Finally got to read through it this morning; man, my schedule is do dicking with my "enjoying friends' writing" time.
The bartender grinned at him, all bad teeth and truthful warmth.
I felt the need to pick this out because it made me smile; very nice line.
As for my overall impressions of the story, well, I just love male friendships that have a genuine warmth and caring to them. You don't see enough of them in literature or frankly in real life since there is an emphasis on macho detachment and if you actually show that you love a guy, you're a QUEER! So something like a group of male friends going out together to pick out the perfect stuffed animal for a sick little girl just made me go <3 Overall, this was a very enjoyable little read.
I of course read through the discussion you and Stan are having, and my interpretation of affairs was this: Gareth is a bit overly pushy about his ideals, but that IS something I would expect to see of someone very passionate. I do agree that some scenes made him appear a bit dismissive, which seemed out of character for someone who had a passion for wereanimal rights. However, the interpretation of that isn't quite cut and dry for me as, "he's being rude."
Is he someone with his heart in the right place but his understanding of what he's dealing with a bit skewed, like someone who say, fights the sake of elephants or whales but unintentionally condescends them by not taking their very real physical prowess seriously under some assumption of, "I'm helping them, I understand them, they won't hurt me" ?
Is he someone who is genuinely intrusive and dismissive due to the inferiority of wereanimals being culturally ingrained so heavily that even those who believe in their rights have a bad habit of not taking them completely seriously? I have seen this when it comes to women: people who find womems' rights abuses to be an utter outrage, but who are still casually sexist. For example, a friend recently made a "lulz so funny!" post saying there was an easy way to sex birds by behavior... it was a gif of a seagull squawking incessantly at another. It wasn't intentionally sexist on her part; it still VERY much was.
Or, are we putting undue blame on Gareth; it Andy more aggressive, more wary, more sensitive than other typical weres? Is it expected that a wereanimal wouldn't be as sensitive to crowding, to touch, etc? I didn't get that impression from the writing per se, but I also know very little about wereanimals in your world and if it is par for the course for them to be traumatized, distrusting, and fundamentally broken or not.
Basically: there's some complex character interactions there, I *don't* think that's a bad thing, because it does leave the reader with things to think about and interpret - which is one of my favorite parts of writing. I also think that the discussion generated warrants evaluating Gareth's character to ensure that a) he is meeting your expectations for what he is like and b) that whatever he is, he is consistent in it.
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branchandroot
no subject
Date: 2011-07-31 02:08 pm (UTC)The bartender grinned at him, all bad teeth and truthful warmth.
I felt the need to pick this out because it made me smile; very nice line.
As for my overall impressions of the story, well, I just love male friendships that have a genuine warmth and caring to them. You don't see enough of them in literature or frankly in real life since there is an emphasis on macho detachment and if you actually show that you love a guy, you're a QUEER! So something like a group of male friends going out together to pick out the perfect stuffed animal for a sick little girl just made me go <3 Overall, this was a very enjoyable little read.
I of course read through the discussion you and Stan are having, and my interpretation of affairs was this: Gareth is a bit overly pushy about his ideals, but that IS something I would expect to see of someone very passionate. I do agree that some scenes made him appear a bit dismissive, which seemed out of character for someone who had a passion for wereanimal rights. However, the interpretation of that isn't quite cut and dry for me as, "he's being rude."
Is he someone with his heart in the right place but his understanding of what he's dealing with a bit skewed, like someone who say, fights the sake of elephants or whales but unintentionally condescends them by not taking their very real physical prowess seriously under some assumption of, "I'm helping them, I understand them, they won't hurt me" ?
Is he someone who is genuinely intrusive and dismissive due to the inferiority of wereanimals being culturally ingrained so heavily that even those who believe in their rights have a bad habit of not taking them completely seriously? I have seen this when it comes to women: people who find womems' rights abuses to be an utter outrage, but who are still casually sexist. For example, a friend recently made a "lulz so funny!" post saying there was an easy way to sex birds by behavior... it was a gif of a seagull squawking incessantly at another. It wasn't intentionally sexist on her part; it still VERY much was.
Or, are we putting undue blame on Gareth; it Andy more aggressive, more wary, more sensitive than other typical weres? Is it expected that a wereanimal wouldn't be as sensitive to crowding, to touch, etc? I didn't get that impression from the writing per se, but I also know very little about wereanimals in your world and if it is par for the course for them to be traumatized, distrusting, and fundamentally broken or not.
Basically: there's some complex character interactions there, I *don't* think that's a bad thing, because it does leave the reader with things to think about and interpret - which is one of my favorite parts of writing. I also think that the discussion generated warrants evaluating Gareth's character to ensure that a) he is meeting your expectations for what he is like and b) that whatever he is, he is consistent in it.