#there's a fine line between me liking canon details and fanon details | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

thinkingisadangerouspastime · 4 years ago

Note

Hi, first off I ship Zutara and I come in peace. I was pointed your way by a friend when I asked for people who ship kataang who are nevertheless willing to hear different views. I have lurked on blog a week and finally got up my nerve to ask how you or any other Kataang can deny that the last part of book 3 was completely Zutara but then stopped abruptly with no buildup? You can finesse tone on text so I'm not being sarcastic or bitchy, it is a serious question (1/5)

In The Southern Raiders, Katara realizes she has been wrong about Zuko. In Ember Island Players, she realizes Aang is not as mature as she thought he was, and in the finale, Katara does not care a whit that Aang is gone. I am serious and as someone who is no Aang stan but likes him, I’m actually annoyed by how little anyone cared about his disappearance. It went from “Aang’s gone!” to “Okay whatever, let’s find Iroh so he can kill Ozai.” (2/5)

Katara was all over Zuko (honestly, again not being a jerk) in the finale until for whatever reason, she wasn’t. She was giving him a pep talk about Iroh, she was going with him to Azula, she was healing him and saying he saved her not the other way around. I genuinely don’t get why this isn’t seen as romantic. I will grant you that Zuko would not have allowed Azula to kill anyone but I feel the point here was Zuko realizing his life was pointless if Katara was killed. (4/5)

And then literally at the end, Mai shows up after Zuko not talking about her at all for six episodes and declares herself Zuko’s girlfriend. And Katara kisses Aang after being annoyed with and by him arguably since The Southern Raiders. I get that Kataang “won” and I’ve made peace with that, but ... I can’t understand why Kataang shippers are okay with such a crap story. I swear on my gmom [sic] if they’d done this for [Zvtara], I’d be mad as hell. So I don’t understand, I really don’t. (5/5)

As always, I shall begin with a disclaimer: anon, you do not have to agree with this post. No one has to agree with this post, as it is strictly my own thoughts on the subject matter raised here! As per usual, I will not be putting this in the main tags - much less the Zvtara tag! - because I have basic fandom decency, lmao. If you (the general you, not anon specifically) do disagree with this post, that is totally fine, I simply ask that you are polite in expressing your disagreement (if you choose to do so at all! no one is expected to, lmao. i promise).

Alright. Formalities are out of the way!

I’ll admit I giggled a little bit when you say you lurked on my blog for a week, because I’ve actually talked about this subject numerous times in the past! I just found it funny you hadn’t stumbled across any posts about it yet, lol. So, as a heads up, know that I will be providing several links in this post since - again - this subject and related subjects have been analyzed a multitude of times before. I highly recommend reading them all! Mostly because I don’t intend to spend forever restating what’s been said over and over and over lmaooo. I will provide the resources, but it is up to each individual to take advantage of them.

To begin: your ask actually contains a few logical fallacies, anon! I do not mean this as shade or to belittle you - I fall victim to this issue all the time myself. Anyone who writes analyses or participates in debates does! Humans are imperfect and often like to cut corners to reach a conclusion. It is nothing to be embarrassed or ashamed about because - as the existence of your ask in inbox indicates - you are willing to learn more. So kudos to you, my friend!

Alright. So what logical fallacies am I talking about here? (For the record: specific definitions of logical fallacies were taken from here.)

1. Hasty Generalization.

“A hasty generalization is a general statement without sufficient evidence to support it.” Numerous claims are made in this ask that I have absolutely no doubt you believe to be true, anon, but there really isn’t any concrete evidence to support it! I will go into more detail later, of course, but let’s quickly look at one example:

“In Ember Island Players, [Katara] realizes Aang is not as mature as she thought he was…”

For the time being, I will ask but one question: from the show itself, not fanon, how do you know this?

2. Causal Fallacy

Ah, this guy. My own worst enemy, tbh! “A causal fallacy is any logical breakdown when identifying a cause,” of which there are several types. “One causal fallacy is the false cause or non causa pro causa (‘not the-cause for a cause’) fallacy, which is when you conclude about a cause without enough evidence to do so.” In your ask, you claim:

“I will grant you that Zuko would not have allowed Azula to kill anyone but I feel the point here was Zuko realizing his life was pointless if Katara was killed.”

Again, for the time being, I will ask only one question: from the show itself, not fanon, what led you to believe this statement?

“Another kind of causal fallacy is the correlational fallacy also known as cum hoc ergo propter hoc (Lat., ‘with this therefore because of this’). This fallacy happens when you mistakenly interpret two things found together as being causally related.” In your ask, you claim:

“Katara was all over Zuko (honestly, again not being a jerk) in the finale until for whatever reason, she wasn’t. She was giving him a pep talk about Iroh, she was going with him to Azula, she was healing him and saying he saved her not the other way around. I genuinely don’t get why this isn’t seen as romantic.”

I will ask one question: from the show itself, not fanon, why would you believe these are indicative of romance? (Consider the context the show is situated in, too - e.g. the war, Katara being Azula’s only available match in skill, etc.)

The reason I bring up the issue of logical fallacies is again not at all to make you feel bad, anon!! You were simply trying to express your point to me and I greatly appreciate you taking the time to do so. See, your ask actually presents a larger fandom trend:

Misconstruing fanon as canon.

What you have offered to me, anon, are fanon conclusions. To clarify: there is absolutely nothing wrong with fanon. I adore fanon interpretations (an example I have used in the past is Kuzaang - like, I don’t care that there’s no canon basis! I do what I want lmao!), but a line has to be drawn between exploring fanon interpretations and expecting everyone to take that fanon as canon. Again, anon, this is not your fault! It is not any one person’s fault, lmao. It is an issue of fandom as a whole, and all of us fall victim to it.

With that in mind, I will break down the different components of your ask. I will also do my best to be brief - as aforementioned, I and others have analyzed this issue numerous times before, lmao. To avoid confusion, it would be best to read through each or at least most links as they are provided!

Firstly, there are two posts I have made in the past that almost directly answer your overarching question here in this ask. Please read them prior to continuing, as I will occasionally reference them:

This post explains how Zvtara was not built up from TSR/EIP-onwards, and how their supposed “canon enemies to lovers arc” is a completely fanon construction.

This post explains the issue of the “canon Zvtara” rhetoric from rabid zkers (and you, anon, are absolutely NOT one, in case you were worried).

Alrighty. With that out the way, let’s get into it!

“In The Southern Raiders, Katara realizes she has been wrong about Zuko.”

Gotta start by saying that TSR is not about Zuko. TSR is, first and foremost, about Katara. Katara does not realize she was wrong about Zuko, because here’s the truth - she wasn’t wrong about him. Zuko did horrible things to the Gaang. Katara was not wrong to hold him accountable for that. What Katara does realize is that holding such rage so close to her chest is bad for her. This rage was not solely anger against Zuko, either; it was of course about Yon Rha, too, but it was also anger towards Kya and Katara herself. Essentially, TSR is where Katara realizes she has to forgive herself. Zuko is only one part of her journey (similar to Aang’s role in the episode, if a different end of the spectrum).

This post explains how TSR was fundamentally about Katara.

Additional resources about TSR:

This post explains Aang’s comments to Katara in TSR and how Katara herself recognized their validity.

This post explains why both Aang and Zuko were important to Katara in TSR.

This post is an extensive breakdown of Aang and Katara’s relationship within TSR.

“In Ember Island Players, [Katara] realizes Aang is not as mature as she thought he was…”

You provide no context for this claim, so I’m going to work with the assumption this is about their reactions to the play itself and the infamous kiss!

There is something important we must keep in mind when discussing EIP: the play they watch is literally imperialist propaganda. It is meant to demean the entire Gaang, and indeed it does exactly that. You mention Katara and Aang specifically, so I will recap what I have explained before about their depictions in EIP: Katara, an indigenous woman, is hypersexualized and portrayed as overly emotional (and thus “irrational”). This reinforces the Fire Nation sentiment that women of the Water Tribes are less intelligent and less suited for “responsibility” than Fire Nation women. Aang, a pacifist and the sole survivor of genocide who is also canonly the male character most comfortable with femininity and spirituality, is portrayed as a flighty, airheaded woman (this is a well-known imperialist tactic meant to emasculate the target, seeing as masculinity was often equated with power in fascist regimes; thus, they effectively belittled Aang before the FN audience). This reinforces the Fire Nation sentiment that the Air Nomads were foolish, weak people who deserved to die.

In other words, of course Aang and Katara were upset about how they portrayed in the play. It is understandable that tensions would be running high and consequently that mistakes (we all know the one) would be made.

This post explains how EIP belittles each member of the Gaang (and why the play is not indicative of Zvtara).

This post talks specifically about EIP and their portrayal of Aang and Katara.

Now onto the kiss. As everyone knows and no one has ever disagreed with, Aang was wrong to kiss Katara. Point blank!

But what people do misunderstand is Katara and Aang’s feelings regarding the kiss. Given your above quote, I assume you believe Aang kissing Katara supposedly made her realize that Aang wasn’t as mature as she once thought. On the surface, this seems like a logical conclusion! But digging deeper reveals… well, there’s nothing that indicates this conclusion at all. Even jumping ahead to the finale, when Zuko has doubts over Aang’s return, Katara demonstrates her faith in Aang (although of course she’s nervous - I won’t deny the obvious, lmao) as she says, “Aang won’t lose. He’s gonna come back. He has to.”

In other words, nothing in canon suggests that Katara believes Aang is immature because of what happened in EIP. She still trusts in his return, as she did even before she knew him (and arguably is more confident in him now, given the 60~ episodes of them growing closer). Furthermore, when Aang does disappear, Katara doesn’t have an outburst about how “immature” it was for him to “run away again.” The viewers know Aang didn’t run away, of course (fans who insist he did are not worth arguing with, anon - they don’t understand the show, rip), but that is a luxury the rest of the Gaang is not afforded. And yet even though Aang has vanished off the face of the planet, Katara still believes he will save the world. If anything, that signifies the utmost confidence in his skill and maturity!

To go back to the kiss itself, this post explains the true source of Katara’s conflict in turning down Aang (hint: she says it herself in the episode! you know, the whole war going on) and why the EIP kiss did not sink Kataang’s relationship.

Additional sources about EIP:

This post explains how the EIP kiss was resolved through narrative parallels.

This post explains how the EIP kiss is so often blown out of proportion.

“… and in the finale, Katara does not care a whit that Aang is gone. I am serious and as someone who is no Aang stan but likes him, I’m actually annoyed by how little anyone cared about his disappearance. It went from ‘Aang’s gone!’ to ‘Okay whatever, let’s find Iroh so he can kill Ozai.’”

As I already touched upon, Katara didn’t need a soliloquy to emphasize her connection to Aang once he disappeared. She trusts that he will return. She says so herself. I guess I just don’t understand how you got from Point A, Katara has consistent faith in Aang, to Point B, Katara and the rest of the Gaang didn’t care about Aang’s disappearance. It’s honestly a bit more like Point A to Point Z, lmao! If you would like to expand on your logic here, I would love to hear more!!

There are a few specific aspects I want to note about your rationale, though. You argue the Gaang moves from ‘Aang disappeared’ to ‘let’s find Iroh,’ but the Gaang actually went from:

1. Aang disappeared!

2. They search the entire island for him.

3. Okay, they couldn’t find him, so they track down June and have her try to find Aang.

4. June says to them, “No, I mean he’s gone gone. He doesn’t exist.” (And she clarifies to Sokka that she doesn’t mean dead, either - she means Aang has totally blinked out of their world.)

5. Only after all of this do they decide to track down Iroh.

The Gaang cares immensely about the fact that Aang is gone, and you could actually argue they waste time by trying to track him down. They don’t give up until June essentially tells them that some Spirit World shenanigans were involved. Even if you don’t think they reached that specific conclusion, I have to ask: What else were they supposed to do? They were told Aang didn’t exist! How are they supposed to fix that?

Well, they can’t. So they do the next best thing: they find Iroh, the man who knows Ozai better than anyone and is also one of the most talented firebenders in the world. In my opinion, that’s a very logical step to take.

I’ll be blunt here, lol: in my opinion, nothing of what you listed in your ask is inherently romantic.

Okay. I am going to assume you’ve read the first two posts I linked earlier (“Zvtara did not have an E-L arc” and “the ‘canon’ Zvtara of rabid zkers has issues”), because I do not intend to rehash everything they contain, lol. Consequently, I presume you realize by now that there was no canon romantic interest between Zuko and Katara.

And as I always say, just because there wasn’t a canon romance doesn’t mean people can’t take fanon routes! Of course they can! That’s the entire point of fanon! But fanon is not canon, and I am strictly referring to canon in my discussions.

You claim Katara was all over Zuko, which in itself I don’t think is an accurate assessment, because she doesn’t really do anything with Zuko outside the three points you bring up (other than the June gag, which I addressed in one of the aforementioned linked posts). So I’ll go ahead and break down each instance you provide!

1. “[Katara] was giving [Zuko] a pep talk about Iroh”

Katara asked Zuko if he was okay. She asked him if he was genuinely sorry. She reassures him that Iroh will forgive him. That’s… all. Not to diminish the significance of this conversation, but it’s not exactly an intimate, romantically-charged discussion (unless fanon-ized). But on that note, let’s tackle the canon significance of this moment!

Katara knows firsthand the challenge of forgiving Zuko. And she knows that Zuko understands how hard it was for her to forgive him (note: Katara’s anger was totally justified, and anyone who disagrees is probably a rabid Zuko stan lmao). She also recognizes that Zuko is terrified it will take Iroh the same struggle to forgive him that Katara went through. This scene is not related to romance at all. It’s about compassion. It’s about Katara and Zuko’s friendship having progressed, slowly but surely, to the point where she’s not afraid to extend empathy to him anymore (seeing as the first time, beneath Ba Sing Se, did not go so well; you know - Aang died and all). It’s about Zuko recognizing his own fallibility (and the audience recognizing how much he’s grown). He questions how he can even face his uncle after all he’s done to the man, which is a far cry from his entitled attitude in TSR, where he demanded to know why Katara didn’t trust him when everyone else had forgiven him.

To make this moment, this moment about Zuko’s relationship with his uncle who is all but a literal father to him, this moment of vulnerability, of guilt, of remorse, of growth, to claim this powerful moment is about a nonexistent romantic relationship? In my opinion, that is incredibly reductive to what this scene is supposed to signify. And again, there is nothing wrong with people exploring such a possibility in fanon, but in canon? Nah. It doesn’t track.

2. “[Katara] was going with [Zuko] to Azula”

Don’t forget that at first, Zuko planned to take on Azula alone. He doesn’t request Katara to accompany him until Iroh tells him that he’ll need help. As such, Zuko’s immediate agreement with Iroh is reflective of his personal growth (Book 1 and 2 Zuko would have argued and insisted he didn’t need any help). It also demonstrates, however, that Katara was not obsessively on Zuko’s mind. He doesn’t choose Katara until Iroh points out that Zuko will need assistance in taking Azula down. This means that Zuko’s choice of Katara to join him is a tactical decision, not an emotional one. And by all accounts, it’s a damn good decision! Zuko witnessed firsthand beneath Ba Sing Se a) how powerful Katara was (e.g. that wave after Aang died) and b) how Katara was the only one who could take on Azula*.

Of course, besides the fact that Katara was the only match for Azula, who else was Zuko going to choose? Sokka and Suki, while talented in their own right, were no competition for Azula. Toph, while the greatest earthbender in the world, was needed to metalbend the airships. Katara was the only (and the best!) option.

Also, on their trip to face Azula, the only thing they talk about within their three lines of canon conversation are Azula and Aang. Not exactly a romantic flight, lmao.

*Zuko never saw Aang fight Azula on the drill.

3. “[Katara] was healing [Zuko] and saying he saved her not the other way around”

Actually, this is what the transcript says:

Zuko: Thank you, Katara.

Katara: I think I’m the one who should be thanking you.

You’re right about how their lines refer to them saving each other, but you posit it as a romantic moment, when the lines are actually pretty straightforward. Zuko thanks Katara as she heals him from the partially-redirected lightning strike, and Katara thanks him for trying to redirect the lightning away from her and in doing so saving her life. In terms of canon, there’s nothing romantic about this, lol! (Which I talked about extensively in the E-L post, if you need to reference it again.) The reason being is that you have to take the show itself into context when you do analysis. If there was no canon romantic buildup between Zuko and Katara, why would these lines in canon (not fanon! fanon is free rein, lmao) be interpreted through a romantic lens?

Well, they wouldn’t be interpreted as such. Plain and simple.

“I genuinely don’t get why this isn’t seen as romantic.”

Because looking through a canon lens, they aren’t romantic. That’s all. You are of course welcome to view them as such through a fanon lens!! It’s just about recognizing the line between canon and fanon.

“I will grant you that Zuko would not have allowed Azula to kill anyone but I feel the point here was Zuko realizing his life was pointless if Katara was killed.”

I asked earlier what content in the show itself led you to believe. I have wracked my own mind, and I cannot think of anything that would point to this conclusion. Zuko was in Katara’s good graces for 5 episodes. That’s 8% of the show. Not exactly a lot of time for Zuko to start believing his life would be pointless if Katara was killed, is it?

This post explains the improbability of Zuko having a crush on Katara within canon.

This post explains how Zuko’s racism towards the Air Nomads in TSR and the finale is, well, exactly that - racism (and not a sign of a crush on Katara).

And, of course, as has been said a million times, Zuko taking the lightning for Katara out of romantic interest would completely undermine his redemption arc. Since it has been said over and over and over, I will be brief: Zuko taking the lightning is significant because it is a selfless act (one of his only in the series), and it directly parallels his selfish act of choosing not to intervene when Azula killed Aang with lightning beneath Ba Sing Se. This moment demonstrates Zuko’s growth, how he has learned to accept unconditional love from Iroh and the Gaang and Mai and even Ty Lee and sure, even from Appa and Momo, too. To make this moment of pure selflessness about a nonexistent romance? To force a fanon romance in replacement of canon redemption and canon platonic significance?

Such a decision speaks wonders about a person’s priorities, in my opinion, as well as how amatonormativity impacts them.

Furthermore, Zuko’s choice cements Katara’s position as his surrogate sibling, as she is Azula’s primary foil. Zuko chooses the sister who heals over the sister who harms. I won’t go too much into it here, because it has already been talked about extensively before! Thus, I offer you this post that explains how Zuko and Katara - in canon - are positioned as surrogate siblings as well as Azula’s role in this matter. I also offer this post that lays out through screencaps how Zuko and Katara - in canon - treat each other like family.

Additional sources about the final Agni Kai:

This post in part discusses fanon misinterpretation of the final Agni Kai and why such a lens is not true to canon relationships.

This post explains why the final Agni Kai is not intended to be romantic.

This post explains how the final Agni Kai is primarily about Azula and how reducing it to be a big Zvtara moment is detrimental to both her and to Zuko and Katara themselves.

“And then literally at the end, Mai shows up after Zuko not talking about her at all for six episodes and declares herself Zuko’s girlfriend.”

This point could probably get a post of its own, lol, but fortunately I and others have already written a few! I will link them below - first, however, I question your choice of “declares.” Technically, yes, Mai does say outright that it doesn’t hurt how the new Fire Lord is her boyfriend, but your phrasing implies Zuko resisted her proclamation. When… he doesn’t. In fact, he embraces it, asking if that means she doesn’t hate him anymore (read: he asks if they’re back on good terms again). Zuko clearly doesn’t have a problem with the girl he loves wanting to be with him again - so why do some parts of fandom so adamantly insist he does? (Not you, anon - I am referring to the rabid fanoners, lol.)

Also, regarding how Zuko hasn’t talked about Mai for six episodes, we’ve gotta be realistic with this assessment in terms of canon:

1. It was the crux of the war. They were either going to live or die. There was no time for romance at this point! Sokka and Suki weren’t professing their love on the battlefield, lmao, so it’s not exactly strange that Zuko didn’t bust into a monologue about how he missed Mai. I think they were just a little bit distracted by the possible end of the world, lol, and all that jazz.

2. Zuko probably thought Mai was dead. He knows what Azula is like. He knows his sister doesn’t have time for people who get in her way (Aang can testify to this, lmao). So can you blame him for not wanting to think about how the girl he loved had died (to his knowledge) to save him?

You gotta cut the kid some slack, lol. Anyways! Additional sources about Maiko:

This post breaks down the notion of Maiko and “deserve.”

This post rationalizes through a canon lens why Mai’s arrival at the palace surprised Zuko.

This post is the mother of Maiko metas, explaining in tremendous detail why their relationships works, is relevant to canon, and was well-implemented for what its role was.

“And Katara kisses Aang after being annoyed with and by him arguably since The Southern Raiders.”

What in canon has led you to the conclusion that Katara was annoyed with Aang? What specific moments from TSR to the finale made you think Katara was annoyed with Aang and remained annoyed with Aang? Are there any, or are you thinking about fanon interpretation? (Canon vs fanon strikes again!)

In TSR, Katara explicitly thanks Aang for understanding her perspective. Nothing there is indicative of annoyance (and as in the links provided earlier, she was not angry at Aang/Zuko/etc. so much as she was at herself. well, she was a little bit angry with Zuko, lmao). In EIP, Katara is understandably angry at Aang’s decision to kiss her, but Aang completely backs off, and we see in the part 1 of the finale that there are no hard feelings or weird tension between them. Katara in fact actively expresses concern for Aang after Zuko sporadically attacked him when she demands of the firebender, “What’s wrong with you? You could have hurt Aang!” Even when Aang and Katara do butt heads later in the episode as Aang tries to think of a way to defeat Ozai without killing him, Katara doesn’t stay frustrated. Like I said - when she and Zuko are flying to Azula, she demonstrates her unwavering faith in Aang through her belief that he will return. So… where is the annoyance that you feel was present?

With all this mind, i.e. looking strictly at canon, Katara wasn’t annoyed with Aang during this time. Thus, Katara kisses Aang because she loved him. Because he backed off and gave her the space she needed to make a decision about if she wanted to be with him (hence Katara being the one to initiate the kiss). Because the issue was never about if she reciprocated his feelings (they both knew they loved each other) but rather it had to do with the war. At the end of the finale, the war is over, and there is nothing that prevents them from being together. Simple.

This post explains how Katara’s feelings for Aang develop throughout the series (and were not neglected, as rabid zkers like to claim, for some reason? again - you are not one of them, anon).

This post also covers Katara’s interest in Aang throughout the series.

“I can’t understand why Kataang shippers are okay with such a crap story.”

I mean, you definitely don’t have to ship Kataang. It may not be your cup of tea, and that’s totally okay! But as the above links demonstrate, Kataang was a fantastic story. It was well-implemented into the narrative from Day 1. The soulmateism is unparalleled!

Also, it’s worth noting that A:TLA itself was essentially pre-written. The writers knew how the story would end from the get-go, including that the show would end with Kataang. A few Zvtara gags were thrown in to add a sense of “who will Katara choose?” drama as the show aired, but Zuko and Katara were never planned to end up together. One reason so many newer fans are fine with Kataang from the start is that there’s no tension of waiting a week for a new episode when you can watch all 61 episodes straight through on Netflix, lmao. It’s even more obvious now than when A:TLA was airing that Aang and Katara will end up together, if that makes sense. (Although I talked about this in the E-L post linked earlier, so you probably understand this point already, as it was explained in detail there!)

All of this is to say that Kataang is not a “crap story” in terms of writing (again, personal taste is a different matter) because it was woven in from the beginning and had powerful narrative significance! (Kataang represented numerous complementary components of the series, such as yin and yang, push and pull, air and water, Oma and Shu, etc.)

Now. If you really and truly want to understand why Kataang shippers like Kataang, anon, consider reading some Kataang fanfics or exploring some Kataang headcanons. I read fics involving Zvtara more regularly than you might think, lol, because… well, it’s just a ship. I understand the appeal of romantic Zvtara and I can actually appreciate it when it’s well-written! I’m sure if you’re willing to put in just a little legwork (you don’t need to go the whole mile, lmao - ‘tis just fandom), you’ll realize why people like Kataang, even if it isn’t exactly your thing. You have the range, anon!! You got this!

I hope I managed to answer your questions, my friend! As always, you do not have to agree with anything I have said here. It is totally fine if you and anyone else disagrees! Everything above is simply my own perspective on the matter. Thank you for taking the time to read my response and all the different links I provided! I hope it has expanded your understanding of the subject at hand!

#i spent all day writing this lmaooo #TWO WHOLE HOURS SPENT COMPILING LINKS #amy answers #anon #amy analyzes

251 notes · View notes

harryissuchalittleshit · 4 years ago

Note

Maggie and Al are fascinating. Are you ever going to write a fic on them?

Yes.

So my idea is called the Album Verse

I’m assigning an album to each of the Weasley/Potter children and friends writing a story that both fits in with my head canons and also the lyrics of the album

James:

His album is Gemini by Macklemore. It’s a bit more serious of an album and also really fun

It will explore his seventh year in how he interacts with his family while in tragedy and while he has more and more responsibilities placed on him

Each chapter will feature James at 17/18 and also a James while he’s older going through his divorce with his son Jason and two young daughters, Kerrie and Hazel.

He will fall in love twice and figure out where his life went wrong and where he broke his confidence, leading to his divorce

Al:

Al is next and his is Evermore by Taylor Swift

He will be 17 and also 23, it will be him and Maggie

It also will intertwine with Dominique and Becca Havings, who both have Taylor Swift albums

His story will be a little more serious and very dramatic

Al just is dramatic and I can’t wait to start on him

Becca:

Becca’s album is reputation by Taylor Swift, she is a mutual friend of Al and Rose

Her story is about the aftermath of her heart being broken by her ex-boyfriend Lysander, who got Dominique pregnant during the summer

It takes place during her seventh year (which is why it’s intertwine with Al’s story) and her struggles with her friends moving on and of course her broken reputation

As we know reputation is an angry album and also a pretty heartbroken album that I can’t wait to explore

It will also involve the story of how her parents got together in a post-war setting, and takes place in a restaurant which is my personal background

Dominique:

She gets Lover by Taylor Swift, and it’s her at 16 being teen pregnant and in love with Lorcan with flashes of Victoire being 17/18 and falling in love with a boy her parents hate

It’s a story about first love and lasting mistakes, but also about learning to love herself

She and Al are the only middle siblings, so they reflect each other a little in being overlooked by their families until they cause trouble

Her relationship with her family is never the same, but maybe that’s a good thing....

Lily:

So Lily’s album is Tapestry by Carole King

Her story takes place her sixth year when she is 16/17 and it’s her first year at school without either of her brothers

She finds her Grandmother Lily’s diary that she kept from age 16-21, basically detailing the war from the front line

It’s the first time she ever feels close to her namesake, but she ends up growing attached to all of the girls and the boys her grandmother writes about after she is shunned by her friend group

Being Harry Potter’s only daughter works against her in this story, and even her own family turns against her

But over the year, she finally becomes the person she wants to be and it’s thanks to her grandmothers diary and some self reflection

It will feature other songs from the 70’s but not as chapter titles

Louis:

Lungs by Florence + the Machine

His story will be mainly his seventh year and getting together with Mia Nott

But will also explore growing up with two wildly different older sisters, parents that are falling in and out of love with one another, and also being autistic and unable to find the right words or actions to convey his thoughts to the world

It will also deal with being put into unexpected and difficult situations that are out of Louis’ control and some water symbolism

Louis is the quietest of the Weasley’s but if only his family could read his mind

There will also be a lot of letters from Uncle Charlie

Rose:

In The Heights soundtrack by Lin-Manuel Miranda, takes place during the summer between fourth and fifth year

Rose and Hugo are sent to spend the summer with the Potters, which is fine, except Rose wants to spend her summer at home

Scorpius is also hanging out at the Potters that summer because his parents are busy and Al is his best friend

Rose and Scorpius start dating in secret (that is only really kept from Ron and Hermione, and Draco and Astoria)

It will also be told with Draco and Astoria’s own love story

Everything will go well, they’ll be having fun, but then their relationship is tested when Rose’s Abeulo Javier passes away

Let’s just say that Rose and Hugo have a thing with ruining wakes (cough*InvisibleStringisonAo3*cough)

Rose has to reflect on her feeling about Scorpius but also her family loyalties, while on the flip side, Draco will have to reflect on his personal loyalties to Astoria but also his family’s reputation

Could Rose understand what it’s like to be Malfoy in a post-war world?

I don’t know, I’m not 100% on this one, but we’ll see

The Others:

So I’ve already written stories about Molly and Lucy (For the Dancing and the Dreaming Ao3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25167997/chapters/60989251)

Roxanne (I Feel Pretty Ao3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13596126/chapters/31210752) warning there are a lot of trigger warnings so please read the tags and author’s notes

Hugo (Invisible String Ao3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28164351/chapters/69012660) this is Folklore by Taylor Swift inspired, but not an album verse story

Freddie’s story will be up within the next few weeks, so watch my tumblr and Ao3 page for updates, his story is tied with George and Angelina post-war

Send me a Weasley and I’ll give you a fic, a couple of head canons, or my opinion on them in both canon and fanon!

20 notes · View notes

queer-crusader · 4 years ago

Note

How do you think Silver & Flint's relationship would have evolved if things hadn't ended the way they did in S4? How do you think things would have progressed through time? I tend to think about the what ifs a lot. I'm just curious what your thoughts are on it.

OOFT. I mean i have many thoughts! It’s... very hard to say really. Because i think one thing Black Sails does incredibly well is the way it builds a story and a character. Many choices made in this show are so dependent on what the characters want and who they intrinsically are and how they influence each other (willingly/knowingly or not), and i feel like there are many very complex interwoven roads that led them to the conclusion they got to. Which is one of the many reasons the finale felt like such a tragedy; you know things are going to end badly because you kind of see it coming. And dear god it does hurt, even with Flint being reunited with Thomas.

So. I think there are two ways to answer this question, and you can sort of divide them into canon-ish versus fanon wish. These may not exactly be clearly indicated bc like i said i have Many Thoughts, and i apologise in advance 😅 Another thing i’ll be looking at here is something we had to lay out for our characters when i studied acting - the goals/objectives/motivations of the character, and their emotional/mental state. None of this is meant to be critical against any character. I simply adore analyising them and the paths of the story, and I love each and every character i talk about here deeply.

So, looking at that finale. There’s several things that i could take from what you say about things not ending the way they did - for now, i’m looking at the confrontation between Flint and Silver in the woods, where Silver forces Flint to quit his war and reunites him with Thomas.

Firstly, let’s analyse what we get from the canon, and what i believe motivates these characters to bring them to the point they end up at. There’s that famous line i think of Silver where he says he doesn’t know anymore where he ends and Flint begins - their thinking patterns have become so intertwined, they basically share a braincell. The tricky thing about this is, just because he and Flint think similarly, share tactics, and a knowledge of how to use people in their means, just because they understand each other well, doesn’t mean they share opinions and morals. Flint especially seems to forget this. He believes Silver is with him in his cause to end Imperial rule. But from Silver’s final actions, it’s clear Silver values his personal wants and needs above that of this abstract crowd of people. He’s not oppressed - or hasn’t felt the effects of Imperial/religious oppression (as far as we canonically know) like Flint and Madi have. And that means he doesn’t have the same drive. He’s driven by his personal connections to these people, i believe, purely from his own point of view. Like, i suspect he struggles to place himself in the shoes of Madi or Flint to feel their pain and motivation. He can see it, he just... doesn’t fully grasp it. (There’s also a question of whether he wishes to, but i feel nowhere NEAR qualified on answering that, nor do i think the canon gives us enough material to give a perfectly cut & dry answer.)

So you have this big miscommunication. Flint believes that, because he and Silver have basically become one shared braincell, they have the same goals, while Silver is still driven from a point of selfishness. (Side-note: there was a moment in the show he became selfless! He wouldn’t give up his crew when faced with torture from Vane’s quartermaster! But then he lost a leg over it and it seemed to dampen that selflessness. I think from there on, moments where he seems to be motivated by the good of the crew come instead from an internal need to belong and be loved more so than a genuine sense of brotherhood. That brotherhood may still have been there, but i think he might have suppressed that instinct a little and instead let the more selfish needs take more of a front seat. Understandable and not bad/evil, like that’s super valid of him. But my point is, he’s not exactly ready to fight for another man’s cause he doesn’t have as much of a personal emotional profit in, especially when he knows it’ll end in certain death for everyone he cares about and he knows cares about him.)

So that’s sort of where the characters are mentally in that climax. I may be skirting details and summarising a bit hastily, but it’s also been a GOOD while since i’ve watched season 4, so i apologise. Flint (and Madi as well - she plays an equally important role i think!) is fuelled by a mix of rage born from oppression/discrimination, and a protectiveness for others who may suffer the same fate. Silver meanwhile is fuelled by a need much closer to home - to be loved and to keep those he cares for and deems important to him alive and around. I’ve framed it as their emotional drive, but really it is also their goal, their objective in that finale. Flint and Madi are looking to burn down an oppressive system while Silver... isn’t. For him, their goals stand directly in the way of his. And by the end of the show, he’s gained enough power to prevail in his objective, cancelling out those of Flint and Madi.

So, could it have gone differently? I think, if we wanna play with canon and keep it as close to canon as possible... It seems almost impossible. These people’s goals just do not align. (There’s that sweet sweet tragedy again.) So what you need for it to go differently in short is for one of, if not several, of these people to change their goal. But we’re talking their MAIN objective, their main driving force at this point in the show - so like, the chances of that are slim. ESPECIALLY if we’re talking about the canon characters. After all, for that, the characters would need to look inside themselves and fucking face up to some of their issues and work on them. (This is something which these characters are not very prone to do, bc jesus it’s a mess in there and if that were me i’d preferably not turn introspective either and be forced to look at all that.)

So if we wanted Flint to change his goal, he’d need to come to terms with the Empire being untouchable - which is bullshit bc like my man has a POINT, just because they seem to be able to be brought down doesn’t mean they ain’t - and to accept the homophobia and oppression they treated him and Thomas with, which, yeah fuck that, absolutely not, his rage and his goals are valid as FUCK. If we wanted to change Madi’s - lmao like listen i understand wanting her and Silver happy together bc we ship EVERYTHING in this house, but she’s poc and proper royalty and wants to end slavery. We ain’t touching her goals. So that just leaves Silver. Silver would need to face a part of himself that keeps him from placing Flint’s goals, or Madi’s goals, over his own. (I suspect we circle back to that insecurity and need to be loved, which defo stems from whatever trauma he swears doesn’t affect who he is today.) So for that he’d uhh... need therapy. And a shit tonne of it. But then you still have the issue that Flint and Madi will likely fight their war (bc they DESERVE IT), which may lead to what Silver considers inevitable - that they will die early and horribly, and he ends up all alone.

So, looking at playing with the canon-ish to change things? It’s gonna end in tragedy. There’s doesn’t seem any other way about it, i fear; not with the way these characters were written, with who they are and what drives them and what they want. If it doesn’t end in tragedy in one way, then almost certainly in another.

So what are our other options? What if we look at the fanon wish - whether it’s silverflint, or silvermadi, or madisilverflint, or just to have these kids be fucking happy? Well, you know what? Maybe it DOESNT have to end up in tragedy. Maybe, if Silver does align himself with the goals of the people he loves - after learning to communicate and place himself in other people’s shoes and prioritise the needs of his loved ones and compromising and all that jazz (god this boy needs therapy that only the fanon can likely give him, rip) - he could join them in their war. And maybe, his genius and creativity and quick wit will in fact propel their cause forward and help so much, none of them dies an early gruesome death. It’s not impossible! It just requires that sweet sweet character growth he doesn’t get the opportunity for in canon.

Another option, and this one is perhaps a little more plausible if the show had no episode limit or a desire to end in tragedy and “align” itself with “history” (they’ve played fast and loose with real history i’ve learned, and like,, it’s a story about fictional characters so why did it have to align itself with history?? Okay fine, as a prequel to Treasure Island, it still needed to end in tragedy for Silver bc we know where he ends up. Were there no Treasure Island and no rules and we could do what we wanted with the show and write a new ending, then what?). This one is more popular, you see it in loads of fics and i like it a lot. Silver sends Flint to the plantation. Flint and Thomas break out and get their war anyway. They’re pissed at Silver for a bit for being a selfish dick shitting on Flint’s dreams, but like,, it’s not as if it stopped Flint. (We can even look at it like Silver knew they’d probably fight their war and have better odds with Thomas in the mix, giving them a better opportunity - but like, that’s just a fun headcanon to play with that i don’t think aligns with what he explicitly states to want in canon.) And then, after some years, everyone learns to communicate and talk things out and maybe, maybe, Silver grows a bit and things become healthier between him and Flint.

Listen, the moral of the story is this. I love all the ships in this show. I think they’re all neat, and i love the different iterations in which people bring them to life and try to align them with canon. Do i think that with the canon we’ve been given, silverflint could happen? Maybe. Would it be healthy?? I mean... Probably not 😅 but like, that doesn’t prevent me from shipping it. (That’s not the point of shipping - sometimes you just wanna see that sweet sweet chemistry pay off, even tho u know it ain’t healthy. The characters are fictional. It’s okay. No-one will get hurt - apart from maybe you if you end up romanticising it and taking that into real life but ooft that’s a whole other kettle of fish.) But god, that’s the fucking JOY of fanfics ya know?? It may also be why i enjoy writing my modern au so much xD therapy is an option, and canon means even less than usual. All im saying is, when it comes to the relation between silver and flint, the fan community are a fucking godsend. You want them to be friends?? We got fics for that! Want them to bone? SO many fics for that! Want a sort of father-son role?? Uhh nowhere near enough fics for that, but the fandom’s still active so you never know! Partners in crime?? Hell YEAH that has potential, even in canon i think if u just stretch out fan-written episodes far enough!! (God can you imagine the POTENTIAL?? Ignore the war, the grittiness, the drama. Get me some pirate hijinks where the stakes are low but they’re still sharing a braincell.)

(Hmm. Now i need to add another idea to my WIP list lmao xD)

Anywayyy, hope this satisfies ur curiosity anon!!

#sorry it took me 2 days to answer #i just have Many Thots™ and i wanted to give this the care it deserves #i swear when i saw this question i was like 'you ask MOI???'#thank u so much tho this was so much fun to delve into #analysing character objectives and obstacles was one of my favourite things i learned studying acting #black sails #black sails meta #anne speaks #questions answered #anon #also id like to point out once more that jusr bc im critical of these characters doesnt mean i judge or hate on them #i ADORE a flawed character like thats literally the sexiest thing #okay okay im off to bed #writing ideas

29 notes · View notes

arrtemisia · 4 years ago

Note

Hey so... If you could redo cannon Makoto what would you do? How would she change? I'm curious cause out of the main cast she was the only one that I just couldn't get a solid interest in (aside from Ann but that's just cause the idea of her being a fashion model confuses me more than anything I think)

God. So much stuff.

There's a couple big things about her that bug me, and none of them really change at all in her canon vs fanon portrayal, which means it's hard for me to enjoy her even in fanworks. In my opinion, I think her biggest flaw is that she's simply miscast, and her character would have worked much better as a confidant instead of a thief, which would've given her a place of her own to shine and avoid the weird dissonance between different aspects of her character (and this was actually their original plan, so Hifumi would have taken her place which. She would've fit in much better imo bc she's actually suffered under another's will like every single one of the others and she's an actual strategist instead of just """smart,""' but that's a topic for another post), but since we're talking about how I'd personally fix Makoto in the role she currently fills, I'm going to list some of the issues I take with her and potential solutions.

First of all, just to get it out of the way, she needs an actual reason to be here. She doesn't have one, full stop.

The big thing tying the thieves together is that they're all victims of abuse and oppression who rebel against their tormentors and want to prevent anyone else from suffering like they did. I'm not saying Makoto has never struggled, because she has, but it's really, really not the same type of struggle.

This leads to weird moments where everything about Makoto's personality and characterization, such as being a stickler for the rules, idolizing the police, etc mean that she has no in-character reason to stick with the thieves after kaneshiro is dealt with and should maybe even be opposing the thieves' way of doing things, but the plot drags her along anyway because the game really wants her to be a party member. And really, what's up with her awakening? She gets threatened once and then bang-boom-kapow she has a persona? It's weak.

Also before anyone says "well all those things about her personality change when she awakens and she sheds her good girl personality and yada yada," no she doesn't, actually, and I'm getting there I promise

The easiest solution here is also the most drastic. Swap when Makoto and Akechi join. This kills two birds with one stone; Makoto gets an actual reason to awaken through Sae, and Akechi's betrayal hits harder because he's pretending to be with you for longer (although admittedly this is much less needed on Akechi's part ever since royal).

Not only does this give Makoto a much stronger reason to awaken and join in the first place (Sae starts twisting into something horrible and Makoto wants to help both stop and save her), but it also gives her an internally consistent reason to stick around. Before, unlike the others (who all at least have "I want to stop others from feeling like I did," or in Futaba's case, "I wanna find the ppl who killed my mom."), once Kaneshiro is done with, Makoto has no real big personal reason to stick around other than "I'm a thief now and the plot says so ig." Now, of COURSE she'd want to go after Shido because he's the one that was manipulating her sister, and after that of COURSE she'd want to help take down mr divine sippy cup in order to get Shido tried and jailed.

However, if we're not going to shuffle around the order of party members bc that'd nuke the canon plot a little, then we need to rework the entire Kaneshiro arc and/or Makoto's backstory and values as a whole. Yeah this is why the first solution was the easy one.

I'm going to go in-depth about how I feel Makoto's personality and values should be reworked later I'M GETTING THERE, so I'll talk about that then. As for reworking Kaneshiro, I... don't have a whole lot of ideas. The palace itself is fine, it has one of the coolest atmospheres in the game (c'mon, there's got to be a fun bank heist in a game like this), but Makoto's connection with him is very weak. Maybe have it be that he was extorting her for years in secret and she never said anything? Maybe have him be the one that ordered the hit on her father? I'm not sure what would be strong enough to match to the other palace leaders, without feeling forced. I'll have to come up with more ideas for this one.

The second big issue I have with her is less of one specific thing and more of a collection of smaller problems that all come from the same source. She waltzes in, takes over, and starts acting like she's the boss of things. She then names herself the "strategist" and yet only ever states the obvious and, to use a word I hate, mansplains things to you that you already learned two palaces ago. She's constantly condescending and passive agressive to the other team members, especially Ann and Ryuji, berates everyone for not being as naturally book smart as her when all the other characters are smart in their own ways and just not good at academia, all the while everyone around her, even characters that normally wouldn't take that (ryuji, ann) or are too prideful to admit to anyone bring better (mona), are constantly like "You're so cool, Makoto!"

It's a classic case of show don't tell, and rhe game is obsessed with telling you that Makoto is "smart" and "cool." Once she joins the team, all the characters that were originally shown to be smart in their own ways are never allowed to say anything meaningful ever again bc Makoto is the "smart" one. She never does anything particularly different compared to the other party members, but the game is constantly insisting she's special.

I'm very hesitant to call her a mary sue, because I don't think she is one, and also I disagree with the use of that term at all as these days it's just meant to devalue powerful characters that happen to be girls, but I definitely think she's emblematic of a common writing flaw that can lead to mary sues. The problem with making a character the "smart" one as a personality trait instead of something that just comes naturally is that you have to dumb down everyone else's characterization to make them look smarter or cooler by comparison. It means that the character you're trying to prop up bends everyone else around them, making them act in ways they normally wouldn't in order to make the one character you're trying to look cool seem better by comparison.

This has an easy solution: cut that shit out. Have her slowly find her place on the team naturally instead of forcing her way in as a pseudo-leader. Don't give every single "well, duh" line to her, and cut the scenes where she stands around explaining obvious things you already know in a condescending manner so she looks smarter. Let the other characters actually act like themselves when they're in the same room as her instead of bending around her to prop her up. Have her treat those characters with respect in turn, bc for all intents and purposes when it comes to thief stuff they are her senpai, instead of just having her act like she's better than them, or boss them around, or be passive agressive about the fact that their grades are bad. Show that other characters are smart in other ways instead of acting like Makoto's book smarts are the end-all be-all. And for fuck's sake, stop acting like "smart" and "punches stuff real good" are personality traits, which leads me into my last big point.

Makoto and Queen don't really feel like the same character. Okay, so to explain this, let's walk through her awakening again.

Makoto is a good girl who's a stickler for the rules, sucks up to authority, idolizes the police, is obsessed with her grades and academic performance, and looks down on others who don't do the same. A couple people call her useless and then she gets threatened by a mob boss, after which she decides to live her life for herself and completely shed her good girl lifestyle and rebel against everyone pressuring her.

That is, except for the teensy tiny detail where she doesn't.

Nothing significant about her personality changes all post her awakening and joining the thieves, aside from the part where she sucks up to authority maybe a little less. She's still uptight, her grades (and the grades of those on her team) are still her top priority, she still idolizes the law and those enforcing it.

Y'see, persona has a bit of a common problem with saying one thing about a character, be it making a reveal or saying they're gonna change in some big way, but not fully committing to it. You can see it most in p4 (party members saying they're gonna quit/stop/do whatever and then backtracking in the last two ranks of their social link), but it's rarely so severe that it completely ruins their personality and character arc as a whole. Makoto, I feel, is the main exception.

The writers want Makoto to become this tough, rebellious biker queen who oozes badassery in every move and will never follow anyone's wishes for her ever again, but they also want to keep her old personality of the uptight naive rule-following law-abiding academic. So, instead of altering one to better fit the other, they try to do both... badly.

Instead of integrating the two parts of her personality, it just feels like she swaps between them whenever the plot calls for it which is really, really jarring. She'll be stuttering about following the rules and getting to know her generation one second, and then the next she'll be yelling about mowing down shadows with her motorcyle the next. It feels like Queen and Makoto are two separate uninteresting half-characters, with only a couple personality traits each, instead of one whole well-rounded character.

Either rework Makoto's thief aesthetic to better suit her personality as a whole and give her something other than "I'm totally not a good girl anymore" to make her compelling, or actually commit to Makoto shedding her past life everyone around her had forced on her and change her personality. Have her grades start to slip, have her talk back to Sae, change the way she dresses so it's rougher and less perfect, hell, maybe even have her quit student council. Just, anything to make her more well-rounded as a character.

I have some other nitpicks with her here and there, like the fact that her confidant is actually just Eiko's confidant and doesn't give Makoto herself any development, or the way the game keeps trying to set her up as Joker's waifu or whatever, but those are just that; nitpicks. The three big things I mentioned earlier - her not having a compelling personal reason to be a part of the thieves, the way the writers shove her into the spotlight by putting down everyone around her, and the fact that her characterization is just one badass half and one smart half that don't mesh and have little else in between - are the problems I feel are what's actually holding her character back.

Again, I do think that all of this stems from the fact that she's miscast, but it's too late to fix that now. While I personally really dislike Makoto, I do kind of understand her appeal for others when she's written well, and she's a totally valid character to like. I just wish she was portrayed better.

(Also, if anyone wants to reblog this, feel free I ask that you please don't put this in Makoto's main character tag. I know how much it sucks to get a bunch of negativity in a character's main tags as I am an Edelgard fe3h fan)

#mod answers stuff #long post #really really long post #defiant-firefly #yeah so i know u were probably wanting just. a quick sum up #but i might have just. written an essay. whoops #sorry lol #there's just so much abt her that drives me up the wall

9 notes · View notes

arabian-bloodstream · 6 years ago

Text

Love and Lust

There has been some thought that the depiction of the sex between Arya and Gendry was just that of Arya wanting to see what it was all about or even just horny lust. While those were both clearly aspects of what happened, I think anyone seeing either of those things as the only interpretation of their love scene—because, yes, it was a love scene—missed out on quite a few key things not only in that scene but in their interaction earlier in the episode.

I also think that all of their interaction in this episode—including the lustier aspect of their lovemaking—made it fairly clear that, no, Gendry is not going to being dying in the upcoming battle. Read on…

The first episode established their attraction to one another with the flirting calling back to their shared history. This episode upped the ante with the attraction by adding a dose of lust, but deepened it by showing both the trust and ease they still share with one another that we know neither would easily share with others due to what’s happened to them in the intervening years.

There was a reminder of their history again (she remembered that he's a smith’s apprentice), he told her about beyond the wall, she called him out on glossing it over and made him tell her the truth. They were completely real with one another.

Arya showed Gendry her skill with a knife and her knowledge of death, making it clear how skilled a fighter she is, not hiding who she really is. Gendry told her that he was Robert Baratheon’s son, what Melisandre had done to him (in so many words) and his sexual history. That’s a lot of private, vulnerable information to share. And yet both did it easily. (Well, OK, Gendry was a bit cutely flustered with his last bit of share.)

There was so much stuff that the episode’s writer Bryan Cogman got in their two scenes... so much about their history, their trust in one another, their feelings, and how much set-up for what's to come to. All of that? Was showing how strong the foundation this relationship has.

I will circle back to some of these points later with regards to Gendry’s future, but first, let me tackle their other scenes. I mentioned at the top that their sex scene was a love scene and not just about horny lust or Arya wanting to try sex. And going into detail about that first scene was part of laying that down. But the second scene before the love scene as well goes into that.

It’s obvious with regards to Gendry that it is not just lust. The boy is completely gone for her. We saw that in the first scene after she threw the dragon glass knives and then said she wanted her weapon again and walked away, Gendry—unlike most sane people—looked completely awestruck and watched her walk away with hearts in his eyes. He’s completely lovestruck.

Also, in this second scene, after Arya made it clear that she wanted to have sex, Gendry’s said her name all soft and breathily. He didn’t pull away, he didn’t resist, he said her name and you could read exactly what he was saying in that exhalation of her name and by the expression on his face. He was saying: ‘Girl, you know I love you, but I'm not sure we should do this because I want to treasure you and treat you right, you know—’ But then she kissed him and he was like 'OK, fuck it, I'm having some SEX with milady! YEAH!'

And another so not just lust for Gendry, although this was more in between the lines. They wouldn’t have all but made the guy pretty much this close to a virgin. I mean… seriously. Honestly, I figured Gendry being practically a virgin would be fanon. I can’t believe that they basically made it canon. The guy was off of the show for three years—looking like that, fine as all hell—and they canonically had him actually say he only had sex with three women?! Bronn was literally with three women at the same time in the previous episode. I mean, yeah. Arya Stark is his fucking OTP. That essentially was the show’s shorthand way of saying so.

Finally, anyone saying that this love scene was just lust was not paying attention to the last five to ten seconds. The final shot of Gendry before she comes down for the kiss he's just looking at her with complete and utter love in his gaze. Joe Dempsie played that like Gendry just completely adores Arya.... total heart eyes there.

So, you know that had to have been the direction, in the script, the plan… not lust… but love. And there is this comparison shot from Jon and Daenerys’ first-time making love where she is looking up at Jon with love and it is LITERALLY the exact same framing. LITERALLY.

From a directing point of view that is really telling. Jon and Daenerys are supposed to be this great love and there you have literally an IDENTICAL shot of Gendry and Arya. What these two shared in this episode was a lusty love scene, not just a sex scene. You can feel lust and love at the same time.

And, yeah, it was love for Arya too. She just didn’t quite realize it. But look at her face as she’s leaning down to kiss him. It’s dark and we don’t get the best angle because it’s a close-up, but there’s a softness there you can see. Which leads us to that final scene. She’s not numb; she’s not dissatisfied. She’s freaking the ever-loving fuck out.

She was feeling all kinds of hot, hot lust for him sure, and then she opened herself up to the feels and suddenly it was hitting her, she might die, *he* might die. And it was gonna hurt. A LOT. She’d already lost him once and it was going to be a helluva lot worse now because she’d re-opened herself up to him a lot more now. And in the past, Gendry hadn’t allowed himself to open himself up to her, but now… this time he had. They were open to each other and now they could very well both lose each other. She was shaken to the core. That was what we saw from her in the final scene.

A few additional thoughts…

- I loved the parallels beginning each of their scenes. Gendry doing his thing and then there was Arya watching him silently in the first scene. In the second, Arya doing her thing, Gendry watching her.

- Speaking of Arya watching Gendry in that first scene, damn, she was all but licking her lips…

- And then that little eyebrow raise she gave him when he first saw her and that smoldering look he sent back her way in return.... SO HOT!

- Joe Dempsie and Maisie Williams have such great chemistry. Damn, that scene was so fucking hot.

- Hah, it was funny. Silly Gendry, he was trying to assert some kind of dominance at one point, reaching out to wrap his hand around Arya’s head while they were kissing.... and boom within like two seconds, she shoved him onto the bags, LMAO. Nope, Gendry, she's the dominant.... always.

- Aww, but she let him take off his own pants. She was in complete command from beginning to end, but still gave him his own agency. She's so sweet. It was definitely mutual all around.

- Speaking of… after Arya said that, the way he was so quickly untying those laces, LMAO.

- I did love that Arya just shoved him down (and, yes, it did remind me of when she did it when he kept calling her “Milady” back in season 02).

OK, circling back to Gendry’s future like I said I would… a lot that happened in this episode between these two actually made me more strongly believe that Gendry will *not* be dying any time soon. Why?

1.) Arya’s commentary about knowing death. 2.) Her knife-throwing kills. 3.) The focus on her scars, and then Gendry focusing on her scars. 4.) Gendry bringing up her wanting him to come to Winterfell. 5.) The fact that despite all of the set-up and the obvious love from Gendry’s side, Arya went into it just wanting his hot body to give her some loving. 6.) Gendry telling her he’s Robert Baratheon’s bastard. 7.) Arya’s realizing that she’s scared out of her ever-loving mind of losing Gendry (because, yeah, I’m sure that’s what the final scene meant).

In other words, there was SO MUCH SET-UP for more of their love story to flourish to come. Not to mention that Gendry still has more weapons to make, the Baratheon line is not going to die out. GRRM had three Baratheon bastards in the books and yet D&D only brought ONE to the show. I highly doubt it was just so that Arya could lose her virginity to him. If it was to have an “emotional impact” on her when he died… she would have been the one all “heart eyes emoji” during the love scene as opposed to Gendry.

Also, Joe Dempsie is wearing a Baratheon-style costume in the behind-the-scenes video for episode 01 while sitting on the set of a sunny climate and I doubt that Michelle Clapton would have created that for funsies.

Ergo, Gendry is not dying.

Thank you for coming to my Gendrya-themed Ted Talk.

#arya x gendry #gendrya #game of thrones #arya stark #gendry

3K notes · View notes

dansiere · 5 years ago

Text

THE POSITIVE & NEGATIVE; Mun & Muse - Meme.

fill out & repost ♥ This meme definitely favors canons more, but I hope OC’s still can make it somehow work with their own lore, and lil’ fandom of friends & mutuals. Multi-Muses pick the muse you are the most invested in atm. tagged by: @breselin, & @citialiin; thank you for the tag! I was planning on stealing it. tagging: @rosiqe, @noirtux, @goldgliitters, @ndeavor, @reminiscentsky, @battleshell, @ettards & whoever else wants to do this. Just steal it & tag me. -- go wild.

My muse is: canon / oc / au / canon-divergent / fandomless / complicated [loosely affiliated mainly due to the fandom’s size. I am quite open to crossovers of any kind, really even if it takes me a while to open up.]

Is your character popular in the fandom? YES / NO. [she is one of the deuteragonists; has been around since the pilot & while she has been sidelined during the epilogue, she was usually at least around with her story arc / actions having a huge impact on the overall story as such.]

Is your character considered hot™ in the fandom? YES / NO / IDK. [I guess so? Then again, that’s an objective statement so I am just? Assuming? I personally find her general aesthetics to be quite amazing; she is a dance battler, graceful & elegant; a ballerina with a classical theme that runs through her design & attitude like a red threat. I have a weak spot for stuff like that.]

Is your character considered strong in the fandom? YES / NO / IDK. [surprisingly, Pearl is considered to be the strongest non-fusion Crystal Gem according to the show (until Lapis Lazuli comes around). -- I assume prowess wise Pearl is high up next to Garnet & Rose whenever she can actually get her crap together due to having fought countless battles &, most importantly, survived the war in which she fought & shattered opponents thrice her size.]

Are they underrated? YES / NO / IDK. [partially yes, partially no. She is controversial for sure but just as popular. At some point, the show delved deeper into her issues & actually had her mess up quite severely; the fandom’s reaction was so harsh that the showrunners had to interfere by “apologizing for making her human”. Pearl has always been a target for extreme criticism; some of it justified, some just straight down ridiculous. -- It’s easy to forget what kind of complexity a character can offer when her resolution arc happens literally ten episodes before the show ends.]

Were they relevant for the main story? YES / NO.

Were they relevant for the main character? YES / NO / THEY’RE THE PROTAG. [Pearl becomes Steven’s guardian / mentor after the death of his mother Rose Quartz & can later be considered his stand-in mother alongside Garnet. It is safe to say that her actions have influenced Steven the most, both negatively & positively.]

Are they widely known in their world? YES / NO. [she earned herself the title ‘The Renegade’ during the war for being the first (& arguably only) pearl that broke out of her conditioning; she used to be a wanted criminal / traitor to her own kind for 5000 + years until her record was cleared upon the beginning of Era 3 (aka official end of the Gem War). She is still being referred to as ‘The Renegade’ now & then; while she used to be proud of the title she has grown to resent it a lot these days.]

How’s their reputation? GOOD / BAD / NEUTRAL. [it depends on who you ask; Homeworld Soldiers? Well, they despise her; she is a defective Gem & a war criminal. She stands for all that is wrong with the rebellion; I mean a pearl who refuses to serve & calls herself an individual? a warrior? THE SCANDAL!! Some soldiers are afraid of her, call her ‘Rose Quartz’ terrifying renegade’, even. However, in her ranks aka the rebellion, she is being seen as a silent heroine. A celebrated war hero, Rose Quartz’s right hand & sole confidante (some even whisper that there is more between them).]

How strictly do you follow canon? — uh... well. Not really but... kinda? Steven Universe’s canon is messy & occasionally QUITE inconsistent. -- while it gives you vague details, some lore can best be compared to a gaping void. Thus my reason for partial divergence isn’t lack of good character writing (because Pearl is very, very complex even on screen), but rather inconvenient lore holes & SU’s habit of leaving important facts uncommented, “unshown” or just stuck between the lines. While I don’t mind deep analysis, some of those “buried facts” fly other people’s heads which leads to terrible, terrible fanon takes. -- in order to distance myself from that, I usually take canon & expand it with my own headcanons & metas based on lore / show analysis. I often alter / cut what does not fit my narrative BUT I always root my stuff in actual canon occurrences.

Sometimes, I just straight down change certain things that canon messed up in my pov. For example, in order to make it explicitly clear that she fell in love & rebelled on her own volition (even if it has been confirmed like ten times by now), my Pearl is around 1500 years older than the original & (in)directly served White Diamond before being handed to Pink (not the only reason for that change but well I will elude on it eventually). She was a default pearl with no customization & usually spent most of her time with organizing matters in the palace until Pink accidentally broke her customized pearl; Pearl was then 'poofed’ & handed over; she possessed a more sensible personality & a strict rule protocol that was supposed to help her “raise” Pink Diamond into the ranks of a ruler. Most other changes are rather minor but very important or essential to my portrayal (for example whenever “A Single Pale Rose” is concerned: Pearl suggesting the “sealing of the secret”, her not wearing the dress from the beginning, her not calling Pink “my diamond”, her arguing with Pink long before the fake-shattering took place, etc etc.); the epilogue series is another can of worms I will get to eventually but lemme just say I didn’t really like the way Pearl behaved / the plot-bound ooc-ness she sometimes yielded to & other stuff.

SELL YOUR MUSE! Aka try to list everything, which makes your muse interesting in your opinion to make them spicy for your mutuals. — well, she is a lesbian space rock from a strange universe; whose body is basically a manifestation of light? She is probably the most passionate being you will ever meet. -- if you are looking for a speedrun through human history, she is your gal. If you need someone to beat up some bullies, she will gladly come & smack sense into people; if you want to learn everything about Gemkind, sit down & listen because she won’t stop talking any time soon.

By definition, Pearl is a good person; the extreme loyal kind, absolutely & helplessly dedicated to a cause. She wears most of her emotions on her sleeve, comes off as genuinely caring, protective & trustworthy. She is empathetic & observant, she will always be there for you in one way or another. She is smart, loves to read & indulges in the higher arts such as (romantic) poetry, singing, painting, music (violin, piano, bass) & dance (predominately classic ballet / waltz but she has grown rather fond of jazz lately). Her knowledge about Earth & all that lays beyond is vast & if you ever want to see whatever is out there, she is the type to take you on a space tour with no questions asked. She fences, has learned to wield a lance, can engineer very well, has a very peculiar but... sorta adorable kind of humour that can either be hella obnoxious or super funny. There is no in-between. Pearl loves science, baking, housekeeping, ice-& roller-skating & is more than willing to take people along whenever she visits the rink. If you ask her for advice, she will gladly give it; if you need help, she will be the first to raise her hand. Pearl is orderly, has a strong sense of justice & a fierce, dedicated kind of resolve.

Now the OPPOSITE, list everything why your muse could not be so interesting (even if you may not agree, what does the fandom perhaps think?). — Pearl. Is. A. Mess. No questions asked. She is an introverted, nervous, neurotic, grief-- & trauma riddled mess who loves to pretend & rationalize things to death. Her self-esteem is abysmal, she is extremely jealous, obsessive & possessive [to the point where she straight up murdered men just because they dared to be around her girlfriend]. Her mind is a compartmentalized mess of repressed memories & heavy, untreated cptsd woven into it; Pearl lives too much inside her head & gets overwhelmed by her emotions far too easily; she feels too much all at once & lets her temper get the best of her.

She is self-centred, does not seem to understand that words & reckless actions hurt people, believes that only she deserves to grieve Rose & willingly destroyed relationships just to soak in her own misery; self-destruction is her forte & she will indulge in it no matter the consequences. She is often high-strung, judgemental, always has to be right, overachieves & overdoes whenever a chance is given. -- she can be petty, arrogant & desperate for validation. -- Needless to say, Pearl is the kind of person that pretends to be fine for years but once she cracks she reveals that she is anything but. -- she cannot move on, hates men, & just is a lot to deal with. Getting in touch with her means you run the risk to get dragged into her mess, whenever you want it or not.

What inspired you to rp your muse? — first & foremost, my love for complex, purpose-driven female characters. I am a sucker for the “introvert, plagued lady” type & once parts of Pearl’s past were revealed during Season 1 I was sold. Pearl seemed relatable to me, extremely human & raw in her behaviour. While I love most of the SU cast equally, Pearl just wouldn’t let me go. Her aesthetic is amazing, her past intriguing. -- her connection to ballet & classical music, her elegant & graceful design just spoke to me.

What keeps your inspiration going? — music. music. oh, and music. Poetry, long walks (I am not kidding), analysis, meta & hc writing, discussions with writing partners or my rl partner @rosiqe.

Some more personal questions for the mun.

Give your mutuals some insight about the way you are in some matters, which could lead them to get more comfortable with you or perhaps not.

Do you think you give your character justice? YES / NO / I SINCERELY HOPE I DO? [ despite my emo peculiar take on the character, I do hope that people hear her voice whenever they read my replies. ]

Do you frequently write headcanons? YES / NO / SORT OF? [ I wish I could post more but I am very, very slow & a perfectionist at heart. -- I try to compensate for my lack of actual hcs by rambling in my tags. Most part of the time said ramblings include personal headcanons or analyses of specific scenes that include personal takes on pivotal situations; while I gather & write them down eventually, it can take me a long time to get stuff done. -- it is easier for me to jus blabber on & on in the tags. ]

Do you sometimes write drabbles? YES / NO [ all my ask replies are drabbles, ngl. ]

Do you think a lot about your Muse during the day? YES / NO

Are you confident in your portrayal? YES / NO / SORT OF? [... a sore topic. While I love my headcanons & have gotten quite proud of my writing over time, I constantly doubt myself regarding the “ic”-ness of my responses. I like to believe that I am doing rather well, but I am not confident, no. ]

Are you confident in your writing? YES / NO. [ it took me a long time to develop my style; while I always struggle to believe in my portrayal I am quite confident in my writing as such. I know it’s not everyone’s cup of tea but in general? I am proud of it. ]

Are you a sensitive person? YES / NO. / SORTA.

Do you accept criticism well about your portrayal? — Well, yes. As long as it is the constructive kind. I love receiving feedback, may it be negative or positive. I will most likely try to discuss criticism with you; aka if you (i.e) tell me that Pearl shouldn’t have (C)PTSD, I will deliver canon proof & state my reasoning for my decision to implement it in my canon, etc. What I will not do is tolerate character hate or unreasonable hate towards my writing. Be assured that I will never headcanon something that has no solid footing in canon.

Do you like questions, which help you explore your character? — ABSOLUTELY. Send me random hc / meta asks, I beg you.

If someone disagrees to a headcanon of yours, do you want to know why? — sure. As stated above, I will probably discuss stuff with you. The chance of me dropping a headcanon however are rather low.

If someone disagrees with your portrayal, how would you take it? — Hm... it depends on what they don’t like. If it’s my writing, well, why are you following me to begin with?? If it is my take on things... well again, why are you following me? I stated in my rules what you should expect & that I will not water down specific aspects of a complex character. Disliking my portrayal is fine since I know that my kind of writing / analysis isn’t necessarily everyone’s tea but... again, why would you keep following me?

If someone really hates your character, how do you take it? — um. Not... well? While I will never excuse my muse’s actions, I dislike groundless bashing. In regard to Pearl... well. As stated above, I expected backlash the second I created this blog. Pearl is one of those characters the fandom either loves or hates; her canon relationship to Rose was branded toxic by a ton of people, people call her uncaring, salty, insane & straight up manic, she seemingly has no redeeming qualities, she is a bitch, too perfect (LOL) or arrogant & apparently has no character? I love it when people say stuff like that because... did we watch the same show? Is there a version of SU I don’t know? Please tell me, I wanna see it for myself! Some hot takes in this fandom are atrocious & make me want to commit a crime.

-- but I digress. I have spent too much time in her tag in 2014 + & I have seen quite the fights over the most ridiculous things; Pearl, in particular, got quite the flack for stuff that eventually got resolved in season 5 [which, again, was way too late but well]. In the end, clowns will be clowns, no matter what you do. I just don’t get why you would follow someone if you hate their character to begin with.

Are you okay with people pointing out your grammatical errors? — yes, but please don’t be rude about it. I am German, English is my second language. I am currently learning Swedish / improving my Swedish so mistakes can always happen. Additionally, I am someone who posts her replies in the middle of the night & while I proofread a lot & most likely fix posts after I posted ‘em, some mistakes can still slip through.

Do you think you are easy going as a mun? — ... I like to believe I am but I know that I am overly passionate & I can come off as too strong or too fierce sometimes. I can be too much, I can be too excentric (I’m a Scorpio, Karen); I have strong opinions in regard to my characters & I will not hold them back. I criticise shows mercilessly & I will plough through canon as much as I please. Stans & I usually don’t get along. HOWEVER, I am a meme. I love lame jokes, I am awkward, & sometimes very, very insecure. In the end, I just wanna talk about my favourite characters & develop sth wonderful. I keysmash unironically, I use old memes unironically. I mean I have been writing for ten + years & I am about to smooth sail post the 24 age border aka I will turn 25 soon which renders me old according to tumblr standards. I am just here to have fun before the staff comes to lock my account down due to my status as an rp-senior. -- yeah... that is the kind of stupid ass humor I mean. I digress but... please, I am an awkward, rambling mess, just hit me up via dms & you will see what I mean.

#[[ this took me way too long honestly but I finally did it. If you find some spelling or grammar errors keep 'em. I got tired #njfuwefhe but yeah if you need some blog data?? This is prob your best bet ]]#ooc. 𝗮 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝘀𝗻𝗮𝗶𝗹 𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗱.

10 notes · View notes

biscuitreviews · 5 years ago

Text

Biscuit Reviews Star Trek Discovery Season One (SPOILERS)

So I know I normally review games, but I figured I’d try out a different review, mostly because I have a lot to talk about with one of the new Star Trek series, Star Trek: Discovery. I recently subscribed to the CBS All Access streaming service and granted it was mostly for Picard, I figured I’d give Discovery a go in between episodes.

As for my history with Star Trek, it’s been around for pretty much my entire life. My dad is a huge fan. I remember that he used to have a huge VHS collection of TOS and TNG. My first introduction was actually through TNG and it holds a special place in my heart. I’ve also watched every series minus Enterprise (will soon be remedying that), watched every movie, was in the initial launch of Star Trek: Online and watched the fan series Star Trek Continues, where despite being “fanon”, has been regarded by Rod Rodenberry as the true continuation of TOS and has gone on record multiple times that his father, Gene Rodenberry, would consider the series canon.

So yeah, I’d say Star Trek is a pretty big deal for me.

This review is going to cover the entirety of season 1 for Discovery. I won’t break down episode by episode as the season did have a continuing storyline throughout the entire season. I will go ahead and state that I’m not going to harp on the inconsistencies of Discovery’s technology. I know season 1 takes place 10 years before TOS. In fact, I gave it a pass because when it comes to long lasting sci-fi IPs, I feel that it’s an issue that has to be forgiven. How the 1960s audience viewed the future is vastly different than how we today view the future. So with that all of the technological inconsistencies, are just going to get a pass. As far as the subject of Lore such as well established events within Trek history, that will be taken on a case by case basis and I’ll be explaining those in my review as well.

Oh, and I will also be mentioning spoilers for season 1. A lot.

I walked into Discovery with an open mind, I was actually excited for the pitch on how it followed a first officer and would be more of a personal story. Discovery follows Michael Burnham (portrayed by Sonequa Martin-Green), first officer of the USS Shenzhou, a human who was raised by Vulcans. Immediately I loved this idea as Michael Burnham, which is traditionally a masculine name, is played by a woman and a person who identifies as a woman pushing another boundary that names are just names, they got no gender.

Even her backstory on how she got adopted by Vulcans was intriguing. Her home was attacked by Klingons which resulted in the death of her parents. This not only created depth but immediately establishes that Discovery is very much Michael’s story. Then came what is what I consider the biggest blunder to Michael and perhaps her greatest weakness. The Vulcan who adopted her was Sarek, Spock’s father.

This is the first case of lore that I have a problem against. For one it’s never been mentioned that Spock had a sister, adopted or otherwise. Now you can argue that the idea of Spock having a sister is open to debate as Spock himself has teased that in the movies when he mentioned having a brother to Kirk. However, we never got any actual confirmation that it was the case. Also, we see that Sarek actually has somewhat of a close relationship with Michael which goes against Sarek’s character in that point of time in the Trek universe. Although Sarek is more open and accepting to emotions, he always still projected the outward appearance of Vulcan logic to his peers and his son. He was also always stand-offish towards Spock, yet despite that he did a lot for Spock and tried to teach him both his Vulcan and Human heritages. There’s also another issue with the Sarek/Michael relationship that I have that I will expand upon later in the review.

If you thought lore inconsistencies would be my major sticking point, my other major sticking point is the first two episodes of Discovery. These episodes cover the event that started the Federation/Klingon war in TOS, an event that would be known as The Battle of the Binary Stars. What’s my issue you might ask? This very episode actively contradicts a certain event, an event that Discovery itself established. That Michael’s home was attacked by Klingons. How does it contradict this? By having Captain Georgiou say in the same episode and to Michael that Klingons have had no known contact with the Federation for 100 years.

Now, we don’t know how old Michael herself is, but I’m assuming her tragic backstory happened 20+ years ago. Last I checked, Michael and her parents are considered Federation citizens. Having Klingons attack what is a Federation outpost, I would consider that a contact. So to have a character say that didn’t happen, when that very contact makes up Michael’s backstory was quite a head scratcher. You could argue that maybe the Federation is trying to cover that up, but if that’s the case, they’re doing a pretty terrible job by allowing one of their leading ambassadors to adopt a survivor of this attack and then accepting that survivor into Starfleet.

Aside from that bit of lazy writing, there’s also some really stupid character and narrative decisions that occured within the first two episodes. I feel that these two episodes were prisoners of the established lore so to keep in line with that, they tripped over themselves to make sure said event still happened.

You have Captain Georgiou not listening to Michael. Michael tells her how the Vulcans managed to open a dialogue with the Klingons. Despite Michael giving Captain Georgiou a proven working tactic, Gerogiou actively does the opposite thing saying, “no we can’t shoot at them, we have to talk, peace, Federation principles.” Yeah, but Federation principles are also figuring how to communicate with a species and seeing how Klingons respond with aggression and you have Michael who is citing how Vulcans established contact, nope, we gotta talk to them, not shoot them.

Now, there are a couple of sticking points that the first two episodes also show. For one, the Klingon redesign. Klingons have always had lore inconsistencies in terms of their design so I don’t see a reason to give Discovery grief on that so it gets a pass. The other point, Michael being labeled the first mutineer, with as controversial as that is among the Trek fans, I��m letting that one slide as well. I know TOS said that there has never been a mutiny on a Starfleet vessel. I know technically Spock was the first mutineer but even TOS itself has been weird about that detail. So, I feel that argument doesn’t really hold much water to count as a lore inconsistency if even the established canon likes to be wishy washy about the fact.

Anyways, it’s not until episode three that we finally get to the titular ship and meet its crew. We have Captain Gabriel Lorca, First Officer Saru, Lt. Staments, Chief Medical Officer Hugh Culber, and Cadet Tilly. There are some other regular crew members throughout the entirety of the series, but they have such little screen time that I’m not going to count them.

As far as supporting cast goes, Captain Lorca actually does an excellent job in helping establish that this Trek series is different than the usual fare. It’s more focused on war and he considers himself a Soldier more than he does an explorer. Saru, is by far the best new character introduced to this series. He’s a new race never before seen in the lore and the past he shares with Michael during the Battle of the Binary Stars creates good drama and tension in all these fronts. Staments is researching a new travel method that involves space mushrooms and his personality falls under the “cold and jerkish, but has a heart of gold” trope. He’s also the resident gay and how Discovery showed his relationship with Dr. Culber was so beautiful and amazing, that I really wish other series would take note. Then it had to do the typical “kill the gay” trope and it lost my respect.

Then there’s also… Ash Tyler. He is perhaps the most mishandled character in the entire Trek series. Honestly, he felt like someone that was just written to create problems for the sake of creating problems. I don’t mind showcasing PTSD and bringing awareness to it. But when you constantly throw the guy with PTSD at Klingons and even acknowledging it multiple times that’s not bringing awareness, that’s terrible writing and a blatant lack of understanding. Let’s not forget he’s also a result of Klingon torture, experimentation that caused his personality to be shared with a Klingon personality, brainwashing, and rape. When he recognizes something is wrong, he reaches out for help, but what does everyone do? They just keep bringing him on missions and then yell at him for fucking up. The crew keeps telling him he'll be fine, it will pass he has their support and then proceed to chastise him for not seeking help and having their back when he was having a mental episode.

The series also brought a classic TOS antagonist as well, Harry Mudd (portrayed by Rainn Wilson). I have to say if there was a way to bring a classic Trek character to help build the universe and show the relation between Discovery and TOS, having a minor antagonist from TOS was a great way to build that bridge. I’m talking about the episode where Harry Mudd attempts to steal the Discovery and he tries to do it in the most Trek way possible. Creating a timeloop with technology that is beyond our understanding, but alien enough and futuristic enough to have the audience intrigued about how the device itself works and the cast also trying to figure it out and finding a solution.

There’s also two other classic Trek trope episodes, first contact and saving an ambassador. First contact was amazing and further showcased Saru as a Starfleet officer. The saving an ambassador episode was a bit of a mess.

In the ambassador episode (which is episode 6) Sarek’s ship has been attacked by...Vulcan logic extremists. This is something that I’ll admit was a really tough pill to swallow, Vulcan logic extremists? I was against the idea at first but then I sat down and tried to think logically. I mean it’s not unheard of, as we do have Vulcans in the Maquis during the TNG and DS9 era. Having a Vulcan terrorist organization on Vulcan would make as much sense as there have been Vulcans in previous series that are in terrorist organizations. Then there’s also the Vulcans that followed and worked with Spock during his attempts to broker peace with the Romulans during the TNG era. They too were considered extremists, so much so that the Federation ordered Picard to get Spock for fear that he was defecting. So having a Vulcan logic extremist group actually isn’t as much of a leap as I initially thought.

However, it’s the event that followed the attack I have issues with. After the terrorist attack, Sarek reaches out to not Spock, but Michael. This is an issue because it’s been proven that although Sarek can be a bit callous, he will always reach out to Spock in times of trouble and need. I feel like Sarek reaching out to Michael, as he is possibly dying, is a bit of a slap to the complicated relationship showcased between Sarek/Spock throughout the years. “Sorry Spock, got to make way for your adopted sister that was messily written to have connections to us in an attempt to get the long time Trekkies to buy in the series.”

As mentioned previously, I want to make it super clear that I have no issues with Michael Burnham. I just wish that the writers treated her character with more respect to allow her to be her own character rather than have a sloppy connection to legacy characters. I feel that Michael would have stood out more if she were adopted by a Vulcan that was not Sarek, but rather some other Vulcan. I feel by having a different Vulcan adoptive parent, Michael could have had a lot more room to grow as a character. You want the connection to Spock still? Fine, make them childhood friends or something else other than adoptive brother/sister. Make them Starfleet Academy rivals, I felt anything would have been better than Sarek adopting Michael.

Then there’s the Mirror Universe, which I’ll admit the multiple episode arc that covered the Mirror Universe gave me a love/hate feelings. First, I do love that it continued and added on to the fan theory turned canon event of the USS Defiant being shifted to the Mirror Universe in the past. I love that it touched more on how a Prime Universe person, living in the Mirror Universe can take a toll on them as they do things against their morals to stay under cover. TOS only scratched the surface and with Discovery taking it further and actually having that impact Michael was truly a nice change of pace to other instances of Trek characters encountering the Mirror Universe.

But there were definitely weird moments. Again, continuing to put Ash Tyler in situations that trigger his PTSD or his dormant Klingon personality, Captain Lorca actually being from the Mirror Universe. Now I’ll admit I wasn’t a fan at first, but the way he left the Mirror Universe and returned was such a Trek way of going back and forth, I can’t help but actually admire it.

Of course we run into counterparts of other characters as well. For example, we find out that the Mirror Universe version of Captain Georgiou is actually the Emperor of the Terran Empire. It was such a beautiful build up and made so many changes to Michael and bringing the Emperor to the Prime Universe could and does lead to some great dilemmas. However, there is one very tiny thing that I feel negates all of that and something that plagued Discovery in its first two episodes. Being a prisoner to established canon. When Discovery makes their way back to the Prime Universe they are ordered to never reveal the discovery of the Mirror Universe to anyone, because you know, Kirk hadn’t found it yet. So how does Discovery explain this? The Klingons can’t know about alternate universes and that it’s possible to travel to them so they are ordered to never reveal the possibility of alternate universes.

Anyways the Federation is on the verge of losing the war and desperate means call for desperate measures, that being genocide. Now it’s the not first time the Federation has threatened to commit genocide, they’ve threatened to do that in the established canon a few times as well. TNG did it, DS9 did it, Voyager did it, and from what I can tell, Enterprise did it too. So being in the corner that they were in is not uncharacteristic of the Federation, especially with how desperate they were to turn the war around. It also establishes Emperor Georgiou as a recurring antagonist to appear in future episodes.

After turning the war around, the Federation and Klingons agree to end hostilities, the Klingons are united as one empire and glorious speeches all around then off to Discovery’s next mission: Escort Sarek to Vulcan and pick up its new Captain. However, during the journey, Discovery picks up a distress signal from none other than the U.S.S. Enterprise and ends with the classic ending theme from TOS, which I’ll admit really hit hard and brought many happy feelings.

Discovery does have a lot of potential. However, I feel the writers are trying too hard to keep within established lore. The attempts to also sell Michael as the sister of Spock holds her back so much that it weighs her down unnecessarily. A lot of issues I have with Discovery is with its writing. It has all the ingredients to be a great series, but it was greatly mishandled. I feel that if Discovery was either not a prequel series, or a prequel series that didn’t try to play coy with established events the first season would have been great. With as big as a universe there is to play with, they could have had the potential to truly explore new worlds and ideas and it wasn’t seized upon. Hell, despite a rough beginning, it had a great idea with introducing the theme of war it established in the beginning and how it affects someone on a personal level.

However, despite the good, it was mishandled in so many ways and did these new characters more of a disservice than anything.

Star Trek Discovery receives a 2 out of 5

#Star Trek Discovery #Discovery #Disco #Biscuit Reviews #Series review #Star Trek #CBS #CBS All Access #Star Trek: Picard #Michael Burnham

5 notes · View notes

ladybuvelle · 6 years ago

Note

Dear mun, this probably should be a munday question but I am too impatient to wait: What do you think about the fact that probably in every iteration of Sona she is basically always the curviest woman around? Like does it affect you in your way you think about her? Or does it annoy you that sometimes it reduces her to "musician with a big ass and a massive rack" or anything along those lines? Or is it an absolute nonfactor? Maybe something you even additionally like about her?

// Well I mean, since it’s a question ABOUT Sona then it’s fine XD Munday would imply it’s about me! But hm. I’m of several minds about this sort of question.

When I started RPing as Sona, it was a very spontaneous decision I made several years ago in a roleplay chatroom that happened to have a League of Legends channel. Before then I’d never played a pre-established character. The idea seemed weird to me that people would even want or think they could RP as a character someone else had made and written out. It felt presumptuous. But being in a bad place in my life at the time and desperate to try anything new and find any kind of happiness, I made a new account and picked my main in LoL to play as: which at the time was Sona. I loved her play style in the game and I was pretty exclusively playing as her.

So initially I enjoyed Sona’s character for a lot of reasons that had nothing to do with how she looked. If anything, her look was kind of a problem. She’s basically a copy of Miku Hatsune. Even her whole thing about being mute as opposed to being a Vocaloid that sings and her theme of music is pretty obvious.

And beyond that, the whole blue-haired pigtail thing? A bit hard to take seriously!

When it comes to Sona’s figure as well, there’s totally a difference between fanon and canon. The community over the years would have to believe she’s s t a c k e d. While her chest certainly isn’t small, I would like to point out that Janna’s model actually has her chest jiggle. (Fun fact: Sona and Janna both have the same VA) Though it’s also hard to deny even glancing at, say, Muse Sona’s insane cleavage on her model. Like, woof. Those puppies are packed in there. As for her other curves, I don’t think we need to go into detail about DJ Sona and the massive booty.

But the models in-game have a variety of reasons why they’re designed the way they are. They have to be made with visibility, recognition, silhouette, and camera angle taken into account. There’s a rhyme and reason for most decisions why models look the way they do, and lately they’ve gotten a lot better and more detailed as well. Sona’s a bit mid-level by now I guess? She’s ‘newer’ than some still old champs since her VU, but graphical progress is moving very quickly in League.

I say this because there’s also the official art and splash arts to take into account. In most of Sona’s splash art I’d say she’s curvy, but not outrageously so. And she’s certainly not as thick as I tend to draw her.

On that subject: I’m a plus sized person myself. When I draw females I tend to go a little overboard on the waist and hips because that’s the kind of figure I have myself. ‘Plus size’ isn’t just one particular ‘look’ either; people gain weight in a variety of ways, and plus size can also just come down to being a very tall or broad person as well. In reality, I very much doubt Sona would qualify as plus size. She’s small and slim. While I would like it if she were a little softer and rounder, perhaps, it doesn’t make me like her any more or less as a character.

TL;DR while I do think a lot about Sona’s appearance (probably due to being an artist and drawing her a lot), it doesn’t actually effect my perception of her that much. The argument could be made that if she looked different would I have been drawn to her as much, but I honestly couldn’t say. I was drawn to her play style initially, SO...

I will say, however, that just because I’m an “enlightened” individual or whatever the fuck when it comes to how Sona looks, it’s worth noting how painfully obvious it is that many fan artists... aren’t. Especially those who draw porn. I very VERY rarely look up fanart for Sona because all too often, for SOME reason, she’s relegated to some very questionable acts. I somehow suspect it has as much to do with her being mute as it does with her body shape, but that’s just my theory. Sona being mute is likely one of the most key deciding factors in how and why people portray her the way they do aside from her boy shape, tbh. Without a voice she lacks personality on a surface level. From there it’s easy to just treat her like an object. Or even “ship” her based on her disability, which is.... yeah.

As a final thought, and from a realistic and artistic perspective, I don’t think people really realize how different people can look in different clothes. Sona’s skins tend to have her in close-fitting clothes on top and more wide gowns on the bottom (except for DJ, which leads to the whole headcanon for me that she’s hiding it all under that skirt). But if you put her in a sports bra and some baggy clothes? Suddenly she’d look a LOT different. What you wear and how you wear it can make all the difference in presentation. Makeup as well is like that.

#headcanon #ask #art talk #a whole bunch of stuff!#thank you for the question <3 #Anonymous

7 notes · View notes

pixel-creates · 7 years ago

Text

About Me: Kingdom Hearts

Behold, my excuse to cry over KH with paragraphs for nearly each answer.

(shamelessly copied from @khfriendlyreminders)

Favorite Kh Game Overall: … I underestimated how hard this would be. I mean, I can't simply say I love all of them (even though I do), so... I guess it has to be

ALL OF THEM.

Least Favorite Kh Game Overall: Aside from nitpicks in story and gameplay, I don't have much to say against the KH games. ^^'

I understand perfectly well when people analyze the story and explain why certain parts just don't work, but unless it's something that just outright doesn't sit well with me, I find it hard to be critical of the games. Which is weird since I can be very critical of other media, but KH is kind of... hard to see or make criticism of. I'm not entirely sure how to explain it...

Kh Games I Should Replay: … ALL OF TH-

Okay but for real, I do have to repay them all for the sake of my fic since I'm basing the events off of my gameplay. Though, one I'd like to experience once again is 0.2. I only had the chance to play once at my older brother's before I moved and I feel like I need to experience it again to really understand where the story stands currently.

Most Played Kh Game: KH2 definitely.

Least Played Kh Game: Maybe Re:Coded, Days, and Re:COM. Re:Coded, while I do enjoy, is just not that fun to play on my dying 3DS. Also, I can't remember if it's just Re:Coded, but the camera was just really loose?? On my 3DS with broken left and right triggers, there was just no end to the frustration when those babies started going out. Days is a long game to play and my gameplay is either short and brief stints or finishing the entire game in a day. Right now, I'm in the short and brief stint gameplay mode since I need a new 3DS. On that part, Days and Re:Coded aren't at fault. Re:COM just scares me. Eveyone says that it's easy to get a handle on the card system, and it is but I don't do very well under the pressure of getting the cards together. It's gotten to the point where just looking at the menu screen makes me cringe. ^^' KHUX can count, as well. The game has a hella lot of filler quests, which are fine here and there, but wow those mission goals (“Defeat Every Enemy” has been seen in my nightmares). Not only that, but I'm not really that good at keeping up with games that often require constant/daily logging in for advancement.

Kh Games I Need to Play: I've technically played them all in one form or another, but I would very much like to try out the original GBA COM game at least once. GBA used to be my favorite system and finding out a KH game had been made for it is amazing!

Favorite Gameplay: This one is a tie between KH and KH0.2.

KH2 is just... fun. It's fun to play, it's fun to watch, and it just feels satisfactory to attack and explore the worlds. It might seem a little weird, but my favorite part was being able to 'Examine' everything with the triangle button. It was like Sora's (and Roxas' thoughts for a time) were given a place to exist outside cutscenes and gave insight into how Sora/Roxas were viewing the world. I dunno what anyone else thinks about it or if they even care, but I sincerely hope it makes a comeback in KH3.

KH0.2 is like KH2 in which we are given more of an opportunity to explore and interact with the world around us by actually creating change within the world through spells, hitting objects, or finding the lost memories. I absolutely love to freely roam in games, but it doesn't do much to bring me into the world itself if I can't interact with the world. That's why, as much as it creeped the frick out of me, the Dwarf Woodlands in the Dark World was my favorite world to explore even after the main story.

Least Favorite Gameplay: It's not my least favorite by far (in fact, it's really high up there), but I feel I do have to mention that in KH DDD, I felt really bad about using Flowmotion. It was like, I'd find my way up to several treasures, but then, it turns out, that you'd eventually make it up there by unlocking the way so that you could walk to the treasure. I feel like if there was a couple of puzzles that locked some treasures away and couldn't be accessed through mobile means, it'd balance out the gameplay a little more.

I also find the Dream Eater system to be... a little cool and also a little bad. A little cool because while I can adventure to who knows where and not get constantly freaked by Donald and Goofy teleporting right behind me. It felt like I was on a little solo adventure! Not only that, but the feature to import Dream Eaters from a previous save to a new/other save was a great feature. It was especially helpful when I replayed DDD went from Beginner Mode to Critical Mode. Did I mention it was y first time playing any KH game on a mode tougher than Normal?

A little bad because sometimes that solo adventure was just a bit too solo – and when just starting out (especially on Critical Mode), rather than being my allies, my Dream Eaters were more so the colorful Pokemon rejects I babysat so they didn't die after three hits. It became annoying pretty quickly to constantly keep them alive, only for them to wander away from where the enemies are or just simply not attack and once again die.

KH Re:Com as explained above, though I will admit that once I start to get into it, I feel a lot less pressured unless it's a boss fight. Other than that, the game just feels really repetitive and as someone who's gameplay style is 80% grinding until you simply can't die, it just really didn't feel that fun to play after an hour of just grinding for a boss fight that I felt really unsure about fighting because I'm sill having trouble with the card system.

Favorite Story: Yikes, another hard one. It's easy for me to talk about gameplay in the games because they're self-contained to a singular game within the series, but goodness the story.

I suppose out of all of them, I would replay KH2, DDD, Days, and Re:Coded for story reasons only. I find them to have the more interesting stories. Right now, I'm kind of side eying BBS for... reasons, and KH1 is kind of hard for me to say anything about. More on that in the next one.

Least Favorite Story: Out of the games, KH1 is probably the most consistent one... on its own. As the series progressed and the writers tried to fit more lore and story into an idea that... no one really expected would garner so much attention, it becomes more obvious how... out of place the first game seems in comparison. This took me years to realize and I only really understood why people made such a deal about it when Caddicarus talked about it in his review.

I can't bring myself to really blame the writers (or Nomura) too much for the inconsistencies between the first game and the latest one, but I will say there are some things I wish could've been kept consistent throughout the series, or just plain kept.

So, I don't think of it as my least favorite (since there are times I'll play it simply because I love the story a heck of a lot more than the gameplay), but it's question because of how out of place its story is in comparison to its children.

Favorite Character: Sora. I would fucking die for him – but he probably wouldn't let me. Why is he my favorite character? Probably for a similar reason why Naruto is – I am not a particularly outgoing or outspoken person. My voice is naturally soft and whenever I try to gear myself to ask people the simplest of questions or even to say hi, I chicken out at the last second. And then, we have this character who not only talks to people without an issue but easily has an active participation in not only social situations but in everyday life.

In a way, my younger self strived to be just a little but more like that, if only because I wanted to be surrounded by friends like Sora was. Not only that, but there's just the overall positivity vibe Sora gives off that I feel like I lack; I almost immediately assume the worst of situations, have trust issues, and stress horribly over situations that even I can admit are out of my control. And seeing this character go through what he did and still keep that positive outlook? How could I not want to be like that, if only just a little?

Least Favorite Character: I'll probably get shit on for saying it, but I really can't bring myself to like Kairi in any way shape or form. She's pretty much the only thing about KH that I can be really critical of and I'm not very proud of that. I can't get into her in canon and I can't get into her in fanon. I can detail point by point about why I just can't like her in any capacity and my own disappointment towards how she's written, and I really wish it was the opposite... but that's a whole other post.

For now, I'm more than content to ignore her.

Favorite Character from Main Cast: Aside from Sora? Roxas, Xion, Vanitas, Riku, Namine, and Ventus are in the ring competing for 11th favorite character since Sora has taken up the first ten spots. Aqua, Terra and Goofy are shoe ins for the next spots after them.

Least Favorite Character from Main Cast: Aside from that one chick? It's mostly as a joke, but Donald can rot.

#NeverThankDonaldDuck2018 Also, fuck Yen Sid.

Favorite Drive Form: Final. Fucking fite my vanilla ass.

Favorite Spell: While the Cure line is a staple, I'm going to have to go with the Reflect line. Late game KH2 often ends up with Heartless/Nobody encounters quickly ending as soon as it started with a single Reflectga. I really hope it makes some kind of comeback in KH3.

Favorite Keyblade: Kingdom Key. Call me vanilla, but I love it's simple design and the lore around it.

Favorite Summon: I've honestly only ever really used Tinkerbell and it's always for the Dragon!Maleficent fight in KH1. I always stress about using things with time limits, so I often just don't use them period. :,D

Favorite Limit: Okay, but if I rarely use Summons, then I really don't use Limits like ever. I hardly switch my party members out unless mandatory. Even then, I turn off the Auto Limit shit because I find it more important to make sure Sora has magic for Cure than pulling off an attack that will only hit like 3 times.

Aside from completion purposes (and Riku because how can I deny the beauty that is Sora and Riku's Limit), I don't use them in the main story.

Favorite Dream Eater: It's a toss up between Pega Slick and Me Me Bunny. While offering some pretty good abilities, I really like their aesthetic. Yoggy Ram and Aura Lion are pretty high up there, too.

Favorite World: Oooo~ How about we have fun with this answer?

KH1 – A toss up between Hollow Bastion and End of The World. The aesthetics for both just really agree with me and the map for Hollow Bation especially is really fun to explore. KH Re:COM – 100 Acre Wood for being the only world that isn't completely repetitive. Whenever I play Re:COM I use it as the 12th floor just so I can reward myself for sticking with the game. KH2 – Radiant Garden for being probably the biggest world in KH2, linking to worlds I really like (Space Paranoids/100 Acre Wood), and having an interesting story that was actually intertwined with the main plot. KHBBS – This one is a bit hard since I don't play any other story except Ventus' 90% of the time. It's a toss up between Land of Departure (aesthetic and story reasons), Disney Town (mini games are really great – except I Scream Beat), and Mirage Arena (Rumble Racing and Mono- Command Board ftw!!).

KH Re:Coded – Pretty much all of Hollow Bastion. While a re-hash of KH1, it still felt like its own thing, especially with the battle system since Data!Sora's Keyblade was destroyed. I also really liked Olympus Coliseum. It was my favorite place to grind. In fact... Re:Coded took a lot of risks in changing up how you could fight and/or navigate the world and, to me, they were all interesting takes and fun experiences. Except Agrabah. Fuck Agrabah.

KHDDD – I like La Cité des Cloches because of what it could have been... Actual worlds I like are The Country of Musketeers, The World That Never Was (Sora's story), and Symphony of Sorcery. KH0.2 – Dwarf Woodlands as explained above. KHUX – I honestly really like Daybreak Town. I wish we could freely explore it.

Least Favorite World: F U C K M O N S T R O

I have some bad memories with Monstro from KH1.

First off, there's a chance you will just plain miss the cutscene needed to get access to him. I once had to drive between Halloween Town and Atlantica six times to get him, and often require 2 or more trips around to get him to appear in general.

Second, in KH1, a game that actually would've benefited from the nowadays useless as shit map system, has a world where everything looks the damn same and has rooms literally titled 'Monstro: Chamber 1' and 'Monstro: Chamber 2'. Just watching Raisoren, someone who has played KH1 at least twice, try to find his way around Monstro was a headache in itself back when I first found out about KH. Actually playing it was a migraine.

Third, the aesthetic... just the aesthetic. I am very squicky about the 'insides' of things. I understand that the team went through lengths to make it not look realistic, but that ultimately failed since the main different between most of the rooms are ledges and the amount of barrels in a room.

With all that said, I bet many of you can guess my reaction to Monstro in KH:DDD... it honestly wasn't too bad. Unless I was grinding, I didn't have to spend as much time in Monstro as I did in KH1 and the layout was a lot more varied and easily distinguishable from each other.

And then I played it in Critical Mode. :)

Am I ready for Kingdom Hearts III: Very much so! I've been steadily getting more and more excited with each piece of news we get. I don't know what to expect, but as long as it feels like a KH game, I don't think there's a way to disappoint me.

#purikh #puri ponders kh

2 notes · View notes

sol1056 · 7 years ago

Text

big mechanical inconsistent cats

Sometimes, when there’s a sequel (or second season) to a story, the relationships that started in the first story get broken up in the second. If you’re lucky and the writer is good, it’s because the groundwork was laid in the first story that the relationship was only a HFA (happy for now, vs a happy-ever-after). More often, though, the conflict is contrived, and done purely for the sake of getting to repeat the ‘getting back together’ tension.

The key is whether the reader hits that conflict-point and says, “oh, I had a feeling that was coming.” A buried tension, an issue left unaddressed, some old enmity reappearing, a fundamental difference in ethics or priorities: these foreshadow a possible break. Done right, it’s not a ‘will they or won’t they’ repetition, but a ‘can they resolve their differences and grow stronger’ new turn. Instead of a circle across old ground, it’s a spiral treading new ground.

To paraphrase Mark Twain, this isn’t real life, this is fiction, and fiction is supposed to make sense. So my question is: does the lion switch -- from the point of view of the lions themselves -- make sense?

Blue is the training-wheels lion

One theory floating around is that Blue is a nurturer, and therefore -- once the paladin has learned whatever lesson -- Blue kicks the kid out of the nest. Not only is this kind of offensive towards Lance, implying that of all the paladins, he’s the one who requires ‘learning’ some lesson more than any other, it’s also not held up by canon. After all, the original pilot for Blue flew ‘hundreds of missions’ with her, and was never thrown out. Are we to assume he remained the most incompetent or needy member of the team, such that he continually required Blue’s nurturing?

Blue was personally offended

Of all the paladins sitting Black’s seat, Lance was the only one shown to really want the responsibility. (I’m going to ignore the way Pidge demanded the seat, which made no sense for her character, had no foreshadowing -- compared to Hunk’s request to form the head with Yellow -- and was done entirely for humor that felt completely out-of-place.) Except Lance’s declaration was that he wouldn’t follow Keith anywhere; it was Hunk (and Pidge) who insisted they had a right to try. Lance merely took the opportunity when it was offered.

So if Yellow and Green were not offended by Hunk’s and Pidge’s request, why would Blue be so offended by Lance’s? Blue’s been characterized (mostly by fanon attempting to fill in the blanks, admittedly, since the writers have been less-than-forthcoming about so many details) as the friendliest and most easy-going of the bunch. Frankly, the ‘you talked to that other lion so I want nothing to do with you’ seems like a reaction we’d expect more from Red, than Blue.

The problem is that we’ve already had a groveling scene from Lance. It was a poignant scene, certainly, and dramatic, but he tried everything, and Blue still refused. If the character reasoning for Blue is that coveting another position is tantamount to betrayal, how does one come back from that? If just wanting Black is enough to anger Blue, what’s the result if one actually accepts Red?

The rejection just seemed both too severe and out-of-proportion when compared to Hunk’s and Pidge’s continued seats in their original lions.

Blue and Red had an agreement

This... doesn’t make a lot of sense, in terms of what we’ve been told/shown about the lions’ personalities. Keith got put through the ringer in order to convince Red, but Red opens up so Lance can stroll right in? It’s like the two lions had a sudden personality switch, themselves. Blue is abruptly temperamental and recalcitrant, while Red is the one calling in excitement for Lance?

More to the point, if there were an agreement between the lions, what’s a lion’s reasoning for not simply communicating this? From their very first meeting, Blue’s talked to Lance. Sure, it would’ve been a different scene -- one without the heavy-duty tones of personal rejection that jacked the langst up to eleven -- but it could’ve achieved the same end if Blue had simply spoken to Lance, gently opened the door, and pushed him out to make the point clear. It could still hurt, and he could still wish to be with her instead, but more importantly, the scene wouldn’t have felt so damn arbitrary.

Instead, we got one lion flatly rejecting her paladin for no apparent reason other than, well, being temperamental, while the lion canonically the most unpredictable and sensitive turned friendly and welcoming. Without some explanation or hint in-story of the two lions arranging this, the only story-supported conclusion is that the two lions became plot-devices for the sake of angst.

Legs can’t lead

This one is a quadruple-whammy.

First, if Lance was rejected because he’d inadvertently said the right things to indicate he’d make a good second-in-command -- and therefore had to take Red’s seat -- that means he and Blue were only ever support. It means that whatever traits his character brings to the table, those were traits he’d have to stifle to remain in Blue. That runs counter to the concept of the pilot’s quintessence being mirrored in the lion, if any growth makes Lance suddenly out-of-sync.

Second, this breaks the entire concept of ‘five becoming one’ because it’s clearly ranking the lions. There’s Black, who leads, Red, who leads in Black’s absence/silence, and everyone else just follows. Someone stepping up to lead from Green, Yellow, or Blue is not possible, because in Black’s absence, only Red can play that role. That’s not equality. That’s definitely a hierarchy.

Third, the whole emphasis on Red as a ‘hand’ or ‘arm’ of Voltron ignores that Pidge/Green is also a hand/arm. Shouldn’t that rank her equally with Red, in terms of immediate support for Black? The story even echoes that, between Pidge’s “You won’t have to!” response when Shiro says he can’t fight alone in S2E13, and Lance’s “You don’t have to!” when Keith admits he can’t handle things alone, in S3E2.

Fourth (and most infuriating to me), this means Allura becoming a paladin isn’t a promotion. It’s a complete and total demotion. Not only is she no longer the commander general to Shiro’s field-marshal, the first whammy -- that a leg cannot lead -- means she can’t even re-take that position as long as she’s flying Blue.

I know a big part of the fandom is all excited that Allura’s finally a paladin, but this is also the reason I’d prefer she be out of that seat, pronto. The implications otherwise are just too frustrating, and that’s not even getting into the points @smolsarcasticraspberry made about the optics of downgrading a powerful WoC into a purely supporting role.

After all, take that fourth whammy to its logical conclusion: if the argument is that to have a leadership position (first or second) requires Black or Red, then putting Allura in Blue automatically denies her any right or chance to lead. And if she can take second-in-command at any point while sitting in Blue, then that negates the very reason Lance was thrown out in the first place.

Maybe the lions aren’t what we were told

There’s one characteristic -- going from the lions’ behaviors in-story -- that seems to be parallel between Blue and Red. They’re both pretty head-strong, and they’re both proud.

When Lance first sits in Blue, she takes him on a wild ride. As far as Lance is concerned, “it’s like it’s on auto-pilot”. Blue is calling the shots, and as long as her pilot will listen to her, and do as she says, everything is fine. Despite his rivalry with Keith, Lance is actually pretty easy-going. Allura -- not one to roll with the breaks -- is forced to begging before Blue starts talking. Blue may’ve opened up, but she didn’t entirely cooperate -- or even help much -- until Allura was willing to concede.

Meanwhile Red required an extreme act to notice and accept Keith. What if this wasn’t necessarily a literal thing -- you have to eject yourself into space to get noticed -- but a metaphorical thing? Keith could yell and demand, and get nowhere. He had to take an action that put himself entirely on the line. In a way, Lance breaking down and groveling did the same thing, by shredding (and shedding) his own pride, in his self-image. Perhaps Red’s ‘temperamental’ personality lies in preferring a pilot willing to reduce himself (or herself) to nothing? ‘Admit you know/are nothing, before I will accept you,’ perhaps.

(One flaw in this theory is that we don’t actually know what triggered Red the first time. Alfor admits he’s not entirely certain what he’s built, or how the machines work, or what they’ll do, but that’s more humility, rather than putting himself on the line to impress Red. Maybe it’s a combination of not putting himself above the machine -- and being one who lives ‘in the now’, always willing to jump in -- that appeals to Red?)

Anyway, if we can presume that Red’s pride lies in making sure the pilot will self-abnegate towards the lion, where does Blue’s pride lie?

Maybe Allura’s explanation of the lions wasn’t based on the lions themselves -- which it seems (based on her explanation in S3E1) she’d never directly spoken to, after all -- but on her recollections of the original pilots. If her impression of Blue's original pilot was that of a friendly, easy-going flirt, then she may’ve been unaware of what can lie beneath such an exterior: someone who is quite sensitive to others.

In which case, perhaps Blue is just as sensitive as Lance when it comes to belonging. What if what she values isn’t, in fact, someone easy-going and affable, but someone who’d understand her need to feel valued and in charge, her sense of competitiveness, and her fear of being lesser-than?

The only scene we get of Blue’s original pilot, he’s rebuked by Zarkon for flirting with the staff. He ends up looking somewhere between ‘oh, busted’ and ‘oh shit I messed up again’.

Which is possibly why Allura twigged on Lance for Blue, if she saw that kind of reaction from Blaytz on a regular basis.

While it’s true that Lance is ebullient enough (or immature enough) that this doesn’t exactly stop him from doing it again later, he doesn’t laugh off the scolding, either. He seems to feel his place is a little too tenuous, as if worried this will be the one time it’s too much, and he’s out for good.

At the same time, Lance is also quite jealous, in the word’s original sense of possessiveness. Even a hint of anyone eying what’s his -- as when Keith mentions the blue lion to Coran -- prompts Lance into a rather out-of-proportion response. He has a similar reaction to Allura being with Keith, which is probably both that possessiveness, and a sibling-like competitiveness.

If that characterization can be extended to the lion he’s most simpatico with, then maybe she felt Lance agreed with her that Black was preferable, and that was her grounds for rejection. In her eyes, he’d rejected her first.

This is still only inference and speculation, though, and it also breaks down because of Lance’s own reactions. He doesn’t retaliate by rejecting her in return, nor does he hold a grudge. He shows every sign of missing her, and trying to guide Allura on Blue’s behalf. So if Blue is that incredibly intransigent, it’s a distinct break from how Lance has been characterized so far. Add on top that this interpretation means Blue holds grudges -- unlike Lance, who fusses loudly (as when Shiro chose Keith in BoM) but then lets it go -- and it’s hard to see how this break can be undone.

And that brings me back around to the original question. If this was not a situation that felt inevitable -- an ‘oh, I had a feeling this would happen’ -- then it’s equally not a situation that feels resolvable. If you can’t identify what went wrong, then you can’t identify how it could be fixed.

So until we have a better sense of why Blue chose -- or was written to choose -- to reject Lance, I’m left with the uneasy sense that characterization got tossed in favor of an angst-yanking plot-device. What little canonical information we do have just isn’t falling into place, to explain how everything ended up where it is now.

#voltron legendary defender #lance mcclain #voltron meta #voltron season 3 #sol thinks about stuff

150 notes · View notes

punkcherries · 7 years ago

Text

get ready to rrrrrumble

jesus christ this is a long ass submission so uh puts it in a read more also puts my txt in bold so its easier to read 👍

Right, so I’ve just read everything that happened in the last few asks you got and I’m just gonna sit down and tell you this right now. You better strap the fuck in because this is long and if you’re not gonna read it, shame on you, because all of this is specifically about YOU and the problems people have with you (the people Blu mentioned). First off, I’m not Blu, so don’t go and start calling him names in your server because you’re finally, FINALLY, being called out on all the bullshit you do. I used to be your friend, I left on semi-good terms, and this entire thing is going to explain WHY I left + why you need to square the fuck up.

sounds like fun whoever u are

You need to get your shit together and seriously change yourself, but of course you’re not gonna do that, because you’re an incompetent piece of shit who has your head so far up your ass you can’t see all the things you do wrong. You act like you’re the person who suffers the most, and that anytime anyone is rude to you it’s THEIR fault, not the fact that you did something terrible to someone or that you started some drama. I’ve been fed up with this shit for months, and have been hesitant to say anything directly to your face, because you don’t even know me that well and we hardly talked. We did interact a few times, but those few times were absolute hell to me, because I must have literally retracted some kind of disease just from being near you. You are the fucking EMBODIMENT of tumblrina, and it’s so fucking sad because you weren’t like this before (based on what a few others have told me).

the use of tumblrina here is jus makin me laugh ur a funny guy buddy but i feel like my past self is worse thn my current self like past me participated in cringe culture so like ew

The way you talk? Absolutely fucking horrid. Sit the fuck up and talk like a normal goddamn human being. I’m here to talk to you, not to decipher some 57 commas and abhorrid shortening of words. Jesus fucking Christ Sombre, I can understand Internet slang and cutting some words up, but you fucking butcher the English language so bad it literally sounds like a toddler having a stroke while mashing at their keyboard. It’s “that” not “tht”, it’s “thing” not “thng”, it’s “something” not “smth”, and for GOD FUCKING SAKES IT’S “THE” NOT “TH”. ARE YOU LITERALLY SO FUCKING LAZY THAT YOU CAN’T EVEN TYPE “THE”, A THREE LETTER WORD. I don’t give a shit if you’re talking like this to sound like an anxious uwu tumblr piece of SHIT, it sounds fucking IDIOTIC and it’s an ABSO-FUCKING-LUTE PAIN TO READ.

language is fake and is mostly just sounds we give meaning, im very sorry if you have trouble reading the way i type and id be more than happy to try and not speak to you like i usually do to everyone else if you just asked politely and talked it out with me (tho the idiotic part is accurate im not very smart lmao)

SPEAKING OF YOUR TUMBLR, LET’S TALK ABOUT YOUR UPSET.TXT TAG. If you think anyone is gonna pity you, SPOILER ALERT! THEY’RE FUCKING NOT. Unless they’re your shitty “friends”, NOBODY fucking gives a shit, alrighty? Speaking from my perspective and a few others, nobody’s gonna see this venting on their dashboard and give two shits. Unless they’re your mutuals, they won’t care and it just leaves a bad impression. It’s pathetic how when ANYTHING negative happens to you, you decide to take to Tumblr to boo hoo crypost about it. You wanna vent? You wanna cry yourself to sleep? Cool, talk about it on your server, NOT FUCKING TUMBLR, WHERE LITERALLY ANYONE CAN SEE IT. This is just like how Facebook used to be, you see these posts of people posting personal shit and getting bit in the ass for it later, YEAH WELL THAT’S WHAT’S HAPPENING TO YOU RIGHT NOW BUDDY. DON’T LIKE IT? DON’T FUCKING VENT ON TUMBLR.

i rarely vent on here dude like?? do you see the time gaps between the posts in my vent tag? its also my blog so i can post whatever i like as long as im not hurting anyone yo, plus the point of venting for me at least isnt to like get attention or sympathy its to let off some steam not to mention most to all of my vent posts are vague as hell so like…. why do you even care though?? if i get bit in the ass then thats my problem not yours

Right, so let’s talk about your “im gay” tag too! You identify as male, correct? That’s cool! Congrats. But you’re not gay if you clearly show an interest in girls. Doesn’t matter if they’re fictional or not. Your “im gay” tag is filled with girls (Bismuth, some anime girl, pinup girls). NEWSFLASH ASSHOLE! You’re male, those are females! Opposite genders! That means you’re NOT GAY! WOAAAAAH! So who are you to be reblogging and posting all this shit about how hetero people are the devil, hetero people are the worst wah wah, when you yourself identify as a guy and clearly seem to be interested in girls, even if just a little?

dude i used to identify as nonbinary i only recently started identifying as male, hell i used to identify as female ages back so like? the posts in that tag are most to all old and i do realize my attraction to girls isnt gay, hence why ive only been referring to my attraction to dudes as me being gay post-male identification i guess

Speaking of all the heterophobic shit you reblog, have you not considered it could make some of your followers feel absolutely terrible? I’m bi myself, I like both guys and girls, but holy FUCK when I see that shit on your blog it makes me feel guilty for liking guys at all! Is that how you want people to feel? Whether they’re pan, bi, or straight, that shit’s literally so fucking damaging and it sure as hell hurts to see! And don’t throw that “some of those posts are jokes” bullshit at me, because guess the fuck what! They may be jokes to people who aren’t hetero, but they sure as hell don’t seem like jokes to those who are! How would you feel if I made a joke that was even SLIGHTLY negative towards homosexuals? Wait, no, don’t answer that, because I already know how you’d feel. You’d get pissy, you’d stomp your little baby feet over to Tumblr, and then crypost about it, saying you’re facing homophobia and being harassed blah blah blah.

HETEROPHOBIC IM LAUGHING…. buddy…. pal…. heterophobia is fake and im very sorry if those post make you feel bad as a bisexual person (im also bi so) but heterophobia isnt actually a thing, comparing jokes directed at straight people to lgbtphobia is inherently lgbtphobic as it compares little jokes most to all directed at bigoted/ignorant straights to something that can often result in the actual literal death of hundreds of people for their gender/orientation- that doesnt happen to straight people dude

Also: you don’t have autism. Were you officially diagnosed? Because I’m gonna be real fuckin’ honest, it doesn’t sound like you have autism. You sure have something, hoh yeah, but it’s sure as hell not autism. You put your “autism” up on a pedestal and act like it’s one of the only things about you, like no hunty, your mental illness doesn’t define you. Nobody gives a shit, okay? Your mental illness isn’t an excuse to act like a literal fuckface, it’s not an excuse to treat people like shit, and it sure as hell isn’t an excuse to blame everything on others and make yourself out to be the good guy because “my autism made me anxious or forget things ;w;”. This is the exact kind of tumblrina thing I’m talking about, people on this goddamn website act like their mental illness is the only quality about them and that not being neurotypical makes them special. NEWS-FUCKIN-FLASH, it doesn’t. It really doesn’t. You don’t see me using my mental illness as an excuse for my actions, because I actually step the fuck up and take responsibility for shit I’ve caused. My mental illness does not define me. There’s more to me than that. You need to realize that your fake-ass autism isn’t an excuse for you to be a fucking asshole to the people around you, and that your actions do have consequences. Stop blaming others for shit you’ve caused, stop calling people jackasses when it’s YOU who’s insulting people and twisting the truth, and for the love of God tell your white knights of friends to shut the FUCK up if they don’t know all the details of a situation.

i was technically diagnosed albeit in a nontraditional fashion (a psych at our middleschool was the one who diagnosed me) and i have never defined myself solely by my autism nor have i used it as an excuse for my fuck ups, ive literally apologized and stopped doing the things i did since the blu incident, i recognize i fucked up there and i apologized and i havent done the whole lying out of anxiety thing since, also my white knights of friends??? YOURE the one coming into MY inbox to tell me how shit i am after i blocked blu i literally just want this to be over leave me alone dude

Alright, so now that we’re done talking about YOU, let’s talk about your fandoms. You like Osomatsu-San. Okay, that’s fine. What’s not fine is how FUCKING obsessive you are about it. There’s nothing wrong with liking something and being attached to characters, making art of it, having a blog, reblogging it, talking about it, that’s okay. That’s okay! But you? You fucking hold the characters so close and act like they’re your own characters. You get upset when something doesn’t go your way in the show. This was evidenced by how many times you’ve complained about episodes (guess where? upset.txt) after they’ve come out. That anon about the straight joke? You got so heated over that, didn’t you? Saying Chibita was “out of character”, BITCH, what do you fucking know? He’s not your goddamn character! The writers will write him however the fuck they want. It’s THEIR fucking show, it’s THEIR fucking characters, and it’s THEIR decision of who does what and who acts like what. There’s a VERY thick line between canon and fanon, and you can’t seem to distinguish that AT ALL. You merge your shitty headcanons with the canon universe, and when something doesn’t go your way, you FREAK THE FUCK OUT and go crying about it in your server or on your tags.

youre blowing that ONE FUCKING POST so out of proportion ive never complained abt ososan in upset.txt outside of MAYBE episode 4 and that would be because of the NONCONSENSUAL SEX SCENE i KNOW my headcanons arent canon i KNOW that the chibita/snowtoko complaint was MINOR and i fucking LIKED THAT EPISODE A LOT!! i didnt cry i just felt that based on how the staff have characterized chibita up until that point it was a little jarring to see him react like he did THAT IS ALL! what the fuck!! how would you even know what i talk about in my servers!! youre obviously misinformed my guy!!!

Lemme tell you something, Sombre: Karabita isn’t canon. OH SHIT! I SAID IT BOYS! THAT’S A FUCKING CURSE ISN’T IT!! No, sorry, sit the fuck down and suck those tears up, because it’s true. It’s not canon. It isn’t. You grasp at straws to say it is, but it isn’t. Chibita wore somehing blue? Oh shit, it’s Karamatsu! He’s clearly in love with him! No, sorry honey, that’s not how it works. Of course Chibita would feel pity on him and let him stay with him (ep 24), because who wouldn’t? That doesn’t mean they’re dating. Karamatsu may be the most bisexual person ever, but he sure as hell isn’t dating Chibita (at least, not canonly). Speaking of Chibita, you need to stop acting like any other Matsu x Chibita ship is literal hell. They’re not. There are some decent ones out there, and although they’re rarepairs by now, they’re a lot better quality than the Karabita bullshit you spew out.

me saying karabita is canon is a joke, and my disdain for non karabita matsubita ships is based half in coping reasons and half in chibita has literally no chemistry with the other matsus and seems to not like any of the other bros at all whereas hes actually shown some level of tolerance or interest in karamatsu

While we’re on the subject of non-canon ships, Atsutodo isn’t canon either. Fuck’s sake, they were on screen together for 10 damn seconds. Yes, I’m aware there’s card art of Atsushi and Todomatsu having a meal together, but they’re very clearly not dating if Todomatsu is still going out with girls and holding their hands etc. Oh, speaking of Todomatsu: Your trans hc of him? Generic as fuck. He’s not trans. Call me a transphobe, I don’t give a shit, but he’s not trans. Look at the -kun animes. He’s a guy. Where in his life would he have magically been a girl and then go right back to a guy? The time span between a 12 year old and a 21 year old isn’t long enough to allow you time to transition. In that day and age, it wasn’t even acceptable to be transgender. So none of the Matsus are trans, get that out of your head. Get those “autism hcs” out of your head too, because I KNOW you hc Kara and Jyushi as autistic (and I’m aware you used to headcanon Ichimatsu as autistic too, but we’ll get to that later).

i know atsutodo isnt canon i never said it was all the “x ship is canon” jokes are about karabita and theyre jokes dude, i just think atsutodo would be cute. why the fuck do you even care about my trans hcs?? theyre HEADCANONS they dont HURT ANYONE and like dude there are trans children out there….. stop being a fuckface about simple headcanons what the fuck.

Lemme tell ya something. Karamatsu sure as hell isn’t autistic. Literally the only reason you headcanon him as such is because you yourself claim to be autistic and because “uwu he’s m fav,,,, i relate to him,,,”. Also, I realize “jyushi is autistic xD” headcanons are common, but JESUS FUCK it’s time for them to die. Jyushimatsu is just bizarre in and out, it’s his personality and his way of life. If you’re gonna hc him as autistic for his personality, you’re obviously ignoring his physical abilities. What about that time he cloned himself? Grew different sizes? What about how he seemingly has no bones (tentacle arms)? But oh, let’s ignore that, because he’s always got a smile on his face and he has a childish personality so DURR HE’S OBVIOUSLY AUTISTIC. Also, you used to headcanon Ichimatsu as autistic, but as soon as you started hating him you threw that headcanon out the window. This is PROOF you only headcanon your favorite characters as autistic, and that’s some of the STUPIDEST shit ever.

literally just let people headcanon what they want if it doesnt hurt anyone, im sure in canon theyre not autistic but this is HEADCANON. and is this also to imply that just because a character can do bizarre thing with theyre body they cant also be autistic?? what the fuck does that have to do with anything??? and i didnt throw my autistic ichi hc out the window because “i hate him” i dont even hate him im indifferent to him i hate his fanon incarnation because its stupidly out of character and one note, i also didnt even drop the autism hc for him i feel like he definitely 100% could be autistic but i just dont think about it as much because i think about other characters more than i think about him

Oh yeah, I’d love to hear why you hate Ichimatsu so much? Shut up, I know it’s because “hhhh he abuses kara” but that’s fucking wrong. Listen, Ichimatsu isn’t exactly my favorite either but at least I don’t make him out to be a fucking asshole to Karamatsu. All of the brothers have treated Karamatsu like shit at one point or another. They’ve thrown things at him, ditched him, called him names, ignored him, it’s a fucking trope in the anime that Karamatsu was the one to get hurt. Sure, season 2 has kinda turned that around, but the whole “Ichimatsu is bitter to Karamatsu” thing is the dynamic between them. They DO have moments where they’re not onto each other, though. See how Ichimatsu followed Karamatsu into the woods? Remember the episode where they switched clothes? They didn’t kill each other neither of those times, did they? And yes, I’m aware Ichimatsu has hurt Karamatsu at times (the bazooka, I think smacking?) but he doesn’t LITERALLY ABUSE HIM. You don’t see him kicking him around, PUNCHING HIM, HITTING HIM, EVERY SECOND OF HIS LIFE. Yes, he calls him names. Yes, he’s threatened to hurt him (“I’ll kill you, Shittymatsu.”) but he’s been stopped or HAS stopped every time. If he really was so intent on hurting Karamatsu, don’t you think he wouldn’t ignore his brothers and hurt Karamatsu anyway? But no, he didn’t, and he stopped each time he grabbed Kara. That’s because the entire “Ichimatsu despises Karamatsu” thing is a GAG in the show. It’s meant to be funny. It’s not meant for your negative ass to label it as abuse and then boohoo about it every time Ichimatsu is mentioned. That’s not a valid reason to hate a character, hell, even Karamatsu’s seiyuu said in a Doramatsu CD that Karamatsu was just comic relief. And if you’re gonna look for a reason why Ichimatsu dislikes Karamatsu, consider the hinted and well-supported reason: Ichimatsu “hates” Karamatsu because of how confident he is and how he can always be himself. Ichi is insecure. Ichi is antisocial. Kara, on the other hand, can express himself and show how “cool” he is. Consider that Ichimatsu wants to be more like him, hence why he said he’s the “number one Karamatsu boy” in that one episode.

okay this is just ridiculous i DONT HATE ICHIMATSU and i KNOW its a GAG, i KNOW they get along sometimes i KNOW all the brothers have shat on kara I KNOW THIS abuse takes many forms though and in a more serious anime the way the bros treat kara would probably be depicted as abusive, but it isnt a serious anime so its a gag and i understand that thats FINE, did you even watch the ichimatsu incident? ichimatsu got plenty fucking pissed off at karamatsu and stuff and the “number one karamatsu boy” nonsense was him being concerned about how karamatsu might think of him as such not him calling himself a karamatsu boy, and yes i know the whole ichi wants to be cool and confident like kara thing i understand that but even so that wouldnt logically excuse his bitterness toward kara but again, its a gag anime so its whatever, youre also ignoring the facet of his disdain towards kara being in part because kara is also vain and ichi finds this annoying and thinks kara is fake as hell because of it there was something in i think a magazine where the bros are all asked what they think of eachother i think and i THINK ichi said something along the lines of him not liking kara because he fakes being nice for the sake of his own ego or something (which is likely ichi just having a negative image of kara rather than that actually being the case because i dont think karas that smart but who knows i dont!!) so like y’know

In conclusion, I would like to say you need to shut the fuck up and chill with your fandoms and headcanons, realize headcanons aren’t canon, and also get your head out of your ass. You’ve done so many wrong things and need to stop blaming them on others. You’ve lied, insulted, and put the blame on so many of your old friends, you’ve avoided people who you deem “toxic” (simply because they have different opinions than you), you think people can’t form their own opinions, and you don’t back up your friends when they’re getting shittalked. You act like an assoholic brat and cannot, for the life of you, open up your eyes and see this. You’re lucky the dicktwats on your server are there for you, because if they weren’t, you’d be all alone, and honestly? That seems pretty good at this point. Fits you perfectly.

i know headcanons arent canon, i know ive lied (though ive really only insulted people who were dicks to my friends and maybe blu which probably not a good thing but i mean hes also insulted me so?? even i guess??) and i regret that, im more honest now and try my best to show kindness to people who have done me and my friends no wrong, ive only ever put blame on blu i literally dont blame anyone else for anything, i dont avoid people i deem “toxic” i avoid people i dont get along with because if i dont get along with them then theres no reason to talk to them im gonna let them live their lives, of course i think people can form their own opinions what on earth are you talking about???? when did i not back up a friend when they got shit talked?? i dont remember that but id like to deeply apologize if i ever did, unless youre talking about when someone in my server insults blu over ykno… him not leaving me alone and harassing me when ive done nothing but mind my own business since the incident, then while it was kind of uncomfortable for me because i felt it was the wrong thing to do i couldnt exactly muster the words to protest it. im very sorry you feel that way im always trying to improve and i like to think that im making some level of progress in being more sensitive and kind to those around me. but also dont insult my friends they didnt do shit weve been minding our own goddamn business this entire time blu is the one who started it back up again.

Now, go back to crying in your server and soaking in self-deprication, fuckass.

yknow i get the feeling i know who this is but i dont want to jump to any conclusions so, uh, okay! see ya my dude :0c

#shut up sombre #drama /#heres to hoping this is the last thing i get abt this bc this is jus really dumb and im tryna move on over here #ask to tag /#submission

1 note · View note

rpedia · 8 years ago

Text

[Ask RPedia] Fanon Overwriting Reasonable Headcanon to Detriment of Play?

Anonymous asked: You give a lot of good advice. (Hi, longtime listener, first time caller.) I was wondering if you might have any for playing a canon character with unfavorable fanon interpretations that the fandom just refuses to see any other way? I hesitate to call my portrayal “canon divergent” because it’s not, but many potential partners seem to have their own ideas of this character burned into their heads and refuse to accept my portrayal as my own. Many refuse to play with me at all because they dislike this character based on unfair fanon characterization, so I don’t even get to make my own impressions. Any advice?

Oh god-- pause here to reflect and realize that you’ve been reading for a while, thank you!-- and return to the horrible memories of playing characters with decent, responsible portrayals based on your own reading being dissed. Oh my god. Oh god. Fuck. So many memories. Because apparently that’s all I fucking do half the time. I’m forever reading canon and going off into something easily read, but generally ignored in the fandom.

I had this one character who was super soft and lovable in canon, but I read into his actions some passive aggression, sarcasm, short temper, and typical teenager groaning. The fandom did not see that. The fandom believed there was nothing more to this character than a soft smile, warm affection, and a fatherly sense of confidence and kindness. To say that the negative opinions leveled towards me were not annoying as shit would be a misunderstanding of fact. (Luckily, canon proved out he did have a temper on him, and was sarcastic as hell. So bite me, I did him right before you knew what right was because I read into gestures instead of going with fanon.)

So, yes I have some experience dealing with people who are trying to enforce their headcanons on you in order to get what they want, rather than playing with the character you’re actually playing! ... I’m just gonna be angry about it all post, but let’s watch...

SO. This shit, I’m gonna repeat, is annoying as fuck. I’ve again got a habit of picking up characters that are interesting in a certain light, and hated by the fandom because fanon’s primary interest is making them out as assholes with no redeemable qualities whatsoever or characters who are kind of boring if you don’t read into them. And I’ve played everything from villains, to heroes, to anti-villains, to anti-heroes so it’s not a matter of ‘well you just play bad guys and try to make them look nice!!!’ It’s a matter of reading between the lines and not immediately dismissing everything but the shallow scan tells you.

Congrats, fair question asker, you have done this. You’ve actually looked at the character, felt a connection, understood their background and/or motives, and are trying to play up what you find there. Whether it’s a misunderstood and understated part of a character, or simply a different read on what is avaliable. You are different, unique, and genuinely trying to play the character true to canon, but how canon came off to you rather than everyone else. The only issue here is people aren’t catching onto what you’re laying down.

This is suffering. I’m not gonna sugarcoat it, this is just something that comes with roleplaying. No one will read the same character the same way every single time. Every time you rewatch you catch that little quirk of the mouth that makes something previously serious into a joke and suddenly that character is entirely different for you. Everyone has their own interpretation, and if they can’t handle yours they’re better off playing with someone else or writing fanfics, that’s just facts.

That’s honestly the best way to handle them if they can’t accept you. Say goodbye, move on, let them suckle at the teat of fandom alone. It’s better to just keep moving than start fights, let them see you RP, let them see your headcanons all fleshed out, let them make their own decision. If they don’t like how you play, that is their prerogative and they can follow their own dreams with other roleplayers. They aren’t wrong, and neither are you, they are incompatible which doesn’t mean someone involved is wrong, just their your views don’t mesh.

Doesn’t mean it don’t hurt, I know. So to help you feel better, and to build a defense against more bullshit, build up an explanation. Create a page, a site, a profile section that details everything supporting your character decisions. Explain your character in depth, and offer canonical things to back it up. Do you think they’re a secret crybaby? Bring up instances where they’ve hidden their face, or wiped away tears, or been shown crying when no one is looking. Support your claims and explain how you got to this idea. If people have an open mind, they may read it and decide ‘well shit, this sounds neat’ and play with you. Even if they don’t agree, they might enjoy it anyways.

That brings up an important point too. Roleplaying is not canon. Just period, you’ll never be canon because you’re not writing canon, but that’s not the point of roleplaying anyways. Who the hell wants to rewrite canon exactly? Roleplaying is the “What If? World” and in it, you explore possibilities and ideas and viewpoints that may have been missed or overlooked by canon. Moments that may not go against canon but were not shown in it, or hell, moments that completely rewrite canon.

To assume that canon is that important to a roleplay is to snuff out all creativity, life, and change. You character ceases to grow because it is forced to conform to the series, and not to the events happening to it. This is horrible, honestly. This is just not something that is fun for other people by any stretch of the imagination. Every jump, every leap, every change your make together in some deep scene where you spill your feelings and desires being immediately erased? Because you wanna stick to canon? Nuh-huh, no thank you. I’m sure roleplayers like that exist, and good luck to them, but that is not what most people want out of roleplay.

Roleplaying is to enjoy things in new lights, to see other interpretations, to bring new life to a series that may be dead, on hiatus, or finished. This is what happens after Happily Ever After (or if they took another route to it, or if the writers focused on a different character as the main-- and so on and so on.) To close down someone else’s interpretation has two outcomes: you limit their happiness and creativity, and you also push things closer to what you want and expect. Sometimes this is good! Sometimes you want to see something more, specifically in line with your concept of the show so far. Coolios, picking your favorite canon route is fine. You want what seems real to you, and breaking suspension of disbelief is huge. Sometimes this is bad, when you take it too far and start telling people they’re bad or they suck at roleplaying a character just because you two came away with a very different idea.

Sometimes people actually suck at the character, and don’t add anything about them from the series at all, and play a bland rice pudding with no seasonings, and slowly eliminate everything that makes them a character. Turning them into some cardboard cut out with their face, and a self-insert. ... Yeah I wouldn’t play with that either. But shhh, they can just RP elsewhere.

Which is what I suggest. Simply, make your argument. If they disagree and refuse to play, they disagree and it’s not your job to fix that. If they disagree and give you a chance to show it in RP, then by jove, show it. If they agree that that’s a possible read, although not what they came away with, roleplaying is great. This is what I hope people aim for. AND THEN OF COURSE THERE’S THE TOTAL CONVERTS. I love those. They’re fun, if rare.

At worst, you too can write fanfics! Show the world your version, explain, show don’t tell, bring about a fandom change. When some really good fic gets passed around, that interpretation takes root. You can totally fuck up a fandom with your ideas just by getting them out there in a consumable form. People start picking it up, people who may not RP with you, but also RP the character. The whole thing shifts, and suddenly you’re validity meter shoots up. It’s tricky, you gotta nail the right tone and get some interesting fanwork out there, but by god it’s hilarious to watch if you can manage it. Just be you. If no one likes it, their loss. There’s always someone out there willing to play, and it’s no skin off your back.

#roleplaying #fanon #fandom #character interpretation #writing #RPedia #Ask RPedia #Ah yes #my usual advice #go write some fics #and tell everyone to fuck themselves if they don't like it #Fandom: Where you make up shit to explore the world you daren't in life

43 notes · View notes

danny-chase · 4 years ago

Text

I am extremely prone to rambling so my apologies for the last post it was definitely a bit incoherent whoops, I was trying to think in terms of where people are coming from.

Re Babs: I was definitely misremembering Chuck Dixon's Babs (i scrolled through a few issues and was like whoops), guess that really was Devin's fault. I think the whole jealousy thing was incredibly misogynistic and i guess the point i was trying to make was canon misogyny trickles down into fanon misogyny. (Honestly i probably scrolled through one too many babs bashing posts and misinterpreted things which is i guess exactly what can happen - people read something bad happening to their comfort character such as his breakup with Babs and then blame the other character, hate post, someone like me who's read the run but doesn't recall every detail reads it and makes assumptions). Sorry about that, did exactly what fanon makes it very easy to do.

Re Steph: when i say stereotypical teen tropes i mean how all her dialogue is written in loopy handwriting (she's essentially a dear diary kind of person) and from what I've read so far (i haven't read the whole thing) it kinda seems like her main personality trait is being attracted to Tim, which is fine I guess, maybe I'm being too sensitive about this after seeing one too many female characters acting like their entire world revolves around the guy they're dating - you're right Steph does get to talk about other things and do other things as well (like beat up her dad), i think more at the beginning where she was chasing him around was what i was referring to. (The one time where she unnecessarily kisses him did not pass the vibe check). Also the artists sexualize her so much and it rubs me the wrong way cuz she's a minor (which again is just more misogyny to deal with). Full disclosure, I don't really like the run in general. I'm not a fan of Tim or Steph in the run, though I'm a fan of YJ Tim, and i like Steph when she's in literally anything else.

Side note: maybe i dislike reading romance. It really could just be me not liking romance. I'll have to think on that one...

Re Jason: look i personally am not a major fan but he fulfills a certain type - i saw another post the other day about this trope and that helped me understand the appeal. For sure it's a double standard. The girls and Duke should 100% be considered part of the family, i need to read more comics but I've heard Helena Bertinelli (before new52 stuff) goes through the same character arc people want Jason to have. My question is who actively makes the double standard and who gets the trickle down affect?

Re sexism and racism: This is definitely what I think the root cause is, and i have no idea whether it's people at DC driving it or people projecting on characters. No one is infallible when it comes to those issues, and everyone has internalized biases, and when people don't read all the comics they can perpetuate bad versions of the characters without realizing it. And then again when the issues are so complicated - let's say someone gets raped and they project onto Dick and write a therapeutic fic where he rants about Babs breaking up with him or something. I wouldn't call the person sexist even though they're furthering Babs in a bad light. This happens to Dick sometimes too - Tim and Jason stans occasionally bash him for not being there for their characters. Like it's incredibly blurry where the line can be drawn between that's sexist and that's someone having issues and taking it out on a fictional character. Idk I'd rather them take it out on a fictional character than a real person but like at the same time if they're perpetuating racist/sexist tropes it's a bit questionable. Ideally they would go to therapy but that isnt accessible to everyone. They could choose not to share it, but sharing can boost their self esteem if people like it. Wow didn't think I'd be debating the ethics of fanfic but here we are lmao. Another way sexist/racist versions of characters can be perpetuated is if that's the main fanon traits people see. Don't want to leave a caracter out? Boom default to the fanon stereotype. Which again happens to the main characters as you mentioned they're literally Dick:😃, Jason:😡, Tim:🤓 and Damian:😠. Who decided the fanon stereotypes i have no idea.

In conclusion comics are a clusterfuck and I'm too dumb and young too understand wtf is going on in this fandom, sexism and racism sucks but and i feel bad blaming everyone because i try not to make assumptions about people, so I'm at a lost for who to blame (other than DC) and myself for my own internalized biases - which i can work to overcome. I hope this doesn't come off poorly or aggressive at all and is more coherent, sorry idk if I'm overthinking it, it's just interesting to me where the roots of this whole thing started. Like people find it so easy project on white male characters and I want to know why (essentially my question is, is it truly DC favoritism that makes people do this - longer stories, better characterization in the long run - not just having one or two bad arcs?, or is it people doing it themselves?, a combination of both?) Idk i just find the conversation of how ppl form preferences/biases/faves interesting, hope my tone didn't fall flat.

@shamelessbatfamtrash said to your post:

I mean canon does try to fill the demand for batfamily bonding now and then, but idk it seems like Dick is really the only canon character in the family who’s on good terms with everyone, and those relationships are interesting so I totally get the desire to see more, and i personally enjoy aus where they’re all closer (including steph, cass, babs, duke) because if everyone keeps their canon personalities it would make for interesting and complex dynamics.

Using the standard group dynamics is just jarring to me cuz it doesn’t match with the characters i have in my head

yeah I can see why people want them to get along and enjoying those AUs, what mostly I don’t get is when I click on a batfam fic or something and they act like all the ‘main’ robins are super close and then have the female characters have like. one line each. (this post had a self rb not sure which one you saw but the next one was like “i especially don’t get it when it seems like they are portrayed as closer to each other than female characters they have more substantial canon relationships w/ (friendly relationships too, not just romantic)“).

i get why people want them to get along and im not saying its a bad thing but oftentimes its done in fandom in the boringest way possible. if everyone had their canon personalities that would be rad and i would actually enjoy reading that :P

#conversation #tw: sexism #tw: racism #tw: rape #text heavily #i wrote an essay I'm so sorry I've just been thinking a looot about this

32 notes · View notes

mild-lunacy · 8 years ago

Text

The Holy Grail of Headcanons

It’s not that I don’t headcanon. I mean, at base, we all imagine the story somehow, right? I don’t have a pipeline that beams the narrative fully formed from any author’s mind to mine, let alone one that’s been dead for a 100+ years. I’m sure there’s no such thing as an IC Odysseus... and what would that even mean (beyond certain broad strokes). Of course, until the Novel came along as an artform, the idea of characterization was very, very fluid. Take the Arthurian legends, for example. It’s more like, ‘a bunch of merry archetypes walked into a bar’.... In that context, I’ll happily say that (for example) my Arthur was a minor Saxon warlord fighting against the Normans. There was never any love triangle. But I accept the Lancelot/Guinevere headcanon. Why not? It’s all good fun, and the possibilities are endless (as long as you make it make sense, so it’s not out of nowhere or over-the-top, ‘cause Mary Sues are always annoying to me, especially with female characters).

I don’t mind fun. Okay, that sounds bad. Let’s just say, I definitely think it is fun. But when I’m taking it a little more seriously, suddenly I’m taking it a lot more seriously. And then, it’s looking for the Holy Grail or I wanna go home (to canon). Because to me, the Story is always real (even if the way it’s made real is inevitably through a reading, which in itself is a set of headcanons). These are tame headcanons, though. Canon-friendly headcanons, made of love and close attention to the story. Headcanons with one purpose: illustration.

I guess I also feel that those medieval bards making those fun AUs is fundamentally different than the sort of thing where you consciously deny canon reality in order to substitute your own, superior reality, where everyone’s relatable and/or non-problematic. I don’t really get that, on an intuitive level. Instead of play, it feels like... war. Like waging war on the narrative. On one side: the Fan. On the other: the Story. In this stand-off, the Fan unquestionably wins. It’s disturbing to me. In the end, I hate taking sides-- in my own way, I love fandom-- but if I had to choose, I choose the Story that I loved in the first place.

It’s not that I don’t get why it happens. Sometimes, you know, stories are problematic in some fashion, and it’d be good to fix it. I suppose these viewers (and/or readers) feel the story is waging war on them. There’s a good reason to find a solution. There’s a difference, though, between an actual solution and a headcanon that’s slapped on.

One would be rewriting Draco Malfoy’s or John Watson’s arc-- that is, giving them one. I would be into that. It’s true that the majority of book 6 (and Series 4, respectively) would indeed be different, but good different. Productive different. But that’s not a headcanon, is it? That’s a whole fanfiction epic. Back when I was in HP fandom, I’d been very much into the idea of fixing canon with canon-divergent but IC epics, although I’ve never seen or written one that fit my (maybe rather extreme) standards, haha. It’s probably impossible to write a fic that’s as good as the HP books, except includes H/D and a whole arc for Draco-- I mean, if you did that, you might as well change the names and sell your own YA fantasy epic or something. Anyway, my point is that I’m just a bit perfectionistic and thorough if I decide canon needs fixing. Just a tad. A smidgeon.

By contrast, a headcanon is just... an idea. An idea that may or may not make sense in context. Most people seem to feel that making sense isn’t as important as just hating the canon less, or being less uncomfortable. A fair enough point. I think for me, it’s just a lot easier to make the canon work with my own headcanons (I mean, used in congress with the text), than making other people’s headcanons work. The way I mean ‘headcanon’ here, it’s just a little bit of smoothing. I wouldn’t rely on it for anything-- the canon’s doing the work-- but I’d be using my imagination to fill in the blanks. That’s fine. Going with the flow of the narrative, behind the scenes-- when the canon’s not looking, so to speak-- you can make a number of creative alterations. Queer readings can flower. Little details take on new significance. The story is enriched if we look more deeply between the lines, imagining the history behind John and Sholto, details about Harry Watson, or creating a story behind the new skull painting in 221b.

However, an idea that’s isolated or used against the text can’t actually fix canon, whether it’s a question of representation or characterization in general. Only a retold story can be equivalent to the canon story. You can’t say either ‘John is bisexual’ or ‘Gansey is bisexual’ without telling the story showing that he is; that is, you can (and people do) certainly see it, but it has to be a deep, internally consistent reconceptualization of the entire narrative. At that point, it’s not an idea or a headcanon, so much as an entire reading. A full story, if only told to yourself. I think that’s why I was so drawn in by some of the meta behind TJLC (as opposed to any other Grand Theories in Sherlock fandom). TJLC spoiled me, because it is absolutely unique in that it’s a fully realized reading that creates that internally consistent, epic continuity I said I was looking for in HP. Perhaps it was actually impossible in HP. As I once said, if TJLC is fanon, and perhaps especially if it’s fanon, then it’s the apotheosis of fanon: fanon as it’s meant to be. A reading that works with and improves upon the text. That’s the Holy Grail. The only thing I’d be satisfied with. TJLC or canon: accept no substitutes.

Naturally, none of this is necessary, because you can imagine whatever you want. All I’m saying is that the ordinary stuff-- your everyday headcanon-- does nothing for me but constantly induce cognitive dissonance. It seems like an exercise in denial, sort of like fake news. I couldn’t believe in most what I see even if I wanted to: it’s obviously false. The fact that other people want to is thus a source of bewilderment and some pain. Mostly, that is due to the social nature of fandom. To some degree, participating in fandom these days means interacting with other people’s headcanons (or fanon, essentially). When the majority of headcanons are of the ‘fake news’ variety, it’s a constant exercise of staging mental defenses or using mental resistance to reassert what I know to be real. It’s... not fun.

I can’t help but feel that just because you call a square a circle doesn’t actually make it a circle, even if it’s fiction. Most people do have an issue when stories don’t make sense (a source of many headcanons!) but they don’t really have an issue where the ‘fix’ itself has to make sense in context. If the viewer feels it works, then it works: that’s the nature of a headcanon. It’s why they usually drive me insane. I probably interrogate canon less than fanon, because canon has stylistic and at least some assured plot/characterization continuity. It’s easier just to understand what canon was doing, rather than inventing a whole storyline from whole cloth to fix it (as any fic writer can tell you, it takes a lot of work-- a lot more work than a headcanon patch, anyway). For most people, it seems that headcanons are different. If one works in the fan’s mind, it’s real enough. At that point, the entire fannish enterprise feels pointless to me except for perpetuating that seemingly eternal conflict: us, the Fans vs. the Story.

I think to me, TJLC was the Holy Grail ‘cause it squared the circle. It’s the fanon story that enriched and transformed, more than the sum of its parts. Naturally, it could only happen because people were only describing what we saw rather than trying to ‘fix it’. I think when you simply say what you genuinely see, and you read closely and honestly, usually it makes sense. And if it truly does make sense, it’s real. It’s true, the way great stories always are.

#sherlock feels #johnlock feels #fandom meta #me myself and i #pointless rambles #tjlc #the great divergence #reader response #characterization #narrative

7 notes · View notes