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jaskicr · 3 years

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I'm so sorry that the Geraskier and Witcher fandom made you feel excluded. Please remember that Yennefer is a POC in the Netflix verse, not the books or games. Many of us have disliked her long before Netflix. I never want to discourage any fans, and I will try to portray her in a way that feels less like an attack or make it clear that the Yennefer in the works I make is from the books or games. My reasons why I personally don't like Yennefer are straightforward. I hate that a strong female character with amazing potential is given infertility as her defining flaw and one of her biggest personality traits is how bitter she is over it. As someone who had to have her reproductive organs removed in order to live, it really irritates me that media repeatedly makes infertility some dark horrifying thing. Another reason is how she behaves because of it. Her greed, power chasing, and all the people she's hurt in persuit of being able to have a baby... it's extreme and feels like an attack on people who choose not to or simply can't have children. Again, my introduction to Yennefer was books/games which is a slightly different background and storyline for her.

i do happen to know that yennefer isn’t a woman of colour in the books and games, and my posts were specifically addressing the show and how fans so often dislike the show version of yennefer - whether through posts analysing why she isn’t a good person, or through fic (that is very clearly based on the show) where she is dismissed or demonised. my posts were not to do with the book/game version of yennefer, and i thought i made that clear by constantly referring to the fact that yennefer is a woc (though i very much doubt that the book/game fandom isn’t guilty of fandom racism).

i could talk about your reasons for why you dislike her, but i’m not going to - i’ve already discussed the matter of her fertility (it being about her choice) and her flaws (how they are picked on and magnified), and should you be interested, you can always read back on the asks i’ve answered.

i would just like to point out that i have never said that people can’t dislike yennefer. i keep stating that people can and do have valid reasons for disliking yennefer. and i am specifically addressing the treatment of show yennefer, who is a woman of colour, and i am addressing the fact that there is very often unconscious prejudice manifesting behind that dislike, as a result of society and media being white-dominated, and as a result of systemic racism. it is a real thing that affects the way we interact with fandom and engage with media. i think you’re missing the point of my post, but thank you for taking the time to justify your dislike of yennefer to me.

#asks #fandom racism #yennefer

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ourrightside · 4 years

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10 Reasons Why Carrie Bradshaw Wasn’t THAT Bad...

Sex and the City is the most elite series I’ve ever watched - and I was so excited to purchase the first season when I turned 18.

I would listen to my mom and my sister gossip about the show when I was younger and feel so left out. But, my mom would refuse to let me watch it until I became an adult. Thank god.

Being an avid fan now, I sometimes scan through Sex and the City articles on the net, and can’t help but notice dozens of articles filled with ‘Carrie’ slander - which kind of makes me nervous.

Although it was true that years ago girls were labeling themselves as the ‘Carrie’, ‘Samantha’ and ‘Charlotte’ of the group - the serious and less glamorous friend got stuck with being a ‘Miranda’; it is kind of an insult now to be deemed as a Carrie.

As we all matured, we realized that being a Miranda is amazing and we should all strive to be just as successful - but Carrie Bradshaw is still a valid character and I’m here to prove why the “sexual anthropologist” is not all that bad.

Now before I dive into why I totally get Carrie Bradshaw, I would just like to point out before hand that I am aware that she is just a fictional character and hopefully you are too. If you are not informed, then I apologize for this harsh revelation. However, let’s continue.

1. She was average looking

While we can all agree that her physique only gets stronger and leaner throughout the series, she was still not exactly perfect looking. Despite her fit body, she was not model like or necessarily tall. She did not have a perfect nose. She did not have the biggest ‘lady parts’. She did not have the plumiest lips. She did not have perfect facial symmetry.

But, she was okay with it. And has mentioned that by the age of 30, she was over being uncomfortable with her looks and decided to move on.

Despite constantly bumping into models and having to accept that men can be total “modelizers” - especially in the capital of the world aka manhattan, she chose to embrace her natural beauty, which in turn has allowed her to walk the runway in her underwear.

2. She was selfish

Yes, the new trend is to be selfish and say no - because that is ‘self love’.

If that truly is the case, then there was no denying then that Carrie was selfish throughout the series.

As human beings, we are selfish by nature. But since we now identify ourselves in societies with expected norms and values, being selfish disqualifies you sometimes from your environment. To avoid being lonely, we try to let go of being selfish or at least hide our selfish traits.

Unfruitfully so, our selfish instincts at times fail us - exposing our true colors. And whenever that happens, people aren’t too afraid of pointing out what you did wrong. It doesn’t make us necessarily evil, just makes us human.

To avoid being Freudian in this post, let’s just sum up that Carrie is harmlessly selfish at times - that includes being late to every event, asking her friend Susan Sharon if she could trade in her cashmere sweater birthday gift for cash, accepting a pair of 600$ shoes from her other super rich friend, and cutting off Charlotte’s possible infertility problem discussion to talk about her Manolos.

The list goes on, I mean - this is just classic Bradshaw behavior. However, this character cannot be deemed as bad. She was just under the spotlight, and if we were under it too, we would find out that we do have these moments as well without realizing it. We are not perfect. However, Carrie does reflect on her mistakes often, which is something we should be doing more.

Sometimes, her selfish tendencies can really get out of hand.

It was not okay when she got angry at Charlotte who did not offer to lend her money after she blew it all off on Manolo Blahnik shoes instead of rent. It was not okay when she threw away Aiden down the drain. It was not okay when she slept with a married man, even if it was ‘Mr. Big’.

We cannot shame her though because we all have hidden skeletons in our closets...it’s up to you however to peak in and see which faults make it or break it for you.

3. She was a working woman

No offense to chastity ball princess Charlotte, who wanted to be a housewife to any rich man who crossed path with her, Carrie Bradshaw was by all means an ‘all star’ business woman. Despite being unconventional unlike Samantha Jones (PR executive) and Miranda Hobbes (Harvard-graduate Lawyer), Carrie Bradshaw was a restless woman that worked in multiple fields all at once despite being so undermined.

She had so many tasks to tackle all at once while juggling multiple projects. She ran around between the fields of Journalism, Content Marketing and Public Relations. She was able to get invited into all the ‘fabulous’ events and meetings because of the hard work she invested in all by herself as a freelancer who lived in a huge place like New York. Carrie finally reached her goal at the age of 40, which was working at Vogue. She even wrote multiple books as well.

4. She was unconventional

Despite the show running in the early 90s, Carrie Bradshaw decided to be a sex columnist. She never gave up on her weird unconventional job and was proud of her career despite the looks or comments people would make. She had a weird exterior in addition to how upfront she was about the physical makings of life.

In addition, Carrie did not believe in marriage until she became a fiancée at the age of 40. She traded in a ring for a pair of shoes and a walk-in closet, unlike most women, who would rather get married in their mid 20 to early 30s with a huge rock on their finger.

5. She was struggling at adulting

Carrie Bradshaw had a deluded concept of adulting that at least most of us had or still struggle with. She was not a healthy adult with financial stability and a well thought out regime. However, she still managed to be fabulous.

She had poor dieting habits, which made her sometimes skip dinner to buy Vogue instead. She believed that shopping and gossiping were the best types of cardio. She was not the cleanest and had a messy apartment at most times. She did not care about the way her living space looked like, which she later on freaked out about in fear of being judged as an imperfect adult according to Mr Big. She paid so much on shoes that she could no longer afford her rent. She believed that investments must be seen in her closet. She drank at least six dollars worth of coffee per day. She would smoke and drink way too much for a thirty year old woman.

6. She was a good friend

Carrie Bradshaw had so many friends that it almost put her PR bestie Samantha to shame. To be honest, Carrie may have not been a perfect friend, but she was as good as it gets realistically.

What made her so realistic in her friendships was her ability to be there for most of her friends’ hardships. She had her ups and downs with her empowered female group because sometimes they would feel like she was too problematic and vice versa. For the most part, it is impossible to be as passionate to your friends as you once were the first time you guys met. But what makes a friend a good one is that they never voluntarily try to find excuses to leave you behind.

Carrie’s love towards her friends in her good and bad times showed that she valued them like family.

7. She was lost

Carrie was probably more lost than she would have liked to be. She had a tendency to dwell on what should have been and could have been. We all have regrets and sometimes she voiced hers out more than other characters within the show. She would sometimes yearn over the years that passed by her. She even went to extremes such as dating a college boy just to remember what it was like to ‘just kiss’. Rookie Mistake, Carrie.

Just like Carrie, as time goes by at any age, we look back at the spur of events that created our timeline and take note sometimes of which events we deem as either life-changing, traumatizing or both.

8. She was experimental

She may not have been as promiscuous as her friend Samantha, but she was unarguably adventurous in all aspects of her life. Although the most obvious aspect may have been her outfits, her wild colors and funny textural accessories were just a preview on how eccentric Carrie Bradshaw truly was. She mentioned that her younger years were a genuine pursuit of fun in every shape or form, which most twenty-something-year-olds cannot deny.

She emphasized that she fears living life as a cautious person because of the hurt she has endured. However, she truly defined throughout the show what it means to be eccentric, empowering the ones who fail the experiments of life to get back on their feet.

9. She was flawed

Carrie Bradshaw believed in the glass half full rather than half empty throughout the series. Despite being unbearably flawed to the point where her friends no longer wanted to listen to her problems, she decided to see a shrink which is something that would have been especially socially-unacceptable in the 90s. Carrie still overcame her mental issues and found other remedies which in turn has led her into accepting the way things played out.

As we grow up, we, like Carrie, need a little bit of help in order to realize that temporary issues will fade away into lessons and the permanent ones that are out of our control can be accessorized into our lives accordingly to the way that we want it to look like.

10. She was in love

Her love towards Mr Big was illogical - almost completely insane. But what made her character so special was the fact that she never continued her relationship with Aiden because she knew deep down that it was Mr Big all along and never gave up on it; despite all the signs that kept telling her that he was bad for her. He was at the time indeed bad news, which made her feelings towards him fluctuate between love and hate.

Now, the psychology behind her and Mr Big does not justify why you should call your ex right now so put your phone down, but it is something to think about.

Carrie took the road not taken for most women, especially during the 90s where gender roles in love where still a bit rigid. While it is true that it is always easier to date lovers who make the effort to chase you rather than pursuing it yourself, the easiness does not create the ‘fairytale love’ that most of us strive for.

Carrie once described her love towards him as a crash rather than a crush. But if something deep down is telling you that someone is your person, shouldn’t that account for something? Shouldn’t we all just go for ‘ ridiculous, inconvenient, time-consuming can’t-live-without-each-other love’, and get it right just like she did?

- Nina xx (yasminasayyid)

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silverbastardgoldenfool · 5 years

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Realm of the Elderlings Ask Meme Thing

Created by @hermitknut and brought back by @elderling-magic

Thanks @blackandwhitemotley for tagging me :) this is gonna be unnecessarily long because I’m a messy bitch with too many feelings and not enough brain cells

Favourite RotE Book: God it’s impossible to choose properly so let’s just go with the one that always gives me flashbacks when I see it on my bookshelf: Golden Fool

Why: I was already deeply obsessed at this point and had laughed, cried and panicked countless times throughout the series BUT Golden Fool stands out because of the Fitz/Fool confrontation which all but gave me a panic attack. Sure, I’ve been overly invested in book characters my whole life but the fact I was like physically fuckin sweating just because these guys were having a verbal fight, which had nothing to do with the actual plot, is fuckin wild my dude. Also despite my distress I was thrilled in a way because I never expected Robin to address the homoerotic tension in the actual text - and I was even more impressed that she makes the Fool the winner in this fight. You feel for him (ouch!!!!!!!!) but he gets the last word and the whole time you’re on his side and wishing Fitz would just keep his goddamn mouth shut (unless he’s gonna use it to kiss the Fool). She makes you empathise with the Fool without compromising his dignity, without making him a pathetic pining gay stereotype. He is hurt, he is human, but Fitz is the fool in this exchange (forgive the unintentional pun). It’s crazy how this one scene defines this whole huge book for me but it overwhelmingly does. Man it fucked me up.

Top Three Favourite Characters: I’m excluding Fitz, the Fool and Nighteyes cos that’s just a given honestly and there are too many incredible characters to choose from. Also I’m going to choose three characters I think are exceptional on a technical level since that’s the easiest way for me to pick a few out.

1. Burrich - Forever fascinating to me because I disagree with him probably more often than not AND YET I love him so much. It’s seriously like I have the same relationship with him that Fitz does - and/or the same relationship many of us have with father figures. That weird thing where you can fundamentally disagree on some pretty important stuff, and he makes a lot of mistakes and probably irrevocably fucked you up in a lot of ways but you can’t help but love him because you know he’s not doing anything from a place of malice or pettiness or selfishness. He simply knows what he believes and is righteous to a fault. He’s always doing his best - whatever that looks like to him. There are so many things he says or does that make me amazed that I don’t hate him. I think in another series he is the kind of character I would hate. The fact that Robin makes me love him - and conflicted about that love - is a marvel.

2. Malta - I won’t harp on about this too much because we all know the deal. Malta’s early POVs were a tween nightmare. I had to skim them because they were so viscerally irritating. I guess it’s a huge testament to the writing that it really did feel like you were stuck in a tween girl’s head; the problem is that is the worst hell imaginable. It’s an even greater testament to the writing that, through some of the most masterful character development I have ever witnessed, you actually end up loving this girl.

3. Kennit - He’s such a monster that I hate actually saying he’s one of my favourite characters but it’s true. Especially from a writing perspective; it’s fucking witchcraft how Robin has you judging everyone around Kennit for falling for his charms even while you are in some way charmed by him. He’s intelligent, charismatic, enigmatic. You know he’s not a good person yet you enjoy spending time with him, you’re kind of rooting for him just because he’s interesting and you want to see what he’s going to do next. You even know - the narration straight up tells you - that most of his successes are down to pure dumb luck yet we still kind of buy into this persona of his. Absolutely brilliant writing. Not to mention his backstory, which is so tragic and compelling, and manages to explain his actions without excusing them. Without a doubt one of my top five favourite villains of all time.

Top Three Least Favourite Characters: Okay so again going for the writing angle; characters I just felt weren’t handled all that well on a technical level. Keep in mind that this is suuuuuper subjective. Also I can only think of two.

1. Molly - I’ve seen a lot of people assume that people who dislike her feel that way because she “gets in the way” of Fitz/Fool but that’s not true for me. I’ll try and keep this shortish because I have way too many feelings about this topic lol. Having read the whole series I wouldn’t change anything, but for a long time I really felt like the story would have been better if she wasn’t in it, or especially if she had not come back after Assassin’s Quest. Maybe that’s harsh, but I honestly just generally dislike the whole “first love, last love” trope (and in my personal experience have found it v toxic). I never found her character particularly engaging, but by the end of Farseer I had made my peace with her role in Fitz’s story; the way I saw it, she represented the life Fitz wanted but could never have. Of course you could argue then that it makes sense for Fitz to get her back once he is allowed to have a window of normal life - and that would be true EXCEPT the whole reason I saw her as a symbol and not a real love interest was because their relationship was TERRIBLE. It was seriously toxic and literally based on lies. I really felt what would have been healthy for Fitz at the end of Tawny Man would have been to find peace in realising that Molly was his past, not his future, and that what they’d had was teenage lust and not the stuff of soulmates. I don’t like the implication that Fitz was right to idealise this tumultuous, dishonest, immature relationship he had as a teenager all these years. Honestly this is why I was FURIOUS when I finished Fool’s Fate lol, even though I knew this wasn’t the ultimate ending. Now that I know where Robin went with this and that Fitz wasn’t really fulfilled in his life with Molly I don’t mind it as much but I still don’t love it. There was never enough of an honest, genuine, selfless connection established between the two of them for it to feel like anything other than an unhealthy fixation that Fitz projected all his unattainable fantasies onto. He never seemed to see Molly as a fully realised person which made it hard for me to do so. Also seriously, if I had been pining after my high school fling for the last ten years everyone would agree that the best thing for me would be to move on, not get back together with them. I’m not saying Fitz didn’t deserve his little bracket of peaceful years, but it just didn’t have to be with Molly. Sometimes not getting what you thought you wanted is the happy ending - I guess it’s just really jarring in a series that’s generally so subversive to get a standard fantasy trope like this. I really truly was shocked when Fitz got his feelings back from the stone dragon and his realisation was not “Molly is kind of just a girl I used to know a long time ago and our paths have long since diverged” but “yes no actually that girl I haven’t talked to in over a decade is my soulmate” like, wig in the worst way. ALSO SHE WAS FUCKING HIS DAD ALL THAT TIME. SHE BORE HIS DAD CHILDREN. HIS DAD HAD TO DIE SO THEY COULD BE TOGETHER. BRUH. Seriously it did feel like Burrich was sacrificed solely so these two little shits could get back together, and again, that was so infuriating and so not like these books. This and Burrich not being canonically in love w Chivalry are the only two points I actually get riled up about from a writing/critical perspective lol, every other flaw and quirk in this series I will absolutely pardon but for some reason these just get to me dude.

2. Starling - Promise this one is simpler lol. I always found Starling quite irritating “as a person” but didn’t mind her as a character. What I didn’t love was the way her lifestyle (promiscuity, independence, nomadic etc.) was kind of justified when it didn’t need to be, with the typical explanation that she’s only like this because she can’t have kids. It just felt really unnecessary, and it was even worse when she did get pregnant and basically just became a completely different person. But I’m generally touchy when it comes to female characters and fertility/pregnancy storylines as I just feel like they’re rarely done well. And I just really don’t like it when infertility is implied as a justification for character traits (usually traditionally male traits) that don’t need justifying.

Favourite Ship (of the floating kind): Paragon of course, we love a problematic fave.

Top Three Favourite Ships (of the people kind): Fitz/Fool, Sedric/Carson, Althea/Brashen (the only heteros whomst deserve rights)

Would you rather be Witted or Skilled: Honestly wouldn’t want either but if I had to choose I guess the Wit? I’d much rather be inside an animal’s head than another human’s no thanks bb

If you were Witted, what animal would you bond with?: If I’m still living in my current situation in this hypothetical then I guess a house cat. If I really get to go wild then I am absolutely bonding with a big cat, like a tiger or a panther IMAGINE THE SNUGGLES.

Would you rather live in the Outislands, the Mountain Kingdom, the Six Duchies, Bingtown, the Rain Wilds, Kelsingra, Jamaillia, the Pirate Isles, or Fool’s Homeland?: Dude I am so bad at visualising locations so idk lol, I guess queer utopia Kelsingra although obviously it has its drawbacks.

How were you introduced to the books? My mum had been telling me for years that if I liked A Song of Ice and Fire I would like Realm of the Elderlings. I was putting it off because there are so many books and I also knew how much she loved them so I was worried I wouldn’t like them and she’d be let down. But I eventually got so close to rereading ASOIAF (which I swore I wouldn’t do til Winds of Winter is released) that I decided to finally give RotE a go in its stead.

Share a quote you love: I don’t have a book on me rn but that part in Fool’s Errand when Fitz is talking about how the Fool has wandered into the place he’s been living for years and immediately, effortlessly made it a home is TENDERNESS BEYOND COMPARE ARE YOU KIDDING.

Tagging: if you see this and haven’t done it yet, consider yourself tagged!

Take the thing, copy and paste it into your own post, tag it “elderlings” and then tag as many people as you can that you know in the fandom.

#rote #Realm of the Elderlings #robin hobb

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roxannepolice · 6 years

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Rey of Jakku – The Heroine of Our Time

I have a confession to make. Back in the pre-TLJ times I was a very naive Star Wars viewer. I was so blind I can’t believe I’m writing a Baudrillard-inspired meta on it now. And yes, that means I thought Rey will have a celibate hero’s journey. Partly because as a 5 year old I had a platonic crush on Luke and wanted to be like him, so Rey seemed like an excellent self-insert for that girl. I’ll say more, I believed in ReySky. I was even pointing out that Daisy Ridley has a similar face shape as Natalie Portman. But please don’t be harsh with me, I rooted for bendemption from day one. Anyway, foolish me...

Because it should have been obvious that Rey has a heroine’s journey from TFA, even if it was a good simulacrum of Luke’s hero’s journey at first. From the first, she’s running around doing the equivalent of slaying monsters in hero’s journey – breathing life back into everything, from the Millenium Falcon, through HanLeia’s marriage, Luke’s legend, to decimated Resistance and Kylo Ben’s pectorals in the future. I could talk for hours about Rey, the heroine for the third wave of feminism, one giving value to traditionally feminine traits rather than letting women be men and the very fact that hers is a heroine’s journey shows collective unconscious is far from being infertile.

But it was Rey Nobody that truly had my cultural sociologist’s heart. Because this here, this person who comes from nothing, is nothing, has no place in the history – that’s the heroine of our postmodernist times.

One of the most frequently pointed out differences between postmodernity and modernity is freedom from social structures the former gives. We are no longer predetermined by our birth, gender, skin colour, religion, nation, we can chose whatever we want to be (that is, this here is an “ideal state” of postmodernity, obviously things aren’t so rosy and there’s a strong pull against that freedom now... that I’m about to touch upon). Now, that freedom is a great thing. But it didn’t come without a price. That freedom is a responsibility. We are fully responsible for of our lives, there is no given answer to our questions, we must determine who we are. There are so many options available, we can’t even decide where to start trying them.

We’re nothing. We have no place in the story predetermined by our parents. There is no axis mundi, nothing we can take for granted about our lives, no elders to arrange our marriage, no family business to inherit, no culture to be proud of, no religion to tell us right from wrong. Now, as I said, this is the “ideal” postmodernity, or I would even say “radical” postmodernity, not necessarily visible yet. This leads to the order of simulacra, which deny the existence of meaning. Marriage is just a business arrangement (something something patriarchalism something something), religion is just fairy tales (opium something something masses), culture just an illusion. All that matters is the tangible here and now. Try to make it fun.

Simulacra are tempting. They give you all the wisdom of nonexistence of answers. They’re an empty throne waiting for you to kill your meaning and grasp it. Or impressively pectoraled galactic emperor stretching his hand out to you asking you to abandon your fake hopes and accept him for a person you fell in love with. That’s all there is to love, you know.

But the meaning rebels. People do fall in love (in all gender combinations) and if there’s an institution making life of people who want to live together easier, what’s wrong with it? People need moral guidance, and if there are thought systems providing it, what’s wrong with them provided they do actually provide moral guidance? Yes, a painting is an illusion created by colour patches – an esthetical experience is not.

Just as Rey isn’t nobody. She has her moral sense, people and ideals she cares about, her abilities (force related and other) – and that’s what will define her place in the story. Just as there is an answer to “who am I” more and more people ask themselves in a world undefined by birth.

Post-TFA expectations regarding Rey are excellent cases for the study of postmodernist collective unconscious. There is of course the one saying she can’t fall in love because she’s a strong female character in a saga about family. Now, this does make sense if you believe marriage is an instrument of patriarchal domination over women – which it undeniably has been used as – and not a bond between people allowing them to form, you know, families. On the other hand, compulsive clinging to ReySky, Kenobi or whatever – and I say compulsive clinging, because that’s what it is for many people – well, that’s the expression of ontological insecurity postmodernity gives people. In so many uncertainties it’s difficult to find or create some stable island on which to build our microcosms. Simulacra and fundamentalisms offer the simplest answers in this dire situation.

Simulacra are temptingly easy, but so is curling up in misunderstood structures to be defended at all costs. That’s the jedi tree if you like. There was nothing wrong with that tree, but Luke cared more about the tree than actually reading and thinking about the sacred texts. And so the tree had to burn to reveal its own emptiness. That’s Luke lying about the dolorous night, because how could Rey (and more importantly he) possibly reconcile the truth with the ideal? Rey didn’t seem to have a problem with reconciling them, Luke eventually did so too, but dudebros seem to have a hard time six months later.

The most difficult questions (ones concerning identity and morality) aren’t simply called difficult only are difficult because the answer is neither set in stone nor nonexistent.

Now, it is important to note that Rey herself build her world on a lie. Worse, she built her world on denial, which is a difference between her and Luke in ot, who was told a lie about his father and had no reason to believe otherwise. Making compulsive denial an axis mundi isn’t a good idea, it’s not finding a meaning, it’s taking a symbol and projecting upon it your desired meaning. Many people think, more, the junior novelization says (I’d argue the junior novelization has a habit of jumping between objective all knowing and subjective unreliable narrators), that Rey kept up hope for her parents, but I’d say it wasn’t hope. It was fear. Hope would be if she sought every way to get out of Jakku and search for informations about them. Fear was staying on Jakku knowing the informations are nothing she wants to hear. And axis mundi of denial can be easily destroyed, taking the whole world along with it. I know it could be argued that all that matters are the results, but that’s denial of importance of ideals, whose influence on our lives isn’t only on the practical level. Rey is truly an unbelievably strong person to not crumble down immediately, but she also had no time to reflect over the situation. The audience had. And judging by their reactions I make a prediction that....

Rey’s parents will return

I hope that had the trolling impact I intended.

What I mean is that their subject will return. To drop it now would be to deny the harm they did to Rey’s psyche, even if she patched the wound up. More exactly, the subject of her belonging will return. Rey’s current stance was built on a lie and so far nothing good resulted out of building worlds on lies in the GFFA: all the far reaching consequences of denying that Anakin Skywalker and Darth Vader were one person are the best example. The destruction of Rey’s axis mundi may have, I think, three resolutions:

a symbolic one. Ritualistic if you like. She can simply return to Jakku, find their graves and yell at them, even if ending on a forgiving note. Influence of symbols and rituals is not to be denied. She admits she lied to herself, they were garbage and wasted 19 years of her life. But admits it out loud. That could be it. In fact, that would be the healthiest thing to do, just as a projection to fight was the healthiest thing Luke could offer Ben. But t’is a space drama, healthy things are rarely the most exciting ones to happen. So

she rejects all belonging, particularly the familial one with Ben. That’s what I think the more “feminist” viewers believe she did at the end of TLJ. She held out fake hope twice, once towards her parents and a second time towards Ben, she got burnt both times, now she’ll know better. The rub in this take is of course thinking what Rey held out towards her parents was hope – as I pointed out, it was fear. One could argue she went to Ben out of fear, too – because she was afraid of being the protagonist of her own story. And it’s true, but it’s also a rethorical manoeuvre because fear of being a protagonist and hope for him are two separate things and she felt them both. And remember what I said about simulacra being as tempting as an empty throne? Because doing so she would act exactly like Kylo Ben, run away from her problems rather than face them (TBH, this is what I think she wants to do right now, judging by aggressively wanting to be alone with the jedi texts in the Poe comics. And it’s understandable, but she can’t keep on doing so for two years with no consequences.) A more extreme parallel to his mistake would be that

she is offered a fake belonging. And accepts it. Trauma is severe, she’ll accept anything to be free of the pain. That’s frankly speaking what I consider the likeliest scenario or at least the most dramatic. Twice had she resisted a temptation and chosen hope (not selling BB-8, yes it was a decision of hope what other reason did she have to believe BB-8’s owner will appear?, and not accepting Kylo Ben as he is now), third time she’ll fall. This would be especially poetic if paired with Kylo Ben who twice gave in to the temptation and chosen despair (assuming Luke would actually kill him and grasping power to destroy his past; I wouldn’t include killing Han here because then he was tempted but by hope), choosing hope the third time, probably after coup. That’s where I see dark!Rey happening. I can’t shake this feeling that with all the prime jedi and yin yang symbolisms happening in this trilogy Rey and Ben as avatars of light and dark side are heading for something like two massive powers gravitating towards each other at speed so great that upon collision they first exchange places on a small amplitude before coalescing *cough* in the middle. And what would that fake belonging be? Well, Resistance. This is what so much of audience believes right now, that she has found her belonging there, more, that she should accept that as her right belonging, that it seems possible to me that with pushing the simulacra until meaning rebels going on in this trilogy, this is what Rey will try to do. But the Resistance are now just simulacrum of the good guys, and should they not live up to the symbol, they will take her along with them.

I probably shouldn’t enjoy the angst so much

I would argue that most viewers get an intuitive understanding that something is yet to emerge regarding Rey’s parents, because something in us rebels at the thought that Disney-LF would basically say “when in doubt, kids – lie to yourselves! just remember to make it a pleasant lie and you’re all gonna end up just fine”. So the first inclination is to believe Rey’s fears will turn out to be wrong hopes will turn out to be right – her parents were in fact awesome people and Kylo Ben is either lying or misunderstood what he saw in her memories. The former makes little sense because takes away from Rey her narrative power of a postmodern heroine with no preestablished position. The former – because it takes away the terrible disambiguation of truth embodied by Kylo Ben.

#rey #rey of jakku #star wars #heroine's journey #postmodernity #reylo

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stag-garden · 7 years

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MOOGLE’S BACK, AND IT’S TIME TO KICK SOME OC ASS. LET US RETURN THIS BLOG TO ITS FORMAL GLORY, AND PERHAPS PEOPLE WILL BE WILLING TO GIVE THE ACTUALLY REVIEWS NOTES INSTEAD OF THE SHITPOSTS. LET’S FUCKIN GO.

AS I PROMISED, THIS IS PART 1 OF A FINAL FANTASY XV OC REVIEW, SO WITHOUT FURTHER A DO LET’S GIDDILY GO.

Hi Yes, a profile of my Final Fantasy XV OC, Andrea Lucis Caelum! (Who is, as I’m sure you’ll tell me, not at all related to Noctis Lucis Caelum or his family line in any way!)

(Right?)

NamedHerAfterMyPrimarySchoolClassmateAndExHeadPrefectOfMyBatchcoughSheGaveHerConsentOkay=-= (English, PLEASE.)

This will be a draft of her profile, so please tell me how to improve! (That’s what I’m here for, buddy-boy.) Biological Info:

Name: Andrea Lucis Caelum (Please, dear god, don’t be the Lucis Caelum we’re all thinking of. Please.)

Nickname(s) or Alias: Drea, Rea, Braveria (Who the fuck calls you Braveria, and why? Is it because you’re supposed to be brave? If so, that’s just stupid. I’m honestly so confused.)

Age: 21 (Old enough to smoke the drugs and be cool)

Gender: Female

Weight: 52kg (About 115 lbs.)

Place of Birth: Insomnia, Lucis (That’s just more evidence going towards your true cancerous nature. I really don’t want to have to shoot you.)

Height: 175cm (5′7″ tall, meaning she’s a solid 10 lbs. underweight. Side effects may include weakened immune system, hair loss, infertility, fucked up hormones, and menstrual complications. Eat a fucking meal for once.)

Position: Oldest Princess of Lucis, ??? (secret x3) (Are you saying that the fact that she’s the “oldest princess of Lucis” is a secret, or that she has some other occupation that is a secret? Because both situations sound fucking awful.)

Family Ability: Ability to absorb elements for spells (Fuck no. Jesus Christ, no no no. This isn’t true, you’re not in the royal family, you didn’t really write this.)

Personality: Quiet, reserved, serious, slightly pessimistic, motherly, confident (at times) (The traits quiet, reserved, and serious wouldn’t match up with a motherly character at all.)

Speaking Style: Serious, slightly monotone, deep

English Voice Actor: (???)

Japanese Voice Actor: Rina Satou (I’m gonna guess that he 2 hours of Final Fantasy XV that you did play, you played in Japanese, you weeaboo shitstain.)

Battle Condition Info:

Weapons: Normal Spear, Spear of the Sister, Ring of the Sister

Main Weapons: Spear, Spear of the Sister, Ring of the Sister (None of these are actual weapons by the way, the creator just pulled these out of their ass to try to make their character sound more interesting somehow. In reality, it just highlights how bad it is.)

Elements: Fire, Ice, Lightning (Should you also be able to absorb light and dark as well, or would that be too OP for you?)

(/s)

Favoured element: Ice

Favoured Weapons: Spear, Spear of the Sister, Ring of the Sister (Alright now I just want some explanations. Why is it called the Ring of the Sister [other than the obvious reason of her being Noctis’ sister]? It doesn’t make any fucking sense.)

Combat Style: Strategy, instinct (at times) (HOW CAN YOU BE BOTH???)

Main hand: Right hand

Capabilities: She's able to move swiftly and stealthily to creep up on enemies to take them out. If her weapons are not being able to be used in combat (The grammar of that fragment was completely and entirely butchered, oh my god.), she either retreats, or engages in physical combat (I mean, if she’s swift and stealthy, wouldn’t it just be a good idea to scram?). She's average on physical combat, being able to throw punches and kicks with no problem (As are most people, lmao). However, her accuracy and speed are not that precise in physical combat, hence she would be very vulnerable if in physical combat, so usually she preferred to retreat when faced with no choice. (Take a shot every time you read the words ‘physical combat’) Usual Abilities:

Strength: 6/10

Defense: 4/10

Speed: 7/10

Strategy: 8/10

Magic: 5/10

(So what you’re trying to tell me that she has no real special strong point and she fuckin sucks. Got it.)

Weapons Capabilities:

Regular Spear: (What the hell defines as a regular spear, anyways?)

Strength: 7/10

Defense: 3/10

Speed: 5/10

Strategy: 8/10

Magic: 5/10

(This spear is almost as mediocre as you are.)

Spear of the Sister:

Strength: 8/10

Defense: 3/10

Speed: 5/10

Strategy: 7/10

Magic: 7/10

(Why do you weapons have a strategy stat? Do they talk? Are they doing the strategizing for you?)

Ring of the Sister:

Strength: 7/10

Defense: 1/10

Speed: 9/10

Strategy: 5/10

Magic: 9/10 Special/Unique Abilities: Ring of the Sister/Courage:The Ring of the Sister, commonly known as the Ring of Courage, is a special piece of jewelry owned by Andrea. When feeling worried, one has to concentrate magic and concentration for the ring to give them bravery, absorbed from the enemy, replacing their bravery with fear, at a cost of a small time period of the user losing most of their consciousness, usually 10 minutes to 5 hours. (That’s a very broad scale, is she okay???) Bravery will fill the fear of the user, for a day, giving them courage to face the dangers ahead. The Ring of the Sister offers a defensive shield for the user, commonly when summoned, at a cost of a small amount of their magic. (THE RING OF THE SISTER’S DEFENSIVE CAPABILITY IS LITERALLY A 1/10 LMAOOO) Spear of the Sister: The Spear of the Sister, is the weapon of the Seventh: The Angel. The Spear of the Sister is owned by the Angel. Upon receiving the Angel's blessing, the Spear of the Sister would be acquired. The Spear of the Sister boosts the bravery, patience, integrity, perseverance, and purity of the wielder, allowing them to be more swift in battle. However, by using the Spear of the Sister, 100 HP, 20 MP, and 2% self-control will be lost with each hit, preventing the weapon from being abused for its power. Self-control will only be lost if the user had evil intentions for the use of the weapon, deep down in their hearts. (That’s fucking stupid, if evil people lost their self-control with every hit, they’d be crazy by the time they hit a target 50 times. That wouldn’t preserve the weapon’s power from being abused, it would just make the now-insane user abuse it more.) Spear of the Sister also protects the wielder, if they are of a pure heart and mind, as wished of the Angel. Relationships: Family:

Regis Lucis Caelum (Father) (No, this is what I’ve feared all along.)

Bianca Prudentia Lucis Caelum (Mother) (xThundy) (This is another OC, and another reason for this OC to not exist.)

Noctis Lucis Caelum (Younger Brother) (No, no this is NOT allowed I WILL NOT tolerate this. Noctis is a pure boy who did nothing to deserve this relentless torture that you’ve given him.)

Serena Lucis Caelum (Younger Sister) (xThundy) (This is another OC that we’ll get to later.)

Lover: Ignis Scientia

Friends:

Lunafreya Nox Fleuret

Gentiana

Revis Nox Fleuret

Prompto Argentum

Gladious AmicitaIris Amicita

(Man, of fucking course, you’re friends with everyone, Jesus Christ.)

Enemies:The Empire, Ardyn Lucis Caelum Trivia: Hobbies: Drawing, Reading, Singing, Playing instruments, Dancing

(”Playing instruments”, how specific of you.)

Favourite Places: Galdin Quay, Tenebrae

Preferred Meal: Toasty Rice Balls, Veggie Medley Stew, Average Saving: 10 000 Gil

History: (COMING SOON) (More like “I was too lazy to write this while I was making the OC, but I eventually forgot to write it because I got too busy working on characters that were arguably worse.) Yeah hope you liked it! It took me 2 hours to write these omfg xwxThank you for taking time to read this! Her profile will be updated completely soon! Andrea Lucis Caelum: Ifse-Chan Serena Lucis Caelum and Bianca Lucis Caelum: xThundy Profile template: xThundy Respective Final Fantasy Characters belong to: Kazushige Nojima, Saori Itamuro, Akiko Ishibashi, Takumi NishidaOri: My own drawing (reference used), please do not steal! (Jesus fuck, people actually do this.) Boi! :3

Final Rating:

//Moogle

#FFXV #OC #give me the sweet release of death

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