silentauror's Blog, page 961
August 23, 2015
beejohnlocked:
crimson-winter:
beejohnlocked:
The thing about Mary is….okay, here’s a good way to...
The thing about Mary is….okay, here’s a good way to explain it. I love morally grey characters. I do. I love characters who do both good and bad, who are round, who are flawed. I love the show The Walking Dead and practically everyone on there is problematic. But let’s take Carol as an example. She was an abused housewife who has transformed into an unstoppable badass who has done really messed up stuff. She murdered people to protect their group. The people were infectious and dying and she was trying to stop the spread of infection, but she killed them, and they were in all other ways innocent people. She took responsibility and was banished from the group and she didn’t try to argue about it. She was willing to accept that punishment. She killed a young girl. The girl was disturbed and had murdered her little sister and Carol was trying to protect the other people she was with. It was horrible, but it kind of had to be done. She threatened the life of a young boy to protect her people as well. And in all of these cases I was basically like “Yeah, that’s messed up, but I get why she did that.” And Carol also has so much good in her that it’s like even when she has done something that might be bad in normal life or at least questionable, it makes sense in the situation these people are living in. She’s not crazy or murdering people for fun or profit. The decisions she has made have been hard but pragmatic for the good of all the people she loves. She makes her decisions for OTHER PEOPLE, not for herself.
With Mary, I just don’t get that same feeling. How is killing sherlock, or almost killing him good for anyone? How does that protect John or the baby? How does keeping her past from John protect him or the baby? The reason Mary isn’t someone I can root for is because she makes her decisions solely for herself. And while I can understand putting yourself first, when your decisions put others close to you in danger or hurt them immensely, it makes those selfish decisions a bad thing.
Carol has made decisions that have hurt people, but she’s done it with everyone’s best interest in mind. Mary has not done the same thing. She does things with her interest in mind. And this is why she’s not a protagonist and I can’t root for her and I can’t like her. Someone can do a lot of bad stuff and still be likable or someone you root for or relate to, but motivation is very important in cases like this.
This is literally it exactly, I feel the same way. Very well put.
I read a book recently where the female protagonist was an assassin. Literally. She killed men. But only a few, and she didn’t want the money, and she always felt a bit bad about it. And why did she kill them? They were abusers. Pedophiles, wife beaters, just generally bad people. And she killed them quickly and discreetly, so they don’t even know what hit them.
But like you said, I don’t get that with Mary. I don’t get that feeling of “she’s doing what she has to do. She’s protecting the people she loves and is doing justice.” As far as we know, she just kills when she’s directed AND when she’s freelance. (Bad.. Bad girl.)
There’s a reason what she does gets under people’s skin and makes something seem not right, and that’s the fact that she’s not redeemable. Not with an excuse like “I loved John. You can’t let him know I did this. I would lose him.” Like really? That’s weak.
Interesting character because she’s just BAD. Like, a badass with really no moral drive. Maybe she does, I mean, with John, but not like Carol or Aomame. They have reasons. Justified reasons to protect people.
Mary is only protecting herself. And that makes her a fantastically interesting villain.
Exactly. And I don’t even feel that only protecting yourself is necessarily bad IF AND ONLY IF it doesn’t also negatively impact innocent people you surround yourself with who have done nothing more than love you. The decisions Mary made of lying about who she was to John, not telling him about the blackmail, and shooting/nearly killing his best friend don’t help John or the baby. In any way. It actually does the exact opposite. It hurts and endangers them. And the fact is, if it wasn’t for Sherlock living and telling John about Mary, John STILL wouldn’t know. Mary would still be a facade. The decisions she’s made only help her and no one else.
The first problem here is even the suggestion that Mary is “morally grey” in any way. Grey suggests that there’s some white. There isn’t. Mary is a selfish person who doesn’t care how much her actions hurt her husband, as long as she gets to keep him. That isn’t love; that’s a power game. That’s abuse. Mary kills people for money, illegally. There are literally zero suggestions in canon to even suggest that any of these kills were done for some sort of greater good. The only person who received any benefit was Mary and Mary alone.
These other characters ARE morally grey. Mary is just a plain villain. People get confused by her little nose scrunch and her cutesy clothing choices, but that, right there, is the lie, giggling right in all our faces. Mary’s real face is the one that turns around, gun extended in the hero’s face, sniggers, then kills him in cold blood.
The whole “she did it for love” argument does not apply. Love means caring fiercely when your partner is suffering, and Mary willingly, unhesitatingly, put John back in that hell. She would have done anything to keep the truth from him. Literally anything - including TO JOHN. That’s a psychopath right there: when there is no concept of right or wrong, only what you want. Mary is scary as hell, because there isn’t just moral grey area - there is no morality beyond her own narcissistic desires at all.
Update: Johnlock porn-to-romance is at 10,200 and climbing steadily. :)
Update: Johnlock porn-to-romance is at 10,200 and climbing steadily. :)
Bahaha! This so would have happened!
Bahaha! This so would have happened!
I went away for the weekend, and while I was distracted with my friends and scenery and a little too...
I went away for the weekend, and while I was distracted with my friends and scenery and a little too much wine, I forgot.
And then, suddenly in the car on the way back this afternoon, I remembered that Johnlock isn’t canon yet, and it was terrible.
I had heart palpitations.
Must write more.
I love this entire scene, and this moment especially.
I love this entire scene, and this moment especially.
#STOP AMERICANISING JESUS
He was a Jew.
He was Palestinian.
He was Brown.
He was anti-colonialism.
He was anti-cultural appropriation.
He taught socialism and sharing.
He loved sinners, including prostitutes, tax collectors (thieves of the day), divorcées (sluts of the day) and murderers.
Some of the people he respected and loves the most were women.
He was for racial equality.
He was NOT apple pie, white, blond, capitalist, meninist, anti-immigrant, shaming, antisemitic, racist, gay-bashing, or a fan of basically anything Donald Trump.
Amen
This.
August 21, 2015
thememacat:
whenisayrunrun:
x
I just love the look on his face...
I just love the look on his face ^^
I don’t know why this has resurfaced after so long, but I’m glad it did.
His escalating dismay in the second one is my favourite thing ever :)
khanspets:
I vote for a pillow fort. Be sure to invite someone...
I vote for a pillow fort. Be sure to invite someone else, too, you guys!
I like these guys. I hope they invite Ben to spoon with them, too. :P
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