#wings of fire rant

[friendlylemonade]

Okay, but the Nightwings are kinda stupid, I mean, making Rainwing-proof armour that you can still see in? Just use GLASS! They clearly have access to it, since they have a beach with black sand, and even if, for some reason, that sand can’t be made into glass, they have a portal to the DESERT! Glass is just superheated sand, and where will you find a lot of heat? A volcano! Glass isn’t organic, so it can’t be melted by Rainwing venom, so that’s the main problem solved. And dragons clearly know how to make glass, as Jerboa III smashed a glass candle holder to remove animus magic in book 14. So either the Nightwings are horribly technologically inadvanced to the point of not having glass, which is more possible than I’m making it sound (and yes, I know, there is glass shown in the book 4 graphic novel, but as far as I remember, glass was never mentioned in the novel version) or they’re just plain dumb.

[acakefilledwithrainbowsandsmiles]

starflight's crush on sunny was purely in a "i admire you for the dragon you are and i hope you admire me in the same way" and NOT romantic because please, they were practically siblings...

the only way i can comfortably look at starflight's crush is putting it in a "he didn't understand what romantic feelings were as he was cooped up in the cave" please don't ship them. they are siblings.

[mistlestripe]

(Wings of fire arc 2 spoilers) (How I think the ending could be done better)

Ok so like I LOVE kinkajou but her being the one to stop D-stalker was not the plot twist it was probably intended to be....when she's been the least personally effected by darkstalker's plotline...I think most people agree with that though I hope. The only thing that makes the Kinkajou plot twist interesting is that she was the person he least suspected to do anything to him. (But unfortunately even that wasn't honed in on and it was just a resolution to the "darkstalker thinks kinkajou is boring" running gag as a result) I think it would have been more rewarding if Foeslayer or Moon herself was the one to end Darkstalker. I could also accept Qibli just for the simple fact that it was his book and he honestly deserves a memorable W because he has absolutely 0 in his own book (and it would make his and moons relationship feel more earned too but other then that it wouldn't be THAT beneficial it'd just be fun) I think Foeslayer would be the one most ACCURATE for the writing style and the most sensible considering the direction the arc went in-- It makes sense that the reason none of the protagonists (minus turtle) did anything about darkstalker was because they were simply incapable of agreeing on a way to beat him and needed someone to step in and finish him in a way none of them could think of, it would make the "dragged on" style of writing qibli's book had make sense because it was basically hopeless until someone else actually came to do something (rather than the narrative just super obviously putting off plot revelations until its "time for that") I think to me though it would be the BEST if it were Moon to stop him though. It would have made the story come around on itself and it would have given Moon a real proper "arc" instead of one that only silently disproves her initial thought process that was obviously wrong the whole time lol... (that darkstalker can be reasoned with)...it would have also made her randomly siding with him again (conveniently after everyone is enchanted to like him) after he admitted to killing his dad feel at least more earned, like at least it makes sense why the narrative needs her to like him again (so there can be a satisfying conclusion to it). I think the way it is it would be kind of out of nowhere and it would still feel kind of BS for her to finally stop him after the book put it off for so long, but it would at least be an improvement to an overall unsatisfying conclusion and would improve an extremely important character losing almost all agency during the entire finale book and then never properly addressing it (other than winter who got villainized by all his friends for it and was treated like a bad boy who doesnt deserve the girl after that point lmao.)

[drinkinggblood]

wof makes me angry because i wish it would decide are these like watership down (animals with a basic hierarchy, rules, etc. but still.. Animals that do Animal things) or Animals With a Complex Society and Are Essentially People But Dragons. why is this important?? because it pisses me off and i think its dumb to have shit like "oh princesses must kill queen to become queen!!" when they can just... make... civil.. agreements... theres no reason for them to be super violent and the entire "princess v queen" fight shit isn't even an organized event?? its not like a princess offers to challenge a queen and they duel it out somewhere it's more "princess can kill a queen basically whenever wherever without punishment" like a princess can just murk a queen in private and everyone would accept it

like,,,, im kinda rambling but i need wof to decide if murder is ok because these are Animals with Basic Hierachy and Rules or is this just a bloodthirsty ass society. is murder punishable in wof? or is it not?? is shit thats immoral to us just ALLOWED in wof? why?? ???? im rambling sry. at parts this seems to be a middle-age society but at other parts it feels more like just Animals with a Hierachy/loose society than actually civilised fully functioning thing. its annoying. wof worldbuilding pisses me off in general, i hate how generic all the dragon designs are to eachother and how their adapations do not make sense, i hate the animus shit it makes me annoyed how loose it is and little sense it makes i wish itd just have.. clear rules and i reallyyyyy hate how loose the rules are of this society of dragons. makes me confused n angry. AGRAAAAAAAAAAGH ARAGHHH.

its an issue the laws and worldbuilding is THIS bad because it makes shit like that happens in arc 3 MORE THE ALL CONFUSING. also can i say how much i hate arc 3 my god i hate the sorta "two sides" bullshit that goes on with the hivewings and leafwings. hivewings essentially own silkwings as slaves.... and tried to genocide the leafs off the fucking continent. you cannot 'both sides' that.

i also hate how if you really look at it a bit more, the othermind feels more like way to excuse all the really gross shit the hivewings do as 'they are just mindcontrolled!!! they dont have control!!!" which really muddles the anti-racism parts of it for me. like.... tui you cant really write a anti-racism story that has mindcontrolling of citizens to do Bad Racist Stand-in Things then go "oh they r innocent they couldnt control!!!" it just feels so fucking off to me and is reallyy bad for a anti-racism message. people who do racist things are not mindcontrolled and dont 'have control of their actions'; it feels wrong to do that and then essentially go "oh they r innocent !!! just this ONE ruler of the country/state/whatever is racist!!! the rest dont have control" like??? am i insane??? thats not how that works and comes across as 'racists cant control their actions' to me am i insane. ????!??! it really feels like that to me. in general arc 3 is really shittly written especiallyyy and in general a lot of the anti-racist stuff in wof is really... bad... like the entire weird shit in arc 1 with the stereotyping of tribes, only to be proven right with 90% of them is really icky and feels weird. like rainwings are stereotyped to be lazy, idiotic, etc. and glory is actively like "no we are not" and then in book 3 it turns out they are 100% correct and glory is like "oh my god :/ :/ everyone's assumptions about my tribe was completely right and they all suck and are lazy" like are u kidding me. what the fuck was the point of that?? why have glory be the character defending her own tribe just to have her be proven WRONG about it. what was the POINT ?? why was it THERE???? is it that stereotyping is right sometimes?? i dont??? what was le point ! it adds nothing and its frankly dissapointing to see rainwings turn out to be exactly that negative stereotype. it wouldve been great to see they aren't that + add more worldbuilding to the rainwings and make them more interesting that "giant hippie tribe that is lazy and is fine w them dying to nightwings lol"

and also i hate theres eugenics in wings of fire. like... why..?? why would u add that. it adds nothing and its just fuckin WEIRDDDD and it's mentioned multiple times in the series of tribes. its WEIRD AS HELL and doesn't add anything. n shut up if its "oh its cool worldbuilding thing :] yeah itsmorally wrong and weird but its just !! how this dragon society is" shut the fuckupmy god. it adds nothing to anything; youshouldnt have shit like fucking EUGENICS in your BOOK if its just... ICING ON UR CAKE. it doesnt add anything to the themes, messages, characters, etc. it's just "oh yeah [eugenics]" it's just THERE and it does NOTHING. it's not even an anti-eugenics statement everytime this shits mentioned, its always just there. it's fucking weird as hell to have that. and dont say "oh its for the anti-racism message" no its not and even if it was the anti-racist message is alreadyyyy so fuckingggg dumbed down and simplified i dont see how adding a topic such as eugenics to the mix would add anything?? this series is ULTIMATELY for 11-16. what fuckin 14 year old understands what eugenics is??? i GET theres adult readers of this series buthats still.. not. a reason to have shit like eugenics in it. the target audience for this series would not understand what fucking eugenics is and itsgross to just put it in as essentially window dressing

i also reallyyyyhate how some wof fans excuse themore problematic shit in the series w "oh its just how this dragon world runsits fine its not an issue at all :D" you do realise.... you cant rlly just excuse everything w that. like. glorybringer for example. ive SEEN people excuse the age-gap with "oh well maybe its normal in dragon society" OK??? thats not an excuse?? its fucking weird. you need to think about what the writer's intention of adding an element like that to a story; ex: the eugenics shit. why is that in there. for what purpose does it serve. you cant just excuse it with "oh its normal in dragon society" because it doesnt matter if it is, it's still WRITTEN by a PERSON and you need to think abt what the intention of adding and element like that was to the store. usually something thatsadded to the storyhas a intention by the writer to add something to it, for the message, themes, characters, etc. u cantjust excuse everything w "for worldbuilding" when most worldbuilding as an intention or reason why the author wantedit to be there. even if its a DUMB reason like say...... all the animals are enlarged for dragons to around the same height theyd be if animals are our size and dragons are our size because idk its easier?? i gues??

[axilarycobra]

random moment in EP that makes me mad

I've been thinking back on this specific scene from EP and it always makes my blood boil.

Like, Moon and Qibli, I generally like but then they were randomly jerks to Peril even though it was so out of character. Literally Moon has a part in her novel about how she reflects on how she is glad to have her mind-reading powers because it allows her to know more behind why a dragon might act a certain way but when Peril starts to think in ways that she had been raised to think by being forced to fight dragons to death in an arena, she is called disturbing and is treated like a monster. There is no way Peril is the only dragon Moon had ever met who thought about death and Peril was only doing it because it was her survival instinct since she'd been raised in an environment where if she wasn't useful for killing, she would have been discarded.

Also, the whole thing where Moon tells Peril to tone down her thoughts as if she even has the right? Didn't you spend a whole plot point in your book learning about how to let other dragons keep their thoughts private but Peril, who you already have a hard time reading the mind of, is forced to change how she thinks (which you don't control btw, you just think things, not her fault you can hear them) to make you more comfortable?

And Qibli is always noted as the "clever one" who is supposed to be able to understand things that not even mind reader Moon can but he isn't able to understand that Peril followed Scarlet because Scarlet was manipulative and not because Peril was a blood-thirsty murderer? Like, weren't you also raised in an abusive home? Yet you can't understand that Scarlet of all dragons was not a good parental figure to Peril and that likely had a huge influence on how Peril acts and thinks? And then you get all over Peril about how Ruby is her queen when Ruby treats Peril like a monster and a freak but its a travesty when Peril isn't loyal to her because even if the dragon who is supposed to be taking care of you exiles you from their kingdom, you are supposed to still be loyal to them?

Oh and then in Moon's book, Qibli gets so worked up and untrusting of Moon when he learns that she was reading his mind but he's totally fine when Moon reads Peril's mind without permission just because he doesn't trust her? Like get over yourself.

anyway, random rant ig

[catsareliquiddd]

melatonin will not get the best of me tonight. anyways random thought since i started properly rereading wings of fire recently. the books are a lot different than what i remember ??? especially the last couple of times i read the first book was in the graphic novel form.

its like so much was cut out and it doesnt feel that similar anymore. the dod siblings had genuine issues with eachother and even fought and that was barely in the graphic novel? there was even a whole scene in the original book where glory and tsunami faked glory running away just to see if clay actually cared about her. and that just wasnt in the graphic novel. feels like there was a lot of emotional stuff between the siblings that we missed out on.

random extra thing but i swear to god im not the only person that thought dune webs and kestrel were called guardians and not minders right? like i swear when i read that it was like someone stole my book and rearranged the words.

i also distincly remember queen scarlet being 126 years old i have no idea where that number came from but its been one of my most vivid memories about random background information ever.

speaking of that i remember like 2 or more seperate times i had a dream about wof where i was like in the book but also reading it,, like in the way where i think back and think "oh yeah that happened in the books. oh wait, no it was that weird dream i had a while back wasnt it" thats probably where scarlets "age" came from actually.

i have so many weird wof stuff i could say esp since ive been reading it for like half my life wow been that long already

[bli-o]

my least favorite writing trope is solidly when a villain is presented, you get an idea of what they’re about, the author establishes scales of their power, intimidation, etc

and then the author JUST KILLS/DISCARDS THEM AND REPLACES THEM WITH SOME OTHER FUCKER WHO’S ONLY ESTABLISHED THREAT IS THAT THEY GOT RID OF/IS MORE THREATENING THAN THE OTHER GUY

and then all the fucking stakes in the story are changed so automatically that the tone whiplashes so hard you dont get time to readjust and get a feel of the new threat before they’re already defeated

EXHIBIT A: Tigerstar and Scourge from Warriors

First arc tigerstar is such a well developed villain, you actually understand whats at stake if he were to win, you have developed your view on the character, and then FUCKING SCOURGE, SOME GUY WE’VE NEVER SEEN BEFORE, KILLS HIM AND HES THE NEW VILLAIN NOW. SIXTH GRADE ME WAS SO SO PISSED. idfk shit about scourge’s backstory because i stopped reading after i finished dawn of the clans(the only series from warriors that I actually enjoyed) but it doesnt really matter because your average reader wont have read his backstory by the time they get to the last of the first arc. And then scourge dies after we’ve hardly met him??? I mean. ok i guess. Damn the first arc was so good and it fumbled the bag so hard

EXHIBIT B: Queen Wasp and The Breath Of Evil from Wings Of Fire

queen wasp was such a good villain. I hated her so much, the culture of the hives was so well developed within just the first book. She was so well established as a legitimate threat. They even began fighting against her.

THEN THE DAMNED BREATH OF EVIL SUDDENLY APPEARS AND ITS THE VILLAIN NOW?? Its sort of threatening I guess, because it can do mind control, but wasp already had that. She literally used it. The mind control idea would’ve been so much more intimidating with wasp backing it but tui just had to turn the car around and change the stakes from defeat dragon racism -> EVERYONE’S GOING TO BE MIND CONTROLLED

thats not to say either of these characters wouldn’t have made for threatening concepts, but they just were never fleshed out. Especially not like their predecessor, who’s potential was just entirely fucking wasted and the payoff to their defeat was just so disappointing.

if you wanna change the stakes, do it right people, please. For the love of god.

[scrollwyrm]

I love how for the whole second arc, Winter and Qibli are just like: “woah Moon should date HIM he’s so gorgeous and a great person and why would she ever choose me over that perfect wonderful guy when he’s so awesome! Wait… I must be in love with Moon!” Like no bro ur gay.

[marmalice]

when the sandwing in your winglet says something so rainbow you gotta hit em with that first circle stare

Finished Winter Turning in my 'reread WoF at an acceptable pace' journey. Lemme tell you reading fanfiction has really evolved(?)/ruined the original concept of him as a character.

His original story revolves around this process of tearing down the ideas that were carved into you by the people that were around you when you really didn't have a choice who was around you.

And it's this process that god knows I had to drag myself through. I've learned and am still learning to be a lot kinder to myself and the people around me.

It really breaks my heart to see him not being fast enough in this journey to change himself to allow him to get the happy ending he so desperately (in my opinion) deserves, and I don't know what this says about myself and my own journey.

Anyway writing this down because it's something I want to remember.

[motheline]

WoF Headcanons:

LeafWings' wings and frills change colour depending on the season, they get greener with warmer months and duller/browner with colder months

MudWings often get markings engraved on their tusks or horns, royal ones get them engraved in gold

BigWing MudWings wear gold rings on their horns- one for each of their siblings

HiveWings have their own language similar to SeaWings' Aquatic- which revolves around various flight patterns similar to how bees communicate, usually used as a way for soldiers to get a message across quickly

Some SeaWings live in polar waters near the Ice Kingdom- have thicker scales and blubbery skin similar to whales or seals

SilkWings have long tongues like butterflies- nectar is repurposed as a sweet and rich drink, seen as a delicacy- sometimes alcoholic

SandWings have a third eyelid and thick eyelashes to keep sand out of their eyes

SandWings hold their tails up when threatened or as a warning sign to enemies, giving them a chance to back off

Sky Islands exist because I said so, magic can exist so why can't floating islands, SkyWings don't deserve to just live on mountains

SkyWings can handle much higher altitudes than other tribes, some choose to live on the floating islands- most of which are so high up only SkyWings can reach them

NightWings born under blood moons have red tinted wings

SkyWings have hooked snouts like beaks, as well as feathers because I can

MudWings are incredibly culinarily (???) advanced and see food as a very vital part of their culture. They hold tribe feasts on special events

LeafWings have green blood

LeafWings need sun time as much as RainWings do- they still eat actual food but get most of their energy from the sun

SeaWings are slow fliers, their wings more built for swimming than flying

SkyWings have courtship dances similar to birds

RainWings aren't fit for flying long distances as their wings are built more for gliding through trees than flying

NightWing seers have white diamond shaped markings on the top of their heads, usually resembling a third eye

That's all for now, follow to see me break canon even harder

[danderling]

Sum wings of fire art!!!!

Oh god can I just say- (wof spoilers)

Arc 2 could have been PERFECT but from what I remember it got way out of hand imo

Take this with a grain of salt and a mountain of cluelessness btw… going off of what I remember in the book series I haven’t reread it in forever

MoonWatcher was such a peak character in book 5 I loved her so much and I used to associate myself with her because of her personality but then book 6 happened and….. idk it wasn’t the same

It’s not that she became a horrible bland character I think I just lost that connection with her since she sort of became more soulless to me,,,,, the love triangle also kind of bothered me but I moved past it because I love all three characters

Anyways live laugh love arc 2 protags we miss you Carnelian you would have hated Skibidi toilet

[some-pers0n]

I've got a couple messy feelings on Cleril and how the fandom treats it, so here. Take this rant.

TL:DR: Cleril is good you guys. Trust me.

Maybe it's a sign that the brainrot from writing murderers and people who are so far gone from the general norm being able to be soft and sweet is killing the last remaining sense of reason in me, but I don't think Cleril is as bad as people make it out to be.

Yeah, obviously at first glance this should never work. Saying that Peril isn't the most stable character in the series would be a massive understatement. She is constantly characterized as reckless, clingy, emotionally dependent, and always puts herself down as a monstrous dragon only capable of hurting others. Clay has never shown any sort of romantic interest in her, only being passive and sweet with her in a platonic sense. Peril on the other hand loves Clay to the point of obsession. She practically makes him her moral compass. That sort of idealization isn't healthy.

And...you'd be correct. In that state? There isn't too much of a connection there to begin with. If it were to happen right now, I think it would mostly be out of Clay feeling pity towards Peril. He wants her to be happy and is kind of self-sacrificing like that, but, I don't think he could handle being the dragon who she puts all of this pressure on. To be somebody who she centers everything around.

But, Peril isn't really that dragon anymore. It's like people read Escaping Peril, get to the end, and then think: "Oh wow she sure developed. Not enough to be a healthy character!!" as if Escaping Peril didn't end with her burning Darkstalker's scroll and thinking to herself that she didn't mind if Clay wouldn't approve of it. She was acting on her own volition. She knew that burning it was the correct thing to do. She's moved on from treating Clay like this centerpiece in her soul. This dragon who she treats more like an idea of her conscious to keep her on the right track. She's improved. Getting better.

Peril is a character I think is misunderstood by a lot of people, especially ones that aren't really in her position. I don't wanna be an arm-chair psychologist and spout nonsense, but Peril is heavily traumatized and reminds me a lot of people who get out of these horrible situations and are trying to adapt to a new and scary world all on their own.

Peril had an awful childhood. She was raised to be dependent on Scarlet. Scarlet was the only dragon who was keeping her from being thrown off a cliff by an angry mob. She was manipulated and gaslit into believing that what Scarlet did was good. That Scarlet was the only one who cared about her. That these kind of horrible and unhealthy relationships are something she thinks is normal. When Clay comes around, she does the exact same thing. Puts him on a pedestal. The concept of being treated as anything but a monster is completely foreign to her, so she instantly grows attached. She thinks he loves her. Why else would he be so kind? She associates basic compassion with love because that's what she's been raised to believe.

But, she's healing. Throughout Escaping Peril we see her come to terms with her childhood. She understands that she is not a monster, but rather a dragon who was a victim of her circumstances. She is not the same, volatile, unpredictable dragon she was in TDP. People still think of her as that, when she certainly isn't anymore. She's so much better.

Her arc is one about bettering yourself. That, no matter how hurt you were, you deserve to be loved. You deserve to be treated with respect and kindness. You are not a monster. You are capable of love. You are not a heartless being. There are people who care about you. There are people who will stand by your side and help you. There are people who love you.

People never talk about Clay's side of Cleril either. People barely even discuss about Clay for that matter. He's so much of a nothing character in the eyes of the fandom, reduced to little more than Peril's partner who can give big hugs.

But, Clay is like Peril is so many ways. That was one of the many reasons they both got along. Clay and Peril were brought up as unfeeling monsters. Born killers who cannot change their fate. Clay believed in it. That no matter what he tries telling himself, he's a murderer. That at his very core he wants nothing more than to tear out somebody's throat.

But, he learns. He is kind. He is compassionate. He is patient, earnest, sweet, loyal, and above all: loving. He is not a monster. He is more than the labels placed upon him. Only he can define himself through the actions he makes in the present. He is more than the mistakes of his past. He is Clay. He is not Clay the Killer, or Clay the Destroyer, or Clay the Monster. He is Clay.

Him and Peril are alike in so many ways. Clay is the final result of Peril's journey. She's still struggling, but she's making progress. She's developing and changing into somebody better. She's making amends for her mistakes. She's going to be somebody bigger than the labels that were placed on her. She will no longer be Peril, Scarlet's Champion. She will be Peril, known for her fierce loyalty, undying love for her friends, and being the one to burn brightest in the darkest of times.

I believe they can love each other. I believe that Peril can love another dragon and not be extremely clingy or dependent. I believe that Clay and Peril can help each other.

Call be a hopeless romantic or a optimist, but I believe in love. I believe love can help others through their struggles. I believe in people being able to change and grow beyond who they were. Above all, I believe in hope for a brighter future for anybody who has been hurt in the past.

[jflxwr]

i know its very likely that icicle did not care for sora at all, even more likely that she probs disliked sora, but that still wont stop me from headcanoning that she wanted to befriend her

like. imagine it. icicles all "ugh this school sucks it's such a stupid idea to think that all the dragon tribes can get along. especially since, idk, maybe we just got out of a war?? i could be climbing the ranks rn or training to kill the queen" and then she walks in her dorm cave and sees sora, a mudwing.

and shes like " omfg they put me with a mudwing?? r they stupid or did they just decide to ignore how we were enemies in the war?? "

but then she starts talking to sora and is like " yo tbh i kinda vibe with her calm personality. she's so shy and quiet its weird compared to the icewings back home. i dont feel like i need to prove i'm better than her like i need to prove i'm better than snowfall and crystal. i don't feel like i need to compete with her for a rank like i have to do with the other icewing dragonets. i feel like i can be chill around her, like i don't need to be 'princess icicle' and i can just be. well. icicle. "

" she's also a middle child, she also fought in the war, and she also lost an older sibling. we relate sm despite our very different personalities. maybe jma's philosophy isn't so stupid and maybe if i befriend more dragons from other tribes i'll find more who can relate to me— "

and then sora tries to kill her .

[theriu]

Speaking as someone who really dislikes people dying: Guys we GOTTA stop preserving the supervillains. Bronzing, turning to stone, putting into enchanted sleep—why are we making the villains functionally immortal??? I get we need to defeat the evil yet remember the value of mercy and not be consumed by murder-vengeance, but have we considered imprisoning them in a way that still lets them die of old age??? This isn’t a solution, it’s postponing the problem! And you know the instructions always get lost! Future generations should not have to deal with this crap!!!

[br0-k3n-sch00lb01]

Based on that poll i’m also gonna make another one with MORE fav characters/fictionkin/kin

[theravequeen]

Pressure fandom, Wings of Fire fandom.....

I made them dragons

Also here's Raven trying to fit in: