Comments | zelda_queen: Marked Redux: Chapter 1

zelda_queen

Marked Redux: Chapter 1

Jan 18, 2015 22:07

ZeldaQueen: Here we go! Ready to begin, Ruin?

Ruin: Yes!

ZeldaQueen: Brilliant!
( Zoey Whining - This Is Our Book, Nay, Our Series )

fic: marked (redux), book 1, sporker: ruin takada, sporker: zelda_queen, suethor: pc cast, suethor: kristin cast, chapter 1, series: house of night

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stormswift January 20 2015, 01:21:25 UTC

You know, I get the sense from re-reading this that neither Cast lady has ever truly felt like an outcast. Zoey constantly faux-sighs over her "freakish inability to fit in" but let's look at the evidence - she has a best friend, and a football player boyfriend who, in this stereotype-laden universe, represents the pinnacle of high school caste achievement.

So why, oh, why, does Zoey bemoan her "outcast" status? What about her screams "outcast"???

It's pandering. The Casts know that their target audience is going to be the teens who read vampire books, and that was predominately the "less popular" ones. It sets my teeth on edge to hear Zoey reference HIGHLY HOMOGENIZED cultural touchstones like Tolkein or Star Trek and make a weary aside to the reader going "Yeah, yeah, I'm a nerd". She completely misses what the point of self-identifying as a nerd even IS ( ... )

carakasla January 20 2015, 04:48:29 UTC

My fiancé and I are LOZ nerds. It's what we bonded over. We talk about Zelda canon, we both have a huge dislike of Toon Link (no apologies. We just don't). We are both waiting for our Hyrule Historia and Magic Heart necklace to come in the mail (stupid, slow, Canada Post) from Amazon. We are constantly hunting down new information about Zelda Wii U and will probably get it opening day. We played Skyward Sword together and we are working through the Twillight Princess map in Hyrule Warriors. We finished the main storyline and completely finished the Adventure Map. And never, ever, EVER call Link 'Zelda', because we will hate you ( ... )

ruin_takada January 20 2015, 20:20:26 UTC

'To me, being a 'nerd' is about loving something... and taking pride in that love'.

That's definitely the definition, at least according to Simon Pegg (Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, A Fantastic Fear of Everything, Star Trek, At World's End).

(Not to apologise, but I love squirting facts and factoria like that. It's one of my special skills.)

zelda_queen January 22 2015, 22:22:27 UTC

Agreed on all of that. And not only does she take no pride, but her "love" of "nerdy" things are incredibly shallow. She has one mention of owning Monster's Inc. figurines, but never talks about them after or shows any interest in collecting items like that. She apparently loves movies like Star Wars, but never discusses if she likes the original trilogy vs. the prequels, which movie is best, whether or not she accepts the EU as canon, how she'd feel about Star Trek VII, etc. When it comes to movies, all she does is talk about if she thinks the actors are hot. That's all she cares about!

If you want media about nerd love, incidentally, I recommend the webcomic "Weregeeks". It's awesome and written by people who actually are geeks themselves and thus understand geeky culture (unlike the Cast ladies) and is a lot of fun.

"FUN ZELDA FACT: Did you know that Princess Zelda was named after Zelda Fitzgerald? F. Scott Fitzgerald'a wife? :3 :3"

I did! :D And I'm glad he did, it's such a pretty name. ^^

ruin_takada January 20 2015, 20:32:21 UTC

I love this rant. This is just everything about why I found that nerd shame shit so bloody skeevy in the books.

Like, com on Zoey, own that nerd love. Nerd love won't make you less of a girl, just as nerd shame won't make you more of one.

Explanation: So far, that is my stance on the nerd shame - Zoey constantly points out her nerd shame because the creators don't think nerd love can possibly co-exist alongside a 'legitimate' teenage female identity. This 'theory' of theirs just perpetuates the stupid idea that some nerd boys will desperately hold onto, that nerd girls don't belong in nerd culture (which I can safely say both Zelda and I totally disagree with).

captain_square January 22 2015, 21:55:09 UTC

Well, to be completely fair, this book shows that women can often perpetuate stereotypes about themselves.

zelda_queen January 22 2015, 22:17:57 UTC

That's true, however I'm pretty sure most of it wasn't on purpose. We're supposed to think Zoey's a kind, intelligent girl who's worthy of every blessing a goddess can offer her. There's a couple of times when she gets called out on stuff, but nobody ever says anything like, "You know, maybe it's unfair to call a girl a slut for that reason". Not to mention that the same thing happens in PC Cast's other books, so I just think she's not aware of it. :/

aikaterini January 24 2015, 01:28:29 UTC

/Zoey constantly faux-sighs over her "freakish inability to fit in ( ... )

legal_assasin January 26 2015, 14:55:49 UTC

IKR? Whenever Zoey goes all "I'm such a nerd, LOL," I keep thinking of my brother's friend, who can recite the oath for each Lantern Corp. Including the one that has no English translation. And the more devout fans of MLP, who theorize about the inner workings of Equestria.

And then I just nod and go "Yeah, sure. You are such a nerd, Zozo."

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