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yellowmechanicalcat · 5 years

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emotionally colorblind: plance in season 8

(part one of three)

In the series finale of The I.T. Crowd, one of the techs has started dating a girl from another department. (Yes, this is VLD meta, just stick with me.) He feels the relationship is going well and is very happy, and brags to his coworkers that his girlfriend recently told him he was “emotionally artistic” - which he interprets to mean he’s on the “artistic” emotional spectrum because he’s so in touch with her wants and needs. (At this point, it’s become clear to the viewer that his girlfriend has actually accused him of being “emotionally autistic” and believes him to be on the autistic spectrum.)

Later that day, his girlfriend calls again to tearfully ask if he’d accompany her to her grandfather’s funeral and abruptly hangs up on him when he cheerfully agrees. He’s baffled by her reaction until his manager rightly points out that his girlfriend was upset because the way he responded was completely off base from the subject matter, as his chipper tone of voice made him sound as if he’d just been invited to a music festival rather than having any sympathy for his girlfriend’s loss. Only then does it occur to him that his response was inappropriate because funerals are sad.

“‘Emotionally artistic’? You’re emotionally colorblind,” his manager mutters in disbelief.

Old news, but Season 8 isn’t what anyone expected

‘Emotionally colorblind’ - e.g., giving inappropriate responses to a topic because of an inability to perceive the nuances of a situation - feels like a pretty good description of Season 8, in which excellent animation is overwhelmed by moments in which characterization feels off, dialogue doesn’t seem to fit, or the plot clashes with what’s actually being shown on screen. Those moments - along with the conspicuous lack of reaction from the cast and EPs in the month since its release and cryptic criticism from crew members - have led many fans to conclude that the version of Season 8 released took the cast/crew by surprise. Posts by Aria C., a former DW intern while Season 8 was in production, suggest that the overall plot hadn’t changed dramatically since the scripts were being drafted, but that doesn’t mean that individual character arcs weren’t subtly adjusted along the way.

While it’s not clear exactly how much actually changed about Season 8 during production, we do know that many of the changes were made at the last minute. The most noticeable changes seem to have been in response to the backlash against how LGBT characters were portrayed, although this article covers many of the other pacing issues in Season 8 while some of the discrepancies between the audio description and what’s actually seen on screen are listed here. The single biggest last-minute change seems to be the epilogue (including the final few stills) which was approved extremely late in the production process and underwent additional changes after being leaked just weeks before the season’s release.

I strongly suspect that Pidge and Lance had an arc in Season 8 that was another casualty of the last-minute changes.

The End is the Beginning

Let’s take a look at the ending of the series’ final episode. One year after the final battle with Honerva, Pidge and Matt are working on building a humanoid robot that Pidge dubs Chip. Colleen interrupts to tell Pidge she should be heading out; Pidge looks serious and doesn’t respond, then recovers a moment later and makes Matt promise to wait for her to get back to finish. She leaves her glasses with Chip before heading off in the Green Lion, as Sam and Colleen both watch her leave.

Colleen: “Your father’s got the teludav all warmed up for you. Better get going, you don’t want to be late.”  Sam: (cheerful) “Have a good time, honey!” Pidge: (laughingly) “I will, Dad.”

The way they’re talking to her is the way parents would talk to a teenager who’s about to go to a party or on a date, peppy and almost teasing. Pidge’s serious expression suggests that wherever she’s going is somewhere she’s not entirely ready to be - she isn’t upset about needing to be somewhere, but she isn’t rushing out the door to get there, either. Maybe she’s nervous - we can’t tell.

We cut to Coran and Merla on Altea as they discuss preparations for “the first Celebration of Allura”, then over to Lance as he recounts the story of Allura’s sacrifice to a group of schoolchildren sitting by her statue, telling them that while he misses her, he knows she’s still with all of them. The Altean teacher, in a chipper tone similar to Pidge’s parents, informs the kids that “Paladin Lance has somewhere to be in a few doboshes.” Just then, a wormhole opens and Lance looks up as the Green Lion flies through. He turns away from the statue to watch Pidge land, a smile on his face.

The scene fades to the Paladins having dinner by the statue of Allura. Within moments, it’s obvious that their reunion is the feast Coran and Merla had been discussing earlier. The Celebration of Allura is the one year anniversary of her death. The paladins’ reunion is a memorial.

We’ve seen memorials in VLD before. In Season 7, Shiro visits the Garrison’s memorial wall for those KIA. Later, Earth has a giant memorial service for the victims of just one battle, as Shiro addresses the crowd: “There isn’t one of us here today who hasn’t experienced the tragedy of losing someone close. It truly feels like a light has gone out in our lives and the sun itself couldn’t reignite it. But that light, that fire, hasn’t gone out completely. It’s fueled within each of us by the memories and the love of those we’ve lost. …”

After the one year timeskip, we see Keith persuading the Galra to join the Galactic Coalition with Shiro and Hunk leading diplomatic negotiations on the Atlas; all three invoke Allura’s example as they work towards peace. Hunk even mentions the significance of that day being when they commemorate Allura’s sacrifice. What she did and why she did it aren’t secret. It stands to reason that the anniversary of her death - the anniversary of when Allura saved their reality and countless others - wouldn’t be a ‘celebration’ only for six people. Everyone, everywhere, should be taking a moment to remember her - especially those who fought at her side, like the Holts.

Instead, Sam and Colleen’s reactions in Pidge’s scene are jarring. While things may be different in Voltron’s future world, I doubt any parent would tell their child “Have a good time, honey!” as they go to a memorial dinner for their dead friend. Because as The I.T. Crowd pointed out, funerals are sad - and so is any reminder of someone’s death. You don’t have to be constantly moping and sobbing because you miss someone, you can still celebrate their life, but that kind of event still has a somber, bittersweet element to it. Telling someone ‘Have fun, don’t be late!’ as they head off to a memorial would definitely qualify as emotionally colorblind. It’s hard to believe the actors and voice director would have agreed to record the scene within the context we got onscreen.

Lance’s scene makes it even more complicated. Showing Lance turn to watch only Pidge land is a bizarre choice if the purpose of his scene is to emphasize how much Lance still cares for Allura before showing the other Paladins arriving on Altea. It only makes sense for Lance to turn away from looking at Allura’s statue and towards Pidge if Pidge and Lance are supposed to have a deeper connection.

If the focus is actually meant to be on Allura and this event - and on her family coming together to remember her - it would have made sense for Lance to look past Allura’s statue to see the Blue Lion in the distance, Red parked next to it, as Green, Yellow, and Black emerge from the wormhole to land beside them. If the animation had to be rushed for a last-minute change or the budget was stretched too far, they could have just used the same shot of the Lions sitting together at the end of dinner with daytime lighting instead of night, fading into dinner instead of fading out.

Pidge and Lance’s scenes would also have benefited from being re-recorded with slightly different dialogue and delivery. For example:

Colleen: (serious, but gentle) “Your father’s got the teludav ready to go. You don’t want to be late, Katie.” Sam: “Tell ’em hello for me.” Pidge: (a little reserved) “I will, Dad.”

Teacher: “I think Paladin Lance has some visitors to go meet, and you all have class…”  

VLD’s had to work around making the dialogue fit changes to the animation/plot before. Take The Feud, in which Keith sounds bizarrely calm compared to the others, which the EPs later explained was because Steven Yeun recorded his lines before the storyboards and script had finalized what the paladins’ reactions would be and he was too busy to re-record before the deadline, so they kept his first take. (I suspect that’s also the reason for Keith’s annoyed-sounding “Don’t miss” comment to Lance in Know Your Enemy, which doesn’t mesh with their otherwise more positive relationship at that point, although I have absolutely no proof) But Yeun’s situation isn’t the norm - in cases where the actor was genuinely too busy to re-record, the show either used soundalikes or wrote out a character where possible, replaced dialogue, etc. Any of those tactics could have been valid workarounds…. unless the change was made relatively last-minute and there just wasn’t enough time.

So if the ending is missing the context of an additional scene between Pidge and Lance, what else might have been cut? And why?

I’ll explain in part two.

#sarah forms voltron opinions #plance #flirtyrobot #pidgance #vld s8 #voltron critical #plance meta #been on a bit of a hiatus for the holidays #not much time for tumblr meant lots of time for theories #my non-fandom friends watched s8 over the holidays and i got swarmed with questions #which was a little validating because it's one thing for fandom to be nitpicky but if casual viewers are also watching and going 'uhhhh what #was THAT?' then maybe something really is off #i've been thinking a lot about cultural differences while writing this #obviously funerals are the biggest event but the first year usually has a memorial of some kind whether with a religious service or just as #a gathering of family/friends... if it's a family member the first few years usually involve doing something #just because it's hard to be alone #PSA: the i.t. crowd is a good show #long meta is long thank you for reading??

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rosetintedbeanie · 5 years

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My Review on TWDG: The Final Season

Buckle up folks because it’s going to be a bumpy ride with some unpopular opinions added. This is a little overdue.

So before I start, I want to say that I didn’t want to put this into the tags because we all know how this fandom can be.

I’ll start off with the good. The season started off really, really strong, and it was a good way to introduce all the new characters. I didn’t necessarily like Marlon at first, but after looking back, he’s grown on me a little bit. His voice actor did an incredible job. I’ll admit, after two seasons of disappointment and annoyance, I had low expectations for the first episode and the season as a whole, but I was pleasantly surprised. The ending to episode one, atmosphere and all, was one of the best final scenes in the game’s history, and it genuinely gave me chills all the way up until the last minute. THAT was some good shit, and it felt like the writers were finally realizing what they were doing.

The season had likable enough characters, and although there are a few that I’m indifferent with, there wasn’t anyone that I totally didn’t like. The bisexual representation made me incredibly happy, and partially helped me a bit more with my own sexuality. Before anyone asks, I personally went with Louisentine, but Violentine is pretty damn adorable and both ships are totally valid. And I know it wasn’t a shipping option, but in my opinion, Clem would have been cute with Ruby, too.

Minerva’s downfall was really well done. I didn’t necessarily like her, but I did feel sorry for her. She was a victim of brainwashing and bad leadership and she and Sophie didn’t deserve that. You could even see her trying to come out of it at times in the third episode, when she mentions Tenn to one of the guards (Dorian I think her name is?). The scene on the bridge was probably one of the best, if not the best scene of the last episode in my opinion. There was a lot of tension, and Minnie singing to draw walkers to her brother really added to that. If anything I actually forgot about her up until that point and thought she’d just died. Also, can we get a cover of her VA singing the entire song? I have a new need.

Now before I dive into what I didn’t like and my unpopular opinions, a disclaimer: These are just my personal opinions. I tend to be nitpicky at these things, and I didn’t hate the season at all whatsoever.

I...couldn’t get attached to AJ in any episode. I tried to, I really did. I didn’t hate him by any means, and I even defended him when people were wishing death and hating him for killing Marlon. But there were times that I felt that he was just too much, even for a hardened survivor. I get that he was born into an apocalyptic world, but I didn’t exactly like how he turned into the same temperamental, edgy kid no matter what Clem taught him. I wasn’t a huge fan of the many parallels, either. Some were fine, but after a while they started to get a bit old.

Alright, here’s the biggie that y’all probably expected: the way they handled Lilly this season. If you’ve been following me for a while then you’re probably aware that I love Lilly and have defended her for years now. So naturally I was extremely excited to see that she was returning after years of being right about her fate (because come on, there’s no way she just died). And I just want to say that as much as I wanted a redemption arc for her, I wouldn’t have minded her being a villain so much had she gotten more screen time, a better explanation, and a more meaningful way to go out on both parts. I really didn’t like how she still appeared to have humanity in her first appearance, totally hesitating to kill Clementine and damn near CRYING if she’s told that you were family once, and then pretty much tossing all that out the window when she (determinately) orders a kid’s tongue cut out. Then in the finale she gets two minutes tops of screen time and can suddenly feel remorseful again? Ooookay. We also got pretty much no explanation on why she’s this way except for “my dad melted my ice cream so I kidnap kids now lol.” I just feel like we were robbed of something more involving Lilly, and no matter how you feel about her, she deserved better than to become what she did, better than to be handled the way she was. I’ll always stand by my word that she was not bad from day one, and no one can convince me otherwise.

Something else that felt weird to me was that there was no mention of Kenny outside of a determinant choice in the first episode??? Like no matter how you felt about him, he was important in Clem’s life and it’s especially strange how he wasn’t even talked about during Clem and Lilly’s chat. You’d think Lilly would bring up the guy who killed her dad.

The way that the deaths were handled in the finale bothered me. Like, really bothered me. There’s maybe a couple minutes of grief (which I get that in the moment you had to get away, but there was time for that later), and basically no other mention. Louis was the one who died in my game, but I’ve seen playthroughs and I couldn’t stand how Violet can pretty much justify Tenn’s death if it happens. The way she said, “He was always getting into trouble and messing up,” brought me back to Season 2 and the way Sarah was treated, and it was even worse because Tenn reminded me a little of her and to hear that again made me feel ill. Like girl...did Jane possess you there for a minute???

I uhhh might be in quite the minority here, but I was unsatisfied with the overall ending. The big thing was Clem getting bit and her leg amputated; okay, yeah, sure. But let’s look at what happened before: her foot was cut pretty badly, and I’ll even give that the infection could have taken the spread of the bite out of her. But people really seem to ignore that she still lost a lot of blood on the way to the barn??? Like, I’m not a doctor or anything, but losing blood even after a short period of time can still be very dangerous. Even with the explanation given by one of the writers, there’s no realistic way that Clem would have survived that amputation with the amount of blood already gone. I’m sorry, but it really felt like plot armor. I would have been happy with her being determinant, with the ending we got being the “alive” ending. But I feel like there should have been multiple endings, considering the last two seasons were known for that. I don’t know, I just wasn’t feeling it like most everyone else was. There was a lot I just wasn’t feeling.

One last quick thing about the ending: we never did see the Delta. The Delta’s leader, who is NOT Lilly as confirmed by Kent Mudle, would wonder why their people didn’t come back. They’d probably send out to find whoever was responsible, especially if they knew about the school beforehand. You’d think the school would prepare itself for future attacks, because it’s kind of a new potential threat. It’s something I figured out kind of recently, and it’s weird that no one would question it.

My overall opinion of the season was that it was good, but not great. In terms of writing, it blows A New Frontier and the last half of Season 2 out of the water. The story itself is an interesting idea, but there are a few directions that I wish had been taken differently. The season, as I said, started out strong, and there were moments in every episode that I genuinely liked. I just wish there had been multiple ways to conclude Clementine’s story. The ending we got just felt...a bit off. To conclude this essay-length review, I in no way disliked this season and I have to give credit to the writers for putting more of an effort since A House Divided. If you’ve read this far down, thanks! This was fun to write.

**MIC DROP**

#So yeaaaah I wanted to get this out #I know not everyone will agree with me but I hope it puts something into perspective #Ask to tag

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oc-rehab-centre · 6 years

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How To Make An Ackerman OC

(Artist: Xue Lian Yue)

How To Make An Ackerman OC

The Ackerman Family is a very iconic bloodline, exclusive to the Shingeki No Kyojin Universe. A byproduct of titan engineering, the Ackermans possess unimaginable strength once reaching an “awakened” state, through which their strength is triggered. Levi and Mikasa Ackerman are arguably some of the manga’s icons and are well known by many members of other fandoms.

With such an interesting and enigmatic aura to the Ackerman Family - it is understandable that many people in the OC Fandom might take interest in having an Ackerman of their own. While typically - we would advise you here to avoid having fanmade characters be related to canon characters, here - we are going to try and discuss the tropes and cliches of Ackerman OCs. We will tell you what to avoid - and perhaps give you some pointers on how to improve upon your OC. As usual, what you read will be based merely off of personal opinions.

More may be added into to in the future! If you have any suggestions or tropes you would like us to add, send us a message and we’ll add how we best believe could correct that trope/problem!

Trope 1 - Tragic Ackerpast

Sad backstories are not an uncommon thing in Attack on Titan. A majority of the show’s main characters have tragic pasts, and the Ackermans are no different. Of the two childhoods we have seen, Levi’s mother passed away while he was still young and he only learned enough to survive in the Underground District before being left by Kenny.

Despite being from a bloodline that is actively trying to be suppressed - does not mean they need to have a tragic backstory to validate their Ackerman heritage.

Perhaps your OC grew up a little rough around the edges - but their entire nuclear family does not have to be slaughtered - nor do they have to be adopted or fostered by some abusive parents or the perfect, rich parents for their own protection. While this may help your OC better “correlate” with the canon Ackermans in the series, OC critics will be picky of details and certainly pounce on you for this. Just because they are an Ackerman OC does not mean they need an “edgy” backstory.

Note: This fact/tip of OC creation does not just apply to Ackerman OCs! Shingeki No Kyojin, as gruesome as it is - not every character has a tragic past, filled with murder, melancholy and abuse. While tragic pasts can add to certain fanmade characters, it can detract from others. Be sure to do it well, if you decide a tragic past would suit your character, and try to avoid the common tropes/cliches.

Another thing worth mentioning - people seem to dub Kenny as an abusive relative. That man is caring and sweet in his own kind of way. Regardless of the fact that he is a killer, he is very human.

Trope 2 - Forms of Levi Connection

There are various thing that never fail to annoy me about the Ackerman OCs and their relationships to Levi, but I shall only explain and resolve a few of these pet peeves - because they go against the known canon. I’ll list them below - and then you can read about them.

Levi is the Father/Brother/Uncle/etc.

The Thug “Quartet”

Being a Scout

1. Levi is the Father/Brother/Uncle/etc.

A majority of the Ackerman OCs I have seen are in one way or another, connected to Levi. After browsing a few of the Ackerman OCs via Google and looking through their biographies to discover their Ackerman heritage - Levi was almost always the father. And, if not the father - he tended to be either the older brother of the OC.

While there is nothing to confirm the fact that Levi does not have any siblings, I would just like to say - it is unlikely that any of Levi’s fanmade siblings, would be Ackermans. Kuchel, after having Levi - would likely not bear any more children after him - considering the fact that she was presumably sickly even before her son’s birth. (Idea: Remember, Levi has a father, even though he is never seen or named. If Levi’s illegitimate father was a player and enjoyed screwing with lots of prostitutes, you can theoretically have an OC to Levi who isn’t an Ackerman!)

I got a little carried away in that last statement, but I feel personally like it is a realistic idea, far more realistic than Levi having any siblings younger than himself. Levi having older siblings is an idea I am honestly less opposed to, on the condition that they are done well, of course.

What is even better than having your Ackerman OC related to Levi, remember that Levi, Kenny and Kuchel only make up one side, hell, perhaps even just one branch of the Ackerman Family. In comparison to Levi, Mikasa’s side of the Ackerman family is practically estranged from Ackerman OCs. It is always a matter of being related to Levi, rather than Mikasa.

Perhaps you can propose that Mr. Ackerman (Mikasa’s father) has brothers or sisters who have Ackerman children of their own. You are free to be crafty with OCs - as long as they make logical sense!! You have the opportunity to fill in gaps which Hajime Isayama never filled in himself with your own headcanons and plot ideas. Perhaps that man has a stat of 11/10 mystery for a reason you can fill in!

Now to move away from siblings of Levi is concerning a majority of Ackerman OCs - the children of Levi. Many children of Levi tend to be the product of either common pairings (Levihan, Rivetra, Ereri, etc.) or of a canon x oc couple. While these OCs are very prevalent in the fandom, it is quite annoying. Many OC critics argue that children of Levi are instantaneously Mary-Sues/Gary-Stus because their very existence breaks canon and they will advise you to rethink your consideration of making your OC an Ackerman.

Common themes in Levi being the father are typically not believable. Many creators fail to consider the fact that Levi’s age when making their OCs, the product of canon ships or canon x oc pairs. Many people often forget that Levi did not join the Scouts until 844, a year before the Fall of Wall Maria - yet (this is only an example), he has a child who is 15 years old and a member of the 104th Trainees Squadron by 847. I have seen very many Ackerman OCs whose aging does not fit at all into the timeline of the Attack on Titan, so be cautious and take a few minutes to make sure the dates make sense. Just use a calculator or some mental math skills - and make sure it is passable.

2. The Thug Quartet

Moving on - often times, if the OC grew up in the Underground, they are a fourth member of the Thug Trio - composed of Levi, Isabel Magnolia and Farlan Church.

In relation to the question regarding the insertion of an OC in the Thug Trio - I would personally advise OC creators to avoid this. One of the most unoriginal things you can do, which can potentially destroy a fan character is plopping them straight into the series and rewriting the canonical timeline to accommodate your character. This just takes so much originality out of a fan character, and much of the fun out of creating one as well.

A good fan character FITS into a storyline. The canon story should not have to be altered for them to fit into the series. If you are altering canonical events in the story so that it bends to the personal history/timeline of your own character, I’m sorry to tell you this, but stop. For the sake of having a good OC, just stop.

If you want your OC to also live in the Underground District, certainly, they can still be an Ackerman and not be part of Levi’s Thug Trio to, uh, still be a thug - if you’re dead set on your character being a thug.

3. Being A Scout

Let’s be honest. A majority of the OCs in this fandom are soldiers and members of the Scouting Legion. There is nothing wrong with being in the Scouting Legion, Hell - most of my own OCs are in the Scouting Legion. Now allow me to explain why this peeves me.

In connection to the idea of the “Thug Quartet”, a few Ackerman OCs (and also many OCs in general) I have seen have been exploited for their strength and are pretty much Levi, regurgitated in a much smaller, female form. The fact that many Ackerman OCs are asked by Erwin to join the Scouting Legion, rather than joining by their own free will.

*inhale* Just a little bit of salt - people seem to forget Erwin wasn’t the Commander until 845. I’m very nitpicky when it comes to the dates, warning to all the future OCs I will review!

The Scouting Legion is not a first choice for most sane individuals, especially prior to the year 847, when Eren convinced a sizable portion of the main cast to join the Scouts with his teenage, hormonal military propaganda. It was/is a death wish to be part of the Scouting Legion - punishment, depending on how you look at it. Refrain from having your Ackerman Oc (or any OC) be convinced to join the Scouts in the same manner as Levi, Isabel and Farlan - it makes for a very unoriginal concept.

Trope 3: The Ackerman Archetypes

If you ask people to describe Levi and Mikasa Ackerman, the answers you will get will be pretty simple and basic. They are badass, reserved, and powerful. In this section - we’re gonna discuss what OC creators forget to keep in mind when making their Ackerman OC, and these are basically the stereotypes.

Personality

Physical Appearance

Strength

1. Personality

A common misconception about members of the Ackerman Family is that they are all cold and stoic characters who are not overly expressive, often seen frowning subtly in a detached, mysterious manner. GOD. This is an incredibly annoying thing to see in Ackerman OCs - personalities are not genetic and furthermore, the Ackermans are not soulless beings incapable of emotions, just because their badass levels are OVER 9000!!

It’s a common misconception as well that the Ackermans are all stone-faced individuals, but God.. Isayama and WIT Studio have done a lot better in recent chapters/episodes to show both Levi and Mikasa with expressions other than, y’know:

That.

Just because they are an Ackerman does not mean they have to be exactly like Levi or Mikasa - they are free to have their own original personalities.

2. Physical Appearance

Another very common trait of Ackerman OCs is their appearance. In a majority of Ackerman OCs - they will have jet-black hair, light pigmented eyes which if blue, will more often than not be described as “ice blue”. (lol)

This is admittedly a rather justified trait. We see that many of the Ackermans from Levi’s known side of the family possess dark hair and light eye. (with the exception of Grandpa Ackerman, but we can assume he had darker hair in his youth, unless it was a trait from Grandma Ackerman.) It can be argued that dark hair and light eyes are dominant genetic traits, but not every canon Ackerman is dark haired.

Going back to Mr. Ackerman, we know that he has light hair - and therefore proves that not all Ackermans have dark hair. Black hair does not have to be the only colour that exists in Ackermans. Brunette, blonde, fawn - please! I’d love to see some Ackerman OCs who do not have astoundingly light/bright coloured eyes or black hair! It would actually be refreshing to see an Ackerman OC who does not look like a carbon copy of fem! Levi. It will certainly help your character seem more original, despite being an Ackerman!

3. Strength (+ Ackerbond Concept)

Out of all of the archetypes seem in Ackerman OCs - what pisses me off the most is a lack of understanding of the Ackerman’s strength and its origin. There are countless Ackerman OCs who have stats that surpass Levi’s. This not only breaks canon - but seeing Ackerman OCs with stats that say “Battle Skill: 12/10″ and such of that sort, but in their bio, there is never anything stated about a traumatic/changing event that sparked that fire, just makes OC critics wonder if you have really done your homework on how the Ackermans work.

For those who don’t understand what the Hell I’m trying to say here, news flash - the Ackermans are not born as ripe, killing machines. Their strength is often dormant, only awakening in response to an event which causes them to feel threatened, endangered or simply so god damn sh00k that their physiology alters drastically, giving them superhuman strength.

In a flashback episode from Season 1 of Attack on Titan, back when the scenes of the manga were animated accurately and at a reasonable pace - (*cough* Season 3 *cough cough*) we see firsthand how Mikasa’s strength is unlocked.

As a result of trauma and developing what the fandom commonly calls an “Ackerbond” to Eren Jaeger, it is only here when Mikasa is able to find the drive to fight and her ability to do so nearly flawlessly. An “Ackerbond” can be defined as a special and unbreakable bond formed between an Ackerman who they fiercely devote themselves to. Known Ackerbonds that exist are the bonds between: Uri Reiss/Kenny Ackerman, Eren Jaeger/Mikasa Ackerman and Levi Ackerman/Erwin Smith.

Some Ackermans, like Mr. Ackerman - never awaken their Acker-strength, and live just like ordinary people, not possessing Ackerbonds or many of the defining traits of the Ackerman bloodline.

Out of the many Ackerman OC bios I have read, a majority completely gloss over the fact that Ackermans are not born as natural warriors - but it is instead something that must be awoken. They often fail to describe HOW their OC came to unlock their power - and even fewer detail the concepts of Ackerbonds between their OC and another character. Hell. Wait. I’ve never even seen an Ackerman OC with an Ackerbond - they just tend to be in love with someone, but that doesn’t count as an Ackerbond.

I would strongly advise, if your OC is an “awoken” Ackerman with stats that exceed 10/10, that you include details about how they achieved their superhuman strength and who they are Ackerbonded to. Additionally, having an Ackerman OC who is not “awoken” and is just your average Joe is also fine, perhaps even better, in some cases!

But in all cases, DO NOT go putting your OC as “Humanities Strongest”, surpassing Levi Ackerman, Mike Zacharius or Mikasa Ackerman! Just... Just don’t, why should be self explanatory.

Assorted Tropes + Pet Peeves

Age and Profession: A majority of the Ackerman OCs appear to be no older than 20 by the year 850. Teenaged OCs are common and cliched in this fandom, and being graduates of the 104th Trainees Squadron is another overly used concept. It would be nice to see some Ackerman OCs who are not soldiers or teenagers/young adults.

Too Many Canon-Breaking Qualities: Some of the most canon-breaking tropes among OCs would be things like canon x OC shipping. Now - I personally have nothing against canon x OC shipping, it does not bother me at all when it is done right. But, having an Ackerman OC is special enough. To keep from getting negative attention and commentaries - try to limit the amount of special qualities you give your OC. This does not apply to only Ackerman OCs, but to OCs in general! Giving your character too many special qualities - like the canon shipping and a spot in Levi’s squadron breaks the canon, and will detract from your character rather than add to it!

Summary of Main Points

Avoid giving your Ackerman OC too many traits that make them overly characteristic and put stress on the canon like: incredibly tragic pasts, canon x oc shipping, being part Asian or from another iconic family, being a member of the 104th Squadron, being part of the Special Ops. Squadron, etc. Try keeping your OC’s life lowkey and avoid making them too special.

Your character does not have to be directly related to Levi, Mikasa or Kenny to be an Ackerman. There is such freedom to expand the family tree - so take advantage of the plotholes!

Make sure your character FITS into the canon - rather than the canon having to change to accommodate their personal storyline. Try to avoid plopping your character straight into the canonverse - you have the freedom to be creative and give them a story of their own!

Try not to use the Ackerman stereotypes - like the certain personality, appearance and strength without delving deeper to explain why they are the way they are!

If they have stats over 10/10 - please, remember to explain why! Ackermans often don’t have their full strength unless their strength is triggered or awoken - often because of a traumatic event or when they discover the person they are Ackerbonded to!! If your OC has high stats and is an Ackerman, find a character for them to be Ackerbonded to!

This is all for now! Thank you for tuning in. I hope you enjoyed reading this and I hope it helped~!

#Attack on Titan #Shingeki No Kyojin #Attack on Titan OC #Shingeki No Kyojin OC #SNK OC #AOT OC #OC Review #OC Help

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gffa · 7 years

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No, it was one you didn't answer, so maybe tumblr ate it? I was basically asking if you think it's okay to consider the movies "more" canon than the shows, or to write fic without even having seen the shows. Also if you think it's okay for some headcanons (about orientation, for example) to ignore non-movie canon. Like, I always imagined Obi-Wan as gay, but then learned he has a female love interest in TCW. I like other characters as bi, but I was pretty attached to gay Obi-Wan. Is that bad?

Part of it is me being paranoid and embarrassed about being a “bad fan” or something if I’m not familiar with all of what’s considered canon or if I decide to pick and choose a little outside of the movies (or even maybe someday IN them, god forbid) for the sake of some LGBTQ+ headcanons. I’m just super afraid of making an ass of myself, lol

At the very end of the line, I think anyone who comes from a place of affection and good faith for the character they’re writing a headcanon about is a “good fan”, that there is no one way to be a fan of something in the first place. If you still feel funny about it, just say that you’re setting aside show events because you’re attached to this headcanon of yours and generally even nitpicky people will go, “Well, that’s just how they’re going to roll then.”!It’s absolutely not bad to come at the canon (whatever you do/don’t consider as part of canon) however you want, each person has to decide it for themselves, and just not be a dick about it to other people. That includes people who do follow the “rules” (as much as they can be called that) of Star Wars “canon”–don’t be a dick to people who disagree. Just because you can say, “This is what Star Wars officially tells us is part of canon!” that’s no reason to be a jerk, that would make someone a bad fan, imo. Fandom is fandom, there are very few rules about how to be a fan and that’s one of the fundamental things about it!Personally, I do think meta and fic/headcanons are a different thing–like I wrote a fic with Earth-style cats in it, despite that I don’t think they exist in the GFFA as far as I can tell. \:D/ But I wouldn’t write meta about the effect of Earth-style cats in the GFFA, because the point of meta is to discuss what’s actually there and being presented with narrative authority (at least in my mind–others may approach meta from a different angle, for example if they’re critiquing the writers, rather than the characters), rather than fanfic, which the whole point is to write something that means something to you. Headcanon posts can sort of blur the lines a bit, but I think they’re absolutely fine so long as you’re kind to others who approach things differently. Maybe you’re going against what’s official, but that hardly makes you a bad fan! You’ve been super sweet in this exchange, I would absolutely call you a “good fan”. (Not that anyone needs my approval, of course, but you were kind enough to ask how I felt and so I wanted to explain! ♥)Star Wars canon is massive and it has the further complication of how Legends material was officially put out, so we can say “AT ONE TIME this was canon!” but also say “yeah, but it was always fundamentally unreliable” and also say “there’s a reason they wiped the slate clean the way they did”, so it’s a big giant mess, especially if you don’t have the time/resources to read everything (and, god, most people don’t!). If everyone had to read every piece of supplementary canon just to be a “good fan” then there’d only be, like, three people total who are “good fans”!Picking and choosing what you want to accept, especially on a personal level, has always been fine and will continue to be fine. *hugs* Absolutely you should continue with seeing Obi-Wan as gay if it means something important to you (or you just want to see him that way!), and if that means that you see the movies as “more canon” than the tv shows, then you should do that, too! You can absolutely write fic without taking things into consideration. Hell, I will absolutely support someone who saw something in the movies and went, “That was ridiculous, I’m not counting that.” because that’s what fandom is.I think one of the biggest differences here is the aim–are you trying to convince me/others of the narrative validity of your case? That’s probably going to be a tough road to hoe, because Immovable Objects of Star Wars History does include the TV show that George was deeply involved with. But are you just doing your own thing, because it’s important to you? Are you aware that you’re setting aside the events of the TV show/comics/etc., because that’s not how you yourself see them? You’re 100% fine!It’s hard to put this into words–I do think that meta should be rooted in the rules of the Star Wars franchise, because it’s their sandbox, we’re just playing in it. But I think meta vs headcanons/fic are separate discussions, as well as what makes someone a “good fan” has never been measured by how much or how little you’ve seen of the wider canon. And “good fan” vs “what’s reliable in a meta discussion” are two entirely separate elements of fandom, to my mind as well! (I suspect one of the things that blurs the lines is that “meta” vs “personal reaction post” can often overlap, but can also be completely different things, which further complicates things.)I keep focusing on the meta vs fic aspect, because that’s what my earlier post was about (the rules of engagement of meta, as ridiculous as that sounds XD), but it sounds like you’re just a fan wanting to do your thing, which sometimes means not taking into account non-movie canon, and ABSOLUTELY that is fine and you are not a bad fan for doing so. Just as I would never say someone who’s only seen The Force Awakens but never touched the other movies is absolutely not an inherently bad fan, because fandom doesn’t work that way. Being a fan works however you want it to work for you, whatever parts of it you want to be a fan of/not be a fan of, that’s entirely okay and just fine. ♥And Tumblr must have eaten it because I definitely didn’t get it! (I know it at least used to be true that it would eat any messages that had urls or ellipses in them, iirc as part of an attempt to get rid of spam, so perhaps that was it?)

#i should have a personal tag around here somewhere #meta #anonymous

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ugamyrain · 7 years

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Rain Rants again with her shitty unpopular opinion. (I might be burnt at the stake) This is long.

This is a piece about SasuSaku and NaruHina. Before I start, I should clarify: I have been a fan of both since the chuunin exams and I became an semi active-lurk member on the NF since Naruto Shippuden was released. This is my point of view about the whole ordeal since the fateful 5th of november of 2014 and how I see both fandoms in general now. If you are easily offended or nitpicky, please keep in mind this is only MY opinion and perspective.

Being in the SasuSaku fandom for a really long time has been bittersweet the same way as being in the NaruHina fandom at the same time, due to all the bickering between them when they have no basis to be mad at each other. Like, both of the fandoms became a competition about who is a better woman. In other words: they fight for the stupidest shit. Back then I would’ve sighed and felt conflicted and unable to voice an opinion because both pairing fandoms took it as a personal offense. Okay I am exagerating but most of the time it felt that way. Nowadays I laugh. And I know that I will get some fans offended by what I am about to say because SasuSaku fans are still very sensitive, and NaruHina fans, well I should say some are insufferable.

Both pairings had a lot to prove back then, I understood being defensive against people who slammed the pairings, mostly the hate directed towards the girls. Calling them names, insulting them with the overused insult of all: “useless”.

I could write a 1,500 character essay about my opinion of how Hinata became the untouchable overpowered goddess of the NaruHina fandom -considering the humble begginings of the couple- and why Sakura’s opinion about her character never changed - even though she was one of the most developed secondary characters.

I will not deny that Kishimoto’s writing of Sakura was never the best. As well as the writing for Hinata - it wasn’t the most gracious. The anime didn’t help either. But what he could not make up for explicit development he tried to compensate it by writing their personality. And I would write another 2,500 essay explaining how this was good and bad for him.

However I can say this: I will not deny that Kishimoto’s cryptic writing, specially of Sasuke’s character, did not help Sakura’s case at all for people who were just watching without analyzing the scenes and panel by panel. Hinata’s case was more direct that’s why the popularity of Naruhina rose as the hate for the pairing did as well.

I understand Kishimoto’s need to retain all the shippers to keep reading and that’s why the red herrings were placed. And believe me, every time a red herring appeared it was hell for both of the pairings. Once the red herrings dissappeared it was clear that both pairings were meant to be. Period.

For fans it didn’t stop there. Both of the fandoms wanted to prove something, what that something was? Stupidity. Sorry but that’s how I felt that whole thing was. (Imagine being a shipper for both of the pairings at the time. Not only fighting with the antis but also fighting between the pairings because... well they were fighting to see which girl had the bigger pussy- I couldn’t say dick because duh, but it was pretty much the whole fight).

My first bump with both of the fandoms was with Naruto the Last. For some reason -well, instigated by the antis from both couples and the greatest shipping war there was at the time. And so a grueling 6 months battle began-, no one was satisfied. Criticism of the movie started to appear, but the shipping war got the best of both fandoms. It became infected by the antis with the valid questions: Why would Naruto wait 2 years? Why isn’t there any Sasuke in the movie if Sasuke was spammed like junk mail in the trailers? Those questions were fair and we should’ve had a conversation as to why they would do it and move on, however at this point both of the fandoms were intoxicated. I tried to voice my opinions but I was one of the few who was seeing things in a different perspective... even the ones who were rooting for both pairings became toxic.

NaruHina fans had 4 reactions:

a- Inside the fanbase people were mad because 2 years it’s a long time, not realistic at all - and well, the development was really natural in the manga and the movie made the characters seem like they never spoke to each other at all after the war.

b- The image from the outsiders made them feel that Hinata was treated like a damsel in distress and the overall cliched plot- so, basically the fandom agreed and they started to whine a lot.

c- The movie made Naruhina rejoice about the fan service the movie provided, but this also had negative consequences.- The most recurrent essay from the ones who liked both pairings began: “I love both pairings and I am happy for Hinata but...” forcing many of them to pick sides.

d- It all worsened by the attitude NaruHina fans took: “WE have only the best. WE have the movie. WE have the fanservice. WE are the best. Hinata was the queen all along. Hinata is stronger than... Naruhina is better than... Hinata, oh, Heil Hinata.”

I didn’t like it. I had to unfollow people I have followed since the NF days and I kept people who only liked both pairings... but even then... there was one thing that I liked less.

Because of all of the glory Naruhina was sharing the SasuSaku fandom didn’t get much fanservice. After all the fight, we deserved something, right? Because Sakura went trhough hell to get the guy, right? After all the bickering with other fandoms, right? SasuSaku deserved have more scenes in the movie because of the trailers and moreover because SasuSaku was the main couple, right? Wrong.

I understood where people came from when they said SasuSaku is the main couple, because well, they share a lot in part 1, it was the most developed from the 2 - well, 3 couples if we count ShikaTema-, at the time, but the truth is, since both couples did not depend one from the other, a plot involving the two would’ve been too convoluted. I guess one could say that it’s not impossible since other movies do this, but it was not a movie, it was a Naruto movie. A plot with Sasuke and Sakura’s involvement would’ve overshadowed the dynamic between Naruto and Hinata like maaaany times before. Kishimoto was forced time and time again to take Sasuke out of the picture for Naruto develop his bonds outside Team 7 not only with Hinata, but she was the most obvious of this technique.

Yes, I do understand the criticism Kishimoto had for overcomplicating things and that an arc in the manga would’ve been more fitting if he wanted to complicate it but it’s obvious that his plan was to leave it open for interpretation like he did at the end of 699. That was the end he wanted and it shows.

Most of the SasuSaku fans didn’t like it and the few that remained neutral regarding the movie were being infected little by little with each negative post. Because a double date movie was more fitting for Naruto: The Last, considering how much Sasuke there was in the trailers. The attitude of NaruHina fans did not help, it only fueled them. SasuSaku fans became extremely pessimistic. This was my second bump.

4 months passed, things were still tense I distanced myself from the fandom. SasuSaku was fighting with everybody. NaruHina was fighting with everybody. Naruto Gaiden came and for some reason... it got scary.

I loved each chapter of Gaiden because of the whole context that may have pushed Kishimoto to write it the way he did. I loved Sarada, I loved SasuSaku moments and I returned to see what SasuSaku shippers were saying, what I found was my third bump.

Whining. Cursing. Dissapointed fans. Negativism. People hating on Gaiden. Unnecesary drama, some fans pointed out. And I thought “Wait a minute, every single story is unnecesary drama. WTH are they talking about?” “Sarada is an ungreateful child. Unlikable” they chimed. And still I was thinking: “Team 7 was not likable at the beggining either”. “Sasuke was not there? Inconceivable! I hate Kishimoto because it’s impossible for Sasuke to never have seen Sarada.”

They started to pick apart every single panel, every single interaction. The whole thing was an essay by the author of the precious couple to show the ridiculousness he had to endure for 6 months after he ended his manga. With the Thank you pages flooded with nasty messages from other antis. With the online comunity trying to boicott him, disrespecting him, harrassing him, harrassing his editors through twitter, his helpers and even some calls to Shounen Jump. Gaiden was meant to be read as a mocking piece. I saw through it and I was dissapointed that some fans were not able to see that.

At the end people tried to make peace with Gaiden and Boruto the movie came. And everyone was happy with the little interactions here and there. Just kidding. SasuSaku fans started to complain about how Sakura’s body was drawn. “Too skinny, too flat, face it’s too round. She looks like a little girl.” No, nevermind her badassery and cuteness, her body was her problem. “Kishimoto draws her like a woman. SP I hate you.”

Suddenly the problem became Studio Pierrot. Yes, I understood that they fucked up a lot of things but there was one problem the Naruto anime had as a whole especially in the transition to Naruto Shippuden and Shippuuden itself: Naruto became disjointed. The Anime of Naruto is no masterpiece and part of that was not the fillers by themselves, but the fillers in which the directors didn’t give a fuck about the story and fluidity. Little by little Naruto became less a cohesive story and more a gag anime. By the time Shippuuden had its turn to be animated, many of the boring and enraging tropes they commited in part 1 filler hell, was transitioned to Shippuuden.

If comunication is key, in Naruto anime’s case, that key was lost somewhere in the parking lot. Red herrings were glorified, Sakura’s awful personality was enhanced even though we know that in the manga, Sakura had become very fond of Naruto as a friend and was acting like a real friend to him. Sakura anime was a completely different person from Sakura in the manga.

Either way, SP tried to mend something that was completely broken by that point: Sakura’s sweet girl act did not work anymore and it made her look bad and not sincere. But it’s fine, I know directors were just following orders and animators as well. I got mad but tha’s fine, at least they didn’t change anything crucial. Yes, animation was always shitty when it came to animate SasuSaku scenes, but hey, I already knew their bias. But the fandom did not let it be.

Now, with the whole Boruto generations I have found a fourth bump. Until now, Gaiden has been well animated, things that were critized in the manga are being spelled out letter by letter. We are having more explanation, more exposition, better animation, better character designs and more personality from Sakura, and still SasuSaku shippers are negative and point their finger at SP critizing every single error it has. There are a lot of moments in general in the anime that were not shown properly or at all, but in general, the fandom seemed to accept that fact because... well, it’s SP, it’s an adaptation of a manga and has always been a bad one at that. Why is the SasuSaku fandom still negative and pessimistic? I get that we have to be critical of what we consume but.. why are they so defensive all the freaking time.

Sasuke and Sakura are canon and there is no thing an anti can say or do to change that fact. Insulting Sakura’s character or whatever it’s laughable, because despite what people might say, the manga proves them wrong. Kishimoto proves them wrong. We know that. What's the point?

To me, everytime I see a complaint without a strong case like: "this panel was cut, this scene was changed, this was not in that room. Sakura is not flat.", it shows to me what a big inferiority complex the SasuSaku shippers have. Like what the hell? I get that making fun of SP is fun, but there are shippers who are actually mad at it... like, have you not seen what a mess the Naruto anime is and you are complaining about size of Sakura’s boobs or the make up she wears or lack there of? LOL.

I finally understand: The SasuSaku fans are never going to be pleased.

NaruHina shippers: I love you guys but sometimes... ugh.

Sorry for this massive ranting. If you read it all, congratulations. You win cookies.

Have a great day everybody. I was hoping mom and dad would forgive each other already... Not happening any day soon, it seems.

PS. I still love you too SasuSaku shippers but I think you need a reality check.

#pro sasusaku #pro naruhina #pro sasusaku an naruhina #naruhina #sasusaku #long post #rain rants #i still love you guys #but I laugh at you not in a good way

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