its like. someone could say 'i wish there were more lunch options than peas in the school cafeteria i dont really like peas' (imaginary example) and i go yeah me neither. and then someone goes 'yeah peas suck' someone else goes 'they shouldnt even offer peas at all' 'honestly i cant imagine liking peas' 'people who like peas are weird!' 'if you like peas im going to assume you my moral enemy' and its like woah hey guys maybe im going to take a step to the pea likers side because this is getting weird

people are asking if this is about fandoms or about a specific line of discourse and i dont know how to tell you but any time a large group of people starts really angrily creating an imaginary devil in their mind ive made it a habit to step back and go 'now wait a minute' not as someone who has never done this but as someone who tries to learn from their mistakes

*digs through lecture notes*
ah okay so there’s “identity-based cognition” which is when people think “hey, people like me all believe this thing, maybe i should believe it too.” this is part of why it can be hard to have nuanced takes on things—cuz you don’t want your friends to think for even a second that you sound like Those Other People.

and there’s “surprising validators” which are like “wow, even [x] person believes this? well that means there’s something to it.” this is basically that “wait person who has otherwise good tastes in media but hates this one genre actually likes this piece of media within the genre? wait hangon it might be something special.”

so it could be an offshoot of one of these… no i’m certain it’s in here somewhere *keeps digging through notes*

AHA WAIT I FOUND IT—

“reactive devaluation” is the term for when you believe something, but then you find out terrible people also believe that and you go “hey you know what actually i changed my mind.” it’s NOT like the “heartbreaking: worst person you know just made a good point” meme because in that instance, you’re holding your dislike of that person and your belief in that point separately from each other and not letting them bleed together.

fun fact: the opposite of this is called “biased assimilation” and it’s when you’re more open to something you’d usually disagree with just cuz you like who’s saying it.

so yeah OP idk if you actually wanted an answer for what that thing would be called, but it’s “reactive devaluation.” it kinda sounds like it has a negative connotation cuz usually it’s got more of a “well i don’t like you so now i disagree on principle” kind of vibe rather than a “hey i know where this rhetoric can go and it’s dangerous so i’m gonna get out now” kinda vibe, which is sounds like you have. anyway hope this is interesting to someone

#TEMPORARY AND SMALL JOY IS STILL JOY NONETHELESS   (via smokeandsong)

(via @catcrumb)

Don’t Hesitate - Mary Oliver

@choasuqeen thanks for the tag!

10 fandoms/10 characters

1. Gray Yeon (Weak Hero)
2. Marinette Dupain Cheng (Miraculous Ladybug)
3. Nari Oh (Odd Girl Out)
4. Sokka (Avatar The Last Airbender)
5. Magda Gadek (5Worlds)
6. Serge (Disenchanted)
7. Blyke (UnOrdinary)
8. Iko (The Lunar Chronicles)
9. Jun Park (Lost In Translation)
10. Jang Hye Min (A Man's Man)

Tagging: @obby123 @skynapple @i-want-all-the-cookies

1. Katsuki Bakugou (My Hero Academia)
2. Anakin Skywalker (Star Wars)
3. Hiccup Haddock (How To Train Your Dragon)
4. Jason Todd (DC)
5. Jungkyook Yoo (Omniscient Reader)
6. Weiss Schnee (R. W. B. Y.)
7. Emma Swan (Once Upon A Time)
8. Artem Wing (Tears of Themis)
9. Elsa (Frozen) (I was never into the fandom she's just my favorite Disney character)
10. Tomoya Okazaki (Clannad)

Tagging: @silverstar15 @silver-and-shadow @redemptiionss @matriarchcomputer @a-lil-strawberry @luna-drinker

🤍@skynapple 🌠

1. Rose Tico (Star Wars)
2. Arya Stark (ASOIAF)
3. Carden Greenbriar (Folk of the Air)
4. Ochaco Uraraka (BNHA)
5. Inuyasha (Inuyasha)
6. Sumire Yoshizawa (Persona 5)
7. Carmy Berzatto (The Bear)
8. Kate Marsh (Life is Strange)
9. Faramir (Lord of the Rings)
10. Ruby Rose (RW/BY)

tagging: @mandatalks, @heathxledger, @wasteland-frenzy, @celestial-citrus, @unholy-punz, @celinou

In no particular order

1. Ulrich Stern - Code Lyoko
2. Ray - The Promised Neverland
3. Emma - The Promised Neverland
4. Marinette Dupain-Cheng - Miraculous Ladybug
5. Aragorn - Lord of the Rings
6. Axel - Kingdom Hearts
7. Elliot Augustine - The Way Home
8. Katara - Avatar The Last Airbender
9. Kyo Sohma - Fruits Basket
10. Link - The Legend of Zelda

I'll tag @thathilomgirl @sunheart @im-ichihime-trash @misscrazyfangirl321 @fairytale-lights and whoever else wants to

Thanks @mandatalks!

1. Mia Luna Tearmoon - Tearmoon Empire
2. Emma - The Promised Neverland
3. Tohru Honda - Fruits Basket
4. Taiyo Asano/Yozakura - Mission: Yozakura Family
5. Anya Forger - SPY X FAMILY
6. Kana Arima - Oshi no Ko
7. Himmel - Frieren: Beyond Journey's End
8. Miyu Suzuki - You and I Are Polar Opposites
9. Sawako Kuronuma - Kimi ni Todoke
10. Akane Osaki - Akane-banashi

Tagging @lauraagrace @thecagedsong @animepopheart @officersnickers @chidoroki

Thanks a lot for tagging me! 😘

1. Ray - The Promised Neverland
2. N - Pokémon Black and White
3. Black - Pokémon Adventures Manga
4. Scar - Fullmetal Alchemist
5. Zuko - Avatar: The Last Airbender
6. Tarrlok - The Legend of Korra
7. Yuri Petrov - Tiger and Bunny
8. Belos - The Owl House
9. Prince Sidon - The Legend of Zelda
10. Rex Goodwin - Yu-Gi-Oh 5D's

How about tagging @fullscoreshenanigans, @emmaspolaroid, @calamitaswrath, @sepiamestus and @lonely-cereal?

1. Ray - The Promised Neverland
2. Katara - Avatar: The Last Airbender
3. Haruhi Fujioka - Ouran High School Host Club
4. Kenzo Tenma - Naoki Urasawa's Monster
5. Python - Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia
6. Olrox - Castlevania Nocturne
7. Grace Monroe - Infinity Train
8. Mabel Pines - Gravity Falls
9. Huey Freeman - The Boondocks
10. Dale Cooper - Twin Peaks

Tagging @1000sunnygo, @darklight-owl, @esthelle18, @mintypsii, @najuwu, @pookieskims, @questiontocertaintyofreality, @relatable-books, @silentstudiosyt, @vobomon, @whywoulditho

Uooh first in tags? I feel special 👁️✨

Norman - The Promised Neverland

Originally posted by mido-kun

Luffy - One Piece

Originally posted by fallinblossoms

Solomon Goldsmith - Blood+

Originally posted by iabius

Raven - Teen titans

Hyuga Neji - Naruto

Originally posted by reallysaltykou

Kita Shinsuke - Haikyuu

Originally posted by suugawarakoushi

Kon Rei - Beyblade OG trilogy

Originally posted by baebyblade

L - Death Note

Originally posted by mrsawkotaco

Urie kuki - Tokyo ghoul:re

Originally posted by just-a-fanvergent-fangirl-deact

Makima - CSM

Originally posted by reehlia

I don't think it's an accurate "characters that interest me most" list lol half of it was decided based on the first two gifs

Tagging @najuwu , @esthelle18 , @standreamy, @chromatic-lamina, @cirkkaa, @enelprinceofthemoon, @remyoka

Thanks for both tags!! 😊

In no particular order:

1. Pippin Took — The Lord of the Rings

2. Fiver — Watership Down

3. Alphonse Elric — Fullmetal Alchemist

4. Norman — The Promised Neverland

5. John Segundus — Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell

6. Igawa Emi — Your Lie In April

7. Mole — The Wind In the Willows

8. Reynie Muldoon — The Mysterious Benedict Society

9. Armin Arlert — Attack on Titan

10. Sugawara Koushi — Haikyuu!

Edit: I remembered “The Moorchild” probably doesn’t have much of a fandom, so I had to replace Saaski.

Tagging @cosmicepithet @holbytlanna @sailforvalinor @sky-squido @frodo-with-glasses @star-ocean-peahen @weirdoldmanhoho @bokettochild @tired-sky-lian @telemna-hyelle

oh dear am i even in this many fandoms? Thankfully, I recently re-experienced a bunch of old favorite media. (thank you for the tag, esthelle!! some high quality picks up there :D)

also how dare you make me pick only one character per fandom this is agony favorite characters must come in pairs and trios do you understand me

1. Wind (LinkedUniverse)
2. Caleb Widogast (Critical Role Campaign 2)
3. Cerrit Agrupnin (EXU: Calamity)
4. Riza Hawkeye (Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood)
5. Toph Beifong (Avatar: The Last Airbender)
6. Merlin (Merlin BBC)
7. Robin/Avatar/Player Character (Fire Emblem: Awakening)
8. Sadie Kane (The Kane Chronicles)
9. Ryosuke Takahashi (Initial D)
10. Alm (Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia)

That was surprisingly hard!!

@nutmegs-tired @klesek @discatded @kate-m-art there’s definitely more but i’m eepy so go wild friends

Right?

The guy does genuinely have a good heart. I think the general idea is that he's somewhat bitter fro his adventures, but even just looking at those (as @squidos-goodies pointed out) he clearly had fun for PARTS of his adventures

The fact that Twilight labels him as a bully in the early comics is more an indicator of Twilight's initial impressions, which Sky refutes shortly after to point out that "he just does't give a second thought about his attitude" which is true!

Legend's not mean, he's just guarded. And guarded people, people who are wary of losing or getting attached, are likely to sow their rougher sides with little care for the effect because 'it's not like they're going to get attached anyway, so why put in the extra effort?'

Legend genuinely cares for his fellow heroes. Please look at any time anything bad happens to one of them! He's there, worried, offering help, maybe panicking, but he clearly cares. Legend's issue isn't that he's a jerk, it's that he doesn't trust easily.

I will be blunt: Legend displays the common behaviors of a person who is used to being self-reliant, used to being hurt, used to losing, used to being used. Legend is defensive, wary, and avoids discussing himself or is own feelings and instead uses humor and snark as a way to redirect and hide how he actually feels. He's probably a huge softy behind all the thorns, but he's also scared of being used, of being betrayed, of being hurt; be it by someone or through the loss of that person. He's putting up barriers and distancing himself from people that, yeah, he loves, but who also are capable of hurting him in ways they can't even imagine.

He's harsh because it's easier and because if they can't handle him as his raw and real, then why waste his energy being nice?

On that note though, he's not mean, he knows his boundaries. He messes around, but he's not mean. He teases, snarks, and makes jokes about the others, but that's just the way guys are! He knows when a joke goes too far though, and when to pull back and stop because this isn't just fun and games, there are times when it might actually hurt someone (Mipha's journal) and he needs to pull up and make it right, to offer something more genuine instead.

Legend's not an ass, he's just not yet comfortable enough to be vulnerable and honest without magical hijinks forcing him to.

^ this absolutely accurately and concisely explains the fandom interpretation of his character—that is, why the character that exists in fandom behaves the way he does on a psychological level.

op’s question is also about how people got This Guy from Those Games. a big part of it is character drift due to detachment from the source material. most people in the LU fandom haven’t played all of legend’s games. i’m on the more prolific side, having played nearly all the 3D zeldas to completion and many of the 2D zeldas, and still haven’t played most of his games (he has so many!!). if someone’s only played one of his games, unless they’re a real fandom veteran, it’s gonna be link’s awakening, because it’s on switch and a recent release.

link’s awakening. you know. the really sad one. this is most people’s only insight into his life. people play this game and think “woah he got struck by lighting out at sea and almost died?! and his cute, sweet, funny, girlfriend wasn’t even real?! that’s so cruel!! and WAIT this little kid saved the world three whole times before he had to go through this? he must have suffered so much.” this gets especially exacerbated with the perception that older zelda games are harder, so it makes it adventures seem scarier and more grimdark than they really were.

i remember explaining to my brother, who’s played all the zelda games and doesn’t engage in fandom at all, what legend’s personality was like in LU fanon, and i remember him getting almost upset about it. he was like “he’s just a funky little guy! my funky little dude!! we had adventures together!!!!” that interaction with him is actually a big reason why i write legend as in love with his adventures as i do. i do still write him tinged with a deep sadness, as he has undoubtedly experienced hardship, but i write all of the boys that way, as i think it makes for more compelling characters.

i think every link’s characterization in LU canon has necessary deviations and extrapolations from the source material. if i recall correctly, jojo mentioned at some point that she wanted more diversity in personality so it wasn’t literally the exact same guy nine times. so we already have that divergence from the source material (and divergences from the source material aren’t inherently bad! i know i’ve taken my fair share of liberties, too). if we add on top of that people who have read LU without having played many of the games, especially legend’s, which is probably most people, and then add to that the people who read more fanfiction than they do LU canon (entirely justifiable because there’s so much more fanon than canon at this point), you basically end up with a long game of telephone, where legend’s character falls a little more out of touch with his games with every step.

there are a lot of different characterizations for legend, and honestly a lot of them are fairly hit-or-miss for me. i’ve also read plenty of fics about a really interesting and well-developed character who happens to be named legend, but just isn’t That Guy from Those Games.

honestly, if people have recs for fics with a more optimistic/lighthearted legend, i am SO DOWN because he’s undeniably one of my favorite lads and last time i looked, it felt like i’d already read everything that wrote him the way i like.

and obligatory disclaimer that there is no Objective Wrong Way to write legend. there are ways that i feel are more accurate to the source material and there are ways i personally enjoy reading more but like none of these things have any moral value. it’s fanfiction; it’s the wild west—follow ur dreams, kids.

@quiddie i drew your girl!! laerynn is so much of why exu calamity is what it is and she means so much to me so thank you for creating this wonderful, insane, brilliant, sassy, hubristic, deeply loving purple wizard. she will be remembered forever, maybe not by the history of exandria, but certainly by us. It happened and it mattered. she mattered. brb gonna go back to crying about her