Read on Twitter
thinking about the difference between liking a character as a *character,* and liking them as a person, and how different those metrics are. but i think they get confused in fandom sometimes
jin guangyao is a good example of this. i do not *like* him as a *person.* i feel for him, but that's not the same thing
he is, however, an AMAZING character. i love him as a *character*
he is, however, an AMAZING character. i love him as a *character*
to mistake liking a character for liking a person loses, imho, a level of nuance that fiction is so good at. i'm hardly the first person to say loving a villainous character isn't the same as condoning that behavior irl lol
on the other hand, i don't care for xue yang as either a *person* or a *character,* but i can understand the people who do! i don't mistake loving xue yang the character for condoning a real xue yang *person,* therefore i'm fine with people caring about him!
(yes, these thoughts *are* brought to you by thinking about the xiyao troll, thanks)
i've found that consciously examining in what way i like characters, particularly morally grey or downright villainous ones, is an interesting exercise and also useful as a writing tool. especially if i want to make, say, a villain readers will empathize with
oddly enough, i've also found that some of my *favorite* characters, even the morally good ones, would TERRIFY me as *people*
looking at you, lan wangji
looking at you, lan wangji
anyway, i'm not sure this is going anywhere, just THOUGHTS about jin guangyao, y'know, i have a lot of those lying around
