palia hell

ahhh. Imagine your character and reth getting into that little spat where he's biting back out of fear because he can't figure out (or listen to) who paid off his debts. Lashing out when all they did was help because of his own worry of the cartel hurting them, or his sister, or even himself over them thinking he told someone about his other work.

Only for them to have to go to the Highlands with Subira, away for a long trip before he can pull his own head out of his ass and apologize. Having to stew (heh) over the fact that he messed up, knowing he said some not great things in his blind fear. Waiting patiently, planning the best way to grovel and apologize to his favorite person (besides his sister). Perfecting their favorite recipe, learning a new one just for them out of things they love.

A family torn by grief.

....

A family torn by grief.

I've seen so many discussion threads and videos hating on Nai'o and completely mischaracterizing him. It confuses me, because he's none of the things I see people say about him.

It really does feel, like a lot of folks in the Palia fandom have a very preschooler surface-level understanding of character writing. They see a guy with a jock-like appearance who mentions working out and immediately brand him as a narcissistic douchebag.

A lot of people are seemingly mad at him for being with Kenyatta, too?? Or that he gets upset when they steal her from him?? I mean of course he is upset about something like that. Who wouldn't be?

I did not care about Nai'o myself initially until I started befriending him and realized he's very insecure and just wants to work hard on the farm to help his parents. He tries so hard to bond with his little brother and impress him, but knows he's not the perfect and adventurous older brother Auni wants. I made him my Shepp, because I genuinely felt like he needed someone to uplift him. Tell him he matters.

but when you compare him to say other (male) characters who have different complexities/backstories that are more obvious, who are seen as more complicated or edgy in a "i can fix them" way, or who have more "appealing character designs", then ofc fandom will latch onto them more than Nai'o

"It really does feel, like a lot of folks in the Palia fandom have a very preschooler surface-level understanding of character writing. They see a guy with a jock-like appearance who mentions working out and immediately brand him as a narcissistic douchebag"

oh absolutely! don't get me wrong Nai'o does have some jock-adjacent qualities in that he actively takes care of his body, he's very enthusiastic about protein shakes/drinks, he loves Roundball, etc.

BUT to label him as a 'narcissistic douchebag' or 'arrogant jock' is a huuuuuuge mischaracterization when this is the same guy who: 1. His first instinct is to help people and put them first

2. Talks about other people moreso than himself (ex. his parents, Auni, Kenyatta, and even his animals like Sugarfoot)

3. Is thoughtful w/o expecting anything in return (ex. he gave Subira his lucky acorn and then let her keep said acorn hoping it would give her good luck, got concert tickets for Kenyatta when planning a surprise date for her, etc.)

i think players probably get so caught up in his dialogues emphasizing fitness a lot that they confuse his confidence and appreciation in how he takes care of his body w/narcissism? at least that's the only explanation that makes sense to me

also reaaaally trying my best not to be mean when i say this . . . . . . . . . . . but it doesn't really surprise me when certain sides of the fandom only focus on the superficial impressions of Nai'o considering this is also the same fandom who has done the same thing to Subira and Tamala despite the game showing multiple times through story narratives and text dialogues each of their complexities and morally gray areas meant to get players to engage more w/the story

A lot of people are seemingly mad at him for being with Kenyatta, too?? Or that he gets upset when they steal her from him?? I mean of course he is upset about something like that. Who wouldn't be?

unfortunately happens w/almost any good boy x bad girl ship😔

honestly this would be one of the few times where i've heard about the good boy getting hated on over the bad girl in their ship? oftentimes the bad girl in the ship gets subjected to more criticism and hate for multiple reasons that almost always tie back to fandom biases where fans oftentimes project their desires for the good boy, so wondering if the same thing is happening here but in reverse . . . . . .

then again can't say for sure since the hate i've seen towards Nai'o and Kenyatta from older takes/posts seems almost equal?

(part of me is very tempted to say Kenyatta may get more hate only bc i know how fandoms treat their female characters over their male characters, esp towards female characters who are 'bad girls' — it's just a gut feeling though)

actually made some posts (Part 1 and Part 2) about Kenyatta/Nai'o's relationship a while back that more or less goes into why certain parts of the Palia fandom perceive them and their relationship the way that it is, if you're ever interested!

tl;dr: certain characters won't be everyone's favorites — nothing wrong w/that! can probably name a few charas from the differ fandoms i'm in or have been in the past that i never personally vibed with like that (very few i've actually disliked to the point where i avoided their fanworks and fans), yet the fandom adored them for some xyz reason

Nai'o definitely suffers from being "too nice and boring" because he doesn't have any sad or tragic backstory (which is funny to me as someone who romanced Hassian, because I know many players picked him for the broody "i can fix him" factor and now all of his tragedy is going to be erased/downplayed by the story). But that's only because this fandom - at least outside of tumblr - seems unable to read between the lines and see the depth of a character beyond "his relative(s) died" or "he is trapped by the cartel".

Sure, Nai'o has both of his parents alive and seems to have a relatively happy and peaceful life. But there's so much nuance to his character and how he treats everyone around. I am genuinely confused when I see people claiming he was "passive aggressive" while talking to them or that he doesn't care about others. When every single quest we get from him is about other people and animals around him.

I don't want to say he was done dirty by the writers (he was) because you don't need to be a tragic and suffering character to have depth and complexity. But in a story where every other NPC is an orphan or a widow(er) or otherwise heartbroken, Nai'o being just a happy guy trying to do the right thing seems to piss people off. Like "look at this smiling idiot, he has it so good meanwhile my precious baby here has been through so much".

Hassian: No.

Reth: I do!

Nai’o: I know, Reth.

Reth: I’m sad.

but

Reth's flirting is a front. It's designed to be intimidating, off-putting, overwhelming, and flustering because you're not supposed to get close to him. You're supposed to see this mask and keep your distance because he is such a player, and obviously he talks like this with everyone so you're not special.

he doesn't want you to get close, because he doesn't think he even deserves a relationship, let alone that he can navigate that + work + cartel nonsense + tish like

he stays in the storeroom under the inn, he's out at all hours, running over Bahari Bay, he's got two hospitality jobs and is covered in soup and alcohol and he barely has the time to sleep. who on earth would want to spend time with someone who can't even give them a second of their time?

he's going to let you down over and over and over again

and yet still you come back.

every day, you're at the inn or the underground or even at his quiet spot overlooking the pond behind the tailor's shop and the town, because you know that Reth is someone worth knowing. you know that he's more than his fake charm, his over the top flirtatious personality, the cool guy who winks while he's shaking the cocktails.

and when he realises that you've seen through his mask, his voice softens. he struggles to hide his self-deprecation and his doubts and you know that this is the real test because now he does not believe that you're in love with the real him.

sometimes I just draw things I guess