#It's so interesting seeing what makes a fandom tick. It's 90% the Implications like people will see the glimpse of light and cling to it

[phoenixcatch7]

Always interesting to see how each fandom handles death and justified violence, because it varies a lot more than you might expect.

Some take it more seriously, for some it's barely a thought, some don't really care if a character is a murderer. Basically no one gets legally punished for murder, like, EVER. Or legally punished for much of anything. When you see it you can't unsee it! So many characters should be spending at least a few months in prison!!

I gotta say, though, if I had to make a list? When it comes to understanding mortality and grief and guilt, death and its consequences for the survivors, I don't think I've ever seen a better fandom than Final fantasy 7.

This is in strong contrast to my experience with Game of thrones, whose fandom will brutally and viciously kill off named and main characters by the dozen without batting an eyelid.

It seems to be a combination of canon's death rates and in universe morality, that particular fandom quirk that inverts the happiness of its source material, but most importantly The Implications. You'll have seen this with horror games, you'll have seen this with comedies. It is FAR from guaranteed that a fandom will carry the same tones as its canon (just look at Danny Phantom 🤭).

What other fandoms have wildly varying tones?

[seriouslycromulent]

Thoughts on Monday Night Raw + possible Shield Dean defection

OK. I’m trying to stay out of some of the infighting taking place here in the WWE-fandom, but some of y’all are making it difficult. So I’ll share my 2 cents on why I’m not in favor of a Dean heel turn, but also why it’s not that big of a deal to me in the end.

It’s about to get existential up in this piece, people. Hold on to your butts...

Right off the bat: Why bring them back together, if you’re only going to tear them apart soon after? The Shield reunion has stalled multiple times over the last year or so, for one reason or another. Then Dean gets injured. Almost dies in real life. Returns to Raw. Kills it at Summerslam. And joins his brothers-in-arms to reform the Shield the following night on Raw ... to what end? To break them up a little over a month later? Seriously? That’s what y’all want?

Dolph’s assertion that Dean was thriving on Smackdown and that he didn’t need The Shield ticked me off. Yes, I loved Dean on Smackdown. It’s literally not been the same since he left. To me, Smackdown has never been able to recapture the same energy it had when Dean was on their roster. 

But what Dolph said can easily be applied to Roman and Seth as well. All 3 of the Hounds of Justice have accomplished remarkable things since they disbanded in 2014. None of them needs to be a part of The Shield. But they’re not together because they need to be. They’re together because they’re smart enough to know the benefits of brotherhood.

Also, Dean’s a Grand Slam champion too. Just like Seth and Roman. The only thing Dean hasn’t done is 1) fight the Undertaker, and 2) main event Wrestlemania. [And neither has Seth.] But Dean’s main evented PPVs before, and he even main evented a special televised house show with Triple H and easily held his own against him. So can we please stop talking about Dean like he’s the red-headed step-child in this trio! Hell, he was the first member of The Shield to even hold a title.

Y’all have been clamoring for a heel turn for one of the Shield members forever, and for Dean, especially, since he returned a month ago. I have no idea why so many of you are so eager to see either Roman or Dean to be a heel. I’m not against the idea in general. I just don’t understand the hype.

I’m sure Roman and Dean would kill it as a heel. But as a long time wrestling fan, I know that turning someone heel does not automatically equal character development or keeping the fans interested/happy/supportive of a particular wrestler. I remember just as many instances where turning someone heel did nothing for that wrestler in terms of interest or quality storylines. So I always find it funny when fans, who often like to accuse WWE Creative of “lazy writing,” are so quick to recommend a heel turn for wrestlers as a means to give them something meaty, worthwhile or development in terms of their character. But it is easily the most over-used device in Creative’s arsenal.

The reality is you can create meaty, worthwhile and character development-packed storylines that don’t involve turning someone heel just as easily as you can if you do turn them heel. Personally, I think all heel turns should happen only when the audience least expects them, and never when they’re asking for them. But hey, as usual, I’m in the minority.

With that said, I know Dean would kill as a heel. He would be absolutely fantastic. But the last thing I want for him is to become a heel because he was manipulated by Dolph and Drew like some simpleton who can be easily played like a pipe. So what Dean doesn’t have a title?! He was gone for 9 months with a major injury. It’s unrealistic as hell that he should have a title right now. This notion that Dean is (in real life) bothered by the fact that he doesn’t have a title is purely the fabrication of fans. Sure, use it for the sake of a storyline, but a lot of people seriously think that a wrestler’s value is measured in what titles they have or have had around their waist, and that’s just ridiculous.

Most of the wrestlers we revere from the 70s, 80s and 90s rarely wore a title around their waist as often as this younger generation of wrestlers. And we remember and respect them nonetheless. Dusty Rhodes, Rowdy Roddy Piper, The Undertaker, Macho Man Randy Savage, Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat, the Hardcore Legend Mick Foley. All of these wrestlers are legends. And they’re remembered for their work in the ring and on the mic. Not for their number of title wins. And I really wish fans today appreciated that more. 

In short, turn Dean heel. I really don’t mind. But I hate the idea that they’re making him out to seem like he can be so easily swayed by the words of Dolph and Drew, as if those two can easily create a wedge between Dean and Roman/Seth with just a few words and implications. If Dean is going to turn heel on Ro & Seth, it should be to stand alone. Not with Braun, Dolph and Drew. 

I saw someone who’s pro-Heel Dean claim that Dean “needs to get his revenge.” On who? On Roman? What did Roman do to Dean? Are we seriously going to believe that Seth and Roman didn’t text or call Dean all the time when he was away for 9 months? None of us should believe that. Not if we’re genuine fans of The Shield. 

Revenge on Seth? Why? Seth apologized for his betrayal in 2014 multiple times. As a matter of fact, we went through an entire storyline about this issue leading up to them becoming a tag team in the first place. And after some groveling and genuflection, Dean forgave him. So why does he need to get his revenge? Shouldn’t we want Dean to forgive Seth if he said he forgives him? Or do we want to respect someone who says they forgave someone, but continues to hold on to a grudge anyway? And wouldn’t taking out his “revenge” on Seth mean that he has to betray Roman in the process? If so, is that what we want for Dean? To betray all the people (not that there’s that many) he cares about for the sake of obtaining a title? Isn’t that just the same storyline Rollins had?

OK. That’s my 2, 3, ... 6 ... 25 cents. Sorry so long-winded, but that’s how I roll in all my fandoms. 

I will say this about this storyline: WWE really did a great job at creating a storyline that millions of us are engaged in. So I think it’s fair to give them credit where credit is due.