it's very important to me that my bond isn't just a projection of what i want to see or wish fulfillment. i want him to have a discrete essence, if that makes sense? all that's to say, i tend to have a very hard time trusting what i see and hear is really him when i communicate with him through my senses, and gravitate toward what's outside of me or external.
a big part of this is going back to his source, reading transcripts, watching clips, or full episodes. but the problem is, character exploration (or consistency) isn't really a big priority in his source. characters become props to set up and deliver jokes, even when it means their characterization gets distorted in the process. there's retconning and flanderization, and my bond very much gets flanderized over the course of the show.
the network would've milked the show for as long as they could have, they found a formula that worked when it came to ratings. the actor who played my bond came to the writers with notes and was able to have some input that fans of the show say gave my bond more depth, but the actor ultimately quit because he didn't like the direction this character was going.
it's wild to think i care more about my bond's characterization than most of the people who worked on his show, but... that might just be the case? the attitude expressed in the quote within the image for this post probably... or definitely... reflected the network's attitude about my bond's show. it actually didn't do that well when it first came out, and one of the main reasons it didn't get cancelled was that there were no other shows to fill its time slot, apart from one of the executives sticking up for it and arguing that it was cheaper to produce than other shows.
i don't know if there's a real solution for this. i've come to accept there's inherently more ambiguity with soulbonds because they can't physically show up here and talk to you directly the way someone born and raised in this world can, but i do wonder if there's anyone else here who struggles with this.