#Book vs Screen

[grif-hawaiian-rolls]

Movie night is a vital part of the Red Team experience

plus an honorary Doc to make the snack runs

[sabotourist]

You know. Sometimes I forget that Donut has a bloodlust to rival Sarge.

[waterflowing-under-ground]

I've seen some posts from people in the Witcher fandom (usually who are into both the Netflix show and the books) being confused as to why book fans think Geralt being mean to Dandelion (Jaskier) is a canon divergence in the TV show, when in the books, there are times when Geralt can be very cutting and even a bit mean to Dandelion.

My takeaway from their relationship in the books is that this conflict has the purpose of developing both of their characters (and serving as allegory because we KNOW Mr. Sapkowski loves allegory, and we love him for it! Or at least I do), and there's context around why they can be this way with each other. There's a rich history in this friendship, a comfort and casualness with one another that one wouldn't have with someone they weren't that close with, which in a lot of relationships comes with a safety to BE cutting and blunt with each other at times and know that having these conflicts is not going to mean an end to their relationship. They tend to move on from their arguments and all is forgiven (sometimes after a period of distance, but that's also normal after a hard conversation I feel - both parties sometimes need to process and lick their wounds, or wounded egos), and it's implied (at least to me) that their friendship is an "always" thing, even when they do blow up at each other, and even when the things they say are harsh.

Furthermore, there's so much "off screen" (off-page?) time between them that we don't get to see. But their closeness is implied by others and themselves throughout the entire saga and the short stories. And the things they say to other people indicate how important they are to one another as well.

I do want to point out that my personal take on their relationship is tempered by me being in my 40's and having more than one long term relationship (namely my closest and longest-running friendship which is going on 25 years now, and my marriage which is almost 15 years old this year) where there IS that familiarity and "safety" to sometimes have cutting conversations, or at least "brutally honest" conversations, telling each other things we might not want to hear, but perhaps need to.

My best friend, for example, saw me through a 6-year relationship that was actually abusive. She felt that she had to tell me some truths that I needed to hear, and while some things she told me were hard to hear during that period, I'm so glad she felt safe and comfortable enough with me to be honest about what she saw happening.

She is not a fuzzy-wuzzy cuddly person. But she is MY person. She has been my rock for nearly a quarter century. I would actually trust this woman with my life. I would donate a kidney to this woman if I were a match and she needed one. We are not cutesy fuzzy with each other (although most of the time we're warm, generous, and supportive like a certain witcher and minstrel duo). She's not the type to say "I love you" out loud, so we don't do that because I know that would make her uncomfortable (she's even like this with her partner of several years - some people just aren't as demonstrative with saying the WORDS, but it doesn't mean they don't FEEL it). But we LOVE each other dearly. We don't have to actually say "I love you" to say I love you to one another.

Because we're all human, we can even at times slip up and not be as tactful and sensitive with each other as we should be, or even in a moment of vulnerability get angry and snap (which is completely Geralt in Baptism of Fire). Some of the conflicts I've had with my best friend and my spouse can look a lot like what we encounter in the books between Geralt and Dandelion when they do get into a heated discussion or argument. But these relationships are, to me, "safe" and "always" in my mind and heart. I know we'd have to do something truly *despicable* and abusive to one another for those relationships to end entirely.

What I think people are saying, when they say, "Book Geralt would never *be mean* to Dandelion," isn't that Geralt could never *literally* be mean. It's that the portrayal of their friendship and the conflicts they could have were lacking any kind of context whatsoever. Furthermore, the Netflix show didn't make us believe they were ever MUTUAL friends who loved each other (mutually) in the first place, didn't do enough to build up their relationship and show its history and why they're so bonded to each other, why they're proud of each other, show us HOW the "opposites attract" thing actually works in their relationship, how they add value to each other's lives by having different but complementary personalities, why they had such a strong connection in the first place, why they loved each other, why they enjoyed and valued each other's company and place in their lives.

Instead they made it seem like Geralt was simply tolerating this silly little guy who gets him into trouble all the time, and then out of nowhere you get a tirade of verbal abuse that goes on about how this silly little guy ruined his entire life, and basically a "get out of my life" tirade which is extremely hurtful and broke the show character's heart (understandably enough). Geralt also punches Dandelion in the show, and while they have their share of verbal arguments in the books, Geralt never lays a hand on Dandelion, and even goes out of his way to protect him and save him from violence and physical danger multiple times throughout the entire saga.

Geralt's attempts to push the Hanza away in Baptism of Fire are often cited as the example of Geralt being mean, by Netflix viewers who are confused by book fans saying Geralt being mean isn't canon.

But I think book fans pretty universally agree that Geralt's "meanness" in Baptism of Fire actually stems partially from him wanting to protect the other members of the Hanza from danger, and partially from feeling like he's messed everything up so badly he doesn't *deserve* help or support, or that he can't *truly atone* for Ciri's separation and unhappiness unless he completes the mission entirely alone.

He tries to emotionally push everyone away by being, well, a jerk (which if one is looking to push people away, that can definitely be an effective way of doing so). But his friends see right through this defense mechanism, seem to intuitively know where it's coming from, and seem to understand what he's going through, and are not afraid to call him out on it!

They rightfully roast him for it, but in a way that to me comes across as loving, albeit tough love. To me it's in the vein of, "We see right through your nonsense, we know why you're being like this, because you think you're leading us right into harm's way and you don't want to do that, plus you're losing your mind because you're in a lot of pain and you've lost your daughter and de facto wife who you were JUST beginning to mend fences with before she and your daughter were ripped away from you, so you're freaking out and not being rational. This isn't going to work on us, we're not going to leave you, so just sit down, chop these veggies, and eat this fish soup with us, and shut up you silly man." My favorite moment is when Milva makes the remark about how wolves don't actually hunt alone. Wolves are, after all, pack animals who work as a team to survive.

Modern toxic masculinity harkens a lot to his idea of "alpha males" and "lone wolves" which is total fallacy and nonsense and runs completely counter to what real life is actually like. People, like wolves, are communal animals. We literally need one another to survive. Interdependence, not independence, is the optimal way of being human. Having love, comeraderie, and support are not just frivolities, they're necessities!

To close this, I think the heart of why book fans take issue with this portrayal of their friendship is that Dandelion and Geralt are the longest running thread through the series, each other's "always" person (which in a long lifetime often IS someone's closest platonic relationship, whether that be a chosen best friend or a close sibling for example), and they're so instrumental to each other's character development, that to bludgeon that in the show just runs so counter to what I feel as a fan of this series is one of its central themes, which is that nobody actually CAN do everything alone and without support, that being isolated and alone really leads down a dark path for us as human beings. By stripping away this piece of the story (Dandelion and Geralt's friendship in its true nature, not a contrived one) it fails to adapt the story on that level.

Keep in mind that these are just my opinions. If you made it this far, thanks for reading!

[lieutenantselnia]

Because my new f/os made me wonder about this ...

If you have an f/o who's not usually referred to by their first name, but instead their last name, a nickname, or something like a title or honorific, how to you refer to them? This can apply both to how they are addressed in-universe in their source material and/or how they are commonly referred to in the fandom.

[wellzofyouth]

That one post of my mine predictably aged like fine wine. Never let somebody on comic twitter in the writer's room😭😭😭 Like imagine a 1 to 1 adaptation of literally any event?? -1b at the box office. "Who are these people???"

[llilychen]

it’s really sad that i always looked forward to rhaenyra and/or alicent scenes last season but i now feel the urge to fast forward every time one of them comes on screen

- every alicent scene is her looking sad or crying or her with cole but nothing she does adds anything of value to the plot

- we get the same black council scene in which the men are undermining rhaenyra twice per episode and still nothing is done (i do believe she will make some progress in the next episodes but it’s just so boring to watch her have the same scene over and over again)

cersei and dany i miss you both so much

[puppyeared]

save me old flipnote studio MVs.......

[xviistrings]

bruh (tag rant)

[sunfortune]

been thinking about your thoughts on book lovers since ur blog became emily henry discourse night. i’m someone that likes emily henry books but i think the issue is the stories she’s telling are like litfic or women’s fiction stories but then she has to like fit them into a romance novel. so like book lovers is this really tender story about the like trauma of grief and having to raise your younger sibling and like shaping your life and career around that to the point of unhappiness, even years after that shaping became unnecessary, shoved into this little teehee premise of like wouldn’t it be so silly if the heartless big city other woman from the hallmark movie got a small town romance teehee. and i’m not opposed to a romantic subplot OR a flat out romance novel but in book lovers the romance unfolds in these weird almost gimmicky ways around the heart of the story which is the sisters. so then it becomes like hey why are you here. about the romance. in the romance novel. anyway sorry about this i just couldn’t get it out of my head or figure out how to articulate my thoughts about it until now. all love<3

i agree! in both of the books i’ve read of hers (book lovers and happy place) i think she has very compelling main characters. (in happy place i felt genuinely moved by the main characters pov and her problems with her parents. and in book lovers i really had high hopes for the way her character was described before the execution killed it) BUT then the romance doesn’t have the same draw. and isn’t incorporated into the book in a way for the connection OR the tension to land. (happy place was a bit better than book lovers tho) if it was chic lit or the romance was a subplot it would be different. but the issue with emily henry is her books ARE romance novels at the end of the day. so when the romance falls flat…the parts that are admittedly done well can’t really make up for that. -for me at least!

also i think another thing is her main characters are very interesting but No other character truly is. including the love interest. which is what truly hurts any sort of connection. like i have read and watched sooooo much mediocre NONSENSE (i’m self aware) that i have a drive to want better for bc the interpersonal relationships in them just /slap that Hard/. but in emily henry’s books that concept is nonexistent. every relationship you see play out on screen, including the friendships (looking at happy place) do not pack a punch. at all. they never have me on the edge of my seat hoping for a resolution or happily ever after or whatever

which is why these books don’t even make me mad when they’re not good. bc i don’t Care about any relationship to be like i wish this was better </3 they deserved more </33. i’m just perplexed by why these books keep getting lauded as the pinnacle of contemporary romance. when they are Nothing of the sort

[mediamatinees]

Smackdown Pen vs Sword Chapter Three: The Balance Between Loyalty and Jealousy in "Passing"

Smackdown Pen vs Sword Chapter Three: The Balance Between Loyalty and Jealousy in "Passing"

Content Warning: Passing contains racist language, discussions of racial violence, allusions to domestic violence, and murder. Reader discretion is advised. Spoilers for Passing ahead! When you’re in a place of privilege, it’s easy to forget you exist in a bubble. You forget what other people around you have to deal with on a daily basis. Privilege is a strange sensation because you can have…

[alicentflorent]

Show!DaisyCamila: “what’s going on with you and my HuSbAnD?!?” “He’s yours YoU wOn!1!”

Book!DaisyCamila: “Daisy, just know that I’m rooting for you. I want you to get clean, take of yourself… I want good things for you. I want you to be happy.” “Camila Dunne thought I was worth saving.” *sends each other love letters in 40 years time.. Cami keeps Daisy number in her nightstand*

[hyah-lian]

hmmmh I was trying to like. Be very online and do a big art challenge thingy but the Yearly Existential Dread/Weird Complicated Feelings are kind of grabbing me and shaking me like a floppy doll

[galacticneighbor]

My thing about book adaptations is that you can never have a 100% faithful adaptation. Books and movies/TV are SUCH wildly different mediums with different needs and different storytelling techniques and if you copied a book exactly word for word onto screen it would suck so ENORMOUSLY bad. I don't think people realize how boring it would be to WATCH a book okay sometimes changes need to be made for the sake of entertainment. Or timing. Or because something would be impractical/expensive. Or just cause they thought of something that would be neat. I think rioting over "unfaithful" adaptations is soo boring. Like yeah sometimes they change it SO much that the original themes/characters/whatever don't really work but in general I think it's fun when movie makers add a lil something.

[thatdamndonnareed]

While I don't love that Six-Thirty is a golden doodle in the Lessons in Chemistry series (did they even exist in the 60s/he's supposed to be a large indistinguishable moppy mutt... I know I know they're easy to train blah blah blah) but episode 3 just made me sob my guts out.

[mixedmediareviewspodcast]

New episodes out now! Can we talk about this series?

(Don't be mad, but I kind of like the show the best...)

[manny-jacinto]

i am at constant war with my past self making plans with my future self