#it was heavily influenced by a lot of my fave kid shows growing up/at the time

[androgynousblackbox]

at this point i think a lot of people are just amazed that atla told a competent story in structure, themes, and characters. whenever ppl praise avatar, it feels like they're saying they like it despite it being a kids show. it comes across as ppl saying it's amazing this kids show is well-written. but as much as i liked the show growing up, i admit it oversimplifies and waters down a lot of complexities of war and human behavior. i wouldn't compare it to things about war written for adults tbh. but my largest critique of atla would have to be zuko's character arc because in a story that embraces confucian and taoist models (like how the spirits are neither good nor evil, life being cyclical and intertwined), zuko's redemption arc feels very christian and out of place--until the end when they refuse to give ozai any depth. like he's just evil for the sake of being evil, which works well for the story they're telling, but like the last anon said, in the iliad one of the main points is that there is no right or wrong side or heroes vs villains. they're all human and they're all the same. even fan faves like iroh didn't strongly oppose the war until his son died, so it directly affected him. they couldn't gone into depth about what makes ozai and iroh differnt, if they're any different at all, but it's a kid show, so it's to be expected. i wouldn't compare avatar to anything like that as much as i love it. i also wish more adults would understand that there's more to art outside of children's cartoons.

You just remind me to this very good video from Melina Pendulum about this very subject. She doesn't go much into depth but basically she does talk about how little things reveal that yeah, this is a show that was written by two white guys despite how much eastern influence there is and was primarly intended for kids. There's also this comment that was below that seems very pertinent:

As someone who is Korean and grew up in a country that was heavily impacted by Japanese Imperialism, atla has always hit closer in terms of content, especially in the way that the fire nation was represented as an East Asian race. The way that the fire nation was able to get away with minimal reparations actually rings closer to the way that Japan has still yet to give proper reparations of their war crimes to Korea and many other countries and the fact that the WHITE creators allowed this sort of apologist narrative to exist also rings like a meta for how the US helped the Japanese government cover up their wrongdoings in exchange for money. Not sure if this made any sense but I wanted to share a bit of how I saw the situation. Also, like, just in general and as someone that is not as knowledgeable on these subjects, the way the creators treated Ozay in general was kind of a fucking mess that even extended to Korra. When I tell you I just fucking burst out laughing when in one of the comics it was revealed that Ozay had forbidden same gender marriage and Korra makes an angry comment about it, like... the dude was a genocider abusive asshole. Why are we needing to ALSO include homophobia to the mix as if everything else wasn't enough? Like he is not just evil, he is the board of evil in which we can just slap more evilness whenever we feel like it. Ozay probably hated puppies too.

[lonestarbabe]

How do you think the writers could improve the characters? Like aside from Owen because we all know how he needs to change, they just aren’t doing it and making these changes for his character. I mean for Mateo, Paul and Marjan. I feel like when they have their little storylines, they don’t rly show much I mean they are interesting and I love seeing more of my faves of course but they don’t rly show these characters progressing in any way aside from Marjan’s recent storyline where she saved the girl in the house and maybe Paul’s with his sister. But with TK or Judd and even Grace’s storyline after the crash, we have seen slow growth in their characters and how they have learned from some experience to be better and be more open or something. Mateo’s was interesting because we saw his roommates and life outside of work which I loved but he moved in with Owen and we rolled right into another Owen-center or Owen-related plot line and it’s just annoying. Of course it was nice that Owen offered Mateo a place to stay because his burned down but as soon as Mateo moved in, it was all about Owen’s man pain and we cut to a later intervention about Owen lying about his surgery and other behavior. Paul’s first I think was when he went on the date with that woman who basically told him she couldn’t date him because he is trans at least that’s what I got from it. And like that’s not a nice storyline Paul didn’t learn or grow from that and probably only felt like shit in the end despite brushing it off. And the one with his sister was eventually resolved but I want a storyline for him that doesn’t involve his identity because that’s not just who he is- of course it’s a very important part that shouldn’t be ignored but I just want storylines for him that aren’t JUST about that- he’s Paul with great observation skills and he’s a good friend and a nice guy. And Carlos, too. The one in 2x8 with his dad was *chef’s kiss* amazing but I want more solo storylines for him. I know he’s TK’s partner and I love that for him because they’re cute but I want storylines for just Carlos. And I don’t meant to complain because the arsonist storyline where his place burns down looks rly good and maybe that’s a start if it’s just him in the house but I hope you get what I mean? And I love Marjan, Mateo, Paul and Carlos I don’t mean to complain about their storylines because I’m grateful we even get anything on them with how much the writers have eyes just for Owen but yeah I just want more (and better) for them

You make a lot of strong points, and I really think you’re right that there’s still more to do, adn that there’s a lot I hope for when it comes to those characters. Yeah, I think the main thing is to give them time, but not just time, they need to give them quality screentime. Some characters have been getting more screentime without being more developed, which is a major struggle that the show needs to get over to better showcase its characters. Oh no, this is going to wind me up!!

(TLDR: they just need to flesh out the characters and show that they are more than just one part of their identities.)

You’re right about those storylines not allowing growth. Paul’s storyline with his sister ended up being about his sister’s growth, and the thing is, the Josie storyline was very similar in all the wrong ways. It was about Josie’s discomfort. Transphobia becomes something that is about the phobic people rather than the person who is experiencing it! These people also claim to be accepting of his transition, but they also show the opposite with their reactions (Josie was like, “you’re perfect but I can’t date you because you’re trans” while Paul’s sister also commented that she didn’t care that he was trans but also droned on about how she missed her sister... who Paul points out never existed. Like the whole storyline seems to be a pat on the back for transphobes, as if to reassure them that their behaviors are what we should be empathetic to.) Ultimately, Paul wasn’t the active participant in his own story; thus, he can’t really grow and develop. Paul needs to have more storylines that he is an active participant in (by making the scenes in his perspective rather than that of the subjugators). We also haven’t seen Paul’s flaws, whereas we’ve seen flaws of the more fleshed out characters. We know he’s heavily intellectual, observant, and a great listener, but I also want to see a moment when he has more of a struggle (one that is not related to him being trans because he needs a plot beyond that one part of him).

Mateo also is reduced to basically an object in other storylines. His screentime is rarely about him. Even in that last episode that featured a storyline about him, that storyline basically reduced him to a pawn in Owen’s storyline, which didn’t allow Mateo to have any growth. We didn’t learn anything new about him (at least not anything meaningful to the deeper nature of his character). We know very little about what makes Mateo ticks, and I think he is the character who is most reduced to just a few characteristics. He’s constantly a ditzy figure, and I want to see him as more than the probie. In the first episode, we saw that he’s attentive, and that he works hard. Let’s show those qualities some more. I think that especially because he is dyslexic, that it’s harmful to not showcase more diverse sides of him and to neglect the ways that make him stand out. He’s treated as a kid too often, and it’s okay to make him naive on some things because he’s newer to firefighting, but he needs to grow and show that he is making progress and is growing. I like that they bring up his dyslexia, but I don’t think they’ve utilized it as well as they could have, and it would be nice to show how he deals with it and how it impacts him. Just like I want to see mentions of Judd’s PTSD continue to pop up (and they’ve brought it up several times, whcih is nice), it would also be cool to see his dyslexia pop up casually and not as a forced “look he has dyslexia” plot. Like it has to do more for his character. Further, I would never want to see him reduced to just his dyslexia, so I think it’s a careful balance. With Mateo, I just want to see him become a real person because right now, he just feels like a stock character.

Marjan has seen some more development than Mateo. I’ve liked that she’s joined the Austin Annihilators, and I also enjoy the storyline we just saw with her, which really showed us more of her, and I’m glad we saw a storyline that wasn’t about her religion (because like Paul, she deserves to have storylines that show the full extent of who she is as a person). You see a lot about Marjan’s flaws as well as her deep drive for good in the episode. You see that she cares, but you also see that maybe ego does influence her in a way that isn’t always positive (which let’s be real... that’s true of ANY person haha). She’s going in the right direction, but I still think there’s more developing to do.

Also, Grace seems like she has more development, but she also still hasn’t had that much. Like in the episode where she could have been featured more, that was still Judd’s perspective, which I have no problem with. The episode was beautiful, BUT I still want to see a moment that is just Grace’s. 2x10 gave us some of this where Grace was struggling with her injury, and that was excellent. We know a good amount of her history, too, but I want to see the world from her perspective. Also, add in flaws (which again we got a little bit of in 2x10)! I want Grace to be more than the diligent wife who is constantly there to support Judd. She needs to be her own character.

In some ways, they’ve been letting Tommy down too. They started well with her, but they’ve still got some ways to go for me. We’ve seen a lot of her with her family and the same issues of her feeling out of touch and disconnected from them when she goes back to work, but I’d like to see some fresh storylines on that front!

Carlos, of course, still fails to get all the attention he deserves as well. He’s had some independent development, but I would like to see him in more scenes with other charaters. I live for Tarlos moments, but I also want Carlos to be separately connected and have relationships of his own that they explore in the show because he should never just be TK’s plus one! Like a lot of the other characters, I don’t want him to become an object for other people’s storylines. I’d like to see more of his mental processes and how he deals with his career and maybe see him in action more because we don’t see that a whole lot (and Owen somehow became the hero in 2x08, which is okay, but it was also Carlos’ plot so it was a funny choice to me). Anyways, MORE CARLOS. Let us see this wonderful man in all his multifaceted glory.

Even TK and Judd could use more development, but they’re obviously much better off. Owen, on the other hand, the character we’ve seen so much of, also has an interesting development. We’ve seen a lot of him, but I don’t know that he’s even developed that well (he’s pretty stagnant even if we’ve seen more sides of him) because his storylines are a bit repetitive. That repetition in general is an issue for Lone Star because they tend to latch on to just one trait of a character and then they keep doing plots based on that one trait.

Really the theme here is that without flaws, characters are always going to feel flat. They don’t need to be big dramatic flaws like having murdered someone or something equally dramatic, but I need to see the gradients in the characters and see more range of reactions and their personalities. They need to have balance, and they need to feel like they have depth and aren’t just being used to tell plots. Moreover, I don’t want characters to be props for plots that are not their own. Of course, characters always support other plots, but if they never have any moments that are their own, they become objects rather than actors!

[incorrectspnforfun]

^^ nah, dw, it didn't ruin the show for me. thanks for your opinion. i just wanted to build on what you said, sorry it's long XD you're right that they did mention other characters, and there was the montage, and who knows, maybe the lack of other characters in 15x20 is just because of covid. the thing for me is that sam living this "normal life" and never mentioning hunting, and dean dying young on a hunt, those are the endings they would have gotten had they stayed on their respective paths 1/

at the beginning of 1x1, so it feels like doing all those things since then and changing their destiny (at least i think they did that? feel free to correct me if i'm wrong) didn't really matter. plus i always thought that dean’s line of "going down swinging, guns blazing" was just something to hide his fear of doing exactly that. dean was planning to retire as a hunter, he had managed to completely distance himself from being "daddy's little soldier", but in the end he still died his dad's case? he got out and then was pulled back in just to die, it's... sad. also, you're absolutely right that the core of the story is about the brothers' relationship. but i think this relationship evolved with time. in the beginning it was just the two of them, and it was "toxic codependency" (i think that's how other characters said it?), but as they grew up and met other people they... didn't exactly grow apart, but they took some distance, at least emotionally speaking, and their relationship became way healthier because of that. maybe i'm just imagining things, but this final episode, with a road trip case a la season 1 and barely mentioning other characters, felt like going back to the beginning (...which was probably the whole point ^^") and almost erasing the fact that they became different people since then. idk if that makes sense? also, the actors were always very vocal about mental health issues, but this final episode showed us traumatized characters ending up either dead or living unhappy, and only being happy once they’re dead. i *do not* like this subtext. i know it's definitely not their fault, they said they didn't like the ending way before we knew what the ending was, but *someone* decided this was a good way to end a story that was, at its core, all about hope. sorry, it was even longer than i planned ^^"

Alright. I just cut all of them together so it was more or less consecutive lol. Let’s try to break all this down! (And no worries about the long response! I’m happy to talk about it, and I’m so glad you’re sharing your thoughts! I really appreciate you taking the time to type all of that out! <3) 

For starters, I’m really glad it didn’t ruin the show for you. I’ve heard a lot of fans saying that it’s their ex-favorite show now and they can never watch it again because they didn’t like the finale, and that makes me really sad, so I’m glad to see someone who still appreciates the show even if the finale wasn’t their fave. :)  

In terms of lack of characters because of COVID, I think that’s definitely true. I know the cast and crew had been saying that they wanted more guest stars in the last two episodes, but they had to take some of them out because of COVID concerns. Overall though, they did say that it didn’t change the core story they wanted to tell too much, so I think the Sam and Dean-centric ending would’ve still been like that, but maybe with a few more character appearances (like Shoshannah Stern, for example. I really believe that the reason Sam’s wife was blurred out was because they couldn’t get Shoshannah Stern back for some reason, but they wanted us to believe it was Eileen). 

When it comes to the boys’ destiny, to me--and, in my opinion, this is exactly what the show was trying to show us--their destiny was always supposed to be one brother kills the other. It was the destiny meant for them at the end of Season 5, and it was the destiny and final ending that Chuck had written for them at the end of Season 15. But, time and time again, the brothers’ love for each other and love for the world kept pushing against that destiny. In the end, by defeating Chuck, and by helping each other up and not backing down, they did write their own destiny and fight against it and, ultimately, give themselves free will. 

Now, in thinking about Dean’s death and the brothers’ codependency (yes, you were right, that’s what the angels and such called it), I see your point about Dean’s words being a mask for his fear, and while I agree that he often did use them in that way, in the end, I think his fear was less about dying on a hunt and more about dying alone, but also about making sure that he isn’t taking Sam down with him. His death scene in 15x20 says that loud and clear. Sam tries to leave to get him help, but all Dean wants is for Sam to stay with him, and then his last request is for Sam to come closer so that he can make sure his little brother is okay. That said, though, I do agree with you that they’ve taken some emotional distance from each other and had a healthier relationship because of it--which is why, despite Dean dying and Sam surviving, Sam let him go and didn’t try to bring him back, because they had achieved that emotional distance. 

All of that in mind, I, personally, feel like the only way this story could end was with Dean dying and Sam living to old age, eventually joining his brother in heaven--so basically, exactly what we got. 

I hear a lot of people saying that Dean deserved to live a normal life and live to old age--he had that job application on his desk, he had a dog, etc.--but while I agree that he deserved that happy life, I feel like it wouldn’t have been happy for him. Dean’s tried the normal life thing before, several times, and it’s never worked for him. He can’t stay away from hunting for too long, because he’ll always be looking over his shoulder, and/or he’ll always be worried about his brother. If Sam would have died, he also never would’ve forgiven himself or gotten over it and wouldn’t have been able to live a normal life. In general, as much as I would love for Dean to live a normal life and have a chance at happiness, it’s never fit his character. Even with the growth he’s experienced in the last several years, the way he’s grown up and the things he’s been through just won’t let him experience an apple pie life. 

Sam, on the other hand, has always had a connection to a normal lifestyle and has always had more of an ability to have that. If you ask me, a lot of that is because of Dean--since Dean grew up so fast, Sam never had to, so he had a chance to go through normal childhood experiences and learn how to live a life outside of hunting. As such, his attempts at a normal life usually were pretty successful, and it follows that any attempts he makes in the future could be successful too. The big thing that stops all of that, though, is Dean. While Sam, in the last several years, has said that he’s okay with his hunting lifestyle and happy doing what he’s doing, it’s less about the actual hunting and more about being with his brother. Sam, in general, is miserable in the hunting lifestyle. It’s not what ultimately makes him happy, but being with his brother does. Because of that, he accepts the lifestyle for everything that comes with it because it means bonding with Dean and seeing him happy. As such, he can’t live a normal life if Dean’s around, because he knows it’s not what Dean wants, deep down, and it would mess with the dynamic they’ve built through all these years of hunting. So, the only way Sam can live a normal life is if Dean dies (kind of like in Season 8. When he thought his brother was dead, he actually did live a normal life for a while, and he probably would’ve continued to do that for the rest of his life if Amelia’s husband hadn’t come back and if Dean hadn’t come back). 

Now, with all of that said, you’re right in that this does connect directly to how the brothers likely would’ve ended up in Season 1. However, what’s different is the strong bond that Sam and Dean have now developed over the years. Yes, if Dean hadn’t gotten Sam at Stanford way back in Season 1, Sam (probably) would’ve lived a white picket fence life, and Dean would’ve died on a hunt. The difference, though, is that both of those things would’ve happened without either brother being aware of what the other was up to and, frankly, probably not necessarily caring as much (in Sam’s case anyways). 

With the Season 15 ending, though, Sam lived his white picket fence life, but his entire life was built in tribute to his brother. He named his son Dean, he kept the Impala, he had pictures of the two of them all around his house, and his son even had an anti-possession tattoo. While Sam was able to live a normal life, he never forgot about his brother, and Dean was--just like he said in his death scene--always in his heart and always remembered, because of all that they had shared for the last fifteen years. 

The same goes for Dean. While Dean did die on a hunt like he normally would’ve, if Dean had died in Season 1, he would’ve gone up to heaven, relived his best memories (which all probably would’ve been with kid!Sam), and that would’ve been it. Instead, in Season 15, we see Dean go to a heaven that’s been re-created into something that he deserves by people who love him and who he loves very much (Jack and Cas) that he (and Sam) were able to influence heavily. And yet, with the entirety of heaven open to him to see anyone he wants (including Cas), what does he do? He goes for a drive and waits for his brother--the brother that he’s bonded with for the last fifteen years. He could see anyone, and in Season 1, if heaven had been like that, he probably would’ve. But instead, he just sits and waits for his brother, because ultimately, that’s who makes him happy. We never would’ve gotten that if it weren’t for the bond that Sam and Dean created with each other in the last fifteen years. 

As for the “traumatized characters ending up either dead or living unhappy, and only being happy once they’re dead” subtext, that’s completely valid, and I can see how that would be upsetting. Personally, I didn’t see it that way at all, mostly because I feel like the characters weren’t necessarily happy after they were dead. Dean was only happy in heaven once Sam was with him, and Sam actually was happy throughout his life with his family, even if he was still mourning his brother, and ultimately, he was able to live a life and continue that happiness in heaven when he reunited with Dean. Cas was happy before he died (hence, why he died) because he finally admitted his love for Dean. While I fully acknowledge that not a lot of them necessarily got the chance to deal with their trauma in a prolonged way, I feel like their individual deaths helped them cope in some way. That’s just my opinion though, and I can definitely understand where you’re coming from. 

Sorry it took me so long to answer this, but I hope that all makes sense! (Also sorry mine was so long too! Lol.) <3 

[ramenandchill]

Character criticism

Today’s criticism: The entirety of the show Boruto

Hood day/night my children. How are you all? I hope you all are eating your veggies and drinking your water. I hope you all are taking care of yourselves to the best of your abilities and that your all doing well back home, wherever home may be.

Today, we’re going to be tackling the mess that is essentially the anime,Boruto. Basically why it’s not as good as it could be, and why it has potential. I even have an alternative plot for Boruto, and I thought I would share that with you all, my loves.

So first, let’s summarize what Boruto is;

Boruto:next generations is a spin-off show to the Naruto series. A series that once followed the life of Naruto Uzumaki and his fellow friends as growing shinobi, now follows his son Boruto Uzumaki and his friends, who are the next generation of ninja growing up in the shinobi world.

In depth: the setting takes place in a now peaceful shinobi world, where the 5 great nations are no longer at war or no longer have bad blood anymore. Naruto Uzumaki is now the 7th Hokage of Konoha, and Sasuke Uchiha serves as the shadow Hokage, protecting Konoha from the outside. Most of the Konoha 11 have children. These children are learning to be ninja, and are growing up to become extremely powerful each day.

Though this plot sounds very entertaining, it is far from that and the lazy writing shows through many parts of the Anime. Here are some problems I’ve encountered with the plot and characters itself.

1. The children are extremely overpowered- for one, the children in Boruto are too overpowered. One thing that was interesting about Naruto was that we got to grow with the kids and see them develop their powers. Though some were prodigies at a very young age, we got to see them develop even more and we realized that they weren’t too ultra powerful and that they could be beaten. Once we as the audience realized that our beloved Naruto characters were only kids who weren’t all prodigies, the suspense was amped up quite a lot. The chunin exams is a great example. In the forest of death, many of the genin weren’t too powerful, and we saw a lot of genin groups die in the forest of death. We even saw a Sannin, Orochimaru, sneak into the exams and bite Sasuke, which caused the main plot to kick off. A lot of the times, we weren’t sure that our faves would make it out of their life or death situations. But In Boruto, the suspense is not there. We know that most of the kids, especially the 3 main characters, Boruto, Sarada, and Mitsuki are all powerful. There’s no “if” they are gonna make it out. We also don’t get to see much hit or misses from the children. We don’t get to see their trial and error with learning their parents jutsus and developing their own so it’s hard to grow with them. Their powers ensure that they get out of most situations, and it takes away from the hard work their parents did to reach the level they are at. Their powers look rather more genetic (which I’m sure they mostly are), than actual hard work.

2. The next generation-another problem is that the kids are essentially carbon copies of their parents personalities. They aren’t their own selves, which very much annoys me. I rather see the kids be their own person, rather than adapt ALL parts of their parents personalities. I don’t mind the children having small parts of their parents incorporated into them, but Boruto really takes it to new heights. The personalities are more copy paste. Most of them act exactly how their parents do or once did. One of the few characters this probably doesn’t go for is Mitsuki, as he’s rather pleasant compared to his father, orochimaru.

3. The lack of screen time- this is a minor issue to me, but I don’t appreciate how a lot of the interesting characters like Sarada are glazed over. The other teams besides Team Konohamaru are usually not shown progressing as much, and are given the much shorter end of the stick than the main characters, which is rather annoying.

4. The Konoha 11- the Konoha 11 have been greased so badly. Their powers seem heavily downgraded, and their character designs look awful. A lot of them look like pedophiles and Shino looks like a can of bug spray. Their powers seem very light, compared to in the Naruto series. For example, Shino not being able to control his bugs and messing up, is a regular for the shows gag unfortunately. That’s so unnatural because we know Shino is very serious and calculated and careful, so that gag is not funny at all. Even Naruto, who’s a master at shadow clone jutsu, has reverted back to his childhood. His clones are ineffective but they do it as a gag, which is dumb. They have made some of the Konoha 11 a shell of there former selves, which frustrates me. They were so cool in shippuden and such, but now their once cool and mysterious powers are downgraded for laughs, which aren’t funny.

5. Naruto and sasuke- Naruto and Sasuke are horrible fathers. For people who should want to make the most of family because they never had any, they don’t even spend time with their kids, which is so dumb. Naruto does Hokage work, but nothing is stopping him from making shadow clones to do the work for him, so that he could spend time with his family. Sasuke is even worse to the point where seeing Sasuke triggers Saradas sharingan because of the overwhelming emotion she felt from seeing him for the first time in years(I also hate how Sarada just bonds with him after an episode. Their relationship would need mending and building considering how long sasukes been gone. He doesn’t know much about her, so he should learn steady over a period of time like how it is in real life). That’s awful. They could be there for their families but their not, which is so weird for characters of their backgrounds.

6. The plot itself- the plot itself drags on for very long and in my opinion isn’t interesting. The plot is constantly jumping. The Arcs aren’t that intruiging and follow benign story plots that could only possibly serve as filler. It takes so long to get to the main plot of Borutos story. Here’s a list of the 17(Yes,17) arcs that have occurred in Boruto so far;

I can tell you that a lot of these are pretty much anticlimactic and waste time. Some are cool to sit through, like the time travel arc or Kara Actuation, but some are like the War arc of shippuden. If something’s like the war arc of shippuden, I rather smell someone’s booty than watch that again. So please, you can even read the plots yourself, and find that they aren’t that captivating.

7.The Villains- last but not least, we have the very copy paste villains. Just recently we’ve gotten some newer villains with a new agenda but it won’t be a breath of fresh air for long. For example, we know that so many of the villains such as Momoshiki, have been just copy-pastes of Kaguya. Their a Naruto and Sasuke level threat which we know that both Naruto and Sasuke could beat them any time. I’m bored of seeing Naruto and Sasuke fight villains that we know they will beat anytime. And with the villains point- I bring to you why Boruto has potential. You see, the Kawaki arc(Kara arc) showed that Boruto could turn into a show about a rivalry, and we saw the clip of Kawaki and Boruto fighting at the very beginning of the series. This is cool that a character like Kawaki who is shown in the end to have a strong resentment towards the ninja world for making him what he is, eventually will try to go the mile to end the age of shinobi. We will have to wait for this, sadly and I wished they introduced this sooner.

Alt plot: my alt plot goes a bit like this. Let’s say that the peaceful world is not exactly completely peaceful. The 5 nations aren’t at war anymore but the smaller countries within them aren’t exactly that peaceful. There aren’t a lot of casualties at all, but some people are still a tad bit resentful.

Let’s say that some of the great nations have become docile. The New generation of kids no longer learn how to be ninjas. Instead they go to regular school and for those who would like to be ninjas, there is a fake kitty-program for them to take. It’s not serious enough for them, though. Jonin still go on message delivering missions. The Hokage is still there, all of that.

Now let’s say a character like Kawaki and an organization behind them, a small one, has been wronged by the shinobi world. They aren’t exactly like the Akatsuki, open with their deeds. However, they are internal threats like Danzo almost, who live within the village. Nobody suspects them because they pose as regular citizens in the lands that no longer practice the way of shinobi life as they once did.

Now let’s say this organization start taking out unsuspecting Jonin. One by one, 2 by 2, Jonin are turning up dead left and right. Nobody can really explain their deaths yet, but their deaths are really disturbing. Next, Anbus investigate, but some of them are even taken out too.

The Hokage and village are becoming restless once again. Then citizens start going missing and dying. This doesn’t just happen in Konoha though, this also happens in other nations. This can make a rift between the nations who think that the other nation is sabotaging them, which can influence bad blood again. These villains are tearing up the almost perfect world from the inside out. They bring back people like Kakashi, Yamato, Tsunade, Kurenai, Gai, basically everyone from the old days, and the Konoha 11 for their lines of defense.

People propose that the children should learn to be true shinobi. Some argue that they shouldn’t, but it is decided that the children should learn to protect themselves and their lands. So now, medical ninjitsu classes are taught, ninjitsu, chakra types, genjutsu. The ninja school is rehashed.

Sasuke comes back to the village and is asked if he’s seen anyone enter the village but the answer is no, which gives a clue.

Soon, the children graduate and learn important lessons about friendship and teamwork. We watch them work hard to learn and perfect their parents Jutsus. we watch the trial and error, but we watch them turn out great in the end. They can even have Boruto face off against this villain when he gets older.

They learn from the oldest Shinobis and earn their powers, instead of just having them materialize them and genetically master them.

(p.s honestly Temari and Shikamaru should’ve had twins, one boy and one girl, have them both be smart but have one learn shadow possession and one learn wind style. The boy is obvi Shikadai who learns shadow possenion cuz that’s already cannon, and the girl Tomoe, could learn wind style from Temari. She doesn’t have to be a carbon copy, but she could still learn her mother’s craft.)

Thank you for coming to my ted talk my loves, and I’ll see you on the next episode of Character Critisims.

[words-writ-in-starlight]

Marvel (you must do some that don't involve Xmen, I see you) FOR ALL THE MEME QUESTIONS

JUST LET ME TALK ABOUT X-MEN FOR THREE HOURS WOMAN

For this list

name ur politically correct ship that no one ever questions

I SHIP NICK SPENCER WITH THE DEEPEST PITS OF HELL RESERVED FOR TRAITOROUS BIGOTED SCUM.  But I mean other than that…Natasha/Clint, Vision/Wanda, Rogue/Remy, and my much-maligned-by-movies-and-ignored-by-the-internet OTP Kitty/Colossus.  There is no order of preference here.  Also I recently got sold REALLY HARD on Steve/Bucky (recently, ha, like three years ago Jesus Moran get your shit together) so like, also Steve/Bucky.  And any marriage that makes Storm happy and a queen of a country, so by default Ororo/T’Challa.

now name ur trash ship

I do ship Natasha/Bucky, but I think the circumstances confirm me for a bad person, because I only ship them in the context of ‘I don’t remember you and you barely remember me but you can’t bring yourself to kill me so you shot me and saved my life and I woke up in your safehouse while you wiped my wounds with a gun in your other hand and I’m not sure which one of us you’re going to shoot first.’  So.  Like.  In the single most unhealthy available context.  In a whole universe of unhealthy contexts.

Also I feel like Bobby had a crush on Hank when they were both kids and sometimes still jerks off to his best friend but I DIGRESS.

and ur really trashy im-going-to-hell ship

Elektra the unhinged murderer/Matthew Murdock the desperately earnest crusader.  Fuck brutally against a wall and piece each other back together with trembling hands that smear your skin with blood.  Cling to each other in your dying moments and stand over each other’s graves feeling guilt for not saving each other and guilt for not killing each other.  Throw words like knives and hate yourselves for every hit even as you gloat.

Good.

who is your cinnamon roll fave who everyone loves

KITTY GODDAMN PRYDE, @EVERY MOVIE PERSON EVER COME HERE AND FIGHT ME.  Also Warren and Storm, I would die for Storm.

Also Steve Rogers.  I have this reoccurring daydream where Steve punches Nick Spencer in the face.

who is your sinnamon roll fave who everyone loves to hate/hates to love

I genuinely would not even know if I had one of these, Marvel has been in my blood and bones since I was too young to be on a computer unsupervised.  I like the FF more than most people seem to?  I really like Professor Xavier and I get really defensive when people talk shit about him?

who is your trash fave who is so problematic they probably have hate tumblrs dedicated to them

I…do not know.  I think Loki makes a pretty compelling villain, but I think I’m in the majority there.  I low-key want to fight whenever someone suggests that Warren joined Apocalypse of his own free will, but I AM STANDING BY COMIC CANON COME AT ME.  So yeah, don’t think I have one of these.

what is ur  guiltiest guilty fave fandom

Okay, listen, I will be an eighty year old woman who is made entirely of salty, salty attitude and brittle bones and I will STILL be reading my campy ridiculous 60′s comics with terrible dialogue and circus-performer villains.  I know it’s not a fandom, but still.

OH I really love X-Men: Evolution and I have a whole lecture about why it’s the best adaptation of the X-Men that I’m aware of to date, but I never tell anyone that I like it for some reason, does that count?

what is the fic you want to write/read but can’t because it is too full of Sin

…so.  I actually started this one (this one) and it was Good but then I realized it would be months and months of work and I got pre-emptively tired, but basically, first words soulmate AU where Natasha and her Black Widow trainee peers all got programmed to brutally murder anyone who said their words. So then Clint shows up and of course says her words and she tries to kill him before he pins her to the wall with an arrow, and they have a really terrible brutal few months where she begs him to just kill her a lot.  And Clint keeps a taser on his person for survival reasons.  And at least once Natasha tries to stab him to death in his sleep just to end the struggle.  And Clint has a terrible awful no-good very bad conversation with Coulson about the appropriate time to cut his losses.

what is the most sinful fic you have ever read/written

G O D D A M N

what is the worst thing you want to become canon (character death, trash-ship etc)

…listen…it’s Marvel…it’s all already canon babydoll…all of it…everyone is dead…everyone has had bad relationships…everyone has been resurrected…there’s no answer here…

what is your most sinful headcanon

Do not look me in the eye and tell me that Remy LaBeau has not figured out a way to have sex with someone without touching her skin.  Whether he’s put it into action or not, that’s another story, but he has DEFINITELY figured it out.

what is your cutest headcanon

Clint watches a lot of Disney movies (he looked it up, it’s called reparenting yourself) and so consequently during that couple month period where he and Natasha are basically locked in a warehouse waiting for her to fight off the worst of the brainwashing, Natasha watches a lot of Disney movies.  Now they’re Avengers and they watch Disney movies after missions and shit. Steve gets invited to join them because Natasha decides that They Will Be Friends (Natasha’s grasp on how to make real non-mark friends is heavily influenced by the fact that her first real friend shot her, handcuffed her, and locked himself in a warehouse with her for a couple months, and also was a circus performer with a dubious handle on the friendship thing himself).

what is your heart-breakingist head canon

…I mean…canon…

I have others that are non-canon or fit within canon but like that shit’s a longer post that would need to be broken down fandom by fandom

what is ur crackiest crack ship

HA, Storm/Arkon, because the idea of Storm as the queen of a campy-ass warrior world makes me laugh

what is ur marginally less cracky crack ship

Fury/literally anyone, because he would be SO BITTER about growing feelings

what is ur favourite ridiculous au

It’s not actually that ridiculous, it’s kind of terrifying, but AU where Loki brainwashes Natasha instead of Clint in Avengers.

[kenmmcshane]

Kelsey & Crew of Primrose Yarn Co

Primrose Yarn Company has seen really beautiful growth over the past few years. When I first started working with Kelsey, she had a small dyeing operation out of her home. We would have long conversations about growing pains, difficult business relationships, and all that comes with wanting to grow your small business in the right way. I've really enjoyed seeing the changes she's made in Primrose over the past two years, taking a leap to expand in space and staff, and I love seeing it pay off.

You may have noticed here on the blog or on Instagram, I've been loving on Primrose over the past few months.I just wound a skein of Black Magic in Sophia MCN yesterday, and I'll be casting on and sharing my progress on Instagram throughout this coming week. And over the past few months I've knit her Ultimate Sock twice in Grumpy Jello and Forbidden Forest. So far, Primrose seems to be my 2018 go-to! Since we have such a stunning collection of yarn right now from Kelsey and crew, I thought this would be a great time to learn more about her. So here's 10 Questions with Primrose Yarn Co.

Allison @ SSYC: What brought you to dyeing yarn, and therefore creating Primrose Yarn Co?

Kelsey @ Primrose: I graduated from Tyler School of Art in 2012 with a BFA in Fibers and Material Studies. A few months later I found out I was pregnant with my daughter, Paige, and when my nesting instincts kicked in I wanted to learn how to knit to make things for her. My mother-in-law is an avid sock knitter, so she was happy to teach me everything she knew. That fall we attended the New York State Sheep and Wool Festival in Rhinebeck and I was blown away by the number of vendors and the variety of their wares. That trip convinced me that I wanted to become a part of the knitting community as more than just a consumer - I wanted to dye yarn. And so I began dyeing at home in my kitchen… and the rest, as they say, is history!

Allison @ SSYC: Sounds like your education really set you up nicely on the path to this success. Tell us about the growth you've seen in the past few years since we started carrying your yarn- going from one employee (yourself) to how many employees? Moving from your home to a studio? How has your role changed from the beginning to now?

Kelsey: We have grown a lot in the past few years! We grew out of my kitchen into a 3800 sq ft warehouse space, from dyeing in 2 pots to 10, and from just me to having 2 full time employees. We also transitioned from using Etsy for online sales to our own website. My role has changed for sure - I am now an employer, so I’ve taken on that role as well as delegating some tasks other than dyeing so that I can remain focused on that aspect of the business.

Allison: What are your current fave colors to dye? What about to knit?

Shown above is Bohemian in Adelaide Singles

Kelsey: My “current” favorite colors are always changing as I’m always creating new ones! But right now I’m really enjoying dyeing Bohemian, Dark Caster, Bramble, Skateboards & Snowcones, and Istanbul. As far as knitting is concerned, I’m currently obsessed with Mercury in Retrograde and Where Is My Mind.

Shown below is Where is my Mind in Ultimate Sock

Allison: I've seen you work with several well-known pattern designers. They seem to connect with your aesthetic. Tell me three patterns you think are totally on trend right now.

Kelsey: Right now there are so many fantastic patterns being released! Top three for me, that all use fingering weight, are Joji Locatelli’s Suburban Wrap, the Zweig Sweater by Caitlin Hunter, and True Colors by Melanie Berg - which is perfect for mini skeins by the way!

Allison: Those are all great designs that would show off your colors beautifully! Where do you find your color and name inspiration? Are all the ideas yours or do you now trust a team to imagine new hues?

Kelsey: A lot of the color names I come up with are references to music we listen to in the studio, pop culture, television, and other daily influences. We try to tie well known things in everyday life that people can relate to into our yarn.

Shown below, Dark Caster in Adelaide Singles

Allison: It sounds like you and your team are really in sync- bringing in influences from your lives and culture to create a cohesive line. Tell me more about your staff and what their roles are in Primrose.

Kelsey: My team is made up of two full time employees that I rely on heavily for the running of everyday studio activities like breaking down or labeling yarn, as well as keeping the website up to date and shipping products. Lauren - my studio manager - takes care of all of our customer service communications, wholesale orders, shipping, website maintenance, newsletters, and a variety of other tasks. She keeps us all organized and on track! Tiffany - my studio assistant - only has one speed and it's 100 miles per hour! She breaks down all incoming raw yarn, counts and organizes finished product for sale in the shop, skeins and labels, helps with photography, and does most of the heavy lifting. These two ladies are the perfect support team to keep everything running smoothly and allow me to focus on dyeing gorgeous yarn!

Allison: Finding the right people is a cornerstone in growth and sustaining a small business. Without the amazing ladies at SSYC, I wouldn't have any balance in my life. And it's still a constant struggle. How do you find balance in your work/life?

Kelsey: I do my best to keep weekends for family time, and aside from knitting on personal projects I don’t do anything work related between 5pm on Friday and 8am on Monday. This work/life balance was a major goal when we moved out of my house. By literally removing my workspace from my home, as well as hiring staff and setting studio hours, I’ve been able to spend more time with my family friends on evenings and weekends.

Allison: Other than knitting (obviously), what fun things does your downtime include? Me, I spend my time playing volleyball, eating great food, playing cards with friends, exploring with my kids. You?

Kelsey: I love attending baseball games at Camden yards with my family, Taco Thursdays with friends at a local pub, and finding time to travel and explore new places. I also love watching horror movies and Live PD on Friday and Saturday nights with my husband.

Allison: Now that we are entering the busy fiber fair and festival season, is that something you'll spend off-time doing?

Kelsey: The only festival we currently vend at is the New York State Sheep and Wool Festival, where you will again be able to find us this October! We occasionally attend other festivals, but not as vendors.

Allison: What's the biggest thing to happen for you in 2017? What do you hope for in 2018?

Kelsey: The biggest change for my company in 2017 was moving into a dedicated space and hiring employees in order to grow as a company. In 2018 we hope to continue that trend of growth, as well as partnering with fabulous designers, and pushing the creative envelope to come up with new and exciting colorways.

Allison: With so much change in the past two years alone, where do you see Primrose going in the next 5 years?

Kelsey: We have experienced so much change and growth in just the last 12 months, that we put no limits on our future possibilities and where we might be in 5 years. We are constantly looking towards what could be next for our company, staying on the cutting edge of color and design trends and keeping an open mind about the new and unknown. We are so excited to continue our journey and see what the future holds!

Allison: Thank you very much for taking time out of your busy schedule to share your life with us. An even bigger thank you for keeping us well stocked with your beautiful colors!

Have questions for Kelsey and crew? Feel free to leave them in the comments below. Or just kind words and encouragement, if you like! If you would like to keep up with Kelsey and the adventures at Primrose Yarn Company, their Instagram is a great place to start.

from pussyfoott2b http://simplysockyarn.typepad.com/simply_socks_yarn_co/2018/03/kelsey-crew-of-primrose-yarn-co.html via http://www.rssmix.com/