. so I am DONE playing by THEIR ‘stumbling block’ rules and being socially controlled to ‘keep peace’ #and yeah. became Marginally less anxious and depressed as a result of FUCK. THIS. #and…I swear that’s when I finally became noticed #because while I Can’t Dare to openly talk about MY values and what me and my friends are Actually #I CAN become Ms Frizzle and silently DARE someone to protest it or swallow a sour grape #and…y’know. gain actual confidence vs bravado #by laughing when someone else is Silly Too. #and looks so damn pleased they made me laugh without feeling selfconcious for laughing and laughing ‘too loud’ #because…yeah. I Have been scolded. SO MUCH. for ALL my emotions being Too Intense Too Loud. #INCLUDING laughter. #but…Silly is my rebellion.

[perenlop]

i love kirby super star fanfic or comic adaptations where marx and kirby are actually best friends during the course of the entire game and marx blindsides kirby, to the point where i want to do something soooort of similar with my kirbyverse, but i also just kinda love how in canon marx was just like “im gonna very specifically ruin this guys week”

#i think marx is less outright evil and murdery and more ''i just want to fuck around with no one to stop me'' #saw itsquakey say that marx seemed to be an antagonist more out of petty antagonism where he just wanted to play tricks with no backlash #and i gotta replay milky way wishes again to verify that bc ill admit i never paid that much attention to his dialogue but thats interesting #or at least it differentiates him from magolor a bit more #who more or less just outright wants to rule the universe #im torn on whether or not i want him and kirby to be besties tho #for one im like. so unsure if i want him to be the same age as kirby #bc ngl ive always seen marx as rather young so i saw him and kirby as being the same age at one point #and magolor was also the same as them. but now i firmly see magolor as like in his early 20s or so mentally #mayyybe a late teen at best? and i feel like if he and marx are gonna be a duo itd be cool to keep em the same age? #but then i want marx and kirby to be like. direct parallels in some way like idk. theyre the same age yet had totally different circumstance #that shaped who they became (still sort of want to play into my ''marx is a mirror of kirby'' hc from when i was little) #ig i could just also age up kirby but like youll have to pry child kirby from my dead hands #none of this matters ik its not like i ship marxolor or marxby or anything (anymore) but like idk #maybe im overthinking it LOL #idk tho basically idea is that marx and kirby are actually childhood best friends who've known each other since they were newborns #but like. besides that i have no ideas sdklfjsdlkfjsdlkfsd i used to have an edgy ass backstory for marx where his parents were murdered #and thats valid if you have something like that for his backstory but idk if i want to go that route anymore #bc marx is less villainous here and more ''i have no real moral compass and i want to fuck with people'' #idk im throwing spaghetti at the wall btw nothing here is verified at all #echoed voice

[thinkingthingsthrough]

she really is the bravest soldier bc i don’t know how someone could a. release something so vulnerable and then b. go sing in front of thousands that same evening

#oh this is about #taylor swift #to any non swifties on board #it's such a double edged sword bc at the same time it must feel so great to perform to a crowd of ppl who love you #so in a way its maybe great that this is all getting out there during tour where she has that outlet #but as much as i know once an artist releases a song it becomes kind of more about what ppl associate it with in their lives #instead of directly connected to them and the mindset/intention they wrote it #but it still feels like it has to be hard to separate the 2 on some level right? like esp when a breakup is fresh? #so u get the weird feeling about performing love songs about a dying/dead relationship #although luckily the setlist doesnt have any of the really deep Joe songs other than lover #but i think bc of its fame that one really probably has become more about other ppl than herself #anyways i am rambling to the max #also not to make someone elses breakup into social commentary but there is so much to be said for this general phenomenon #of men stringing women along in long-term serious but ultimately non-committal relationships #like obv situations change so im not saying that he like. intentionally did this from day 1 bc hes evil or something #but ive just seen it happen alot and its sad #im sure it kind of just slowly became that. but it feels like they probably both could have called it quits way sooner #new motto for women (who are interested in marriage) should be: he better lock it down or i won't stick around #and then actually do it

[winepresswrath]

i'm obsessed with the mean princess now. she's awful but the direct contrast between IU's sincerity and innocence and her calculated attempts at manipulation have enthralled me.

#tragic that she does not seem to be joining the harem #when her love rival almost became her stepmom... they could have been raliecent #i think this show would be much improved by them having a more complicated relationship #however that may simply be my tastes! i am a little bored by iu's reverse harem situation even though i like all of her relationships with #the princes individually #baby prince is still my favourite tbh. 8 is actually way less evil than i thought he was going to be so far #i enjoyed his tortured wife feelings #moon lovers scarlet heart ryeo #also how does the numbering work? 10 seems to be the babiest #yet there are 25 of them and we see 14 and i think also 14 looking older than him

[glitter50000]

bitches be getting so happy watching the darkling being portrayed as a villain and a toxic lover. It’s me, I’m bitches

#I won with this season in so many ways #Like just watching him be all fucked up and evil I loved seeing it #I love watching his POV and agreeing with him sometimes but also just being like “you bitch” as well #And the way how he was with Alina made my hair stand up as it should and I’m glad it did #I dunno it’s just more fun to me to see him as a villain cause then those moments of humanization really just shine through for me #And I just never really liked when ppl would say how he wasn’t one just because of his cause or his past #And I agree it’s not for his cause that he’s a villain but his actions instead #The thing is saying he’s not a villain is like erasing all the ugly traits he has when those traits help make up his character to me #Like he wanted to help and he wants love but he’s clingy he’s needy he’s lonely he’s delusional he’s got little to none morals he’s tired #He’s fucking pissed he’s possessive cause he had nothing and he’s saying fuck this country actually #It’s having more then 400 years of vengeance and hatred just boiling in you because you saw the worst this country offered #It’s him being like “you are going to like what I am doing for us even if I have to shove it down your stupid throat” #It’s how he was a good person and he was trying to help at one point but overtime it just became “my way is the right way and the ONLY way” #He uses fear because it’s easier and he was taught long long ago that it’s a powerful ally #but something he forgot is that use it too much and now it’s a double edge sword #sab spoilers #shadow and bone netflix #shadow and bone season 2 #aleksander morozova #Does this make sense? #Like it’s not JUST Ravka’s corrupt system that made him who he is it’s himself as well so to say he isn’t a villain or an antagonist or #that it’s just Ravka’s fault is I dunno I guess erasing his part and his choices to me in doing this #Like the whole thing is that he doesn’t want redemption nor does he ask to be forgiven

[gch1995]

Imo yoda has got to be one of the worst if not THE worst council member. Although I can understand the hate obi wan gets I can appreciate his character and think he can be redeemed to an extent. He shows sympathy and understanding at times and you can see he does care for anakin, but the cult he was in fucked him up; including his ability to empathise and understand others. Although he follows the council extensively he tries his best to make exceptions for those he cares about. (knowing about anakin and padme but choosing to ignore it because he knows anakin is happy like that, training anakin despite the council not wanting him to, yes I know it was qui gons dying wish but that is apart of it to an extent) the thing is being raised in the order took a massive toll on him and he seeks too much approval from them and doesn’t ever question their ways. He is a heavily flawed character but he does have redeeming qualities. Yoda on the other hand? None. Zero. Absolutely nothing. Nothing, not one thing about his character is redeemable. (Bit of a rant) This little green cunt is happily shown training a group of kids with lethal weapons in his fucked up cult. He is 500 fucking years old but never bothered to even attempt at learning how to speak normally, including when ordering the slave army he controlled. This fucker spent all his life supporting and feeding into the fuckery of the order whilst constantly telling himself it was the right thing. Arrogantly sitting in his little chair allowing slavery, making child soldiers and allowing god knows how much abuse to happen to others. This shit is responsible for approximately 700 years worth of abuse towards god knows how many others. This fucker straight up denies his responsibility for everything he’s done. And it’s not just the abuse. He’s caused billions to suffer because of his arrogance. The thing is, while I can find myself looking at a character like obi wan and thinking

“wow, this character is heavily flawed but has a lot of interesting aspects and I can sympathise with him at times. I like his character and the evolution of how he reacts and responds to situations although it’s sad considering his past and how those actions devolve into something horrific and unhealthy to the point where he becomes the abuser and carries on that line which is sad. Even though there are many things that he is responsible for there are times when it’s not his fault and I can empathise with that without excusing the ones he was responsible for even if they were heavily affected by the things he went through”

But when I look at yoda?

“I hope this cunt burns in hell for eternity for the things he’s done”

Legitimately cannot put into words just how much I hate him. He’s the one who’s heavily responsible for the way obi wan turned out and most of all:

He’s the one who tried to manipulate, gaslight and force Luke to kill his own mess of a father that he created.

I genuinely think he cannot be redeemed (for me, at least. I’ll never forgive that little shit) for everything thing he’s done. (Sorry for the long ask)

Definitely, agree with you! Within a Star Wars canon-divergent AU narrative that actually framed Obi-Wan’s bad choices and flaws as seriously bad ones in the story with stakes that he either learned from and self-improved upon before it was too late and/or didn’t learn from and suffered negative consequences for as a result. Yeah, he loses people he cares about, and, at least in regards to Anakin Skywalker and Ahsoka Tano, that is partially his own fault. However, while I do feel some sympathy for him and realize that he’s flawed, it’s difficult for me to get on board with his character in canon as he is written because he never actually learns from his mistakes on screen, nor are there any real stakes in him making seriously bad choices and not learning in comparison to Anakin and Luke. I don’t hate him, but it’s hard for me to get invested in a character who can always magically get the upper hand in his duels with his enemies or opponents suddenly getting baited, provoked, pushed into a corner, or dumbed down for him to be able to effortlessly defeat them. He also repeatedly gets away with being an asshole in many of the same ways that Luke and Anakin get framed as wrong for and/or suffer consequences for in the OT and PT movies when they don’t learn to be better. Yeah, Obi-Wan loses people he cares about, and at least in regards to Anakin and Ahsoka, that is partially his own fault, but there is no sort of humbling or meaningful development in canon for him.

Still, because, as you said, Obi-Wan also was a victim of Yoda’s cult who did genuinely grow to care for Qui Gonn, Anakin, and Ahsoka, in spite of being really bad at it, he does have a lot of potential to be a better character in canon-divergent/AU material that actually has him facing real stakes and learning to take real self-accountability for his bad choices before getting to earn the hero treatment in the narrative. Within canon and especially his fandom of diehard Kenobist fans, though, Obi-Wan is such a grossly overrated Gary Stu that I’ve genuinely began to find his character more annoying and boring than he was before.

Yoda, on the other hand, really doesn’t seem to have any sort of real conscience or significant guilt for being an asshole. Nor does he really feel like a person at all because the only things he cares about are avoiding the dark side and staying in power. He also has no real backstory, so I don’t understand why he’s become an unapologetically apathetic asshole, learned nothing throughout his life, and remained willfully in-denial for the past several centuries. I don’t understand why he was allowed to be in charge for so long. I don’t understand why he is the disaster of a person he is in the series because there is no development for his character. With Anakin, Obi-Wan, Padme, the rest Republic senate, and the other Jedi they may not be wholly innocent, but I can understand why.

#anti yoda #i agree that besides Palpatine Yoda is the worst #Yoda is the worst Star Wars character #yeah technically Palpatine is more evil but at least he is framed as a bad guy #yeah Anakin Obi-Wan Padme and many of the other members of the fallen Jedi and Republic have committed inexcusable atrocities too #but at least I can understand why they became terrible people in their fear of the unknown when operating under compromised agency #at least we know they were actually victims who were products of broken systems and there is genuine humanity beneath their asshole side #i really don’t like canon!obi-wan kenobi #because he’s a Gary Stu #it annoys me because in contrast Anakin and Luke are constantly hit with warnings and negative consequences when they’re assholes #and it shouldn’t be that easy for obi wan to not feel the temptation of going too far dark at all #because in many ways he has many of the same flaws that Anakin and Luke display and/or develop #but somehow we’re supposed to believe he’s so great at avoiding temptation #in spite of also having a hair trigger temper being vindictive towards enemies and fighting dirty all the time #Kenobi has potential in stories that give him more conflict and stakes for being an assholr #or have him actually grow #but within canon and especially his diehard fandom obi-WAN’s character annoys me #I’m critical of obi-wan for how he’s treated in the canon narrative and his fan base but he does have potential #he did care about the skywalker boys in spite of often treating them both badly particularly Anakin #and he does have occasional moments when he questions Yoda’s and the council’s bullshit #so in a canon-divergent/au or a story from his pov that doesn’t completely let him off the hook for being an asshole #and refuses to let him actually be a hero until he actually can admit he fucked up I could see potential

[budugaapologist]

people should have to pass a questionaire on whether or not they can excuse genocide before being allowed to play stormblood jfc

#i talk #ffxiv #my friends were explaining twitter to me yesterday. #i am begging people that like yotsuyu to pick up a book #you can like her ONLY if you UNDERSTAND THAT SHE IS A GENOCIDAL MANIAC #she is certianly NOT the only woman in doma to be poorly treated and YET she is the only one that became genocidal. hello?? #and when she reverts back from tsuyu it isnt like 'oh i hated being evil' no she immediately goes back to evil mode #the only justified ones for her to kill post stormblood were her 'family' and she still was like #nah i wanna do genocide too #also people mad that hien killed her when he literally didnt WE did lmao DID YOU PLAY STORMBLOOD HONEY #also the not my place to judge. IT WAS NOT HIS PLACE TO JUDGE. JFC TOUCH GRASS #how are YOU going to make enough money to survive in a fascist state? people do things they regret all the time #that man was one of them but considering he has been serving in the rebellion for YEARS now to atone for his sins #motherfuckers will be like 'people can change' then when someone does actually they want them dead still #ntm hien fully blames himself for the suffering of his people because he was gone recovering from injuries in the steppe #also would YOU know what you were doing if you were made leader of a state at 24????????????? #god the yotsuyu fans... half of them the type of motherfuckers that would have advocated for the nuking of germany in ww2 #and if you dont see anything wrong with doing that. oh my god go to prison #did yotsuyu deserve better? yes but she actively was demolishing each chance she got #the reason i support fordola more is fordola is literally 19 years old. yotsuyu is in her 30s. she is actively choosing to not touch grass #anyway never put stormblood on free trial. too many horrible takes #if you cannot understand why genocide is bad you should not be allowed to have zenos call you a friend #who is also a manipluative bitch but i will grant hin the sole good deed of destroying black rose. #but like most of his fans understand he is also bad theyre just into that. the yotsuyu fans cannot see what she did wrong #bruh #read a book take a hike talk to veteran

[comixandco]

not to let lore get in the way of a good story but vaati was corrupted by light magic not dark magic lol

#the um actually nerd gene has awoken in me uh oh #not gonna tag bc like there’s no point in clogging up tags w negativity #but also that is very much a thing that happened #the minish cap wasn’t dark magic it was minish magic and very loose-ended and the lightforce is. well i mean it’s in the namr #in canon it’s implied that vaati became evil because he was emulating the evil he saw in mankind #and that twisted the magic to do evil #and like personally i’ve always thought it was cool that zelda was able to house a powerful magic so easily all her life #but when vaati tries to use it it corrupts and malforms him into a demonic beast #like it acts like the sacred realm in that way but also i just think it’s neat that light magic is just as destructive as dark magic if not #more. like harm from dark magic is almost always curable in the games through some way but unless you’re fighting something very powerful a #single light arrow will completely destroy a person #anyway not to let lore get in the way of a good story but 4 shouldn’t be equating the shadow crystal w vaati it doesn’t make sense to me

[eff-plays]

Ok so I watched the interview with Stephen Rooney, Astarion's writer, and here are some highlights. (I'm an aspiring writer and current game design student who wants to write for games so I'm sorry if some of these insights aren't as interesting to you as they are to me <3)

He calls Astarion his "horrible little vampire boy"

He loves seeing the fandom around Astarion<3

He did write other characters in the game, but mostly NPCs surrounding Astarion or his storyline, so it mostly revolved around Astarion

Astarion is not as connected to other companions/Origins as, for example, Lae'zel and Shadowheart, or Wyll and Karlach are to each other, but he is still reactive to their stories, even if it's just to stand off to the side and laugh when something terrible happens

He had a clear sense of where Astarion's story would start and end, but it got "muddy in the middle", but those are also moments where the best ideas come from

They write from the general idea that every character has one "good" and one "evil" ending, in order to give the player choice. RIP Ascendant apologists :(

According to Stephen, two of the most important aspects of Astarion's character (to keep consistent when bringing him to Idle Champions, at least) is that he enjoys violence, but is also fun about it

"He has a certain appreciation for violence, I guess? A bit of a murdery streak. [...] He's a vampire, he's all about blood, and he's all about, kind of, those darker sides of humanity. [..] But at the same time, he is ... He is really fun, he's really fun to write, he's really fun to have in your party, and it's very important for me that that is also represented."

"He's gonna stab you, but will have a smile on his face as he does it? I mean, I dunno. That's kind of him in a nutshell."

Larian would not have allowed for Astarion to be a typical brooding Dracula type, and there were scenes that were shot down for not being original enough

The main thing about Astarion was trying to get a "sense of fun." It would be easy to write a character that was very unlikable, and they absolutely did not want to do that

Rooney says Astarion is consistently terrible throughout the game and awful in a whole lot of ways, but he also needed to be charming enough that you could tolerate his presence and wanted him around

Rooney also had a lot of input on Astarion's stats (meaning the 10 Charisma is probalby 100% intentional)

He also had input on how certain lines should be delivered, even though the writers didn't directly work with voice actors

The way Astarion moves and poses is "all Neil"

Apparently, Neil Newbon worked on the character for years and Rooney did not speak to him once, though his voice work did influence how Astarion's lines were written and it became a "feedback loop" (Possible context for "ONLY SLIGHTLY, NEIL")

There were no points where a line delivery drastically changed Astarion's writing; rather it was a constant, slow evolution

However, there was one very spoilery moment where Neil gave such emotion to some "basic" lines that it fundamentally changed the scene (WHAT IS IT OMG)

It's difficult to balance approval, as you don't want to straight up write a monster. Every character needs to have some humanity in them. So if it comes to leaving the party, it needed to be the result of something central to said character. They wanted to be mindful of situations that would cause actual rifts between characters. (I assume this is why most generic disapprovals/approvals are +/- 1 or 2, while character-related ones give +/-5 or more)

However, as they don't write straight up horrible people/monsters, it doesn't come up as often as one might think.

The interviewer makes a point about how characters like Astarion and Lae'zel are good examples of how to play "evil" characters, as they are maybe not the best people but are still eager and willing to stick around the other party members

They worked to make sure the characters would work as a group, no matter the configuration of the group. The characters needed to be on the same path, even if they don't always agree or walk that path the same way.

Stephen Rooney is very proud of the "climactic" scene of Astarion's story. (AS HE SHOULD BE.) He even had to step away from the computer and have an emotional moment. Me too, man.

He's also "extremely pleased" that there's a point where you can punch Astarion in the face. "Actually, that one might be my favorite part" A MAN OF THE PEOPLE!!

Stephen Rooney's tip on what specific thing you should try out with Astarion: When he's trying to get a "sneaky nibble" at night, you should "probably" let him bite you. Way ahead of you there, sir.

No discussion about Astarion's romance unfortunately, but that's that!

#bg3 #baldur's gate 3 #astarion #anyway ... after dragon age it feels so mindblowing to have writers who aren't apologists for their characters

[smalltown-babygirl]

I can’t even talk I have a Best Friend I’m in Love With™ voice and only recently did I become consciously aware of it

#do we know that Mike is conscious he has a will voice #I seriously don’t remember #I became aware of mine when I realized how I talk to her differently than my friends #and also just the nights I would spend obsessively thinking about her like (this isn’t normal it’s not normal to think about some this much) #dear reader this is what is commonly referred to as a crush #but I was convinced I was actually secretly jealous of her for *garbage disposal levels of incoherent* reason #actual thought process goes as follows: #brain: u think about her so much u must be jealous of her #me: yeah i guess I must be #but why am I jealous of her I really like her #brain: because she’s prettier than you and that means guys like her more #me: right right I’m following #so I want guys to like me! I want to be liked by guys #brain: wait what Ew no. can you imagine how much work that would be to get them to stop that would be INSANITY to wish that on urself #me: but ur right she’s so pretty (just……soprettylikehaveyouseenher???) i MUST be jealous of her (god I’m a terrible friend who would do this #to someone they supposedly cared enough about to be such close friends with. wtf im so evil) #brain: ur right. ur a terrible person and a terrible friend but if you tell her any of this she’ll think you’re a freak and then you’ll lose #her for real and she’ll probably be fine with it while you’ll be devastated #anyways (: it’s time to wake up sweetie (: /fin #look who’s oversharing in the tags again #personal posting #it’s really so funny how I can just recite this thought process almost automatically #it would happen ALL the time #anyways Ofc the real tea is I was actually jealous of her bfs/ guys who could confidently say they were attracted to her without shame and #the urge to fling themselves off the Brooklyn bridge #like it was so common for guys to be attracted to her it was just a given (to both of them tbh) and I went insane bcus I thought I was evil #when really I was just constantly enamored and going wow she’s so fucking hot #mind you this was happening pre 2015 so things were getting better but still not great (not gonna get into how things are now) but #let’s just say it was a joke that I was a lesbian before I ever ID’d for a reason and the joke was bcus lesbians are hot bcus men say so #anyways fuck high school fuck white cisheteropatriarchy and fucj internalized lesbo/homophobia. Godspeed and goodnight