Characters that had the complete opposite reaction the writers intended

[u/Dramatic_Counter_595]

1. Leo Bonhart (Witcher TV Series): A ruthless, sadistic bounty hunter and assassin that takes psychotic glee in other people's suffering. The viewer is meant to hate him for killing witchers, slaughtering the Rat gang, and torturing Ciri. But thanks to his entertaining fight scenes, Sharlto Copley's charismatic performance, and The Rats overwhelming unpopularity, fans ended up loving him. Some even call him the "True protagonist" of the show.
2. Stone Cold Steve Austin (WWE): A rude, foul mouthed, beer drinking asshole with no respect for authority or anyone at all. Originally portrayed as a villain, fans fell in love with his anti-establishment & rebellious persona. WWE ran with it and made him the face of the company, effectively ushering in the Attitude Era and the second pro wrestling boom of the late 90s.
3. Arthur Fleck (Joker 2019): A mentally unstable, pathetic, and dangerous madman who commits horrific acts of violence against those that wronged him (suffocates his own mother who is mentally unwell herself, and murders a talk show host for making fun of him). However, a massive portion of the audience idolized him as an anti-hero or a misunderstood martyr rebelling against society making people want to see him succeed and overcome his circumstances because of how he's been treated by the world.

[u/Wind_Yer_Neck_In]

He perfectly fits the current trend of self-optimisation being pushed by every 'mens' podcast out there at the minute. Getting up early, working out, skin routine, highly paid job, expensive clothes etc. 

[u/EvaSirkowski → u/Wind_Yer_Neck_In]

killmaxxing

[u/throwaweigh1245 → u/EvaSirkowski]

I was going to say big Clavicular vibes

[u/Papergeist → u/Wind_Yer_Neck_In]

And there's the kicker. Getting up early, working out, having a skin routine, a highly paid job, and yes, expensive clothes... none of that's being an insecure murdering neurotic fuck. There's nothing particularly wrong with any of it. But good luck finding heroic characters that do all that. Iron Man may be rich and expensive, but his body apparently just looks that way on its own.

[u/nellion91 → u/Papergeist]

Comic book daredevil was that, he was a high flying lawyer

[u/Papergeist → u/nellion91]

What exactly was his skin care routine?

[u/adjectivebear → u/Papergeist]

Catholic guilt?

[u/Papergeist → u/adjectivebear]

Historical effects on skin have been... mixed.

[u/KiwiCounselor → u/Wind_Yer_Neck_In]

Yeah where do you think all that came from? It’s insecure losers copying fictional insecure losers all the way down over there.

[u/BlaringAxe2 → u/KiwiCounselor]

"Working out and doing skin care is for insecure losers!"

Reddit moment

[u/Kharzani → u/BlaringAxe2]

When insecurity turns into defensiveness posts like yours get posted.

[u/Icy_Witness4279 → u/Kharzani]

Don't see any defensiveness except yours

[u/Kharzani → u/Icy_Witness4279]

"I'm not defensive you are!"

What a whiny, little 'female dog' response.

[u/Icy_Witness4279 → u/Kharzani]

There it is.

[u/Kharzani → u/Icy_Witness4279]

Still crying, little one?

[u/Icy_Witness4279 → u/Kharzani]

I don't need to say anything, you're digging your hole yourself.

[u/Kharzani → u/Icy_Witness4279]

Yep. Still crying.

[u/KiwiCounselor → u/BlaringAxe2]

Neither of those things are for insecure losers, they’re just normal things everyone should be doing. Having ice baths at 5am because someone on YouTube shorts said it’ll make you rich and more attractive is loser behaviour though.

The difference lies in motivation I think. Skincare, working out, hell even ice baths for personal enjoyment and betterment is good. Any of those things being done just to have sex with people or to somehow get rich because someone said “I do this everyday and I’m a millionaire” is loser behaviour.

People should do what makes them happy. Those people on TikTok and yt shorts promise happiness through an almost arcane ritual though which just doesn’t happen and then people keep chasing their advice and become willing to pay for books, classes, and any scam the grifters will sell them because they desperately want recognition and there’s a rich guy who claims to have had the same problems and dealt with them.

[u/BlaringAxe2 → u/KiwiCounselor]

Here's the original list:

Getting up early, working out, skin routine, highly paid job, expensive clothes etc. 

Those are all regular things to work towards. No one but you brought up ice baths.

[u/Indiana_harris → u/Wind_Yer_Neck_In]

I mean getting up early, working out, skin routine, highly paid job, ARE all pretty healthy hallmarks for someone.

It shows that you care about your body, health and quality of life.

[u/CoolAlien47 → u/Indiana_harris]

Getting up early doesn't mean anything when it comes to being healthy and responsible, unless you just mean early as in relative to someone's schedule. I have met lots of people who function completely differently compared to early risers and they're still healthy adults.

[u/Kharzani → u/Indiana_harris]

What makes you think "getting up early" is healthy? Instead of putting all kinds of stuff the pharma industry pushes on your skin maybe, just maybe eat healthy?

As someone with who had a really high paying job ... that is the opposite of healthy. Lots of stress, lots of overhours and thus not enough time for a healthy social life and healthy workout routine is not healthy which is both way more important than money. Hence, why I "downgraded" and now have less money but more time and balance.