#why? because then there's more fucking queer movies you absolute buffoon

[pa-pa-plasma]

just watched They/Them & like. might get attacked for this but I don't know why everyone's shitting on it so much. It's okay. It's not any worse than any other cheesey slasher movie. It could've followed a more traditional slasher flick storyline (to fit with the title more) but other than that I think it was fun & people are being too hard on it simply because it's queer.

And yes, I mean queer people are being too hard on it because it's queer, not just homophobes & transphobes. You're holding this fun dumb movie to an absurdly high standard compared to similar cishet ones. god forbid queer people have anything

#look me in the eyes. i WANT bad queer movies. i WANT cheesey queer movies. i WANT dumb queer movies #why? because then there's more fucking queer movies you absolute buffoon #if every queer movie has to be perfect while cishet movies can do whatever the fuck they want what is even the point #people are so focused on making perfect representation that they end up being stupid about it #like yeah it could've been better i won't defend bad writing. but guess what? so could every dumb horror movie #i've watched movies people rave about how good they are & then it's literally like. dogshit #there's a massive double standard here where queer movies are shit on for not being 100% perfect & pure & i'm sick of it #i want more queer movies even if they're bad cuz then that means queerness is becoming more socially accepted #& i grew up with fuck all in the queer media department sooo #if there's an actual reason why i should hate on They/Them then please tell me #like did the actors get abused? did they not get paid? are the creators raging homophobes?? no??? then fuck off & let me enjoy it #sorry im mad i just. well. im sick of content purists

[preservationandruin]

Meridas Amaram and Verbal Manipulation Techniques

Or, Meridas Amaram Is A Manipulative Sack of Shit

One of the Amaram scenes on Oathbringer dripped with manipulative tactics to me, so I pulled it out to do a full post about it because it’s a) well-written and b) really gives insight on his character. Post is under the cut, so as not to spoil things for people; this happens in chapter 53. I also talk about earlier instances, though, in Words of Radiance, which are above the cut. 

It’s no secret that Amaram uses verbal manipulation to get what he wants. It’s part of how he retains such a flawless public persona--he’s a very good manipulator of social situations. 

For example, look at his conversations with Dalinar in late Words of Radiance, about Kaladin’s accusations. He constantly brings up the fact that he and Dalinar are “on the same side” in various ways--high-class, older, lighteyes--and that Kaladin is other--darkeyes, former slave, young, clearly angry. He uses Kaladin’s anger to paint him as deranged and then hides his own disdain for him under faux-concern, including claiming he wants Kal to apologize to him for something he knows he did “Just to make sure he doesn’t believe it anymore.” It’s an insidious way of justifying what would be nothing but job security and an ego trip for himself. His constant identifying himself and Dalinar on a side is similarly insidious--it tries to ensure that Dalinar will empathize with him instead of Kaladin. 

And then we get to the conversation in Oathbringer that really lit up how he tries to manipulate a situation and conversation.

The conversation, of course, is the conversation between him and Jasnah. I’ll go through it bit by bit. 

“Jasnah, I was told I could find you here.”  “Remind me to find whoever told you and have them hanged.”  “Could we speak together more privately, just for a moment?” 

Red flag one--not a huge one, but wanting to speak privately, out of earshot of other people so there aren’t witnesses to what is said is a manipulative tactic, making sure that nobody else sees the manipulation so as to keep his reputation clean. Clearly, Jasnah knows better than to let this work.

“I think not.”  “We need to discuss your uncle. The rift between our houses serves nobody. I wish to bridge that chasm, and Dalinar listens to you. Please, Jasnah. You can steer him properly.”  “My uncle knows his own mind on these matters, and doesn’t require me to “steer” him.”  “As if you haven’t been doing so already, Jasnah. Everyone can see that he’s started to share your religious beliefs.”  “Which would be incredible, since I don’t have religious beliefs.” 

There’s a lot to unpack here. First--he’s rewriting history, painting the rift between houses as something that both houses are responsible for and have to solve. The rift between houses is entirely due to the actions of House Sadeas. 

Second--he keeps repeating Jasnah’s name. Repeating someone’s name over and over is actually a common trait of people trying to manipulate others. Three- he assumes other people operate like him, through manipulation, and when Jasnah denies it tries to degrade her credibility by claiming she already is. 

“Please, Private?”  “Not a chance, Meridas. Go. Away.”  “We were close once.”  “My father wished us to be close. Do not mistake his fancies for fact.”  “Jasnah--”  “You really should leave before someone gets hurt.” 

He tries to get her alone again, and then rewrites history again, claiming they were close when in reality, they weren’t. And he again uses her name--he repeats it again and again through the conversation. She also states in no uncertain terms she wants him to leave, and he doesn’t acknowledge it at all. 

He ignored her suggestion, glancing at Navani and Shallan, then stepping close. “We thought you were dead. I needed to see for myself that you are well.”  “You have seen. Now leave.” 

This starts getting flat-up uncomfortable. He yet again refuses her request to leave, and instead makes sure there are people nearby whose opinion Jasnah presumably cares about--her ward and her mother. He then plays the sympathy card, claiming that he wanted to see her because everyone thought she was dead. This is a motivation that Navani and Shallan will sympathize with--he’s making himself seem to be the good guy in their eyes. Note the use of we here--he’s grouping them with him in that. 

Another red flag is here too, because He just said that he came to see her because of Dalinar. Which one is true? Whichever one has a higher chance of getting Jasnah to do what he wants--talk to him alone. 

Instead, he gripped her forearm. “Why, Jasnah? Why have you always denied me?” 

He physically restrains her, here, and pulls out another justification--the desperate lover spurned by Jasnah’s icy demeanor. This may or may not be his true motivation--again, it’s hard to tell because he’ll pull out any justification that works. This, though, gets more under Jasnah’s skin than any of the earlier ones, as evidenced by the fact that it moves her enough to actually give him a full response: 

“Other than the fact that you are a detestable buffoon who achieves only the lowest level of mediocrity, as it is the best your limited mind can imagine? I can’t possibly think of a reason.”  “Mediocre?” Amaram growled. “You insult my mother, Jasnah. You know how hard she worked to raise me to be the best soldier this kingdom has ever known.” 

It’s clear that he hit a nerve with his last attack at Jasnah, so she hits one in return, finally angry enough to trade blows with him. She goes straight for his ambition, and he twists it--she didn’t say anything about his mother, but he interpreted it as an attack on her and dragged her into the conversation with an already-angry Jasnah. 

This is smart of him in a nasty way. Jasnah is a noted Rosharan feminist--she has written and spoken about the rights and roles of women, and we’ve seen some of that through the books. What Amaram does by bringing up his mother and using her as, essentially, a diversion, is put Jasnah in a situation where the temptation to attack a woman who had nothing to do with this situation is nearly unavoidable, and Jasnah goes straight for that bait in her attempt to cleverly insult Amaram: 

“Yes, from what I understand, she spent the seven months she was with child entertaining each and every military man she could find, in the hopes that something of them would stick to you.” 

It’s a doubly cheap shot: going after Amaram’s mother and implying that she was promiscuous. Jasnah herself admits later that it was a mistake done in anger, but it’s one that the entire room witnessed. In fairness to Jasnah, Amaram seems to be taken fully aback by how hard she pursued that line. 

“You godless whore,” Amaram hissed, releasing her. “If you weren’t a woman...”  “If I weren’t a woman, I suspect we wouldn’t be having this conversation. Unless I were a pig. Then you’d be doubly interested.” 

A few more things from this--Amaram also immediately goes for promiscuity as an insult. That means that, for all it was a cheap and sexist shot, Jasnah’s aim was accurate--Amaram sees being promiscuous as deeply insulting or wrong for a woman, unsurprising in a culture so devoted to oaths. 

Additionally, If you weren’t a woman is a threat. It’s the kind of line that is used often in movies, so we get desensitized to it, but it is an implied threat of violence. Amaram has gone from grabbing Jasnah to even more intimidation tactics as he loses control of the conversation. 

Jasnah’s following comment--implying that Amaram wants to fuck pigs, which, for the record, had me in stitches of laughter--also seems to throw credibility behind the “Amaram is fixated on Jasnah because he has a thing for her and She Does Not Like Him As She Is A Woman Of Taste And Also Probably Queer” fire. 

Side note, Amaram is absolutely the kind of guy who thinks he’s great enough for a lesbian to fall for him. His ego is the size of a mountain. He already is that asshole guy who calls a woman a slut when she refuses to date/sleep with him, as evidenced by this conversation. 

Anyway, it’s the pigfucking insult that gets him to start to summon his Blade--an even more blatant intimidation tactic--but one that, of course, doesn’t work because Jasnah is just waiting for an excuse to fight, and so he has to storm off in defeat. 

To summarize, here’s how Amaram dealt with the situation: 

Tried to get Jasnah alone

Repeatedly used her name to refer to her, almost to excess (also a note, he used her first name from the beginning)

Rewrote or misrepresented history casually in his conversation to make it more favorable to him

Refused multiple unambiguous demands that he leave

Assumed others operate primarily through manipulation

Changed his justifications for why he was there multiple times as earlier ones were proven useless

Physically grabbed Jasnah

Ensured a sympathetic audience he knew Jasnah would want to look good in front of before making an argument

Redirects her insult to his mother, opening a door for her to undercut her feminist reputation

Resorts to name-calling and threats when losing control of the conversation

In conclusion: Wow, what a fucking asshole. Also, these are common manipulative tactics, along with the “grouping the pair of you as an in-group” that he used with Dalinar! Keep your eyes out for those, gang. They’re usually no good. 

#oathbringer spoilers #the stormlight archive #roshar #cosmere meta #god do i hate meridas amaram #manipulation tw