thebonezone66:

* i think it’s about that time again. like my genocide post, feel free to reblog this. this time, let’s talk about our resident, fuzzy boss monster king.  it seems lately that poor ol’ fluffybuns can’t catch a break with the community.

* well. i’ve always been pretty fond of playing the devil’s advocate. so let’s do that.

* powerful. commanding. and intimidating. the name ASGORE DREEMURR conjures visions of dread, and typically inspires awe in those that hear it. the king of the monsters, and king of the mountain; your journey’s end and final struggle. but… c’mon, just look at the guy from this shot to the next.

* ASGORE is and always has been a total cornball. from his casual, gentle demeanor to his borderline oblivious nature, his carriage doesn’t exactly scream ‘scourge of humanity,’ so where’s all the hate comin’ from?

* well, from what i gathered, people are upset for a number of reasons. the biggest one seems to be the attempts at continuing to ship him with toriel, and that they are disrespectful to her as a character. (i still don’t quite get the concept of shipping. alphys is helping.) to anyone who knows toriel, that criticism isn’t even particularly necessary. she’s a strong, independent character and her boundaries on ASGORE are pretty well defined.

* does that mean entertaining reconciling scenarios are automatically off limits though? nah. it just means there are more ways to explore a character dynamic. plenty of broken couples can still wind up being platonic friends. many more still fall in and out of THE MASOCHISM TANGO for years. http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TheMasochismTango but rather than explore that as a means of justification, all you really have to do is move away from that and more into deconstructing ASGORE’s character. anyone roleplaying him like that is true to how he behaves. and there is always room for development away from or further into that.

* put yourself in his shoes for a moment. you’ve lived through the worst conflict your kind has ever endured. you’ve been exiled underground, and now you’re just trying to make the best of what you have. people are miserable, yeah. but they love you, and trust you. all because at the end of the day, you are genuinely good guy. centuries pass.

* then, suddenly, a human kid falls and your family adopts them. you have hopes that they’ll eventually leave to spread good will between monsters and humans on the surface. things are good for a while. but then the kid gets sick, and dies. your real son, possessed of your ideals, takes to the surface in the human’s place. to tell the kid’s story. to spread peace. no dice. the humans kill him too. he gets just back home to succumb. likely before your very eyes. in less than twenty four hours, your hopes for peace, and your family have been completely destroyed. by humanity. the one thing you were ready to believe in again. you are far from emotionally strong enough to cope with this.

* cut ahead an uncertain number of years, and you can start to understand what’s wrong with the guy. he’s fallen into despair, and in his depression he further pushes away everything important to him. he kills in the name of revenge, but doesn’t enact his plans because of his inner turmoil. his wife leaves him because of his indecision. he is no longer the man he once was. only a broken caricature, too emotionally frail to stand on his own. it is just who he is as a person.

* his awkward attempts at reaching out to toriel, his cowardice and continued groveling are all a result of this traumatic experience he had gone through. he is a kind man haunted by his choices, plagued with doubts, and lonely as a result of decisions made in depression. his experiences, are what shaped him. –like they shaped any one of us. you can see in his eyes he’s not proud of his choices. but hey, by the end? he’s trying his best to come back around.

* so c’mon, cut him a little slack. he’s getting better day by day. if you see a mr. dad guy roleplayer, give them a thumbs up. don’t put them down. especially if they’re staying true to character.