Rereading Into the Wild and once again being struck by how…odd, I guess, the Firestar x Spottedleaf ship is, writing-wise.
It just feels like it was never properly developed, as if some major character scene got cut from the story at some point. Yes, there are some subtle hints that Firepaw has a bit of a crush, and he is understandably upset when Spottedleaf is killed…but none of it is anywhere near the nigh-obsessive infatuation referenced in later books, particularly Firestar’s Quest. And I’ll keep looking as I continue the reread, but so far I’ve found Zero hints that Spottedleaf returned Firepaw’s feelings while alive. The whole mutual yearning idea seems more retconned in by later books than something that was properly present from the beginning.
idk, I just feel like even a short scene where Lionheart or Whitestorm pulls Firepaw aside and are like “hey I’ve noticed you making eyes at Spottedleaf; you need to know that medicine cats can’t take mates” and having Firepaw internally wrestle with that for just a little bit would’ve worked wonders if the authors wanted to go with this ship. I think it would also make Spottedleaf’s death shortly after more complex and impactful. On the one hand Firepaw no longer has to struggle with overcoming a potential forbidden romance and the issues that come with it, but on the other hand his grief is more raw and intense. but i digress ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
…….oh and speaking of weird Warriors ships, Gray Wing is one of my favorite DotC characters but man every time he goes off on how he “loved Storm too” it’s just like bruuhhhhh no you didn’t lol. You barely knew her. You weren’t “in love” with her, you just thought she was hot smh lol
oh and p.s. speaking of warrior cats, the iconic “Rusty looses his collar” scene is a lot less impressive when u remember that most cat collars are literally designed to be “breakaway” so the cats don’t choke if the collar gets caught on something lol
I just watched the 8 episodes of Leverage: Redemption, and though I love the crew, I was not especially thrilled to learn that as an Asian American I can be a new money casino mogul, a sycophantic programmer who is willing to sell out nerd-dom for his high school jock friend to like him, or a socially awkward programmer with no sense of the dangers of privacy invasions. Woo hoo so many options to choose from!
You know what I would have liked? To have Harry Wilson be Asian American. Someone who worked his way up the corporate ladder, sticking to traditional definitions of success, never wanting to cause a ruckus because his parents said that’s the way to succeed in America, and then one day all of his crimes were too much and he decides to steal a Rembrandt. That’d be nice, wouldn’t it? An Asian American character who gets to have his own character arc and moral complexity.
@dayspring-askanison That’s true! I didn’t know those were the people that Leverage was specifically referencing. Thank you for pointing that out!
That said,
(a) I don’t deny that there are bad guy Asian Americans out there, and honestly, I’m fine with there being Asian villains in Leverage … but I feel like it needs to be balanced out with some positive Asian roles, yanno? This is why I feel like not having Harry Wilson be Asian is kind of a missed opportunity
and
(b) I don’t know that much about how Bobby Jindal and Hoan Ton-That are in real life, but did their Leverage versions need to be such caricatures? Yes, I know that nuance isn’t what Leverage is known for, but … Parker, playing the role of a southern belle, telling Bobby-Jindal-equivalent that his immigrant money isn’t going to cut it? It kind of left a bad taste in my mouth. The Casino guy was like “you guys have all your inherited money, I earned mine by working hard” and I was like “what a great moment to both accept that the immigrant experience is distinct but also point to the systemic privileges that one gets as a model minority, with a side of “stealing other people’s homes isn’t ‘working hard’”. But instead he just gets told that his money isn’t enough.
I want to pause for a moment and briefly imagine whether those characters would have been written differently if they weren’t Asian. Would the silicon valley tech guy have had a clearer understanding of the dangers of his own algorithms and been more clearly intentional? Would he have, instead of yelling at the barista, done some social media thing to tank the coffeeshop’s ratings? Would he have been more of a Chaos/Wil Wheaton kind of tech guy instead? Would the casino guy have had a more equal partnership with the Russian mob? Would the interaction with Parker-as-Southern-Belle been as much about new immigrant money vs old entrenched money, or would it have been the standard “hey new guy stop honing in on my territory” talk? I kept expecting Breanna to convince the nerdy algorithms guy to turn on his jock friend in the card game episode – I feel like a standard Leverage episode would have played it that way. Or maybe everything would have stayed the same – I’m not sure.
And I hate that I’m not sure, because that’s been my personal experience in a nutshell – did I not get x thing at job because I’m Asian, or is it because I didn’t work hard enough or didn’t know the right words to say? Why is it that my white colleagues are given more responsibilities and more opportunities – is it that I don’t advocate for myself enough, or is it that people write me off before I even get a chance to advocate for myself?
Anyway, the tldr is: yes, you’re right, but also – an Asian Harry Wilson would have been nice, as would maybe a leeetle bit less caricature.
I’m not so sure if I’m an istp anymore. Either that or I’m a damn social one. I started high school today (no i didn’t start late, the Swedish system is different) and idk I was so social and active and outgoing. It’s just ??? When did I become this outgoing??? Last time I met myself I was pretty much a super reclusive person. Ofc all of this doesn’t mean I can’t be an istp but I don’t know anymore. I’ve started noticing more things. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
okay, I love chaos and discord and I am kicking this hornet’s nest on purpose, so here goes: reblog and tell me what country you live in and what flavor purple is. like if you see a purple candy or purple medicine or something, what flavor do you expect it to be?
tbh i feel like there’s a lot of other bi people on this hellsite who are tired of how bi people are treated on here as of late but are too afraid to say shit about it and i used to be the same but since taking that break i’ve stopped giving a single shit about my tumblr image or whatever so. good luck shutting me up
After Ea Nasir notoriously failed in the copper business, he went into computers under the name Ea Games, where he received even more angry letters of complaint than before.
The whumpee had sworn to themselves they would never choose a temporary reprieve over their values, their end goal, what they stand for goddammit. Never ever would they take the easy way out - how could they? It’s too important, this work that they do. It’s what they’ve chosen, and they could never abandon it.
Yet slowly, they notice that they do. It breaks their heart, but they can’t stop themselves anymore - choosing the easier option, swallowing those insults about to spill over their cracked and bloody lips, giving way just a little. The smallest acts of compliance, of obedience, and how they don’t sting as badly as before.
It’s not that they don’t care, no - they do. They hope to god it isn’t so blaringly obvious to anyone but them when they slip. But… sometimes, after a particularly painful day… when they are granted a brief respite, they’re just - it’s not even grateful, it’s not that, they just - they like it. They’re happy. They’re happy about the beatings that don’t come. About the drownings that never were, but could have been. About the humiliation that is spared them in the now.
Even if it’ll be a hundred times worse tomorrow for it.
Even if it’s all just a scheme by the whumper, another thing to snatch away from them later.
Even if every day they’re here, the chances of their team ever finding them again grow slimmer. Even when another day here really isn’t something to be happy about. Even then.
They’re so aware of the pain they’re not in: it’s so vivid in its absence, bright in its unfulfilled potential - compared to yesterday, this morning, a minute ago - it engulfs them, becomes their all, and they’re happy.
