#those two will absolutely be portrayed like those historical figures who never married and lived out the rest of their days celibate

[acanthemp3]

the degree that the fanwar that started because of the wataei vs lightbrush poll escalated was kind of horrible but that doesnt change the fact that the funniest diss ive ever seen is still "i hope when enstars ends wataru and eichi both marry women"

[fictionalrambles]

Shadowhunters Fandom Story - Part Eight

Submitted by Contesse2020

Five Fave Fics:

Of Splendor in the Grass by @lecrit​

Why I love this fic: Lecrit was one of the first authors I read fan fiction from. And this one I read in the library at my University, it was packed with people because it was in the middle of exams, and students were stressing with catching up on their curriculum. I was sat in one of the comfy chairs beside a window with a beautiful view of campus covered in snow.

So, I read it in one go. And I just cried and cried, really trying not to have other students notice me. This struck a chord In me, reminding me how brutal history is and how many people around the world still struggle with something as basic as being allowed  to love. I love the authors way of driving the story forward through the protagonist inner life, there is a poetry in the way she writes. Cried some more because of the happy ending - dehydration was on my mind.

I have not dared reread it, the emotional reaction was so strong. I had to go through the fic and try and find some quotes:)

Fave Quotes: 

«Different would have to wait another life»

«Magnus kissed him, and all the poetry in the world paled in comparison. He was home. Free at last»

*

The Lonely Hearts Hotline by @unrestrainedlyexcessive​

Why I love this fic: This fic I have read more times than I care to admit - just love it.

It is actually kind of dark in the emotions and growth Alec goes through, but Fatale always highlight the difficulty with finding yourself.

And even though you reach «adulthood» you don’t need to have your shit together. Which is nice to read since I’m in my thirties and really don’t know anything, that I’m still learning who I am. Not to mention your own agency in your life - don’t let things just happen to you - be active.

The humor is exquisite, I’m laughing like a loon one minute and feeling emotional the next. And of course it is H-O-T as fuck.

The plot is original and fun, it kind of makes you cringe and think OMG Alec - love it. But also it is the nitty gritty of life.  

I really like the dialogue and that is what makes me laugh the hardest. So I will just quote some of those.

Fave Quotes: 

«Jace answers on the first ring. “Dirty Dan's Disposable Dildo Emporium. Suck 'em, fuck 'em, and chuck 'em. This is Dirty Dan speaking.”

“Ahoy, Mort’s Mortuary service. You kill ‘em, we grill ‘em.”

«Early adulthood is no man's land. You don’t have the experience to matter and no one wants to pay you to gain it (…)»

Ain`t that the truth....

*

A Tiny Spark by @magicandarchery​

Why I love this fic: This is my ultimate feel good fic <3 when ever I have read something angsty and painful, I return to this.

Magnus and Alec are in an established relationship trying to make a family, supporting each other - healthy and loving.

Absolutely loved it. We get a heartwarming glimpse into their lives with a newly «adopted» foster child, them being dads - I think I have to read it again, give me those warm and fuzzy feels, please.

Fave Quotes: 

“Just thinking,” Magnus answered, pushing a lock of Alec’s dark hair off of his forehead. Alec’s mouth twitched up at the corners as a sleepy smile played along his lips.

“About what?”

“You.”

“Care to share?” Alec’s eyes opened slowly, and Magnus’ breath caught in his chest the same way it had the first time they had met. Alec’s thumb grazed gently over the outside of Magnus’ hand, and Magnus felt a warm sense of calm spread through him as he entwined his fingers through Alec’s.

Magnus inhaled slowly, deeply. He waited for the flutters of uncertainty to fill him, but instead he felt a different kind of flutter, one of a deep, unending love. Magnus’ tongue darted out, wetting his dry lips, and he tightened his hold on Alec’s hand, centering himself.

When he spoke, Magnus’ voice was barely more than a whisper.

“Marry me?”

Magnus set his phone face down on the table as he spotted Alec and Jace a short distance away, walking toward him, dressed in dark pants and dark t-shirts with the FDNY crest on the chest. Magnus slipped his sunglasses down his nose slightly, a wicked smirk decorating his face when Alec approached the table.

“What’s that look for?” Alec asked, his brow furrowing curiously.

“Just appreciating my man in uniform,” Magnus answered innocently.

*

2C by Oumy

Why I love this fic: Did I mention how much I love a pining Alec? That combined with him being all snarky and (to a degree) self-confident is my holy grail. I love how Alec is portrayed in this, he is vulnerable and honest with his emotions. The way they needle each other is funny as hell. Two of my favorite quotes <3 the last one kicked me so hard in the feels.

Fave Quotes: 

So, there he stood, six foot three of fidgeting human, trying to figure out the right way to ask the love of his life to be his salvation.

They made it outside before Magnus got close enough to Alec’s sleeve and pulled him to a stop, and he wasn’t ready for Alec’s outburst as he turned to him and unleashed “You know what? You’re right. I’m done pretending. I’m done pretending like it’s okay that we take swipes at each other the moment something goes wrong. I’m done pretending like it doesn’t fucking kill me that every word out of my mouth is somehow the wrong one and that I can’t seem to catch a break when it comes to you. I’m done pretending like I hate you for the sake of crumbs of your attention. I’m done pretending like it doesn’t faze me when I have to play the role of the villain because for some reason, that was the only part you allowed me to play in your life. I’m done pretending like I don’t care, like my soul didn’t shrivel inside every time you mistook my reaching out to you for an attempt to fuck you over”

*

Love is a Gamble by @la-muerta​

Why I love this fic: This one is also a historic AU, since I’m a history nerd. A very angsty fic, and I’m here for it. Bring all the pain and all the feels.

I actually had to read «A Tiny Spark» right after - needed some fluff. My heart just broke for Alec and his struggle to accept his attraction to Magnus, so of course there is pining.

Also Izzy is so bad-ass in this, and I love it.

I just fell in love with all of the characters and their backstory. The plot is exciting, with action and the works - keeps you at the edge of your seat. But the best parts were Alec`s quotes - they did me in.

Fave Quotes: 

Alec shook his head, the violent movement reminding Magnus of a distressed horse. "You don't understand anything. I... There's something wrong with us. With me. You have bedded women - you have a choice in this."

"No, Alexander. There's nothing wrong with you, or with me. This is just the way we are, and the only choice I have in the matter is that I chose not to live a lie," Magnus told him firmly.

"When I confronted Aldertree, he asked me if I was a gambling man. I'm not - and never have been. And loving someone, for someone like me, is a bigger gamble than most. But there comes a point when a man's got to stop arguing with himself. I don't want to fight it anymore," Alec said, meeting Magnus' eyes squarely. "I'm not telling you this because I expect you to return my feelings. I know you don't feel that way about me. I just... never mind. I apologise if this has made things between us uncomfortable, I hope we can still be friends-"

[jadelotusflower]

November Roundup

Some writing success this month - I finished and posted a new chapter for Against the Dying of the Light, and made progress on The Lady of the Lake and Turn Your Face to the Sun. I didn’t work much on my novel, but I did do some editing on the first third so that’s progress.

Words written this month: 6647

Total this year: 67,514

November books

Girl, Woman, Other by Bernadine Evaristo - joint winner of the 2019 Booker Prize (with The Testaments by Margaret Atwood) this was an engrossing and interesting read. Stylistically unusual formatting and scant use of punctuation that is a bit jarring at first, but you quickly adapt as you read. There’s no plot as such - instead the story is formed by vignettes of twelve black women and their disparate yet interconnected lives. We have mothers and daughters, close friends, teachers and students, although the connections aren’t always obvious at first - we can be exposed to a character briefly in the story of another with no idea that she will be a focus later on. It’s very skillfully done, to the point whereupon finishing I wanted immediately to re-read (but alas, it was already overdue back to the library). There is so much ground covered that we are really only given a glimpse into the characters lives, but there is a diversity of intergenerational perspectives of the African diaspora in the UK, and I highly recommend.

The Evening and the Morning by Ken Follett - after finishing The Pillars of the Earth I had intended to read the sequel, but this was available on the library shelf and I had to place a hold on World Without End, so the prequel came first. Set sixty years before the Conquest (150 before Pillars) it primarily addresses the growth of the hamlet of Dreng’s Ferry into the town of Kingsbridge, through the lives of a monk with a strong moral code, a clever and beautiful noblewoman, and a skilled builder, working against the machinations of an evil bishop. Sound familiar? This is Follet’s most recent work, and I do wonder if he’s running out of ideas as this covers very similar thematic ground.

Ragna is a compelling female character, but once again the romance-that-cannot-be with Edgar is tepid, Aldred is a very watered down version of Prior Philip, and there’s no grand framing device such as building the cathedral to really tie to all together (although things do Get Built, and it’s interesting but not on the level of Pillars). This is the tail end of the Dark Ages and it shows - Viking raids, slavery, infanticide - and while it seems Follett’s style is to put his characters through much tragedy and tribulation before their happy ending, I wish writers would stop going to the rape well so readily. But at least the sexual violence isn’t as...lasciviously written as in Pillars? Scant praise, I know. But Follett’s strength in drawing the reader into the world and time period is on display, made even more interesting in this era about which we know very little.

Women and Leadership by Julia Gillard and Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala - I have a great deal of respect for Julia Gillard, Australia’s first female Prime Minister who was treated utterly shamefully during her tenure and never got the credit she deserved, perhaps excepting the reaction to her iconic “misogny speech” whichyou can enjoy in full here:

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala was the first woman to be Minister of Finance and Foreign Affairs in Nigeria, was also the former Managing Director of the World Bank, and currently a candidate for Director-General of the WTO.

This is an interesting examination of women in leadership roles, comparing and contrasting the lives and experiences of a select few including (those I found the most interesting) Ellen Sirleaf, the first female President of Liberia, Joyce Banda, the first female President of Malawi, New Zealand’s current Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, and of course, Gillard and Okonjo-Iweala themselves.

November shows/movies

The Vow and Seduced: Inside the NXIVM Cult - I’ve been following the NXIVM case for a while now, when the news broke in 2017 I was surprised and intrigued that it involved actresses from some of my fandom interests - Alison Mack (Smallville), Grace Park and Nikki Clyne (Battlestar Galactica), and Bonnie Piasse (Star Wars). Uncovered: Escaping NXIVM is an excellent podcast from that point in time that’s well worth a listen. There’s been a lot of discussion comparing these two documentaries and which one is better, but I feel they’re both worthwhile.

The Vow gives a primer of NXIVM as a predatory “self improvement” pyramid scheme/cult run by human garbage Keith Reniere, from the perspective of former members turned whistleblowers Bonnie Piasse, who first suspected things were wrong, her husband Mark Vicente who was high up in the organisation, and Sarah Edmondson who was a member of DOS, the secret group within NXIVM that involved branding and sex trafficking. Seduced gives more insight into the depravity and criminality of DOS from the pov of India Oxenburg, just 19 when she joined the group and who became Alison Mack’s “slave” in DOS - she was required to give monthly “collateral” in the form of explicit photographs or incriminating information about herself or her family, had to ask Mack’s permission before eating anything (only 500 calories allowed per day), was ordered to have sex with Reniere, and other horrific treatment - Mack herself was slave to Reniere (as was Nikki Clyne) and there were even more horrific crimes including rape and imprisonments of underage girls.

Of course each show has an interest in portraying its subjects as less culpable than perhaps they were (there were people above and below them all in the pyramid after all) - Vicente and Edmondson in The Vow and Oxenburg in Seduced, but what I did appreciate about Seduced was the multiple experts to explain how and why people were indoctrinated into this cult, and why it was so difficult to break free from it. This is a story of victims who were also victimisers and all the complications that come along with that, although I’m not sure any of these people are in the place yet to really reckon with what happened and all need a lot of therapy.

Focusing on individual journeys also narrows the scope - there are other NXIVM members interviewed I would have liked to have heard a lot more from. There is also a lot of jumping back and forth in time in both docos so the timeline is never quite clear unless you do further research. I would actually like to see another documentary one day a bit further removed from events dealing with the whole thing from start to finish from a neutral perspective. The good news is that Reniere was recently sentenced to 120 years in prison so he can rot.

I saw value in both, but you’re only going to watch one of these, I would say go for Seduced - if you’re interested in as much information as possible, watch The Vow first to get a primer on all the main players and then Seduced for the full(er) story.

The Crown (season 4) - While I love absolutely everything Olivia Coleman does, I thought it took a while for her to settle in as the Queen last season and it’s almost sad that she really nailed it this season, just in time for the next cast changeover (but I also love everything Imelda Staunton does so...) This may be an unpopular opinion, but I wasn’t completely sold on Gillian Anderson as Thatcher - yes I know she sounded somewhat Like That, but for me the performance was a little too...affected? (and someone get her a cough drop, please!) 

It is also an almost sympathetic portrayal of Thatcher - even though it does demonstrate her classism and internalised misogyny, it doesn’t really explore the full impact of Thatcherism, why she was such a polarising figure to the extent that some would react like this to her death:

But I suppose it’s called The Crown, not The PM.

Emma Corrin is wonderful as Diana, and boy do they take no prisoners with Charles (or the other male spawn). I was actually surprised at how terrible they made Charles seem rather than both sidesing it as I had expected (but perhaps that’s being saved for season 5). It does hammer home just how young Diana was when they were married (19 to Charles’ 32), how incompatible they were and the toxicity of their marriage (standard disclaimer yes it’s all fictionalised blah blah). The performances are exceptional across the board - Tobias Menzies and Josh O’Conner were also standouts and it’s a shame to see them go.

I was however disappointed to see that the episode covering Charles and Di’s tour of Australia was not only called “Terra Nullius” but the term was used as a very tone deaf metephor that modern Australia was no longer “nobody’s land/country”. For those who aren’t aware, terra nullius was the disgraceful legal justification for British invasion/colonisation of Australia despite the fact that the Indigenous people had inhabited the continent for 50,000 years or more. While the tour was pre-Mabo (the decision that overturned the doctrine of terra nullius and acknowledged native title), there was no need to use this to make the point, especially when there was no mention at all of the true meaning/implication of the term.

The Spanish Princess (season 2, episodes 4-8)- Sigh. I guess I’m more annoyed at the squandered potential of this show, since the purpose ostensibly was to focus on the time before The Great Matter and give Katherine “her due” - and instead they went and made her the most unsympathetic, unlikeable character in the whole damn show. (Spoilers) She literally rips Bessie Blount’s baby from her body and, heedless to a mother’s pleas to hold her child, runs off to Henry so she can present him with “a son”. I mean, what the actual fuck?

I’m not a stickler for historical accuracy so long as it’s accurate to the spirit of history (The Tudors had its flaws, but it threaded this needle most of the time), but this Katherine isn’t even a shadow of her historical figure - she’s not a troubled heroine, she’s cruel and vindictive, Margaret Pole is a sanctimonious prig, and Margaret Tudor does little but sneer and shout - the only one who comes out unscathed is Mary Tudor (the elder), and it’s only because she’s barely in it at all. It’s a shame because I like all of these actresses (especially Georgie Henley and Laura Carmichael) but they are just given dreck to work with.

This is not an issue with flawed characters, it’s the bizarre presentation of these characters that seems to want to be girl power rah rah, and yet at the same time feels utterly misogynistic by pitting the women against each other or making them spiteful, stupid, or crazy for The Drama. I realise this is based on Gregory so par for the course, but it feels particularly egregious here. (Spoilers) At one point Margaret Pole is banished from court by Henry, and because Katherine won’t help her (because she cant!) she decides to spill the beans about Katherine’s non-virginity. Yes, her revenge against the hated Tudors is...to give Henry exactly what he wants? Even though it will result in young Mary, who she loves and cares for, being disinherited? Girlboss!

This season also missed the opportunity to build on its predecessors The White Queen/Princess and show why it was so important to Henry to have a male heir - the Tudor reign wasn’t built on the firmest foundations and so needed uncontested transfer of power, at the time there was historic precedent that passing the throne to a daughter led to Anarchy, and wars of succession were very recent in everyone’s memory. At least no one was bleating about The Curse this time, which is actually kind of surprising, because the point of the stupid curse is the Tudor dynasty drama.

But it’s not all terrible. Lina and Oviedo are the best part of the show, and (spoilers) thankfully make it out alive. Both are a delight to watch and I wish the show had been just about them.

Oh well. One day maybe we’ll get the Katherine of Aragon show we deserve - at least I can say that the costumes were pretty, small consolation though it is.

[bluephoenixdruidicprincess]

Shadowhunters 3x20, City of Glass -- Review

Yeah, yeah, I know. I’m super late on this. Really, I’ve been really bad for all of 3B on doing these in a timely manner but can you really blame me? 3B sucks. It’s easily the worst season of Shadowhunters. While previous seasons of Shadowhunters have never been shining examples of great story-telling but at least things were happening and I didn’t hate the main characters.

As always, this is a critical review of Shadowhunters. I’m not a fan of this show, have never pretended to be. If you stan this show, that’s perfectly fine, we like what we like. I’m not going to stop you from reading this (I can’t, really) but I will caution you against it. These are my opinions. They may be unpopular. There will also be spoilers for the episode and possibly for the books. Read at your own risk.

So there were a couple of moments in this episode I didn’t hate. It’s still a bad episode of TV but there were moments where it engaged in some more ridiculous bits that made me remember why I decided to keep with the show. The show can be so ridiculous it’s funny and that’s what I enjoy about this show. If this show would learn to not take itself so seriously while being ridiculous, this would actually be a pretty fun show.  But ultimately, this episode does this thing where it executes things in the most non-epic way possible and it’s just really boring to watch for the most part.

The Dark!Clary I Never Wanted

So we got dark!Clary which was ultimately pretty boring. Most of the things she was just doing were cliché things and being evil just for the sake of being evil. Dark!Clary is really only here for the purpose of shock value and it’s not actually meant to develop her character in any way. The show tries to retcon their bad story-telling in that regard but they’re a couple of seasons too late trying to build up that Clary chose to let the mark take over because she wanted a family so badly and she couldn’t tell that her family was the friends she made. Considering Jocelyn has barely had a mention since her death and it’s never been noted that Clary feels alone with little to no family left, I have to call bull shit on that, writers. It would’ve been a nice character arc if it was developed but the way they tried to execute it in this episode is lazy and indicative once again that they never want Clary to be seen as anything less than this ideal and perfect creature of pure light (and as I’ve said time and time again, Clary is not a character meant to be portrayed that way, there is darkness in her and Clary would be such a fascinating character if the show would just let her be the flawed, selfish, self-centered creature she really is).

But it is a nice sentiment that the people who love Clary band together to try and save her although how that all happened was really just non-epic. Clary and Izzy twirl swords and kindjals around for a little bit and Clary brags about how she’s grown to be a better fighter than Izzy and I fail to see what’s new about that. Clary Sue has always been ridiculously over-skilled when it came to fighting, anyway. It’s hardly news that of course she would surpass Izzy because the narrative demands that she does. Like I said, it’s a nice sentiment that everyone is showing up to try and help free Clary but ultimately it’s kind of pointless for them to be there since none of them are able to break her free from the influence of the mark. Only when Jace stabs her in the shoulder severing the link is when Clary breaks free. From a character development standpoint, having everyone there is really just pointless. They’re not really doing anything impactful. And I just wish we had gotten more of a high-stakes approach to stabbing Clary with that sword. A very similar scene occurs in Book 5, City of Lost Souls when Jace is the one in Clary’s position and Clary is faced with the conflict of Jace being controlled by Jonathon. She spends most of the book unable to let him go and is obsessed with trying to save him and refuses to acknowledge that she may not be able to break Jace free and refuses to even consider killing Jace. But by the end of the book, she’s faced with the consequences of letting Jace run around under Jonathon’s control and how it’s now having very serious repercussions on the world. She’s armed with Glorious but she has no idea if Glorious will kill him if she stabs him but she ultimately decides to take that risk because she realizes that the real Jace buried underneath that control wouldn’t want to live the rest of his life being controlled like this and helping to destroy a world he vowed to protect. So she stabs him. In the show, we don’t really get any mention of the consequence of stabbing Clary with Glorious. Even just a scene where Jace has a conversation with Alec about how he he’s afraid to do this to Clary would’ve been enough to give some stakes to this situation but alas, Shadowhunters and high stakes with consequences? Please. But Glorious gets rid of the mark and Jonathon for some reason, grows wings. Yeah, I don’t get it, either. Because we just need to further demonize him, I guess? Subtlety, the show’s achilles heel. And the Morgenstern sword conveniently can open rifts to and from the hell dimensions. But honestly, at this point, I really didn’t expect anything better from Shadowhunters. This show has always been super ridiculous and convenient with the abilities of its historical relics. But it does beg the question. Jonathon is only ripping holes in the dimension because Clary reverted back to her original self. So provided Clary hadn’t changed back, what on earth was their plan? What was their endgame? How can we go an entire season without the villain actually having a villainous plan?

Glorious also explodes and shrapnel gets embedded in Izzy’s back while she’s trying to protect Simon so of course, cue the obligatory Sizzy scene.

Malec Gets Back Together

I think I said in the previous episode that surely Magnus couldn’t be so stupid as to not even consider that Alec breaking up with him and Asmodeus’s presence isn’t a coincidence. Well, I was wrong. Magnus really is that stupid. And even worse, it takes Maryse pointing it out to him before he figures it out so this kind of implies that without Maryse, he was never going to figure it out. And this show also does this really irritating thing where no conversation can occur between two people without a third person prompting it. Simon can only make a move on Izzy because his sister tells him to. Magnus can only talk to Alec about this break-up because of Maryse opening his eyes.

But by the end of the episode, Malec gets back together and having learned absolutely nothing from their conflicts this season. They just pick up right where they left off. Magnus doesn’t acknowledge how his actions while being without his magic made Alec feel like crap. Well, Alec does learn that Magnus can’t function without his magic and that he’ll always be second-place when it comes to Magnus’s magic but guys, it’s all okay because Magnus has his magic back so there’s no point in talking about that anymore. Explain to me why it’s a good idea for these two to get married when they can’t go through a single conflict without ever actually dealing with it? I really hate drama for the sake of drama and it doesn’t lead to character growth. But that’s Shadowhunters for you. These writers are above character growth, after all.

And Magnus banishes Asmodeus back to Edom with his WonderWoman powers, so aside from the fact that I don’t understand how he could overpower a prince of hell, it was a cool special effect, so I’ll give the show that.

More Bullshit With Maia

So after choosing to be with Jordan (a very poor choice to begin with but whatever) Jordan eventually dies. How messed up is that? Jordan asks to continue their relationship knowing he didn’t have much time left. Who does that? Oh right, an abuser who doesn’t respect their partner does that. And Maia gets through this by claiming she’s an alpha. Which you know, I would be living for except she’s done absolutely nothing to prove that she’s worthy of the alpha position. She’s had moments when she questions leadership but she’s never once done anything that shows she would make a good leader which is why it was so important for her character arc that she have that fight with the alpha but instead the writers chose to just kill off the entire pack? So while I’m all for Maia calling herself an alpha, it’s also something that leaves me feeling empty because Maia hasn’t proven herself at all yet to be a capable leader. But then again, she’s learned her leadership capabilities from Luke, so that’s already setting the bar pretty low (Luke was a terrible alpha, there, I said it).

City of Glass

So that epic scene in the third book where demons attacking Idris is finally here. And I don’t hate aspects of these moments. Finally, we get something with actual consequences and stakes. And for once, our “heroes” are faced with a conflict that they don’t know if they can overcome. This is also when the ridiculous parts of the episode starts coming in. I could not take those cannons seriously and I loved it. I missed being able to laugh at this show.

But in these moments is also where it’s shown that our “heroes” are just kind of the worst. We have dragons attacking in every direction in Alicante, people are being slaughtered left and right, and all our heroes can do as this is happening all around them is to give grand sweeping love proclamations. Entirely too much time is spent on Helen and Aline expecting they were totally not making out (even though we all know they were and I don’t even know why I’m supposed to care, these characters are barely characters). Your city is on fire, I think you have bigger issues. Then we have Clace exchanging cheesy lines in the middle of everything on fire. And Malec makes up and also proposes to each other while everything is burning. Sheesh, priorities people. But the episode leaves off with Magnus travelling to Edom to close the rift because he conveniently has the power to do that.

And just as a sidenote, I didn’t particularly enjoy Magnus’s entrance in the City of Glass fight. It just really devalued Izzy and Alec taking their stand. At least let them get a few kills in before Magnus saves them. Alec makes this grand sweeping statement about them being Lightwoods and that they can handle this and then Magnus swoops in and saves the day and it’s just like, “why?” They were having a moment. I was looking for some epic Lightwood sibling bad-assery but, nope. Shadowhunters has no concept on how to execute an epic scene, I have no idea on why I possibly thought they would.

There were a couple of fun ridiculous moments that I enjoyed in this episode but ultimately, we just got more of the same bland writing we’ve been getting throughout season 3 and I am so glad this showis about to end. Character development continues to be something of a myth on this show. This show gets a C. Just kinda average, I guess.  

But on to the final two episodes. I cannot tell you how anxious I am to finally be done with this show. Season 1 and 2A was fun and trashy but now this show is just dull and empty. It’s for the best it was cancelled and I can only hope it’ll fade away into internet obscurity.

[annavolovodov]

So I read Keep the Home Fires Burning Part Two and I have a few thoughts...

...and when I say a few I mean 2825 words worth. You can probably guess whose storyline most of them are on.

The thing is, the vast majority of this instalment was incredible with two character’s storylines in particular standing out as real highlights for me. Yet the fact that the quality of the rest of the book is so high makes those chapters so glaringly disappointing.

Spoilers under the cut!

Starting with the positives and one of my two favourite characters in the books so far - Pat. Her scenes have been utterly engrossing and I am so, so proud of the way she’s developed since 1x01. She may still be stuck with Bob but she sure as hell won’t let herself be trapped by him. She knows her worth and she’s biding her time.

As I predicted, Pat’s using the Mass Observation columns as an outlet to keep her sane. Since we know she has a literary background and has worked in publishing before, I am PRAYING that the observations she’s been detailing of her life will take off and the series will end with her as a hugely successful writer. Think about it: would it not be the ultimate vengeance against Bob, for her to achieve what he lacked the skill to? Of course I would love Bob to die but that  seems a tad contrived for Home Fires and forcing him to watch the woman he’s abused for years moving onto bigger and better things would be both a satisfying victory for Pat and would fit with the tone of the show.

Side note: I find Pat’s insistence to stick solely to the truth when writing to be an interesting contrast to her husband’s technique. Bob has a tendency to overdramatise aspects of his life and portray himself to be heroic and exciting when in reality, he’s the exact opposite. There’s probably a good meta in there for someone smarter than I am.

I can’t forego a mention of Pat’s quite frankly iconic dragging of Bob for almost a whole chapter. The revelation that she almost straight up murdered him a couple of years ago was unexpected but totally relatable. And some of the quotes from her writing?

“In my experience, men often like to sit around talking about doing great things, but it’s the women who get on and do them.”

“It makes me ashamed that we can be at war with fascist Germany yet exhibit the same base impulse to discriminate against people who simply don’t look like us.”

Pat is a great character.

AND THAT CLIFFHANGER. MAREK’S BEEN WRITING TO HER. HE’S ALIVE. THEY WILL BE TOGETHER AGAIN. FUCK YOU BOB.

As for my other favourite? Erica has been an unexpected highlight in the novels. Of those involved in the crash, I was pretty certain she’d make it. She never quite acquired her own storyline in the show, instead largely popping in and out of others plots as needed. I already had Will marked for death since he'd be killed off sooner or later with his illness so it was a nice surprise when he made it out (after saving Vivian!!! I still cry).

Or at least I thought it was a nice surprise right up till we found out his cancer had worsened and he had mere weeks left to live. When Dr Mitchell explained to Erica and Laura that he was nearing the end? When they went home and Erica decided she had to shoulder the burden and remain strong for the girls? Erica finally breaking down whilst the women of the WI held her? I full on sobbed at every single one of those scenes.

I think a lesser series would’ve killed Will instantly when the spitfire hit the house for the sake of drama and words can’t express how grateful I am that Home Fires didn’t, instead choosing to leave us with a poignant and painfully relatable exploration of terminal illness and grief.

I did appreciate the touches of humour in the Campbell’s storyline. Will literally pulled a “Surprise, bitch. I bet you thought you saw the last of me” on Erica like 70 years before the meme was invented. Incredible.

Dr Rosen is... intriguing, I guess. I don't dislike her. I think she has potential, even though I’m sceptical at the addition of yet another character when we have mains from S1 who have yet to make a significant impact in the book.

OH AND THE BATTLE OF WILLS BETWEEN HER AND MIRIAM??? The sort of content I paid 99p for. Poor Erica, getting caught in the middle of that. There were many great lines in this book, but I think this might just be my favourite:

“Erica felt a sudden rush of adrenaline, knowing Dr Rosen might get away with a comment like this with some patients, but not with Miriam Brindsley - a woman the rest of the village knew could single-handedly hold off a horde of invading Nazis with a gutting knife for a solid half-hour.”

If that doesn’t sum up Miriam as a character, I don’t know what does.

Speaking of the Brindsleys, do you know how satisfying it is to see them alive and flourishing after spending 15 months mentally preparing yourself to lose at least one of them?

I do.

I mean, they still have a huge target on their backs (Mim’s words in part one about how they’re blessed and are defo making it through the war? Yikes. An omen if ever I saw one) but considering their lack of page time I’m gonna gamble that we can quit worrying about that until Book 2 at the very least.

Moving on, I really did not go into this book expecting to care so deeply about Frances and Noah’s growing relationship yet here we are. Frances excessively calling to check on him every day was adorable. And this entire exchange with the head teacher was legendary:

"Frances didn't want to have an argument. She never wanted to have arguments with all sorts of people she eventually had arguments with; it was simply in her nature to be more challenging of other people's positions than they were used to. It put them on the defensive, and an argument would inevitably ensue. ‘I don’t wish to be confrontational –‘ There was a sudden snort at the other end of the line. Like the sound of someone choking on their tea, perhaps.”

I laughed.

However, despite the many, many positive aspects of this most recent instalment, there is one storyline in particular that singles itself out as Home Fires’ most glaring weak spot.

Of course, I’m referring to Teresa’s story and the awful place she’s currently occupying in the narrative.

Back when the whole Nick debacle began mid-S2, I figured I might as well give it a chance and see where it went. Simon Block was adamant on Twitter that Teresa’s endgame was not a man and what would be unfurling over the coming episodes was a historically accurate depiction of the trials lesbians faced during such time periods. It wasn’t ideal, nor was it what I expected for Teresa based around the promotional material released for S2, but the show hadn’t let me down yet.

And so I have waited, I have given it a chance, and based on the back half of S2 and the two instalments of KTHFB available so far, I am SO disappointed in what Simon Block has done with Teresa. Sure, things may improve in future novels, but right now I’m not sure I can adequately explain how much I hate this goddamn marriage.

Simply put, it is totally unnecessary. Every single aspect of it. Teresa’s chapters in Part Two were awful. I’m pretty sure we’ve established at this point that she is not into men. We do not need to read about her trying and failing to repress her attraction to women whilst having sex with Nick. Even if we absolutely unavoidably had to hear about Nick and Teresa’s sex life, we do not need aforementioned sex scene spread across the whole chapter.

I know this might be hard for Straight Guy Simon Block to understand, but I’m pretty sure exactly zero lesbians are going to want to read about a lesbian character who is struggling with compulsory heterosexuality having sex with a man. I’m bisexual and I found it sickening so God knows how that chapter is going to make lesbians feel. I strongly suspect that some are going to find it triggering, and if the storyline is triggering to the group it is supposed to represent you really have to ask yourself why you are even bothering to write the representation in the first place.

Teresa’s arc in the books so far has consisted of getting married, blaming herself for the crash because she feels like she isn’t taking the marriage seriously (seriously what the fuck was this???), Teresa having conflicting feelings about Annie, Teresa stuck at home worrying about her marriage, Teresa feeling awful whilst having sex with Nick, Teresa worrying about having children, Teresa having more conflicting feelings about Annie and Nick... Do we see a pattern here? Do we get any meaningful scenes of Teresa at school? Do we get any meaningful scenes of Teresa with her canonical close friends Alison and Steph, who she spent S1 and S2 building strong relationships with? Yeah, she occasionally gets a throwaway line in a group scene at a WI meeting, but what does Teresa really get to do outside of being emotionally tortured about her marriage? The change in format to the books has led to characters being isolated in their individual stories whereas the series could allow them to interact more freely, but it genuinely feels like Teresa is stuck in some sort of heterosexual hell and is allowed no reprieve.

And all of this feels completely divorced from S1 and the first half of S2??? S1!Teresa didn’t appear to have any sort of desire to marry a man in order to cover up her sexuality. From the limited screen time we had with them, the main reason the relationship between Teresa and Connie failed seemed to be due to interference from outsiders (aka the headteacher that blackmailed Teresa) and the simple fact that Connie and Teresa wanted different things. Nothing in the series suggested that Teresa was unsure or struggling with her sexuality. Nothing. When the synopsis for 2x04 came out and mentioned Teresa would be asked on a date, everyone immediately assumed it was Annie involved. The prospect of it being a man never crossed our minds because it just seemed so ridiculous.

Another aspect I’m struggling to comprehend is why Alison pushed Teresa towards Nick. There’s no logical explanation for this. Alison knew about Teresa’s sexuality. Alison was fine with it and explicitly wanted her to stay because - and I quote - she “enjoyed having her around”. So how on Earth did we get to this point, with Alison encouraging Teresa to marry a man she barely knows and can never love? The fuck did that come from? The reasoning was murky enough in the show but it’s even worse in the books. Chapter 17 is essentially Alison sitting alone in her house feeling depressed, missing Teresa, lowkey regretting telling her to go but consoling herself because “at least Teresa is in a happy marriage now” or whatever...

In what universe does any of this make sense?

Yet another person being screwed over by this whole shitshow is Annie. Marek was also introduced in S2 as a love interest for Pat yet he’s somehow obtained significantly more screen time and development than Annie. Despite appearing in four episodes and two instalments of the book I feel like we (and Teresa) barely know her, which is absolute bullshit if they’re seriously intending for her to be Teresa’s endgame. They’ve had three conversations! Any romantic relationship between two women should get equal, if not more focus than the hetero ones especially if they’re the only f/f romance on the show. One of the central themes of Home Fires is relationships between women so I cannot understand why the ball has been so spectacularly dropped here. It’s not fair on Teresa to get all this suffering and a half-baked romantic subplot, it’s not fair on Annie to be essentially non-existent as a character beyond her possible relationship with Teresa and it’s certainly not fair on any wlw reading/watching, desperate to see themselves represented and being given scraps.

Even if Teresa's marriage is over soon (which I'm not holding my breath about), I can't see how she'll get a happy ending with Annie in the village. I highly doubt Nick would be okay with her continuing to live with him whilst she was in a relationship with Annie. Getting a divorce and moving in together would arouse a ton of suspicion and defeat the purpose of Teresa’s marriage in the first place. The only way for them to be able to live as a couple would involve moving away and starting afresh... Exactly what Connie proposed in S1, only for Teresa to turn down because she’d feel much more comfortable living a quiet life in the village than going off to a strange place. Having her suddenly change her mind now after clearly explaining her decision to Connie would result in everything post-1x04 feeling utterly redundant.

I just... this whole plot was totally avoidable. It didn’t need to happen. In a more logical universe:

After the First Aid course, Steph notes Teresa’s discomfort at the casual homophobia, and when coupled with her Meaningful Look at Annie as she cycled away, Steph promptly puts two and two together (remember Steph noticing how quickly Teresa wanted to get away after that comment? Remember the close friendship Steph and Teresa have? Simon Block sure doesn’t).

Once she hears about the impending wedding, Steph gently asks Teresa if she’s sure she wants to do it. Teresa half-heartedly assures her that she loves Nick, so Steph - because she’s a good friend and this show is supposed to be about women helping each other - decides to go and speak to Annie.

Annie and Steph end up staging an intervention and in an important and touching scene, tell her she deserves better than having to hide herself in a marriage to a man.

Teresa, feeling supported and loved by her friends, calls off the wedding.

Nick fucks off and becomes irrelevant.

Steph and Annie’s intervention forces Alison to consider why she pushed Teresa away (spoiler alert: it only really makes sense if it was because she was trying to push away feelings of her own).

Teresa, Annie, Alison, Steph and later Joyce start a wlw group during which they talk about how gay they are and how straight people suck. Nothing bad happens to any of them ever.

See how easy that was? The evils of heteronormativity are depicted in a way that doesn’t cause a lesbian to suffer for months trapped in a horrible loveless marriage.

I really can’t express how disappointed I am in this storyline. Home Fires has handled numerous other sensitive topics well but this marriage plot is an absolute mess right now. I do apologise for going on such a rant about it and I hope my comments make sense. As a bisexual, I’m not as qualified to speak on this particular matter as others in the fandom may be and I hope I’ve not stepped out of turn, but I felt that something needed to be said about what’s happening with Teresa right now and I wasn’t sure if anyone else was going to say it.

Miscellaneous things I’m not going to elaborate on because this is far too long already:

I badly miss Sarah, the Farrows, the Brindsleys, Claire and Spencer, and everyone else who is currently out of rotation. Hope you’re all doing well, folks.

Also missing some of the best dynamics of S1/2. As mentioned earlier, everyone is kinda stuck in their own bubble interacting with the same people over and over again. I particularly want more Frances/Joyce, Teresa/Alison and Teresa/Steph interactions.

Of all the random secondary characters in the show, of course it’s Mrs Talbot who returns for the books. I groaned when I saw her name.

Maybe in some ways I’m glad the show got cancelled because at least I don’t have to witness the Teresa/Nick sex scenes with my own eyes. It was bad enough having to read it thank you very much.

If you’ve made it this far you deserve a medal for your stamina and, as ever, my inbox is always over if anyone else wants to discuss/theorise/rant with me.

See you all again on September 21st for what I’m sure will be another 2000+ word rant!

[lavalampelfchild]

Sex and marriage in Ferelden (and my OCs’ views on them)

Based on a conversation I had with @celeritassagittae that got me thinking about how my OCs view sex and marriage in Thedas.  The lore itself is quite sparse on what each respective nation’s societal view on marriage and extramarital sex is, and there’s only one codex entry that I’ve found that talks about the different views on sexuality and sexual identity, which doesn’t really cover the whole spectrum.  

The act of sex and the institution of marriage have highly specific connotations and roles in different societies in real life, and BioWare seems to be taking its cue from different western societies and their different views on sex and marriage.  However, marriage, interestingly enough, is not mentioned very much at all in BioWare’s lore, though different sexual identities are, in a fairly predictable example of modern projection onto historically-based fantasy.  This strikes me as interesting and somewhat weird given the very Christian-like nature (let’s face it, the religion surrounding the Maker is a carbon copy of Christianity) of the Maker’s religion, Andrastianism.

Historically, Christianity has ascribed great significance to the role of marriage in the lives of its followers (from a certain point in its history onward).  After the apocalyptic writers who discouraged marriage and sex both, like Paul, had passed on, Christian authorities began to encourage marriage, describing it as a pure and admirable connection between a man and a woman.  

In contrast to that, sex was symbolic of impurity, of lack of control, of unholy lust, and – the kicker – the physical manifestation of our human imperfections and desires. Christians viewed marriage as the only condition which allowed two people to engage in sexual intercourse without it being emblematic of these things (and even then, never for pleasure, but always for procreation).  Christianity, as it grew from the ancient to the modern times, has only become more interested in the taboo nature of sex and what it means to be engaging in it before or without marriage to mediate.

Andrastianism has none of that.  There is literally no mention of sex or marriage in any of the tenets of this religion, and the only possible significance it has to the religion is in the story of Andraste’s death, which features a traitorous husband.  So even in Andraste’s time, the institution of marriage already existed, and was viewed as sanctimonious, though, in the story of Andraste, specifically in the tradition of the Avvar.  Andrastianism somehow grew from this story and this tradition, so perhaps they simply adopted the traditions of the Avvar and melded it all into this new Andraste-focused religion. 

But that still leaves the question of why the Chantry gives no definitive philosophy or stance regarding marriage or sex.  We know that things like vows exist, and specifically vows of chastity, which we hear about from characters like Leliana, Sebastian, and Cullen, and the terminology surrounding that (affirmed, lay people, confirmed, etc.) is remarkably similar to Christian – and, specifically, Catholic – terminology. So, why take the chastity but not give a reason for that?  One of the reasons for chastity in Christianity developed when Christianity was taking Ancient Rome by storm and people started to portray Jesus as being chaste.  The Jesus-figure in Andrastianism was Andraste, and she had a husband and children when she became a divine figure.  She is not depicted, by the time we get to the start of the DA series, as being chaste.  So what’s the reason for the chastity in this religion?

And, if there is chastity, what about marriage?  Why isn’t marriage being touted as a holy thing because it’s a state into which Andraste herself entered, first with a mortal, then with the Maker?  She’s known as the Maker’s Bride; that’s incredibly specific terminology that links her holiness to an explicitly married state. Why would not the Chantry encourage the repetition of this in its followers?

My thoughts on this are that the Chantry does in fact encourage marriage and discourage extramarital sex, though I’m frustrated to say I don’t know why the latter is the case. But, with regards to marriage, the Chantry views it as a holy institution that follows in the footsteps of Andraste and prepares those involved, the women especially, to ascend to the Maker when they die and behave as sort of secondary brides in the afterlife. I just figure that “The Bride” should be a very important iteration of Andraste’s character, and the act of getting married would be monumentally important because of that.

However, that is just my view, and it’s entirely possible that I’m missing something or that there actually is an answer to this, and I just haven’t seen it.  Feel free to add if you find that, but for the time being, I want to add what my characters each respectively think of the institution of marriage, of sex, and of whether or not you need one to have the other:

Dragon Age: Origins:

 Aja Amell: Aja believes very much in the sanctity of marriage and of not having sex until after one is married.  Raised in the Circle with no way to avoid exposure to Andrastianism, she grew up with sermons and services and constant lectures about the Chant of Light, about the scriptures of the religion, and about the tenets that were meant to guide one’s behavior.  

That being said, she also believes that she personally will never get married, as those kinds of relationships between mages are discouraged and prevented by the Chantry and templars present at the Circle.  As a result, Aja is very aware of the notion of the “forbidden fruit” (though it’s not specifically a fruit in this case, as there’s no fruit-related story in Andrastian lore that deals with giving into desire and temptation), and part of the reason her will-they/won’t-they interactions with Cullen are thrilling to her is because it is absolutely classified as something that would be forbidden.  On the flip side, part of the reason she has never acted on her feelings for Cullen is because, while exciting to flutter her eyelashes at him from afar, there is no way she would have the courage to take the actual risk of engaging romantically with him when she is painfully aware of what is at stake.

This fear of hers contributes to a general feeling of shock when she finds out about what Jowan wants to do with Lily; Aja had never known Jowan to be much of a risk-taker, yet here he is sneaking around with a lover – and an initiate of the Chantry, no less! – when he could so very easily be caught by the templars or the other sisters.  Her experiences with Jowan and Lily in the basement, her subsequent initiation into the Grey Wardens, and her foray out into the world beyond the Circle all succeed in throwing Aja’s own views of herself and the world completely off-kilter, including how she feels about marriage, love, and sex.  For her, it all becomes one big question mark.

Velyn Mahariel: As a Dalish elf, Velyn has absolutely no concern for Andrastianism whatsoever, and honestly, his people’s religion is even more frustrating in this regard because we hear even less about how the institution of marriage works, or what the view of sex outside marriage is among the Dalish. My guess would be that the clan itself has to be remarkably stringent and careful about who engages in sex because children of unknown parentage present a problem of potentially being from another unknown clan, which could greatly affect that clan’s standing with the first one.  

So my guess would be that marriages are often arranged between different allied clans so as to keep inbreeding from occurring and to keep new and varied genes coming into the clan. For that reason, casual sex is discouraged.  (However, there is the issue of the Mahariel’s parents being of different clans and having to sneak out to meet one another to meet; there’s also the issue of Tamlen Mahariel and a female Mahariel potentially having feelings for one another, which are mentioned in a positive light by another member of the clan later on; and finally the mini quest in which you help a young apprentice of Zathrian’s clan woo a hunter of the same clan, sooo… Really, it’s kind of up in the air for the Dalish)

For Velyn himself, he is very much of the view of his clan: sex is not something to be had casually, and an arranged marriage is something to expect in the future.  He feels no need to “prove his masculinity” by talking about sexual conquests because that’s simply not how Dalish society views masculinity; showing off strength has little to do with sex itself, and more to do with one’s role and success within the Dalish clan from a practical standpoint. And chastity is strictly an Andrastian convention; the Dalish care about reproduction so as to have more people help with any given role, not the first time sex happens for someone.

When confronted with the idea of people having sex without being married, and strictly for pleasure, Velyn has some mixed feelings.  He associates it with humans, for one, and believes that to be another example of their own lack of control over themselves.

 Ila Tabris: Similar to the Dalish, arranged marriages are a norm for alienage elves, and dowries reign supreme.  Ila has always known that she would be set up with a husband when she was old enough, and it never really bothered her because it didn’t affect her freedom at all; being stuck in an alienage was already doing that. Honestly, Ila has no strong opinion one way or another; marriage simply is, and so is sex, and that’s how she’s going to create her family when it’s her turn.

But the knowledge of people engaging in sex solely for pleasure, and before marriage, is another example of the culture shock she experiences after leaving the alienage. Yes, she’s aware of hormones and that the body finds sex pleasurable, and she, like many others at that age, experimented a bit with her own body when she was a teenager, but other than that, she hasn’t really indulged in sex with others.  (It’s also somewhat difficult when you’re limited to a community that you’ve known since you were a child, of which you knew all the residents as either child peers or adults to look up to; once you’re past the hormonal stage, you tend to avoid looking at the people of that community as potential romantic partners.)

Though open to the practices and beliefs of non-alienage cultures, Ila is not particularly interested engaging in the (to her) odd practice of casual sex with someone she does not know all that well.  Her own culture aside, Ila is just not a very sexual person, and she doesn’t feel those urges as poignantly as some others might.  

With regards to marriage, however, she feels the loss of her fiancé keenly, and is thrown off a bit by the abrupt absence of an imminent marriage in her life.  She had been expecting to take a husband, have a child or children, and she had honestly been looking forward to that.  It would have been a happy addition to her family (especially for her father, who was still suffering the loss of his wife, Ila’s mother) and community.  It would have brought her father and cousins happiness, and it would have started a new chapter in her life; that it all fell apart so spectacularly adds to the sense of failure Ila felt striking out with the Grey Wardens.

 Gundhram Aeducan: Dwarves have a view of sex and marriage that is much more on the practical side.  Like the Dalish, they are very careful about who occupies what role in society, and the size of their own population.  Because the dwarves are currently dealing with a decline in their overall population, reproduction is a huge deal.  Because the traditions of the ancient days – like the caste system – are still in place, reproduction must occur within that structure and frame.  So marriage exists to cement alliances and make connections between people of the same caste.  Sex exists as an entirely separate act from marriage, and serves primarily for reproduction purposes.  And rank and caste preside over both marriage and sex.  

For the dwarves, social role, rank, and caste determine relationships, and if one acts within that framework, then sex can be had for pleasure or practicality.  Nobles engage with nobles – or take a casteless woman as a lover solely for the purpose of bearing a child – smiths engage with smiths, warriors with warriors, etc.  Within one’s own caste, the rules are at their most lax.  When engaging with a member of another caste, the rules become stricter, and the rules apply to all manner of engagement.  That’s simply how it is in Gundhram’s life.  

But, once he’s banished, the rules of Orzammar and dwarven society no longer apply to him, and he’s acutely aware of this.  His sense of self-discipline keeps him from engaging too much in casual sex with surfacers, though he has no qualms about engaging in extramarital sex.  He had sex with two women at once without being married and had a child with one of them.  Had he still been a noble when Mardy told him of her son, that would have been cause for cheer and celebration for his family, even though she was casteless and he unmarried. As it is when he’s exiled, Gundhram is expecting to have to relax many of his beliefs in order to survive, and he’s prepared to do that, including the beliefs surrounding sex.  And hey, he enjoys it, he’ll find a way to go about the whole thing prudently.

For his own personal sexuality, Gundhram is a man who is attracted to strength.  He doesn’t care at all for distinctions between genders or the biological sexes; if someone is strong (usually physically strong) there’s a greater chance Gundhram will be attracted to them.  As a practical man with regards to reproduction, Gundhram is certainly capable of feeling an attraction toward someone he doesn’t believe to be particularly worthy of that attraction (like noble hunters), but it will always be an attraction with a purpose, and therefore will never really extend beyond something physical.  With other, more genuine attractions, Gundhram often experiences at least feelings of respect or admiration for his partner.  Although, he has never equated any kind of sexual attraction with feelings of love.  Emotions like that have always, in his experiences, existed separately from things like marriage and sex.

 Tristan Brosca: As a casteless man, it has always been highly unlikely for Tristan to find a willing sexual partner in Orzammar.  Had he been a casteless woman, he could have taken up noble hunting like his sister, but as it is, no self-respecting dwarven woman of any caste would want her son to be born casteless (the child takes the father’s caste in dwarven society), so Tristan’s fate in Orzammar was sealed from the moment he was born.

Things changed for him in the carta, and sex as a form of pleasure, and even as a form of rebellion against dwarven traditions – the same dwarven traditions that put them into a system of dirty casteless thieves – became a little more normal, though still was not overly frequent.  As a result of this, Tristan could not care less if he has sex while unmarried.  To him, marriage is a pipe dream, something that he doesn’t even want, but that would never happen to him even if he did. Becoming a Grey Warden doesn’t change that.  

And as for sex, it’s something to be done only when there’s really no better way to handle one’s own urges because it requires him to make himself vulnerable to another person, and that’s not acceptable without a fundamental level of trust that this other person isn’t going to try to kill him.  Very rarely is the pleasure worth that risk.  And so, very rarely, does Tristan ever engage in sex.  He’s got two hands, and he can use both of them if it comes to that.

Gazza Cousland: Gazza is in an interesting position before the attack Howe makes on Highever: she is technically not of noble blood, and the people of Highever are aware of this, so there’s no real expectation for her to carry on the Cousland line because she’s not of that line.  In addition to that, her older brother has already cemented the Cousland legacy, being the firstborn son and already having a healthy son of his own by the start of the events of Origins.  So in terms of marriage, though Gazza lives in a society that places heavy emphasis on the Andrastian version of marriage, there is no pressure on Gazza.  

Sex, on the other hand, is something that many nobles of the day engaged in recreationally, that being seen as something to which nobles were entitled.  It was certainly an important means of cementing a line and ensuring that a family or dynasty could live on, but even the possibility of children born out of wedlock didn’t completely deter noble or royal families from engaging in extramarital affairs or “affairs of passion”.  So technically, if she had wanted to, Gazza could have found a partner or several with whom she could engage in recreational sex.

However, Gazza’s own inability to speak, in addition to her physical condition (technically alopecia areata, but no one knows what that is in Thedas, so all anyone knows is that Gazza isn’t capable of growing hair anywhere on her body) have given her a lower view of her physical appeal than she might have otherwise had.  While she does experience attraction to others, she’s hesitant to act on it.  She also very strictly prevents any romantic or sexual interaction between herself and someone else that might be seen as an abuse of power on her part.  Gazza is not interested in sycophants, and she’s also not interested in using her status and power in society to coerce someone into her bed.  This is precisely the reason why she does not go to bed with Iona (though Iona shows definite interest) in the origin sequence of the game; though she appreciates and would like to act on their mutual attraction, she does not want to put Iona (an elf and servant) in a position which she (Iona) feels obligates her to offer herself to Gazza more.

In terms of Gazza’s personal sexuality, she prefers women to men, and very personally believes that the best kind of sex would occur with someone one loves.  Since she is not expected to have children, Gazza is freed from the necessity of viewing sex as exclusively or primarily a means of reproduction, and – being surrounded by a vast array of literature that deals with the subject of sex and romance and the potential connection thereof – has come to hold a rather romantic ideal regarding sex, love, and marriage (Fergus’s own happy marriage to a woman he loves has also contributed to Gazza’s view on this).  She does not broadcast this view of hers, however.

[usernamefiaren-blog]

Benedict Cumberbatch and Fandoms (3)

Hi guys,

So this is the last blog about Benedict Cumberbatch. Just to illustrate the creativeness that is the internet, each time I use his name I’m going to use a different variation of his name created by his amazing fandom: the Cumberbitches. This time I’m going to talk about his current career and the massive impact that having your own fandom can have on an actor like Bopplestack Humblelack. In the last blog I wrote about Vandlebum Candleback I ended just before 2014 started. In 2014 Crumplehatch Anglelatch played one of his most memorable roles so far. This was for the film The Imitation Game, in which Benedryl Cabbagepatch portrayed the historical figure of Alan Turing. This film is about how a small group of mathematical geniuses manage to crack the Enigma code. The Enigma machine was used by the Germans in the second world war to encode all of their messages. This way only the person with the ‘key’ to the encryption would understand the message. The biggest problem was, however that this ‘key’ was never similar to the previous ‘key’ used. This film is one that, in my opinion, everybody should watch. The way that Bumblebee Pumkinpatch portrays this man/hero is just absolutely brilliant. Because of this film Bendadick Slumberhatch got nominated for the Academy Award for best actor, but also the award for best actor at the Moet British Independent Film Awards, the Golden Globe Awards, Critics Choice Awards, Screen Actors Guild Awards, London Critics Circle Awards (not only the nomination for best actor, but also that of best British actor), Satellite Awards, AACTA International Awards and Irish Film and Television Awards, The National Film Award for best actor AND best ensemble at the Palm Spring International Film Festival…….. yes, let that sink in. All these nominations for one film. In fact for this film alone he got nominated for 25 awards, in various categories and for various award shows. Of these 25 nominations he won twice, came 2nd once and came 6th once. After this Benneyboop Cumberbop did a voice over for Penguins of Madagaskar, played in Black Mass and Zoolander 2. Last year he played Doctor Steven Vincent Strange in the film Doctor Strange, a Marvel Universe film. For this film he got nominated again, for a Critics Choice Award for best actor in an action movie. This year he’s already got 4 new films lined up. The Jungle Book: origins, where he plays Shere Khan, The War Magician, where he plays Jasper Maskelyne, The Current War, in which he plays Thomas Edison and Rogue Male, for this last movie the role has yet to be named, but it’s confirmed that it will be a lead role. This last movie is planned to either be released at the end of 2017 or the start of 2018. In February 2015 Frumious Bandersnatch married his lovely wife Sophie Hunter. Barely five months later he welcomed a little human into the world, which they named Christopher. Sadly, there have been press rumoring that both of these were just a PR stunt, which obviously is absolutely ridiculous, if you ask me. I feel like I don’t have a lot of right to say this, since I am writing about his life, but I think the press should really back off when it comes to artists’ personal lives and families. According to Hellomagazine his co-star in Doctor Strange, Tilda Swinton stated that ’’My fondest memory of him is as a new husband besotted by his girl, and a new father enchanted by his boy.’’ But as we all know it must be very hard for a star like Bandycat Cookiebatch to undergo the aftermath of a marriage. While there are so many of his Cumberbitches that completely respect the idea of him having his own private life, whether that is his love life or anything else, there are some nutters in every fandom that get angry as soon as they see their ‘internet boyfriend’ marry someone in real life. In an interview with Charlie Rose, Breadmachine Crackerjack quotes Sherlock when saying ‘’Being in disguise in full site is the best way.’’ When talking about ways to stay anonymous when he goes about his own private life. For those of you who don’t know what I’m talking about; fandoms. They are massive groups of people that all like the same thing. Whether that is a series, books or a film, it doesn’t matter. They like to write fanfiction (believe me you can find a lot of that on this website(for you own mental safety please don’t look it up)), these are stories about the actors or characters that the fans would like to read or write and put them in scenario’s that never happened, but they would either like those to happen or express an interest in the way that person or character would react in that situation. Often they use something called ‘shipping’ which is pairing up two people who aren’t necessarily a couple in real life, but they want to see them be a couple. Whether that is, in Bendable Cummerbund’s case, John Watson and Sherlock Holmes (called Johnlock), or in Misha Collin and Jensen Ackles’ (Supernatural)case, Dean Winchester and Castiel (called Destiel). These fanfictions can really go all kinds of ways, some of which you really don’t want to know. For a more detailed explanation of fandoms I would like to direct you to a YouTube video of a YouTuber I support, Danisnotonfire, who has his own fandom with his friend Phil, called the Phandom Phil and Dan -> Phan: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oqYkERuoMN8 Basically what I’m trying to say is that fandoms can really affect a career path of a certain person or the storyline of a certain series, which is great, but sometimes they need to back off and let the artists do their jobs. And by saying that I don’t just mean the actors, but also the official writers of these amazing stories. And I think it’s great that my generation has started to spend more time appreciating all kinds of art forms, like the Harry Potter books or the Doctor Who series. I think it has a positive impact on the creativity of a lot of people, but it also really encourages creative writing. Unfortunately this is the end of Brendadirk Cramplescrunch month. I really enjoyed writing this series and I am definitely going to continue this series. I have decided which person I will write about in February and I will drop a hint soon, so be on a look out for that. I hope you really enjoy this series too and I hope you will continue to follow my blog. Maybe even read the stuff that I write for university instead of my own personal obsessions. Again a big thank you to the people that follow and support my blog, you motivate me to actually sit down and write. See you next Tuesday. :)

Sources:

http://www.benedictcumberbatch.co.uk/interviews/

http://www.languageisavirus.com/benedict-cumberbatch-funny-name-generator/index.php

https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/5cz15a/what_are_the_best_names_youve_heard_for_benedict/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Turing

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_awards_and_nominations_received_by_Benedict_Cumberbatch

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_WBuTYtgP8

http://www.hellomagazine.com/celebrities/2016100533883/benedict-cumberbatch-talks-marriage-and-fatherhood/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oqYkERuoMN8

Yes, yes I know I used Wikipedia, but my blog is not an academic writing essay, don’t judge me :(

[thespearnews-blog]

Winnie Mandela, the only true 20th century freedom fighters still alive

New Post has been published on https://thespearnews.com/2017/10/31/winnie-mandela-true-20th-century-freedom-fighters-still-alive/

Winnie Mandela, the only true 20th century freedom fighters still alive

It is impossible to talk about Nelson Mandela’s without acknowledging the monumental contribution of Winnie Madikezela-Mandela. She is one of the most understood woman in the liberation struggle. She has played many roles such as social worker, political leader, mother, care giver, public speaker, revolutionary freedom fighter and to many in South Africa, she is the Mother of the Nation.

Her role in South African history cannot be undermined Winnie is a woman whose liberation struggle credentials speak for themselves.

By the time Barrack Obama was born on August 4, 1961, Winnie was already fighting against Apartheid. She was born and raised in the Transkei. She distinguished herself as a leader and became the first black qualified social worker at Baragwanath Hospital in Soweto in 1955.

In the mid 1950s, she became actively involved in the ANC; she later met Mandela in 1958 while he was on trial for treason. They married soon after and she gave birth to two daughters, Zenani and Zinzi.

Their family life was destroyed when Mandela was sentenced to life imprisonment on Robben Island. Winnie never got to live a normal family life as many people have. She was left ill-equipped by an unjust system to raise two young girls as a single parent. Anyone who is a single mother, or a mother knows how taxing it is to raise children without the support of a partner or husband. She was left to protect and educate her daughters alone. At the same time, the Apartheid regime kept her apart from her children to punish her and torture her soul and spirit. Nevertheless, Winnie remained politically active and refused to remain silent keeping the Mandela name and the struggle against Apartheid in the national and international conscience.

Winnie was harassed repeatedly on a daily basis by the Apartheid regime and she was eventually sentenced to house arrest in Brandfort as a Imagemeans to silence her for speaking out injustice. She never knew if she was going to sleep at home or in a police cell because of her political activities. She was banned for up to 15 years serving five years at a time. She wasn’t allowed to even go into the street in Brandfort. It was supposed to keep her out of sight and out of mind. It also stripped her of company and any intellectual stimulation with a community of like minded individuals.

She didn’t know the language of the sleepy and rundown town she was sent to but she soon learnt and radically transformed that area politically. This is what made Winnie Mandela a dangerous element in society, hence, the need to gag her by any means necessary. But she remained a defiant and outspoken firebrand fighting for the people of South Africa and to keep the Mandela name in the public.

When she was questioned if she believed if she would see a free South Africa in her time, she was absolutely convinced. She went on to explain, “That is why exile is so worthwhile because I am absolutely certain that we shall attain our liberation. And even being in exile is a constant reminder of the sickness of our society. We are virtually in prison even in our country, those who are outside prison homes are simply in a bigger prison because the black man is virtually a prisoner. And all those fellow whites and other groups that are as oppressed as we are, we are all in a bigger Apartheid prison.”

In Brantford, she had to go to the local post office to receive calls from her daughters because she was under house arrest and they could only call at certain times. She was kept isolated from them to torture and break her down. The system did everything within its power to humiliate Winnie and break her spirit. No matter what they did to her, it strengthened Winnie Mandela’s resolve.

ImageWinnie resumed her struggle after spending 9 years in Brantford and again took the spotlight in the struggle to against Apartheid. Although her fight for liberation has been dubbed controversial, she was a woman without a choice. She didn’t have the tools, resources, media, state institutions and various arsenal the Apartheid Regime had at its disposal.

Therefore, in extreme circumstances, extreme measures are justified. She fought the only way she could against a regime that used brutal violence to stifle legitimate protest. She was at war against a regime and she fought a war that most of the leaders never got to experience. While the liberation leaders were locked up on Robben Island, Winnie Mandela was in the frontline fighting the ignoble regime by any means necessary. She was organising on the streets, actively involved in the underground movement and creating publicity while facing harassment and humiliation by the regime. Image

Unless one has walked in Winnie Mandela’s footsteps, it is very difficult to criticise her because you would need to face the same moral and personal dilemmas she faced in the struggle against Apartheid. It is a miracle she escaped with her life because hundreds of others who dared to challenge the Apartheid Regime didn’t live to see Independence. Steve Biko and Robert Sobukwe are some of those. The list is too long to mention.

Many assume Mandela was attracted by Winnie’s striking beauty. But many underestimate how her strength played a part. Her strength is reinforced by her belief that her people should be equal. She believed there should be justice for black people. She played many parts and is a leading figure in the fight for women’s’ rights. She served the poor, conducting fundraising events and assisting those in the ghetto who were less privileged than she was. This is illustrated by her huge grassroots following; her love for the people is equally reciprocated.

Winnie has continually shown that she is very resilient. Her strength and ability to adapt is evident in her ability to Winnie VIImultitask while raising two girls under Apartheid, having to avoid imprisonment, evading police, keeping Mandela’s memory alive while she was also playing a leading role in the underground movement.

The release of Nelson Mandela was the highlight of Winnie Mandela’s struggle for liberation. She never looked back and was appointed as the President of the ANC Women’s League in 1993. She still continues to serve on the party’s national executive committee.

For over three decades, Winnie Mandela stood by Nelson Mandela’s side. Even after her divorce from Mandela, she continued to be his companion and was often seen by his side to the very end. There is little a man can ever ask for with such a strong, beautiful, black woman by his side, making his struggle her own struggle and the struggle for the rest of the oppressed masses in South Africa. Whatever wrong Winnie Mandela may have committed, her struggle for the liberation of a Imagefree South Africa marks her as one of the greatest liberators of the Twentieth Century. Without Winnie there might not be a Nelson Mandela.

Winnie Madikizela-Mandela’s only fault is that she is too outspoken and remains a firebrand who has refused to cool down with age unlike Mandela who emerged from prison a shadow of his former revolutionary self. Winnie continued to fight while Nelson took a backseat content with the historic compromise. Winnie refused to see racism as the root cause of Apartheid oppression but also identified that Apartheid thrived because of the economic system.To date, Winnie remains outspoken and critical about the historic compromise, the TRC and Mandela walking hand in hand with his jailor to receive the Nobel Peace prize. She also remains critical at the state of the lack of transformation in South Africa and continues to champion the poor.

Unlike many of her revolutionary comrades who have morphed effortlessly into the black bourgeois and forgotten the struggle, using their credential struggles to accumulate wealth, Winnie has remained an isolated figure clamouring for the rights of women and black people. She frequently engages in events highlighting the lack of transformation in South Africa and simultaneously waging the fight for women’s rights and redefining the frontiers of this unending battle.

Her biggest enemy is the white patriarchal economic system which has repeatedly attacked her, demonised her and snubbed her portraying her as a loose canon. Winnie has repeatedly waged a dignified war against oppression and Apartheid. If the white patriarchal system endorses Patrick Henry’s role in sparking the American Revolution and fight against domination by another nation, then, why is Winnie demonised for making an equally bold stance? Is it because she called for violence against whites, who happened to be the oppressors who created and ran this Apartheid System?

Winnie Mandela is no different from Joan of Arc in answering a higher call at an early age to lead her people to victory over those who wished to politically, socially and economically subjugate her people. Winnie remains outspoken on issues regarding racism which Mandela resolved by sticking band aid over deep seated wounds. At an address for women’s rights in Chicago, Winnie declared:

“Discrimination against black women is multi-pronged, multi-sectoral and transgenerational. Black women are discriminated by white supremacy; they have to contend with male prejudice fed by patriarchal notions, they suffer abuse from white women who are also beneficiaries of white supremacy. At the same time, they are expected to form alliances with these women to defeat male privilege. They are expected to be in solidarity with their male folks to fight racial oppression. In this regard they have little choice. They cannot sit on the sideline and watch the black male being reduced to an endangered species. After all, these men are the fathers of their children, the lovers, and their sons. In short, there is no other species that understand oppression as black women do.”

The contents of her speech don’t reflects the mind of a loose canon but an individual with a strong moral conscience Winnie VIIIand a deep thinker. Black women suffer three times as much discrimination as other groups because of her class, race, and gender. Winnie’s moral and intellectual qualities are often underplayed or totally ignored in the mainstream media. It is sometimes forgotten that she became the first qualified black social worker at the age of 19 during Apartheid. Such jobs and avenues of studies used to be reserved solely for whites. So one can only imagine how hard and smart Winnie had to be to excel in this profession. It also seems to be her grounding in social work that allows her to be so insightful in matters that concern society. She doesn’t wince in the face of power and continues to speak to power as illustrated in her Chicago speech:

“We survived apartheid and are now faced with a challenge of defeating global apartheid and global gender discrimination… Our successes should not lull us to complacency. The forces of evil continue to refine their strategies to fight back. We need to constantly remind ourselves that our oppression has economic and material interests. Our oppressors spend sleepless nights trying to reclaim the lost territories. We cannot defeat the specter of racial discrimination without a clear-eyed analysis of what constitute racism. We need to debunk those analyses that are unhelpful to our cause. Our understanding of the drivers of racial oppression should empower us to address other forms of discriminations – gender, class, religion and sexual orientation.”

No one can doubt Winnie’s sincerity in the fight against Economic Apartheid. Her rallying cries upset the idyllic picture painted of South Africa as a Rainbow Nation. Ironically, there is no colour black in the rainbow. Her fight is clearly to overturn the white supremacist structure in the fight for justice. This partly explains why Winnie remains marginalised by that same structure that controls the media and constitutes “popular” or “international” opinion. There is nothing popular or international about that opinion: it is the opinion of a tiny minority that constitutes the white middle class. They control and run the western media.

Claiming the late Nelson Mandela was the last great liberator of the Twentieth Century is wrong. That is a discredit to the likes of Winnie Mandela and others. She is a true heroine who can only be compared to legendary female icons like Nandi [mother of Tshaka], Assata Shakur, Queen Nzinga of Angola and Ambuya Nehanda from Zimbabwe. We cannot compare Winnie to the likes of Rosa Parks who refused to get up on a bus during the Civil Rights Movement in America. She spent a great proportion of her life in isolation when she was exiled by the Apartheid Regime. But that wasn’t enough to break the will of Mother of the Nation. She was not physically imprisoned but her banning orders meant she was in prison at her own expense. The extreme isolation imposed on her wasn’t enough to silence her indomitable spirit. Winnie Mandela is a struggle icon equal to if not greater than the late Nelson Mandela

By the time Obama read about Mandela in the eighties, Winnie Mandela was at the forefront of the liberation struggle against the ignoble Apartheid regime for over two decades.

She has continued fighting taking off where her former husband left off when he retired from frontline politics. There is an African proverb that states, “Until the lion learns to speak, the tale of the hunter will glorify the hunter.”

True heroes and heroines are also flawed and that is why Winnie Madikizela-Mandela is a great liberator of the Twentieth Century without a doubt. I salute this intellectual

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  revolutionary and Mother of the Nation. Aluta Continua: the struggle continues!