Asmongold TV - Unlikeable Character Epidemic | Asmongold TV

Episode Date: October 17, 2025

Unlikeable Character Epidemic Asmongold show for all of his stream highlights, competitions, reactions & more. -------------------- ---- Keywords: pc gaming, online gaming, gaming culture, streamer podcast Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I think that a lot of modern characters are extremely unlikable. Like, this is a huge problem with gaming. I think this is especially true. Like, I'm going to be real. This is especially true with, like, American games. I've grown quite worried about the trajectory of what humans perceive as strength. Not only in entertainment media, but even in influencers and perceived role models. This is a steady decline that has been gradually moving towards shaping the very definition of strength.

For me, this is actually quite a fascinating topic. because of how blind a lot of people are to what is actually happening, almost as though they know the counts of it better than the genuine. What do I mean? Yeah, they do. Because it's the lack and the absence of positive masculine role models, because any form of masculinity is viewed as either, oh, that's not just masculinity, that's just being a good person, or it's viewed as being bad.

By this, there is an interesting phenomenon called perceptual expertise that I'll use as an illustration. Anyone who handles cash on a constant basis, especially in a profession, gain an incredible ability to easily identify counterfeit. Now, something I find insane about this phenomenon is that it isn't actually taught. It is grown through exposure. Bank tellers and cashiers handle genuine banknotes all day. This constant repeated exposure allows them to develop an intuitive sense of what feels right. The texture... No, this is true because like I can... I can smell a Coke, and I will know whether it is a diet Coke, a no-sugar Coke, or a regular Coke. All I have to do is smell it.

I don't even need to taste it. I can look at the difference between a Dr. Pepper and a Coke, like just visually. And I can tell just based off of the color of the syrup. I'm not even kidding. I'm not even kidding. And even embedded features of real currency. Seriously. Over time, they built this mental prototype or.

baseline of what authentic notes look like. So when a counterfeit does come along, it stands out. Not necessarily because the Cascio knows exactly what's wrong, but because it doesn't match the baseline they've naturally internalized. Their brain subconsciously flags it as unfamiliar or off. Weird. Now you could probably see where I'm going with this. I believe that a lot of modern writers and influences are more exposed to a counterfeit strength than they are to actual genuine strength. So to them, genuine strength is foreign, and they probably even see it as weakness. Unfortunately, it also seems like this is slowly becoming the norm. Well, it's becoming the norm, and one of the big reasons why it's the norm,

is because that's the thing that a lot of kids want. A lot of the people that watch people like Andrew Tate or Sneco or whatever that are looking for life advice, these are like lost souls and weird kids. That's the big issue. And so, like, you have a bunch of... of like little weird kids that think that the coolest thing that you can possibly do because like when you're 14 right i mean you're going to think that a guy that has big muscles and he has a fast car that's expensive and he has like a bunch of girlfriends like that's like the it doesn't get

better than that and so the real problem isn't necessarily uh that it's the fact that all of these things are i mean let's be real like this is it's made for kids i dive into all their viewer base are little kids. I think that there are little kids and then also for a lot of influencers and like content creators, they are looking for an internet dad or an internet big brother. And that's really what it is because they didn't have like they don't have like a dad that had or even like not necessarily a dad specifically, but like a father figure or like a male figure in their life that they can look at and say, okay, this is what it means to be a man.

You see what I'm saying? This modern depiction of strength is, let's look at what genuine strength has always looked like. Throughout history, we see that strength has often been defined as the capacity to endure, to act with integrity under pressure, and to choose what is right even when it costs you. It is a moral and emotional resilience, not the absence of struggle, but the decision to face it. It is also force and power under control. Marcus Aurelius put it this way. You have power over your mind, not outside events.

Realize this and you will find strength. That's right. If you have a problem, stop thinking about it. Most of them go away. Strength isn't about control over people or circumstances. It's about self-mastery. The ability to stay steady when everything else is shaking. This is another big issue is that I think that maybe this is like a toxic masculine trait.

But I think that stoicism is. actually the best way to act. And I think that people that can't control their emotions and get upset and angry randomly, I view them as like childish and like not really worth taking seriously as much. And so when you see a guy like Titus, and that's the reason why Master Chief was so good, Master Chief was the prime pinnacle of stoicism. And you look at like a lot of other characters in like these old stories is that, and there are emotional moments. And I think that it's important to have those, but the emotional moments don't come at the expense

of the character being able to do what they need to do when they have to do it, right? So like for example, like in War of the Rings, when Aragorn is with like Arwen and Rivendale, yeah, this is an emotional moment. But when he's up face to face

with the fucking Nazgul, he's not crying and running away, he's fighting the fucking Nazgul. That's the difference. Respond instead of react to remain ground, when your pride wants to escalate, and in a world that tells you to be loud, aggressive, or performative, Marcus flips it. Real strength isn't about bending the world to your will.

It's about mastering yourself in the middle of it. This is a fundamental understanding that everyone has had about strength for a very long time. And this is again, like, this is again what I was saying before about, like, characters and, like, stories being written by obnoxious, annoying people. A lot of characters are written as if they are basically the teenage version of an unpleasant and annoying

kind of hipster person that was actually right about everything and their parents were wrong about everything. That's the way that a lot of these stories are written. I think Tosh is a great example of that with Dragon Age. Many clear examples of games, series, and movies over the last 20 to 30 years of genuine strength. But it feels like there is a shift happening. Some of our favorite characters in the past, whether real or fictional, those who have had a very deep understanding of what genuine strength looks like wouldn't necessarily even exist nowadays.

And if they did exist, they would either be gender swapped or race swapped or even be made to look pathetic where possible. And the characters that replace them or take their throne are so poorly written that it blows my mind how they even exist. Unfortunately... It doesn't for me. It's just a bunch of annoying people writing annoying characters. It actually makes perfect sense.

A lot of modern writers simply don't understand. understand genuine strength. Classical writers like J.R.R. Tolkien knew what genuine strength was. They knew that strength has a cost, that it takes something out of you. It doesn't leave you untouched. It leaves scars. It humbles you. It makes you even quieter. And that's the irony. The strongest people are usually the ones that don't even talk about how great or strong they are because they've lived it. They've bled for it and they know it's not a show. This kind of strength isn't taught. It's shaped over time. In moments of choosing silence, restraint, and endurance. It's taught through exposure. It's always incredible and actually somewhat beautiful to see characters and people who suffer or struggle still choose to do good. That's the strength that moves people. That's the strength that transforms people.

But this is disappearing. Or worse, it's being replaced by a counterfeit. What does it be? It's being replaced by content that's made for 14-year-olds whose dads are fat and don't know how to do anything and are losers. That's the problem. It's made for, yeah, and people whose mind is in that place, too. Or dads don't exist. Yeah, I mean, well, the thing is, like, Cody, like, we had, like, for example, like me and Cody growing up, like, you know, there were a lot of, like, you know, I would say, like, very positive, like, male role models that we had in, like, our neighborhood, you know, it was like Cameron's dad, like, I would say my dad and, you know,

AJ's dad, like, they were all really solid, right? And that was it. And so, like it wasn't a big deal like and it so it's not just like you specifically right yeah exactly cody yeah yeah you remember and so like they were solid but the problem now is that i think that a lot of cases that's not really the that's not true anymore it's just straight up not true anymore phase five narcissism what we're calling strength today is often just narcissism in disguise it's not rooted in sacrifice or humility. It's about ego, attention, and the desperate need to be admired without being challenged. That's the big one, is the admired without being challenged. That to me is what I think is at the core of a lot of leftist and like a lot of social movements nowadays.

And not just leftist movements, but I think that it's like generally that way. I don't want to make this like super political because I feel like it's also a both sides thing. But it's like people want to be admired for, you know, something that is innate within themselves. Like, for example, like, I am, you know, this sexuality or I am this gender identity, or I am this skin color, or I am this other type of, you know, like a group of people. It's unpleasant. It's unpleasant. And I think also it's nothing that's earned. That's the big issue is that it's not earned. Modern characters, and let's be honest, many public figures too aren't strong because they overcome anything. They're strong because the script says so Or because they say so

They don't earn our respect They demand it They don't grow They're written to be right from the start They're never wrong Never vulnerable Never in doubt And if they are

It's used for five seconds Of forced relatability Before they're back to monologing About how misunderstood they are This isn't strength It's self-worship You see this constantly Characters who bulldoze

through others emotionally Who never listen who never compromise and we're told this is empowerment. But being impossible to work with doesn't make you powerful. It does whenever you're at a, it does whenever you're one of these groups of people and you're trying to get the HR to listen to you. That's the reason.

And again, I feel like that's a really good way to say it because it reveals where these people are coming from. It's, again, people that are empowered by HR. That's it. It's like a, what do you call it? it's like House, Dr. House kind of started this shit. The difference is that Dr. House was very clearly a flawed character. Like, that's the difference is that, like, he was very good at diagnosing things, but he also, like, went to jail.

He was addicted to things. He was fucked up. So, like, House had, like, there were positives and negatives with him as a character. But I think, again, people look at that and they ignore the negatives, and then they just make a character with those positives and also that same level of confidence. and they create a character that's just unlikable. It just makes you insufferable. Strength has been reduced to this kind of moral untouchability, a person who can't be questioned, corrected or critiqued,

because they are the representation of some broader ideal. But this is dangerous, because it teaches audiences, especially young ones, that personal growth isn't necessary, that virtue is a given, that the world should revolve around you because you're the main character. This obsession with self has hollowed. out the archetype of the hero.

We used to cheer for really good characters because they gave something up. Now we're just told to cheer because they represent some kind of demographic. They represent a demographic, a social group, an idea, or some sort of viewpoint that is supposed to be seen as virtuous by the nature of its own existence. And I think that if you create a world where people are virtuous by the nature of their existence, you create a world where narcissism is rewarded. That's basically narcissism. Most of the audience feels the difference. They don't always know how to articulate it, but they know something is awful. These new strong characters feel empty. Their victories don't move us.

Their pain doesn't shake us. Because deep down, we know strength without selflessness, sacrifice, or love isn't strength at all. It's narcissism. Now, the problem goes deeper than just poor writing. Now a dangerous trend that if you don't like certain modern characters or even influencers, it's your fault. You... Oh, God. The campaign against DeValde reveals the bigotry that fuels the anti-woke. Well, maybe you should have used better fuel. Yeah, I mean, because as far as I know, that game really didn't make it out of the station?

That game's dead. And didn't the person that started the game, didn't they leave the studio? So, and this is the problem, right? is like the maligning and the slandering of the people who don't fall in line with this line of thinking also doesn't go anywhere either because like nobody really lies it's not like you're not going to bully people into liking something right it's bad millennial writing yes even influencers 100% influencers are actually probably like one of the biggest reasons because like games are like games are supposed to be fake influencers are like at least perceived by a lot of people that are naive to be real are the issue. You are sexist, you are racist, you are homophobic, or you are even transphobic. And this shuts down any honest conversation before it even begins.

This is a huge part of why things aren't actually getting better. Because now, identity is being used as a shield. Writers don't have to build strong characters. They just have to build important ones. Characters who can't be criticized because of... And it's also like you have to keep in mind as well that if you write a story about a non-binary person coming to terms with themselves, the odds are that that story isn't going to resonate with a lot of people because there aren't a lot of non-binary people.

So if you make a character that has a divisive or a super minor like social struggle, this just isn't going to be something that people are interested in. Who would have guessed? Yes. Isn't it an amazing? Yes. what they represent, not who they actually are. It's lazy, and more than that, it's disrespectful. Both to the audience and to the very groups these characters are supposed to speak for. Because real representation means giving those characters the same depth, struggle, and growth as anyone else. Not making them untouchable narcissistic brats that demand to be liked.

You can't just hand... Yeah, I wonder who that's like, probably the writers. Character a specific shielded identity and a crazy ego and call it strength. That's not how storytelling works. That's not how respect works. And that's not how truth works. One of the more recent examples for this is in the trailer for Intergalactic The Heretic Prophet. In a short four and a half minute trailer, Nauty Dog somehow managed to create an insane...

This is, dude, it's... I have never seen a more negative reception to a trailer than this. I actually think that the original Concord trailer got a better initial reception than Intergalactic. It was brutal. The only unlikable character who instantly comes across as extremely arrogant and narcissistic. And yet, they genuinely believe this character is above any criticism

simply because of her race and identity. As soon as anyone calls her out as a poorly written character, the blame is flipped onto the viewer. labeling the viewer as racist or homophobic, but it has nothing to do with the race or identity of the protagonist. I think to an extent it does in terms of being able to identify with somebody. Like, it's very obvious that gender and race are barriers to identification. And really incredible and strong characters transcend that.

The best example of that by a mile is Goku. It doesn't matter what color you are. If you're in seventh grade, who do you want to be when you grow up? If you were in my high school or middle school, then, it was Goku. And so, abs of fucking loot. But that is a, you know, again, that is a edge case. I do think that gender and race play a role. But again, you can transcend that if the character is very good.

It comes across as unlikable. Now, here's where things also get a little bit complicated. I genuinely believe that characters like this are only unlikable to those who have been exposed to genuine strength in their. lives and I can actually see how this sort of character could be likable to those who have not been exposed to genuine strength in their lives. I personally believe that fatherless homes or abusive experiences from individuals that are supposed to represent strength in our lives can create an exposure of counterfeit strength. Obviously life is nuanced and I personally know quite a few people who have been exposed throughout their lives to this counterfeit strength that do have a healthy view of strength

now. But when you grow up without a model of earned quiet or steady strength, you can easily mistake loudness for confidence, control for leadership, and arrogance for self-assurance. Yeah, I think that's definitely what happens. Manic have a hundred subs. Always shit. Thank you very much. Yeah, we've had a lot of sub-gifters today. I appreciate it, guys. Thank you very much. It's actually probably Twitch on alt accounts trying to make it less embarrassing that I made more unkicked than two days and I made in a month on Twitch. Probably that's actually probably what's happening. But it's okay. It's okay, guys. Keep it up. I don't mind. And anyway, so I think that especially with content creators, like the arrogance being confidence and like the random acts of aggression being some form of like a emotional control is just a very huge problem.

And I think this is an issue even in society in general, like outside of media, but just in general. Character who steamrolls over others never listens, never bends and acts like the world owes them something might actually look strong to. someone who's only ever seen power used that way making characters like this completely alienates audiences not because we're hateful or closed-minded but because we're being told to cheer for characters that are poorly written but guilt wrapped in a protected identity and if we don't celebrate these characters we get labeled and called out but that's not strength that's trauma with the label on it and that's that's about right yeah a lot of these characters are just trauma that's a yeah yeah there you go the danger when culture starts celebrating unheeled wounds

as empowerment when fiction becomes a mirror of brokenness rather than a picture of what wholeness could look like we stop aiming upwards and we start settling we start calling dysfunction power not because it is but because it's all some people have ever known you can see this play out in real life take someone you believe to have narcissistic qualities whether a public figure or or someone in your personal life. They could be popular, charismatic, and quick-witted, sure. But what you're really witnessing more often than not

is just ego dressed as strength. I think that's the case. And also, like, again, it's my female lead that says on par with Goku. The difference is that women, I think, identify differently with characters for different reasons. And so, like, and this is another big issue, is that it's the lie that's been told to writers and developers

that the same way to, like, how do you write a female character is different than you write a male character? Because men and women are different. So if you take a male archetype and then you just simply swap it with a female, in a lot of cases, whenever you get into, like, personifying that character, you're going to have issues. Like, it doesn't matter, it doesn't matter in a lot of cases,

like, for example, like with Samis, right? Because, like, there's nothing going on. It's just, like, a character running around. But in general, men and women are different and the way that they react to things are different too. So if you have like a girl that's reacting to things in the same way that a man would, this is going to not appeal to a lot of people and it's going to be, again, it's going to be uncanny. Rarely or never admit when they're wrong, they often talk over others and position themselves

as the smartest in the room without actually doing the harder work of listening, learning, or sacrificing. That's not strength. That's a performance of a false perception of strength. And for a lot of young people, especially those without real mentors, that kind of performance can be convincing. Because if you've never or rarely seen genuine strength in your life, the kind that leads by example, that serves others, that admits failure, that shows genuine humility, then the counterfeit could look strong. C.S. Lewis once said, we make men without chests and expect them virtue and enterprise. We laugh at honor and are shocked to find traitors in our midst. Jesus, bro, that's rough. That's a lot.

Damn. In other words, we strip away the soul of real strength, the virtue, the responsibility, the self-mastery. We laugh and mock the real thing when it is displayed, and then we're surprised when the people we elevate as heroes don't act like heroes at all. When we confuse narcissism for strength, we don't just warp our stories. We warp our expectations of ourselves and each other. People start performing instead of growing. They protect their image instead of building character. They become addicted to being right instead of learning how to be wise.

This is a big issue that happens on social media. It's a huge, huge problem. It's like people worry constantly about like how they're seen on social media. And I think that they're afraid of being disliked so much. And I think the reason why it happens is because maybe this is like just me being an asshole. but I think it's probably because there were losers in high school and they didn't have that many friends. And so like they or they were like super insecure about something

because like a lot of the people that I know that are kind of like that they were kind of just losers, right? Like people didn't really like them. And so like now they finally got in a position where they are liked and people do think they're cool. And this is like the first time in their life. And so it's like a really big deal for them. Like oh my God.

Like wow. Like now I'm this guy. You know and that's it. Yeah. Small Pee syndrome. Well it's like they're almost like making up. for lost time. You know, they're pretending to be this type of person now to overcompensate from the fact that they were not this person when, you know, again, and what is that? That's, again, trauma, right?

Trauma, again, like, for at least like me and a lot of my friends that I know, like, you know, I wasn't like the most popular guy in high school, right? I mean, I wasn't really not either. I was just a guy. I had friends and everything was great, right? Everything's good. And so, like, I didn't really have that issue. So, like, you're not going into this with a chip on your shoulder. Like, obviously, everybody wants to be seen as right. Everybody wants to be seen as a good guy, of course. But like the desire and the need for it, I think does drive a lot of effectively what is mental illness. The worst part, they start to believe that vulnerability is weakness, that empathy is a flaw, that asking for help is a failure.

Real strength doesn't need to be loud. It doesn't need applause. It doesn't need a platform. It grows in silence through trial. And something you become, not something you declares. So the question becomes, what kind of strength are we trying to build in ourselves? And what kind of strength are we celebrating in others? Because if we don't know the difference, we'll keep clapping for the counterfeits while the real thing quietly slips away.

So let's come back to the real thing. Real strength is not perfection. It's not dominance. It's not being the loudest person in the room or the most unshakable or unteachable in the spotlight. It's the man who stands alone for what is right. when it costs him everything. It's the woman who forgives what the world says is unforgivable. It's even the leader who kneels before they command.

It's not found in applause. It's found in sacrifice. Look at historical figures such as Nelson... I think that there's a lot of people that, you know, the idea of sacrifice. And the problem also is like the sacrifice stolen valor. It's like for these people, their idea of a sacrifice is like not being like, not going to prom. Right? This is the reason why they have like struggle in their life. And so they're, they're thinking about this and they're like 31 years old.

They're thinking about prom. Like, I mean, I'm sorry. They're a fucking loser. Absolutely a fucking loser. What a bitch. And so anyway, very, very point. Yeah, that's where I'm at. Why?

Exactly. Or like, you know, somebody didn't like you in high school or something like that. I do, and I sounds bad, but I do, I genuinely think that 95% of this is unresolved trauma from being a kid. And I would say like being 20 and under. This is where a lot of these people get their problems from. Mandela, who grew up under the apartheid, in prison for 27 years, and instead of coming out bitter and vengeful, he led a nation towards healing and reconciliation.

That's strength. Look at Corey Ten Boom, a woman who lost everything in the Holocaust, including her sister. and yet she chose to forgive the man who was responsible. That is strength. Look at Martin Luther King Jr. Who faced death threats, violence, and prison. Yet he met hatred with peace and injustice with love. That's strength.

And finally... Well, it's also the... Like, I think that another big thing with strength too is the ability to affect change. Because, like, there's a lot of people that, you know, they try to do something. But it's about also having the power to make a change. and the power to actually do something. And when you have the opportunity

to do the right thing, that's it. So what if you have unresolved trauma? Are you able to write something good or are you doomed? I think that you are able to write something good, but I think that you need to do it with the conscious awareness that to make sure that you're not writing something

that is trauma dumping effectively or that is trying to like make up for something that you personally feel like you're lacking. I think you need that level of self-reacting. I think you need that level of self-revelling. awareness and the problem is that that level of self-awareness is also is almost perceived as being bad at jesus whether you believe in him or not there is no figure in history who better embodies strength through sacrifice he had power authority a following and yet chose the path of suffering

he didn't destroy his enemies he forgave them he didn't demand loyalty i can't believe judas did that shit by the way like i saw some post about this like bro jesus is going out there doing miracles, casting fucking spells and shit. Like, I mean, you're really going to betray a wizard? How dumb? How fucking stupid do you have to be? Like, this dude is a literal

motherfucking wizard, and you're going to try to roach out on him? Really? Think about it. Like, it's just, I mean, you think, that's just a mistake. He washed feet. He didn't save himself. He gave himself. And in doing so, redefined strength not as dominance, but as self-giving love.

Real strength isn't about appearing invincible. It's about remaining faithful, honest and loving, even when you feel broken, especially when you feel broken. These people didn't become strong by demanding the world revolve around them. They became strong by laying something down, their comfort, their ego, their vengeance, and their lives for the sake of something or someone greater. So maybe it's time we relearn what strength. It says MLK cheated on his wife.

It's all nonsense. I think that a lot of people are flawed, and I think that it's really important to, and this is one thing, I'm actually not a big advocate of like looking at an individual and trying to look at people as role models. I think that you should look at attributes, actions, and behaviors as like models to like, you know, like build off of rather than trying to like copy basically what somebody else is doing. Because that's the big issue, right? It's the actions. And so, because like, nobody's perfect, right? No human is going to, like, be able to live up to the standards of never making a mistake, never doing something wrong, et cetera. So the solution to that, in my opinion, is to simply not hold them to that regard. Don't, don't open that door.

The length actually is. It's not the power to dominate. It's the courage to endure, the humility to grow, the grace to forgive, the wisdom to wait, and the character to keep going, especially when no one is watching. Thank you guys for watching. Role models are not allowed to do mistakes. I think that when role models make mistakes,

people try to make excuses for the mistakes rather than being able to accept that people are imperfect. And I think that's the issue with role models, is that when a person tries to model their life after another person, and then that person, for some reason or another, doesn't live up to whatever the expectation is of them, Then after that, there's like a degree of like kind of resentment, right? Or frustration.

And so that's it. That's the problem? Yeah, exactly. And I think that it leads people into that issue. Video and thank you so much to my patrons for supporting me. I'm back on the ball with YouTube again. And I'm going to be producing a lot more videos, a lot quicker going forward. This is just my perspective.

It is a angle. It's not the whole picture of why I believe it is a thing. but I genuinely think that there is a bit of a decline in the idea of strength at the moment. If you agree or disagree with me, I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments section below. Let's keep it respectable again. And thank you guys so much for all the support. And I'll catch you in the next one. Yeah, I totally agree with this, by the way.

I completely agree with everything he's saying. And unreasonable expectations. It's good explaining shit. I have to chat those in our mind because Jesus was mentioned. Well, Jesus is just simply an example, right? I mean, like, it's nothing else really besides that. And also, I mean, really, you can look at 50 other examples

that are kind of the same thing. And you're going to have the same point. I'll link you guys a video. Like, this is a pad of video. I remember I was watching his videos like pretty much like his first video he made and I thought it was great. And so make sure to give him a sub. He's got 36,000 subscribers now. And so yeah, really, really good videos. I think

they're great.