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golden-moony · 6 months ago

Text

king of my heart | pt. 4

part 1 | part 2 | part 3 | part 4

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yourusername

liked by maxverstappen1, carlossainz55, landonorris, and 74,922 others!

yourusername life lately 💌

user1 swiftie, romcom lover and f1 fan... she's really one of us🩷

user2 and that's why she's the girlies' bestie

user3 QUEEN WE MISSED U SO MUCH

user4 as pretty as always 😍

user5 i'm probably reaching here but posting THAT movie feels like a statement's being made 👀

user6 right?? after all the drama she goes and posts that movie title and i just don't know how to feel user7 user6 thank god she just posted the title cause if she'd posted the "you can't lose something you never had" line, i would've lost my mind 😥 user8 or maybe yn just likes the movie??? user9 user8 THIS!! people act like there's a secret meaning to everything and i'm tired of that crap

user10 i'm a simple girl: i see yn and taylor swift in the same post, i like

user11 so what happened? were you starting to lose relevance and decided to come back?😂😂

user12 she needs to pay the bills somehow 😂 user13 girlie came back to keep playing the victim lol user14 y'all need to get a life asap.

user15 YOU DROP THIS QUEEN 👑

carmenmmundt gorgeous woman 😍

yourusername you are💗 user16 OMG MY FAV GIRLS INTERACTING user17 carmen please please please stay away from this problematic woman😕

user18 soooo are we gonna talk about lando liking the post or what

user19 girl i can't do this again user20 can't believe lando is back again with this bitch😒 user21 user20 wtf??? it's just a like omfg chill.

user22 yn please don't leave us again 🥺

📞 calling Pato

[yn; normal] [pato; cursive]

"Hi-"

"I'm not gonna lie, you are either very brave or very stupid for calling me right after the videos of your little date with Lando are going viral. Did you get tired of hiding your relationship?"

"...Guess I deserve that."

"[sights] What do you want, yn?"

"I swear I won't take up much of your time. I just want to talk... well, apologize, actually. I'd prefer to do it face to face rather than over the phone but I know that right now I'm probably the last person you wanna see. At least this way, if you don't wanna keep listening to me, you can just end the call."

"Well, I'm very tempted to end the call right now."

"Pato, I-"

"However, I'm also very curious about what you have to say."

"So...?"

"So I'll give you a chance to talk. But I promise you yn, if I hear any lame excuses, I will hang up and block you. Are we clear?"

"Hundred percent clear."

"Then talk."

"Well... first of all, I'm sorry. I'm really, really sorry. I promise it was never my intention to hurt you, even if I ended up doing it anyway. I should've told you from the beginning the kind of relationship I had with Lando and I should've been honest with you, especially when my feelings towards you changed to something deeper. I kno-"

"Hold on. What?"

"What do you mean what?"

"What did you just say?"

"That I'm sorry I lied to yo-"

"No, no. The part about your feelings."

"Oh. Well... you heard me. And I don't know why you sound so surprised. I mean, what happened between me and Lando in Spain was a stupid and terrible decision I made, and I should've known better cause my feelings for you were getting stronger."

"Then why did you sleep with him?"

"I... [sights]. I've thought about it a lot in the last few weeks, you know? I was trying to put all the blame on Lando when in the end I was the one who took the initiative. We were just going to talk to end that situationship once and for all, and then I kissed him. And instead of stopping him when he was going for more, I just let it happen cause in my head it was a form of goodbye. Clearly I ended up feeling guilty but the damage was done. And when I could've made things right by telling you the truth about what happened, I didn't. I was embarrassed, but mostly scared of losing the best man I've ever known... but that ended up happening anyway, and I'm to blame for that."

"..."

"Pato?"

"Did you love him?"

"No. We started out as friends and one day I realized I was attracted to him, one night one thing led to another and we became friends with benefits ever since. He didn't want a relationship at that time and neither did I. But in the last few months that changed for me. I wanted a partner, a committed relationship. Lando wasn't that and I was tired of being just a "casual thing". So no. I liked him, but I never loved him."

"So what was that date night about?"

"Just us being adults and having a real and necessary conversation. I had things to apologize for and so did he. I think Lando and I finally found common ground and are ready to move forward... not with each other, just to be clear. Just friends and nothing else."

"For real this time?"

"For real this time. My priorities and my heart are elsewhere."

"Oh, really? Where?"

"I could tell you or I could show you. To be honest, and if you let me, I'd rather show you. You know, actions speak louder than words."

"Yeah, I've heard that. You have any idea?"

"It depends. What are you doing on Friday?"

pacers

liked by elbaoward, tyresehaliburton, arrowmclaren, and 43,942 others!

pacers We had some motorsport representation in the house tonight!

user1 ynpato being hard launched (again?) by the pacers was not on my bingo card but i appreciate it🫶

user2 this is so random and i love it!! user3 the pacers earned my respect after this 🫡 user4 pacers stonks after this hard launch📈📈📈

user5 YNPATO BASKETBALL DATE? WE WON FR

user6 this is like straight out of a movie 😻 user7 THEY'RE SO ROMCOM CODED

user8 NOOO PATO NOT HER AGAIN 😫😫

user9 right? my week has been ruined. user10 keep cryin' haters 😘

indycar Hi yn and pato!! 👋

user11 basket date a few days after her post? she's an icon AND the mastermind fr 💅

user12 context?? user13 user12 her last ig post included a pic of "how to lose a guy in 10 days" and some people were speculating it could mean something, now yn goes with pato to a basketball game just like in the movie 😂 user14 SHE MANIFESTED IT AS THE QUEEN SHE IS🙌

user15 real question is: yourusername did Pato get you a soda?

patriciooward of course i did! 🙄 yourusername not only that but he also got his head in the game😏🏀 user16 I'M LIVING FOR THIS REFERENCES

user17 they make such a beautiful couple omg🥹

user18 are y'all forgetting she was in a date with lando just a few days ago????

user19 she belongs to the streets fr user20 the day y'all understand yn can be friends with lando or anyone is when you'll finally grow up.

user21 not related but she always slays with her outfits🔥

user22 fashion icon for real 🤩 user23 i want her wardrobe so bad😩

user24 YNPATO CONFIRMED 🚀🚀🚀

user25 i just wanna know if pato can fight 🤺

user26 i wanna be her so badly 😩

user27 same girl, same

yourusername posted to their story!

yourusername

liked by arrowmclaren, oscarpiastri, frosenqvist, and 79,889 others!

yourusername And all at once, you are the one I have been waiting for. King of my heart, body and soul 🧡

user1 MOM AND DAD ARE THRIVING 😍

user2 and we love to see it! user3 this is their world and we're just living in it

user4 yn is stronger than me cause if Pato looked at me like in the second pic... 😳😳

user5 IKR??? I'M DEAD user6 i was not ready for that, i'm currently on the floor user7 i meaaaan she's dating him, she already won in life

user8 THE CAPTION???? omg they're so cute🥹

user9 YNPATO AND TAYLOR GANG WE WON

user10 relationship goals for real ❤️‍🔥

user11 tired of being a spectator, I WANT WHAT THEY HAVE😭

landonorris if you three weren't that cute i'd try to steal Norbi from you

patriciooward back off, Norris 🤺 landonorris watch out, O'Ward 🤺 yourusername oh hell no mclaren arrowmclaren may i have permission to ground these kids? mclaren you may proceed 😉 patriciooward WHAT landonorris THE BETRAYAL user12 i used to pray for interactions like these 😭😭 user13 user12 we've come so far 😭 user14 WAAAAR IS OOOOVER

user15 yn's living her best life and i'm so happy for her 🤧

elbaoward I don't appreciate being left out of the photo, but I love you lovebirds anyway 💘

yourusername imma post a dump of just beautiful pics of you😘 love u elbaoward i'll be waiting then ☺️ patriciooward i also want a photo dump🥺 yourusername no 😚 user16 i want to belong to this family so bad, do you need a nanny for Norbi or anything?

user17 atp I'm just waiting for the engagement announcement

user18 same but i don't think i'll survive it user19 CAN U IMAGINE? OMG

user20 tag yourself i'm Norbi in the last pic

patriciooward te amo, preciosa ❤️

yourusername love u more, handsome 🥰 user21 AND I LOVE YOU BOTH

taglist: @drunkinthemiddleoftheday @evie-119 @evans-dejong @minkyungseokie @noneofyourfbusinessworld @bernelflo @eiaaasamantha @ijustgomessitupx @honethatty12 @daemyratwst @f1fan65 @littlexscarletxwitch @sheslikeacurse @charlottejpg @lichterfee @callsignwidow @phantomxoxo @stinkyjax @rubywingsracing @willowpains @urfavsgf @biitch-with-wifi @lightdragonrayne @illicitverstappen @herebereblogs @tvdtw4ever @nataliambc @norwayxo

author's note: AND THAT'S A WRAP! Thank you so much for giving this story a chance💖 To my Lando girlies, don't be mad! He was a jerk in this story but I'll post another one where he gets the love he actually deserves. And to my Pato girlies, stay tuned! I plan to post more stories with him cause it's what our lovely man deserves. And if you want me to write about some other driver, feel free to send me a request! I'll see what I can do🧡 See y'all soon!

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montimer · 4 months ago

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Please please if you could..can you make

self aware!Deadpool x gn!reader that got suddenly transferred to the marvel universe?

Like the reader is trying to survive while Deadpool just knows this specific person has a crush on him or.. something else? Your choice!

>insert this anime girl gif as a signature

Mhm sure sounds good! Hope i did good

Self aware!Deadpool x reader who got transferred to marvel universe

Gn!reader

You've been a big fan of him since a long time. You could say you even had a lil crush on him. Smiling so widely whenever hes on screen. Excitedly reading his comic books and buying other merch. Drawing him, perhaps even writing fanfiction.

One day your phone started glowing and you panicked that this old piece of crap is gonna explode or something. Turns out it did not blow up instead when the bright light that made you almost blind stopped, you were in a complete different place. It looked like you were in a middle of a street.

Never been here before, what just happened? And what is that noise? Sounds like someones getting hit, no-shot?

You shaked ur phone trying to do the same affect but stopped as you heard someone coming closer.

"Hmm, whats this? My chimichanga senses are tingling" you turned around upon hearing the familiar voice. There not too far standed deadpool himself. You would be happy if you weren't to notice the dead body as you looked down to his legs.

"Oh uh, don't worry about that. He was a bad guy anyways ya know? Plus as long as you aren't one of those guys, which you don't seem to look like then you'll be fine!" He tried reassuring you. You just stared at him. He squished his eyes into a smile, you seem so adorable when you are surprised.

"Anyways mission completed! And i need my money to take this hot stuff one a hot date!" You still quietly standed there, confused. Is he still talking to you or to himself?

He came up close and you tried your best not to sound too nervous.

"W-wait, before you go can you tell me where am i and how do i get home? I mean my phone flashed and now im here i-" he put a finger to your mouth "shhh, calm down sweets, talk slow" you shut down from this, it made your face feel a bit warm

"I know you aren't from around here. You are a lovely fan of mine!" his eyes turned into hearts and he put his hands together with one of his legs up in the air.

Oh right, he is very much aware. That is rather embarrassing..but wait

"How do you know that?"

"Oh you know when you look at me on tv i kind of look back. And if you want more juicy details then you better accept my invite to this great restaurant that i found!"

He sounds like as if he knew you were gonna transport here..oh well its better to stay with him then all alone for now. Maybe he can help? You don't mind that much anyway

"Fine fine, i'll go if you promise to help okay?" He nodded happily, took your hand and dragged you with him.

Then he quickly grabbed the dead body by the arm and started dragging that too.

"Wha-" "I gotta show evidence that i did the job. I have to get paid first to actually take you out. We'll be quick"

Now holding hands with him you just walked where he did hoping this to be over soon. He did not shut up on his way and he definitely won't keep quiet any time soon either. Stuck with him you accept your fate (secretly you very much enjoy this)

Should i make part too cuz this got a lil too long? Or just a shorter ver explaining more

#deadpool x gn reader #deadpool x male reader #deadpool x reader #deadpool #wade wilson x gn reader #wade wilson x male reader #wade x reader #wade wilson x reader #wade wilson

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rileyclaw · 2 years ago

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Hii! First off i just want to I'm such a big fan of your art and animatics! Your art is just so expressive and unique its addicting to look at 💞💞

I was wondering if you could go over how your process or tutorial in making an animatic? Whenever I try to start to make one, I get jumbled up and end up ditching it lol

I'm sorry if you get this question a lot 😭

So sorry it took me so long to answer this- I was in a Busy time (diseaseridden with covid and being punched by finals) when I got the ask and wanted to answer it with some stuff Im using for my next TOH animatic!!

I'll say one thing first: I get jumbled up and ditch so many animatics. For every one animatic I release, there are three to five more I have that have NEVER seen the light of day (yet). And that's okay!! It's fun just to make them for me, and I hope it is for you too!! Animatics are scary because if you're working on it alone, it can be really hard to be your own cheerleader to keep up the mojo to keep going. So that makes it really special when there is that project that makes it to the finish line- cuz you can look at it and go "holy crap I made this. holy crap i MADE that look how SICK that is dude!! all that work and look at the turnout!!"

The following stuffh is just my personal process and is by no means representative of a professional animation pipeline, but this works for me as a Lonely Artist! It all begins with the idea - whether it's a song, or just a story you wanna tell. In the case of the one I'm gonna demo here with , I wanted to animate Hunter's first day as Del's apprentice!

The first thing I did was write a script. Not fancy or AO3-quality, but enough that I understand the pacing and the visuals of each shot. I usually just put this in a doc or put it in a script format, if I feel fancy.

Then, I take that script and find music that I think would fit for it- and remix it (if needed) to fit the pacing/mood/etc! This is what this new animatic looked like before I began ANY artwork- this is a me thing because I'm super inspired by audio as opposed to visuals first. But you might be different- this is just how I like working personally!

Then begins the research! I find references for characters, background layouts, and create a style guide for the animatic that tells me how thick lines will be for characters, backgrounds, if there'll be tons of value or no. I make a turnaround for each character so I can refer to them because Im gonna be drawing them over and over a LOT and want to be consistent! Luckily TOH has no shortage of references, so I based my work off them.

THEN, I can begin drawing. I'm a little,,, (a lot) ADHD and may not always do this process, but if you're new to animatics or daunted by the task at hand, make beat boards of the entire project.

This is just a page of rough thumbnails that get your visual idea down - look how rough and quick these are!! I try not to spend over a minute on each beat board if I dont have to, unless it's a particularly complex shot.

When it gets to the stage where you're ready to begin the actual scenes, I personally tend to do backgrounds first because I like to set characters into backgrounds - and for every animatic, I have the Awkward Blue Sketch Stage which is basically my beat boards timed out as an animatic.

I used Storyboard Pro for this (Toonboom, not free ): icky), but the process can be replicated across most art platforms in whichever way you feel most comfy with! This is so I can time the drawings before I devote time cleaning them up-- which can make for some Pretty Funny looking little guys but theyre important!! trust!!

Once a big sequence of shots is cleaned up (I usually do 40-60 second chunks at a time), I export the .mov and send it to my editing program (which in this case is still Premiere Pro) - and then repeat this process again and again until.. it's done??

Here's like a TL;DR list of basically everything I said summed up:

• Make a loose script or bulletin of the idea! Do your research!

• Depending on what kind of animatic you're making, time it to music!

• Make a beat board of very loose gestures for your shots, and time them - then move on to refinement & cleanup!

• Combine all shots, refine music cues and timings, add any last needed VFX, and export!

There's no secret recipe or anything, it's just learning a pipeline that best suits you, whether it is for something professional or something you want to make for fun because you just love to make!!

#riley talks #long post #SORRY ITS LONG but i couldnt just put a bulletin list like “this is the ONLY method that works” bc thats not true!!!#everyone works diferently especially artists #and this is just my specific method of working #im very fortunate to have programs that make animatic-making a little easier #so i hope whoever wishes to make one in the future finds something that works well for them!! i have a blast making storyboards/animatics!!#text post #ask #tutorial #idk how to tag this lol

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the-way-astray · 1 month ago

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ok so I know you don't like Keefe but I wonder what your extensive thoughts on Sophie are (if you have any)

i do, anon! all thoughts that follow are almost 100% subjective, etc. etc. etc. it starts out negative, because i want to end on a positive note :) this will be long

alright i will start by saying: i love sophie. but when i started reading the series, i was very much a sophie hater. actually, that's a bit strong. i was a sophie . . . non-enjoyer. while part of it was definitely the fact that i was exposed only to people that hated on sophie, i also did think by myself that sophie was a tad annoying, to put it mildly.

i've talked extensively about how much i dislike keefe, as you've mentioned, and part of that isn't really about keefe at all, so much as it is the way the narrative frames keefe. and the narrative is . . . mostly sophie herself. surprising exactly nobody, i'm not a fan of the way she lets keefe walk all over her, and the way she's kind of a doormat when it comes to him. she lets him off the hook all the time, justifies the crap out of his behavior, and even when you can tell she feels something negative from whatever toxic trait he's exhibiting this time, she never says anything about it, except for once or twice (i've talked about the nightfall scene at length before, and how it results in zero character development for keefe, just the illusion of it, and same with the legacy thing). it would be incredibly satisfying to have sophie tell keefe something like "hey, if you keep ruining all our plans because you're too stupid/arrogant to let the plan go according to plan, then we won't be able to include you. sorry not sorry". yet she doesn't. and she doesn't even have a good reason most of the time. like in legacy, when she went to tell him that his mom had ordered tam to kill him, after tam had specifically told her not to do that, because they both know keefe makes atrocious decisions when it comes to his mom. and yet sophie still goes straight to him and decides to tell him!!!! and it's like why the fuck would you do that???? keefe needs to be put in his place, and unfortunately, it seems like sophie is the only person that has the power to do that. it annoys the fuck out of me that the fact that keefe is constantly shitty to her doesn't seem to affect their relationship in the slightest. she somehow still trusts him the same after all the shit he's put her through, she still thinks him smart despite evidence to the contrary, and in general, when it comes to keefe she's excruciatingly irrational and lenient. and it annoys me. like she's so logical everywhere else, why can't she be the same with keefe? it makes her character ridiculously inconsistent, to me at least. i won't talk about this any more than this because i've already ranted about it at length but: the answer to that is basically that shannon needs to keep shoving sokeefe and keefe loving sophie and sophie needing keefe down the audience's throats. it's very fan-service-y, but i'll leave it at that for now.

here's where i may make some people mad, so i would like to say that this is all what i used to think. i've since matured, so i don't really think this anymore. but her crush on fitz. oh, boy. when i first read the series i found it the epitome of annoying. i was basically screaming at her (mentally, i did read most of this series in school lmfao) to get it together the entire time. i was just like. sophie. just. stop being so weird around him! he's just a guy! there's no need to act like an idiot and a half every time you interact with him to the point where everyone around you can tell what's up! it gave me a ridiculous amount of secondhand embarrassment. i was like . . . sophie . . . you can have a crush . . . but you don't have to be so obvious and embarrassing about it. anyway. i've since realized i'm aro and also apparently somewhat emotionally repressed so i think i'm just not like sophie. but because i couldn't understand why the fuck she was letting the stupid crush drag her through the mud, socially speaking, i found it excruciating. although i now understand why sophie acts the way she does, even to this day when i read those scenes where keefe or biana or dex makes a comment that implies they know exactly what's up with sophie and fitz it makes me so embarrassed (secondhandedly speaking), like come on, sophie, can't you make your crush just a tad less obvious???? but i also get that that's just how sophie is. again, this is entirely a personal taste thing.

legacy sophie annoyed the crap out of me, not gonna lie. it was excruciating. keefe consistently told her, again and again, to reach out to fitz, to confide in fitz, to lean on fitz. and then! she doesn't!!!! the thing is i can't even necessarily be mad because she fully acknowledges herself that she was a bad girlfriend. but also it's like could you not have gone to fitz just once instead of keefe. just once!!!! he literally told you he'd go at your pace!!!! even after he knows about the matchmaking thing, he's still willing to be with her, and he also wants to help her search for her parents, something she has interest in at that point. just. watching sophie make a mess out of her relationship with fitz was so annoying to me. i would put around 90% of the blame of sophitz falling apart on sophie, because she's the one who consistently ignored him, despite being told not to do that exact thing by both himself and keefe. and it's like!!!! i get it!!!! it can't be easy knowing you're dating a guy who literally cannot be in a bad match after being told you're going to be a bad match. i get the perspective. but it was still hella annoying to read. i wanted sophie to properly communicate with fitz just once, just once, and the miscommunication grated on me the entire time. the miscommunication trope is one of my least favorites and god, i just wanted sophie to be a good girlfriend to fitz just once!!!! just once!!!! like you have fitz over here, doing literally everything he can to try to meet sophie halfway, beyond halfway, even, and then you have sophie, spitting in the fact of his efforts. it's hard not to get frustrated reading that.

there's also this small moment at the beginning of legacy where she gets super butthurt that keefe left her out of one of his personal projects that has nil to do with her, then tries to like . . . guilt keefe into telling her? almost? and it's the same thing keefe's always doing with her, and it's very shady. no, sophie, you do not have a right to know everything keefe knows just because you're his friend!!!! back off!!!! that same scene she flips through one of his personal notebooks without his permission while he looks visibly uncomfortable, too. stop it!!!! that's not yours!!!! keep your hands to yourself!!!!

and my least favorite thing sophie has ever done in the entire series happens in legacy too: hijacking fitz's project and letting alvar go. oh my goodness. i cannot even begin to describe how much that single (hmm maybe not single, but they're connected) action pissed me off. she knew for the entire book how hard fitz was working to find alvar! keefe explicitly states that he was feeling a mix of some very negative emotions, which is how he nailed down that him working on his dad's memories was about alvar. she knew he was dealing with keefe's ass dad for the sole purpose of trying to find alvar after the shitshow that went down in flashback, and she knew exactly what he was going through in that book as well!!!! and then!!!! she fucking hijacks his project, doesn't even have the decency to tell him, and tries to justify it with some bullshit "oh, your dad's gotten too good at pushing fitz around" stuff. like sophie. that's very talk-down-y to fitz. like he's not a little kid!!!! let him make decisions for himself!!!! stop taking his choice away!!!! and i don't like it. and then, when she succeeds at fitz's project, she doesn't even have the decency to tell him then!!!! like, girl, i don't know how i can continue to defend this!!!!

and then!!!! it gets fucking worse!!!! because she actively stops fitz from achieving the one goal he's been trying to achieve for the entire book (about three weeks, for context, it's actually the shortest kotlc book timeline-wise besides unlocked): trying to capture alvar. like, sophie. come on. and i do feel bad for keefe in this scene, i truly do. it's like the telling-sophie-to-confide-in-fitz thing, he's doing so much to try to keep their relationship together, and then when sophie's out here with a baseball bat fucking smashing it to pieces and he's just standing there watching it, you're like. okay, that must be painful. anyway, back to sophie. her reasoning is shit, this decision is shit, the fact that keefe is the one that tells fitz she let alvar go is shit, everything about this scene fucking sucks. as fitz said, not only is sophie more powerful than the average telepath, but she and fitz are cognates. there's pretty much no way they couldn't have gotten the secret from alvar, even if he supposedly knows how to hide the real story from the fakes. and!!!! that doesn't even consider the fact that sophie and keefe could've just backstabbed alvar. he was weak, and the deal was they'd let him go if he told them, right? well they could've just. not let him go!!!! that was a valid option!!!! it pisses me off that they didn't do that. the second sophie saw alvar, she should've been thinking about how fitz was looking for him and how she was going to capture him so fitz didn't go down a very dark path, the same thing she'd be thinking if it was gisela and keefe. but no!!!! she doesn't even consider capturing alvar a priority in the slightest, if not for the sake of capturing alvar itself, then at least for the sake of supporting her boyfriend. and that pisses me off.

i do agree that fitz's . . . method of communication . . . was not the greatest. that's why i think he deserves 10% of the blame. but everything he says was perfectly logical. he just says it very emotionally so it's difficult for sophie to think about anything other than the fact that he's yelling at her. but his points were valid.

and what actually pisses me off isn't that in and of itself, it's just how quickly the narrative just . . . lets sophie get away with it. when fitz and sophie do their shoddy little make-up at the end of legacy, there's never an implication that fitz feels some resentment toward sophie for stopping him from achieving his goal. like he just drops it instantly???? and he's the one apologizing, which he needed to, but sophie owed him an even bigger apology, like what she did to him could be considered some form of betrayal???? like sophie. you were wrong. you were wrong. when is the narrative going to let sophie be wrong, and not villainize the person saying she is???? she should've been apologizing to fitz for the shit she put him through this entire book, yet she did not. when fitz shows up she sighs and goes "is this about alvar" and fitz is like "no, of course not!!!! i would never!!!!" and i was like. this should be about alvar. stop making it out to be that fitz would be in the wrong for making it about alvar, he deserves to call sophie's ass out for that instantly!!!! sophie should be villainized for that action. but instead fitz drops it and it never comes up again. now i am truly pissed at sophie. just because she's the main character doesn't mean everything has to bend to her whims. she's allowed to learn and grow like everyone else.

basically, if keefe is the main reason i don't ship sokeefe, then sophie is the main reason i don't ship sophitz. that comparison will make sense to people who have read my anti keefe stuff, but if you haven't, ignore that.

moving onto unlocked sophie! i don't know what happened to sophie in these later books but i don't like it. there's one specific moment that really grates on me in unlocked, except that moment then expands over like four or something chapters. which for a sixteen-chapter-novella is . . . a lot. when keefe decides, in an uncharacteristically logical manner, to stay away from sophie because she seems to be making his abilities go out of control, she gets so butthurt and at this point i'm just sitting here rolling my eyes because i don't even know how to defend this anymore. she somehow manages to twist it in her head to make it out to be like, "keefe doesn't want me around!!!!" and then gets super butthurt at something . . . that isn't happening. in the slightest. and it's not even a logical conclusion to jump to!!!! she just fucking does!!!! and then!!!! the narrative supports this view by having keefe apologize to her in an incredibly forced scene for something . . . he didn't do. his offense was *checks notes* trying not to harm anyone with his new, dangerous ability by keeping someone who basically acts as an amplifier away. i can only assume shannon put this in here because she loves her forced consolation sokeefe scenes, whichever direction they may be in, because it makes no sense whatsoever and is just about the dumbest thing to have to make up over.

and burning the archetype pissed me off. to be clear: totally chill with her burning down the storehouse. but the archetype???? and then later she justifies it by saying "well, gisela hasn't come looking for it so it's probably not important". like no???? gisela tells sophie and keefe in nightfall that she has a photographic memory and has the entire thing memorized . . . please . . . can you tell i hate it when. stupid characters. i hate this!!!! it's not even like an understandable stupid decision! sophie makes tons of those throughout the series and they make sense! but they're still stupid (see: reading king dimitar's mind). this was straight up stupid stupid. it was so bad . . . so bad . . . ugh. she tells flori to keep the archetype safe, then like five seconds later changes her mind completely???? i can only assume shannon did this because the archetype would ruin the story (make it too easy if the crew got their hands on it), but then she didn't have to write the archetype into that scene at all!!!! done! i don't understand the decision here . . . it was so utterly stupid it scares me.

i don't like stellarlune sophie. i don't like stellarlune in general, but stellarlune sophie feels like a hyper-girlbossed caricature of sophie. kotlc has a major girlbosses-instead-of-proper-female-characters problem, and nothing illustrates that more than stellarlune sophie. if the elves were to make a movie out of sophie after this is all over that parades her around as a hero, they would characterize her as something close to stellarlune sophie. absolutely despise sophie's personality in that book (and the books leading up to it, legacy and unlocked). everyone's constantly telling sophie to her face how she's not that little girl anymore and how she's so grown up and how she doesn't take anyone's shit anymore (false, see: keefe) and how she has this badass new personality now and how they're a fan of her snark and this and that and the other and it makes me want to scream (because one, it's terrible writing, and two, it's just not true). one of shannon's worst examples of tell-not-show. i don't know how to describe stellarlune's entire vibe aside from "desperate". currently on lodestar in my reread (well, if my computer lets me back into the ebook) and i just. like sophie so much more in this book. she has good plans, she has some fight, she has somewhat of a sense of humor and the narrative isn't constantly spoonfeeding how cool she is at the reader. you're allowed to form your own opinions on her.

which is a good way to start talking about the things i like about sophie! i love sophie in books one through seven. there's a conversation in flashback with mr. forkle (blech) where he tells sophie that she may be ready for more responsibility in black swan, and it feels infinitely more natural than the weird spoonfeeding we get in the later books about how grown up sophie is, because you can feel that sophie in flashback is very different than sophie in keeper, and not in a weird over-the-top forced girlboss-ish way. i genuinely liked that scene, despite forkle (yucky).

okay, the storehouse fire. i liked it, as i mentioned earlier. it was a fantastic character moment for sophie. but what i like even more than that is that sophie faces a ton of opposition for it, both rational and irrational (irrational being the shit like "you just started a war" . . . to which i say, hello, where have to been for the last eight books, as well as the rational stuff like forkle saying that she didn't think before she started the fire, as well as the mid arguments of like "now the neverseen are going to be extra motivated to get revenge, and it's your fault, sophie"). because that's realistic! when you do anything bold like what sophie did, you are going to be met with lots of illogical and logical arguments for both sides. it's a lot to navigate, and it's a lesson in nuance. sophie now has to navigate this, and she does, for pretty much the rest of the book. in the end, you're sort of forced to sit with the fact that sophie's action wasn't perfect, nor was it horrible. it had bad sides (she did it somewhat recklessly) but it also had good sides (she did take out their soporidine stores and retrieve the caches). and that nuance is a fantastic addition to the story.

i like the concept behind sophie. outside kotlc tumblr, one of the main criticisms you'll see of sophie is that she's too overpowered . . . and it's like . . . yeah . . . nice job, you have successfully nailed down the premise of the series. do you want a cookie for this marvelous achievement. literally the point of the story is that sophie cannot defeat the neverseen with her numerous, powerful abilities alone. she can't. they have been planning this for years and unless she puts some serious thought and good planning into it, she will never be able to catch up. it doesn't matter how powerful she is, the neverseen are smarter. so what's the solution then? well, she has to sit down and come up with a solid plan to take them down. she has to go on the offensive instead of just defending herself and her loved ones. and you see her take that step in stellarlune. and most importantly, she has to stop being so reckless. this is the thing. sophie has shown throughout the series that she has a knack for being reckless. you see it with king dimitar, you see it with several other things. but the thing is that that's a flaw. it puts herself and others in danger and if she wants to take the neverseen down for good, she needs to work on that. in that way, the fact that sophie is so overpowered serves as a vehicle for character development: at one point she'll realize that it's just not enough. and she'll have to change accordingly.

i think sophie being faced with the fact that she'll likely end up having to kill a neverseen member is a good thread to introduce. i wish it had been done before stellarlune, because this series is gloriously repetitive, but better late than never, i suppose. i like that she knows that one day she may have to go there, and she's dealing with that beforehand and trying to stomach it before she can get there. i'm curious to see where this will go, and i'm not entirely certain it will go anywhere, since shannon has a tendency to drop random plot/character threads, but that will be interesting to see unfold (if it does).

sophie's character is about perspective. a change of perspective in a world that desperately needs it. and i like that. it's easy to see how the elves might carry on thinking their world is perfect, because that's all everyone talks about or verbalizes. like we know our world isn't perfect, only because we are taught the appropriate history and we have exposure to several resources that show us the sneaky (and not-so-sneaky) ways people are exploited. but the elves don't have that. if you are talentless or otherwise affected, it's like, well. you shut up, and i think you're even almost gaslighted into thinking yourself that the world is perfect because that's what everyone says. there is nobody to tell the elves to check their internal biases, there is nobody to show them all the ways their society is wrong. so sophie is valuable there. on top of that, people pay attention to her. this makes her perspective all the more valuable, because people will actually listen. and i think that concept is incredibly fascinating. i want to see a scene where sophie calls everyone out in a really bold way, where it's undeniable that she's poking holes through society's weak spots. so far, we haven't really seen her make any bold statements, just her checking her friends' biases every so often. but i hope that's where her story is going, and why shannon seems so obsessed with spoonfeeding us how bold sophie's getting.

obviously, as a reader, i'm dead curious about who her bio parents are. but i think it makes a lot of sense that sophie herself doesn't want to know unless provided with an incentive (matchmaking/fitz). it makes her even more fleshed out, because it sort of reminds you that sophie doesn't like any of this. given the choice she probably wouldn't even be a noble. she wants to be as detached from project moonlark as possible, because she doesn't like the spotlight. she doesn't want to know things because she's curious, she only wants to know them so that the neverseen can be defeated. and you see a sort of attitude of trying to be as detached from project moonlark as possible while still insisting that she's the moonlark, meaning she was designed to be a part of everything that's going on. that's really interesting to me. the relationship between sophie and project moonlark, and how it distorts her perception of herself. she doesn't like being the moonlark, yet she's obsessed with being a perfect one, she's obsessed with filling the role she tells herself she needs to fill. you can see how that leads to conversations like the ones where black swan members are telling her she wasn't really made for anything other than to be herself, and you see her grapple with that for the series.

tldr: i like the themes and general direction that sophie's arc and story appear to be going in, but there are a few things she does that i feel the narrative lets her off the hook far too easily for.

#kotlc #kotlc sophie #anti sophie foster #pro sophie foster #<- because i defended AND attacked her sorry y'all i got a complicated relationship with her #anon #asks #there's a lot i haven't said in this essay but i just realized it was WAY too long so. we're leaving it here for now boys #i won't say she's a perfectly written character but she's not as bad as non-tumblr platforms make her out to be

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self-indulgent-paw-patrol · 3 months ago

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I’m gonna throw my five bucks on a certain subject here. Some swearing will apply and this post is LONG AS HELL, so be warned.

The TL;DR of this post is: Paw Patrol canon has been treating most pups like shit lately for several seasons now, so if you ever feel frustrated or absolutely pissed at Paw Patrol canon and the way they’re portrayed most of the time nowadays, know you can count on me here and on my pups’ askblog to have some fucking good food for your soul. I may be slow sometimes because I have a life outside the internet just like everyone else, but I'm not going away. Fuck canon, I'll give my damn self what they've been denying us of and I'll make a point of sharing it with you because we're all tired and the time to make things happen ourselves is long overdue.

I understand how most older fans are extremely frustrated with the way Paw Patrol has been different from what they used to watch and love long ago. You guys have been following this show for years - I started just this January. I didn’t have to spend long weeks, months, years even, waiting for things to happen or get better, and just being more and more frustrated. You have all the right to be pissed beyond your minds now.

I am fortunate enough to see things with the different mindset of someone who’s “binge watching”. While I didn’t need to wait weeks for new episodes, I got to see things at a faster pace and take some conclusions myself too about certain things. I’m gonna share what I think so far.

1- It’s logical to have Chase be a first responder most times, though I can see he’s not being used the way he could be. They’re not exploring his potential, they’re just making a point of using him just because. That is a problem because he is actually a character with an important job/role which could be used in many other ways other than what’s been happening for several seasons now. Also, I don’t give a damn fuck about any of that “he’s cop propaganda” crap. It’s a cartoon about dogs with jobs that are important to keep society functioning. I don’t care cops are jobs created with bad intents way back then, it IS an important job that just can and should be addressed differently now, evolving along with the society it’s supposed to care for. That being said, he BARELY does any cop job at all anyway, he's more like a traffic control and search & rescue pup, which by itself is already sort of a concern too since he's supposed to be a police pup, but whatever.

2- Marshall is really badly used for several seasons too and I honestly wonder why they even have a Firefighter pup if they won’t have him do firefighter stuff. He only does RESCUE stuff. And barely at that. As a friend of mine commented some time ago, he’s treated as the town’s janitor, not a firefighter. We literally barely have any fire ever too. Be careful, guys, you can’t show fire to kids, it’s bad stuff!!! Fire is forbidden!!!! (/sarcasm) Reason for me to fucking love the movies is literally just to see Marshall having his badass moments putting out actual fire.

3- I feel bad for Skye and her fans. For real, I’m not kidding. I like her. And as a fan I can also see ALL the issues they have been causing on her. The most known issue is how she’s overused to the point we’re exhausted of seeing her being a first responder for literally anything, especially for things that could have been solved by other pups (usually taking Marshall off his opportunities to use his ladder for height rescues, lessening even more what little rescue jobs he has left). They do that because they made a big fat mistake when they decided there would be only one female in the main team and now that they “need” female rep for the girls (and their own daughters/etc), they need to overuse the only one they have available 100% of the episodes, at the expense of erasing the other pups. The worst part is that they don’t even try an effort on how to work with her, they just shove her in there to do anything in any way. I haven’t seen her use her pup-pack’s wings in ages now, only that goddamned helicopter and harness or hook.

4- My biggest issue with Zuma is not even the fact he’s barely called for any mission at all for over half the show. I can say for a fact that people who live by beaches have a damn sense of how to behave around water. I live by several touristic tropical beaches. THE LOCALS KNOW NOT TO MESS WITH THE FUCKING OCEAN, the people who fuck up are ALWAYS tourists who have no idea about how beaches work. Meanwhile, the locals know when tides will rise, they know when it’s good time for fishing, they know to read the waters, they know to read the skies, they know where it’s good and safe for swimming or diving. It’s not just “mystical native knowledge” or something they ACTIVELY know they know, it just… It’s just NATURAL. They’re not “taught” these things, they learn it just by living and experiencing the beach life. It makes sense Zuma doesn't have much to do because Adventure Bay residents just will not fuck up on the water.

Now I know the show producers didn’t have THIS specific shit in mind as an excuse to not have Zuma doing many rescues at all, but this is something that’s natural, so I can let that pass. I don’t mind it. My issue about Zuma is how he’s supposed to be this pup who’s all about sea, ocean, water rescues and… They just don’t show it. The thing that got me pissed the most is the fact he never knows anything about sea life - it’s always the Cap’n Turbot who’s telling them about sea animals. Zuma didn’t know what a Narwhal was. Dude, I was a kid who loved (still love) all about the ocean and by age 4 I knew about a lot of animals, INCLUDING Narwhals because they’re freaking “cool whales with a long unicorn horn lol that’s wicked”. If you’ll have a character who loves and lives for the sea/ocean stuff, you gotta have him KNOW about it. It’s HIS THING and they fucked it up by constantly having him NOT KNOWING JACKSHIT ABOUT THE VERY THING HE LOVES.

It’s just clear the producers dislike Zuma for whatever fucking reason I don’t want to know and I don’t give a flying fuck anymore. I don’t expect them to remember about Zuma any more often than what they’ve barely done for several years now. I get sad because he’s one of my favorite pups as I see myself so much in him - except on the fact he SHOULD know about sea life lmao but I can’t get nearly as frustrated as you all because I literally just don’t expect them to change how they treat Zuma. They made it VERY CLEAR they have no intention on giving him any more attention than what little he gets and I’ve come to accept it - doesn’t mean I’m happy. I'm just realistic.

5- I don’t really have anything to “complain” on Rubble and Rocky, thankfully. Nothing about the other pups outside the main team either. Some of them could show up more, but that's about it.

6- My last issue is also a common point in this fandom, which is how little the pups have interacted for several seasons now. We don’t get to see them outside of rescues at all, and when we do, it’s always something happening that will be related to the mission that’s to come. Only “plot relevant” stuff. It gets tiring and makes all characters feel fucking FLAT. We don’t see character development at all. Don’t even get me started on Ryder. “Development” has NEVER been a word in the producers’ dictionary for Ryder.

With all these points, I also want to add that I don’t intend on “giving up” on the show because thankfully I didn’t have YEARS of frustration building up to get me pissed to such a point. I can keep watching it. Also, as an older person (not older fan since I only started watching this year), it’s kinda hard to make me give up on anything at all because I’ve seen too much already from several other cartoons/animes XD Besides, if I have the means to make things happen, I don’t wait for the show to give me the things. I make them myself - reason number one why I created the @diy-fire-water-pups RP/Ask Blog. I can draw, I can write, I know how these characters work, I’ll give myself what I want to see. Fuck whatever else in canon. I don’t care. If Zuma and Rocky won’t interact in canon despite living under the same fucking roof, sharing owner and working together, I’ll make it happen myself and share it with you all because who gives a damn??? I'm the kind of person that when they don't give me what I want to see, I'll just go and make it myself, no fucks given.

I don’t think it’s worth to be so pissed and frustrated at canon media, especially nowadays when we know for a fact the big bosses won’t fucking listen to fandom opinions to work better on what fans would like to see. Sadly, not all show producers are like the Warframe devs (THEY WISH THEY'D BE LIKE THEM XD). You're just making yourself more sad than needed over fictional media. Your mental health is real and you need to pay attention to it.

I’m not asking for ships to be canon - fuck it, they’re portrayed as kids, the fact I ship some characters doesn't necessarily mean I expect ships to be canon in the show. They could at least remember to give the characters A LIFE. And do their fucking jobs, which was supposedly the original intention of the show, to help showing kids what “mainstream jobs” do, for kids to start developing a sense of having a favorite cool job they’d probably want to pursue a career in later in life, or something of the likes. I've had a student who's studying automotive engineering programming solely because she used to watch "Knight Rider" with her dad as a teenager and loved "the sassy car with artificial intelligence" in the show. She grew up to decide pursuing a career on developing automotive technologies because she watched a talking car on TV. Kids might watch Paw Patrol and decide they want to become firefighters, to be airplane pilots, to be marine biologists, to be cops, whatever. Shit is, they're now doing a very poor job on working on this purpose.

I’ll continue running the pups askblog to give myself and to give you all some actual character development, content, some life outside of rescues and missions. I have some big plans for the blog, not gonna give spoilers about these plans yet because I’m still developing the ideas, I just need my desktop computer back working so I can work on my stuff without interruption - currently sharing my slow af laptop with my dad and my younger bro bc we all need it, I’m poor, I can’t afford buying a second laptop, I barely make enough for bills and food as it is. Btw my PC is back from the techs but my TV is dying and I used to use that as a PC monitor/screen, so now I’m going out of my way to buy a new monitor/screen for it (I can go on with my life without a TV for a few years just fine). Once that gets solved, let’s see if my PC will fucking work without shutting down randomly all the damn time. If it works, I can start developing my bigger plans for the blog - I’ll just say each of my three pups will get a very deserved spotlight they SHOULD have in canon (though Rocky’s been getting his with the miniseries “Rocky’s Garage”, amen to that).

So, if you ever feel frustrated about Paw Patrol canon, you know you can come over here and to my pups blog for some actual stuff, some real talk, and a breath of fresh air. Especially for some Rocky and Zuma interaction, since canon just denies us of the simplest interactions between them for no valid reason. Cowards.

#Paw Patrol #Rant #I spent over one hour and half writing this lol

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waitmyturtles · 1 year ago

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Okie-dokes: I'm very late to reporting on Dangerous Romance, episode 3, and listen -- listen. A lot of you know I'm in a compromised life state at the moment, --

(I'M MOVING. HOW. IN THE HELL. DO I OWN. SO MUCH. JUST. FUCKING SHIT. HOW DID I FIT SO MUCH SHIT INTO THIS PLACE THAT I AM LEAVING. OH MY GODDAMN WHAT THE FUCK. LET ME BECOME A MONK AND GIVE UP ALL THIS CRAP.)

-- yes, compromised life state, lol, and can't give too much thought to good meta at the moment. (I had to pause Not Me for the Old GMMTV Challenge because even just three episodes in, I knew it was SO GOOD that it deserves my undivided attention.)

So, yeah, brain is out of service at the moment, and then we have THIS episode of Dangerous Romance, and let me just note: y'all, Dangerous Romance was trending on Tumblr even through Only Friends Saturday last weekend (with Only Friends NOT trending, mind you). DR is clearly serving something (.....sigh, ships) that OF is not giving the fandom girlies, and man, did DR just lay it on THICK this week, huh?

I will admit. I'm a touch bummed. I LOVE PERTH AND CHIMON. I LOOOOOVVVVE THEM, YER HONORESSES! UNABASHEDLY. Yes, I love their faces. I DO, NO SHAME. I love their acting, too! I love them, like ::waves hands in circles:: all of it, all of them. I was hoping they'd chomp into a meatier show.

This is not that show. The puppy music, the reeeeeally fast swings into sympathy and "oh, you're my tutor now, bro, and I will spill all my feelings to you," IN ENGLISH AND KOREAN -- and just a touch of a class division conversation by way of Kang homey buying Sailom homey an extra dinner to-go. Sailom is now Kang's... confidante? Kang wants to make someone, anyone, proud, and it looks like Sailom is the guy.

I mean, this episode was all over the place, but....

Forgive me, meta angels, because this is EXACTLY what I need right now, omg. I'm mentally done, I'm toast! Not to say that I'm not going to enjoy Only Friends tomorrow! I am going to totally eat OF up.

But I will ROBUSTLY ADMIT to ALSO being okay with PerthChimon fan service at the moment. Unfortunately for any of my hopes of them being in a more dramatically complicated series: they still have hilarious chemistry. They're actual real bros in real life (Papang smh lol). They're clearly having fun doing this together, like OhmPerth in Double Savage. Chimon's facial expressions are outta control (that look on his face when Perth/Kang accelerated the bike? I cackled).

This is fluff! As @lurkingshan noted -- a recalibration of expectations is in order for this show. I'm taking this show right now as 100% fan service from my PerthChimon wub woobies. Perth and Chimon (and really, the co-director of this show, Lit Phadung of SOTUS and SOTUS S) -- these dudes know the score. Perth and Chimon have been around for a minute. You need two dudes to dial up to 10 on fluff BL? They have those tropes so memorized that it's burned in their bones. Put 'em in coach, they're ready to play.

If I take this show on THAT tip, then -- as an aiming-to-be-classic romance BL, then it's doing something.... if not right, then at least aligned to some tropes simply by mood. I'm curious about Sailom's flashbacks to Kang's bullying, but I don't have the strength or mindpower to read into it. If a reference back to the bullying comes -- or not -- then, whatever. This show is clearly, at the moment, trying to achieve a more simple goal than I expected of it, but I'm not gonna write it off. I'll thoroughly enjoy Perth and Chimon being poodles to each other -- gimme.

I was wondering to @lurkingshan and @neuroticbookworm earlier today that I had previously wondered WHY GMMTV would air Dangerous Romance during the Only Friends run, especially with ALL the marketing hype around Only Friends before it premiered. At the time, it seemed to me to be a pre-emptive gong strike on Dangerous Romance. Now it makes me wonder -- did GMMTV want to cover its bases by placing a classic fluff BL on air, to protect the network from losing fandom points through Only Friends? I can only wonder. If some ships are exploding through OF -- then the network can hand PerthChimon over and say, hey, we haven't forgotten our shipping roots, girlies.

Kinda makes me think. In any case -- Shan is right. I'm recalibrated on Dangerous Romance, I'm watching this literally to see PerthChimon ham it up, annnnnddd yeah, that's about it! At this point, give me the make-out sessions, give me pool time, gimme. I unabashedly stan and simp. If we get some real drama out of this show -- it will be a wonderful surprise. I just hope the show doesn't veer into totally unwatchable territory.

#dangerous romance #dangerous romance the series #dangerous romance meta #perthchimon #kang x sailom #sailon x kang #perth tanapon #chimon wachirawit #i'm on my 100th rewatch of until we meet again at the moment and really loving the little perth bits too #so perth and chimon are my stress woobies huh #i wouldn't have called that #but life throws you curves i guess #i want a PURE comedy BL from thailand #just pure straight comedy #if they turned this show into comedy with perthchimon as leads i think it'd be golden

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kalinara · 11 months ago

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I was skimming through my dashboard and I saw a post that I thought was really interesting.

In the post, the person stated that they missed when fandom was more interactive, when it came to fanfic writers and fan artists, rather than today, where it was like the content creators were machines that didn't need positive feedback, but were just there to create product.

I'm paraphrasing, because I can't find it again. It stuck with me for a bit though.

See, I think this is the natural effect of discouraging constructive criticism.

I can appreciate that very few people enjoy logging into their email or messages and seeing a comment regarding a project that they've spent so much time and effort on and seeing "Well, this is what I think you did wrong."

I can appreciate that for most folk, fanfic is a labor of love, something that they're sharing with the community. They're not craftsmen honing a craft, per se. They're not looking for advice on how to improve.

That's understandable. But I think it misses something really important: that constructive criticism, heck, even a polite yet negative review is still ENGAGEMENT.

It's a conversation in a way that kudos aren't. It's a conversation in a way that gushing praise really isn't.

I'm not saying a writer has to agree with the criticism. People are people and sometimes people are full of crap. But the fact that someone took the time out of their busy day to actually engage with a writer about something they created, and to talk about it, and think about it, and examine what worked for them and what didn't...

That does mean something, in my opinion. I've been a fanfic reader, primarily a lurker, since I first took baby steps onto the web in 1996. Back before AO3. Back before fanfiction.net. I remember webrings, and mailing lists, and geocities. I even, vaguely, remember bulletin boards.

As I said, I was a lurker primarily. I didn't talk much. I followed the discussions. Sometimes I'd agree with it. Sometimes I'd disagree (quite strongly). I very rarely commented or reviewed.

But when I did review, that was because I really wanted to. And when I did review, I put a LOT of effort into it. I'd talk about what I thought the author did really really well (which was a lot! Or I wouldn't have bothered.) I'd mention what didn't work so much for me, and what I thought might have worked better. It'd take hours, sometimes, to figure out exactly what I wanted to say - what I would want to HEAR if I'd written the story. I always tried to leave the kind of reviews that I wanted to receive on my own work.

I'd never write a review like that now. The etiquette's changed. I recognize that the kind of review I wrote back in 1998 would be incredibly rude now. But when I look at the comments I've left nowadays - they're quick. They're meaningless. Even on fics I've truly loved. Sometimes I don't even comment. Just a kudo. Sometimes I forget to do that. It's not personal, but I've got things on my mind.

It occurs to me that even the word is different. "comment" vs. "review". There are very different expectations.

I see people sometimes talking about how what they really want is comments, though. And interaction. And I get that, but when you limit the type of interaction that you're looking for, then I think that you're going to get less of it.

I'm sorry. But sometimes I'll read a fic that's okay, but not great. It's got wonderful ideas, but they could be developed better. It's got good character voice, but some of the word choice is a little off. It doesn't sing.

At least, to me. Maybe it's just a matter of personal taste. Maybe it's a craft issue. The author didn't ask for my opinion, and that's fair enough. But am I going to leave lukewarm praise and nothing else? Maybe. I have before. But more likely, I'm just going to hit the back button and look for something else.

It's easier to give feedback now than it was in 1997 in a lot of ways. Kudos buttons are lovely. Instant review buttons/forms that don't require a perpetually shy anxious person to send an email to a stranger are wonderful things. I probably do leave more comments now than I did back in 1997.

But when it comes to actual substance and engagement...I'm not sure there's even a comparison. Why bother? If I feel really strongly about something in the fic, well, I can write a blog post about it instead.

It is kind of funny that this means that I get the engagement out of it, rather than the author, but that's how it goes sometimes.

#fandom woes #this is not to say that fandom back in 1997 was all sparkles and wonder #there were a LOT of problems too #but that's not the point of this post

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officeobject · 1 month ago

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Not sure if there exists a Poll Drama fan or something, that I've met before, BUT ANYWAYS, you know what ALSO has to do with drama and life and all? FOOD! Food is important too, but OH NO, when there are many options, WHAT DO YOU DO?!

Together with whoever else will take this poll, and I, we will all make something yummy, for whoever reblogs it to eat it - as in, reblog with proof you're eating it (I'll show an example after the first vote is in, so it's generally recommended to tag reblogs), and even if you eat it BEFORE the poll is over, that still means you actually ate the finished result.

I personally am picky, so the only options I bought, is random crap I like and ate today (regretfully together), because we gotta make sure I like it too, it I gotta eat it.

To make it fair for everyone, so that everyone can contribute to our toootally-not-disaster, you can only choose ONE teaspoonful of ONE ingredient, EVER. Everyone gets to put a little of something in, and we'll see if it ends up as a cucumber-full meal, that the people who reblogged early, were unfortunate enough to eat.

I ate this today, so take is as inspiration (this photo was taken before the food got in my stomach):

Yummy regretti!

Yo, idea for new neopronouns: poll pronouns! Like, make it poll-themed, or sound similar to "poll" - like, I seriously like that word, but some things ruin it, so we should TOTALLY have some neopronouns related to polls!

Anyways, will show how to eat, later.

#food #cooking #jokes #tumblr polls #random polls #random poll #poll time #polls #poll

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x-authorship-x · 1 year ago

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"I'll die on the hill that Anakin should have been punted into the creche for a few years"

Yes! I'm so glad you agree, I wish more fics had him interacting with his agemates and being in the creche would have been good for him I think. Perhaps I'm giving him too much credit, and I've only watched those movies once and base the rest of what I know on what I get from fanfics so I could be wrong, but my read of that meeting was that Qui-Gon had intended that? He said he'll train Anakin, but 1. he had a padawan still, and 2. Anakin was 9?? That seems super, super young to be a padawan. I always found it really weird in fics that he had wanted to take Anakin on so young, and then I watched the movie and ended up finding it really weird that the council and Obi-Wan just assumed Qui-Gon meant he'd start training Anakin right then and there and toss out Obi-Wan. Why would he, that makes no sense and he never said he'd take Anakin as a padawan right then like I thought he had from fics. It seemed more to me like it was a promise or vow type thing, like he'd train Anakin when the time came so they didn't have to worry about trying to find someone who would train an unorthodox padawan. And then everyone immediately thought the worst of him so he stupidly doubled down and did not make any attempt to correct their miscommunication. From what little I know about Qui-Gon and his relationship with Obi-Wan there seemed to be a good amount of miscommunication, so this made the most sense to me that he'd be stubborn and double down when arguing with the council rather than explaining what he meant. So when he died Obi-Wan had no idea what he meant and went with what he though Qui-Gon meant and insisted Anakin be placed with him right then and there. Nevermind that he was grieving and Anakin was super baby for a padawan, honestly I'm going to blame the council here for not stepping in and saying Anakin would go to the creche for a few years, then Obi-Wan could have him. Idk I'm not even a huge fan of Qui-Gon and honestly don't know much about him, but in this case this is what seemed most likely to me when I watched it.

Oh anon I totally agree

Tbh my mind went forwards and I was thinking more.... Anakin in the creche could've fixed a lot. Like... Anakin made his own (shit) decisions, I'm definitely not an Anakin-apologist, but I do think that no one is born a certain thing and that childhood has a big knock-on effect. Putting Anakin in the creche would make transitioning from life as a slave easier, for one??? Like let's not immediately call someone else 'master' and let's socialise the kid and let's get an actual childcare specialist - not a traumatized grieving ex-padawan-turned-Knight oh my God everyone needs therapy good intentions don't automatically guarantee good outcomes - involved.

I'm not saying Kelleran Beq looks like the kinda man to rehab hurt children on the daily basis but that's exactly what I'm saying. God I love that man and his Grogu chase scene. Is Grogu in the creche yet or am I too early??? Who cares, I think Grogu would be so good for Anakin because can you imagine being the so called Chosen One but shown up by a baby. You can't fight a baby, not even Anakin (not yet rip) so you gotta just take the ego trimming and cope.

Get Anakin to learn to read and write and acclimatize, let Obi-Wan have time to establish himself as an individual, let everyone take a chill pill, and maybe the whole cast will feel better in three or four years 🙃 also this helps solve Anakin's INTENSE only child energy because Chosen One shit doesn't mean crap in the creche, being a freed slave probably isn't uncommon when you look at how a lot of force sensitive kids end up at the temple (every Jedi comes with a built in troubling backstory as standard), Anakin has friends and peers to cut his teeth on and learn patience with and how to check boundaries with and you just KNOW that those creche kids have so many lessons on Stranger Danger-!

qui-gon the future we couldve had if you choked out a few more words lmao

Also I like to imagine that anakin's first language is Huttese and he only knows enough Basic to understand customers and Watto etc so in my mind the council meeting SHOULDVE derailed when Anakin can't understand a word they're saying and the whole timeline careens towards 'lets get this freed child slave his vaccines and a primary school teacher before deciding the words of destiny, yes?'

Qui-Gon: *finally asks something not related to customer service, basic conversational vocab, or mechanics*

Anakin: ....uhhhhhhh

Qui-Gon, off camera: I was so lost in the euphoria of finding the Chosen One that I temporarily forgot I existed in a world with slavery and other languages haha-

Obi-Wan: *face down in a dune in the BG*

The end :)

#torship #torship talks #ask #anon #star wars #qui gon #anakin #Anakin's INTENSE only child energy #obi wan

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laf-outloud · 1 year ago

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I definitely had a knee-jerk reaction of "this is BS" when you didn’t post the first ask by the Jared is pulling away from cons with Jensen anon, but reading their second ask puts things into perspective. I know they are actors and are putting on a show at conventions, but I would bet Jared and Jensen still do have a lot of genuine affection for each other, but whether that truly translates into them still being "besties" i don’t know. They seem like rather different people these days. Then again, they could be just as tight, or never speak at all, outside of cons, and we’d never know either way.

Anyway, my point is, when the ask sounded like Jared is avoiding cons with Jensen because he’s a bad friend and he just can’t stand being around him anymore, this seems like BS to me. This is not because the idea isn’t possible, but rather Jared has been doing cons with Jensen for two years after "prequel gate" now, so if he was that upset with Jensen, I think he would have pulled away sooner. I also think Jared (and his management) are too professional to ever tell a con manager "Jared doesn’t want to be booked with Jensen because they aren’t besties anymore," which sounds like grade school crap. So, if the anon was making the "they aren’t friends so no more cons together" claim, I would call BS.

However, when we look at the idea of Jared pulling away for business reasons, I actually think that makes sense. Doing supernatural conventions almost exclusivity for three years past the end of the show is getting a bit much. I think if COVID hadn’t blown everything up for a couple years there, this might have happened sooner, prequel or no prequel drama. I almost wonder if prequel drama might have kept Jared around longer in order to prove that things were fine (incase the Js actually do get a Supernatural revival going in a few years). I was just at Charlotte and it was a lot of fun, the guys were great and seemed to be vining well and happy to be around each other (Jared especially was awesome and in good spirits), but it’s a bit telling that a con where we can’t ask questions about the show did just fine because fans barely ask about the show anymore anyway. As much as I like seeing J2 together and I don’t really plan to go to any events that have just one of them, I think from a business point of view, Jared is smart to cut back on CE cons or ones he shares with Jensen, especially if he had any jobs brewing. Besides, they still have four cons that we know of scheduled together next year and I’m betting there will be a couple more, so it’s not like they’ll never work together again, or get to hang out at cons.

Sorry this got so long. Feel free to disregard if you don’t feel like posting.

Have a good one. 😊

"Anyway, my point is, when the ask sounded like Jared is avoiding cons with Jensen because he’s a bad friend and he just can’t stand being around him anymore, this seems like BS to me." I'll admit, my initial reaction was much like yours, which is why my initial response implied this, but I should clarify that the European anon never implied or indicated that the split was due to their friendship, or lack thereof. That was just me reacting.

But I'm with you, in that, the longer I had to think about it, the more it made sense as a business move. A cult show can only take an actor so far, and maybe some are okay with doing the convention circuit the rest of their lives for that cult show (it's certainly profitable), but if an actor wants to remain marketable, they need to expand their brand and their reach to show buyers that they can pull in fans for their other projects and that they aren't just a one-trick pony.

#ask box #convention speculation #jared's convention appearances #j2's friendship speculation

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tarotcardaddict · 1 year ago

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hi ! excited to get this show on the road, i'm paczki and i use they/them pronouns and am excited to introduce my original queen. some headcanons can be found under the cut along with some wanted connections. please hit the little heart button if you're interested in plotting and i'll make my way to you !

HEADCANONS

after spending four years of her life with a man named lars, amy had broken up with him due to the amount of crap that she's had to put up with. this hadn't exactly been the easiest since he manages to sweet talk his way back into a relationship with her. at the moment they are broken up.

over the years she has became really big into using tarot cards and even collecting crystals. this has became a huge source of comfort to her.

when she isn't traveling around the world or isn't working, she is still very, very active in voluntarily helping out at animal shelters && has taken several animals in until they can be fostered by someone.

while she is a pretty awesome aunt to the both of trish's kids, it also hurts spending time with them since she knows that that's something she is unable to have of her own. that isn't to say that she hasn't tried a time or two. and even though she could look into just going through an adoption agency, she hasn't exactly wanted to do that on her own so the opportunity to having children hasn't been successful.

she does, however, foster plenty of the younger wrestlers in as her children instead to make up for this factor.

believes in the wiccan services which is a form of modern paganism and is planned in connection with the phases of the moon.

WANTED CONNECTIONS

honorary daughter ( @miroirnoir ): these two originally met due to callie's at the time best friend dragging callie along to her first fan experience, which she didn't have any desire in attending, until amy recognized the shirt she was wearing, causing her to imprint on amy like a lost baby duckling since an adult took the time to validate her interests. since that point forward any time her best friend had taken her to these, she would atleast get a new photo taken with amy, which made amy actually remember her face and name. and once they met up again when callie did get into the industry, amy told her that if she needs family then she has one in her since she'd kind of got to see callie grow up anyway due to all those times they'd taken photos together from different various years.

the one that got away: while these two are no longer together, amy cannot seem to stop reminiscing about the early days of the relationship with this person. if life would of been different, she would be their girl still, and the two of them would be loyal to each other and face the world together. in this alternate existence, she would persuade them to stay with her, and she wouldn't then be describing them, mournfully, as the one who got away from her. she regrets not telling them just how much they meant to her when she had the chance to, as she’s now living with the consequences of letting them slip away.

unlikely friends: these two are the complete opposite of each other and yet somehow they’ve found their way into a quirky sort of friendship. perhaps they bicker a bit, but that’s what makes their relationship all the more interesting.

yoga buddy: someone who she could go to yoga classes with, she's a very avid goer, so maybe this person isn't as much, but she drags them along anyways or they're just as crazy about attending yoga classes.

dislike: amy tries to get along with everyone, but this person would be a special case. they just grind each other’s gears and will never stop bickering.

friend turned enemy: once upon a time these two used to be tight-knit, but that all changed along the way for whatever the reason may be and now they are enemies.

others: bad influence, enemies to friends, unrequited crush, confidant, partner in crime, frenemies, flings, someone he can be extremely affectionate with, and anything else really.

muse: amy finds muse for her lyrics in a lot of things. mainly she finds them in her own emotions, so there’s something about this person that evokes so many different feelings inside of her that she can’t help but wax poetic about them in the ways she knows how to.

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beevean · 1 year ago

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Hmm, how about top 5 female characters?

5) Amy Rose. She's just cute! She's a bubbly ray of sunshine going on adventures with her friends by wielding a toy hammer. She can keep up with Sonic the Fucking Hedgehog. Yes, in the 2000s she was treated like crap by the writing (let alone fans), but I can't help it, I look at her big smile and I go "she's friend shaped" :) big badass adorable energy

4) Farnese. She's one of my favorite characters in Berserk, although, and maybe this is an unpopular opinion, I prefer her pre-character development. Her mental issues are raw, uncomfortable and fascinating - you won't see in any other work a scene where a girl has a fetish for burning people treated as a tragic display of her traumas. She's one of the best portrayals of the Lonely Rich Kid trope I've seen, and you can feel how the loneliness of being a daughter of noble people affected her. Then there's the whole relationship with Serpico and the religion that she was forced into, or the fact that the narrative parallels her with Nina, the prostitute terrified of God (another great character IMO). It's just. *chef's kiss* Read Berserk <3

3) Shanoa. You know what Shanoa deserves? A hug! You know what she doesn't deserve? Everything that happened to her! :'D but yeah, Shanoa, the girl raised to be a lamb to the slaughter, the girl who until the very end only saw herself as a weapon, the girl who lost everything in one go but can rely on a whole village of people that she helped, people who actually care about her. I don't understand why fans scoff at her for her emotionless state, when it's clear that she suffers from it, that she wishes she could smile, she wishes she could remember her emotional attachment to Albus. Her powers are also unique in the CV series: Glyphs are fascinating and an interesting way to balance the difficulty of the game.

2) Rose Quartz. Is it cheating to put a SU character? 😬 but yeah, I'll still defend Rose Quartz to the death. Love her character arc, love how it's shown in reverse, love that she made terrible mistakes but all well meaning in the pursue of freedom and growth, and she deserved much better from everyone.

Samus Aran. It's Samus Aran. Do I need to say more?

#amy rose #farnese #shanoa #rose quartz #samus aran

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void-dreaming · 1 year ago

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please ignore this if your not in the mood for it

firstly after rereading your post i think i at least 85% agree with the core point. or what i'm assuming the point was: that if you see a post with an opposing opinion that makes you upset, just keep scrolling- don't be rude about it

however, I think the phrasing of your susie post might have made it unintentionally come across as a little passive-aggressive or rude, so this is just some critique on how these sorts of posts can be phrased in a way that may better avoid conflict.

i think it's important to keep in mind just how you find those interpretations to go against canon they may think the same about yours, specific lines that people use as 'proof' of their interpretation can be the same used as 'proof' for another.

there's a stigma in fandom of 'fanon' stuff being 'mischaracterization' aka 'bad writing' so the word 'interpretation' in this context can be associated with that: like to refer to only the idea being argued against as an 'interpretation' has been used as a slightly 'nicer' (in the passive aggressive way) of saying 'the wrong, incorrect, bad, interpretation" and puts the idea argued in favor of as the 'correct, smart, interpretation' placed on this pedestal of 'canon'

so the very well intentioned and seemingly straightforward statement that "it's perfectly fine to have your own interpretation" unfortunately could be misread as putting down someone's interpretation and any creative works they've made that uses it

this could be avoided by also acknowledging the idea in favor of as an 'interpretation' as well, or by at least addressing the argument soft the interpretation your opposing

i think a better way of phrasing things if you don't intend to come across as passive-aggressive or negative is to start by speaking in favor of instead of in opposition of: instead of "I dislike portrayal of character as x. " you could approach with "i like portrayal of character as y." approaching a discussion with a negative statement is a lot more likely to upset people and approaching a discussion with a postive statement makes the overall discussion more, well, positive and constructive

i think it's also notable to try and keep the distinction between a 'bad character' as in a villain and a 'bad character' as in poorly written. or if you think a redemption arc is poorly written than like, some people depicting a character as redeemed likely might even agree with that -and like depicting the character as redeemed because they think the redemption had a lot of potential they want to expand on. I think in the case of Susie people find a susie redemption more intresting and having more potential than the opposite.

and of course its all for fun, this is all about silly viddy games. personally i'm a big fan of depicting villain characters and sympathetic uwu bbys one day and terribly cruel people the next. the ideas can coexist in a fandom space and I think that's probably actually more aligned with what your post was trying to say. but the diction and lack of clear tone used made it a lot less clear to decipher.

anyway want to make it clear that I have no intents of coming across as passive-agressive: i myself struggle a lot with phrasing my thoughts which is really frustrating and these are things that have helped me to better communicate online fndjad

have a good day :3

Oh man, I really hope I haven't been coming across is angry or upset, that's just an unfortunate part of how I type, I'm trying to teach myself to tone it down plustalkingingenwralisnervewrackingforme

And yeah, looking back, my post is definitely a bit more aggressive than it needs to be, I'll probably rewrite it once I unwind later tonight, this year's birthday is very hectic, but that's no excuse for writing so aggressively x,D it also doesn't help that I'm not used to just making all text posts

It feels like something that occurs so frequently, it's hard to remove that "again with this crap?" feeling when bringing it up, but that's more of a me problem, and my own struggles to seperate my emotions from my work, I'm a very sensitive person, even on my best days. I,D

I don't think I've seen a full proper Susie redemption anywhere actually (although I'm sure it exists, and I would like to see it uu), who knows, maybe I'll tackle that in Zero Termina!

I think my biggest issue is that I try way too hard to compensate for myself, so I ramble and lose the message. I really wasn't trying to be harsh or rude, just immediately lost the initial message thinking I wasn't doing a proper job of explaining my stance. I probably could've just left it at the title and the message would be clear.

And yeah, I was passive aggressive in the tags, when that undermined the tone of the post itself, like I said, it's something that happens often enough that it's hard to address it without gnashing my teeth, but yeah, I definitely shouldn't undermine my own tone.

Plus, I'll admit I am petty, but I'm not usually brazen about it, and I definitely need to work on that, cause it really wasn't worth being so petty x,D

I appreciate the feedback, and I hope you have a good day as well, I'll do my best to do better! :>

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soul-dwelling · 2 years ago

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Do you think Okhubo having Shinra revive everyone and it being a happy end is a direct response to the non ending of the soul eater manga which left many things uresolved or just returned to the status qou?

Oh, I'm going to be awhile with this...

(*sets out green tea to power me through this long reply...and sets out a swear jar*)

Short answer:

No, I don't think it was a direct response. If anything, it was Ohkubo doing the same kind of ending, in which things are rushed, little is explained, story potential is left unspent because it's the finale and we have no more time, rather than using Fire Force to answer stuff not answered in Soul Eater it raises more questions that are more about how this undermines the mission statement of each series.

And I debate whether we should even call this a "happy ending."

And yet, even as this is a return to a status quo of having these characters still alive, it is an ending that drastically changes their world, their abilities, and their relationships--but as it is the end of the series, that again is left hanging for whatever future story Ohkubo tells or, better yet, what fans end up making for themselves (...including just ignoring Fire Force as a prequel and making better Soul Eater fics explaining this shit).

Long answer:

I didn't think of Shinra reviving everyone and it being a happy ending are a direct response to Soul Eater leaving things unresolved.

(I also don't think of it as a happy ending anyway, but I'll get to that.)

If anything, the ending of Fire Force, with Shinra reviving everyone, seemed like yet another way Ohkubo trolls the fans:

"Oh, you're upset about the lack of answers as to how Lord Death got here, the 800 years between Asura's defeat and now, and the larger societal structure of the Witches? Well, screw that, and screw you, too: I'm going to give you the most unsatisfying origin story for Lord Death, skip the 800 years stuff, and just make up some crap about how witches were created without actually delving into their society! So there! Ha!"

(*groans* Some of us just wanted a spinoff that would address these questions; instead, we got a prequel no one asked for--and I don't mean Soul Eater NOT.)

Also, if anything, Shinra reviving everyone also seemed like a way for Ohkubo to wrap up Fire Force in a way similar to how he wrapped up Soul Eater: deus ex machina to wrap up the story, not let people die.

Spirit, Marie, et al are about to be trapped on the Moon? Eh, just have Maba do a last-minute teleportation. It's not unbelievable, and it at least matches the power set Maba had all along--except, that means she likely could have done that at any point. Hell, Kid was separated from the Moon and had to race back to get there--why didn't Maba teleport him? "Maybe Maba has to recharge each time? I mean, Free wasn't very good at doing the teleportation spell, either." Fine, sure, go with that. "Maybe she can't keep teleporting people when they need to be there to keep fighting the Clowns and Asura?" Okay, fine. At least with Soul Eater, you could come up with excuses.

But Fire Force? Oh, no, it is just straight-up a literal deus ex machina, as if rubbing it into readers' faces that this story that keeps debasing religion as bad storytelling will itself weaponize bad storytelling to just end this series on a dissatisfying note.

Like, I appreciate Ohkubo putting in the setup: Shinra saw Akitaru and Vulcan and Kurono's skull motifs and used that for Lord Death; his understanding of the pre-Cataclysm world is vague so of course things look more cartoony when he tries to remake that world.

But it is also so hamfisted. Why would Shinra be inspired specifically by the skull stuff and not Akitaru's more paternal qualities, and why would he use his tormentor Kurono as a basis? How the hell does Shinra's actions somehow end up to the exact reformation of the world's nations as they were before, 800 years after Shinra dies, and how the hell does that lead to 800 years later Al Capone, JFK, Rasputin, Jack the Ripper, and Lupin all being alive in this world, again, 800 years after Shinra dies?

So, less "a direct response to the non-ending" and more "return to the status quo--because screw you, this is the end, let's wrap this up."

I know I hate on Fire Force--a lot. And it's not like a Doctor Who "everybody lives" ending can't be good. But that ending didn't work for me in Fire Force.

The ending clashed with what I thought was the message this manga was going for. It is not as if the series did not start with a focus on death--but instead of accepting that death is a part of real life, it did a pointless reset.

Like, Shinra brought back everyone, even people who died 250+ years ago (...including some bad dudes which, no, sorry, fuck those people, they can stay dead, Inka can stay fucking dead). But just because they are now treating Death himself as more cute and cuddly (...except they didn't: that is still his Old Death design, so even that didn't work--this is still the same Old Death who is going to end up cursing up a storm at Arachne while hunting her down to slaughter her), they are still going to die.

"But now they won't feel so bad about dying!" Then who fucking cares about resurrecting them? What, so they can die in peace? Are we then implying this is for their own mental health? But they're dead, why would their mental health matter now? Or, is this implying they get to rest in peace, hence have an afterlife? But we just established that God didn't exist until Shinra made Lord Death, so, again, what afterlife? Or, are we suggesting there is a separation between a concept of "God" and an afterlife?

(See why I can't stand Ohkubo's writing? This isn't "the art is beautiful because it leads to more questions that thereby make the writing better"; it's "the writing is vague, there are no answers, whatever answers you get will contradict other messages in the story; this is all a mess, the writer didn't care, the editor didn't care, so I guess you can just enjoy the pretty images and stick to fan works.")

These characters will all die eventually. Hell, even Lord Death died. Why should I care that Shinra brought them back to life just to die again? At least their living again is to let them do something better in this world--except, again, Shinra even resurrected some bad people, and thanks to him saving Inka her bullshit is going to start up again, and there are those fan theories that the White Hoods he resurrected led to Kishin worshippers and Medusa and other baddies, so, again, why bother resurrecting these people except for "Shinra wanted it that way, he is a flawed person like anyone, that's all, move on"?

I understand Fire Force was trying to say something about despair--and instead of facing realities, it said, "Fine, we'll change the laws of physics itself and escape this nonsense." In any other story, maybe that works, if you leaned even more into the idea that this is a work of fiction, the characters know it (as Viktor and Tamaki toyed with in...that abysmal "underage Tamaki is the universal symbol of sex," which, fuck, Ohkubo can fuck off), and so we are showing that art can create realities that show us the world we can have, more than the world we are stuck with.

But that still seems like such a violation of the initial mission statement of Fire Force (protect lives, tend to the survivors and their survivors' guilt) and how it ended ("This was all a Soul Eater prequel, death doesn't matter [unless you're Joe Buttataki, Granny, Lord Death, Justin, Medusa...]"). Maybe I need to accept that I misread the mission statement to Fire Force: after all, it wasn't just "protect lives," it was a message from Akitaru to Shinra that Shinra took to its most extreme (extremist? fundamentalist?) level, that being to not just protect life but to resurrect it...until people die anyway, so... *shrug* they didn't have to die in fires, so that is better to die in a cool and exciting way by some dragon or other beast that Ogun sees before looking back at Shinra and saying, "You really thought this entire frightening world was a better alternative?!"

As for whether the Fire Force ending was a return to a status quo: I mean, not quite?

Sure, everyone who died in the entire series, even in flashbacks, is back--but they aren't the same. That means it's not a return of the status quo: it's the return of these characters, only they are different, as are their interactions with each other (more on Maki and Takehisa, and Shinra, Iris, and Inca, in a moment).

If anything, that is more disappointing, albeit a problem with the endings to a lot of series: untapped potential. Fire Force in that regard did end on a high: we are curious where things go next...sort of. Like, there are great pieces of setup there for the 800+ years between Fire Force and Soul Eater to see how witch society develops, whether people mutated by their resurrection such as Huang lead to new species of people, how on earth this planet goes from looking like the Fire Force world to looking pretty much like our current world (only with Death City now existing).

But then you think, "Wait, we know what comes next: Soul Eater. So who cares?" I know that a lot can happen in 800+ years--but we already know what does happen. And that somehow still doesn't answer those questions I asked earlier, such as what witch society is actually like. We're teased that Inka is a start of that witch society--but that doesn't make sense, one person doesn't start a society, one person is there, then meets other people, then all of those people start a society. Show that story. But, no, _that_ is the status quo: Ohkubo still won't explain shit.

As for the other status quo change: character relationships. Shinra and Arthur are now more respectful of each other...but who cares, that relationship is now done. We hint that Maki and Takehisa are now an item--but who cares, Maki is off shopping with Lisa or something, that's just an empty throwaway line. Good for Maki getting to go shopping, why the fuck aren't we still seeing her honoring her commitments to protect the world along with her colleagues? Okay, fine, Tamaki and Juggernaut get to enjoy a date--but the world is still fucked, how come they lose their powers and don't get to help out?

And of course the inane Shinra / Iris / Inka love triangle bullshit for the sake of a dumb harem gag and the series just making Inka the fucking worst. It's an ending that says things are different--then doesn't answer how. When more readers wasted their time on the last chapter asking whether those two people were Shinra's kids or Arthur's kid or Inka's kid, who gives a fuck?

Maybe the anime will answer that, depending on how they color their hair or re-do the designs or just, I don't know, toss in words in dialogue or on screen identifying who those people are.

But I have zero confidence that will help: this is still a fandom that thinks "X character from Fire Force has a similar design to Y character from Soul Eater--must be related!" These are the same people who still think Kid and Shinra look alike because the story said so--when, no, they fucking don't.

(And yes, I did suggest certain Fire Force characters may have been ancestors to Medusa, Maba, etc--that is more about the thematics coinciding with the visual imagery, not "Ogun and Kilik look alike," which, no, stop that.)

#long post #dwells whines about fire force #(god my swear jar runneth over)

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