Author: Danny Freels

In any situation, under any circumstance, I'd rather be loud and incorrect over being silent and right. I'd rather speak loudly when I do, in the case someone needs to hear it - If a correction needs to be made or not. There is a special comfort in having your own thoughts, but a greater connection in sharing that thought with another. Everything you encounter may not be magical, it may not be loving, or it may not be kind. That's not to say everything is ugly; However, if we shy away from what is we will never notice how full up of the good we feel when we do find it. I've devoted myself to telling the ugly the same way I would tell the kind, for the selfish reason of enjoying it that much more when I encounter it. I share that story, that thought of my selfishness, in case I happen to be loud and right.

Life of an Aromantic

I don’t really know what to do for this blog, and I’ve been mulling it over for a few days, so I decided. Hey. Let me talk about myself!! I like doing that.

I hate to say something like “the world revolves around romance” or “all everyone ever thinks about is boys/girls” because, while that may be true, it kind of doesn’t reflect my experiance as a person. It’s a quick way to say that I don’t like hearing about romance, I guess. I just don’t agree with putting people who experiance romantic attraction down and suggest they’re childish or stupid for feeling that way and wanting to be loved.

With today’s current culture the world does very much revolve around love. Which is a cute thought, at first, until you realize it’s not so much of “love” and more of “lets tell little girls that the only way they’ll ever be something is if they’re loveable, and tell little boys that the only way they’ll ever be something is if they can provide and protect” and other gender expectations that are just… weird. Throw in a little purity culture, other gender stereotypes, beauty standards, mix it all together then you get, and I am REALLY dumbing this down to not include queer dating culture just yet, girls who don’t feel like they’re enough and boys who feel like they could do better. Or, sometimes, vice versa. The world a little bit revolves around who’s dating who, and it doesn’t so much as make me uncomfortable as much as it makes me sad. I’ve seen people I genuinely love and care about go to extremes because they dug a hole for themselves and now they’re not the same person I knew three weeks ago.

I’ve had people tell me that I just “wouldn’t understand” and that I should “stop talking about something you’ll never experiance” which, ouch. I don’t feel romantic attraction, but that doesn’t mean I’m incapable of loving people. I just don’t really get the hype about finding someone to date, I guess? I joke a lot, and I can say i’ve been influenced to feel like I can only have “the one” and like???? ???? I won’t be correct unless I have someone who loves ME, who wants to date ME, ect. I guess that’s just me being greedy or idk.

I don’t really understand the whole actively look for someone to date thing, i’m gonna be so honest. It confuses me when i meet people and they only talk about people they find hot, or pretty, or want to date. It frustrates me when i see my friends genuinely being upset, angry, pushing people away, then hurting themselves because of someone else not liking them. I genuinely had a friend come to me and say “no one loves me, no one has ever loved me”. I told her i loved her and she told me “That’s not the same.” and i just dont get it. How is it not the same? Whats the difference between romantic and platonic affection? The only way i’ve seen it is that it’s socially acceptable to kiss a romantic partner and not a platonic. Other than that i don’t have a clue. Why do people talk to date and not talk to be friends? Am i crazy? It makes me FEEL crazy every time someone talks about it, so i just avoid the subject.

Whichhhhhh is why I’m so happy with the Aromantic label. I’m fine with a romantic relationship, great with one, even, but the queer community is a diverse place with lots of people who feel the same or similar ways and it’s so, so fun. I’m not going to go into a bunch of detail on different terms, but i found one that kind of just sums up my experience with somehow (????) convincing myself REGULARLY that i have a crush on people, when i definitely do NOT.

The term is “squish”, and it’s like the aromantic version of a crush. Crushes are when you want to be closer to date someone and a squish is that but “I REALLY want to be that person’s friend.” And i get that soooo much. If anyone has had a conversation with me i promise that I’ve mentioned like 5 people that i think i talk about like i’m a little insane and i SWEAR im not it’s just i really really wanna be their friend!!!

That’s enough of that, because i’m sleepy and writing this superrr late because i forgot to in class, so kiss kiss!!!!!! And i’ll see about like actually posting something informational next time we have blogs

Who is Aphrodite?

Aphrodite, her name meaning “from the seafoam”, is the Greek goddess of love, beauty, passion, pleasure, lust, among other things. She is a fiercely protective deity, a majority of her myths relating to protecting her children and guiding them.

As you can probably guess, her birth was from seafoam. I believe everyone has seen “The Birth of Venus” by Sandro Botticelli, a painting in which a beautiful woman rises nude from a seashell.

Well, yep. This is the birth of Venus, Aphrodite’s Roman variant. The birth story, and overall creation myth, is typically the same between the two groups. No standing on chairs or shedding genuine tears this week, guys.

Aphrodite’s birth is one that I enjoy a lot, but it has quite a bit of misconception around it. In Hesiod’s account, Aphrodite was born when Kronos castrated his father, Uranus. There was this whole thing with the Titans holding the primordial beings’ legs and arms, while taking a scythe and yada yada yada. Not important. What is important is that when they were done doing the do Kronos, this big genius, threw the separated bits into the ocean. The blood of a primordial being (and in some version other excretions as well) mixed with seafoam and ocean water and boom! We got a goddess of beauty!

(This I really like, because literal BEAUTY and LOVE came from a guy’s junk being cut off. More specifically blood from a violent, necessary act mixing with another primordial force.. Greek Mythology is so chaotic and then such good things, like the mother of eros, THE god of love, come out of it.)

Well, we technically got her a long time after that. Some myths suggest that she was actually residing in the ocean for a long time, which would make sense. She needs time to mature, because like she was still born at some point, just like the goddess Athena (though where Athena got her armor is beyond me). She was born during the time in which Kronos overthrew his father, but there is a long time between that and Zeus throwing over his father. Theres a lot of dads eating their kids in Greek mythology. Seriously. Like it happens a LOT.

Aphrodite actually spent a long time in the ocean, even after the Olympian gods were like.. coming into power??? Question mark question mark question mark??? Look I never claimed to be an expert (don’t listen to anything Nick says). There is a myth around the early days of the Olympian gods’ rule, before they became the Olympians, that goes something like Poseidon had a lover Nerites, a young sea-god. He was also known as Poseidon’s charioteer, or the guy that drove him around. In other versions of his myth he was a lover of Aphrodite (potentially he was both), who refused to go with her when she was invited to Olympus. Which, she only really rose from the seafoam WHEN she was invited. Both versions of Nerites’ myth ends with him being turned in to THE first shellfish, though in his myth where he is the lover of Poseidon (because the gods were raging bisexuals, the lot of them) the god of requited love was actually born from.. their love. I guess. In other myths Anteros, the God of requited love and avenger of unrequited love, is a child of Aphrodite and Ares.

(This is like THE statue of Poseidon btw)

Nerite Snails: Your Guide To Lifespan, Care, And Reproduction | SnailPedia

(NERITEs was turned into a NERITE snail i actually havent ever seen any pictures of the snail he was turned into this is great)

While, yes, she did rise fully grown from the seafoam (it would be weird if the incarnation of pleasure and sex rose from the ocean as a child, would it not?) she actually spent quite a bit of time in the sea, and there are several myths involving her IN the sea. Love my girl. Aphrodite you mean so much to me. That’s this week’s blog, I SWEAR I’ll get back to the ATLA blogs soon guys I miss them Greek mythology is driving me insane

Greek Mythology (again) and acceptable ways to get into it through different medias!!

Greek mythology is my special interest, and I’m okay to admit that now. I remember when I first heard about it, I was probably six or seven and had just watched that horrendous Percy Jackson movie with my mom. I then, somehow, got my grubby little paws on a device and googled the only name I really remembered: Athena.

This opened a whole world for me to explore, with things that happened over two thousand years ago that I never thought could exist! There were multiple gods that I was introduced to, hundred of stories and names and places and even animals to learn about and experience and I was excited. I then remember my teacher, Mrs. Young from East Flora, asking my pathways class “what do you want to learn about?”

I had the conscious thought, then. “I can’t teach this to myself.” I knew that I would need to have someone else guide me and tell me who, what, when, where, etc. So, I suggested we learn about Greek Mythology. She loved the idea, and so for the next two months we studied different (age appropriate) myths, built The Parthenon out of toilet paper rolls and masking tape, learned names and correlations, we even looked a little bit into the stars and constellations!

I’m extremely thankful to my teacher, then. I’m glad there was an adult who asked what I wanted to learn, instead of teaching me what she was told to. I had an amazing gateway to Greek Mythology, even if the original source wasn’t so good. So today I want to talk about good, acceptable sources for younger kids to get into Greek mythology, and a few good ways I’ve expanded my knowledge of it as I’ve gotten older.

First and foremost: Percy Jackson

When talking about Greek Mythology in media, Percy Jackson is the first place my brain goes to. It has wonderful modern adaptations of the Gods into an easy to digest, true-to-myth form. The intepretaions of each god that Rick portrays is almost always interesting, fun, and doesn’t take away from the original concept of each god. While in the first series Rick does make some.. choice mistakes, especially regarding the myth of Medusa, he manages to fix his mistakes in a way that doesn’t completely override any horrible storyline.

Percy Jackon, a young boy and the demigod son of Poseidon, is ~~being hunted by~~ called by Mount Olympus and the Olympian Gods, as Zeus’ weapon, the lightning bolt, is missing; They believe he is the thief, when he didn’t even know that he was a demigod until, like, a week before. This book, and the following books, explores Percy’s story in navigating familiar and unfamiliar myths (Some I hadn’t even heard of until I read the books when I was fourteen!)

Overall, the series is one of my favorites. As a gateway into further interest in Greek Mythology all one has to do is consider that his is a children’s book and has to be dumbed down or explained differently for entertainment purposes. 10/10.

Second: The Song of Achillies (And other works by Madeline Miller)

Madeline Miller is such a talented author, from her writing style to how well she captures the parts of myths that we don’t really see. It’s true that we have little, if any, information on Circe besides what is gathered within the Odyssey, even though she is a recurring figure throughout several myths. Consider Madeline Miller’s work as a sort of in-between, and an amazing one at that. Her storytelling with the upbringing of Patroclus is so beautifully told, especially since he is a figure often overlooked despite being so pivotal for Achillies’ story in the Iliad. With both of her books being a kind of in-between, it is entirely possible to read them and get into Greek Mythology that way, by exploring three characters deeply then going into the much broader myths.. even if the ending of Circe is quite odd. Her books are such a creative take on the Iliad and a telling of Circe’s story that I will always ALWAYS recommend these books to people. 10/10

Third: EPIC THE MUSICAL

Just like the last section, Epic the Musical is written and directed (? I’m not sure, I don’t know musicals or music in general) Jorge Rivera-Herrans, which released over two years, each song coming out one at a time from 2022 through to 2024. The musical follows Odysseus, using wonderful modern storytelling to re-tell the odyssey in way it’s meant to be told. I genuinely have no words for how good this musical is. The only complaint I have about it is that, well, Odysseus does cheat on his wife. Sorry not sorry. Greeks had much different standards than we do today.

That being said, I have NOT touched on some of the.. worse ways people have gotten into greek mythology cough Lore Olympus cough cough really bad webtoon cough cough ANYWAYS!!!!!

This is the end of the blog!!! I hope everyone has a wonderful week!! If anyone else likes Greek mythology, how did you discover it? and let me know if you’d want to learn anything about Greek mythology because I know TOO much!!! Blog ideas are welcomed because I need them, lol.

Greek vs. Roman Mythology

Okay, I lied. I said in my last blog post that I was going to continue my incoherent ramblings about Katara and Avatar: The Last Airbender as a whole, but I’ve decided that i need to get something out of the way instead, which is how i feel about Greek Mythology and Roman Mythology.

Anyone who’s had more than one conversation with me might be aware of how passionate I get over a certain empire, which starts with R and ends with oman. I’ve been known to yell, hit things, stand in chairs, and leave groupchats in the past. Is it that serious? No. Do i care? Also no!!

(There is, quite literally, a running gag between my friends to randomly text me “The Romans” and watch to see how mad I get — it has been described as a trigger word of mine multiple times)

Roman Mythology and Greek Mythology are often used interchangeably, like they are counterparts or equals. Now, do not get me wrong. Roman mythology (though i know nothing about it besides the creation myth) is just as complex, but in the end, they ARE separate things. This is just information off of the top of my head, mostly from my understanding of greek mythology and how it differs from roman mythology in those big ways that MEAN something. Even though they were adjacent (watch me make myself mad) they are NOT the same, most importantly in how they portray certain gods.

Am i going to start talking about myths? No! I dont know anything about them, and if i refuse to learn more than what is absolutely necessary (Read: I’m too lazy.) I do, however, know about the pantheon itself.

The Greek pantheon was very heavily focused on “Hey, you guys are messed up, but we’re MORE messed up, so be scared of us.” The Greeks, with what their pantheon represented, was very arts and emotions focused. They interpret things like hubris, defiance against the gods, lust, ect. Hubris is a big one, most commonly portrayed with Achillies. He believed that he could live, and deny the fate which was set out for him, if he avoided following his whole prophecy “ur gonna die bro” thing. The gods didn’t like that!!

The greeks were very insistent on their idea of fate, which is what most myths follow. Gods deliver a prophecy, the guy who’s the butt of the joke in the prophecy tries to avoid prophecy, ends up butt of the joke. (Seriously, you think they’d stop warning them, right?)

The romans are different. Extremely different. Again, this is my throwaway “here’s what i think 🤓☝️!!!” because i admit that i do not know that much about roman mythology, entirely because it makes me so upset. Many myths from Greek times are so Romanized we get left with our current version of Medusa, who, in the original myth, was born a gorgon. Or Achillies, who, in his original myth, never had invulnerability. He was just quick yall..

The romans were very victory, war, order and rule-based, rather than the emotional and theatrical Greeks. This is best portrayed by their goddess of love, Venus. She represented, obviously, love; beauty; prosperity; fertility; and VICTORY. She also mothered Aeneas, who is a direct ancestor of the founders of rome. Romans held her in such a high regard because of this. They had a goddess literally named victory and they still worshiped her and prayed to her in hopes of a victory in battle. Her greek counterpart(??? cousin. They’re cousins now.) Her greek cousin, Aphrodite, more so represents Beauty, (beauty over love, that’s important) Love, PLEASURE, and procreation. See how those differ? Similar, but important differences.

None of this is even mentioning MYCENEAN Greece (dear gods, Mycenean Greece :/) which had nearly *checks notes* 600 years of a nearly entirely different pantheon that the Classical greek pantheon is based on, plus those 200 or so years of the greek dark ages? There’s just so much more rich, complex history behind the greek pantheon. And, yes, the romans were heavily influenced; And, yes, they carry a lot of similarities. However, the romans were after, with influence from more places than the greeks had. It’s kind of like when you take a character from a show and change him so much that he’s pretty much an OC now and you could write your own story with it and no one would ever notice.

Okay, this is getting long but i am also talking about my special interest (greek mythology) and my special dislike (roman mythology) and i haven’t gotten up and screamed from the rooftops yet, so i’m doing better than i normally would. She’s getting long, so i’ll see you next week!!!! I will (likely) either be speaking on the same topic or going back to Avatar.. undecided. Kiss kiss!! Byee!!

Katara: A Character Study

Katara: A Character Study (Likely pt. 1)

It is 12:47am on 8/25/25 and I am exactly 16:00 minutes into “The Avatar Returns” from Avatar: The Last Airbender. I had an entire blog post typed up about Katara and her character and how some choices made by writers and how they chose to continue her story in later series (Ex: The Legend of Korra) doesn’t make sense with where they took her development in the original series. That, however, was lost between the three computers I’ve signed in on because my Microsoft account hates me, so I’m restarting. This is gonna get really (really) hypothetical and I’m gonna sound insane, but I chugged a monster from like 3pm to 4pm and im not sleeping until at least tomorrow night and I have things to say about pretty girl. (Correction: I fell asleep at 2:45)

Katara is the last waterbender from the Southern Water Tribe, which (allegedly) used to be much bigger, much more lively, and much better as a whole before the hundred-year war began. That, however, kind of a little bit, was not the case in the state we find the Southern Water Tribe. The state we find her in is a few tents, a shoddy wall made of packed ice, and a (likely) hastily built watch tower with poor structural integrity. The Southern Water Tribe is made up of women and young children, the only “suitable” warrior being a 16 year old motherless boy with an ego issue. So, honestly, not a lot. A far cry from the assumed prestige one of the two water tribes may have had, especially considering how it is seen in the next series and compared to the Northern Water Tribe. I don’t care to explain the tribe in further detail, so I’m going to carry on with my study.

Before

after

The story follows along with brother and sister Sokka, the 16 year old with an ego issue, and Katara after they discover a boy frozen in an iceberg. In the first episode this boy, Aang, is revealed to be destined to save the world or.. something. Don’t ask me, I’ve only seen it four (five-ish) times.

In the first episode Katara, who is the voice narrating the opening, is set up very early to have a major supporting role within the show. (Since this is not a summary of the show as a whole, I’m going to not talk about the show anymore or else I will be renaming this blog to “How Avatar: The Last Airbender is a cinematic masterpiece and can do no wrong.”) Katara is depicted as dominantly motherly throughout the series, but she is also warm, deeply responsible, stubborn with a deep desire to be independet, and overall compassionate.

(Not at all bringing up later characterizations throughout the series, where she becomes so fiercely protective of team avatar, even vengeful at some point. Pictured above is her dressed as The Painted Lady, arguably one of her most compassionate moments throughout the series)

Katara, set up from the very beginning is more compasionate than Sokka. He’s expressed as paranoid, misogynistic, self-absorbed, practical – overall someone, upon first meeting, you’d assume is pretty reasonable. I, however, would not trust him with my drink. Not like he’d do anything bad but he’d straight forget who’s drink it was and chug it on his own. He’s stubborn, he’s selfish, out for his own self-interest, and a few other words I may not be able to post to my blog. Compassion, if i had to name HER character trait, would be the first thing to come to mind.

She takes the place of her mother at such a young age, essentially becoming that in Sokka’s eyes. There are dozens of times that she puts someone else before herself, even if she’s being manipulated or believes she can’t do it. She is single-handedly holding team avatar together in the desert. And, hear me out, just like waterbending. “Woah!! Danny’s pointing out something they don’t shut up about in the show (they never bring it up in THIS series, let me cook (the kitchen is burning))!!” I can go on forever about how each of the benders and even non-benders have a personality that perfectly represents them and their bending technique… so I will!! That’s why I have a blog!! (Look out for me yelling about how scrappy and resourceful Sokka is in like a week or so)

Waterbending is very insistent on the ebb and flow of things. Two fish circling each other, Yin and Yang, pushing and pulling, high tide and low tide, even the moon and the waves. They’re all waterbending, all the original sources of it. Humans were taught waterbending by the moon, inspired by the way she pushed and pulled at the ocean. This sounds peaceful, but where there is good there must be something disruptive. This is perfectly displayed in Katara’s character, because just like she is motherly and helpful and compassionate she’s also got a temper, she’s stubborn, and she’s determined. I sound insane. Don’t make me backtrack again, decent outline danny. (Little does no outline danny know, decent outline danny is rocking back and forth, waiting to be let out of circus jail. He will not be let out of circus jail. Why am I talking to myself???)

Waterbending is dependent on grabbing energy and not so much controlling it but shifting it. Thinks something similar to a scale, like the one lady justice holds. You want the water to go here so you shift your entire body with it, right? Kind of like a literal push and pull. Anyone who’s seen The Northern Water Tribe parts 1 & 2 know what I’m talking about. If you don’t just nod and pretend you do. The fact Katara is a waterbender does shape her personality, just like it does with Toph and Aang, and even the fact that Sokka isnt a bender. She reasons but, ultimately, chooses her emotions over rational or “i can’t do it” thoughts.

There are two events where i think Katara shows the most compassion, and all three relate to Firebenders. She hates firebenders. One killed her mother and she believes them, for a long time, to be the cause of all of her problems. (which.. yeah) But she still recognizes when people need help. She, as the painted lady, aids a village of sickly and starving fire nation civilians by liberating them from a nearby metals factory. This threw them off by days, could have made them late, and they barely even had the supplies to feed themselves; however, people needed her help and she couldn’t abandon them.

The next event is when she, wracked by grief over her late mother, searches for and finds the fire nation officer who killed her with the help of zuko. That’s a whole other story for a whole other blog post, but in the end she decides to spare his life.

Okay, I’m getting off track. I’m also getting to long. I’m going to end this here and leave my actually organized notes on the benders and how their personalities are in relation to that for next week. Hmmmm. Hmmmmmm. Hmmmmm. (This got deleted halfway though writing it and only like half of it got saved so this is gibberish and I’m SO sorry)

I’m going to try and break up any further blogs on her into arcs, even if it’s just an arc explored over a single episode (Jet, for example) then probably follow it with my favs in order (SOKKA THEN ZUKO RAAAAGGHHHHH)

Yelling about Mischaracterization Pt. 2

Helloo!! I’m not done being mad!!

This is a direct continuation of my last blog post, in which I talked about mischaracterization and/or misperception within fandom spaces and common things I see which I hate. If you haven’t seen that one, go look at it!! This isn’t self advertising!!! Trust!!!! If I add more exclamation points you may believe me!!!!!!!!

Horrible Four: I cry!!! I feel emotions!!! BLAME ME FOR IT!!!!

We all know that character, we all have one as a favorite – he or she may be our favorite character, but every time we see them drawn or in any sort of fan content they’re reduced to a singular emotional aspect of themselves, whether it be that they cry a lot, or they’re motherly, or they’re angry.. I was going to put Izuku Midoriya in here, but his face was staring at me the entire time I was writing this and it got unsettling.

No one knows you like i know you, Katara. No one.

Believe it or not women are allowed to feel things, and no it doesnt make them hysterical!! Guys it’s 2025!! we’re better than this!! She’s a character who is bad at forgiving people and holds a grudge, she’s not evil and she, believe it or not, doesn’t beat people with sticks!! Hope this helps!!

Yellowjackets Cast

Okay. Yeah. I know.

Here’s the one where I’ll actually comment, okay. Yellowjackets.. while it’s impossible to excuse half of the things that happen, you have to think about the fact these are teenage girls with a literal sociopath being the only one with survival skills. Enough Said. “They ___ though!!” I literally haven’t seen the show all the way through and I hate them all so much. (I’m talking about the girls when they’re younger. NOTHING justifies what happens when they’re older i DONT care)

This one is technically a joint with what was going to be #5. “Oh btw i have mental illness,” In which characters are reduced to having one mental disorder of the other.

In Yellowjackets there is a character, Lottie, who has Schizophrenia. People blame her for the happenings of the story, but honestly.. Lottie, girl. Lottie my diva.

Type Five: Oh btw I have [insert disability/mental illness]

This one can go for a lot of characters. Characters in Arcane ranging from Jinx to Viktor, they’re ALWAYS reduced to some infantilized version of themselves. Or they’re evil or something.

The main problem I have with this is that it reflects really badly in real life on people with this disability/disorder. While representation is SO important, for all kinds of things, for so many reasons. (Take Cho Hyun-ju, or player 120 from squid games as example of how media representation went well) sometimes characters are reduced to JUST that aspect. If you portray every character with Bipolar Disorder the same (as erratic, out of control, violent, and crying all the time) then people really aren’t going to know that’s not what the disorder is. The same thing with schizophrenia, or even physical disabilities like mobility disorders. If you depict people with something and THEN throw a bad stereotype on top of it then you’re just strengthening that stereotype!! Don’t!!!

Jinx Arcane Mobile Animated Wallpaper

Type Six: Everyone’s type, apparently (I’m boring but at least I’m cool (looking))

This applies to just having a nice cohesive design, like with half the background ponies in My Little Pony. When I ask your favorite the most out of the way better be, like, Apple Bloom. I don’t want to hear something about Sparkle Wing who has two sentences as her Wikipedia page.

Other than that?

Sleachta Daryl Dixon

Daryl Dixon.

He wasn’t even in the comics. He wasn’t important at all in the first few seasons. I had more interest in a hundred other characters before him (Me when i lie). He became popular in the 5th season, due to high demand and likability from fans.. Maybe i’m a bit guilty for this one, and it’s redeemed since he did get his own seat as part of the main cast later on, and even his own show. (Even if that show isn’t exactly good.

Honorable mentions: Moost of the Aftons. I was genuinely convinced when getting into five nights at freddy’s that there would be any amount of real lore on these people, but no. Yall really took it and ran. After that is Kieran Duffy from Red Dead Redemption 2, who i am also guilty over.

That is all of the possible things I could think of and this is all I’ve thought about for two weeks.. mmmm… I’m not driving myself insane for no reason so yay!! We’re through!! Any other things you see or know or want to share please tell me about it because characterization is VERY important to me!!! I have so much to say about all of these characters and I fear I cannot articulate those words onto a page so if I said anything wrong or in a way that didn’t make sense I LOVE feedback !!! Have a nice day <333

My next few blogs will probably be character studies on a few i’ve mentioned here (cough karara cough WHOOOO SAID THAT) because i love them and no one knows them like i know them (katara mmmm…. mmmm….)

First Post – Mischaracterization in Fandom Spaces

( !! Spoilers for the Percy Jackson Series, The Owl House, The Walking Dead, Avatar: The Last Airbender… honestly, just proceed with caution. !!)

When I think of Fandom spaces one of the first things I think of is how certain characters (. As complex or as single-faceted as they may be) may be handled. I’ve seen genuine strong, complex, and dangerous female leads be reduced to a forced romantic subplot or over explained to the point she’s just some 13-year old’s new oc. I’ve seen simple, nearly background, male characters be forced into spotlight, and for what? He’s got no flavor! Nothing exciting! He’s just a random white guy with brown hair, there’s no substance! Why is he everyone’s favorite!?

Now, don’t get me wrong. Mischaracterization can be displayed in a lot of ways, not only complex characters being reduced or boring characters being elevated (for what? He’s hot??). Sometimes it can be something as small as, say, people latching onto the fact a character cries a lot and reducing them to something weak, unworthy, or annoying. Or an annoying character being bad. A lot of the time, I’ve seen, it’s just someone taking a character so far away from their original plot that It’s not even the same guy anymore!

What is mischaracterization?

Mischaracterization is the incorrect portrayal or description of something. When a character is thought of in a way that is not intended by the original author. See, this is different from the instance of Misperception, which I find may directly lead to and be caused by Mischaracterization. Do I have to explain the correlation between the two? No. Do I want to? Also no. I still want to, so you guys are getting a link.

I’m SOOO good at explaining things, I know. A whole external link explaining my argument, and I’m continuing to use the term Mischaracterization when it’s clearly misperception that I’m thinking about.

Is Mischaracterization/Misperception the end of the world? In most cases, No. Not at all. Get over it. Except I can’t get over things, and it is the end of the world! Yay!!

What are you even talking about right now, dude?

Good question! I’ve no clue! Joking, joking. This blog is basically the types of mischaracterizations that I see a lot in FANDOM spaces. Heavvyy emphasis on FANDOM spaces.

The first, worst type: He’s bisexual I didn’t know that

I do think this one is the end of the world, yeah. I can get all into how we treat queer men in media as if they’re lesser, and how we portray them as extremely feminine in fandom spaces and how that draws back to societies perception of men and masculinity; however, I’m not going to do that. I prefer keeping this brief (I say at 564 words), so I’ll yell about it some other time.

(Flip this coin: How queer women are treated in media, and how fandom spaces deal with that like it doesn’t matter as much or they force one party into a masculine role, because women can’t possibly be taken seriously.)

The first character that comes to mind is Nico di Angelo. He’s so badly misperceived by fans that I honestly don’t even know how to characterize him myself. Thanks for that one, Rick.

Sorry i just wanted to put a picture of him. Anyways.

He has this incredibly complex character with so many ties to literal fascist Italy (???) with complex storylines and arcs!! Oh and by the way, He just so happens to be queer. “So this means he can be reduced to a blushing hyper-feminine queer teenager?” Uh??????? No????? Can we touch on the terrible, terrible religious guilt he feels?? ??? ?????? (A few more question marks for emphasis, ??????????)

Honorable mention of Jack Twist, the most criminal instance of a character being reduced to their queerness and stripped of all other sort of personality. He’s so much more than what people claim. ILY Jack Nasty. <33

Second, Tragically: OH EM GOSH, ROMANCE!!!

Powerful Women with forced romantic subplots.

KATARA, BABY! RUN GIRL!! RUNN!!

I will always be a hater of their entire romance thing. Sorry not sorry (extra not sorry). This isn’t even from he fandom, since the WRITERS THEMSELVES did it and it just does not make sense for her character. Not saying powerful women can’t have romance in their lives, but the entire subplot was so forced. It was just an excuse for the “Beats the bad guy, gets the girl” trope. Horrible. 0/10. to the chopping block with you.

Okay, okay. I can’t do much about what the writers did, because in the end that’s what happened. I can however complain. And I’m choosing to complain about how the fans, somehow, reduce her ENTIRELY to a motherly friend and Aang’s girlfriend. free her. free her from her prison.

Another few characters worth nothing are Maggie Rhee from The Walking Dead, Mary Linton from Red Dead Redemption 2, and Katniss everdeen.

(Honorable mention of Geralt from Netflix’ Witcher series. don’t know much about that guy but allegedly he’s a powerful woman reduced to a romantic subplot. love that for him.)

Three: I’m a horrible person but I’m also hot!!! So its okay!!!

The most often that i’ve seen this is in men. No comments. Just complaints.

I lied. There are c0mments. so many comments.

I’ve been so angry about Shane (TWD, not SDV) and his existence that I’ve genuinely been unable to sleep.

Also from The Walking Dead. I haven’t met him yet but apparently Negan Smith is a horrible person. I wouldn’t know.

This is just criticizing the lengths people will go to in attempt of excusing.. certain actions within media.

The Last, the WORST mischaracterization: WHERES MY MELANIN@?!!??!?!?!?!

Guys. Guys. Whitewashing is bad. Seriously trying to find a picture of Damian Wayne where he looks how he’s supposed to is incredibly difficult. Also one where he doesn’t look like someone just pulled him out of a lint trap.

For reference, He is described to be Arab and of Chinese descent on his moms side, and pretty pasty on his Dad’s, who is, uh, Bruce Wayne. Ignoring that. He’s BROWN. He’s supposed to be BROWN. WHAT HAPPENED YALL?????

(They just wanted him to look like his dad)

She can’t catch a break. free her.

I don’t think i even WANT to talk about how bad some of her fanarts are. because actually what???

Connie WHYYYYY Do they take your melanin babe you need thatt it makes me sick

A lot of what i’ve seen about her is, and i’m QUOTING here, “Her being brown doesn’t fit my image of her character.” Great! Because she’s not your character!! You’re really weird!

Also him

Okay!!!! I had to cut down like more than half of this because it was getting to be like 1.5k words and I think this one is at a similar length again (??) So!!! I didn’t yell as much as I wanted to but here’s like.. the worst instances of what I STRONGLY dislike in fandom spaces.