Ite
Save your valediction (she/her)
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- Ite
I have decade-old rage feelings about this fandom. If they were people, they would be in the fifth grade. I must once again give them voice, out of respect. The 7 things that bother me (today) about Fanon interpretations of characters ranked from least to most irritating: [/SPOILER]
Did I miss any?
Where the hell did this stereotype come from? It pops up in fanfiction not often, but it’s really memorable when it does. In the bad way. Perhaps she’s viewed through the lens of people who know and resent a lot of Valley girl types. Because it is always annoying, distracting, and the other characters seem to hate her about it. To me, she’s a conniving, sarcastic manipulator who is heir to a Kingdom she is ashamed of. For some reason, that’s less interesting to write about than a cartoon materia gremlin who bounces off the walls all the time.
And about the materia obsession, she is interested in restoring the glory of her kingdom, not owning all the materia because of a fetish or whatever. The materia is basically a macguffin to her, and thinking that it is the ends for her, not the means, is a little upsetting, but not as bad as…
And about the materia obsession, she is interested in restoring the glory of her kingdom, not owning all the materia because of a fetish or whatever. The materia is basically a macguffin to her, and thinking that it is the ends for her, not the means, is a little upsetting, but not as bad as…
You are focusing on the wrong part of that scene, the one in which he yells at Shera because she has not served Cloud tea. Cid freaking out about tea has nothing to do with tea. It has everything to do with the way Cid feels about guests. Even though they have been a confusing nuisance, invasive, and an energy-suck, he will still treat weird strangers like honored guests in his home. He won't, however, extend this same courtesy onto Shera, his dubious life-partner [citation needed] which allows for her to feel like she has to justify his behavior by explaining how she ruined his life [citation needed]. The great punch-line, of course, is when Cid returns after her story to find she still hasn't served their guests, which sends him into a confused rage.
The story is propelled forward by Cid's conflicting passions, both the love and generosity he extends to strangers, and the guilt and anger he feels around Shera. We learn a lot about Cid in very few lines, and the word tea is as interchangeable as the word chair or coat. Depictions of Cid in which he is a tea-crazed maniac with Turret’s syndrome are wrong and bad, and a little reductive, and they are Everywhere in fandom.
The story is propelled forward by Cid's conflicting passions, both the love and generosity he extends to strangers, and the guilt and anger he feels around Shera. We learn a lot about Cid in very few lines, and the word tea is as interchangeable as the word chair or coat. Depictions of Cid in which he is a tea-crazed maniac with Turret’s syndrome are wrong and bad, and a little reductive, and they are Everywhere in fandom.
I won’t go on about this, because I know for a fact that my opinion of Sephiroth is decidedly not canon. But the momma’s boy jokes are tired. Sephiroth controls Jenova (apparently) and is using her to swallow the souls of the dead. Try to show a little respect, unless you are trolling, in which case never mind.
People on one side of the Love Triangle Debate (probably the most venomous shipping war since Snape shacked up with Hermione) pick their ship, be Team Tifa or Team Aeris, and then they will hurl insults at the rival female through frothing mouths. One of the more common ones (although thankfully less common these days) is to call Tifa a slut, which is lacking evidence and more importantly NOT AN INSULT. It would bother me less if she were a slut, because then they are just closed-minded but they at least understand Tifa's character. But it would bother me not at all if the word slut was no longer used as an insult. Grow up.
Imagine a life in which you see your father shot to death in infancy, his blood splashing all over your tiny face. Then you and your mother are kept in test tubes and experimented on until you are around seven. Then imagine escaping being the first time you ever use your legs. Imagine the first thing you ever really see outside of a white room is a dirty, polluted slum. Imagine growing up never having seen the sun, never learning to read, dealing with having men try to rape you or rob from you or bring you back to be experimented on. Having to learn how to kill people just to stay alive. Having abilities that would get you discovered or judged or othered, and so living in constant hiding. Having the voices of the Planet which comforted you as a child turn to dying screams as the years go on.
Imagine having the personality of a pure flower after that.
Why does this stereotype keep happening? It can’t be that people love Aeris so much that they are projecting an image of perfection onto her – at least I hope not, because pure innocent flower hasn’t meant perfect since Chaucer times and I am glad of it – and anyway, if they loved her so much they would, I assume, extend their compassion to her enough to see her life as something that made her, not just that she rose above? I have a feeling it’s the Jesus Effect.
Through the western lens, Jesus is our cultural archetypical hero, and he is wonderful because unlike every other hero in mythology who follows the same story, he WAS a pure and innocent flower (right?) and his death is super sad but he gave us hope in a world we can build with the things he taught us. Aerith follows the exact same story path, as does Neo in the Matrix (who also, by the end of the franchise, was seen as a bland and foolish ideal (but that might have just been Keanu). People project the qualities of Jesus onto Aerith because of cognitive dissonance.
I would like to test this theory. Can we go to a rabid Clerith website and ask them if they believe in Jesus? How does it correlate. I would also like to know how it correlates with Clerith’s who call Tifa a slut. I would like to do some tests!
Imagine having the personality of a pure flower after that.
Why does this stereotype keep happening? It can’t be that people love Aeris so much that they are projecting an image of perfection onto her – at least I hope not, because pure innocent flower hasn’t meant perfect since Chaucer times and I am glad of it – and anyway, if they loved her so much they would, I assume, extend their compassion to her enough to see her life as something that made her, not just that she rose above? I have a feeling it’s the Jesus Effect.
Through the western lens, Jesus is our cultural archetypical hero, and he is wonderful because unlike every other hero in mythology who follows the same story, he WAS a pure and innocent flower (right?) and his death is super sad but he gave us hope in a world we can build with the things he taught us. Aerith follows the exact same story path, as does Neo in the Matrix (who also, by the end of the franchise, was seen as a bland and foolish ideal (but that might have just been Keanu). People project the qualities of Jesus onto Aerith because of cognitive dissonance.
I would like to test this theory. Can we go to a rabid Clerith website and ask them if they believe in Jesus? How does it correlate. I would also like to know how it correlates with Clerith’s who call Tifa a slut. I would like to do some tests!
Man, this fandom gets around on the offensive list.
Look, guys, I know Barret's skin colour and redneck voice are... poorly matched, but there is a difference between depicting Barret as how he actually is, or how black you think he is. Because guess what? Cid cusses more than Barret, and they use almost the same amount of gits and outtas and offas, because they are both hicks. Barret isn't a gangsta, he is an uneducated coal miner in a party of princesses, rocket scientists, and a magical hyper-intelligent beast. He grapples with huge issues to the best of his abilities, is a caring father, and would die for his friends and for his cause. His flaws are that he postures, is easily manipulated, and prone to rage when he is frustrated. Not that he's a bling-wearing stereotype (not that there's anything wrong with bling). At this point, your depiction of Barret only proves how racist you are, not the creators.
A particular comparison I am tired of is Mr. T. It was never clever to begin with, and has been increasingly annoying the further away from the nineties we get, as has the big one…
Look, guys, I know Barret's skin colour and redneck voice are... poorly matched, but there is a difference between depicting Barret as how he actually is, or how black you think he is. Because guess what? Cid cusses more than Barret, and they use almost the same amount of gits and outtas and offas, because they are both hicks. Barret isn't a gangsta, he is an uneducated coal miner in a party of princesses, rocket scientists, and a magical hyper-intelligent beast. He grapples with huge issues to the best of his abilities, is a caring father, and would die for his friends and for his cause. His flaws are that he postures, is easily manipulated, and prone to rage when he is frustrated. Not that he's a bling-wearing stereotype (not that there's anything wrong with bling). At this point, your depiction of Barret only proves how racist you are, not the creators.
A particular comparison I am tired of is Mr. T. It was never clever to begin with, and has been increasingly annoying the further away from the nineties we get, as has the big one…
Cloud is a badass poser with a chip on his shoulder. Underneath, he’s an awkward, loveable farm boy hero. He learns to reconcile the two, and then gets a debilitating disease and decides to abandon his friends because he knows it would hurt them too much to watch him die. Like Aeris, even a remotely superficial look at him as a character destroys this stereotype, so why does it persist? I have a theory.
Cloud isn’t a moody, whining introvert who wants to wallow all day and listen to My Chemical Romance, FF7 fans are!
I don’t mean all of them, but I would venture that even now that we are basking in the glow of nerd-chic (or is that just adulthood?) half the kids who like Final Fantasy are moody, whining introverts, probably because they are nerdy teenagers and they were unlucky enough to get bullied about it. You know the story, nerdy teenager finds solace in role playing game, begins to associate their qualities unto Cloud instead of moving on to FF8, and when they start talking about Cloud, they are describing only the parts of Cloud that they can relate to (poser? check) or that they want to relate to (badass? check) and so the fanon reaction to that will be largely “Cloud seems to be a real whiner.” When no! … that’s Squall. And most teenagers, actually.
The sequels focusing on his mood during the debilitating disease period of his life didn’t help, I’m sure. All the moping around and American Apparel posturing (instead of the All-American Hero posturing) probably made it worse.
Cloud isn’t a moody, whining introvert who wants to wallow all day and listen to My Chemical Romance, FF7 fans are!
I don’t mean all of them, but I would venture that even now that we are basking in the glow of nerd-chic (or is that just adulthood?) half the kids who like Final Fantasy are moody, whining introverts, probably because they are nerdy teenagers and they were unlucky enough to get bullied about it. You know the story, nerdy teenager finds solace in role playing game, begins to associate their qualities unto Cloud instead of moving on to FF8, and when they start talking about Cloud, they are describing only the parts of Cloud that they can relate to (poser? check) or that they want to relate to (badass? check) and so the fanon reaction to that will be largely “Cloud seems to be a real whiner.” When no! … that’s Squall. And most teenagers, actually.
The sequels focusing on his mood during the debilitating disease period of his life didn’t help, I’m sure. All the moping around and American Apparel posturing (instead of the All-American Hero posturing) probably made it worse.
Did I miss any?
