#Any good faith representation is better than no representation at all imo
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girl-with-bones · 6 months ago
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The point (or one of the points) of representation is to normalise these things.
I'm so fucking tired of purity culture when it comes to this stuff. Flawed representation is so much better than no representation at all.
And I will die on this hill. We cannot demand perfection.
Hell, I am a non-binary trans woman, I'm literally one of the queerest people I know, and I also know if I were to write a story about MY OWN FUCKING LIFE there would be things that don't align with all the theory and the expectations.
And you know what else? Maybe that's good. Maybe we need more imperfect stories. Especially when the alternative is no story at all.
I need to say something and I need y'all to be calm
if it isn't actively bad or harmful, no representation should be called "too simple" or "too surface level"
I have a whole argument for this about the barbie movie but today I wanna talk about a show called "the babysitters club" on Netflix
(obligatory disclaimer that I watched only two episodes of this show so if it's super problematic I'm sorry) (yes. I know it's based on a book, this is about the show)
this is a silly 8+ show that my 9 year old sister is watching and it manages to tackle so many complex topics in such an easy way. basic premise is these 13 year old girls have a babysitting agency.
in one episode, a girl babysits this transfem kid. the approach is super simple, with the kid saying stuff like "oh no, those are my old boy clothes, these are my girl clothes". they have to go to the doctor and everyone is calling the kid by her dead name and using he/him and this 13 year old snaps at like a group of doctors and they all listen to her. it's pure fantasy and any person versed in trans theory would point out a bunch of mistakes.
but after watching this episode, my little sister started switching to my name instead of my dead name and intercalating he/him pronouns when talking about me.
one of the 13 years old is a diabetic and sometimes her whole personality is taken over by that. but she has this episode where she pushes herself to her limit and passes out and talks about being in a coma for a while because of not recognizing the limits of her disability.
and this allowed my 9 year old sister to understand me better when I say "I really want to play with you but right now my body physically can't do that" (I'm disabled). she has even asked me why I'm pushing myself, why I'm not using my crutches when I complain about pain.
my mom is 50 years old and watching this show with my sister. she said the episode about the diabetic girl helped her understand me and my disability better. she grew up disabled as well, but she was taught to shut up and power through.
yes, silly simple representation can annoy you if you've read thousands of pages about queer liberation or disability radical thought, but sometimes things are not for you.
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mattdevil · 1 month ago
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Saw this discussion in the jayvik tag and wanted to wade in:
I think the larger problem with the "Viktor is ace!" "Ace people can still like sex/romance!" discourse is that the Viktor-being-ace bit hit a lot of people, myself included, as a kneejerk reaction from CL to try and kibosh any and all mention of there being ~something more~ between the two. It was treated as a "gotcha" in a way that implies CL doesn't have a good understanding of aspec identities, and I think a lot of people had very strong reactions to that; so in an attempt to counter what feels like bad faith stereotyping, the pendulum gets swung too far back the other direction with the unfortunate side effect of making it seem like everyone participating believes that ALL aspec folks can, or even should, also participate in sexual or romantic relationships. I think if he'd said "hey it's cool you see it that way, our intent was to have V be aroace with no interest in sexual or romantic relationships because that is criminally underrepresented in media" (which is true), there would have been a very different reaction. There were two missing elements: an expression or acknowledgement of deeper understanding of aspec identities, and a willingness to accept that creative intent doesn't somehow trump or disenfranchise how your audience receives it. He missed on both, so now we are here.
Yeah you're totally right.
I agree with the valid criticisms of what Linke did. I don't think he actually knows the difference between asexual and aromantic. Based on what he said, he just asked around about which orientation was underrepresented anyways and he seem to have gone into this with minimal research, which made this maybe well intentioned attempt at ace representation turn into a shitshow. Because I agree with him in viewing Jayvik as a platonic ship gives the dynamic a fresh spin. I believe he actually intended to make Viktor aroace, but it was kind of a shitty move to reveal this as a way of bashing all the other interpretations, which made a lot of people perceive it as homophobic as this was done in response to shippers.
People are also upset with the stereotypical implications Viktor being ace implies, such as making disabled characters ace which makes them seem devoid of sexuality.
That being said, I think a lot of people have lost the plot too because Linke is now being accused with being ableist, homophobic and aphobic a lot more than what's proportional. I've seen people say he only made Viktor asexual because he is disabled and "robotic", because he saw Viktor as undesirable and quite inhuman. These are bullshit takes and people are pulling them out of nowhere imo. I have never seen anything suggesting Linke viewing Viktor's disability as something negative. Calling him a robot is outright wrong too because he got merged with the arcane, he didn't robotise himself like in the games. So none of these really contribute to Viktor's "negative" representation. Also, Linke could very well be homophobic but it kinda doesn't seem quite anormal for creators to talk about the intended details in the show after the show is over, so I don't think he did that reveal at a very odd point. Which now got me wondering aside from giving the homophobic fans the excuse to bash Jayvik shippers, whether we jumped the gun on calling him homophobic too.
I also agree with how the reactions would be a lot better if Linke handled the creative intent speech a lot better, but I'm not sure if it still would've made stop everyone from saying "hey even if he is asexual he can still have sex with Jayce" because this is just what shipping culture is like. As I've talked about it on the previous ask, people LOVE shipping, and they make aspec characters a part of this phenomenon regardless of how their sexual or romantic desires are presented in the source material.
Overall I agree with what you're saying though. Thank you for your insight.
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clarenecessities · 2 years ago
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Can we not say the newly canon confirmed lesbian would be better as a bisexual?
I understand if you are really into your headcanons but it’s sad how often lesbians are not celebrated by the wider community.
I understand also if you just meant it as a joke but it stung a little too much and maybe that is a sign it’s time for me to mosey on out and hit the dusty trail. Pleasure blogging with you.
"would be better" lmao. there's that good faith reading!
idrk how to respond to this because like. i am a lesbian? i'm not sure what you mean by wider community (gays in general? overwatch players?) but this is like, my own demographic. i'm allowed to have an opinion on how it's being 'represented'
i guess i'm sorry i can't derive more joy from representation, but i do not now and will never recognize word of god from Activision Blizzard, who have three canonical ages for the cowboy they had to rename after sexual assault allegations against his original namesake. like... they couldn't write their way out of a paper bag.
i categorically refuse to take ovw seriously. i hold up each character and i weigh them against a feather & what i determine is between me, god, and anyone who deigns to read my tags. i understand if you don't want to be counted among them & i wish you well.
what was the end game here? did you want me to reword my opinion to be less ambiguous? "i have always thought of pharah as bisexual, and do not respect blizzard in any capacity, so i will not be adjusting that opinion even though it would afford me direct representation". is this clearer/less hurtful to you?
like you shouldn't be looking to the global paramilitary hired guns for representation of any kind imo (except beloved gorilla), but if my long-standing headcanons about a game i don't even play anymore matter that much to you then like... i don't really know what to say. what stings? why? is there something about that feeling that's more tangible, or accessible, when it's caused by my tags? to me it seems like salt in a deeper wound, & i can't help address either in the course of one ask.
i guess to answer your question... yeah, we can not say that. i never said it in the first place, because it's nonsense. i'm not very into my ovw headcanons at all, as i now regard the franchise with something between ambivalence and disgust, depending on the news cycle. i guess it was kind of a joke bc i was claiming to understand blizzard's characters better than them, but i do think of pharah as bi & nobody is going to sway me on that. could see ace, maybe. but also it's barely a joke bc i really don't think they understand their characters so much as use them to deflect valid criticisms, and like... at least the versions in my head are consistent
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lonelier-version-of-you · 2 years ago
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It’s taken me long enough to write up my thoughts on the latest two Casualty episodes, but I’m finally doing it now, and hey, late is better than never.
S37E34 “Separation”:
This was an excellent episode!! Probably one of my favourites from this series so far - and I liked it all the better, of course, for not having any scenes with Faith. (It was very good in its own right, though, even putting aside the relief of getting a break from Faith.)
Oh, Jacob, Jacob, Jacob. I wish I could give him a hug. :( His storyline is being brilliantly done, but it’s nonetheless very sad to see him struggling so much. Especially with how he’s avoiding therapy and others’ support. I tend to relate a lot to characters who are traumatised but don’t want help because they don’t think they deserve it, so... yeah.
Charles Venn’s performances have been absolutely wonderful throughout this entire storyline, but I thought he was especially outstanding in this episode. In particular, the moment between Jacob and Billie where she wanted him to kiss her, and Jacob hesitated - as though he clearly didn’t want to (well, I suppose more like he did want to but wasn’t quite ready, but hopefully you know what I mean anyway), but he made himself kiss her anyway. Some beautifully subtle acting there. And again, it shows very well how Tina has affected Jacob mentally - I’m sure Billie would have been fine if Jacob had said no, but he felt like he had to. That it was what he “should” do. (I think one could parallel/contrast this, as well, to the scene in Ethan’s last ep where Jacob went on the date with - May, I think her name was? And he panicked and left.)
I could write whole essays about this storyline and everything Jacob’s going through at the moment, and I think I probably will, but I’ll wait until after the next ep.
The plot device of Jacob running into Billie on a shout felt like something that could’ve easily seemed forced into the episode, but it worked out very very well! Billie seems really nice in general, but sadly, I have a feeling their relationship won’t go well. Jacob’s not emotionally ready for a relationship right now IMO - well, I think he could make a go of it, but he needs support and therapy too, not just another romance, that by itself isn’t going to help him - and I think on some level or another he knows that. Which is part of what makes this all so sad. :(
The Max and Jodie storyline is still very interesting to me, and I’m really enjoying their scenes together! Maybe part of why I like it so much is that it, and Max in general to some extent, makes me think of Henrik - a consultant doctor who walked out on his daughter/son respectively, and now their dynamic is strained because of it. Although I like to think things will turn out happier for Max and Jodie.
The patient storylines were very good. I particularly liked the storyline about the two sisters.
The Dylan and Donna scenes were great - well, when aren’t they?! I don’t have a lot to say about those, but yeah, I’m still very pleased Donna came over to Casualty and that they’ve made her friends with Dylan. :)
And it turns out Ryan - or Harry Tressler 2.0 as I’ve been jokingly calling him in my mind - is bi! Good for him, and it’s nice to have representation. Ryan’s my least favourite of this nurse quartet for his personality (I mean, him spreading rumours about Jodie hasn’t been exactly endearing him to me!), but I am glad to have some more queer rep anyway. And maybe I’m taking things a bit far by thinking of him as “Harry Tressler 2.0″, because Ryan’s had moments where I quite like him (like the one in this ep, when he’s basically like “oh, I like men, I just don’t like you”), and I don’t think there’s been any moments where I’ve liked Harry Tressler (unless I’m forgetting some).
S37E35 “Deliverance”:
I like that this one happens to have the same title as one of my favourite CHVRCHES songs! And it was a pretty good episode in general, too, though I liked it less than “Separation” because this one did have Faith in it. :/
The Jacob comedy stuff was alright, but it feels a bit odd because most of his storyline recently has been so serious. Having said that, I loved the little moment of him dancing! That was adorable.
Di Botcher was great in this episode. I just wanted to acknowledge that - she’s a brilliant actress. I hope Jan and Ffion reunite eventually, though!
The Max and Jodie stuff is still good, but I feel like Jodie’s maybe having too much drama too quickly. I’d like to see Cam and Rida get some dramatic storylines, so that Jodie’s scenes can focus just on the storyline with Max for a while, rather than having these other big stories as well. Having said that, Jodie reminds me somewhat of Gemma Wilde, who had some big dramatic storylines soon after she arrived too and got a lot of great scenes out of it (S15 E20 “Unravelled” is one of my favourite episodes about dealing with trauma that Holby ever did). So idk.
Speaking of Cam, the whole thing with him having a crush on Jodie makes me think of Arthur’s crush on Chantelle in Holby. Has anyone else been thinking that too? It is a bit different though, as Arthur and Chantelle never lived together, as far as I can remember!! But yeah, I keep kind of expecting Cam to make a mixtape for Jodie like Arthur did, lol.
A Ryan/Jodie romance could be interesting. I have no idea where their storyline will go, so I’m very intrigued to see what comes of it.
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lexisloops · 4 years ago
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thoughts on Sarah Z video that no one asked for lol
Overall I really like the video and thought that it was absolutely done in good faith by someone who obviously was passionate about the McElroy brothers. The ~nuance~ was refreshing and I feel that I learned a lot tbh.
Honestly my main problems with the video is how much it seemed to focus on and validate twitter and reddit criticism (specifically of Balance but also some of the other complaints). I honestly feel that representing twitter mobs as the dominate opinion of the fandom is disingenuous. I know they are the loudest opinions and are overwhelming but i actually think that most people don't feel that way. Reading the comments a lot of fans of MBMBAM and TAZ didn't even know about any discourse because most people aren't as chronically online as others.
This is unpopular opinion but as a queer from an immigrant family I dont look for cis-white dudes for my inclusive media because its not their lived experience. People from minority community are not a monolith and often disagree internally about the nuances of what good representation is. The McElroys wading into that was always going to upset someone even if they do consult with members of that community. Personally i think being inclusive to the community and being good allies is more important than four cis-white dudes attempting to accurately portray minority characters. Supporting minority creators is a much better way to get inclusive media imo. But yeah they have made some noticeable mistakes in their attempts.
The travis stuff was handled so so well. Big props to her for the most nuanced critiques on all of that that I have seen. (im not surprised she is always very nuanced in her critiques). Travis does have things to apologize for but wow how the fandom turned on his is rough.
The tl;dw was *chefs kiss*
Love that she talked so much about the fandom culture because it really is interesting. There is a lot to be said about parasocial relationships, purity culture, and the inevitability of a backlash. And how all of that lead to the hatred of the McElroys.
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whelvenwings · 4 years ago
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A few thoughts on Good Omens and representation and queerbaiting, if you'll permit:
1. I love and appreciate the fact that there's so much room for interpreting Aziraphale and Crowley in so many different ways. I really do enjoy that space very much
2. Simultaneously this means there is also plenty of space to interpret the two of them as cisgender heterosexual heteroromantic men, and I find it difficult and honestly frustrating that this means there's a contingent of good omens fans who hate on queer interpretations and can use canon to back themselves up. And there's also an amount (a large amount, I'd argue based on anecdotal evidence) of casual viewers who saw the show and never had queerness occur to them when watching Crowley and Aziraphale on screen. The show didn't cause any confrontation with that idea for them as they watched.
3. How responsible is the show for that reaction, though? That's the question at the core of this, perhaps.
4. Hearing people involved with the making of the show say there's room for any interpretation, that'll ring familiar to viewers of queerbaity shows like spn with its whole "the fans use the show as a canvas onto which they paint the stories that mean the most to them". Because we know that if there's room for us, there's room for a lot of other stuff too. And if we're saying there's space for any interpretation in Good Omens, then there IS space for the cynical view that the creators of the show wanted to maximise its appeal and so left any overt queerness in the negative space on screen, only speaking about it behind the scenes where the casual viewer likely won't come across it. I'm not saying this is true, or that I myself believe it: I'm saying that space for interpretation cuts in every direction.
5. And yes, not every interpretation is as backed up by proof as the next. I could take the position that Crowley is secretly possessed by the spirit of King James VI of Scotland and I could probably find textual evidence for it if I really tried but that wouldn't mean anyone would have to take me seriously. Given the amount of backlash that there was towards queer interpretations of Aziraphale and Crowley right after Good Omens aired, though, I think there's definitely reason to take seriously the viewpoint that leaving this amount of space for interpretation can cause harm and have a negative effect on some or even many queer fans, and that matters.
6. It's a complicated position to be in, to wish added elements in a story not for the story's own sake but for the sake of changing how the show is interpreted irl by other people. On the one hand you want to say, just focus on the story's integrity and what it means for you. There's ample reason for this or that interpretation, so just have fun with it. On the other hand, I don't think it's a position at all deserving of ridicule to say "I wish this story had this element because I want to be treated better in real life when I interact with the fans of this show and I think this would make a difference". I'm non-binary and I would've loved a more textual, spoken exploration of gender beyond costume and occupation, for example, as interesting and rich in detail as those elements were in the show. Partly just to be able to watch that for myself, and partly so transphobic viewers would have to be confronted by that content and actually give their views some thought for a second. Or maybe just feel uncomfortable/stop watching, because screw them.
7. And to be clear, I personally wouldn't want to cement anything beyond the fact that queerness is being explored in the show - because as obvious as that seems to some viewers, to others it's just not apparent that queerness is even potentially being touched on. How to put this... Pratchett for me is the king of combining nuance & subtlety with firmness of purpose. In his books imo there's no room to wonder 'is he talking about this?' but there is so much room to wonder 'what do the characters think about this? what does Pratchett think? what do I think?'. The topic is undeniably brought up for everyone reading in one way or another, without forcing through any kind of particular message or conclusion, and that's a huge part of Pratchett's skill showing, and I would have loved to have everyone experience that firmness of purpose in Good Omens regarding queerness. I recognise not everyone would want this! For some people what we have is perfect and I totally get that. I think there's a lot of room for different opinions to be expressed about this in good faith, and not all of them are gonna be 'the exact balance of canon rep vs space for interpretation was completely perfect in good omens', and that's okay.
8. Overall, the rep in Good Omens opens up so many interesting questions for me. All of the things I've just said I can think of further arguments about, though I don't want this to get out of hand so I'll wind down. But like, can your show be said to have amazing representation if it doesn't explicitly canonically represent any queerness beyond doubt? Is it even possible to represent queerness beyond doubt? How on the nose does representation have to get to be considered canonical? Is the Good Omens way of representing queerness actually more helpful than characters who say and do things that people would usually not really say or do irl, just to prove their queerness? Is the reason people don't say or do those things irl because they're afraid of consequences, a fear that could be lessened by the general acceptance that can be brought about in part through the unquestionable presence of queerness in media? This shit is so interesting and there are so many layers to it and I don't see the need to shut down the conversation.
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jeessss · 3 years ago
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I would like Playing Notes: An Informational Guide from you. So I have always not understood the whole concept of playing by ear. Does that mean your brain has memorized the sound of each key and when you hear a piece you immediately can recreate it? Or is it more a trial and error process where you try different keys to see what works? Also, is playing by ear easier or harder than sight reading? My assumption is that playing by ear would be a much more laborious, less efficient process that results in music that is less faithful to the original. Correct or wildly inaccurate? Also, are certain brains or types of people more wired to understand sight reading and others are not?
sorry this is going to be long and probably typo ridden on the account of me typing on my phone fjajjdkajdjs. i just have a lot of Feelings about piano.
At first, playing by ear is going to be a lot of trial and error. You’re going to listen to a note and then have to hunt around the keyboard for the corresponding note. But the more you do it, the easier and more instinctual it gets.
one of the things i love about piano (especially as an instrument for beginners) is that it gives you a visual representation of the relationships between the notes. a major chord looks a certain way. a minor chord looks a certain way. i always think of things in terms of shapes. the key of C has a certain shape, so does the key of G etc. Once you figure out what key you are in, most of your notes are going to be ones within that “shape,” so that narrows down your options. if it isn’t going to be one of the natural notes in the key (this is when you would have an accidental in the sheet music) it’s going to sound….different, so you usually know your have to veer off the path. i do not have perfect pitch, so i will have to hunt for my starting note, but once i have that and i figure out what key i’m in, things get easier. then there’s the simple things, like notes that are close together in pitch are close together on the keyboard.
in dan’s case, i’m willing to say he did not have as much actual music theory training as i did (this was still pretty limited in my case but it wasn’t nothing!) so he’s not necessarily going to have the correct vocabulary for these things. but he can still identify the patterns. there were chords that i didn’t know the technical names for but still had identified their shapes and had them stored away in my brain. i am incredibly impressed that he could play classical songs by ear! that shit is complicated! remember when i talked about playing notes outside of the natural key??? classical songs love to do that shit. i don’t think i could’ve learned these by ear, especially that early in my piano career. anyway. it’s more about the relationships between the notes than memorizing pitches. unless your one of those perfect pitch sickos.
i’d say your assessment of sheet music is correct though. in most cases it is going to be faster and easier, and i think dan could’ve learned it if he didn’t have this big mental block. all those instincts that you’ve built up learning to play by ear will still serve you when you are using sheet music, but you just have a reference to make things easier. me learning to play things by ear back in the day involved a lot of trying to loop the same five seconds of music on my zune mp3 player and then trying to figure that out before moving on and folks that was a trial! you kind of had to do a certain amount of playing by ear back then though if you wanted to play songs on the radio. you couldn’t just pop on musicnotes dot com and instantly download whatever you wanted. if you were lucky you could find it in the limited sheet music selection at your local sam ash. idk how things were in the uk but i am only a year older than dan so i tend to think high school dan would’ve been stuck doing the same thing.
that being said, definitely also true that certain brains are going to better at one or the other, and also you can be better at playing by ear or with sheet music depending on how much your practice it. dan is clearly naturally good at playing by ear! reading sheet music is like building a muscle and if you don’t keep it up you will get worse at it. i honestly don’t play from sheet music that much anymore because i’d rather compose or just make my own piano parts up, so i am not as quick at reading sheet music as i was in high school. my brain simply does not make the connection between the note on the page and the key on the piano as quickly.
as a last note, since dan does do much playing by ear it really wouldn’t surprise me if dan dabbled in composing! tbh when i am composing i am just hearing things in my head and playing those things. it is not so different imo. but if he’s anything like me we might not ever hear any of it, considering it took me years to share my songs with anyone and still to this day most of the people i know in the physical realm have no idea about any of it. but anyway dan please don’t be shy play us your original songs.
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scimitar-and-longsword · 4 years ago
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I just read your long post about Booker and Nile and it gave me all the emotions but i wanted to add on one of my favorite moments, which is that Booker tries to convince the team not to find Nile after they dream about her. And it could be because he doesn’t want her to mess up his plans or that she doesn’t deserve this nonsense but like he does try. Long story short I just really love booker and think he’s such an interesting character
Me too nony!! [icymi: Original Post] (Which kinda touched on your point of weather or not Booker tried to to keep Nile away out of care or inconvenience)
Booker disclaimer: He fucked up. Not excusing it, but I just really love his character. He's written/acted in a way that I find so fascinating. Booker apologist is mostly a joke
I've been thinking about the father/daughter dynamic for a while and trying to decide if I'm just seeing things because I have a very close relationship with my own dad and tend to really gravitate towards those relationships in media.
But the more I watch it the more I am convinced that Greg wrote it that way on purpose.
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Booker doesn't talk about his wife dying, even though we know he had a wife. What he talks about is losing his son.
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Nile and Andy discuss her family and all that time leaves behind. Andy laments not remembering what her mother and sister’s looked like just after Booker has done the same about his sons. Really driving home Nile’s loss of them.
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I think a lot of people take this line to mean Booker was jealous of Nicky and Joe's romantic relationship. Which is valid, I just don't see any real evidence for it.
We don't have scenes of Booker sleeping with people or staring longingly at other couples showing affection. Or even if him looking jealous of Nicky and Joe.
In fact, when we DO see Booker react to Joe and Nicky's dynamic he appears to be extremely fond of them.
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So I just don’t feel like he needs or even wants a romantic partner, he just wants to feel like he has SOMETHING. 
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The other thing I find interesting is that at this point in time there are 6 immortals, with 2 sets of romantic partners. Of course up until recently Quynh was stuck at the bottom of the ocean, breaking up that support structure.
And the order in which they appear is very interesting.  Andy > Quynh > Lykon > Lykon > Joe & Nicky > Booker > Nile
They touch a few times in the movie on weather or not they think there’s a purpose to their immortality. Weather it’s destiny or random or God. Personally, I categorically reject it being random. And anything more than random means that there HAS to be some design to it all.
So Andy was alone for thousands of years then whatever force creates them brought her a companion in Quynh.
Lykon is interesting cause he’s there for a fucking blip! 331 bce - ??? but i would guess not later than 500 ce, though it seems to be implied as much earlier. He is brought into their lives and then taken fairly quickly. Now IF there some kind of force making decisions behind the scenes it seems like something went WRONG here. Weather that was Lykon losing faith like Andy eventually does, or it was on the back end I’m not sure. (a meta for another time lol. Something I think/hope they’ll explore in the sequel or at least in the 3rd comic run)
Joe & Nicky come together (da dum tss)  After Lykon dies alone without a partner (and I’m using that to mean NOT just romantic partner), I 100% believe Joe and Nicky showing up together is by design.
Then we get to Booker. If Quynh had still been there he would have come into a family of pretty content immortals imo. All 4 of them happy to spout things about destiny, and probably even assuring him that someone will come along to fill the hole left by the death of his family.
But as it is Andy is missing her partner and depressed af. Joe and Nicky lost a close friend too, and I’m sure, that even with them seeming more well adjusted than Andy that they would still have their moments.
So that leaves Andy to be depressed with Booker. and they kinda spiral together, both shown to rely heavily on alcohol.
ONLY 208 YEARS LATER Nile comes along. That is a very short amount of time for them. Maybe not yet to Booker, but how long his life will (probably) be, 200 year is nothing.
It appears to be speeding up, or the *entity* that makes them is getting better at it? idk
- Tangent over lol-
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Nile is already shown to still be dealing with the loss of her dad at the start of the movie. She keeps his picture by her bunk, and on her phone. And him (and the rest of her family) are obviously the most important thing to her, and the hardest thing for her to lose with this new gift of immortality. Sound familiar? (cough*booker*cough)
I think it’s pretty brilliant to have this concept of found family and exploring that in it’s different forms. And from a representation standpoint it’s great to have two queer romantic couples and then a child/parent dynamic that places the only two straight characters in a decidedly NOT romantic relationship. (presumably straight, based on Booker’s past with his wife and Nile’s mortal love interest in the comics) 
Further more putting both of them in a position to buck stereotypes. The straight white brooding action hero guy who would probably have been the main character in a less nuanced movie get’s to have someone who he cares about and gets to show real vulnerability with. We don’t see him show this emotion with ANYONE else. And Nile who could have been boxed into the trope of “Black women only being stoic and strong,” gets to have someone who cares for her and that she can lean on.
Now this COULD create a weird power (not to mention racial) dynamic if done poorly. BUT I think Gina/Greg have proven that they can handle complex relationships well that had the potential have been big on the yikes scale (Joe & Nicky)
And even in this movie we see that in action: Nile saves them after Booker gets them captured. And she is the only one really who calls him on dragging his feet while looking for Copley (this is less obvious in the movie than in the comics) 
Andy does this KINDA, but it doesn’t seem like she’s questioning Booker’s methods and more just that she’s frustrated (and distracted obviously). Nile actually pushes back and it throws Booker off his game. 
Bringing this ALL THE WAY back to your original point Nony: The fact that the Nile & Booker sub-arc starts with him being like “We should leave her” and ends with him comforting her and telling her she’s a good kid. And with Nile advocating for him not leaving at all is just *chefs kiss*
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It starts with Booker, who is shown to have real issues with watching his Son die and not being able to help him, feel Nile die. This time? He can help, he rejects that at first, but I think he starts to see could help Nile, and how Nile could help him by the end. And their last moments have them displaying peak parent/child vibes:
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idk I just find their dynamic really interesting and I hope it get’s expanded on in the sequel!
-fin-
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purplesunrisefanfic · 4 years ago
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A long-ass defence of the unsexy sex scene between Abby and Owen.
(No pictures of it are included here because gross)
So, at the risk of alienating pretty much everyone who follows me, I actually think **that** scene with Abby and O🤢🤢n is a worthwhile storytelling element, and I see why that scene was included but not a Dina/Ellie one. (Even though “I wish things were different.”)
With Dina/Ellie, they love each other, they have a fairly healthy relationship, they have chemistry. Everything that, story-wise, needs to be shown can be (and was) shown without needing a full sex scene. Yeah, I would really like to see a sex scene between them, for sure, but I can’t pretend that because I think there’s vital story elements hidden in there. Not at all because, let’s be honest, we KNOW they had great sex. No one who wants that scene wants it because they’re wondering if they had good sex or not, we want it because we wanna see some great sex.
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You‘re not seriously doubting that I’m good in bed, are you?
I’m not dissing us for that, representation matters, and I think Neil made a HUGE error of judgement when he spoke about a sex scene in a context where we’d all assume it was Dina/Ellie. (And that was a moment of terrible judgment that I would be classing as queerbaiting has it not been for the SO FUCKING MUCH groundbreakingly excellent representation in Part 2. In this case, I think it was an example of how even when you work really hard at things you can still make mistakes, still be thoughtless to how much impact you can accidents have on a representation-starved group. And yeah, it’s not easy to let him off the hook for something that important to me, but I do think he’s done enough overall to earn an assumption of good faith here. Not least because I don’t really don’t think anyone’s purchase actually hinged on whether we saw a Dina/Ellie sex scene vs a make out scene and a well-developed queer relationship, and the whole point of queerbaiting is to manipulate us into buying or consuming things we otherwise wouldn’t.)
But to get back to the main point, I think it’s important to recognise that we don’t wish we’d had that scene because we feel like there’s something vital to the story that we don’t know for not seeing it. We have good reasons for wanting that scene, but thinking that we missed out on some vital characterisation, relationship or story elements isn’t one of them.
Now, the sex scene that we do see is very different. First thing I wanna say is that this isn’t a sex scene that only lesbians or people who dislike Owen find to be uncomfortable. I’ve seen some critiques where I feel like a gulf might have opened up with that. Where it’s maybe kinda of assumed that if you are into that type of sex and don’t hate Owen, then that’s an equivalent to the Dina/Ellie scene that we didn’t get, and it’s NOT. Dina and Ellie having sex for the first time is a situation that opens a door (a door which then walk through with them in other ways, such as the small moments of love and bonding that we see portrayed so beautifully) while Abby/Owen having sex for the last time is a scene about reaching a dead end. It’s about realising that the past is a dead end. It’s a scene that I’ve not seen anyone, even people who didn’t find it uncomfortable, describe as sexy.
Abby has dwelled on the past for four years. She trained herself up to kill Joel. She took no notice of what she was doing and who she was becoming in the present because all she thought about was the past. She ended up “top Scar killer” without really noticing (though that point is more my subjective opinion than the other points here, but I see no evidence she was proud or that or even really trying to achieve that). She killed kids and parents ruthlessly without paying any mind to her own morals or whether she even wanted to be a Wolf at all, because she was living in the past, getting whatever the job in the present was done without asking any questions because her head was never there. Everything she did as a Wolf was just a means to survive long to find Joel and be in a position to kill him when she did.
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Eventually, as we know, she does find and kill Joel, and the experience doesn’t give her any of the closure she imagined. Her friendship groups fracture, her self-image is damaged, and she’s now both without closure and without purpose. But she still hasn’t quite figured out why. She hasn’t yet realised that dwelling on the past is the problem. Her ex is still in the picture, an ex that she lost “because of Joel” (in the sense that the main tensions we see in their relationship are linked to Abby’s dedication to revenge).
So caught up in revenge through 4 formative years of life, she’s not had the space to develop in ways she likely would have otherwise. She hasn’t moved past the idyllic childhood sweethearts idea, she’s not moved on to thinking about what she actually wants and needs in a partner. She’s not even noticed that her friends have moved on to more adult relationships, relationships where you might settle down with children, until she’s shocked into that realisation by the news that Mel is pregnant. (This is similar to a point Druckmann has made in an interview.)
Even then, the way she talks about suggests she’s still struggling with seeing the present clearly. She talks about it (especially to herself in Jackson) as if they are still teens, as they are 16ish and should have been more careful. There’s ample evidence, in my interpretation, that Abby’s ability to notice the present, to notice change, and to grow up herself has been near-stunted for the 4 years between Jerry’s death and Joel’s death.
So when she has sex with Owen, it’s another way of looking back. It’s another attempt to look for a future in her past, and I think that to really see and understand just how much she has tried to find a future in the past, and how much that has led her to betray her own values, betray her friends, and to be blinkered to the consequences of her own actions and how she finally realises all of this herself, we need to see the sex.
Because the sex is like the receipts. Like the death certificate for the long-overdue passing of her idea that her future can be made good by a fixation on the past.
Say they had had a shitty kiss instead. Well, that could be Owen holding back because he’s torn about Mel. They could be Abby holding back because she’s torn about Mel. If they do anything less than completely betray Mel, then there’s still room for Abby to believe that, if Mel were to suddenly never had existed or whatever, that her and Owen would be 16yo idyllic sweethearts forever.
So they have to totally betray Mel, they have to have clearly and totally disregarded her, for us (and for Abby) to see their relationship clearly. So it has to be sex. And for us to share in that process in Abby’s mind, the realisation that life has moved on, the realisation that her love for him is based on assuming nothing much has changed in 4 years when it has, the realisation that the past is dead end, we have to be with her for that.
Then we can see how she’s gotten to where she is and how she finally realises that there’s nothing that the past can give her. And then, she’s finally ready to see the present for what it is. She’s finally ready to see that what she does in the present matters, that she can chose whether or not two children live or die, and that she should focus on that. She’s ready to see that Owen was a guy she loved 4 years ago, not a guy she loves today. She’s ready to “Let It Go!(sorry, couldn’t resist!). She’s ready to question whether she’s actually this person who wants to be “top Scar killer.” We’re able to see just how much of herself has been lost on her revenge journey, how she can get on a better path, and why we think she’s worth having that chance. I don’t think that story could come together so richly without the visceral discomfort and the layered realisations that seeing her having (imo terrible, some folks have gone as far as “mediocre” and I’ve genuinely seen no-one rate it any higher) sex with Owen.
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Abby: I’d rather watch 10 live amputations and have my own arm amputated than ever have sex with Owen again. In fact, I’d struggle to choose between sex with him and sex with the Rat King at this point.
Yara: I think you should try your luck with fucking the Rat King, can’t be any worse, can it?
Side point: This argument also touches on why I don’t believe that Abby is categorically canonically straight, because her whole arc relies on her being too stuck in the past to consider who she’s actually attracted to in the present. Normally, it’s kinda on the people making the media to show us queerness and not expect us to be satisfied that “well, they could be bisexual because we’ve never said they aren’t,” but I think TLOU does enough in terms of active representation to merit an exception, especially when there’s a strong storytelling reason why we never see anything of what she’s into beyond her childhood sweetheart. (I’m not saying she’s def bi, just that I think saying she’s canonically straight is dicey and that, unlike with almost any other form of media where I’m with y’all in the “straight until otherwise proven” approach, with Abby specifically I find it does give me some of the bi erasure feels that I get all the time irl when people describe her as canonically straight.)
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I’m gonna pick Lev up from Scar Island, then find myself a hot woman who likes big arms, boats, and my precious adopted children.
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twinfoxtails · 4 years ago
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Touhou Arcana write-up
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((So... my internet was out for a few days, and I have been playing Persona 4 Golden for a while, so I decided to do a write up for all the major arcana.
Everyone’s list is very different, SO THERE’S DEFINITELY GOING TO BE DISAGREEMENTS, but if you have any, let me know what you think!
Note: This is strictly going through Arcana descriptions and meanings!
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0: Fool - Cirno, The Three Fairies The Fool represents innocence, divine inspiration, madness, freedom, spontaneity, inexperience, chaos and creativity.
Aside from the memes of Cirno being an idiot, I couldn’t think of a better tie than these two. (four?) All of them are leaders of their own right, they’re pretty much free to do what they please, and most importantly, creative and inexperienced.
I: Magician - Marisa Kirisame The Magician Arcana is commonly associated with action, initiative, self-confidence, immaturity, manipulation, and power.
THE STAPLE GIRL OF THE MAGICIAN ARCANA, MARISA HERSELF-... She’s the self confident one, immature to a fault, and her whole stick is ‘DANMAKU IS POWER’. So yep, this fits her extremely well!
II: Priestess - Rinnosuke Morichika The Priestess Arcana is a symbol of hidden knowledge or other untapped power, wisdom, mystery and patience when it appears in tarot readings.
Can’t get better than Rinnosuke himself, IMO. Father figure of both Reimu and Marisa, people approach him for wisdom at times and he’s also shrouded in mystery, and not to mention a really patient person.
III: Empress - Hong Meiling, Shinki The Empress represents mothers, prosperity, creativity, sexuality, abundance, fertility, protection, and comfort.
I really don’t have to explaint his one! Meiling is the bind which ties everyone together, as well as Shinki does, not to mention the bit about protection and comfort. There’s no better arcana for a motherly figure.
IV: Emperor - Remilia Scarlet, Toyosatomimi no Miko The Emperor symbolizes the desire to control one's surroundings, and its appearance could suggest that one is trying too hard to achieve this, possibly causing trouble for others; some elements in life are just not controllable.
‘BUT REMILIA IS BEST FIT FOR DEVIL’ you say! Devil’s more of temptation, and Remilia’s more controlling than being the symbol of temptation, and not to mention that she isn’t entirely selfish, actually caring for the residents of the Scarlet Devil Mansion.
Either way, both Miko and Remilia do sometimes cause trouble around them (Remilia especially), and not to mention really ambitous.
V: Hierophant - Keine Kamishirasawa, Byakuren Hijiri The Hierophant is a symbol of education, authority, conservatism, obedience to rules and relationship with the divine.
Keine and Byakuren being both teachers in their own right, and also quite lawful as well. Byakuren also gets the extra point of being in a relationship with the divine, being head monk and all.
VI: Lovers - Alice Margatroid, Sakuya Izayoi The Lovers Arcana initially represented two paths life could lead to, and thus a symbol of standing at a crossroad and needing to make a decision.
Between Alice being in Hell with Shinki and choosing her life to be in the forest, as well as Sakuya either being a vampire killer and serving one, I think this fits pretty well!
VII: Chariot - Chen, Yuugi Hoshiguma The Chariot Arcana is a symbol of victory, conquest, self-assertion, self-confidence, control, war, and command.
Ah yes, the arcana usually tied with war gods. Both are self-confident, and these usually have a goal they wish to attain at any cost. In this case, I’d put Chen and Yuugi!
VIII: Justice - Shiki Eiki The Justice Arcana symbolizes a strict allegory of justice, objectivity, rationality and analysis. In tarot readings, it means that one will have to face a trial of their justice.
OKAY I’M SURE PEOPLE ARE GOING TO DISAGREE WITH ME ON THIS BECAUSE SHE’S NOT JUDGEMENT-... But Justice is very different from Judgement, which I’ll explain below. But I feel Justice fits Eiki more, as she is the pinacle of rationality and objectivity.
IX: Hermit - Satori Komeiji, Patchouli Knowledge The Hermit is associated with wisdom, introspection, solitude, retreat and philosophical searches.
With Satori being the philosophical mind reader she is, along with Patchouli being the moving library, this is pretty much a big given.
X: Fortune - Tewi, Joon Yorigami The Fortune Arcana is portrayed by the Wheel of Fortune and symbolizes fate, luck, fortune and opportunity.
Can’t get any better than these two, for self-explained reasons!
XI: Strength - Momiji Inubashiri The Strength Arcana is associated with the morality about the stronger power of self-control, gentleness, courage and virtue over brute force. It can also represent creative or physical energy that needs to be or is about to be unleashed, sometimes out of desire to be recognized.
This is not physical strength, but inner strength, and IMO, Momiji is the most self-controlled yet also desires to be recognized by the higher ups for PUTTING UP WITH TENGUS-
XII: Hanged Man - Hina Kagiyama, Medicine Melancholy The Hanged Man Arcana is associated with self-sacrifice for the sake of enlightenment, the bindings that makes one free, paradoxes and hanging between heaven and earth.
Can’t think of anyone else but these two in this category. People in this Arcana are really self-sacrificial, and both of them fit the bill .
XIII: Death - Yuyuko Saigyouji The Death Arcana symbolizes metamorphosis and deep change, regeneration and cycles.
Do I need to explain this :D
XIV: Temperance - Reimu Hakurei, Konpaku Youmu The Temperance Arcana is a symbol of synthesis, prudence, harmony, and the merging of opposites.
No better person than Reimu herself. She’s the Hakurei Shrine maiden, mediator of both humans and youkai, going out to restore order after every incident and to keep the balance in check. Depressing job 10/10.
XV: Devil - Seiga Kaku, Kanako Yasaka The Devil Arcana represents the urge to do selfish, impulsive, violent things, and being a slave to ones' own impulse and feelings. Occasionally, it is also portrayed as a symbol of temptation.
I don’t think I need to explain Seiga, but Kanako literally tempted Okuu with the power of the Yatagarasu so SHE FITS HERE VERY WELL. MORIYA SHRINE CONSPIRACY.
XVI: Tower - Junko, Tenshi Hinanawi The Tower Arcana is commonly associated to overly arrogant, prejudiced and authoritarian organizations, which walk to their own ironic demise. Furthermore, it is also more generically used as an omen of doom and disaster.
The worst card in the deck. This card barely means anything good at all. Both are somewhat prejudiced, and Tenshi fits this arcana like A SHOE.
XVII: Star - Sanae Kochiya The Star Arcana is also commonly associated with hope, self-confidence, faith, altruism, luck, generosity, peace and joy.
Miracles. Faith. Joy. I don’t think I need to explain much about this one!
XVIII: Moon - Reisen Udongein Inaba, Flandre Scarlet, Koishi Komeiji The Moon Arcana is associated with creativity, inspiration, dreams, madness, illusions, fear, fantasy, the subconscious and trickery.
Three of them are quite creative people, with Flandre leaning quite alot into the ‘madness’ part of it. They can also sense things around them without being told, and these three are usually quite in touch with their senses.
XIX: Sun - Utsuho Reiuji, Aya Shameimaru The Sun symbolizes happiness, joy, energy, optimism, and accomplishment. Occasionally, it is also associated with one's initial happiness.
Both of them are just the biggest optimistic and energetic ball of fun you’ll ever meet, and Okuu does her job quite well! Aya... not so much, since her newspaper isn’t very popular-
XX: Judgement - Kasen Ibaraki, Hata no Kokoro The Judgement Arcana is associated with realizing one's calling, gaining a deep understanding of life and a feeling of acceptance and absolution.
You’d expect Eiki here, but Judgement is the reflection of one-self, and accepting who you are. They view the world with infinite possibilities, and I believe Kasen and Kokoro fits this out to the letter.
XXI: The World - Yakumo Yukari, Okina Matara The World Arcana is a representation of the world's totality, the symbol of fulfillment, wholeness and harmony. 
Don’t need to explain this, really! Gensokyo is primarily their creation, after all!
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Anyways, if you made it this far, thank you very much!))
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neversidekick-blog · 5 years ago
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Flamethrower’s Alleged Harassment
What’s going on?
deadcatwithaflamethrower has suggested she is the victim of a targeted campaign of harassment, and along the way she’s used some antisemitic dogwhistles, which would be problematic on its own, but is especially insidious IMO given the topic of the alleged harassment.
I am positive that I am one of the people she says harassed her, though I maintain I did no such thing. 
I’m going to attempt to provide the fullest accounting of these events possible, with the caveat that I simply don’t have copies of a few key pieces of evidence.
If you’re going to follow along, I ask you read all the screenshots and quotations carefully, because the details do matter if you want a complete picture.
The first two sections are background info for those unaware of a few relevant facts. The issue of alleged harassment follows.
Jewish Snape
Flamethrower has written a long, serial HP fic called Of a Linear Circle. In it, Severus Snape is portrayed as Jewish. While his Jewishness is touched upon in multiple chapters across multiple parts of the series, this is how it is introduced:
“I didn’t know you were Jewish.”
Severus rolls his eyes and taps the bridge of his nose. “It isn’t obvious?”
Nizar gives him a baffled look. “What does your nose have to do with it?”
“It’s a…stereotype.” Severus grimaces at Nizar’s continued look of confusion, but he still meets older adults who’ve never heard the word used that way. “Racism.”
“Oh. Idiots,” Nizar mutters. “Besides, if you wanted to see some truly horrific examples of nasal protuberances, you’d find yourself a Viking who’d had their nose broken four or five times.”
I applaud including Jewish characters in fic, even in the case where they are not Jewish in canon. Positive portrayals of Jewish characters should be encouraged throughout fandom.
Picking Snape to be the character from Harry Potter to reframe as Jewish is a complicated choice, because of the vile and enduring antisemitic stereotype relating to Jewish people having large, ugly noses. 
Consider the following quote spoken by the Marauder’s Map in POA:
Mr. Moony presents his compliments to Professor Snape, and begs him to keep his abnormally large nose out of other people's business.
Mr. Prongs agrees with Mr. Moony, and would like to add that Professor Snape is an ugly git.
Mr. Padfoot would like to register his astonishment that an idiot like that ever became a professor.
Mr. Wormtail bids Professor Snape good day, and advises him to wash his hair, the slimeball.
Leaning into a stereotype is a difficult choice. It’s not bad, but it should be handled with some thought. IMO you either need to ignore the canon association with Snape’s nose, or you need to deliberately deconstruct it.
Flamethrower did neither. This by itself I would not say is antisemitic, merely clumsy. She went to great efforts to portray Snape’s Jewishness positively, and I honestly applaud that.  
But I know I’m not the only person who encountered it and was uncomfortable with the antisemitic stereotype being on display so clumsily. Not that I thought it meant flamethrower or her fic were antisemitic, just that this particular use of a stereotype was uncomfortable. 
A Thread about Hebrew
Of a Linear Circle is heavily concerned with linguistics. It features discussions of many languages, including Hebrew. One of those discussions contains an error, a faulty transliteration. This is a minor mistake, and in a fic with so many linguistic discussions, some mistakes would happen for even a true polyglot.
The problem is that when a Jewish fan commented with a polite suggestion of a fix to the error, flamethrower proceeded to Goysplain both Hebrew and the Shoah to her.
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It’s not a good look. It’s arrogant and condescending. By itself, though, it’s not antisemitic, just an author being a little too defensive and overbearing. But it’s there, and more than a few Jewish fans noticed it because flamethrower has promoted the fact that Snape is Jewish in this fic.
Where the Harassment Supposedly Begins
At some point, a Jewish fan (who implicitly identifies herself as such later), leaves a comment on the chapter of flamethrower’s fic with the potentially upsetting antisemitic nose stereotype.
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The request is for a tag or warning of some kind for the comment, just so it doesn’t take readers by surprise. Perhaps requesting the fic as a whole be tagged with “antisemitism” is a step too far and would seem bizarre, but the gist of the comment is a request for a content warning. Flamethrower could have sorted out a note or a less inflammatory tag if she cared to do so, but she never replied to this comment.
The fact that she didn’t reply to this comment doesn’t matter really. She gets a lot of fic comments, so the idea she missed one or didn’t feel like replying isn’t the issue. 
But this comment was left on August 10, and when it received no response for a week, I believe the same fan sent flamethrower an ask on the same topic, which is where the saga of supposed harassment begins.
The Ask
The text of the ask was as follows:
HI! I LEFT YOU A COMMENT RECENTLY ON YOUR FIC OF A LINEAR CIRCLE, BUT I CAN SEE YOU WERE VERY BUSY AND PROBABLY DIDN'T SEE IT. I HOPE YOU DON'T MIND ME ASKING, BUT WOULD YOU MIND TAGGING IT FOR THE ANTISEMITIC HUMOR IN IT? I KNOW IT WAS MEANT IN GOOD FAITH AND YOU HAD A JEWISH FRIEND CONSULT, BUT NOT ALL JEWS ARE COMFORTABLE WITH JOKING ABOUT STEROTYPES, AND FOR THOSE OF US THAT AREN'T, A LITTLE WARNING WOULD BE VERY KIND. THANK YOU!— queried by heatherly84
I consider this fairly innocuous and polite. As I said above, perhaps the reasonable outcome wasn’t the exact tag suggested, or even a tag at all--maybe a note in the intro notes of the chapter warning for it would have sufficed.
But this is how flamethrower responded:
So, because you had a single moment of twinge due to a child character’s self-consciousness regarding their appearance and their religion as they struggle to come to terms with stereotypes they face every day…you want me to add a tag to my fic that will see it immediately black-listed as anti-semitic even though it’s absolutely nothing of the sort.
No. No, I will not.
I am not here to gatekeep your internet experience. If that moment made you uncomfortable, you should a) think about what the character was going through instead of expecting it to be the author being a dick, and b) click your back button.
EDIT: No, wait. I’m not done.
What really gets me here is that you are asking me to tag a scene as anti-Semitic when this underconfident Jewish-born child, already dealing with horrible stereotyping, is promptly reassured by an Adult that there is nothing wrong with his faith or his appearance, and said child shouldn’t put stock into the people doing the stereotyping.
You want me to tag something as Bad that is meant to be enouragement for anyone in that position, a common theme in YA lit.
Are you sure it’s the perceived anti-Semitism that’s the problem, or is it something else entirely?
I saw the ask and flamethrower’s response shortly after it was posted on her tumblr. To say I found the response troubling is an understatement.
Flamethrower condescends to a fan asking, not for any substantive change or edit to the fic, but to a mere content warning.
Flamethrower presumes to tell someone how they must feel about the handling of antisemitic stereotypes in a fic, which would be bullshit even if she didn’t handle this particular antisemitic stereotype so clumsily.
Flamethrower accuses the fan of some secret and malicious motive because she, the author, is overly defensive.
Particularly considering the topic of antisemitism, I found the response wanting, so I decided I should say something.
The Submission
In an attempt to convey to Flamethrower that the concerns about the antisemitic stereotyping of Snape’s nose wasn’t the concern of a single fan, and to try to open a dialogue and point out some other missteps I felt she had made in the general region of Jewish representation in fandom and antisemitism, I decided to send her a submission.
I am an ancient member of fandom from the days of usenet and livejournal, and to be honest I just never got tumblr, so I had to create an account solely for this purpose. I’m sure that makes me sound like a bizarre dinosaur, but it’s the truth. And I created this account and wrote up a submission to flamethrower and sent it in.
Admittedly, my tone was a little sharp in a few places due to very genuine frustration, but as I tried to make clear, I was trying to appeal to her to do better, not simply condemn, and definitely not harass.
The following is the full and exact text of my submission to flamethrower: 
I feel that you're being deeply disingenuous. You introduced Snape being a Jew in your fic with the following lines:
“I didn’t know you were Jewish.”
Severus rolls his eyes and taps the bridge of his nose. “It isn’t obvious?”
And a Jewish person rather politely asked you to mark it as referencing antisemitic stereotypes, because holy fuck you made a character whose nose is remarkably large in canon Jewish and leaned into that in. Sure, you followed it with a joke about Viking noses, but that's not the deconstruction you seem to think it is. It's just a handwave that accomplishes nothing.
That, by itself, I could maybe give a pass, but then there's this comment thread: https://archiveofourown.org/comments/113294382 Someone tells you they're Jewish and gives you a bit of helpful advice about a bit of Hebrew linguistics that you have absolutely and totally wrong; it's not something, as you suggest in your replies, that varies with regions. It's universally understood, but you talk over the person whose cultural language you're using as if you know better.
But the part that really crosses the line is that you say the following in your scramble to throw shit against the wall to insist you could be right:
Then there are the parlances common to specific groups that are just fucking GONE because of the Holocaust, and we don't have any way now to know how they might have said certain words.
You Goysplain the Shoah to a Jew.
If you actually care as deeply about positive representations of Jewish characters in fandom as you say you do, maybe listening to actual critiques from actual Jews should be a thing you do, instead of reacting defensively and shutting them down.
Also, please never refer to a person as "Jewish sidekick" again, as you did in that thread. Unpacking the baggage there would take a separate submission. I'm taking the time to write this out, perhaps foolishly, because I hope you're sincere about caring and will actually listen. Shutting down the voices of Jewish people is not a part of portraying Jewishness positively in fandom. I hope you can see that and will listen and do better.
She posted and responded to this. I don’t have a screenshot of her response, nor do I have the full text because of how quickly she deleted it, but I do have a partial quote of her response:
However, you did accuse a Jewish woman by proxy of Goysplaining, which I find incredibly insulting on my best friend’s behalf. (She wants her name left out of it for anxiety reasons, and given how this is probably going to turn into a huffing and puffing Drag Down The Evil Witch Goyim thing, I don’t blame her.)
This bit of rhetorical gymnastics on her part served an interesting and infuriating purpose. I objected to her refusing to listen to actual Jewish fans trying to tell her things on multiple occasions, and I also criticized her use of the “I can’t have done anything wrong, my best friend is Jewish,” defense. Here she doubled down on that defense, essentially saying the person she has referred to on multiple occasions as her “Jewish Sidekick” insulates her from all possible problematic statements re: Jewishness.
The rest of her response was equally inane, but as I can’t quote it directly in her own words, I can’t justify saying more about it.
A Second, Unpublished Ask
As I mentioned above, I’ve never really used Tumblr. The difference between submitting posts and submitting asks confused me. I knew the original request for a content warning tag was an ask and that I’d done a post. I was afraid I should have sent an ask instead.
I was also rereading her response to heatherly84, and I was annoyed that she didn’t get why the joke about Snape’s nose wasn’t okay.
So I sent in an ask before my submission was posted and responded to.
I don’t have the text of my ask, but I give flamethrower permission to post it in full if she chooses. I recall saying two things:
1) In the form of a question, I tried to walk her through understanding why the joke about Snape’s nose could still read as antisemitic.
2) I acknowledged I’d sent the submission, and said I would prefer she respond to it, since it was more detailed.
Perhaps I committed some terrible tumblr faux pas in submitting a post and an ask on the same topic closely together and that constitutes harassment.
I suspect the former is true but the latter is not.
Flamethrower Deletes Posts and Claims Harassment
In a matter of minutes after flamethrower posts my submission and her response, she deletes it. A new post goes up.
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I have to assume the combination of two asks and a submission is what she is saying is harassment. You’ve seen the text of one ask and one post, so hopefully you’ll agree one ask was very polite and the post was slightly terse but A) not harassment, B) not an ad hominem attack, C) and a list of reasons why she was wrong to do certain things, not a list of reasons why she as a person was awful. I maintain the unpublished ask is in the same vein, and she is free to publish it in full if she chooses.
Then she begins posting more, and her claims about what she was sent escalate.
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Here we have what is called a dogwhistle: she’s not saying evil Jews are conspiring against her to make her look bad. However, in response to criticisms of potentially antisemitic behavior, she falls back on the trope of “devious” Jews in a malicious conspiracy. This is problematic, and I will say flat out it is antisemitic.
She also misrepresents what was going on: Jewish fans asking her to listen to them without being condescending. Jewish fans asking for a single content warning.
I believe at this point I sent either another ask or submission, with the gist being, “If you’re going to post about things I submitted to your tumblr and characterize them a certain way, I would appreciate it if you reposted them so viewers could judge for themselves whether what you’re saying is accurate.”
Continuing to engage was a mistake, clearly. 
Her vague posting with the context hidden continued.
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And she ends by going full non-sequitur. 
She never raised not wanting to attract white supremacists and Nazis as a reason to avoid a warning tag. 
She condescended and attacked and told a Jewish fan her reactions were invalid.
If flamethrower cared about Jewish representation in fandom, opposing antisemitism, and Jewish fans, she could have compromised with some sort of warning in some fashion.
Even if she were absolutely opposed to a warning of any kind, she could have not condescended and invalidated the experiences of Jewish fans trying to speak with her.
Even if she couldn’t do that, she could have avoided deleting all context and then going on a posting spree that suggests an evil Jewish conspiracy is harassing her.
The only conclusions I can draw from all of this are as follows:
1) Engaging with flamethrower as a person who cares about Jewish fans is a mistake, because she cares more about presenting herself as an authority on Jewish experiences to non-Jewish fans than she does to listening to any critique, no matter how minor or polite, from a Jewish fan.
2) Flamethrower is happy to oppose antisemitism in the shallowest possible way to pat herself on the back and seek congratulations from others, but the second she’s in conflict with actual Jewish people, she resorts to vague and just barely deniable antisemitism herself.
3) Flamethrower is unable to accept anything she perceives as criticism, no matter how kindly it’s presented, because she’s too invested in presenting herself as the absolute expert on every topic she has passingly researched for a fic. Her defensiveness over a trivial topic is merely odd, but on more serious topics, it becomes problematic.
4) No one has harassed flamethrower, and nothing she is construing as harassment is part of a “setup” or conspiracy.
5) I probably don’t know how to use Tumblr properly.
Edited to Add: What I Think Is a Lie
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I have been refreshing flamethrower’s tumblr nearly non-stop since this began, as have several people I know. Unless the offer of a different tag occurred in a private message, I am confident in saying it is a lie, particularly given her instant negative reaction to the very idea as shown above. If screencaps are provided, I will of course retract this and apologize.
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hopevalley · 5 years ago
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What are your favorite and least stories from each Season and why?
Oh man, this is a really thought-provoking question! I’ll try to come up with good answers (even though sometimes the seasons blur together a little bit):
I’ll give some basic thoughts on each season and what worked/didn’t work for me.
Season 1
While I appreciate that they made the effort to have Elizabeth stick out (vs. blending in with all the Poors), she was downright unbearable at times in the early seasons. Her wanting to help and coming up with ideas is pretty decent in terms of story structure and even characterization/character motivation, but holy cow was it intrusive and nosy/patronizing of her sometimes! I think the point might have been to give Elizabeth flaws, which is great, but people just seemed to accept it, and her, too quickly, at least for my liking. A shame because I felt like her struggling to fit in would 1) be good for her character/force her to understand that to be accepted here she has to concede to giving up her former lifestyle, and 2) be a great, GREAT way for her and Abigail to bond and become friends, since this is something Abigail also struggled with!
So basically, the ‘story’ of Elizabeth coming to fit in in Coal Valley? Vaguely rubbish.
So much DID work, though, and could have been expanded upon for even better storytelling!!! This is especially true of the widows/related stories.
Loss of faith/faltering faith
Loss of personal identity
Moving on/past grief
Processing guilt 
Protecting the memory of a deceased loved one
We also had some great smaller personal stories.
Genius child has to work in the mine because there’s no one else ot take care of his family
Young man can’t read and has to work in the mine (and even after he does start learning how to read, probably doesn’t get to leave). Elizabeth still taking the time to try and help him still means something!
Season 2
I will never forgive the series for its convoluted attempt at a love triangle, here. Charles wasn’t unlikable, but he was OBVIOUSLY interested in Elizabeth romantically, and I don’t feel she’d be so stupid as to be blind to that, old chum or not.
Basically, it was one of the worst plots to ever exist on the show, because it just wasn’t believable in any capacity and felt like drama that existed to be a roadblock more than anything.
Also, not to whine, but Bill’s whole ‘counterfeit money’ plotline wasn’t very well-written.
The plot itself makes sense, but the way it bounced around seems to have just confused enough people that no one even remembers this was a thing.
That said, I think it was a good plot for the character... It was just not executed as well as it needed to have been to make a difference/really shine.
There are a lot of small things from S2 that were pretty nice, though.
Abigail’s fight to help Clara was meaningful, but I’m not sure how I feel about the addition of Clara from a writing standpoint. I feel like Abigail should have felt something was off about Peter’s trips from the start... The issue is that Hamilton is VERY far away and it’s VERY doubtful Peter would have ever gone there. Union City makes more sense if we’re talking about picking up shipments.
Tom and Julie were entertaining if nothing else.
I couldn’t tell you a single thing that happened in Hope Valley in S2, but I’m sure there were Events.
Season 3
Honestly I don’t think S3 had anything horrible in it. It just wasn’t very inspiring at times? It was like they had all these really good ideas but didn’t want to fully commit to any of them.
Henry Gowen was a star.
Frank was excellent in this season.
The biggest issue I have with this plot is simply that they didn’t take it all the way. Either he’s a dangerous man to allow to stay in town or he’s not. Saying he is doesn’t make it so. A rock through a window? Okay, sure...that’s threatening I guess. But it didn’t feel like enough to turn the whole town.
And again, having him barely doing anything even though he’d definitely be worried for Abigail and Cody’s safety is just inane.
Still, overall the whole thing was pretty good/well-done. Especially that unexpected turn at the end where Henry helped turn the tide. (I still wish that had gone somewhere and wonder even now if they had an idea they wanted to use and didn’t get the chance to.)
Abigail adopting children was nice. I wish Becky hadn’t been a part of it at all though. Like the IDEA is nice, but I can’t imagine she’d believe in it all as fast/readily as she does? This plotline just seemed great for Cody and meaningless to Becky, IMO.
But hey, the thing with Cody is meaningful enough. My issue is just that he’s like, 8 or 9 and remembers his parents very clearly, so I don’t think he’d be that willing to replace them. I guess it could just be his personality, but it might make more sense for him to be like 5-6 years old instead (less attached with fuzzier memories by this point if they’ve been on the run awhile).
Despite my qualms I think this was a pretty good story for Abigail. Just wish they hadn’t dropped her role as a mom as quickly as it felt they did.
Hattie was a good character and I enjoyed her introduction story. It was sad, but it felt good/satisfying.
Bill buying Henry’s share in the café was a great little thing. Maybe too convenient and itching for a story of its own (instead of it just happening), but overall a good idea.
Jack’s mom coming to town was entertaining. She had some really good lines. Lard in coffee. I mean...this was gold.
Season 4
The peddler was a cute addition but I didn’t much care for the overt magical element.
If it felt a little more real/grounded/down to earth I think I might have been more intrigued. 
Frank getting his original Bible back was a GREAT story but when they tried tying it into his vaguely stalker-like behavior? It just ruined the entire thing.
For what it’s worth, Frank’s character goes downhill pretty sharply in this season.
There were a lot of cute kid storylines in this one. But they weren’t all...great...
Robert telling the lie about the bear? Nice.
The kid with the knee brace? Ugh.
The storyline itself wasn’t bad!
But after Becky miraculously recovered the previous season it just felt like a slap in the face. I live with chronic pain and it’s just one of those things where I’d like a little representation somewhere.
I still think Becky should have stayed wheelchairbound.
I can’t get over how insulting it was that she just MIND OVER MATTER FIXED HERSELF. The writer who put that in there should be slapped, and the writer who wrote the saME GODFORSAKEN STORY AGAIN with this child should also be slapped.
I really feel that if they were gonna let Becky recover like that, this kid should be living with a permanent disability and this episode could deal with kids helping him play/doing activities he could participate and enjoy.
Maybe it’s too on-the-nose but the hardest part about a chronic illness/disability of any kind is the part where you lose things you loved to do that you considered a part of your identity. That’s an awfully deep storyline for WCtH, but they should have gone for it here.
Phillip was in between.
Phillip and his father were great, but Elizabeth was just SO incredibly awful. This is where she and Abigail started always being right about everything and I felt her involvement was unbearable.
They should have just let Faith take over Elizabeth’s role in that plot and it would have been way better. They could have had the eyesight issue earlier and done something great with it.
Frank and Abigail’s relationship at the beginning of this season was pretty interesting. Even though the whole “danger” thing was a little goofy, it was nice to see them communicating and adjusting. 
It felt like a natural issue people would actually have. And it wasn’t smoothly worked out, which is fine.
Also, Rosemary’s interference was hilarious.
RIP to the following:
Frank’s character after his earlier scene, because he doesn’t get anything else that’s actually in character.
Good writing because Carson is now the town hero he’s gonna save Cody from appendicitis because other doctors are just completely stupid!
Also Carson is a surgeon so TAKE THAT, regular doctors!
Doug. You were a real bro, my guy.
I DID like Doug’s role in the story, though. His death made some sense, but it was ill-timed. (How convenient that we only even hear of him moments before his death lol.)
AJ Foster is a highlight of S4 for me. I love her, and for the most part I love her introduction.
She’s such a pain in the neck, but she also talks a lot of sense.
The writing isn’t great for her, or for Bill in these scenes, but at least there was An Attempt™.
I appreciate that they introduced the idea of her much earlier in the season and built up to her actual appearance, which I couldn’t have guessed would be relevant early on.
Considering how the officers at my company hate our IRS auditor, I find the fact that AJ has enemies beyond believable.
Railroad shenanigans were pretty entertaining in this season, too.
Season 5
The last episode at least tried to be kind to the characters, so I appreciate it.
Elizabeth’s conversation with her father before her wedding was a highlight of the entire season.
AJ’s return plot was abysmal.
I’d be terribly embarrassed to have been the one to write this, especially considering how completely whack it feels next to the other plots.
I’ve ranted about this so many times I should have run out of steam but BOY is it cringey. This is the height of Bill-is-a-grumpy-old-man as a Thing in this series and this is probably when it is its worst.
The rattlesnake plotline was contrived as heck, but the only thing to make it worse was how weird everyone acted.
Rhonda was a good character and the plotline, if it wasn’t so rushed, would have actually been really great. I still liked it overall, though.
Frank’s send-off was dumb, but at least he got one on-screen.
I still can’t believe they killed their main romantic male lead off-screen.
What the heck...
Abigail was really, really annoying in this season, and so was Elizabeth. Unbearable.
Also, I still hate the pregnancy oooops~~ ♥♥ plot at the end of the grieving episode. Really? COME ON. I know they wanted to give the fans hope but it was jarring.
Season 6
I still HATE the nativity == baby Jack’s birth parallels. 
Why did they feel the need to do that. Why couldn’t we have just gotten pregnant Elizabeth shenanigans?
They put Jack’s DEATH ON THE TOMBSTONE like how is she popping out a baby less than two months later when she didn’t even know she wa---?F?DJSAFLJDSAFHLDSAL?
Abigail?
DELETED.
Thank goodness.
Bill?
Assassinated. Or at least, his character was.
This is bad. :(
On the plus side he gets promoted to the position of JUDGE...and barely does anything worthwhile with it...yet.
GODFATHER BILL. The best thing in this season.
Fiona?
A goddess. I love her.
Lucas?
Slimy.
But handsome.
The 4th Property Brother. He even tries his hand at renovating.
Nathan?
Honest and good.
Pretty cute.
Works together with Bill once in one of Bill’s only good scenes.
The oil plotline is actually pretty good/fun. Jesse and Clara get more scenes finally. 
Elizabeth isn’t the focus of everything.
Lee and Rosemary got like, no mention in any of these posts but mostly because it felt like they were never really doing anything before, but I did feel like they were given a little more meaningful lines/places in this season.
--
How’s this for an attempt? :P I’m probably missing A LOT but I can’t recall everything too easily!
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arofili · 6 years ago
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Just curious what your point is then, (in that post about Good Omens rep) that you think the person who replied was missing? Because my own "no, not like that!" about the supposed lgbtq rep in Good Omens is precisely what I think they were getting at too: none of it is truly explicit, and i see no proof of intent in crafting it from Gaiman or anyone else officially creating for the show, and Gaiman himself sees it as just one way to interpret the text.
hey! thanks for being polite :) i may not have been as clear as i thought i was, lol.
from what i’ve seen there’s been no shying away from the “homoerotic” (for lack of a better term) tension between C&A, not from the actors or from neilman? i have seen gifs of tennant and sheen talking about C&A as a couple (i may be misremembering! but that was the impression i got) and neilman’s affirmation of queer interpretations since before the tv show was in the making is proof of intent to me, at least.
(side note: whatever sheen and tennant were acting, i don’t think that in and of itself is makes the rep canon...it’s about as canon as the hobbit fandom seems to think bagginshield is, lmao, which is to say “better than nothing but still not much”)
i’m not super plugged in to twitter, but neilman’s acceptance of everyone’s interpretations to me says: “yes, i am fully aware this reads as very queer; we may not have intended that when writing the book but we knew about it coming into the show and deliberately included it; however it would be inappropriate to claim that we planned this when writing the book and want to remain faithful to that aspect.”
Basically, he is doing the inverse of a JKR: not claiming retconned representation but actively encouraging queer interpretations. that doesn’t mean he’s going to dunk on people who see them as straight (though interpreting them as straight is...Beyond Me) because he’s not, idk, an Asshole,
i think neilman patting himself on the back in his responses to thanks from queer viewers is...egregious, tbh. but the backlash i’m seeing, claiming C&A as queerbaiting and neilman as homophobic, is fucking Always in response to him endorsing an a-spectrum reading of C&A’s relationship. some folks just Dont Want Aces And Aros To Have Nice Things!
looking at their relationship, i cannot say it is anything other than queer. the specifics of that queerness are left up to interpretation, but it is so fucking queer. and yes! explicit queer rep is good and important! but queer vagueness can be good representation too. that’s what i think this is, queer vagueness, not queerbaiting.
i find comfort in vague queerness, and queercoding too to some extent. as an aromantic asexual nonbinary person, the odds of me getting something to represent me in all those areas is Extremely Unlikely, so instead i cling to “vague” representation and implications.
it’s rare that i see queer vagueness done intentionally like it is in Good Omens; usually i end up projecting onto characters like Legolas or Luke Skywalker &etc that are also easily interpreted as gay but not written that way on purpose. (which is another tangential subject i have a Lot of opinions on, but let’s stay in our lane why don’t we)
i think we’ve focused so much on explicit queer rep (which again! is a good thing!) that we ignored characters and relationships that fall into gray spaces that are still very much nonnormative. those are good too, those are wide-reaching and provide ground for transformative works, those are also wonderful places for questioning people to experiment.
representation shouldn’t be one-size-fits-all. we should have lots of options. i see now, after writing this mini essay, that i jumped into that post with the idea that it was obvious that there’s more to representation than labels, but it isn’t obvious, and i hope my explanation makes sense.
also: there is ample canon evidence (within the book) for queerness on the part of C&A. aziraphale intentionally presents in a way that aligns himself with the gay community; angels and demons don’t have sex or gender unless they are really trying; the lack of sexual feelings is apparent and imo if you’re going to interpret their relationship as romantic (which is cool, even if it’s not my personal headcanon) you have to acknowledge that this is the only time either of them have had this experience (making them arospec)
ignoring all those things and getting mad about them not kissing is reductive of the queer experience. not every kind of queer is gay. nonbinary, ace, and arospec representation is queer representation. and there is more to any queer identity than just kissing; queer is identity and rebellion and community and self-expression and refusing to fit into the norm, all things that both crowley and aziraphale represent and embody. that in itself is (vague) queer representation, outside of their relationship.
i’ve written too many words and need to focus on the actual essay i have to turn in for class tomorrow, but i hope this makes sense!
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joanna-lannister · 6 years ago
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which characters of afoiaf you like more in tv-series and which ones you like more in the books? do you like someone in books but dislike their portrayal in GoT? is there any character in tv show you feel like a perfect representation of their book persona? just curious of your thoughts! :)
Hi Nonnie! 😊 *put my glasses on*
This is kinda difficult to answer because I haven't read all the books yet i'm such a slow reader but thanks to Tumblr (and other sites), I've read so many excerpts so I'll try to do my best. Plus I guess I'm a little biased because I watched the show first so yeah, I love more the show!characters. I feel I can connect more to them than in the books, they seem more... human ? Less flawed ? At least at first, so it's easier to relate to them. I think the only exception is Arya, not that I hated her in the show, she made me laugh and I was scared for her but I simply didn't relate to her. I think her chapters made her more fleshed-out. And now I have grown to love her and I really loved the faceless men storyline unlike most of the fandom.
And my opinion for the rest (if you don't want to read everything, you can pass this part, I wouldn't blame you 😂 and some of them are kinda controversials):
Cersei: while I still love her book counterpart and relate to her, I feel she's more balanced in the show and because of this, I can connect to her even more. Lena's portrayal is amazing (but I'll talk about it later), she is still flawed and yet, you understand. I mean, I know most people perceive her as an ''Evil Queen'' but I have never thought that way. I clearly remember the moment I fell in love with her, it was during the Stark feast, Robert was whoring (as usual 🙄) and you can see the hurt on her face, even Cat notices it. And she's hurt, not because she loves him, but because he is humiliating her in front of everyone. So yeah, I have always seen her as a broken woman more than a ''mad queen'' and that's why I think show!Cersei is more interesting.
Sansa: She's more hardened in the show than in the books and I like that, for me it's more realist, but I don't feel like she lost her kindness tho. While I would have loved to see more Alayne in the show, contrary to the popular opinion, I liked the Winterfell storyline but I believe they could have done a better job. They handled the situation pretty badly and they should had given more Alayne persona for this arc. And I think show!Sansa is more sassy.
Catelyn: I ADORE Cat in the show but in the books, I don't know, she slightly annoys me, she lacks... some energy. I think however her chapters are super importants. The part in the Vale has some clues and foreshadowing for the "Great War" in my opinion but I guess they are not going to use it in the show and that's also why they cut out Sansa's storyline.
Daenerys: Oh I love reading Dany POVs ! They are probably my favorites. I think book!Dany is a little more balanced tho. As a big fan of her relationship with her dragons, I can't wait to reach this part. Though, I'm kinda worried for her last chapters. Many people are saying that GRRM has difficulties to write the Meereenese knot and I agree with them. Past the season 3, her arc became inconsistent. Her storyline is either wrapped too slowly or too quickly and I feel this is not only D&D fault but also GRRM. He had too much ambition for this part and I'm truly curious how he's going to end it.
Jon: I'll be honest, when I started watching the show, I didn't care about him. I only started to like him when he met Ygritte and his book counterpart is just...annoying. No, just no. The only parts that stir up my interest actually are his dreams, they are full of clues.
Ned: Same as Jon, but x1000. Book!Ned is unbearable for me. I want to roll my eyes out almost every line. He's more enjoyable on screen. The only parts I care about are the Lyanna's ones, it give us more insight about Robert's rebellion.
Bran: Same with Jon and Ned but I don't really care about him, even on screen and even now. Yet, I think he's truly important for the story. But I just can't... And I don't like GRRM writing for his chapters.
Tyrion: Uhuh Tyrion is for me the most white-washed character in the show! And I'm not sure I'm going to love him in the books as much I love show!Tyrion but I also think erasing most of his flaws was a big mistake. They play a big part in the last book and that's why past the season 4, Tyrion became annoying, only drinking and whining. He only got his "intensity" back when he reunited with his siblings.
Jaime: Funnily enough, I don't have so much to say about Jaime. I think he's more arrogant and jealous in the books. I still like his storyline in the show, unlike most people. I feel his arc, both in the show and the books, are excepted.
Tywin: I think I have the same feelings for Tywin as I have for Cersei but we don't have Tywin POVs so it's not easy to judge his book persona.
Jorah: I despise book!Jorah, he's a foil for Littlefinger, I think tho his background is more solid. But in the show, I like him. I even feel pity for him. And I admit if something happened between Jorah and Dany, I wouldn't mind. I don't usually ship Dany x men but I think Emilia and Iain have a good chemistry.
The Tyrells: Loras has more depth in the books but the show gave us more insight for his relationship with Renly. I think Margaery is more nuanced in the show but maybe it's only Natalie Dormer's portrayal. Olenna is maybe the most faithful to her book persona in my opinion.
Theon / Melisandre / Stannis / Davos / Brienne / and others I forgot 😂: I like them but I guess I don't care enough about their book persona right now to have a strong opinion about them. I think tho book!Melisandre is less caricatural and book!Stannis more clever.
Voilà! For me the books and the show are two distinct entities but at the same time, they complete each others. If you want to know more about Robert's rebellion, the books are really hepful and if you want more nuanced characters like Cersei, the show is here for it.
I also like the fact the show aged up the characters, this is something that disturbed me, and the fact it removed some useless ones. The only exception is Arianne Martell (and maybe Lady Stoneheart), I would have loved to see her on my screen and the Dorne plot was terrible in the show... Oh and Mya Stone, I loved that girl! Though I think sometimes GRRM writing is stodgy, he embarrass himself with some unnecessary detail, I just want to roll my eyes… The show goes more straightforward thankfully. So D&D writing is not perfect but neither GRRM. Like I mentionned with Dany, he's too ambitious. Yes, he had a brilliant idea, he wanted to subvert the tropes but I think he's failing: Jon is the secret heir, Sansa the princess in the tower, Cersei the evil queen… I have this feeling he's doing what is excepted now. Since the last book, new shows/books/movies have been written and these tropes are well known, sometimes they are already subverted. So I'm really curious how he's gonna wrap all these storylines and make something new, if he ever finish the books...
And for the actors, if that was also your question, I think they are doing a great job. Like I said, Lena is amazing. Nik is more subtil imo, watching him in other movies made me realize his skills. Iwan and Jack are so good, they are playing the worst characters and yet, they are the sweetest humans on earth ! Charles Dance, oh his voice, I can't picture someone else playing Tywin. Alfie is talented too and deserves so much more recognition. Peter is awesome, like I said Tyrion was annoying during the S5-S7 but the scene between him and Cersei in 7x07 OMG, they nailed it! I still have shivers.
I'm not sure that's the answer you wanted tho and I'm sorry because I always speak tooooo much i'm a disaster. But thank you for your ask and if you have read my whole reply, BIG THANK YOU!
Have a nice day! ❤️
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