oldfaneworld

[oldfaneworld]

I need some clarity.

I don't know how I want to start this so I'm going to ramble this out. The discourse around Lanolin is something I don't really get in all honesty. The plot we have been following since the beginning of The Misadventure arc isn't anything new. The Fandom has dealt with trickery and guile before so I don't understand why this is such a hot topic to begin with. I have a few ideas why it's a hot topic and I'll touch on it soon but first I want to make this very clear. Looking back at the few posts I have on this website, I think I've made It very clear that Lanolin is my favorite character in all of the idw run. I can say this with my chest she is tied as my number 2 favorite character in this franchise with Bunnie d'coolette from the Archie run of the comics both reboot and pre-boot. My number 1 being Sonic from the story book games specifically the sonic and the black knight game.

I have only ‘recently’ gotten back into being a fan of the franchise about a year ago and most of that time has been me sitting down quietly playing Forces, Frontiers, Shadow Generations and reading first the entirety of the Archie run of the Sonic comics and then later the IDW run of the Sonic comics(i’ll get to fleetway soon i’ve just haven't gotten there yet). As for someone who’s been quiet for most of this time, seeing the Lanolin discourse flare back up because of the Riders arc is very interesting to me.

The big thing that gets me about the majority of it feels disingenuous to me from both sides. I am someone who has been very lucky to have patient friends that are willing to listen to me for a few hours on end talking to them about all of this. I am a Lanolin defender if it wasn’t already clear, so to my fellow defenders please don't go out of your way to call people misogynist(its true that there are some who are, but please be a bit more tactful when you do it) just because they don't like Lanolin. More often than not you're just throwing the wrong label at someone and it’ll just make things worse and poison the water for everyone. To those that dislike Lanolin you need to cool your jets just as hard, calling for violence to be done to her and to kick her out of the comics entirely because she’s been tricked is wild to think about especially because we have characters that are beloved that have been tricked and done way worse then she has that never received this kind of backlash. 

My reason why I think Knuckles, Silver and Shadow haven’t received the same kind of backlash Lanolin currently has is for a few reasons. The first is because all of their mistakes they’ve done have been nearly a decade ago if not longer so there's so much real time that buffers them from receiving such a backlash on top of that. Also we didn't necessarily have places like twitter, tumblr, or reddit back then like we do now.

The biggest reason why I think Lanolin is getting so much backlash where the others never did was (knuckles got it the worst but in the end it was turned into a gag) because of the medium her story is being told in. Everyone else was in a game Knuckles (S3&K, SA1, SA2), Silver (06), Shadow(SA2)  in comparison to Lanolin her’s is in the comics. A medium that is way slower than that of the games, just because of the nature of how long it takes for an issue to come out not including any delay. So I honestly think because of the slowness of comics in general people were allowed to sit and let an annoyance at best (in a games case) fester to hate (because of the comics timeframe).  A sonic game can be done at fastest in a few hours (forces) or a month (Frontiers) and that's not including 100 precenting a game. where in the comics Lanolin’s arc is taking longer than a year and a half and it's still going. 

Comparing her story to the three above we are what 2/3rds ¾ of the way through her personal arc about learning how to be a new leader and the challenges that brings, especially when she’s forced to make a choice that feels right in the moment but is wrong in the long term. People saying you can't compare her arc to Silver, Shadow or Knuckles is being dishonest in my book. The only difference in the way the arcs works is that the three’s arcs are done and hers isn't. Silver and Knuckles were tricked by their villains respectfully and Eggman and Mephiles nearly won because of it. Once they realized what they did they worked just as hard to fix what they messed up. Shadow was ruled by revenge allowing himself to work with eggman so he could get closer to the Ark to get rid of the Earth but Amy and others were there to open his eyes and it nearly cost him his life to fix what he allowed his rage to start.

So we know we aren’t done with Lanolin’s arc yet so why is there so much hate? We are just starting with her being redeemed. Why are people so adamant with burying her? I can't imagine another character in this moment of the comics that deserves her redemption more than her. She’s been here since issue 2 of the run and has been working hard in the background since, to get where she’s at and with her first real mistake and people want to tear all her accomplishments away from her. I don't get it? What I do get is having a casual dislike for her because of the way she talked to Silver and Whisper(misadventure) and Sonic and crew(Riders).

With all of what I have said, can someone please explain to me what I'm missing? Even in the newest issue when she is at her lowest she puts herself in the same position she put Silver in! She gave Tangle and Whisper the same power as before to vote her out because she knew she messed up and she’s not holding herself above any of the consequences she placed on other people. This is admirable she messed up and is willing to lose maybe her only chance to make a real difference in her world instead of doubling down and trying to make herself look right.

[oldfaneworld]

Just a reblog because the original was posted so late at night for myself.

I would like to prefix all of this with saying that I don't know how hard it is to be a professional writer of any kind, or have any understanding on how things work behind closed door and what's cut and what's not. But i would like to thank all the writers and artists that gave us the Sonic idw comics because i really love it!

After getting my hands on Sonic issue 74 when I was at lunch yesterday and reading it once I got home I loved 90% of it. I do have a few issues with 74. The first problem I had with it was near the end of 73 for the Diamond Cutters’ part we were left on a cliffhanger with Tangle falling to her “doom” and there's just not a real resolution to that. We just time skip to all the important characters on one of the translucent tracks almost as if the fight didn't happen. Tangle is fine, we don't know how she gets saved or if someone saved her or if she just woke up mid fall and got her bearings under her. We just don't know and that feels like a broken promise to the readers. 

My biggest problem I have with 74 is that near the end of the Diamond Cutter’s part in 73 in the middle of the fight Lanolin is told by Tangle that Sonic is the Phantom Rider and she sees this with everyone else in the crowd. So why are we retreading this as if she doesn't already know or seen it herself? I know we need an excuse for Mimic but everything he says could have just been inferred by Lanolin if we were allowed in her head. 

Why not take out most of the scenes with Mimic talking and give us more scenes to show how hurt Lanolin is as she rides after Sonic and up to the falling ship without saying a word to the others or Whisper reacting to just how betrayed Lanolin looks. Knowing very well that betrayal and going behind someone's back is the very cause of the original Diamond Cutters death.

I see what they were going for but I just feel like it misses the mark a little bit or just doesn't have enough room to breath. 

I just wanna add this, I love the second page, the focus on the Diamond Cutters, especially the panel of the Diamond Cutters racing behind Sonic with the city in the background. 

I know many people dislike Lanolin and say that this arc is designed to make her look bad, I honestly just don't see it. At the beginning of the arc in 69 i can see why people don't like her, she’s a bitch, i however find that funny though. Though heading forward after that I just don't see it, in 70 she’s just reacting to the Phantom Rider knocking someone off their board with no guarantee of someone saving them. Especially seeing as Sonic told himself that he wasn't going to save them because it would affect what he was doing. He was just lucky that the Diamond Cutters were as close as they were to save that racer. Later in 70 when Lanolin goes too far and plays a major hand in destroying a large part of the track she immediately regrets her actions. Just like with Sonic she’s lucky that the rest of her team is as close as they are and everyone is saved.

The biggest thing that I don't understand about the Lanolin hate, is when people say she doesn't change or isn’t learning from her actions. even though Heading forward from 70 we see a few things happening and change one she becomes more frustrated and reserved after her major fuck up, in 71 and in 73 when she see’s the Phantom Rider both the real one and the fake one (even though she doesn't know he’s a fake) in those respected comic issues she doesn't immediately attack, she tries talking to the riders/demand them to stop. She doesn't want to risk more lives than she already has (which tells me she’s learned) because she does that, it leaves her open to the fake to attack her and take her out of the race. While in 73 it leaves her open to being stopped by Kit. On top of all that when the Phantom Rider appears she makes sure her team surrounds him instead of trying to go 1v1 like in 70 which shows she’s changing her approach. 

A big thing that bothers me about all of this is at the end of 71 when Lanolin is in her room giving the boxing bag a one two combo. It feels like people are ignoring that Duo is even in the room and that he is the one talking shit about the other half of the Diamond Cutters. Tangle just happens to be on the other side of the doorway listening in. I know people are saying that Tangle is afraid of Lanolin and you can make that argument with how Whisper puts herself between the two (in 74) but I don't think so. I think Tangle is letting her empathy get the better of her and I don't think she knows how to really handle someone who is frustrated. (especially someone who is frustrated with themselves, at least that's my thought for Lanolin.) Tangle has shown to be a very empathetic person, she knows how to handle a person who is angry at an outside force, someone who’s crushed under their own emotions. She’s able to pull people back from dark places but someone who’s frustrated who’s not willing to speak about what's making them mad I don't think she knows how to handle that and I think that's what we're seeing. With how Tangle tiptoes around Lanolin about if she should or shouldn't tell her about Sonic seeing the state she’s in.

with how 73 and how 74 started and went for the Diamond Cutters, Lanolin doesn't look at them with any suspicion at all. (if i'm wrong please show me/send me the panels) I don't think she put any real weight on any of the words Duo said to her in 71. In the same way it seems she didn't put any weight on Silver’s or Whisper’s words about Duo because of how they targeted him at the end of the Misadventure arc.

A few things I have seen that have become brainworms for me is someone saying that what Sonic is doing is equivalent to a prank, which is wild to me. Seeing when Sonic is playing the Phantom Rider role he is unintentionally putting normal people's lives at risk. Another thing I've seen that I somewhat agree with is that I don't think that Sonic cares what the public think of him. I do however think he does care about how his friends feel and how they are affected by what he does. So I think that's why he is so nonchalant about letting Lanolin throw the book at him after everything in the ship is dealt with, seeing as he can see just how much what he did hurt her. He may have been annoyed with her in 69 but that doesn't just get rid of all the good will the two had with each other at the end of the Urban warfare arc. 

So this has been all my thoughts I've had in the past day about issue 74 and a few other things I've seen. So if you read all this thank you so much and thank you for your time. Hopefully I don't sound like a whiny little bitch.

[oldfaneworld]

I would like to prefix all of this with saying that I don't know how hard it is to be a professional writer of any kind, or have any understanding on how things work behind closed door and what's cut and what's not. But i would like to thank all the writers and artists that gave us the Sonic idw comics because i really love it!

After getting my hands on Sonic issue 74 when I was at lunch yesterday and reading it once I got home I loved 90% of it. I do have a few issues with 74. The first problem I had with it was near the end of 73 for the Diamond Cutters’ part we were left on a cliffhanger with Tangle falling to her “doom” and there's just not a real resolution to that. We just time skip to all the important characters on one of the translucent tracks almost as if the fight didn't happen. Tangle is fine, we don't know how she gets saved or if someone saved her or if she just woke up mid fall and got her bearings under her. We just don't know and that feels like a broken promise to the readers. 

My biggest problem I have with 74 is that near the end of the Diamond Cutter’s part in 73 in the middle of the fight Lanolin is told by Tangle that Sonic is the Phantom Rider and she sees this with everyone else in the crowd. So why are we retreading this as if she doesn't already know or seen it herself? I know we need an excuse for Mimic but everything he says could have just been inferred by Lanolin if we were allowed in her head. 

Why not take out most of the scenes with Mimic talking and give us more scenes to show how hurt Lanolin is as she rides after Sonic and up to the falling ship without saying a word to the others or Whisper reacting to just how betrayed Lanolin looks. Knowing very well that betrayal and going behind someone's back is the very cause of the original Diamond Cutters death.

I see what they were going for but I just feel like it misses the mark a little bit or just doesn't have enough room to breath. 

I just wanna add this, I love the second page, the focus on the Diamond Cutters, especially the panel of the Diamond Cutters racing behind Sonic with the city in the background. 

I know many people dislike Lanolin and say that this arc is designed to make her look bad, I honestly just don't see it. At the beginning of the arc in 69 i can see why people don't like her, she’s a bitch, i however find that funny though. Though heading forward after that I just don't see it, in 70 she’s just reacting to the Phantom Rider knocking someone off their board with no guarantee of someone saving them. Especially seeing as Sonic told himself that he wasn't going to save them because it would affect what he was doing. He was just lucky that the Diamond Cutters were as close as they were to save that racer. Later in 70 when Lanolin goes too far and plays a major hand in destroying a large part of the track she immediately regrets her actions. Just like with Sonic she’s lucky that the rest of her team is as close as they are and everyone is saved.

The biggest thing that I don't understand about the Lanolin hate, is when people say she doesn't change or isn’t learning from her actions. even though Heading forward from 70 we see a few things happening and change one she becomes more frustrated and reserved after her major fuck up, in 71 and in 73 when she see’s the Phantom Rider both the real one and the fake one (even though she doesn't know he’s a fake) in those respected comic issues she doesn't immediately attack, she tries talking to the riders/demand them to stop. She doesn't want to risk more lives than she already has (which tells me she’s learned) because she does that, it leaves her open to the fake to attack her and take her out of the race. While in 73 it leaves her open to being stopped by Kit. On top of all that when the Phantom Rider appears she makes sure her team surrounds him instead of trying to go 1v1 like in 70 which shows she’s changing her approach. 

A big thing that bothers me about all of this is at the end of 71 when Lanolin is in her room giving the boxing bag a one two combo. It feels like people are ignoring that Duo is even in the room and that he is the one talking shit about the other half of the Diamond Cutters. Tangle just happens to be on the other side of the doorway listening in. I know people are saying that Tangle is afraid of Lanolin and you can make that argument with how Whisper puts herself between the two (in 74) but I don't think so. I think Tangle is letting her empathy get the better of her and I don't think she knows how to really handle someone who is frustrated. (especially someone who is frustrated with themselves, at least that's my thought for Lanolin.) Tangle has shown to be a very empathetic person, she knows how to handle a person who is angry at an outside force, someone who’s crushed under their own emotions. She’s able to pull people back from dark places but someone who’s frustrated who’s not willing to speak about what's making them mad I don't think she knows how to handle that and I think that's what we're seeing. With how Tangle tiptoes around Lanolin about if she should or shouldn't tell her about Sonic seeing the state she’s in.

with how 73 and how 74 started and went for the Diamond Cutters, Lanolin doesn't look at them with any suspicion at all. (if i'm wrong please show me/send me the panels) I don't think she put any real weight on any of the words Duo said to her in 71. In the same way it seems she didn't put any weight on Silver’s or Whisper’s words about Duo because of how they targeted him at the end of the Misadventure arc.

A few things I have seen that have become brainworms for me is someone saying that what Sonic is doing is equivalent to a prank, which is wild to me. Seeing when Sonic is playing the Phantom Rider role he is unintentionally putting normal people's lives at risk. Another thing I've seen that I somewhat agree with is that I don't think that Sonic cares what the public think of him. I do however think he does care about how his friends feel and how they are affected by what he does. So I think that's why he is so nonchalant about letting Lanolin throw the book at him after everything in the ship is dealt with, seeing as he can see just how much what he did hurt her. He may have been annoyed with her in 69 but that doesn't just get rid of all the good will the two had with each other at the end of the Urban warfare arc. 

So this has been all my thoughts I've had in the past day about issue 74 and a few other things I've seen. So if you read all this thank you so much and thank you for your time. Hopefully I don't sound like a whiny little bitch.

[oldfaneworld]

After seeing the second cover for the upcoming issue 76 and reading the description for it, I have several thoughts running through my head for the future for the Diamond Cutter's. The first thing I thought of I can admit is complete copium. More than likely I'm wrong but that's ok. I'm hoping the second cover is a massive fake out for the Neo Diamond Cutters. This is not likely but hey i hope they don't actually split the team and the description is just talking about Belle(i love her i promise!) leaving. Now for the real ideas and why I was writing this, ideas and wishes for a future Miniseries starring Lanolin and a few characters I thought would be fun to have her interact with. The first one being the big red Menace himself Knuckles. Don't ask why in this scenario he might be off Angel island or why she might be on it, but these two meeting and talking have been in my head since the start of the Urban Warfare arc. The reason for this is simple: Knuckles has gone through everything she has. He's been tricked by Eggman himself multiple times(if i remember correctly) and when he was running the Resistance he did have a major failure(many more can be assumed, seeing as they were on the back foot for six months) during the forces game and a pyrrhic victory that took many lives in idw (menchanced at the start of the zombot arc). I would love to see him be more of a mentor or an ear for Lanolin (also talking shit about sonic in good jest.) as she goes through recovery and figuring herself out. The next two I would love to see would be Silver and Blaze separate or together I can take either honestly. As much as most the fans want both of them to destroy Lanolin. I honestly think Blaze would give Lanolin the same disappointed energy back (that Lanolin gave Silver) at her at the start but be more than willing to help Lanolin build her confidence back up and show her different methods of leadership that would help her. when it comes to Silver i can see it being a flip flop of either pointing out that he was right and then immediately regretting it seeing the state Lanolin is in and trying to cheer her up or even though 06 is (soft) cannon (and deleted itself) and he cant remember it, he might get an inkling of a time he was tricked and because he's a good bean he might just want to help seeing how down she is, wither Lanolin likes it or not.

[oldfaneworld]

I just finished reading Sonic idw 73 and I love it! This arc is just getting better and better in my opinion with every issue. I'm glad Tangle's immediately went to stop Lanolin from taking another shot at the Phantom Rider/Sonic instead of listening to Whisper. Whisper my girl please use your words not your wispon! I know you have trauma when it comes to traitors and spies but please use your words before you do something you can't take back!

Also moving on i know they pulled away from Tangle falling because more than likely she'll be saved in the next issue. Even so I'm really hoping Lanolin is the one that saves her, not Whisper. just because It'll just be a nice call back to part 1 and to part 3 of the Urbane warfare arc where seemingly(can't prove one way or the other) without even thinking of her own safety Lanolin steps in to save Tangle from the Boss badnik and from being captured and hopefully that would be enough to prove to Whisper that Lanolin is worth trusting.

Last thing for Lanolin I promise at least for this post I'm really hoping they're going for the troop/idea that your biggest critic is your best supporter. I would love to see Lanolin push Sonic(and a little bit of the main cast to a lesser degree) to be a little bit more mind full and I would love for him(and a little bit of the main cast to a lesser degree) to push back and show her how to destress, seeing as stressing about every little thing is only going to make things worse for herself and everyone around her.

For the second half of the book it's a little slow for my liking but damn do i love Belle and Clutch in it, their facial expressions are amazing! really can't wait to see Clutch in a proper fight that he isn't getting ganged up on! I'm sure he has plenty of dirty tricks to keep are heroes on their toes.

[oldfaneworld]

Cant wait for issue #73!, #72 was a bit slow for my liking but good none the less. but please Tangle and Whisper give Lanolin the chance to actual be a leader rather then doing things behind her back. this screams the same problems in #64, your just forcing her into a corner with no information and no other options but to go against you. Tangle Please you over heard Duo talk ill of you two for possible keeping secrets from her, all your doing is proving him right! if your scared that she will think Sonic is a traitor for whatever reason (even though she never questions his heroisms but his methods) or hold a big grudge for being knocked off her bike in #71 you have proof that, that Phantom rider wasn't him. i hope the reason Whisper wants to deal with Lanolin and Duo is because she wants to apologize or explain the situation more personally. seeing as what happened in #64