#this doesn't mean the INDIVIDUAL CHARACTERS can't be more complicated necessarily

[antianakin]

I read your disagreement on this popular sentiment that "The Jedi Were Flawed" and I couldn't agree more with your disagreement. The Jedi are not the problem in the galaxy. It's everybody else: the Sith for plotting a revenge conspiracy for 1,000 years, the Republic for being plagued with corruption in which the Sith had a hand in (but not all Republic senators were corrupt), the Mandalorians for being warmongering a-holes, the Hutts and other crime syndicates who terrorize innocent people, the Separatists for making problems worse by starting a war with the Republic, the Empire for bringing tyranny upon the galaxy, and if you're an EU fan, the Yuuzhan Vong for starting an unprovoked war against the galaxy that causes the deaths of TRILLIONS of people!

That post came about almost as a reaction to pro Jedi people constantly talking about how OF COURSE the Jedi were flawed all the time and how annoying I find it more than anything else lol. It's very annoying to have to keep seeing posts by people who I know do LIKE the Jedi talking about how flawed they are, how they make mistakes, blah blah blah.

I've had people ask me why the sentiment of "the Jedi were flawed" can't co-exist with the sentiment of "the Jedi were RIGHT" or "the Jedi did nothing wrong" and, to me, it's not that they can't coexist in a more general sense, but they don't coexist NARRATIVELY to me. "The Jedi were flawed" is just a bullshit statement because the entire point of the narrative is that the Jedi were RIGHT. So what does it add to that particular theme and storyline to insist that the Jedi were flawed all the time, or that they made mistakes? How does it add to the message about being selfless and compassionate to insist that the characters who are in the story specifically to showcase why it's important to be selfless and compassionate are in fact also flawed and make mistakes?

It ALSO bothers me because the people who most often say it are the ones who mean "the Jedi were flawed" as "the Jedi deserved what they got" or "the Jedi were wrong the whole time" or "the Jedi should've changed their entire culture to accommodate one person" or "it was the Jedi's fault that everything bad in the galaxy happened." So when fans who LIKE the Jedi and don't actually believe any of that continue to insist "OF COURSE I believe the Jedi are flawed" it just smacks of desperation, of trying to appease these other fans who will never change their minds. Why bother trying to insist on a middle ground when what they mean by "the Jedi are flawed" is not the same as what a real Jedi fan means by it? What does it add to try to find a middle ground with someone whose interpretation is so completely the opposite of your own? Why bother?

So yeah. I never say the Jedi were flawed because I don't find it a particularly useful way to analyze the story or the Jedi's position within it. The Jedi were right, the Jedi are always right, and it's not honestly any more complicated than that.

[7ban-sama]

(I didn’t mean to insult your girlfriend I’m sorry 🙏) but I’ve thought about smthg… it’s so funny how parents in JSHK never care about their children

*chuffing* as long as you're sorry...

(for future reference: I don't really know how to engage in an ask saying 'I like [thing] more than [your favorite thing]'... I'd prefer it if instead we could talk about a subject on it's own, not in comparison to My Thing. I like Sumire plenty, she is quite pretty. But Nene is my favorite, like how all aspects of my ship are my favorite thing in this manga, & I don't really get anything from hearing about preferences that I don't have, stated at me — there's not really a 'discussion' to be had... bc there's not even a question being posed..? Anyways, hope that illuminates something.)

Oh you know, it's funny, I moreso get the impression that Iro-sensei isn't really interested in parents as characters... so we don't really get many instances of them being incredible caretakers. We definitely have a skew of, various cases of neglect, or (as I suspect for Teru's upbringing) physical abuse — but I wouldn't say that all of the parents are deadbeats lol.

I assume that Nene's home life is perfectly fine, as it doesn't seem to trouble her at all. Her parents are by her side on her first day of middle school (unlike the Yugi or Minamoto, more fraught cases) and Nene seems to be able to pursue her own hobbies, fill her room with things she likes, etc. It's not that owning lots of things means that parents are good, but combined with Nene showing no notable distress about home life, I think it's indicative of them being willing to accommodate her personal tastes. Mommy and daddy will buy you ghoul toys, give you shopping money to buy cute clothes, let you stay out after school and go to Tanabata, so on and so forth. I think of Nene's parents as loving in a... neutral? Way? I don't think they are going above and beyond for her, necessarily, but she seems to have had a normal childhood and expects nothing from them. I'm not sure if there's even any expectations on her wrt future careers. Which imo, would be to purposefully contrast the Yugi, who likely had a strenuous home life alongside expectations for Amane's impending science-focused future.

Ahh, I believe her, you know. It's her distinct swag. Normal girl swag. She has been a normal girl living a normal life until she meets Amane...

Nene's problems lie in her peer-to-peer relationships. She's not able to make many friends, and is seen as weird and eccentric. A bit homely, not alluring, which means her chances at romance are slim... Which troubles her, because she's romance obsessed and really really wants to be in a relationship. I always ah, think it says a lot, that Nene's fear manifested in the Hell of Mirrors is everyone laughing at her about how she is unattractive and no one will ever want her. That's... simply her greatest concern in life... Being attractive enough... Yk I really feel for her though, I know a lot of people would see it as shallow, but I respect that this is just how she is. She can't, ignore it-!! But yk, I also love the fact that Nene doesn't seem to think very hard about her family... It's interesting, because she's otherwise a considerate girl, who cares when innocent people are in harm's way. But ah... she still doesn't factor in her parents' misery at the thought of her never returning from the Far Shore? This decision is so interesting. While fraught families can leave characters with lasting complications, which we can explore deeply... I also am very interested in when an individual has 'no reason' to resent their family — and they don't! — but they also do not seem to care deeply about them. When push comes to shove, Nene is willing to sacrifice everything she has for Amane... which is, in reality, what really sets her apart. Her romanticism goes beyond what a 'normal person' would do.

It is, in reality, easier to leave people who have been cruel to you, than people who have never really done you wrong, because they don't 'deserve' that. Nene is an only child, what if she is valued and loved by her parents...? What if she's their pride and joy, what if she makes them very proud? Well, it just deosn't matter, anyways. Which is selfish, in a way... but I like that. It doesn't matter if you should care about your parents hard work. What if you just, don't-? In Bakeneko Ryokan, Nene is a fancy, extravagant breed of cat, and her owner clearly loved her, enough to name her 'Pretty-chan', enough to put out a flyer to find her after she went missing. But, ehm, Nene simply left... in search of hot guys, to fawn over her...... I think this probably sums up what's going on in canon lol. Loved child, but ultimately this can't take up space in her heart.

Moving on from Nene... Mitsuba's mom seems like a well-meaning woman, as well. I actually would bank on her being more thoughtful than Nene's parents, bc she at least was invested actively in Mitsuba's hobbies, and she was concerned about his friendlessness... They seem to have 'hung out' more. (Makes sense... if Mits had no friends ww...) And, perhaps Kou's mom was a caring sort (? more ambiguous though, he loved her but was very young, and the Minamoto family is complicated.) And then there's a point where, idk if we have enough information to really make a call about anyone, like. What are Akane's parents like...? Honestly, I'd assume neutral again, not terrible but not amazing, not note-worthy. I think a lot of things go into this category...

I just don't get the impression Iro-sensei really wants to linger on anything they don't have to, it really needs to be plot-relevant. Whiiich.... imo makes sense... bc Iro also seems to gravitate to young characters — sooner going to write out complex interactions happening between, 8yos, rather than full fledged adults. Since I also like young characters and dgaf about parents, I kinda get it lol. Parents are often like, something you need to figure out in a clinical sense. Often times I handwave things like, ehh they're just normal people who are fine with their kid but more hands off or whatever, etc etc, let's move on.

Maybe it's also bound to happen when you mostly care about writing romance... *strokes my chin* Which, again, same, relate. You don't really want to linger on platonic dynamics tooooo longgg.... Boring.

So yeah. I think of it more of a matter of preference and how much time is allotted to things in the story, not necessarily that all parents are supposed to suck. I think it is supposed to be distinct when someone has OK parents.

[tricewithaz]

THOTS ON SHADOW AND BONE

Hello everyone! it is I, Trice, and i come with my thoughts on the Shadow and Bone show cause ive got many

I'm gonna divide this in what i liked, what i disliked, and what i think could have been better but didn't really bother me. Feel free to send your opinions too!

As a whole, I really liked the show and I think it's a great adaptation that both fans and newcomers will enjoy. It's super well done! and every episode had me glued to the tv even though I knew what was going to happen.

Beware this is long

To start,

What i liked

Mal and Alina

I never really liked Mal in the books, mainly cause he had like, nothing going on for him, and not having his pov made him no favors whatsoever. Alina's perception of him was everychanging, two factors that didn't make him unlikeable necessarily, but that made me not want to read about him. In the show he's way more likeable and even though he still doesn't have a lot going on for him, you can see that he's always trying to protect alina, and you also see a bit of his demeanor through Archie's acting. I think he made a great job at portraying him. And Alina! Alina who in the books was essentially a y/n sort of character (although she did get better over time), her character, likes, dislikes, her DRIVE was incredibly portrayed in the show. Also Jessie (loml, marry me) and Archie have incredible chemistry together and they sold their yearning SO WELL (and so did the kid actors portraying them as children oh my GOD)...yall...i cried when they held hands. My favourite scene was definitely when Alina took care of Mal's wounds (a favorite trope of mine). And the HURT in their eyes whenever they thought the other was in danger....i saw the show dubbed but I'm sure their voices made it beyond incredible as well, their face acting was just on. point. Overall the show rEALLY makes me root for them both individually and together which is something the books didn't manage to do.

The Darkling

AAAAA i really enjoyed the Darkling omg, incredible charisma, Ben does such a great job (and so did his voice actor in Spanish oh my GOD). His acting was just as I imagined it in the books and i loved how he could be as sweet and mysterious as he could be menacing. In fact! i liked him more than i did in the book, and i think it was a great choice to make him more human. I'm not sure if this was Ben or the writing, but i could really see his yearning for an equal, for Alina, his loneliness and his thirst for power and control too. Great love interest, even greater villain. And his wardrobe was phenomenal. I also really liked how they implied that The Darkling was a name given by other people, it was very believable that people would call someone who literally controls shade something akin to "son of the dark" or something of the sort, instead of it being a name he gives himself or his job title (both if which are incredibly pathetic and cringy to think about).

Jesper

No comments. He was just great. I love Kit.

Nina

Omg Danielle did SUCH a great job at portraying Nina, it's exactly how i imagined her in Six of Crows.

Helnik

THE. YEARNING. THE. CHEMISTRY. I didn't love their scenes at the boat but once that was over I was practically screaming at the screen to jUST KISS ALREADY. Calahan and Daniell have such good chemistry together and the few changes they made only served the story better. I did wish they had development over more time cause Matthias' change of mind felt too quick, but i get why they had to rush. Because of how good their chemistry was, their fallout also was incredibly painful.

Inej's fear of the Menagerie and her morals

Amita's portrayal of Inej's hurt, devotion and her refusal to kill (and later hurt cause she has killed) is incredibly subtle but so SO effective. She's so talented really and truly sold Inej's feelings throughout the show.

VFX

Man.....the fold, the volcra, the grisha powers.....kudos to the animators and overall artistic team cause they were incredible. Also seeing the different title animations in each episode was such a tiny detail that made me so excited and they all looked so good.

Ketterdam

Again, kudos to the artistic team, everything about Ketterdam felt so alive (and weirdly moist), truly sold a kind of aesthetic and life that is so characteristic if the Barrel, even when i didn't imagine it that way in the books.

David

He appeared like, twice, and both times were so cute and charming I can't wait to see more of him both on his own and with Genya.

The Wardrobe

So, at first i hated the keftas. I thought the looked tacky and costume, but when you see them on screen they're just perfect (although i have to say the patterns on some of the keftas were kind of...cheap looking? and the training keftas were just kinda boring. My favourite was the Darkling's. Aside from that, i really liked Kaz's and inej's clothes too. Very distinctive and recognizable (although it was kind of weird seeing Inej in teal instead of purple lmao).

And the queen's dresses. Chefs kiss.

It's...so cheesy (affectionate)

The whole show felt like the kind of movies I would watch as a kid like Harry Potter and Pirates of the Caribbean. The writing was stylized enough to make it incredibly dramatic and overall there was just so much heart behind all of it. Definetely a show to watch again and again and feel all of it, cause that's what it being so cheesy managed, to make me actually feel for it. It feels like something to watch on a rainy afternoon after a bad day....it's great okay i really enjoyed it, even (specially) the most unbelievable parts of it. And here's the thing, it's something that i think a lot of newer tv and film have lost, so this is good.

What i didn't like

Zoya

Mostly cause of the writing. Originally, in the first book, i didn't like her, neither as a character (stereotypical mean girl with no other motivation than to bang the love interests....all three of them....what's new i still think it's an incredibly sexist trope) or a person (hey at least this was intentional), but over time i grew to LOVE her (mean girl turns out to have a good heart and actually respects the mc and decides to fight alongside her cause it's what's right, without necessarily liking her or giving up her character??? AND she has strong motivations??? now THAT'S new). In the show, i hoped they would keep her mean girl nature while foreshadowing her depth, but all they did was turn her into a petty seductress with barely any screentime, and that only makes her not even a bad antagonist but just a boring character to watch. Not only that but they took away a big part of her character that needed to be developed in the next books. I wanted to watch her rivalry with Alina, her unjustified venomous tongue too, I wanted to be entertained by her and I wasn't. This was also a problem cause when she finally changed teams, and when she hugged Alina, it was incredibly unsatisfying, it would have had a way stronger effect if we had seen her being Ruthless Zoya with a big ambition. I also didn't like how we were told that she didn't like alina, or that she had a family, instead of it being shown on screen. Just from the show, all i can tell you about her is that she likes to bang people and she has a good moral code i guess. Yall, I'm so petty about this.

Kaz

So, I didn't hate him, in fact i think I would have enjoyed him if I hadn't read the books first, cause the two things that bother me about him were two essential characteristics of him in the books. FIrstly, he seems so strained, instead of the seemingly laid back, almost chill looking (even though we know he's not chill at all) Kaz we see in the books, the Kaz that always knows something that you don't. Show Kaz doesn't seem to always be in control, to always have the last word, the last laugh. Instead he seems strained, all the damn time. And I think this is mainly a writing and directing issue. And he also seems weak, something Book Kaz would never do. This is also an issue cause because he doesn't have the same presence he has in the books, the times where he is weak, don't seem as effective. Sure, Pekka Rollins has essentially reduced him and humiliated him, but I haven't seen enough of Kaz being actually dangerous for this to be shocking and for Pekka to seem even more hateable (and, i really liked Pekka, loved him as an antagonist more than i did in the books). Idk, Kaz was so charismatic and just fun and engaging to read in the books that his portrayal in the show felt lacking.

Alina's power's VFX

The little suns were cute and all but the light coming from within her was just ugly I'm sorry.

SFX

A lot of the sound design was just too stylized for the tone of the show i think. I particularly remember the sound of Mal's punches....what's that about.

What i think could have been better, but didn't particularly dislike

The Crows' storyline

And i think part of this is a consequence of Kaz not being as witty as he was in the books. Where's the incredibly complicated heist moves? the even more unbelievable C and D plans when something goes wrong? I didn't like that them getting Alina was essentially just luck, cause i didn't see enough of them being smart and quick on their feet. I also think it was unnecessary to have their storyline mixed with Alina's, i would have enjoyed watching a different heist, maybe in Ravka as well, and them incidentally crossing paths with Alina, more than i liked this storyline. ironically enough, the heist was the part i was least interested in

Genya and Alina

I just feel like her relationship with Alina wasn't strong enough, and i think it's because the show tried to make us believe they were much closer than they were without spending the necessary time in them.

Overall, I really really enjoyed the show, i will be watching it again (particularly cause i want to watch it in English) and i cannot wait for the second season omg (although i have to say, I'm scared for Nikolai)

I think that's all! I would also love to read yall's opinions and have a conversation.

[bbq-hawks-wings]

Chapter 267 Review

So, there's a lot to get into this chapter that has absolutely nothing to do with Hawks but still has me

But we'll get to that, so let's go over the main plot, new/confirmed insights into Hawks' character/background, and finally insights into Dabi.

Main Plot

Key Observations:

Shiguraki's (not the PLF's) assets have been mobilized - Nomu, Gigantomachia, etc.

I point out Gigantomachia in particular because of the focus on his radio meaning that whoever gave him and the Nomu orders to mobilize:

Is Shigaraki himself

Is All-For-One

Or is someone with equivalent authority given by one of them.

I believe it's Shigaraki himself, but we'll find out soon.

Endeavor and Tokoyami swoop in the save the day for Hawks and Mirko.

I'm getting Tokoyami ice cream after this. Heck, might even take him to Disneyland he's earned it!!! We got confirmation that he and Hawks had started hanging out one-on-one during his internships (presumably after convincing Hawks to actually take him seriously) and do have a solid connection. This makes me very happy. Hawks does have someone he can genuinely call his friend - and in this time Tokoyami is possibly one of the best people he could have by his side, though not because of his prowess or whatever. I believe there's a strong thread in the overall plot of the next generation saving their predecessors, and Tokoyami specifically coming to Hawks' aid continues to confirm that. I have more speculations but will keep them to myself unless others specifically want to hear them.

Twice likely is dead. I have opinions circling this, but none of it will do much good until I see this conflict finished or have more, very specific information.

We'll get to this when we get to Dabi, but I can't help but wonder if Dabi hadn't ambushed Hawks if Jin would still be alive. On his own, Hawks didn't need to kill Jin to keep him at bay; but the moment Dabi entered the picture Hawks had a choice to make and locked it in. Toga has also had a fake-out death to miraculously come back, but I think it's safe to assume the worst for Jin. I really wish it didn't happen, but tactically I understand why it did.

Insights into Hawks

I would both die and kill for baby Keigo without hesitation.

Just look at him!

Protecc at all costs!!! Oh, he's so precious! But this brings me to my next point.

Hawks has been trained to be a hero who wins when the focus should have been on a hero who saves.

This one I don't necessarily blame Hawks himself for. Over and over and over and over again Hawks has shown to be a person who not only tries to save as great a majority as possible, but to stack the odds as high as he can in his favor to include as many as possible. He seeks to minimize suffering though he knows he can't save everyone. His focus is people in need first and going head to head with villains second. Which brings me to point #2.

His views on a future where heroes can breathe.

This is not rooted in a desire to not work, and I'd dare say not even to escape the Commission. He wants a place where people feel at peace. Tying in with the anime, it added details/sentiments that weren't mentioned or specified in the manga such as calling out Stain by name. We know he's been watching public opinion and sentiments surrounding heroes for a long time, and it doesn't seem like he swings to the extreme of abolishing heroes completely; but he does seem to agree the people need a symbol of peace - a paragon - to aspire to and emulate. He also seems to believe that this symbol should be able to inspire others given his even-clearer indication in the latest anime episode that Endeavor was his personal inspiration and now this flashback in the manga.

This seems to be directly in opposition to Dabi and what we now know about him.

Insights into Dabi

Let's start with his views of Stain - assuming he's a Todoroki (are you kidding me, Horikoshi?! A blacked out speech bubble?!?!?!?) - it would make a lot of sense how he would latch onto this figure who sought out personally punishing "fake heroes" with death. Endeavor has put through his family through enough suffering that most people who heard about it would consider death a merciful punishment. The lasting effects left over from the decades of abuse have left deep scars on each and every last member of the family. It also makes sense why he personally would not count All Might as a hero where Stain did because the abuse he suffered was an indirect result of All Might's prominence.

Considering how hard Endeavor pushed Dabi I would not be surprised if the inability to cry is not only a literal, physical scar of abuse; but potentially symbolic of another intangible inability to properly express, process, and relieve negative emotion:

Antisocial Personality Disorder.

This is a SERIOUS claim to make, so please understand I don't make it lightly; and I genuinely hope to be wrong because it doesn't bode well for anyone in Dabi's immediate social circle - especially the most vulnerable members of the League of Villains.

I need to be very clear, APD is not an "all or nothing" condition, and those who suffer from it can feel empathy and remorse to varying degrees depending on the individual. It's possible he may have had some kind of personal connection with members of the League, but his specific word choice is troubling. Compound this with the fact that he exhibits most of the major symptoms, has a history that puts him significantly at risk, and his current living/social condition aggravates his condition and complicates his ability to get treatment; and it makes at least a compelling argument. I can't be the first person to theorize this about Dabi, but this was the final piece of evidence that secured it as likely to be canon in my own mind.

I say this not to paint him as pure evil - in fact, he's still very much a victim of his father's abuse who desperately needs help - but to say that it makes it significantly harder to save him or rehabilitate him. I also want to bring up that it may make Twice's demise even more tragic and frame it in a new light that makes things worse.

If Dabi truly does not care about Jin as a person, there's a solid chance he did not climb those stairs to protect Jin but to get revenge on Keigo. Dabi could have been argued to be clever and managing his resources by opening fire on Hawks and Jin with the assumption Hawks would save him; but if he does have APD it's more likely he was acting impulsively and without regard to Jin's safety - that Jin remaining unburnt was a happy afterthought.

This is my biggest takeaway from this chapter and is both troubling and tragic if it's true. Those emotionally vulnerable members of the League like Spinner and Toga (who just watched her best friend die in her arms) are at risk of being manipulated up to and including giving up their lives just like Jin in the sake of Dabi single-mindedly getting his own revenge. I've said the League is fractured at its roots, but this is a much worse way of it falling apart of that's indeed the way we're going.

Jin likely would still be okay if Dabi had not stepped in. Hawks would have been able to restrain him and keep him from using his quirk without needing to resort to deadly force. Once Dabi entered the picture he not only put Hawks in a more desperate situation to actually need deadly force but emboldened Jin to keep fighting - and like a self-fulling prophecy neither side gave up until one of them died. At least for me now, there's a sense of empty loss and helplessness in it.

Nobody gets a gold star. Nobody deserves a pat on the back. This is the vicious wheel turning and hurting over and over again until it eventually crumbles under its own weight. We see seeds of hope in the reinforcements coming to aid in hours of need (like heroes should), but we're going to have to wait until next week to see the fallout.

I'm still open to talking about the chapter in asks if anyone is up for it, but I think this is probably the best I have to offer in a single post minus the fact that Keigo likely knows that Touya Todoroki did exist and is presumed dead. He can put the pieces together and it will be bitter when Endeavor eventually rejoins the main fray.

[freedom-of-fanfic]

I've been reading through your blog, and while I don't agree with everything I think you make some good points. One question though, I can't really wrap my head around the "fiction has no bearing on reality" argument? if fiction is 100% divorced from reality, then why bother critiquing racism/misogyny/etc in media? it's generally agreed that unquestioned depictions of bigotry is bad, so why doesn't that hold true for unquestioningly portraying, say, a 15yo and a 30yo in a relationship as good?

I don’t think I’ve ever argued that fiction has no bearing on reality. in fact, I can’t think of any instances of seeing an ‘anti-anti’ or ‘pro-shipper’ discourse blog argue that fiction and reality have no relationship whatsoever. I’d disagree with anyone who asserted that, because it’s plainly evident that’s untrue.

What I usually say about the relationship between fiction and reality is one of these two statements:

fiction does not have a 1:1 affect on reality. meaning: humans don’t just blindly accept what popular fiction (such as mainstream media) tells them as truth, or assume that what happens in fiction is 100% safe to imitate irl. our cultural and individual absorption of the messages in a work of fiction are complicated and colored by our life experience, existing culture cues, and more. (x)(x)

reality affects fiction affects reality. meaning: works of fiction are often inspired by real life. if a work of fiction is popular enough/viewed widely enough (such as mainstream media), its messages are assimilated and filtered and absorbed into culture, affecting people in real life. reality and fiction are connected by a complicated ecosystem of ideas, culture, assumptions, lifestyles, upbringing, etc., and fiction is rarely the sole originator of a bad or dangerous idea. (more likely it’s highlighting - on purpose or on accident - a cultural assumption that went mostly hidden before.)* (x)(x)

Regarding the examples of how fiction can have an effect on reality in your ask:

it’s a matter of scale.

let’s take a moment to remember that anti-shippers who assert that fiction is harming people irl are generally using that argument against transformative fanworks, not big-scale MCU-level productions or bestselling book series.

transformative fandom is, on the scale of things, a very small place with a strong culture of tagging/warning for potentially squicky/triggering/kinky/etc content and populated primarily by marginalized people who are not likely to be tomorrow’s movers and shakers when pitted against rich (white, straight) cis men. for that reason, our ‘problematic’ works are more likely to be products of societal issues, not the cause of those societal issues. (we tend to take pop culture/the works that we’re fans of and use our creations like funhouse mirrors to problematic society - not necessarily better, but often different.)

my blog deals with allowing fans - mostly small-time creators making little or no profit off their work and rarely more than a few thousand people in their audience - to be allowed to create their small time fanworks without restriction and just make sure the content is warned for when put out in spaces with mixed audiences. that doesn’t mean ‘don’t point out racist tropes in a fanwork’, but it does mean ‘don’t treat the fanwork creator like they’re the source of all racism when you point it out’. scale your critique to the situation. (x)(x)

take care not to compare apples to oranges.

to be honest: I don’t think comparing a mainstream media depiction of casual bigotry to a mainstream media depiction of a sexual relationship between a(n implied innocent kid) 15yo and a(n implied predator) 30yo is very valuable. 

Why? because we already socially condemn sexual relationships that have even a whiff of pedophilia/taking advantage of the sexually innocent. (that’s why people who take sexual advantage of underage people try to paint those underage people as sexually aware - because (disgustingly) it’s the lack of innocence that makes a victim of a sex crime ‘fair game’.) and if a person is tagged as sexually harming kids/anyone too young to be ready to consent? they’re scum.** we have no mercy.

bigotry that goes unchallenged is a lot more widely ingrained. people with race privilege don’t notice racism. cis men don’t notice sexism. etc. it has to be super blatant for them to go ‘oh, that’s bigotry.’

a mainstream media 30yo/15yo depiction that’s remotely realistic? that 30yo character will be tagged as a creep. we’ll all hate the 30yo together, probably.

a mainstream media depiction of bigotry that’s remotely realistic? will fly under the radar of viewers who aren’t personally affected by it, and hurt those who are.

as broad examples I call these apples and oranges (they’re so broad it would be easy to bring them together as well), but the point is this: 

let’s stop comparing fictional depictions of sexual/romantic relationships and how ‘healthy’ they are irl to racism/sexism/queerphobia in fictional works - especially fanworks. They’re not the same thing. (and I’m tired of people using racism/bigotry as a subexample to prove why we need to be so careful with our sexy fanfic being ‘sexually healthy’, ugh.)

tl;dr: remember that fiction - perhaps especially fanfiction - and indeed, all of fandom, doesn’t spring into existence in a vacuum. we all are cooking in this cultural pot, and we need to examine fiction and reality with that in mind.

*so if a work of fiction strikes you as carrying a dangerous or immoral message, it’s worth asking yourself which came first: a cultural message (you may not have ever noticed) or fiction about the message?

**there’s a reason antis try to get everyone they hate labeled as a pedophile.

[writingquestionsanswered]

When a character doesn't react exactly as you think they should, or as consistently as you think they should (eg, not sad enough) - something just feels off - but you can't pinpoint exactly what's wrong, is asking a beta/friend/whoever really the only way to fix it? (if it needs fixing). This is beyond "how do you portray", I know what it's like to be in my MC's shoes. So why can't I stand back and examine it, to see what's missing/wrong? I feel completely inept but I can't figure why.

Character Not “Behaving” As Expected

As much as our characters can seem to come to life and develop their own free will, the reality is that you’re the one in control of your character’s thoughts, emotions, behaviors, and actions. If your character isn’t behaving the way you think they should based on the character and situation you’e laid out, that’s an issue with you as the writer and not with the character. So what’s going on there? There are a few possibilities:

1) You’re focusing on an imagined behavior, not a behavior that makes sense with what you’ve laid out. Quite often when we’re brainstorming a story or scene, it seems to unfold in our mind as though from a movie we once saw. We can often “see” and “hear” things in crisp detail, and sometimes our brains go off the rails a little, imagining things that won’t necessarily work when we go to write the actual scene. Sometimes in this brainstorming, we imagine a character’s behavior in a particular moment and that gets filed away somewhere. Then, when you actually get to writing that scene or something evolved from it, somewhere in the back of your mind you’re still imagining that initial image of the scene, even if you don’t realize it. And if whatever you’d initially imagined no longer jives with what you’ve laid out in the story, it can make you feel like things are off when they’re not.2) The behavior you’re portraying doesn’t make sense with what you’ve laid out for the character and/or situation. Conversely, sometimes the problem isn’t with what you initially imagined but with what you actually wrote. Sometimes as we write, we tend to get carried away, sometimes drawing upon our own emotions about a particular situation or even inadvertently channeling another character–either in your WIP, a past project, or even a favorite character in a current read or TV show. We’re usually not even aware we’re doing it, but if something feels off to you, this may be why.

3) You’re under prepared to write this scene, even if you’ve been in this character’s shoes before.

As writers, and people-in-general, we tend to put a little too much stock in having been in another person’s shoes. We think, “I was homeless for three weeks, so I know exactly how every homeless person thinks and feels.” And, of course, that isn’t the case at all, because how one feels in a given situation, what they think and how they behave, that is all specific to the individual. It isn’t the same for everyone. So unless your MC is strongly based on you and your specific experience, having been in their shoes doesn’t mean you know everything about how they would behave in a given situation. You’ll have to take what you know of the experience from your own perspective, then filter that through the lens of your character’s personal experience, their personality, their past, their specific situation–all the things you’ve laid out for them.So, the long and the short of it is, no–you can’t rely on a beta reader/friend/etc. to tell you what’s wrong with your character’s reaction or behavior in a particular moment of your story. You know your character better than anyone, because you’re the one that gave them life on the page. Everything about who they are what they think, how they feel, what they’ve experienced, and how they behave all came from you, so while someone else could certainly tell you that something feels off–or why, from their own personal experience, something isn’t quite right–you’re the only one who can deconstruct your character to look at all the parts and see what it is that’s not working.Make sure you’re not fixated on an earlier imagination of the scene; try reading back a few chapters to get in your character’s head, then try reimagining the scene again. If you haven’t already, try drawing out a little character map that highlights important personality traits, experiences, and other things that may factor into how your character reacts or behaves in a given moment. Then draw a little map of the scene or moment in question and note all the elements that would play into your character’s reaction. Then, look between both maps to start filtering the scene elements through your character’s personal lens. Maybe one of the scene elements you’ve noted is “blood everywhere.” And maybe one of the character elements you’ve noted is “worked in an emergency room for twelve years.” If you filter “blood everywhere” through “worked in an emergency room for twelve years,” the logical conclusion is that your character will probably have a more modulated reaction to seeing blood than the average person. They’ve seen a lot of it before, they know that volume and severity don’t always go hand-in-hand, and they will have an instant set of experiences to recall of injuries that might produce that amount of blood. But then again, if one of the scene elements you’ve noted is “daughter’s bedroom,” that’s going to further complicate how your character responds to this scene. If this is their daughter’s bedroom, there are great personal stakes in play, and that would likely create a more emotional reaction.At the end of the day, it’s up to you to figure out what’s right for this character’s reaction based on everything you’ve laid out for the character’s personality, general behavior, past experiences, and the specific circumstances. And if you’ve been in your character’s shoes, you’ll use your own experience as a foundation, but you still need to take your character’s specific details into consideration. You’ll have to spend some time really thinking about it, doing some plotting, trying things and discarding them if they don’t work. But you’ll get there. You have the power to make this what you think it should be, and you will. :)