#this is what i'm here for I have all this unnecessary atla knowledge in my beautiful braided head the youth better come keep me young!

[kataracy]

What's up with people just disliking Aang anyway? He's completely fine as a character, you don't have to like him and not everyone needs to know that you don't (though maybe you should try to understand him however as the protagonist). Also, criticism and nitpicking that could be easily construed as hate is not the same thing, hence the still very weird and redundant anti Aang posts that are being tossed around instead of posts like, "respectfully, this aspect could've been improved if this, this, and that happened instead." etc, etc. Hence "Aang stans" complaining about this occurence. How was Aang's treatment in fandom pre-resurgence? I find solace in that it definitely didn't feel as awful since not every person who took a minimum of one course in social sciences/women's history/"the west is just awful" had full, easy and free access to ATLA, but they do now and are making this fandom tragic to be apart of. Don't even get me started on Instagram and Twitter, which consists of irritating vibes everywhere. And for what reason other than us being trapped at homes during a pandemic? Don't you guys want to be healthy?

What's up with people just disliking Aang anyway?

So what had happened was from my recollection, what usually makes fandoms spiral out of control: shipping.

In this fandom, every resurgence, we get lovely new people with their inclusive art, personal cultural takes and honest improvements to the treatment and understanding of characters who otherwise weren’t prominent talking points at the time (for example: Toph being a cop. Everybody was too busy wondering who her 2 baby daddy’s were and why Toph was written as a absentee mom so, we half the new people get to debate that it makes no sense for her to grow up to be a cop while others of us who understand white passing can kind of see how the daughter of a prominent background and impressive fighting career and sticky fingers managed to quickly place herself as head of authority) like Ty Lee being an Air descendant or Sokka being hot. We were all kinda trying to make sense of Korra back then my g

But its tumblr yknow so we have conflict and the quickest conflict to join, the quickest way to interact if you aren’t skilled in long dissertations or gif making, is probably shipping? In my diagram that I made up while typing this I explain: Artists and writers need new fans to boost morale, it fuels the creative process creates amazing art, that art is seen by even more because its being shared around the fans, people form friendships, get inspired - the whole fandom gets nourished.

The problem is somebody starts liking how somebody look wit somebody else, they get mad that you don’t, somebody shouts ‘You silly new fans fighting about this new ship. I was here for Zu-‘ and really that’s where you should stop its going to be an actively bad time if you let it.

Aang for a long time was kind of safe? So, you could say it was his turn to get hate because maybe some fans see things in Aang they somehow disagree with and you can’t fault them for that. One problem is everything starts getting cross tagged bc now everyone wants to find people with the same opinions as them and have the same fun they see everyone having in a fandom and a lot of fans think yelling at each other every day is the fun part.

Aang is an easy target for a “hero wins trophy” debate but it falls short when you realize at no point was said girl treated as a trophy and if they see her as that, its not the shows fault? Some people don’t see the strength in knowledge, and I mean hey, its just fiction at the end of the day. There’s plenty of this same story told in different ways on other platforms to slap an element bending AU on.  

Aang is a nonviolent character introduced as an innocent child and some people cannot see through such a perspective, especially for their hero (there’s also certain people who already had the experiences new fans are getting and don’t know how to be happy for the new demographic target). But Aang’s nonviolence is a constant struggle for him; Aang is a more subtle character when it comes to his redemption arc and a lot of viewers miss it, don’t care about or think its poorly executed.

Simply put idk don’t listen to me I’m just sayin fandoms cycle through character hate like seasons. I personally suggest you spread positivity about Aang, as its incredibly easy find. On twitter especially please remember that those are the same freaks that would yell over here, and we all ended up ignoring it, that’s why they’re twitters problem now. A more proactive approach I find, is to make fun of it- child have you seen their material? They call the boy abusive I mean you have to laugh, meanwhile artists are making Aang brown like baby we’ve progressed past the need

[desolateslove]

Just Some Thoughts

So, I haven't made a Tumblr post in almost 10 years or so because of hate I got from a certain fandom (CW's Arrowverse) and from certain shippers (Lauriver vs Olicity *eyeroll*) so this is gonna be mostly off the top of my head. I'm going to try to avoid using any ship names (except Arrow screw that show) in this post to try to avoid any unnecessary drama. I also want you all to know this is my opinion, and just like assholes, everybody's got one, so let's be cool about this, ok? ok.

So.... Ironwood. (I know coming out with the hard hitters but that's how it goes sometimes) I know a lot of people have a lot of problems with this character, but I honestly don't really have a problem with him or his development. (Sure, I've got nitpicks I could put in here but that seems to me like such a spoiled child thing to do and I was never a spoiled child) James' paranoia. This is something I always saw coming from the first time we see his ships coming to Vale, because nobody brings that much backup if they aren't being paranoid about what's going on, and the fact that he was right in the end does not make him not paranoid, but that's not what caught my attention on my last rewatch in regard to paranoia. It was the scene where James, Qrow, and Glynda are killing Grimm in the city and (I believe) James says the area is clear and they need to set up a safe zone for the civilians (early evidence of James having the people's safety at heart) and then the part where Qrow brings out his scythe and James, instead of assuming that there is a Grimm behind him, he automatically assumes that Qrow blames him for what's going on, even tho they have been.... really good friends.... for at least a couple decades if I had to guess. Jumping to Atlas Arc, James could have made some better choices, sure, but all in all, he did the best he could with what he had to work with. Also also, just because he had a downward spiral in the end because of the pressure he put himself under, that doesn't make him a bad character, at least to me.

On the other side of that coin, RWBY+.... one thing I have heard so much about is how the kids screwed up James' plan and that they didn't trust him when they should have. I'm not going to argue those points, because from an objective standpoint, yes, they should have trusted James, but let's also not forget that that is neither RWBY+ fault, nor is it James' fault.

It's Leo's fault.

Let's go back to volume 4. RNJR are going to Haven to get Qrow looked at, who has been telling the kids that once they get to Haven, they will be safe.

That's the problem right there. Haven was supposed to be safe. Instead of being a safe place, Leo turns Haven into a death trap, not only for the main characters but also for the unknown number of Huntsmen and Huntresses that Leo led to their deaths. I don't know about all of you, but if I was betrayed in such a way that could have taken my life, I wouldn't be in a hurry to trust again after that, I don't care who you are.

Let's jump back to Atlas. The first look they get of Atlas is a Kingdom that is ready for an attack. They have the ships around the city and all that, right? right. So, with the impression of not trusting any of the other Kingdoms after Beacon, how are the kids supposed to feel at home when the current state of things automatically puts them on the defensive? You could say that they should have trusted James after he gave back The Relic of Knowledge, and, from an objective standpoint, you would be right, they should have trusted him. But, and more importantly, from a subjective standpoint, why would they???

They do not know James, just like they didn't know Leo. James told them that they could trust him, just like Leo told them they could trust him. James said he wanted to help them, and he gave them a place to stay, just like Leo (sort of lol) but do you see where I'm going with this? It's not James fault that the kids didn't trust him, he made every effort to gain their trust. It's not RWBY+ fault they didn't trust Ironwood either. It's not easy to trust anyone, no matter who they are, if you've been betrayed and lied to before. I know this from personal experience; once trust is broken, with anyone, especially someone who's supposed to keep you safe, it can be really hard to trust anyone at all, even someone who gives you every reason to trust them.

Qrow....nope.... not today....

I don't expect this post to change anyone's mind (I'm not that naive) but these are just some thoughts on the show that I wanted to put out there since I have a spiffy new gaming laptop (that I've already spilled soda on lol) and I think I've gotten past the traumatic days of my youth enough to be able to put my personal opinion on here and not have to worry about being triggered by hate and death threats (I vividly remember them from my time in the CW Arrow fandom. Screw that fandom and that show and all the spin offs too. Seriously, RWBY isn't bad at all comparatively)