#the narrative is shipping them and I hate it
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https://www.tumblr.com/bunnys-kisses/768349619894861824/im-holding-your-hand-when-im-saying-this-as-a?source=share
people started asking crane (Max’s friend) on stream if Lestappen (Charles and max) is real. I think he was like “I shouldn’t be furthering/entertaining this” (I forgot what he said word for word). People took it as something to be excited about, that the drivers are aware of the ships and all, but idk. I think fandoms are getting too bold for my liking. I have no problem with shipping, but this parasocial behaviour is out of hand. I saw this when 1D was still a group (with Harry x Louis shippers harassing Louis to the point where he got so upset when the ship was referenced in the popular show Euphoria), I’ve seen it with Kpop in which idols have stopped hanging out publicly because fandoms get out of hand (a girl in the group Aespa had a boyfriend earlier this year and fans got very upset because they shipped her and another member and they broke up. A few years ago, 2 members of two different kpop groups (SNSD and EXO) dated and the girl got harassed at the airport even). And now this.
Fandoms get so parasocial so quickly, it’s insane. It’s not new behaviour, but it’s strange.
exactly, this isn't new behavior. but i feel like it's become more emboldened with how much more "online" both fans and companies/groups are.
more under the cut, because this is a long one....
i also think it ties into this notion that i've been seeing online about how fans have this feeling to be "right" both with rpf and fiction as well. that their theories, opinions and whatever else is "correct". i've seen this with like pieces of media like steven universe and even star wars. like fandom isn't fun anymore, it has become this weird one up over each other. i honestly don't know when this changed, my guess is around the pandemic when it seemed like people were more logged into the internet. but, i could be wildly off with that. (if you have an idea, i'd love to know). it just feels stupid in so many ways how fandoms are structured. even if you're not the "best" artist or writer, people can't have FUN in fandom - of course that doesn't mean it has to be absolved criticism. you can have fun and still call out hate within spaces. the issue with formula one (along with k-pop like you mentioned, anon), is that these aren't characters. this isn't arguing in the tags over is finnpoe or reylo is more valid or legitimate within the narrative. these are REAL people, with REAL friends, families and partners.
it's this weird push to have someone's theory - and while i have a soft spot for lestappen, it is at the end of the day nothing more than fan theory - be confirmed. also personally, if hattie (oscar's sister) or crane (max's friend) "outed" them, i would be horribly fucking offended on oscar/max's behalf. to have someone you TRUST just out you like that. it's sick. maybe it's because i worked in queer spaces from high school all the way through uni, and the number one rule no matter WHAT, is you never out someone. even if the question is harmless and the person asking has no ill intention. you never out another person, because it's not YOUR coming out. so the fact that fans are near begging these people to OUT their loved ones, is not only a level of delusion that i can't ever comprehend. but, also it could honestly, ruin that interpersonal relationship.
so like even if a driver is queer, whoever it may be. could be a driver from the 90s, could be a driver today, it could be a driver in five years, i don't want someone else in their life outing them. because that's THEIR story. and fans need to realize that. bothering crane or hattie or alexandra (i've seen that too) - isn't helping anyone and it makes you look unhinged and weirdly alienates not only the driver but their loved ones. YES, they knew it exists, it is EVERYWHERE. but shoving it in their faces doesn't help. and you're never going to get the confirmation because there is a high chance that their not even queer to begin with. and if they are, NOT OUR CONCERN
i don't have a problem writing or consuming rpf, it is not a crime nor do i think it should be stopped. like HAVE FUN. but you have to realize that it's not like debating star wars or marvel or whatever other piece of fictional media. formula one is REAL, they are not actors. they are athletes, and unless you want all rpf to be shut down some how. i suggest the likes of some of ya'll need to understand that there are different boundaries. and respect them.
i know they're all millionaires, but they still breathe and bleed as a friend of mine once said. it's fun to put them in little scenarios in fanworks, but just keep it out of their direct attention. there are unspoken boundaries, that some of ya'll need have said to you apparently.
asking oscar issac if he THINKS that finnpoe is real is VERY different than asking someone's sister if she thinks her REAL LIFE BROTHER is fucking his REAL LIFE TEAMMATE. - people's relationships have turned to ash over insistent rpf in their faces all the time.
my advice at the end of the day is: have fun, don't write or draw it because you want confirmation that it's a real relationship. write or draw it because you're having fun. fandom is about making friends and shipping in whatever context is about finding a slice of community on the vast internet, not cracking the code of if it is a real relationship. - bunny.
#bunny speaks#formula one#f1#lestappen#max verstappen#charles leclerc#fandom woes#formula 1#lando norris#oscar piastri#landoscar
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honestly i dont know if this is just autism blowing things out of proportion but OJ AJHDHDJDHDHJFHF. SALT FHJDUDUDHDUUDUD. THEY NEED TO HAVE AN INTERACTION WITH EACHOTHER. like remember in episode 2 of season 1 when salt was yapping to oj. like why did she choose him of all people AND DONT SAY IT WAS BECAUSE OF THE CRUSH THAT DIDNT EXIST UNTIL EP 9. also why did oj willingly choose to just stay there and let her yap. their dynamic interests me. NOT IN A SHIP WAY AT ALL THOUGH DO NOT TAG THIS AS SHIP. tbh i just want them to actually fucking talk to each other and maybe even become friends? if that's even possible? like maybe we can get a salt improvement arc and we can learn more about her. like why oj. like i know it's her code to be in love with oj but i wanna hear her reasoning. also how exactly does oj feel about her like does he hate her is he afraid of her like I WANNA KNOW MORE!!!!! like i want to know just how down bad salt is and if she can be saved. can they be homies. would they hate eacgother like. ii team i am begging you for the deetz. GIVE ME THE LORE. also only partly related but i feel like if salt somehow got what she wanted with oj they would both be fucking miserable. that is a gay man x closeted lesbian ship if i have ever seen one.
also what if saltpep and payjay were narrative parallels/foils wouldn't that be fucked up
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Himiko’s “thing” for Ochako always felt like it came out of nowhere to me. Like, we’re given reasons and justifications for her love for Izuku, but the Ochako thing felt like it just randomly happened, just because Horikoshi needed something for the two of them to do in the final battle, especially since it seems to have completely overshadowed her original thing for Izuku anyway
Hmm. I hate to disagree but, on Himiko's end at least, the fact it came out of nowhere made perfect sense because, well, it's Himiko. Part of her characterization is 'falling in love' with people more or less at random, and then using that 'love' as justification to hunt them down. (it's pretty clear to me that, among other things, her Quirk makes her look at people and, at some unconscious level, see them as 'food' as much as they are 'people'. No seriously, so much of Himiko is coded as a predator: stalking, mimicking, ambushing; these are all things that a predator will do to successfully hunt their prey. In all honesty, reading her as, like, a half-vampire or something, one that is badly raised and so doesn't properly understand her own motivations, makes so much of her actions make sense, because Himiko is mixing 'hunting' behaviors and desires with 'romantic' ones. Then, between the mechanics of her own Quirk, how feeding, which gave her positive feedback in both being full for once and doing something that is natural to her, turned her into someone else, and just how little understanding she has of herself and her own desires, all these various conflicting impulses eventually evolved into her 'love' and her obsession with being her 'loved one'.) So, Himiko 'loving' Ochako makes sense because she doesn't understand what love actually is, and the way she uses the word is basically a sort of personal slang for a combination of obsession, lust, and hunger. It's not someone genuinely falling in love, it's her predatory behavior locking onto another target, often for shallow reasons about her finding them attractive, so I'm sure as soon as she sees Izuku again, she'll refocus right back onto her other desired food source, and that much makes sense.
(Really though, when you look at her and what drives her seriously there's a fascinating story here, but Hori clearly can't be assed to actually do that in the slightest. Put her in a story that'd spend time on her motivations, like Tokyo Ghoul, and she'd fit a lot better.)
The problem is the narrative, because it keeps placing them together, and dramatically panning in on them, as if there are real feelings there. Not only that, it makes it seem like those feelings of Himiko's are, to an extent, returned when Ochako's interactions are dead ass, 'Hey, what if you stop murdering people alright?'
Until recently, there's been basiclly no justification for there being any sort of feelings between them, because one is channeling her usual stalker serial killer behavior, and the other is literally trying to arrest her, but it's just the narrative is just... shipping them so damn hard. At this point I'd swear it's going to start playing romantic music in background while it zooms in on their faces or something.
Worst part, though, is just as Himiko has her 'big moment of villainy' (which is terrible on so many levels), it feels like Ochako is.... giving into the narrative's peer pressure, at least in part, and trying to approach Himiko as more than just the hero trying to stop her, between being concerned about her tears and apparently unironically wanting to talk about love with her, when before I thought it was her frantically trying to distract Himiko while she was on Twice Time. And that? That has no real support anywhere in story, beyond in the most meta of senses the story itself, and feels just a few steps below the author physically pushing their heads together and saying, 'Now kiss'.
#ask#bnha critical#mha critical#Himiko's 'love' isn't actually love#reading Himiko as part vampire explains a lot of her behaviors#really she fits better in Tokyo Ghoul than MHA#Himiko Toga and the Completely Bullshit Love Triangle#the narrative is shipping them and I hate it#I think I edited this eight times in half as many hours
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hello average tumblr user. in front of you is a femslash rarepair. your challenge is to not start psychoanalysing its fans and saying they only pretend to like it to score social points, not depart from your 'shipping is for fun people can do what they want' view of mlm rarepairs, and not start randomly commenting on posts about them how you actually prefer those female characters with men who are or are not important to their characters. Live or die. Go.
#some of yall will literally pull out the most random men and say 'i want them to slurp each others balls' and then a femslash enjoyer#picks out two women with narrative parallels and says OOGH they would make a Great rivals/enemies to lovers duo#and suddenly it 'doesnt make sense' or they 'only ship them bc theyre women'#like have you considered that you only ship men together bc theyre men and youre being a little bit strange#nyxi cant stfu#nyxis hate posts
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When Dany and Arya are the first Targaryen/Stark duo to interact and people start seeing the light on Daenarya >>>>>>
#daenerys targeryan#arya stark#daenarya#deserves to be one of the top asoiaf ships but this fandom is full of small brained misogynists 😒#justice for my girls they deserve so much better then being misinterpreted by their haters!#just look at the material...the parallels! the foreshadowing! the shared values! the similar story beats!#them being literary mirrors to a doomed couple that haunts the narrative?1?1? literally no one is doing it like them!#two exiled princesses forced on the run after the murder of their families who both find themselves in braavos at one point#and then it all comes to a head when they MEET in Braavos?!#they're gonna bond over hating slavery wanting better for the smallfolk doling out karmic justice and being THE westerosi IT girls🫶🏾#has so much more flavor for me then jonerys I fear#shoutout to the five Daenarya shooters we're just big-brained and ahead of the curve
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so I’ve been trying to think of the best way to talk about Skuld’s fate for a while now and I think I’ve finally got it. My feelings about how she could be handled are a bit complicated (maybe even controversial? lol) but I hope I can make myself clear. This is essentially gonna be the post I point to whenever and if ever I need it later in the future. Thanks in advance if you read this!
If for whatever reason it’s confirmed that Skuld isn’t Subject χ and she gets together with Ephemer in canon (which I don’t believe will actually happen, but who knows), I do genuinely think there’d be something incredibly poetic about both of them leaving behind a legacy together.
Skuld as Subject χ is a super intriguing concept that I want to see get played out in canon, and even outside of that possibility, I would really love to just see her go on her own journey, have her own story where she can grapple with the events of khux in her own ways. But as someone who also happens to love her and Eph’s dynamic, I like to indulge in the possibility of them founding Scala together too.
Believe me when I say that I’m very skeptical of Skuld getting the credit and spotlight she deserves given the track record of how female characters are treated in this series. It would break my heart if Skuld got turned into an accessory or got shafted or worst case scenario, is used only to kickstart the Ephy lineage and nothing more outside of that. She deserves good, solid writing no matter what her fate is, I’m sure we can all agree on that at least.
And then there’s also the question of whether or not Nomura would ever establish a canon romantic relationship, and if he even should do that in the first place. I think it would be great, as long as it’s written in such a way that it doesn’t impede on the other types of relationships he’s already established. It could delve into some interesting new territory that can highlight the themes of kh, and make them even stronger and more profound. But you don’t absolutely need romance in order for that to be accomplished, ya feel?
Do I love Skuld and Eph together? Yes. Do I think they should be together (romantically) in canon? Not necessarily. You can both enjoy a ship AND recognize the nuances involved.
But anyway anywaaaaay, long disclaimers aside, these two characters have been through so much together…they witnessed two apocalypses. They’ve suffered the loss of a dear friend at their hands, along with their other friends as a result of horrible circumstances they had no control over. They stayed side by side as their home collapsed around and on them. But they also laughed together. They looked out for each other, stood up for each other. Encouraged and comforted and teased each other so they would smile.
From the very beginning, to the very end, they had each other over and over again. Clinging to hope with incredible resilience. From party members, to friends, to leaders. They’re both wonderful characters who I have no doubt would support each other throughout the rest of their lives, just as they always have.
I’ll be fine if a romance between them doesn’t become canon, in fact I’ll probably be pretty relieved. But I can’t deny that the idea of the two of them being entwined forever, bonded by the tragedies they’ve been through, yet also by all of their happy times and shared memories, is a beautiful thought to me.
Surviving to see the other side and building everything from the ground up again together, and seeing the legacy that follows their love, is a story worth telling, in my opinion. In the end, if that’s a story left to us fans to tell, that’s more than enough for me. We have so much to work with. Regardless of what Nomura and/or the rest of the writing team choose to do, I don’t need them to be a canon couple to enjoy the profound love and care they have for each other.
TL;DR - Whatever happens with Skuld, I’m down for the ride. As long as she’s present, period, I’m here for it. Just…please for the love of god, let her be written well. I miss her so much and I need all these years of loving her character to pay off
#epheskul#skulmera#my posts#dunno if this is what you guys were expecting but this has been weighing on my mind for so dang long. and for what lmao#you guys are good folks I’m sure you understand what’s in my heart and brain 😅#especially if you’ve been following me for a while haha#man…..it’s been so many years#skuld and ephy my beloveds…..#my original chi children…#I just want both of them to be written well and get what they need to grow and recover from all the shit that happened#whether they get to go it together or not#finally before anyone says anything: I don’t condone ship hate#let me indulge#let me play with my blorbos on my porch#and think about their thematic relevance to the narrative#also I’m a multishipper lol ✌️#phew okay that’s enough outta me#thank you everybody have a nice day
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you know what, I actually will talk about this because it's bothering me. The issue with focussing so heavily on syd and carmy's potential for a romantic relationship isn't that there's something inherently unintellectual about romance or whatever, it's that a lot of people seem incapable of doing that without immediately flattening the story and ignoring or intentionally misreading any and all nuance for the sake of that romance. Every scene suddenly becomes about how it impacts their relationship, every analysis is done through a romantic lens, every frame or line of dialogue becomes about finding some easter egg or hint that "proves" these people should start dating. Their dynamic is absolutely a fundamental part of this show, but if you can only see it as a will-they-won't-they, you miss so much of what the story is actually trying to say with these two.
There are good versions of this story where their relationship is romantic and there are good versions of this story where it isn't, but as soon as you decide them being together is "the point," you lose the ability to actually judge the story for what it is, not what you want it to be.
#like so much of their dynamic (esp but not exclusively in S3) has been about showing the ways that carmy's trauma and dysfunctional#attitude in the kitchen impacts other people and how even though he cares about syd and wants their partnership to work he keeps self#sabotaging and setting himself and by extension her and the restaurant up to fail and replicating the same toxic environments that#he grew up and trained in and this is very much consistent with his character and a natural continuation of the conflicts they've been#having since S1 but because him being shitty with her runs contrary to them getting together suddenly its 'ruining the story' and#out of character and only happening bc the writers just hate to see this ship winning and like. if you really think that i genuinely don't#know what show you've been watching bc it sure as shit wasn't this one. like it hurts to see him do this because you know#they could do something genuinely great together and that he's ruining a really good thing but this is also the reality of where he is rn#if he was just a good and supporting business partner and not deeply dysfunctional it would be wildly out of character#the problem w S3 wasn't that it 'ruined' their relationship it's that it had no clear focus overemphasized carmy's arc at the expense#of the other leads deprioritized the supporting cast while failing to give them their own arcs gave more screen time to#unecessary and uninteresting new 'comic relief' characters and let conflicts stagnate without resolving them or#letting them evolve over the course of the season.#this isn't exclusive to the bear this is a general trend ive noticed where as soon as the 'shipper' part of people's brains get activated#it's like they lose the ability to read the story any other way and it stops being about what's good for the narrative and starts being#about whether or not these two people kiss and anything that gets in the way of that is bad and anything that brings it closer is good#and it's usually whatever but it's really frustrating when the story ppl are doing that to is this good#it also makes people fundamentally incapable of treating any 'obstacle' to that romance in a way that isn't wildly meanspirited and#gross (esp bc those characters are usually women) which is exhausting. like no claire isn't evil or a 'pick me' or 'bad' for carmy#or a useless addition to the story or whatever other nonsense you guys have decided must be true to feel okay. she's a perfectly normal#character and their relationship is exploring some of the ways that carmy's inability to deal with or actually address his trauma#impacts the various relationships in his life. she doesn't even have to be a monster or a narrative mistake for him and syd to be#'destined' for each other or whatever. this isn't a middle school wattpad fic.#im definitely gonna get killed in the street for this but ive been looking for a good reason to spend less time on here so might as well#the bear#sydcarmy#sydney adamu#carmy berzatto
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☆.☆.☆
#Takashi Shirogane#Shiro#You're nothingness but shining and everywhere at once.#Coran Hieronymus Wimbleton Smythe#Sam Holt#Veronica McClain#Voltron: Legendary Defender#Mine.#All I want is to fly with queue.#Just...#Shiro lost SO much.#His long-term boyfriend who he was planning on marrying.#His freedom.#His bodily autonomy.#His identity.#His LIFE!!!!#AND his position as Black Paladin and Defender of the Universe- which gave him a sense of purpose.#He got back to Earth to find that his ex was killed#robbing him of any chance at proper closure over the end of their relationship#and had no one waiting to welcome him other than one of his superior officers.#I hate a lot about what the IGF-Atlas and Shiro's promotion to Captain of it represents for his place in the show's narrative.#Giving him his own ship was an easy way to sequester him and Coran off with the other 'boring' adult side-characters#essentially demoting the two of them to that status after they had been vital components of Team Voltron as the only proper adults with all#of the knowledge and experience their juniors lacked.#It's stupid and shitty and I sincerely hate it.#But Shiro DESERVED THIS.#Especially because he never in a million years anticipated it.#He fully expects someone to object and proclaim that he's unworthy because of his age or his brain or his arm.#But no one does.#Like Sam says-- the Atlas is SHIRO'S ship. And any and everyone who wants to take it from him can fight me.
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i need a cigarette. i love clausten so much im so ill about this ship i hate
#changing the narrative i will no longer be the clausten overlord#im the clausten HATER i HATE clausten its RUINED MY LIFE#me and the ship i hate [picture of me standing next to my 200+ posts about them]#nanathinks
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not to be a hater but it does drive me insane how so many online conversations are so centered around sidon and yona (and link 😞) and not any of the delicious narratives that totk gave us
like why should we talk about rauru and sonia and their relationship w zelda? why would we talk about zelda and how her relationship w link progressed post calamity? oh are we gonna talk about the sheer insanity that is ZELDA TURNIJG INTOA. FUCKING DRAGON??? no??? shipping discourse over sharks? ok
not to swing a bat at a hornet's nest but it really does feel like specifically mlm ships take precedence in fandom spaces over EVERYTHING else regardless of whether the ship in question actually has like. any canon backing whatsoever. like totk specifically, a ton of the story revolves around zelda, a female character which certain fans notoriously hate for the crime of. being a woman with feelings. like gee i wonder why we all simultaneously decided to ignore the story of this one. i wonder why we really really really want to focus on this random male side character's incredibly minor story instead of the literal titular character of the game. could it perhaps be because some of us are predisposed to ignore and dismiss women in all contexts. could it be perhaps that we don't want to reckon with a woman we didn't like in the last game reclaiming her agency and healing from her trauma and being a positive driving force in the narrative and would rather talk about 2 men and how lame and stupid the woman who dares to exist inbetween them is instead. hmm
#DISCLAIMER. i do not hate sidlink. like. whatever. you can talk about it all you want i do not CARE. but when you are a wlw in fandom spaces#you just. Notice Things. you notice that even when girls are centered in the narrative fans will push them out of the way and center men.#you notice that women are never given the same time for discussion that men are. no one wants to think about their feelings#the way they want to think about male characters. ESPECIALLY when they're percieved as 'ruining' a mlm ship by existing as a love interest.#it happened with botw with sidlink fans ignoring sidlining or villainizing both mipha and zelda and it's happening again with yona.#it's tiring. that's all#totk spoilers#asks#and yes i am aware that making that one stupid post about the statue was signing myself up to see this bullshit but STILL
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went too far into the atla tags and now i wanna die
small edit i won't be following atla solo muses aside from close friends because of past experiences!
#i really ... hate certain takes there besties!!!!!!#me and my atla rpc trauma BUT#i really love suki & sokka and therefore i will stay strong....#something so special to me about them :) my ultimate comfort characters#i've been thinking about early atla (animated) and just how much i love the worldbuilding of the universe#the early season exploration of the water tribes....yue#unmatched!!!!!!#and when you think of sokka's brilliance. oh he was the best#literally took down the fire nation himself . my king . my brilliant strategist#that's wonderful#i hate how ship focused the fandom is like what drew me to atla was the world building & characters themselves#i will go back into my old sokka rules but i could never ship him outside of suki and yue and i just. am not interested in ever writing#ships primarily like . idk why the fandom is so ship focused all the time#follow the narrative and be free......... thinking about my little guy#out.
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Can't send asks from my sideblog, but this is @chewing-the-drywall
I feel like much of s2 fell into Frenchie's "we put it in the box and then lock it and don't open it again" in the sense that it set up A LOT that I was intrigued about how they would address it, but it either never was mentioned again or was handled poorly.
Examples range from light, like how I wish we saw more of the crew interacting with each other in ways that built on their characters from S1, where in S2 they didn't feel any more developed, or even regressed. (Example, Fang used the word Fingies 2-3 times through S2, and it felt like they were using it almost as a shorthand for his character, rather than making him feel more real and multidimensional as a character.)
100% @chewing-the-drywall. When I first heard that line I had I was so excited for the story to prove Frenchie wrong. Or show how important it can be to put aside problems to stay alive in the moment. But in the end, this one line summarized how the season handled everyone, besides Stede and Ed. Below, is an in depth discussion on where this season decided to spend it's limited amount of time. Instead of focusing on the characters and plotlines they'd already established.
This season had so MANY ideas it wanted to touch on.
Izzy trying to deal with his unrequited love and opening up to a new way of living. The traumatized 'Revenge' crew trying to adapt to a softer way of life again. The abandoned crew learning how to help their traumatized friends. Introducing new characters like Zheng, Auntie, and Archie into our main group. Setting up a conflict to resolve in season three. Along the way, referencing Pirates of history like Ned Low, Mary Reed, and Anne Bonny.
Notice, I've said all this and we're not even at our romantic leads.
Which is fine. Stories are fluid things. As long as the story knows how to flow from our leads to our side characters. Which leads us to how I feel this show took a lot of time away from establishing our central crew-
[Warning- this will be a controversial opinion- I want to know what y'all think about this] Zheng/Oluwande. This seasons habit of retreading old plotlines and referencing scenes from S1.
What S1 did so well was paralleling the side stories with what was going on with Ed/Stede. Usually, highlighting how well Stede/Ed worked by showing how much Ed/Izzy DIDN'T work. Or general hijinks that tied into the plot (Oluwande and Frenchie on the French ship).
Season 2 chose to parallel our main story with what was going on between Zheng/Oluwande as a budding romance and Izzy's slow recovery. The reason Zheng/Oluwande scenes felt like a waste for me in that the story was JUST a retelling the story we watched from S1.
A frustrated first mate(Auntie), and a legendary captain(Zheng) fighting over the captain falling in love with an idiot(Olu). In season 2, much like every callback for me, it felt like it slowed down the plot by pulling us out of the story. Like...yeah, you did the thing again, do you want me to applaud you for it?
I LIKE Zheng and Oluwande as a couple! I like that Oluwande was debating leaving Stede and taking Jim and Archie with him. But at the same time, I didn't care about Zheng until episode 7 when she beat up Stede, showing that yes. She's not just some all powerful woman taken down by a mix of love(the crew in ep3) and thinking that she was above it all (ep 7). She's fast on her feet, smart, and willing to stab someone who gets in her way. She's her own person. But.
Every other scene that established her was about her romance, felt like we could have put Rhys and Taika in there. It didn't feel...unique. It's as if the show only knows 1 way to write a romance between a badass and a bumbling idiot. Again. Oluwande in season 1 wasn't dumb in the same way everyone else was. He was protective of Jim, a bit nervous overall, but he was the person the crew chose to lead them. The season just dumbed everyone down a bit and called it a day.
This comes to the larger issue. When we only have eight episodes I don't want to rewatch the exact same plot beats with different characters. Time spent here ends up taking away from other stories we could have told about trauma and growing as a family and other forms of growing as a family. We didn't need another romance plot line. Imagine taking this time instead to show Lucius reaching out to Pete AND the crew for help. Or Frenchie finally feeling safe enough to play his lute. Or Roach helping Fang get over his thing with cakes-you get my point.
The fact we took all the found family stuff from season one, and pushed it onto only Izzy in S2 means when he dies, all the found family shit falls away. His death makes us realize we've been ignoring the central family we were supposed to care about. Because in so many words, their trauma was ignored.
[I even theorize if Izzy was alive and sailed away with them. Showing how he was taken in and loved by his crew, the ending wouldn't feel so hollow. This crew doesn't feel like a caring family. The person who protected them for months died, wasn't mourned, and then they threw a wedding the same day. Not even a full day to mourn. The 'New Revenge' feels like a heartless crew of characters we barely recognize because they aren't a family like they were at the end of S1. More like coworkers who sometimes fall in love with eachother.]
Trauma, Timelines, and Tonal issues when jumping from Episodes 1-3 to Episodes 4-5.
When the crews meet up, the story chooses to focus on the fun plot. Ed and Stede recovering their relationship, only dipping back into that serious tone when Izzy or Lucius come on screen to 'make things sad' again. I don't think the transition from 'serious' to 'comedy' was handled well.
I don't have an official timeline of the events of season two. But from what I remember, everything happens within 2 weeks.
In episode 4, Stede ignored the vote of his crew- to let the man who was torturing half his 'FAMILY' for at least 80 days- back aboard. This rubbed me the wrong way, as it showed Stede being a selfish prick in a way that could seriously harm his crew. That's when I started to see how not adding a *single* time-skip mid-season would hurt S2.
Imagine if we had a one-week off-screen time skip between episodes 4 and 5.
Maybe it's implied that they stay in that town for a bit. Izzy would a bit more time to learn to move on his new leg and start to open up to those he already trusts. Include a scene of Izzy WITH the crew, maybe laughing about something with the old traumatized crew, even if it's just a 30-second opener. Imply that the traumatized crew would have more time to settle in with the family they miss. Show that yeah, the traumatized crew needs more time to heal. Imply at the start of the 'Ed apology' that Ed and Stede have had more time to talk their issues out.
THEN have Ed apologize. You can even keep the bullshit corporate to show that Ed still has to work for this.
Healing takes time. Setting a series over the span of two weeks after half your cast was tortured by your lead love interest? After five of your main crew thought they would sail off into a storm and die after months of stress and life threatening battles? Why did that shit get shoved to the side so quickly?
Framing episode 5 as the START of Ed making amends with the crew, only to drop the plot by episode 7? Not a smart move. Because let's be honest, 'poison into positivity' in episode 6, referring to the fact that they sold all of Ed's loot to pay for the party, ignores the sacrifices the crew made to live that long. (The death of Ivan, and intense trauma they all need to work through). In a way, Ed throwing this party was him asking the crew to start putting everything away in that imaginary box.
It's Ed retroactively letting himself say 'hey, that time I spent torturing my captives was worth it because we got something good out of it' while still ignoring his own guilt. Ed needed to take accountability for his actions. No more 'I took 'a' mans leg' bullshit. The reason his arc feels so unsatisfying is that the plot easily forgives him. Fuck. I hate what they did for Ed's arc, but that's not the point.
Overall.
My issue with this season is not that it chose to do these topics, it's that it didn't think about the implications of what they were bringing up. It didn't dare to think 'maybe it's fucked if we quickly brush off a trauma like this'. Again. I know we have to blame MAX for cutting off two episodes. But I don't think 2 additional episodes would fix a tone problem seen going from episodes 3-4.
Fucking hell. Each member of the revenge had the potential for their own arc, so it's baffling to see them all reduced to 'well meaning idiot' when they all felt so fleshed out in S1.
When izzy gives his speech about belonging, there's a reason the only image in the show of the crew all together was from S1.
At the end of the day, Season 2 didn't let our surviving side characters grow. This is a mean spirited bit on how I feel the writers see the their own characters.
Stede and Ed are our leads. They won't die, not in this genera. Their shitty actions will be forgiven because it's a comedy, and as long as it's joked about, it holds no weight. They won't die. They won't get fatally hurt. Their trauma will be taken seriously, but it's a 50/50 on if they'll talk about it before breaking up again. They will eventually get a happy ending, their trauma looked at head on, because duh.
Jim, Olu, Lucius, Pete? Characters who used to have defined personalities in S1, but haven't been defined much beyond their relationships with their partners? Whose trauma might be mentioned, but will quickly be 'resolved' in one scene? Shame. Seems like they're only useful as set dressing, But we might make you useful as interchangeable side characters to riff against. Oh, and you're in love! Isn't that cool!
Izzy? I'll just quote Jenkins here. "To have him become a father figure to Blackbeard, and on some level to the rest of the crew, and to see him become the heart of why we’re giving pirates the chance to stand for being able to live how you choose. In reality, they’re thieves and criminals, but what our pirates stand for is a life of belonging to something larger than they are in the face of a crushing, slightly fascist normalcy." So...Is Izzy a pirate and accepted into the Revenge family? Or is he still an outsider? Jenkins gave us a romcom but still defines Izzy's character as that of one stuck in a drama/tragedy. Point and laugh, because tonally these two things clash HARD and will make an audience lose trust in it's writers unless well established. Leading us to the entire issue we've pointed out of not letting your characters actions hold in dramatic weight in your story.
Frenchie, Wee John, Roach, and Fang- Ah. No love interests again...shit. Well. Background actors it is... for now. We'll see. But we need 2 more scenes of the couple breaking up, so MAYBE you'll get some backstory hinted at in dialogue. You all have 1 thing your good at, so that's easy enough to put you where you belong.
Buttons and Swede? Well. They're still alive!! Don't be sad, fans :) The actors just couldn't show up anymore. We don't want our silly happy queer pirate rom com to not end on a happy ending! (Closes the lid of the trash can where they're keep Con O'Neill a bit tighter, thanking God Con was silenced by a strike this entire season from social media)
Do you agree, or disagree? Leave any lingering thoughts down below!
I'd love to chat down below.
#I am absolutely screwing myself over spelling-wise by adding a poll but fuck it. That's what we do#Overall: Just because you can fit something into your story doesn't mean it needs to be shown on screen.#I wanted to add a section of all the scenes I'd cut/tighten to make my added scenes work but I don't think we're there yet as a fandom#I theorize that the reason they couldn't change the script and had to hack it up was due to them already having 10 episodes fully written#also I SWEAR I LIKE ZHENG- but the part of me that sees her as a hollow Ed 'narrative mirror' finds her a bit boring until episode 7#I LOVED her ship and how she hated Stede. But that's just because I generally don't enjoy Stede when he's unquestioned#Stede on her ship was a pacified lamb slowly getting fattened for the slaughter. She would have turned on him SO EASILY. She almost did too#I semi-tolerated Ed/Stede's love story of not communicating and puppy love. Seeing it again but sped up didn't make me like it more#ofmd s2#ofmd season 2#ofmd s2 spoilers#ofmd critical#?#yeah I'll tag that just to be safe#izzy hands#edward teach#ofmd s2 finale#ofmd season 2 spoilers#ofmd s2 meta#ofmd s2 analysis#trauma
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"I love ATLA, it's one of my favorite shows! But I hate Aang! He's my least favorite character because he's selfish, immature, practically started the war in the first place, and he's so possessive-"
Like, it's okay to not like a character and everything, as everyone is drawn to something different. But if you're going to contrive a complete bs argument and mischaracterize the character to try and justify your unfair hate, just keep it to yourself. Also, reminder, Aang is a kid for the majority of the show so of course some of the things he does are going to be either a.) childish or b.) something that an older person wouldn't necessarily choose out the gate. Or did you think you were all wise and knowing as a child? 🤨
#atla#avatar the last airbender#avatar aang#like the amount of times I've seen this rhetoric toward aang is so frustrating like leave that poor boy alone#and its not even just from shipping wars anymore at this point#its also not lost on me how some of yall impose your ideals on to him and get mad when he's obviously not like that#he doesn't fit your typical brooding dark & mysterious male leads that you fawn over so you crashout and write hate dissertations#(disclaimer i wouldn't even say zuko completely fits that narrative either but many still push that on him even after he's grown past it)#it's okay to prefer this type of character but you also have to understand that not everyone fits that criteria nor has too#also again aang (and most of the atla characters) are children! stop trying to turn them into something they're not to fit your narrative!#people who blame aang for the war i hope u never know peace
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2024 reads / storygraph
Song of the Huntress
historical fantasy set in 8th century Britain
follows three characters:
a woman who has spent centuries leading the wild hunt & reaping souls after being tricked into it, who disguises herself as a human to enter the kingdom
the queen of Wessex who never lives up to the demands of the court, despite leading their people in battle - and after a battlefield defeat they turn against her
and her husband, the king, deals with magic and political upheaval as his brother tries to usurp him and conflict arises between new and old religions
bi woman MC, lesbian MC, ace man MC
#Song of the Huntress#aroaessidhe 2024 reads#This is - okay? some very interesting and complex characters#i liked the women of the wild hunt and I liked how aethelburg as a warrior queen is just sort of normal not some kind of girlboss thing#it’s very slow paced - I doubt I would have gotten through it if not for the audiobook#the historical setting and details and complexity of the plot is interesting#I did read it for the ace character so:#unsure how i feel about how his asexuality's the reason for the problem in their relationship. like the book tries to make it the issue tha#he didn't TELL her about it but.....but ultimately it is just his asexuality as the issue. idk. not that I don't think that this kind of#ace narrative shouldn’t be explored I guess. it was just a smidge too portrayed as him being the problem#I feel like if he were aroace at least it’d be like okay; she finds in someone else what he doesn’t want to give her#but he literally does love her romantically lol. which makes the subplot of the romance between the women like......ok she's cheating#bc her husband won't fuck her? not to minimise complex characters down to surface level ships but also….#the sapphic relationship is kinda undeveloped/insta attraction and not much else -the book is conscious of this &#I don't think it tries that much to convince us it's something more than that (other than how it affects the character's personal journeys)#but still. idk. I guess I do like that it doesn't conform to perfect-narrative-romances but evidently unsure about how it did so#this makes it sound like I hated the asexuality and the sapphic relationship - I didn't hate either I just didn't love them lol#also his sister is also aroace and becomes a nun and otherwise she's offscreen - lost opportunity imo!
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there are some characters where i look at them and go "i don't want anything bad to happen to them ever" and others where i look at them and go "i need them to suffer so fucking much until they b r e a k" and there's no telling which is which until you talk to me about them
#this post brought to you by me looking at luchino's survivor trailer#and mentally going “yesss.... YESSSSSS.......” at the shots of him screaming in pain#luchino and frederick are the ones who get the worst of it i think#you can't give me a pretty musician with family issues and mental illness and an obsession with the extreme#and an absolutely batshit insane academic whose actual fucking body is turning against him#and then be surprised when i look at them and go “yeah they should suffer”#rambling#funny thing is a.) i ship them with each other#and b.) i also ship them with characters who are very much firmly in the “i need them to be okay” camp#those being emil and charles respectively#so depending on what mood i'm in you're either getting a ship between two characters who are hated by the narrative#or two ships that are just “i need whoever's writing us to stop torturing my boyfriend for five fucking minutes”
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I know I'm just gonna sound like a buddie truther, but I ain't worried about no last name Marisol and don't tend to care if a cast member hints at or denies any plotline because they're not going to reveal a major plot when episodes are still coming out, especially with something that has a lot of media buzz right now.
#buddie#dont be sending JHL hate for saying buddie stuff on a live yall. some of you are a bit extra#its just a job to cast members and they dont control narratives#also i think its a bit weird to ask a cast member about a ship they arent a part of#like what you expect them to say 🤨 you really think they gonna say buddie is canon
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