It seems like a lot of arguments and whatnot happen in this fandom because so many people are unwilling to step outside of Shepard and look at things from the viewpoints of others. I get how much we love Shepard, and how easy it is to see everything from their viewpoint and take it all very personally (because that’s how the games are played), but i feel like a lot of positive growth could be had as a fandom if we all could take a moment to stop and take a step back.
Reblogging again to hopefully get more input because seriously. Examples: hatred of Ash or Kaidan because of their distrust of Shepard, hatred of the Council because of their skepticism, generally unfair negativity toward anyone that doesn’t agree with or blindly follow Shepard. Obviously we, the gamers who have played these games, know the truth, but that doesn’t mean the characters who don’t believe or like Shepard deserve to be attacked for it. How are they supposed to know? If someone started talking about a giant metal squid apocalypse, would you believe them? Idk I feel like some of the hate we seem to have toward those who don’t believe Shepard is wildly unfair.
I like to think of characters, politics, etc in the games in two ways: how I see it as a player getting the whole picture and how I see it as Shepard. As a writer, of course Shepard will have opinions, but as a writer, I love these characters and how they are diverse. Are there some characters that drive me crazy? Sure, but that’s usually on Bioware’s writing, but it often comes from them being unable to delve into characters like a fic or character analysis could. I’m sure many of my fics have some characters turned into rage material, but it’s because of logical reasons.
For example, Kaidan/Ashley not trusting you on Horizon? Makes sense, BUT, I would’ve loved something a bit more in depth in the conversation when you romance them. Something more about your relationship instead of just a single added line. Still, I completely understand as an outsider to the game, but also feel for my Shepard.
Tl;dr I think everyone should look at characters with this in mind: dislike them as a person, but still enjoy them as a character. After all, we love villians as a fandom, but hate them as the enemy to our characters.
SquigglySquidd's Parables 