Comment Meta

[amaresu]

Femslash Mini Meta fest was an utter fail this year. And I'm still not in a place where I could do it, so I purpose Comment Meta. And let's have it cover all things female and fannish. However you define those.

How it works

1. Post a meta topic in a top level comment. Use the subject line for the meta subject and expand as you want in the body of the comment. Or don't.

2. Repeat Step 1 for as many meta ideas as you have.

3. Comment on other meta topics.


It's kinda like a kink meme, only with meta. Feel free to browse the mini meta tag for ideas.

This is meant to be about as low pressure as it comes. Feel free to write on your own journal/Tumblr/blog and link back here. Respond with as little or as much as you want. This post will remain open indefinitely, so please track it if that makes things easier for you.

Comments

Once Upon a Time: Love/Hate relationship

[cleo]

I love that OUaT has so many awesome women in it. But the show frustrates me to no end with it's conventional love/good conquer evil/scorned women become baddies/everyone who is anyone is straight tropes.

Re: Once Upon a Time: Love/Hate relationship

[havocthecat]

Yes! I thought OUaT was going to be a deconstruction of fairy tale tropes, or maybe of Disney tropes specifically, and it's turned into the same thing it purports to deconstruct. (Mind you, I have about fifteen eps sitting on my DVR waiting for me to get up the heart to delve into them. So I'm not caught up, even if I'm fairly spoiled.)

I don't want the Game of Fairy Tales, where it's all darkity-dark and grim (pun intended) and Snow and Charming's wedding turns into a bloodbath. I'm actually quite fond of a happily ever after, or at least an ending that's happy and doesn't have rose-colored glasses. I don't want Queer as Fairy Tales either, where everyone is gay. But would it be so wrong for Mulan to wake Aurora up with a kiss? Or for Rumple to have hated Cora because he fell in love with Henry, Sr.? Or something, anyway.

It's just. There's so much potential for weird, different, unusual storylines, and an exploration of magic as something other than "you must PAY A PRICE for it" blah blah blah. Been there, done that, watched Willow's descent into evil from it, you know?

But my high hopes were dashed by a lot of the conventionality of the story. And also, I know you like Rumple, but honestly, even if he's a fascinating character, I'm hoping that they make him a little more interesting to me. I just don't have much interest in the particular route they're going on this Sympathy for the Devil storyline.

Also, Regina: She went evil because she's a Poor Little Rich Girl who got abused by her parents (don't get me started on parents who will not/cannot intervene on abuse, even if it's because they're abused themselves) and grew up to perpetuate the cycle of abuse? And because she's been Rumple's pawn this whole time? Oh, no, really? Couldn't Regina be gloriously evil because she wants to be? And if you want to redeem her, couldn't you make it be for her, not for external forces like Henry, Jr.?

I just want to hand them all four seasons of Farscape, and then tell them to watch the series and take particular note of Crais, Scorpius, and Grayza's characterization, because that's how you redeem a villain. (And you don't necessarily make them any less villainous.)

I want this show to be so much more, and it's capable of it. (Also, I want all the Aurora/Mulan ever. On screen, even.)

Re: Once Upon a Time: Love/Hate relationship

[counteragent]

Yup. Season Two started _really, really_ strong but then they fell back on the tired characterization of Regina and I kind of lost interest again.
Also Belle/Rumple does very little for me--stockholmy love is only cool if it's INTERESTING, and Belle is too one-note to do it for me. I thought her




SPOILERS FOR LATE S2




transformation to Lacey could have been cool if they clarified the relationship between people's cursed selves and their real selves better.

Re: Once Upon a Time: Love/Hate relationship

[cleo]

So agreed re: Lacey. I both love and hate the transformation there because I like what it could explore, but it makes absolutely no sense.

Re: Once Upon a Time: Love/Hate relationship

[cleo]

All of this. Seriously.

I think they really could have gone somewhere with Mulan and Aurora both realizing that they have more of a connection to each other than either did to Phllip. Or I'll even take a canon threesome...alternative relationships ftw.

I think Regina frustrates me most because she started out as such an awesomely bad character that just...seemed awesomely bad (I mean, albeit only for about an ep). And while I was sure we were going to get an explanation, I was hoping it would be unconventional. *sigh*

Re: Once Upon a Time: Love/Hate relationship

[kmo]

I really wanted to like this show. I really did. But I gave up on it about six episodes in when i realized there was going probably a) not be any queer content and b) no consistent writing of Regina's character. I love an evil queen. I love that the actresses that play Emma and Regina have unintentional off the charts chemistry. But those things weren't enough to keep me hanging around.

Oh and can we also talk about how the whole Emma/Henry Jr./Regina thing perpetuates the whole bio family is superior to adopted family shtick?

i have seen some really out of proportion hateful things on tumblr bashing the Emma/Regina shippers. I'm not really invested one way or another, but it irks me because I *know* if Regina was a dude or if Emma and Regina BOTH were dudes, it would be the most popular ship ever.

Re: Once Upon a Time: Love/Hate relationship

[cleo]

OMG YES. I spent the first ep bawling my eyes out relating to Emma not knowing where she came from/being abandoned. But omg the way they just tell Regina she is not Henry's mother is absolutely offensive.

I didn't realize there were Emma/Regina bashers, but you are probably right about if one or both of them were different sexes. Super frustrating.

This show would have been a great place for Disney/ABC to introduce some queer characters.

Re: Once Upon a Time: Love/Hate relationship

[yue_ix]

I'm almost exactly where you are. I really WANTED to adore this show. The femslash vibes started through the roof, and my incestuous kinks were extremely happy with Regina's relationship with everyone.

But this:

Oh and can we also talk about how the whole Emma/Henry Jr./Regina thing perpetuates the whole bio family is superior to adopted family shtick?

This very thing made me quit the show at episode 9, that also dealt with "genetic family has a special magical bond that will trump ALL" shtick. As a queer person in a same-sex relationship who is starting to talk about getting kids, the theme’s repetitiveness on this and other values was too much. There’s a great chance that I’ll adopt someday, or that at least some of my household children’s biological scheme won’t come from one of us. I was very happy at the idea of having a show with different types mother who I could happily ship amongst themselves and other ladies. That was just that bit closer to me, yeah? But then that died.

Spoiler gifs I saw almost convinced me to give the show another chance for the Aurora/Mulan but it seems like that isn't satisfying either?

Incest, age-difference and hate-sex is always more appreciated in fandom when it's in male-presenting characters; so true, and yet so sad.

Re: Once Upon a Time: Love/Hate relationship

[kmo]

yes, i am also a gay lady in a ltr who has begun to contemplate having kids. not sure if they will be biological or adopted or foster at this point. but i am a firm believer that love makes a family. i also come from an incredibly dysfunctional bio family and i can tell you i feel little special magic bond to them. seriously, the way that OUaT treats adoption is criminal- i feel terrible for any adopted kids who happen to watch that show.