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joannechocolat · 1 year

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On Power, and on Powering Through, and Why They’re Really Not the Same

I don’t pay much attention to personal attacks in reviews. It comes as the flipside of success; an attempt by the critic to puncture what they see as too much success. But I still remember one review, just after the film of Chocolat, when two of my novels happened to be in the Top 5 at the same time, in which a (male) newspaper critic referred to me dismissively as a premenopausal woman writer. I was a little taken aback. Clearly, it was meant to disparage, but I was only 35, ten years away from the perimenopause. What exactly did he mean? It wasn’t a comment about the book (which I doubt he had even read). The obvious misogyny aside, it seemed to express resentment, not of my books, but of me, myself, my right to take up space in his world. That word – premenopausal – was at the same time a comment on my age, my looks, my value, and a strong suggestion that someone like me shouldn’t be this successful, shouldn’t be writing bestsellers, shouldn’t be so – visible.

I don’t recall the name of the man, or the paper for which he was writing. He was far from being the only journalist who felt I didn’t deserve success. I shrugged off the unpleasant comment, but he’d meant it to hurt, and it did. I still wonder why he – and his editor - thought that was appropriate. I also wonder why, 20 years on, women are still dealing with this kind of thing. It’s still not enough for a woman to be successful in her chosen field. Whatever her achievements, you can be pretty sure that at some point, some man in his 50s or 60s – maybe an Oxbridge graduate, author of an unpublished novel or two - will offer his opinion on her desirability, either in the national Press, or most likely nowadays, by means of social media. The subtext is clear: women who don’t conform to societal values of what a woman should be are asking for this kind of treatment; especially those who dare to achieve more than their detractors.

10 years after that nasty review, I finally began the journey into perimenopause. No-one told me it was happening. No-one in the media was talking about it at the time. Even my doctor never thought to mention that my symptoms – the insomnia, headaches, mood swings, anxiety, depression, sleep paralysis, hair loss, brown patches on my skin – might have a single origin. I began to feel I was losing my mind: as if I were starting to disappear. I started to doubt my own senses. I blamed it all on the stress from my job. My mother had powered through menopause – or so she led me to believe – and made no secret of her contempt for modern women who complained, or treated the symptoms as anything more than a minor inconvenience.

And so I did the same. I powered through; and when at last I began to experience the classic symptoms of menopause - irregular bleeding, hot flushes, exhaustion, night sweats so bad that I would awake in sheets that were wringing wet – it did not occur to me to seek help. After over a year of this, I finally went to my doctor, who took a few tests, cheerfully announced I was menopausal, and when I inquired after HRT, advised me to power through – that phrase again - and let Mother Nature take her course. The internet was slightly more helpful. I took up running, lost weight, cut down on alcohol, downed supplements and sleeping pills and vitamin D, and felt a little better. Then, breast cancer came to call, and by the time my treatment was done, the symptoms had more or less disappeared, or at least had been superseded by the symptoms of chemo. I congratulated myself at having powered through cancer as well as surviving menopause.

But two years later, I feel old. I look that way, too. I’ve aged ten years. Some of that’s the cancer, of course. I was quite open about my treatment when I was powering through it – partly in order to pre-empt any questions about my hair loss or any of the all-too visible effects of three courses of chemo. Not that it stopped the comments, though. Even at my lowest ebb, a sector of social media made it clear that my only concern should be to look young and feminine to anonymous men on Twitter.

Right now, I don’t feel either. My hair has gone grey and very thin. My skin, too, seems thinner; both physically and mentally. At a recent publishing event, several acquaintances failed to recognize me; others just looked through me as if I had become invisible. Invisibility would be a relief; I find myself dressing for camouflage. I tend to wear baggy black outfits. I got my OBE last week. Photographs in the Press show me talking to Prince William. I’m wearing a boxy black trouser suit, flat shoes and a red fedora. I think I look nice. Not glamorous, but comfortable; quirky; unpretentious.

On a thread of largely supportive messages, one Twitter user pops up to say: Jesus, who’d accept an honour looking like that middle-aged disaster? @Joannechocolat thought she’d make an impact? She needs a stylist. If you look in the dictionary for the definition of “dowdy”, it features this photo.

It’s not the same man who belittled me over 20 years ago. But the sentiment hasn’t changed. Regardless of your achievements, as a woman, you’ll always be judged on your age and fuckability. I ought to be used to this by now. But somehow, that comment got to me. Going through menopause isn’t just a series of physical symptoms. It’s how other people make you feel; old, unattractive, and strangely ashamed.

I think of the Glass Delusion, a mental disorder common between the 14th and 17th centuries, characterized by the belief that the sufferer was made of glass. King Charles VI of France famously suffered from this delusion, and so did Princess Alexandra Amélie, daughter of Ludwig 1st of Bavaria. The condition affected mostly high-profile individuals; writers, royals, intellectuals. The physician to Philip II of Spain writes of an unnamed royal who believed he was a glass vase, which made him terribly fragile, and able to disappear at will. It seems to have been a reaction to feelings of social anxiety, fear of change and the unknown, a feeling both of vulnerability and invisibility.

I can relate. Since the menopause, I’ve felt increasingly broken. I don’t believe I’m a glass vase, and yet I know what it feels like to want to be wrapped in a protective duvet all day. I’ve started buying cushions. I feel both transparent, and under the lens, as if the light might consume me. On social media, I’ve learnt to block the people who make mean comments. To make myself invisible. To hide myself in plain sight. I power through, but sometimes I think: why do women power through? And who told them that powering through meant suffering in silence?

Fortunately, some things have changed since I went through the menopause. Over the past few years, we’ve seen more people talking about their experiences. Menopause is likely to affect half the population. We should be talking about it. If men experienced half these symptoms, you bet they’d be discussing it. Because power isn’t silence. You’d think that, as writer, I would have worked that out sooner. Words are power. Sharing is strength. Communication breaks down barriers. And sometimes, power means speaking up for those less able to speak for themselves.

I look at myself in the mirror. I see my mother’s mouth; my father’s eyes. I see the woman I used to be; the woman I will one day become. I see the woman my husband loves, a woman he still finds attractive. A woman with a grown-up child who makes her proud every single day. A menopausal woman. A cancer survivor. A woman who writes books that make other people sit up and think. A woman who doesn’t need the approval of some man she’s never met to be happy. She can be happy now. I can. And finally, I understand. Powering through isn’t about learning to be invisible. It isn’t about acceptance, or shame, or letting Nature take its course, or lying about feeling broken. It’s looking beyond your reflection. It’s seeing yourself, not through the lens of other people’s expectations, but as yourself. The sum of everything you’ve been; of everyone who loves you. Of claiming your right to be more than glass, or your reflection in it. The right to be valued. The right to shine, regardless of age or reproductive status. Men seldom question their own right to these things. But women have to fight for them. That’s why it’s so exhausting.

This morning, instead of putting on my usual baggy black sweatshirt, I chose a bright yellow pullover. I looked at myself in the mirror. It’s not a great colour on me now, but it feels like dressing in sunshine. My husband came into the bathroom. You look –

My husband rarely gives compliments. I can’t remember the last time he commented on how I was dressed. I wondered what he was going to say. Dowdy, perhaps? Inappropriate? Like a menopausal woman in dire need of a stylist?

At last, he said: When you smile like that, you look like a friendly assassin.

A friendly assassin. I’ll take that.

Shining like the sun. That’s me.

#menopause #cancer

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spockandstars · 9 months

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I think that a lot of people take issue with the way the Spock/Chapel/T'Pring love triangle is presented in Strange New Worlds, but that sometimes this is dismissed as fans just being bitter spirk shippers. So here are a few reasons why I believe people are iffy on this plotline. (Disregarding the fact that we're disappointed that the showrunners didn't, and most likely won't, take the chance to do something really cool with Spock's legacy as a queer coded character...)

Firstly, it takes time away from other characters to address an element of Spock's story that has already been explored beautifully. (I will get into how this treats Chapel and T'Pring later...) Spock's struggle with his humanity and his anguish over the depth of his feelings for others (particularly Jim) is a focus in TOS and the movies, and if you're going to keep on talking about it, at least do it in a more creative way? This isn't to say that it shouldn't be acknowledged at all, seeing that it is a lifelong struggle for him, but by making it such a focus of the series they're not giving other interesting characters as much of a chance to develop.

Additionally, it has traditionally been understood that Spock coped with his inner turmoil by repressing his feelings. Over the course of his lifetime, he learns to embrace his human side more to become a more balanced and healthy person. SNW takes the approach of "young Spock was more human and horny!" which isn't necessarily bad, but they better be giving us an explanation for how he transforms so dramatically to the extremely repressed character he is in TOS. Maybe this is reaching too far, but this whole approach of young Spock just feels like an excuse to get hot ladies into his bed and to fulfill the fantasies of nerdy men who project onto him. This is the same Spock who scoffed at the idea of going to see dancers at a bar, who was immune to the charms of the sexy ladies in Mudd's Women, who only entertained women when drugged or when he needed to do so for a mission...

Furthermore, I believe it's a disservice to Chapel. On one hand, it does make her love for Spock seem more grounded in reality, which I appreciate. In TOS, it's pretty clear that Spock doesn't share her feelings and her crush is only really ever used as a means of ridiculing her. There goes silly Chapel again, trying to win over her unrequited love! It's not cool. But on the same token, making Spock the focus of her character yet again only further reduces her to nothing but that. Why can't we let the girl breathe and do other stuff? Sure, she does get some of the AOS Uhura treatment where she gets to be a generic cool badass lady, but this is in a way that is lacking in any real depth. Chapel deserves better.

I also don't love the way it treats T'Pring. Was it really necessary for her to be Spock's eye candy wife that he gets to bang and cheat on? In Amok Time, it's heavily implied that this was an arranged thing and that they hadn't seen each other since they were seven. If they really felt the need to include this relationship, it would have been so much cooler if they had explored it from that angle, with neither of them truly wanting to be together but being forced into it by societal expectation. Which of course, results in T'Pring using her intelligence to gain her freedom in Amok Time.

So yeah. Those are my main gripes with this whole thing. Overall, I think it's lazy writing that allows the writers to benefit from the nostalgia of legacy characters without developing them in actually meaningful or revolutionary ways.

#stange new worlds #star trek strange new worlds #star trek snw #snw #s'chn t'gai spock #spock #t'pring #christine chapel #meta #my post #spirk #k/s #star trek tos

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bestygogirl · 5 months

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BEST YGO GIRL: Round 4, Group B

Match 2

please use this as an opportunity to say why you like a character, not why you don't.

Propaganda under the cut!

Aoi Zaizen

The show hates her but she is a very good character. Trickstars and Marincesses are both hella cool decks.

Aoi’s parents died when she was around 6 and she was mostly raised by her older brother. She’s the 2nd best Duelist in the VRAINS at the start of the series and over the course of the first season goes from being rather shy and only putting on a happy facade to a determined Duelist willing to risk her life to save the world. She even puts a stop to a virus that’s leaving people in comas.

Aoi gets two more avatars (Blue Girl and Blue Maiden) and also obtains a semi-magic AI named Aqua as her partner.

She never lets her trauma keep her down and was a huge inspiration for me in high school!

AOI ZAIZEN IS THE BEST GIRL! She's gonna sweep this whole tournament and here's why:

Is the peak YGO Girl who Deserved Better from the writers

Just a normal everyday girl IRL who secretly turns into an ultra bubbly sweetheart idol who everyone absolutely loves when in the virtual world.

Her VRAINS persona is extremely popular, and none of her fans know that she's just Some Girl.

Plays an idol deck with Trickstars (toxic meta combo not included)

Is sheltered by her overprotective older step-brother/guardian, but very quickly stands up for herself and what she believes is right.

Mutual protection with said step-brother is the sweetest thing ever, I love Aoi and Akira moments so much!

She does NOT fall head over heels for the main protagonist, but they do share a nice conversation and handshake as they become friends IRL (one of the best VRAINS scenes, honestly)

Absolutely wrecks Soulburner for like 99% of their duel, and only loses because the writers don't understand how to move a plot along if Soulburner doesn't win as many duels as possible

Duels two seasonal antagonists, and completely destroys them both before losing thanks to an OP anime card that will never see the light of day, and a one-off card made specifically to counter her strategy and have her lose.

Her first virtual avatar, Blue Angel, is inspired by the main character from her favorite childhood book. That's adorable!

Her main summoning chants are all about hopes, dreams, and believing in yourself.

In the English dub, she says "I could so swipe left on you right now" implying that Tinder exists in the Yu-Gi-Oh universe.

Never got the Magical Girl transformation sequence she deserved because the writers apparently were not aware that Yu-Gi-Oh VRAINS is a Magical Girl show, despite the two main dudes getting that special treatment.

AOI ZAIZEN DESERVED BETTER! Give her what she deserves!

AND SHE'S A TRANS LESBIAN

Dark Magician Girl

she is iconic, basically the unofficial mascot of the anime. She has so much merch and so much fanart she is THE girl ever

#best ygo girl poll #round 4 #yugioh vrains #aoi zaizen #yugioh tcg #dark magician girl #skye zaizen

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miraculouscriticismshub · 6 months

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MLB writer's math be like...

ML writer's math is calling Chloe stans r*pist defenders on Twitter for defending Chloe while being silent about the fact that there are some extreme Felix stans who defend Felix's harassment towards LB

ML writer's math is saying Audrey's abuse doesn't excuse Chloe's horrid actions but proceeds to say Felix did nothing wrong and that his actions SHOULD be excused because his dad abused him, therefore making everything Colt's fault

ML writer's math is saying Lukloe is a toxic ship because it adopts the whole good boy fixing the bad girl trope which they say is unhealthy because Luka shouldn't carry the burden of being Chloe's therapist but proceed to make Feligami canon despite it being the exact same concept but reversed. Felix before Kagami was an anti-hero but after they got together, he is redeemed implying Kagami "fixed him"

ML writer's Math is condemning Colt Fathom for abusing and controlling his son and telling us to feel bad for Felix but when Audrey does the same thing to Chloe in Revolution and I repeat "I'm going to take control of your life again" she isn't held accountable as well and this abusive behaviour is treated as punishment and we shouldn't be feeling bad for her. (Disclaimer: NOT defending Colt because both are awful parents and both are terrible but there is a double standard going on. Felix and Chloe both deserve better parents)

ML writer's Math is calling out Felix's father for the abusive scum he is and recognising him as an abuser but refusing to give similar treatment to Gabriel and Andre who despite not being as bad as Colt when it comes to parenting are still rubbish parents. Why is Colt one of the only parents in the show to be held accountable?

ML writer's math (mainly TA) is being quick to slander some toxic Chloe/Lila stans for their problematic behaviour but when some toxic Maribug/Adrichat/Adrienette have also shown signs of toxic behaviour (e.g what happened to the Lila girl) Thomas Astruc stayed Silent on the matter. Surely a serious matter such as taking one's life should've been addressed by him since he sees himself as an activist and good person on Twitter. He should've known about it since the news of the Lila fan was common knowledge among the fanbase (even Cyrus the Great made a video about this)

Disclaimer : These are just common double standards I've seen in the writing and by TA. Comment more double standards if you know any. Please stay respectful when commenting

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hamletshoeratio · 12 days

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you say i can like a characters and acknowledge their flaws. Okey, did you acknowledge Kate and anthonies flaws???

What's y'all's obsession with Kate and Anthony? Genuinely asking here because some of the anons I've gotten have been saying absolutely vile things about Kate and Simone Ashley, which I refuse to post or give the time of day.

But anyways, I have been critical of Anthony before, particularly of how he handled the "love triangle" in season 2. I also hated his treatment of Sienna in season 1. I can acknowledge that his and Sienna's relationship was an important arc for his character, how ever much I hated his treatment of her. She deserved better. Additionally, a certain section of the fandom has to check their misogyny because the language used to talk about her is absolutely vile - and beyond hypocritical when compared to how the same people talk about Anthony.

Kate was mishandled by the writers. Full stop. The changes from the book were most detrimental to her and Edwina. I think Simone did amazing with what she was given, but they took out so much of Kate's development from the book. Most of my gripes with show!Kate are just frustration with writing decisions.

A lot of the writing decisions in general are just tone deaf. There's been a lot of rightful criticism on how the show has handled its bipoc representation. How Ruby Barker was treated in real life by netflix and the producers was disgusting. The way they've treated both her and her character has been vile. I hope to god her story in the show does not end the way it did in the books because that would be beyond horrific. If you're going to tell stories involving mental health issues, do so respectfully and responsibly. Otherwise, don't do it at all, because you're just doing more harm than good. Additionally, we've only had two minor queer characters for a show that prides itself on its representation. And those characters only appear in season 1. I'm not counting Brimsley because he only got proper characterization and arc in QC, and we have literally no clue where Reynolds is in the present timeline. And, while I enjoyed QC on the whole, the romanticization of Queen Victoria's birth as some sort of win for feminism took me out of the fantasy every single time. I'm not expecting the show to be historically accurate at all, the costuming confirmed to me that it wasn't trying to be back in season 1 and thats ok because its fantasy, but my god the way they include elements of real life history is beyond tone deaf.

Penelope herself was also mishandled by the writers. By making lady whistledown a far more active force in the show, they did not take into consideration what that would mean for her as a character. In the books, the Bridgertons react to the LW reveal like "oh OK, ride on Pen!" because LW hasn't been as destructive a force as she's been in the show. In the show, it makes no sense for them to react like that given what's been written about them and the impact that its had. LW, in the books, was far less harmful. By giving it a more active role in the story, they've unwittingly made her an antagonist because of the harm she's caused. Harm, I may add, that she's been mostly apathetic to. Show!Penelope needs a redemption arc, but she's probably not going to get one.

#anti penelope featherington #anti polin

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lizzie-queenofmeigas · 3 months

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My Opinions Of TVDU In 2024

(They really haven't changed all that much but I feel like sharing)

–I loveeee Delena. Yep, I love this ship with all my heart and I'm not afraid to say it.

–I loveee Damon, probably another problematic opinion but I don't care.

–I don't like Caroline. There, I said it. She is just the kind of person that would irritate the shit out of me. Honestly, until season 8 I couldn't handle her scenes.

–Bonenzo is the best. Loveee it. They deserved better and I personally want to stab Julie Plec for how they ended.

–Bonnie deserved better. This is an universal truth.

–I hate Tyler, but I recognise that he was right to hate Klaus and right to be mad at Caroline for sleeping with him. Revenge on Klaus was kind of dumb, but understandable. He was right to want him dead.

–Klaus is my beloved, always going to be and I'm not even sorry.

–Marcel is a Mikaelson!!! Marcel is Klaus's son and his treatment is another reason for me to feel murderous to the writers of the shows.

–I don't like Kol. Yeah, he was right in many things, but he came across as somehow self-righteous and believed himself better than his family. Like bro, you aren't.

–Finn deserved better. I honestly still wonder if Finn knew about Klaus's real father, 'cause if he did Klaus would have a valid reason to hate him. I am saying this because in The Originals season 2 episode 3 we have flashbacks of young Klaus and the necklace Esther gave him. If I remember correctly Finn was always in the background and even retrieved the necklace when Klaus lost it. Given that Finn remembered Freya and what happened to her, it wouldn't be far fetched to think he knew who Klaus's real father was and hid it as well. That being said, he is a victim of his parents as well and deserved better.

–I hate Elijah. He just gives me the wrong vibes.

–Marcel and Rebekah made sense and I ship it. The Mikaelson family is insane with their romantic relationships, so they just sort of clicked.

–Kol should have taken the cure instead of Rebekah. Bekah could just adopt, but what is going to happen with Kol when Davina dies? Nothing good. Plus, he loved being a witch.

–Hayley and Klaus and Klaus and Cami made way more sense than Haylijah and Klaroline. Honestly and throuple with Klaus and the two women who call him out on his shit the most would have been chef kiss. Hope deserved two moms.

–Every Klaus ship made more sense than Caroline. Bonnie? Bennett witch and he likes witches. Aurora? First female vampire (other than Bex) and met him when he wasn't as he is now. Elena? Has Tatia's face, and I think if Klaus just tried to befriend her and explain why he needed to break his curse she would've helped. Camille? Her mind, she clocked him the moment they met, not to mention the O'Connell legacy. Genevieve? Powerful Witch. Hayley? Baby mama, werewolf princess and hybrid, not to mention they are similar. Stefan? The ripper days gave off fruity vibes. Damon? I love their scenes together, they have a similar vibe to them. Rebekah? He is literally killing her boyfriends left and right. Elijah? The codependency is strong here, Elijah's girlfriends have a higher mortality rate than Rebekah's boyfriends. Katherine? Tatia's face, also they are similar. Greta? Their few interactions in season 2 pointed to a thing going on.

–Elena is overhated. Baby has the biggest survivor's guilt in the universe and still she soldiers on. I hate when people said she was less compassionate as a vampire, I honestly thought she was the same. Like, she controls her hunger to become a doctor. She is too good for this world.

–Enzo should have been introduced sooner, Bonnie and him should have gotten together sooner.

–They should have explored Damon's trauma with Augustine more, and the fact that he always disregards his emotions.

–Klaus wolf side should have been explored!!!

–Unpopular opinion, but not everything Katherine did was necessary for her to survive. She could have easily contented herself with one Salvatore brother, but she had to go after both.

–Davina and Klaus needed more scenes together. I mean, that's her adoptive grandpa!

–Lily was awful, Damon was in his rights to not forgive her.

–I liked Valerie, and I liked her with Stefan.

–They should have explained more about Klaus ability to have children, 'cause that was weird. I loved it, but weird.

–Alaric should have died and the twins should have been raised by someone else.

–Matt lived too long.

–Jeremy and Damon were kind of funny.

–Bamon was really great.

–They should have addressed the fact that growing up Damon was the only one there for Stefan. We saw that in the flashbacks but they should have said it more.

–Damon purpose in life was to live for those he loved. My take on him.

–Damon was pretty humanity-full vampire until after Augustine when he turned off his humanity. But, five years of torture in the hands of humans would do that to a guy.

–The witches opinion on vampires were ridiculous. This species has been around for over a millennium, they are pretty assimilated in the magic ecosystem. I think their extinction would actually do more damage than their existence.

–Mikael and Esther deserved more pain.

–I think Dahlia only tried to negotiate with Klaus not only because he was Hope's father but because he was the only one who wasn't Mikael's son.

–Vampire/Supernatural politics are actually so interesting.

–Lexi was too hyped. And I don't get what she had against Damon in the forties.

–Legacies doesn't exist.

That's all. For now.

#the vampire diaries #the originals #tvd #to #tvdu #tvd universe #klaus mikaelson #damon salvatore #elena gilbert #bonnie bennett #anti klaroline #anti Haylijah #legacies #anti legacies

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blues-valentine · 6 months

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Honestly I think hsmtmts s1 started with very typical idea of Ricky and nini being the boy/girl next door, Childhood friends that date kind of thing. With Gina and ej being the mean, scheming counterparts. It was so obvious from the posters and their costumes. But I guess none of the writers anticipated what a force sofia Wylie would turn out to be. She has a presence that just demands attention. She's the best actress of them all, best Dancer and her chemistry with Joshua is on another level. Plus the character of Gina turned out to have fascinating layers. All this combination outshined nini. Nini and Ricky were originally supposed to be main characters and though Ricky stayed a main character throughout the show, nini, never felt like a main character to me, even in season 1. She was sweet and good and had a straightforward arc that wasn't nearly as interesting as other characters. Plus she had no flaws. Ricky had issues, he had flaws that made him interesting. Same with Gina and ej.

And I feel the same with rini. They were sweet but kinda bland. Portwell were much better, interesting and deserved better treatment from the writers. And rina is rina. Sizzling chemistry. Best ship.

This is no hate to olivia, my problem is with nini. Honestly I completely forgot she was part of this show in season 3 until she showed up in last episode.

I had this in my drafts and I remember responding to it but forgot to post it.

I think the show marketed themselves as very typical Disney in the way that you could kind of tell what narrative archetypes the original core 4 were supposed to be, especially if you relate it to the movies. Nini as the girl next door with so much talent but didn’t believe in herself until she’s suddenly the star of the show. Very girl underdog narrative. Ricky as being her first love and the cute dorky guy that doesn’t put effort but somehow is magically talented, plus the network promoted them as their “Troy and Gabriella” so the audience was supposed to believe they were their rightful successors. Even some of the posters promised that “love triangle” between EJ/Nini/Ricky as a relevant plot and we know that wasn’t the case. And just by the posters and trailer you could’ve guessed Gina and EJ were the “antagonists”. But as I said, it was a marketing tactic because tropes and love triangles sell, and I was also a bit too skeptical but ended up genuinely surprised.

I definitely agree Ricky and Nini’s romance was very bland and I was not rooting for them at all even on Season 1. I found them so cringy, very Disney cooking cutter and they were clearly not right for each other. I was attracted to Gina’s arc from the start so imagine my surprise when she went the opposite direction of what she was marketed as and then developed a way more interesting character arc. However, I do think the show failed Nini because she could’ve been more interesting. I liked her but I agree her arc was too straightforward and a bit too boring at times only saved by Olivia’s voice but there’s a lot of people that still don’t get her arc at all, which is why they still ship her with Ricky even if it was literally against Nini’s character growth.

Funny enough, when I watched 105 I ended up feeling like Ricky and Gina had so much potential and their chemistry was interesting but I wasn’t sure if the show was going to follow that up because it wasn’t very Disney like. Very rare do Disney shows follow the second lead romance pipeline. And I am so glad I was wrong because Ricky and Gina elevated the show by having them develop a very tension filled arc and it did felt very much 00’s coded so I ended Season 1 feeling like they had to go there at one point because it would be a wasted potential. By Season 2, I was sure they were endgame. No questions or doubts. The narrative made it very known and I never doubted that for a moment.

So, PW was just as bland to me, the narrative was forcing them badly with obvious and cringe dialogue. It lacked subtlety, it was very much in your face. As if they wanted you to ship them so hard and were overdoing it. But not even in a good way – there was not care or thought put into their scenes. The music, the implications. It was not done in a way that screamed endgame. And them also being a thing when Ricky and Gina were not speaking was a plot device to keep the endgame in the won’t they/will they situation-ship. I still believe it was a mistake to put them together because it was clear it wasn't going to last and their dynamic worked best as platonic. EJ worked better when he wasn’t put into a situation to be Gina’s plot device. PW was a mid-game ship and was treated as such. The narrative wasn’t hiding it. It was there for Gina to experience her first relationship before she gets with Ricky since their build in narrative has always been about second chances, the right timing and opportunities. I think they deserved a better closure on Season 3, but I am glad they eventually got it on Season 4. However, they were always meant to be a plot device and I didn’t expect anything else from it. The people convinced they were endgame clearly didn't want to see the show for what it was saying.

Rina just had the it factor to me. It was very reminiscent of the old ships in which their story line wasn’t too straightforward and it was told by the parallels and foreshadowing which is a huge factor as to why Ricky and Gina had such compelling arcs individually and together. Ricky being the stability Gina needs and Gina being the person that pushes Ricky forward by taking him out of his comfort zone. They give each other what the other needs and wants. That’s what their storyline has been about since Season 1 and nothing compares to their chemistry. It was undeniable since the start even when some people wanted to deny it.

#i know this is such an old ask #but better late than never #hsmtmts #hsmtmts season 4 #gina porter #rina #ricky bowen #hsmtmts rina #ricky x gina #asks

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stalltherain · 1 year

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Manifest finale spoilers. I'm about to rant.

What the f-ck was that ending?

It might as well have all been a dream. Other than Mick meeting Zeke, a few people disappearing, and Saanvi's cancer treatment coming out soon enough to treat Cal, nothing is different than if the show had never happened.

I'd have preferred the characters find happiness in their shitty world. Or heck, even all of them dying in their shitty world to sacrifice themselves for people they love (that would have required a different setup from the beginning of s4 so that we saw the people that the passengers loved).

This ending reminds me of the dilemma in scifi where a character has to chose to live in a happy fake world or a tough & gritty real world. The show writers chose the happy fake. I'd have preferred to see the real world.

I was optimistic for this season and really had hope this show was going to be better than previous shows about explaining the mystery. Of all the theories of how it would go, resetting back to the plane not crashing was the most boring one & what I really hoped wouldn't happen. I guess it's a satisfying-ish ending if you had low expectations.

I just thought we'd actually get some answers, and was also disappointed by all but one of the character's endings. Since the show chose to ignore the mystery and focus on character stories, I'm going to address my issues with those.

TJ lost Olive, but immediately seems to forget her because another cute girl shows up.

Mick ends her relationship with Jared, because he wants kids and she doesn't, but how did that never come up for them in conversation before. Took my opinion of both of them down a bit. Then, 5 seconds after Jared got dumped by the woman he wanted to marry, he's already flirting with another woman. Took my opinion of Jarod about as low as it can get. Shame because I had actually liked him.

The Cal, Olive, and Grace we knew are all gone. Never going to even exist. They're basically fake versions of themselves now. Grace is reset back to season 1, which means she's the annoying version I wanted Ben to dump. Also, how is Ben going to explain that he had sex with someone on the plane? Season 1 Grace would not be open to the whole "hey, we went to another world or whatever" story. She didn't believe anything Ben said about it until she saw it affecting Cal. There's no way she believes his story if she hears it led to him sleeping with someone else. Unless Ben plans to lie to his wife, she's leaving him soon. If he does keep it a secret that he slept with Cal's doctor, that just means she'll leave a little later. Keeping that secret will destroy their relationship. It was a really terrible writing choice to have Ben and Saanvi hook up and then just go back to their previous partners like nothing changed. I think they're great together, but I'd have preferred nothing happen if that was how it ended.

The one thing I really wanted was for Saanvi to realize that she deserves better than the person who kept rejecting her over and over, but nope. Zero growth. I felt so bad for her and feel like from what we know of Alex, she'll go right back to her family soon. Or maybe Saanvi will get enough self esteem to get angry at how Alex treated her (both by not taking the flight and by how she repeatedly rejected her in the real world).

Vance is back to being kind of a jerk who knows none of them. I suppose I'm glad he has his family back, but his character development was meaningless. I'd rather have seem him get his family back in the real world.

The only ending that didn't suck was Mick found Zeke based on what he told her in the real world. I personally wasn't attached to Mick with either guy, so I wasn't expecting her ending to be the most satisfying. At least one story we watched ended up having meaning.

After so many shows have ended disappointingly, I just really wanted one to stick the landing. (pun not intended, but I'm keeping it) This ending was a major (pun also not intended, but I'm also keeping it) bummer.

I don't know how go wrap this up, so I'm just going to drop this. In five years or less, Ben and Grace are definitely split. So are Saanvi and Alex. Hey, maybe Benvi will get back together then. Lol.

#manifest netflix #ben x saanvi #benvi #manifest nbc #rant #manifest tv #manifest finale

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akiizayoi4869 · 2 years

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The Search: A story about abuse, abuse apologism, and ableism.

So as you guys all know, I spent my night reading The Search for the second time, and much like the first time I read it last year, I wasn't impressed. At all. It gives us a detailed backstory about Ursa, and what her life was like before and after she married Ozai. To make a long story short, she was forced into an abusive marriage. And the comic goes out of its way to show us just how abusive it was, and that this was a bad thing.

These panels show us an abusive marriage, and how that was bad. The panel that shows they're wedding night shows a prelude of what will be an abusive marriage. Ozai also happens to be abusive to his children.

This is verbal abuse, not just to Zuko but to Azula as well(even though the writers clearly don't see her as an abuse victim) and it's framed as a bad thing. And it is. No child should have to go through this. As far as all of this goes, Yang did a good job with depicting Ozai as an abusive person, and how it had a negative effect on his family.

Now let's move on to the abuse apologism and ableism that this comic had when it comes to Azula.

Every time Azula has an outburst, she's immediately attacked because she's seen as dangerous, even though the characters should have used their damn brains and asked her who was she seeing and what was she talking about, rather than constantly attacking her. It's heavily implied that she was abused at the asylum, and yet this is framed and written as a good thing by Yang, simply because she was mean to people, fought on the wrong side of the war, and dared to be better than her brother. She's forced into a straight jacket that she wears 24/7, which realistically she shouldn't have even been able to MOVE after being in that thing for so long, and she gets chi blocked for no reason at all. OZAI has better imprisonment conditions than she did, when he was the one who nearly committed genocide in the earth kingdom. When he was the one who had no intention of stopping the war. When he was the one gave Zuko his scar, who had his father killed. That same person is treated better than Azula. And for what? Because he's not "crazy" like she is? The way how this whole thing is framed when it came to Azula makes it seem like Yang was pretty much saying that she deserved the abuse that she suffered in the asylum, that she deserved to be constantly attacked by everyone, as a consequence for her actions during the war. Even though she didn't do anything worse than what Zuko, Iroh, Zhao, and Ozai did. And yet she's the only one getting treated like this.

How many times do we have to see this shit in media? See the woman who was abused by a male who was dominant in her life be treated horribly because of the way she turned out as a result of said abuse? To have the people who supposedly love her, BLAME her for the abuse that she suffered. How many woman in reality go through this bs? And yet Yang and the other writers thought that this shit was ok to put in a book for a young audience? That's the wrong kind of message to be sending. Yang makes this message ten times worse by doubling down on it by making Azula "insane and nutty", which he uses to justify the treatment that she gets. And it's disgusting. The stigma surrounding mental health is already bad enough in this society, we shouldn't have to see it in a book that's meant for kids.

So in conclusion, fuck this book. Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk.

#atla #azula #zuko #ozai #ursa #akiizayoi4869 meta #fuck the search #anti Yang #fuck the writers #The Search meta

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summerongrand · 2 months

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6x02: Hammering in on 'The Hammer'

My episode recap ...

The opening is so unhinged. A flashmob for Daddy Cop. Please be for real 😂

Next up is Chastity and STR. Chastity is beautiful. We'll get back to her.

~~~

We've come to the first Chenford scene.

Lucy: You got a minute to talk? Tim: Uh, sure. There's nothing to talk about. You felt I undermined you at a crime scene to stop you from making detective. I explained that I didn't. Now we're moving on. Okay. This is (presumably) the first time they've seen each other since he gave her ultimatums the night before, then left her alone in the parking lot. Lucy's trying to open up to him; she's trying to make amends with a clearer head. It's the mature thing to do. He leads her on with the affirmative "Uh, sure" and closes off completely. Tim is being really dismissive here.

Lucy: Well, while I appreciate the efficiency, that's not how actual healthy communication works. Tim: Wow, that's not condescending at all. Explain to me what there is to talk about that isn't just a retread of what I just efficiently covered?

Tim shut her down with the "Now we're moving on." And now Tim's rolling his eyes at her, looks annoyed the whole time he's talking to her, sounds annoyed, and meanwhile Lucy's talking to him calmly and trying to get him to open up. How is Lucy the one being condescending, Tim?

Lucy: Well...that's not the point. Look, if I have to start another deep undercover assignment, there are real issues here that we need to talk about. Tim (full of irritation and eye rolls): Which we will deal with if they come up then. I gotta get to work. Have a good shift.

Also Tim: Presses his body weight against the door so that it shuts in Lucy's face.

The point is to talk about the UC issues before Lucy goes UC. She didn't have much lead time prepping for her other UC ops. Tim is a total planner but he's so feelings-avoidant about this issue that he'd rather just stuff it down and let it go unresolved than process them with Lucy. Tim conveniently uses work as an excuse when it suits him. His body language, tone of voice, and door slam are not it. Lucy deserves much better treatment.

~~~

STR/Chastity/Lucy scene

Lucy's ruminating. She's going through her detective's exam in her head. She's in her predicament because she helped Tim in her 5 Player Trade. Meanwhile, the writers are like ... let's take her out of her concentration with a little zaniness.

~~~

Chenford/Angela scene

Okay, first of all, where did you come from, Eric Winter? You popped out of nowhere, not from underneath a doorframe, so were you leaning against that window ledge...? And now you are interjecting yourself into their conversation. What happened to "I gotta get to work. Have a good shift."?

It's on Tim for not telling Lucy that The Hammer is a 6'7" 300 pound guy who likes to fight cops. If he told her, she wouldn't have the resistant reaction she did. To echo Lucy: Well, while I appreciate the efficiency, that's not how actual healthy communication works.

Tim: Okay, do you want my help or not? Also Tim: Whateverrrrrr. And Tim: I knew you weren't gonna be able to let it go.

Well, that's not condescending at all, Tim. You slammed the door in her face that same morning and now you're telling her that she can't regulate her emotions. This is the kind of argument that should not have happened in front of Angela at all.

~~~

Chenford hallway scene

Lucy: Well, after you Tim: No, ladies first. Also Tim: Pushes Lucy towards danger.

And Tim: Guess you're gonna have to fight him.

So Tim tells Lucy he'll go with her to visit The Hammer. Then he doesn't give her the lowdown of how big The Hammer is. Now he pushes his girlfriend towards The Hammer and tells her she has to fight him. There is zero humor in Eric's delivery. And Mel's exasperated reaction is a tell that Lucy took his words seriously. Why is Tim doing this to Lucy?

Lucy's "are you okay?" is incredibly soft. She's so pure in heart.

~~~

Wedding prep scene

Tim: We're great when she's not accusing me of made-up transgressions. Lucy: Look, I'm not imagining things. Tim is traumatized by what happened with Isabel. He just won't admit it. Tim: Honestly, I think she's projecting or just using this as an excuse.

Tim is totally throwing shade at Lucy's character. Meanwhile Lucy's trying to help him by figuring out what's going on and getting to the heart of the issue. He's accusing her of falsifying, projection, and using him as a scapegoat because she doesn't want to go UC/Detective. Why are you talking so much crap about your girlfriend, Tim?

~~~

Let's analyze this Chastity/Lucy part for a moment. Chastity (to Lucy): Yeah, well, undercover work is kind of scary and dangerous. Maybe he's not the only one that's scared of what might happen.

The fact that I have to bring this up and highlight it means that network TV shows are not doing this nearly enough. And I haven't seen this mentioned in the fandom at all so I am going to, because it is important and needs to be acknowledged: this is a powerful interchange. What makes it different is that it's between two badass women of Asian descent on a network TV show that's marketed towards a general audience. And that's rare. Super rare.

Chastity barely knows Lucy and she clocked it. She validates Lucy's feelings about Tim while digging into Lucy's psyche and figuring out something about Lucy that Lucy in all her psych training, self help books, and being raised by two psychologists, couldn't. Tim who knows Lucy "too well" couldn't even clock it. Chastity could and did.

~~~

Chenford lie detector scene

Lucy: With a lie detector test? Tim: Yes!

Tim is so done with Lucy's questioning. But then he smiles right after his annoyed yes! This is Tim being able to convey nuance and his true emotions when he wants to. This wasn't there at all when he wanted Lucy to fight The Hammer. This needed to be there in that scene and for it to be nonexistent there tells me that he wanted her to fight The Hammer.

Lucy: Do you love me?

Tim's internal monologue: What kind of question is that? Of course I love you. I've been in love with you. You have no idea how much I love you. The fact that you're asking me this while I'm hooked to a lie detector tells me that maybe I'm not saying these words enough to you or maybe I'm not showing you enough that I, Tim Bradford, love you, Lucy Chen.

Also Tim's internal monologue: I've never been so sure of anything in my life.

Lucy: Do you want me to be an undercover detective? Tim: Yes. Lucy: You liar!

Clocked him, girly.

I do not think that this was their first I love you. Lucy's big question to Tim is the detective one. I do think that after their argument in the parking lot the night before, the ultimatums he gave her, and the way he treated her that morning, raised doubts in her mind.

gifs by @livelovecaliforniadreams

~~~

And then there's this scene. The first three seconds is the show taking advantage of Eric being a former model. It's just pure gratuitous panning (similar to when he adopted Kojo and was was walking down DTLA with him).

The lie detector test did nothing to resolve tensions between Chenford. If anything, I think Lucy was hurt by the truth, by Tim's treatment of her (dismissal, barking, shutting the door, denial, ultimatums), and by Tim's own projections of his prior relationship onto her. As soon as she catches his eye, she turns away. Well-positioned Lucy does not do that. Hurt Lucy does. Love that she has her new friend Chastity by her side. Even STR is more of a friend to her in that moment than Tim is.

~~~

The wedding ...

"Sit down, German! I got this!" Richard's pretty religious so I'm glad his character officiated.

~~~

The dance ...

I debated whether or not to split my analysis of the Chenford dance into its own post. I decided not to because I didn't want to dismiss the buildup, the angst, the importance of Chastity, and the lie detector that led to the dance. I also didn't want to take away from what Lucy and Tim went through as a couple by focusing just on the fluff.

(These gifs were made by @relentlessescapism)

Lucy does not appear to be having a good time here. There's something painful about Lucy dancing by herself. Her head is dipped, she has on a smile that doesn't reach her eyes, and they convey hurt. I see here a childlike quality to Lucy - she's always the one that helps others pick up their broken pieces even though she's just as broken the inside. It reminds me of @poppypickle's fic with her OC Miles Santos teasing Lucy and telling her to 'go back to where she came from' (it’s an offensive remark to an Asian person) even as she defended her friend. Like she's being strong on the outside but on the inside she's deeply hurt by Tim.

Clearly Lucy's being the bigger person here. Meanwhile Tim is all Mr. jaw clench and puffing his chest before he deflates. Is this a male ego thing? I dunno. Is it, Eric?

Lucy still has the same hurt look in her eyes. But she's also like, so ready to set aside the pettiness. She's like get over here, you idiot.

It's a little odd how Lucy is written. Just before they encountered The Hammer, she apologized to Tim. And now as they're dancing, she's thanking Tim for acknowledging that her dreams should be separate from his issues (like yeah of course they should be). I think Tim should be the one apologizing to her.

Throughout the dance scene, it appears that he has one arm around her. Also, she initiates the kiss. She's initiated a few of their onscreen kisses. Even the second first date one, he waits for her to kiss him. Like, why do you have one arm around your girlfriend when you're slowdancing with her? It doesn't affect blocking at all.

Love the huge grin that he uses on her (right before Aaron interrupts them). It's the same one from that 5x12 scene.

The rest of their dance is just pure fluff. Lucy and Tim making amends. Her reassuring him that she loves him, that they'll get through this, is reminiscent of 5x10(?) when they acknowledged that the only way to move forward was if he moved out of her chain of command, that breaking up was not an option. The banter about the lie detector was very cute too. Clearly their issues are still unresolved, but in that moment they just needed to be a couple.

If you want to read my thoughts about the last few scenes, here they are: optics, grabbing coats, and a friend's post which summarizes things very nicely.

#please be respectful if you choose to engage #episode recap #the rookie #chenford #6x02 #the hammer #tucy #lucy chen #tim bradford #eric winter #melissa o'neil #meg delacy #representation in media #representation on tv #things that matter

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lyricailove · 6 months

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So here's that Fiona and Women meta I said I'd do a while ago.

Preface this by saying: This is not Fiona hate because I don't hate Fiona. I actually have a lot of grace and empathy for Fiona. I find a lot of the hate she gets is either greatly exaggerated or outright wrong. That said, I'm all for proper critique and that's what this is.

When it comes to Fiona and how she relates to other women, there's a lot of judgment and competition going on. The only exception is V, and I suspect it's because V is one, already in a relationship so Fiona's not competing with her for other men, and two, because V has a certain kind of feminity that Fiona respects.

Fiona strikes me as the type who is a feminist in name only. She's someone who slips into respectability politics in a way that's counterproductive to actually supporting women. She wants equality for women and for women to be respected but only certain women.

This brings me to her treatment of Mandy, Svetlana, and Debbie.

Mandy

From the moment when Mandy and Lip get together properly, Fiona is very judgmental and rude to Mandy. To the point where Mandy knows Fiona doesn't like her and if my readings are right, it hurts Mandy's feelings. To a certain extent, Mandy looks up to Fiona and even relates to her. They both being the girls in their family who do/have taken care of the domestic duties of the household and who seek refuge in sexual relationships. But just like I think Mandy relates a lot to Fiona, I think Fiona sees herself in Mandy. I think that's what scares her about Mandy and Lip's relationship. Fiona, as most can tell, doesn't like herself very much and because of that anything reminds her of herself she rejects. Granted, she won't kick Mandy out but she's not very warm to her either. It's like cold acceptance of her presence. I think if Fiona had taken the time to get to know Mandy, they would have gotten along a lot better. Maybe even learned from each other. Hopefully at Milkovich/Gallagher Christmases, they've had the chance to talk things out.

Svetlana

I feel like Fiona's feelings toward Svetlana are both clear-cut and complicated. On one hand, Svetlana was the wife of her brother's boyfriend and even if we never saw her and Ian talk about that, I'd imagine Fiona has an idea of that period. Also, how much it hurt Ian to watch Mickey get married and have a family. So, I'm including that as a reason. Not saying it's a fair assessment of Svetlana's role, because I also see Svet as a victim in that paradigm along with Ian and Mickey. There's also the jealousy of Svetlana and V bonding while Fiona is busy. V and Fiona eventually made up but by the time they had that conversation Svetlana was gone and there was no way she and Fiona could've patched that up, which I think they would have. There's the amazing scene where Svetlana actually calls Fiona out for her looking down on Svetlana. She calls out how Fiona judges her while not acknowledging that Svet works hard and is determined to make a life for herself. Svetlana has the confidence in herself that Fiona lacks. I think that breeds a level of resentment, because like a lot of people, Fiona looks down on Svetlana as a sex worker/former sex worker. Like Svetlana says, she works hard and is not deterred from her path so she will succeed. Whereas Fiona will get cold feet and self-sabotage when she's doing well for herself. It's like she thinks she doesn't deserve it. If Fiona and Svetlana had been able to be on good terms, I think Svetlana could've been a good influence on Fiona.

Debbie

I know this is gonna seem like a cop-out but I blame the writers for how Fiona and Debbie's bouts would develop. The only two sisters in a house full of brothers and an alcoholic father who only loves himself. They should've been the closest. But instead, we get power struggles and anti-choice storylines. I have to bring back the fake feminist point from earlier. I think Fiona is one of those women that's pro-choice but only if it's the choice she agrees with. Was Debbie being a teen mom the best choice? No, no one would ever say that. But, by the time she learned of the pregnancy, it was too late to force Debbie into terminating, and that wasn't up to her to begin with. Fiona was working off emotion and not being solution-oriented. She shamed Debbie for getting pregnant, tried to force her to get an abortion, and got physical when she wouldn't agree to it. I don't doubt that Fiona loves her niece now, but the beginning was a nightmare. And in the end, Debbie defied all odds and showed herself to be a top-notch mother. Let's also talk about how Debbie was the only sibling to show Fiona empathy when she was having her breakdown, and how Fiona left Debbie in charge of the house when she left. All that potential to show them being close is left untouched because Shameless is a show created and steered by men and it shows.

#Justice for functional women bonding on Shameless #I still love Fiona and I think she gets way more hate than she deserves #But the way she treats other women is wrong and it should be said #Women stop hating other women challenge #Shameless US #Shameless Meta #Fiona Gallagher #Debbie Gallagher #Svetlana Yevgenivna #Svetlana Milkovich #Shameless #Mandy Milkovich

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punknicodiangelo · 1 year

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Rick Riordan is a cishet white goyische man. We knew this. But you can see this in his writing, no matter when. Yeah, he's grown, but he didn't grow astronomically.

In this post I'll be talking about how history, women, queer people, and POC are handled in Rick Riordan's YA novels. I'm Jew-ish, very queer, and was socialized as a girl, but I'm white so POC tell me if I overstep or get anything wrong and feel free to add!

Also this is long af, way longer than I intended, so under the cut it goes!

The Pact and Wars

I think I've talked about this before (cannot find the post) but the way history is handled is so racist and antisemitic. Wars are not because of their real reasons, but instead conflict. WWII is made to be because Hades, Zeus, Poisiedon, and their kids had another spat, instead of the fascism and racism that really caused it. The Civil War, instead of being about racism, was made to be about a fight between the romans and greeks. The wars we see in series have no connection to real world events, why couldn't the old ones be the same? It also deminshes the accomplishments of real people. For example, Harriet Tubman is said to be a daughter of Hermes. To me, this says a black disabled woman can't do great things without great blood in a world where that exists

Annabeth

Annabeth is a girl boss, and this would be great, if her writer wasn't a cishet man. Being strong is equated to being mean, physically and verbally. When she thinks Rachel likes Percy, a guy she isn't even dating, she gets pissy at them for even hanging out! She constantly demeans Percy and hits people who anger her, including Percy, and this is treated as cute and quirky. And then her trauma is dismissed and diminished by a boy who went through similar treatment. Sorry Percy also was hurt by who his author is, but it makes things worse with Annabeth's portrayal. Also she once says people don't take her seriously because she's blonde. During HoO. With Piper and Hazel right there

The Hunters

The Hunters of Artemis, in mythology, are a group of women and sometimes men who joined Artemis to escape the deeply misogynistic culture at the time, and there are sapphic undertones to much of their myths! In the books, they're portrayed as man hating, romance hating, and functionally aroace. Hippolytus is completely ignored. Zoë is constantly talking down to Percy without giving him a chance and makes probably the dumbest decision by choosing Bianca for the quest in Titan's Course. Jo and Emmie were kicked out for finding love. I'm aroace. I love aroace rep. I'm overly weary of (cis white) men. But the way the Hunters are written is so similar to how angry anti-SJW youtube saw feminists

Nico

Nico is forcibly outed in one book and in the next gets a boyfriend with literally no personality or relationship with him up to that point. The drawbacks of shadow travel so clearly align with disability. He's also obviously depressed and deeply traumatized. Yet Will gives him no medical autonomy, something we disabled folk have to deal with all the time that's really very ableist. I love Nico, but the way he's portrayed just isn't great

Sadie and Carter

Sadie and Carter are biracial and look wildly different. This is good representation from what I've heard, but not how it's different or some incidental stuff. Carter, the boy, has dark skin and dark, coily hair, while Sadie, the girl, has pale skin, striaght blond hair, and pale eyes. This plays into colorism where darker people are seen as more masculine, as does Carver being the host to the god of war. Sadie is also a young girl who's put into a relationship with a god who kinda bullied her at the start. Carver is also in a relationship with a person who was hostile, but she gets better so I'll let is slide

Leo

Leo is latino, and stereotypical at that. Je is constantly flirting with everyone and looked down upon. As a Leo who is not an astronomical Leo, he deserves better especially when you consider c//leo

Piper

"I'm not like other girls" girl who's hailed as absolutely gorgeous. She was born on a rez that didn't exist at the time which just goes to show the lack of research. Her eyes are kaleidoscope, which is a trait none of her siblings, or her mom, have. She's cut off from her culture enough to not know the significance of feathers but has plenty of memories of her grandfather who lived on the rez. Also, she's a cleptomaniac. I love Piper, I like how she's representation for a person who was cut off from her culture and longs to know it despite living with her bio family because I and a few friends are the same, but Piper is still a stereotype. I also feel like the veganism plays into the whole spiritual nature stereotype, but I'm not sure so don't quote me

Frank

The only confirmed greco-roman demigod without dyslexia is also East Asian. I think the stereotyping is obvious it doesn't help that the only two Asian characters before him, Ethan and Drew, were antagonists. He was infantalized while fat and then had a magic glow up for... no reason, really, but that matters less here. Also he's dating a seventh grader as a tenth grader basically and I'm trying to not spoil stuff but the end of the Tyrant's Tomb is bullshit from a lore perspective imo

Hazel

She's a black girl whose parents both had very dark eyes and hair, yet her eyes are gold and her hair is paler than her skin, and both of those last two are described as looking like foods. Again, she is the age of a 7th grader. See Frank. And this may be the fandom's fault, but it seems she's always either infantalized or adultified from what I've seen

Will

All we know about Will Solace in BoO is that he's attracted to men and a medic son of Apollo. I bet you didn't remember he was at the Battle of Manhattan or that he's counselor because all his siblings died. And that's a lot of kids. Also he calls Nico nicknames he doesn't like. See Nico for further criticism of Will

Alex

Alex is called the adjective form of a slur multiple times. I could talk about how the grammar of that sucks, but *gesturs vaguely.* She gets transphobia from nearly everyone and disowned. I thought fantasy was supposed to be escapist, personally

Other stuff

Samirah is a hijabi, but we see under her scarf at least once and that feels really disrespectful, especially considering how observant she is of other stuff. Only women or close family (brothers, direct descendants, or direct ancestors) can see a hijabi's hair. Even if Magnus, Hearth, and Blitz are like family that usually isn't enough. She should have gotten a regular valkyrie's cloak imo. Some stuff feels off about Hearth but I'm not D/deaf so I'll hold my tongue on that as I'm not sure. Lavinia could use more yiddishisms in her speech and I'm curious to know what sect she was if her rabbi wasn't cool with her being a lesbian, but they do exist so *shrug.* There's probably something I missed with Reyna and Hylla, I feel like there is, but I can't remeber so it just gets an honorary mention

@afrolatinozuko

#rr crit #anti frazel #anti caleo #anti percabeth #anti solangelo

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syraxesrevenge · 1 month

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i don't usually get involved with team stuff but mini rant (im low-key losing my fucking mind)

I don't understand people who are Team Green, and not because of their opinions on the characters. I find Team Green as some of the most complex, interesting characters in the whole lot of asoiaf.

1: First of all, the treatment of the strong boys. They act like Jace and Luke are absolute monsters; which, I don't necessarily agree with, but without bias I do agree they are not pure and cherubic angels. Lucerys is impulsive and childish, making jokes about actual trauma and maiming a ten year old who was influenced by his older brother. Jacaerys has extreme anger issues which lead to him acting arrogantly and stubbornly to the respite of his elders.

This does not mean they are *demons*, though, and do not deserve to be treated as such. I've seen people say that they were horrible for not showing a horrified reaction to Vaemond's death, that they should've felt remorse; what choice was for them to make? Lucerys was openly against the thing, wishing his own birthright upon the person who tried to usurp him; Jacaerys heard only the words "whore" and "bastards", which set him off. I do not blame him for this in the slightest; those words have been used his entire life to demonize him, villainize him and his mother.

Other people say Rhaenyra was terrible for making her sons believe they were real Targaryens, not admitting they were bastards and trying to persuade them from the throne. This take is just - abhorrent, imo. Jacaerys was taught by his grandsire, his mother, his father that he was going to inherit the throne just like his mother would before him. Lucerys and him obviously knew they were bastards - it is hard to ignore when everyone looks at you in the street, points you out, suggests you are not what you say. Jacaerys also spent his entire life, especially in the Dance, trying to prove himself a worthy heir. His traits of being well-studied and righteous were given to Aemond, because there would be no debate on who to choose if not.

"Team Green writers should've written the show! They're making the Blacks too sympathetic!"

The blacks are supposed to be the sympathetic ones. They are the tragedy of the war; the close-knit family that, in their pursuit to stay together, were torn apart and murdered by themselves. Joffrey died alone. Lucerys died alone. Jacaerys died alone. Daemon died alone. Rhaenyra was the only one who died with her son. They were the epitome of a caring, loving family - and what did that get them? Their reluctance to be ruthless resulted in the cold murder of a child. Lucerys was 13 in the book - 14/15 in the show. His death should be as hard hitting and as sympathetic as Jaehaerys, but somehow, it is not. To make a joke about Vhagar ripping Arrax to pieces is funny, to make a joke about Blood and Cheese is horrible. The double standard is just *baffling* to me.

Another thing - most of TG loves Jon Snow. They think that Daenerys was mad, that she deserved to die, that she was evil. By this precedent, if you can accept a legitimized bastard on the throne in the form of Jon, why is it *so hard* to picture Jacaerys on the throne?

"They have no personality!"

They had absolutely no screentime. The writers gave a scene to a fucking *foot fetish*, and they could not give us a scene of Lucerys, Jacaerys, or Joffrey. Especially when Lucerys was going to die in that season - he had a total of 23 minutes of screentime, and near 6 minutes of lines. That is not even half of an episode worth - especially for him to just be sitting in the background. And the times when he is talking? He is made to be the most unsympathetic character, ever. Laughing at Aemond, attacking Aemond - he is used mainly as a plot device, and it's sad, because I truly believe he deserved better than that, bc Elliot Grihault is a great actor :D

might make a part 2 if this idiot in a discord RP keeps insisting tg is righteous and perfect and amazing and MY fav characters suck ass

#house of the dragon #hotd #asoiaf #pro team black #team black #anti rhaenyra antis #anti aegon ii targaryen #opinion #rant

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