It's so frustrating to see how often conversations about Anders boil down to
"I like Anders! Anyway, here's why I hate Sebastian..."
And 90% of the time it's because Sebastian reacts naturally to Anders being a mass murdering terrorist.
The rest of the time it's "won't put out" or "I'm projecting my own religious trauma onto him." And regarding the latter I absolutely get being uncomfortable with characters for personal reasons. That is valid. But it's wild to see stans just completely make shit up and then expect other people to ignore what's actually in the game and conform to their personal headcanon.
I used to see Anders as a compelling character, an example of how terrorists are not born, they're made through circumstances and radicalization. Not a particularly good person in DA2, but an interesting character who feels uncomfortably real. Someone who was basically good, with flaws that could have been improved with personal reflection and growth and people to challenge him, but instead he leaned into his (literal) inner demons and spiraled into an abuser and a terrorist. As sad as it is to see it go that direction, I think that's a much more interesting story than pretending he's just a fluffy cat-loving healer and freedom fighter, by golly!
But now b/c of fandom toxicity it's hard to see anything but the monster.
And that's really frustrating, b/c in Kali Hawke's story, she loves him at the beginning. He's a dear friend. She sees all the good that was in him. She sees the heart-rending spiral happen, up close and personal. And I need to figure out how to write that when I can't stand the bastard b/c of exhausting tumblr stans. lol
The story deserves better. I want to replay Awakening to get to know that Anders again, but that also means listening to that voice actor shithead whose name I won't mention.
At least there's Nate and Sigrun to make up for it. ♥ Ooh, and Alistair! Okay, I might talk myself into it. Hahaha.