sataidelenn

[sataidelenn]

I keep saying this and you keep not taking the hint and leaving me the hell alone, but I really think we need to agree to disagree. I’ve said my piece, you’ve said yours; anything we say about human-Faunus or inter-kingdom relations going forward is going to be speculation until volume 10 comes out; we could easily just keep going around and around for the next two years without either of us convincing the other, and I think we both have better things to do than resurrect this old post every so often.

To be fair there HAVE been super hero stories where the heroes challenge the status quo without becoming despots, the immortal hulk is a great example where hulk becomes an eco terrorist and destroyes an oil corporation, and protecting protestors from a trigger happy security guard (and hospitalizing said security guard), or in the recent daredevil runs where DD threatens a landlord into ceasing his attempted evictions, and braking several supervillains out of jail to get them help focused on rehabilitation rather then just locking them up

It can be done right, obviously the big world ending threats need to be dealt with, but it doesn’t need to stop there,

I haven’t read either of those, and honestly becoming an ecoterrorist doesn’t sound all that heroic either.

I’m not saying that fictional heroes can’t deal with real world issues, I’m just saying that they need to be handled a bit more delicately than “shoot the big monster”, and that people shouldn’t complain if systemic issues in a fictional setting remain unsolved after the main focus of the story is done. Even Black Panther ended with T’Challa resolving to help the world going forward rather than wrapping up a centuries-old issue in a neat little bow.

[sataidelenn]

I said a net gain. Not an unambiguously positive turn of events. I also think this argument may have gotten off track at some point, because you started by saying that the protagonists ended up magically fixing racism while not trying to, which you felt was a cop out. I agree that it would be a cop out if that was what happened, but it wasn’t. What happened was that while striking against Salem did end up taking down an oppressive corporation, the root cause, systemic prejudice, still has to be dealt with. So it’s not wholly fixed because in many ways they’ve just traded one manifestation of prejudice for another. Now it seems like you’re saying that the fact Faunus benefit at all from the SDC being destroyed is lazy writing?

To me, that doesn’t make sense because in real life, societal issues do not exist in their own bubbles. That’s why there is no one-size-fits-all solution either in real life or in (well-written) fiction. Using sustainable farming practices that protect the environment would also go a long way to addressing various health crises as the food produced would be better for you, but it would be silly to say that someone who focuses on one must not care about the other.

To be fair there HAVE been super hero stories where the heroes challenge the status quo without becoming despots, the immortal hulk is a great example where hulk becomes an eco terrorist and destroyes an oil corporation, and protecting protestors from a trigger happy security guard (and hospitalizing said security guard), or in the recent daredevil runs where DD threatens a landlord into ceasing his attempted evictions, and braking several supervillains out of jail to get them help focused on rehabilitation rather then just locking them up

It can be done right, obviously the big world ending threats need to be dealt with, but it doesn’t need to stop there,

I haven’t read either of those, and honestly becoming an ecoterrorist doesn’t sound all that heroic either.

I’m not saying that fictional heroes can’t deal with real world issues, I’m just saying that they need to be handled a bit more delicately than “shoot the big monster”, and that people shouldn’t complain if systemic issues in a fictional setting remain unsolved after the main focus of the story is done. Even Black Panther ended with T’Challa resolving to help the world going forward rather than wrapping up a centuries-old issue in a neat little bow.

[sataidelenn]

This has been said multiple times, but it really grinds my gears when people act like prioritizing a certain issue means you don’t care about any of the others. If an office building is burning down I’m not going to halt the evacuation so I can file a formal complaint about the company’s discriminatory hiring practices. Doesn’t mean I agree with them, it just means I have a sense of urgency.

[sataidelenn]

“Having significantly less power to do anything” is a double-edged sword. With “the few kingdom governments that remain too weak to enforce anything” as you say, there’s a lot less authority keeping racial tensions from exploding into violence and rioting. The comparative lack of centralized government resulting from Vacuo’s more individualistic attitude means that there will be no top-down tyranny like with Ironwood, but also more opportunity for different groups to kill each other of their own volition. The downfall of the SDC was a net gain for Faunus rights, but it doesn’t mean that everything is suddenly all hunky-dory. Nor does it mean that racism has been magically fixed just because most people have bigger issues on their plate.

To be fair there HAVE been super hero stories where the heroes challenge the status quo without becoming despots, the immortal hulk is a great example where hulk becomes an eco terrorist and destroyes an oil corporation, and protecting protestors from a trigger happy security guard (and hospitalizing said security guard), or in the recent daredevil runs where DD threatens a landlord into ceasing his attempted evictions, and braking several supervillains out of jail to get them help focused on rehabilitation rather then just locking them up

It can be done right, obviously the big world ending threats need to be dealt with, but it doesn’t need to stop there,

I haven’t read either of those, and honestly becoming an ecoterrorist doesn’t sound all that heroic either.

I’m not saying that fictional heroes can’t deal with real world issues, I’m just saying that they need to be handled a bit more delicately than “shoot the big monster”, and that people shouldn’t complain if systemic issues in a fictional setting remain unsolved after the main focus of the story is done. Even Black Panther ended with T’Challa resolving to help the world going forward rather than wrapping up a centuries-old issue in a neat little bow.

[sataidelenn]

See, I’m not sure that the destruction of an entire kingdom is as much of a gain for Faunuskind as you seem to think. No, they’re not dying in the mines anymore, but the loss of their homeland and the impending apocalypse has opened up a whole lot of new and interesting other ways to die. Plus, even though the SDC seems to have been the main driver of industrialized oppression, the deep-seated attitudes of discrimination that are shown to exist can’t be gotten rid of by killing one guy.

Now, the shot of aircraft from multiple kingdoms (including Atlas) over Vacuo indicates that a lot of people have also decided that continuing to exist is more important for the time being than redressing old grievances, but I also wouldn’t be surprised if there’s still some tension between all the various groups of refugees who are suddenly being forced to work together. We won’t know for sure until Volume 10 (finally greenlit, yippee!) but I don’t think everybody suddenly decided to hold hands and sing Kumbaya the minute Jacques got vaporized. At best they’ve decided to table the racism issue until a later date, assuming anyone is still alive to discuss it. And as I started this long, tedious discussion saying, I think that’s the correct choice. If an office building was burning down, it would be really stupid to stop evacuation efforts in favor of taking down the “whites only” sign above the drinking fountain.

To be fair there HAVE been super hero stories where the heroes challenge the status quo without becoming despots, the immortal hulk is a great example where hulk becomes an eco terrorist and destroyes an oil corporation, and protecting protestors from a trigger happy security guard (and hospitalizing said security guard), or in the recent daredevil runs where DD threatens a landlord into ceasing his attempted evictions, and braking several supervillains out of jail to get them help focused on rehabilitation rather then just locking them up

It can be done right, obviously the big world ending threats need to be dealt with, but it doesn’t need to stop there,

I haven’t read either of those, and honestly becoming an ecoterrorist doesn’t sound all that heroic either.

I’m not saying that fictional heroes can’t deal with real world issues, I’m just saying that they need to be handled a bit more delicately than “shoot the big monster”, and that people shouldn’t complain if systemic issues in a fictional setting remain unsolved after the main focus of the story is done. Even Black Panther ended with T’Challa resolving to help the world going forward rather than wrapping up a centuries-old issue in a neat little bow.

[sataidelenn]

[sataidelenn]

Fellowship Shenanigans

Storytime

Legolas: Well, obviously I didn’t see Bilbo, no one did, and the Dwarfs were kept in the dungeons.

Gimli: For no good reason!!

Aragorn: Oh no, not this again.

Boromir: Could someone please tell me what they’re on about??

Frodo: We’re just talking about Bilbo’s adventure.

Gimli: I wouldn’t say Bilbo’s-

Pippin: It’s Bilbo’s adventure.

Boromir: Ohhh!

Pippin, to Boromir: Do YOU think that Thorin and the others could have killed the dragon on their own?

Boromir: Sorry little one, I don’t know the story.

Everyone: What?!

Aragorn: Even I know the story, and I’m the only one who didn’t know someone on that trip.

Legolas: My father told me what happened.

Gimli: MY father told ME what ACTUALLY happened!

Sam: Everyone knows the story!

Frodo, to Boromir: You’re literally the only one here who doesn’t know Bilbo, aren’t you?

Boromir: It seems so.

Pippin: This needs fixing.

Merry: Agreed.

Aragorn: And this is the most important thing to be doing right now?

Pippin: Yes.

Aragorn: If you say so.

Frodo: You start, Sam, you tell it the best.

Sam: Thank you, Mister Frodo. Ehem. In a hole in the ground, there lived a Hobbit-

Legolas and Boromir: You live in holes!?!?

Aragorn: Yeah they do.

Boromir: That’s weird.

Legolas: That’s tragic!

Merry: It is not!!

Aragorn: It’s a bit weird, if you’re not used to it.

Gandalf: Hardly.

Gimli: I, for the record, think it sounds great.

Legolas: No one asked.

Sam: EHEM!!

Several Hours Later

Boromir, extremely confused: Wait, so how long did they spend in Mirkwood?

Hobbits: A week.

Gimli: A month.

Legolas: A year.

Aragorn: Legolas, we’ve already established that your perception of time can’t be trusted.

Frodo: Bilbo says he was there for a week at least.

Gimli: Oh come on! It was far longer than that!

Legolas: Well only one of us was actually there, so-

Boromir, to the Hobbits: Why is half your story about food?

Sam: What kind of a question is that?

Legolas: Did Bilbo really miss the entire battle?

Merry: Oi! Judgy much!

Frodo: He did an extremely good job of not dying, thank you very much.

Aragorn: For which we are all very grateful, just try not to break his streak, will you? Pippin, talking to you.

Pippin: I have no idea what you mean by that, I’m sure.

Boromir, to Aragorn: So what actually happened??

Aragorn: Mate, I’ve heard at least five different versions of this story, three of which were just Bilbo in varying levels of drunk. I have no freaking clue what actually happened, only it was pretty amazing. Also it’s past midnight, everyone go to sleep! Legolas, you take first watch, with anyone except Gimli.

Gandalf, to Aragorn, once everyone else has settled down: You know what amuses me?

Aragorn: What?

Gandalf: Not one of them thought to ask me what happened.

Aragorn: Would you give them a straight answer if they did?

Gandalf: …

Aragorn: That’s what I thought.

[sataidelenn]

Kinda good, kinda bad. Depends on how you look at it, really.

How are we doing tonight my fellow nuance enjoyers

[sataidelenn]

I don’t know what I expected them to sound like, but it wasn’t that.

[sataidelenn]

[sataidelenn]

just overheard my dad on the phone going “yeah, i’d be more than happy to buy her daughter off of you, how much would you be willing to trade her for?” and got Very Worried for a second before remembering that he manages dairy farms for a living. surely there’s gotta be a better way to word that man

[sataidelenn]

“X people can reblog this”: You’re not my mom and I don’t need your permission.

“X people must reblog this”: You’re not my mom so don’t tell me what to do.

All those “you can reblog this” posts just amuse me, because it’s like

A peasant who has finished ranting at court in a manner just on the verge of violating protocol: “You can have your heralds disseminate this.”

Me, lounging on my throne and on my fourth goblet of breakfast wine: “Haha! May I?”

[sataidelenn]

Funniest fandoms are where the fans are like, "I'm obsessed with this. I don't recommend it even slightly."

[sataidelenn]

Dude people come into fandoms every day and characterize every guy in wronger ways than you would have ever thought possible. You’re fine.

Getting into fandoms is so scary .if I characterize this guy wrong everyone is going to kill me I can sense it

[sataidelenn]

HANDHOLDING!? 😱

spy x family really got me screaming over two married adults with a child HOLDING HANDS

[sataidelenn]

death of the author yeah whatever but death of the fandom is so integral to enjoying legitimately anything like that is just a necessary step to take in ur head always. do not let them affect the text in any way exterminate them all with ur death ray. they r not real and cannot hurt u

[sataidelenn]

i love in fantasy when its like “king galamir the mighty golden eagle and his most trusted advisor who would never betray him, gruelworm bloodeye the treacherous”