Unpopular (or, well, unpopular/under-addressed in the groups I see. Knowing how I've sort of cultivated a group of people that think like I do on here, I feel like it won't appear so unpopular) opinions, fandom edition. Not fanfiction, like my last one, but since fanfiction is part of fandom, some might appear.

— Listening to people talk about their favorite show/headcanon/character/ship is the best. Like, sure, some people get toxic, but sometimes I find people that are just so in love with a story and it means so much to them that even if I don't agree I just have to love it. Like good for you, dude, have passions

— I dunno, I just think it's neat

— What is not neat is the weird double standards for antagonists VS protagonist

— The best example I can think of Lucas/Mike/Will VS Billy in the Stranger Things fandom. Like Billy can be a racist abuser, but he was abused, so that's OK. But Lucas is still, to this day, people's least favorite because "he was mean in season 1!!!", Will is called selfish for daring to believe being broken up would make his friends less obsessed with their girlfriends, and Mike has been demonized since season 2 for his trauma response not being "nice" enough

— Like, in all of these examples the kids are being rude, but for totally valid reasons (reason that, in Mike and Will's case, include recent trauma, an excuse Billy fans love to use) and they get totally shat on for it

— But then Billy tries to run them over (or pretend to to upset Max), attacks Lucas and assaults Steve when he tries to stop him (and, remember how bad Steve looked after? Remember how Billy continued to beat him, even after he was unconscious? How Max, according to Runaway Max, truly thought Billy was going to kill him? Now I want you to remember he was going to do all that to Lucas, a child half Steve's size), and violently grabs and screams at Max on multiple occasions

— And that's not even accounting for the shit he pulls in Runaway Max, where he adds: Forcing her to watch him and his friends burn a dead cat, running over her skateboard because he was mad at her (canonically the reason she was taping it when Lucas picked her up), scaring off all of her friends in California except one, and then breaking said friend's arm when he tries to defend Max from him (which is the reason they moved and, according to the show, Billy then goes on to blame Max for)

— And even if you say Runaway Max isn't cannon because it got when Max and Billy met wrong (personally I say that only invalidates that part of book, not all of it) it still shows the kind of character Billy was meant to be

— Yet all that is redeemable — no, needs to be redeemed, according to some — because he has a sad backstory?

— As I re-watch season 3 of Stranger Things, I have come to realize the fandom really misunderstood Alexei's character

— I swear, they reduce him to a child. Just because they can't understand half of what he says and he liked a cartoon

— Like he didn't clearly spend 50% of his time with them annoyed and 50% being, as Murray put it, a cocky bastard

— #LetAlexeiBeACockyBastard2021

— Dude was smart (and trusted) enough to not only be involved with the key but know what it did and how to shut it down, along with being trusted to gather energy for it. It's what he deserves

— I know I've only watched the Shadow and Bone TV show, and as such have no rights to judge, but is Darklina feeling like Raylo with a bigger age gap to anyone else?

— Well, bigger age gap + Sasha McBitchFace manipulated more women

— Damn it, I can't call him Sasha anymore, that's my dog's name and she doesn't deserve that

— But I swear to god this man sees a powerful young woman and goes

— Honestly Leonard Peabody is proof that Kylo Ren/The Darkling types are only popular because they're hot, because he's basically the same person with the same motive (bad past) doing the same thing (manipulating a powerful young woman for his own goals)

— In fact, I would argue his actions aren't as bad, given it's only two murders (one being his abuser) and revenge against the Academy instead, I dunno, mass genocide

— But they're loved and Leonard is (rightfully) despised, and it's just a coincidence that he looks like this:

And they look like this:

— I normally don't like to make sweeping statements like this, but anyone who believes Aang learning energy bending is just  "a cheap play to keep from having to face hard questions" or "an excuse to not make him morally grey" fundamentally misunderstood why the choice was made

— Because it isn't about being morally gray, it's about Aang being able to defeat the Fire Lord and validate his culture and people who, by his perception, he lost only a year before. Aang is already a twelve year old being asked to murder a man, he doesn't need to be forced to choose between his lost culture and what he "needs" to do

— Honestly, it means so much to me that he is validated in his believes and given that little amount catharsis, because so often characters with strong morals (especially when it include not killing) they're dismissed as "stupid" or "boring"

— Can fanfic authors (at least on Wattpad) stop using the JK Rowling approach to their characters sexualities (which is to say never showing it in their stories, only showing it in their Meet My OC books), please?

— It happens most with bisexuality (and occasionally pansexuality), where OC will only ever show interest in the opposite sex (love interest) but then be listed as bi/pan. And I am not implying that people's bi/pansexuality is less valid because they're in an opposite-sex relationship, but this isn't a real person, this is a character, and how they act and express themselves is chosen specifically by the author

— So the author chose to never address their supposed sexuality, which, except in a few situations (such as they didn't consider it until after the story was written or they plan to address it later), is a little suspicious

— It seems people think that they need some kind of romance plot to address a character's sexuality, which isn't the case at all. I mean, I didn't need a romance plot for Ira to mention she's interested in both men and women and prefers women. I didn't need a romance plot for Ark to decide they should ask Ira for El with El because she's a girl who dates girls and is, as he puts it, "double girl smart." I didn't need a romance plot for Ezekiel to mention he dated a guy who called him a psychopath. I didn't need a romance plot for Anne to a small crush on Max

— Or you could just do what I do for most of my OCs and have their sexuality be "IDK but they like *insert gender of love interest*"

— No, I don't know why this is such a big deal for me. Especially because fanfictions don't have the influence official media does

— But it's a weird trend

— Main characters need more appreciation. Which sounds weird, but what I mean is it's weird side characters will get more love than main characters. Like how when the Enola Holmes trailers came out and everyone was obsessing over Sherlock, and then got upset when ENOLA HOLMES was more focused on Enola than Sherlock

— Side characters are really fun, I get it, but main character are main characters for a reason

— This shall now become an appreciation post for various underappriciated characters:

Enola Holmes

Anne Shirley-Cuthbert

Lucas Sinclair

Nancy Wheeler

Jonathan Byers

Ben Hanscom

Mike Halon

Syd Novak

Allison Hargreeves

Vanya Hargreeves

(I know Allison has gotten more love recently and Vanya has always been popular, but most of their love feels like it's mostly empty "I love Allison/Vanya!" with out the Headcanons and stories all the others get)

— Not to imply anything, but why is this list 96% the female leads ignored for their male counterparts (including Anne and Enola, who are literally the title characters brushed to the side for their love interests), 2% minority male characters, 1% the only fat (protagonist) character in their story who is mocked for said fatness, and 1% Jonathan Byers (which I accept because the creators gave him the personality wet wonderbread after season 1)? It's suspicious

— I've recently finished Shadow and Bone and mg thoughts can be broken down as

1. I need to read ALL THE BOOKS

2. Inej and Alina OWN ME, look at them

3. The DaRkLiNg (I actually wrote "Darkling" like a normal person, but my tablet autocorrected it to "DaRkLiNg" and I had to respect its choices) deserves all death and all pain

4. I have to apologize to Matthias because it's sure he's a great guy or whatever but I'm forever suspicious of the "bigot reformed because lurv" plot. I dunno, I've just had too much toxicity shoved down my throat for type of plot

5. I LOVE the effects for the Grisha powers (even if I find it hilarious they're basically called the Greg)