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joiedecombatBecause fanfiction.net hurts me and today, apparently, is a Stupid Fandom Day, it's time for a thrilling episode of Bad Gundam SEED Fanon Theater!
Mostly regarding stupid Mwu and Murrue fanon, because that is mostly what I read.
Meet our cast of characters:
Buttercup Murrue
Fanwriters just love the idea that Murrue loved a mobile armor pilot who was killed in action prior to the series. they love the idea that, like Princess Buttercup, she has sworn never to love again - especially not another pilot! - and has built up walls and defenses around her heart, blah blah dramacakes. And they love to write about how Mwu won past all those defenses and claimed her heart and taught her to love again. The fact that Murrue is the second most emotionally adjusted major character in the series and shows no indication of being determined not to love - she seems more exasperated than anything else at the fact that she has fallen in love again - or that Mwu is in no position to be teaching anyone how to love again does not dissuade them. A broken heart is romantic, and who doesn't love The Princess Bride?
Just to make it that much more annoying, the writers who do this tend to refer to Murrue's past lover exclusively as he, in italics (or less often in boldface). While I can understand the aversion to just assigning the guy a name, this is no better. I mean, honestly - who really thinks like that?
Insecure Teenager Murrue
Because, I don't know, God forbid a woman be secure in herself. I guess there is a certain amount of canon basis for this one - if you squint - in that Murrue does seem to sometimes doubt her own judgment calls and her ability to lead. Mostly, though, I think it's teen girl writers projecting their own personal worries onto her, to make her easier to identify with, or... something. The result is that she worries incessantly, about everything, and needs constant reassurance from Mwu. She thinks she is plain and can't imagine why Mwu would be attracted to her - I have seen, no lie, fic in which two random blonds hit on Mwu and, when rejected, disparage Murrue's looks, prompting her to flee in tears.
Which is another really annoying thing about fanon Murrue that I will get to shortly.
In her worst iterations, Insecure Teenager Murrue tearfully begs Mwu not to launch during battle, but to stay on the Archangel instead. Which... no. No. Never mind that she has to already know that he'd never agree to it anyhow, if he doesn't launch, the Archangel runs exponentially greater risk of getting blown up, in which case they'll all die anyhow. She doesn't get to ask him not to launch, even assuming it would occur to her to think of it, because she's the captain. But it seems like the "please don't go out there" scene is practically mandatory for Mwu/Murrue fanwriters.
I have also seen one variant, set years after Destiny, in which it was remarked that Mwu did not fly much any more because Murrue didn't like it, and she stressed out over the idea that her (still very young) daughter wanted to be a pilot. slkajsjkdf
This portrayal of Murrue really bothers me because it is so often so clearly an idealized depiction of the relationship - the writer's personal fantasy version - and yet Murrue is weakened by it, turned from a genuinely strong female character into an insecure and passive shadow of herself. And... this is their idealized relationship? This is the character in whose place they are imagining themselves?
Guh.
Weepy Murrue
Speaking of God, why, here's another annoying fanon trend Murrue gets subjected to constantly: she cries at the drop of a hat. When she's sad, worried, scared, relieved, happy... you name it. They will go so far as to rewrite scenes from the anime, like their scene after Colony Mendel, to include Murrue having random crying breakdowns before, during, or after perfectly good canon moments. What the hell, people. Murrue cries exactly twice in SEED, both times when someone important to her has just died. She tears up twice more, both times during moments of great emotional stress, and both times she makes every effort to maintain her composure.
It hurts and stings.
But never fear! Wherever Insecure, Weepy Fanon Murrue goes, Perfect Shiny Mwu is bound to follow.
This is one I see less of now than I did when I first entered the fandom, but it's no less annoying, and it still turns up a lot. Where Murrue gets wimped out, Mwu gets genuinely idealized - his flaws are soft-pedaled and his damage is ignored in favor of showing how much he supports Murrue and takes care of her and solves her problems. When Murrue worries, he puts things into perspective. He is, in fanfic, far more likely than Murrue to express the desire for a normal life with her after the war, marriage and children and white picket fences and all, even though in canon he demonstrates a notable failure to grok a civilian point of view, and he is far more comfortable with expressing love and affection than Murrue is even though she is the one who has been in a serious relationship before - you see the problem here, right? Aside from the way it unbalances a great, naturally supportive dynamic, Mwu is interesting for what's behind his perfect shiny ace pilot exterior. Fortunately, quite a few fanwriters have latched onto the idea of Mwu as the more damaged of the two of them. Unfortunately, he still gets idealized a lot.
Slightly less angry-making, if only because it's a step in something vaguely akin to the right direction, is Workaholic Murrue, who is constantly pushing herself too hard and taking on too much and ignoring the consequences until they pile up her and, once again, Mwu has to take care of her. This accounts for by far the majority of the Mwu/Murrue hurt/comfort fic out there, ranging from "she works herself to exhaustion" to "she's getting sick and ignores it until she passes out" to "she tries to walk around on a sprained ankle" to "she gives birth alone in her own home" - no, I'm not making that last one up. This one has at least slightly more canon basis than any of the others - but what the writers fail to take into account is that when we see Murrue pushing herself, it's because there are lives on the line; they're in the middle of a war and everyone is having to work hard. If anything, this is more Mwu's territory than Murrue's, and even he seems to have a pretty finely developed sense of his limitations to go along with his vanity, most of the time.
Perhaps related to this, fanon likes to describe Murrue as "thin" and delicate. I refer you to my icon for my thoughts on that score.
Blushing Virgin Murrue
As much as fanwriters like to make of Murrue's past love, you would think this would not be an issue. But it is. Chalk it up to the age and immaturity of the writers again, or to a more widespread issue in which women in fiction just aren't allowed to have healthy attitudes toward sex - fanon Murrue might as well be starring in the cheesiest kind of romance novel. It is always Mwu who initiates, and when he does, Murrue is almost always flustered and embarassed and in need of coaxing. They will go so far as to write her having attacks of nervous flutters just from being alone in her quarters with him - after phase 38. On the rare occasions that she does take the initiative, we get lines about him "needing to regain control." Which is ridiculous.He totally likes it when she tops him!
(Amusingly, this doesn't tend to happen nearly as much in the rare pieces of actual plot-what-plot smut which turn up. Quite the contrary, in those fics Murrue tends to cheerfully abuse her authority as captain. They're still terrible fics, of course, but at least we're spared the blushing virgin nonsense from a character who ought to be allowed to take the initiative occasionally.)
Suicidal Emo Murrue
I should not even have to say why this is so wrong, folks. And yet - people keep writing fic about how heartbroken Murrue is after Mwu's death and how empty and meaningless life is without him and pretty much every wangsty how-do-i-live-without-you sap ballad you've ever heard. I swear, if I read another fic about Murrue committing suicide out of grief over losing Mwu, I am leaving this fandom and coming back with a flamethrower.
Naturally, they never, ever address the part where killing herself after he died saving her really robs his death of its meaning. Way to go, fandom.
And then there's the one that's really grossing me out lately, Man-Child Mwu. I am completely at a loss as to the appeal of this version of the character, or why on earth anyone who actually watched the series would at any point get the impression that Mwu would, under any circumstances, whine at Murrue to get his way, or insist on being allowed to get ice cream only to make a mess of eating it, or generally behave like a six-year-old. He's twenty-eight years old, for God's sake - thirty by Destiny - and he's spent some twelve to fourteen years in the military; he is probably not going to habitually just drop his stuff haphazardly all over his quarters, or... I could go on, but frankly, it skeeves me out. Murrue is happy to be any number of things to him - captain, partner, lover - but I don't think either of them in any way wants her to be his mother.
Eugh.
As a weird side effect of how immaturely Murrue and Mwu are portrayed in fanfic about them, we are also frequently treated to appearances by Lacus and Kira the All-Wise and All-Knowing, who turn up whenever Mwu or Murrue (usually Murrue) is stressing over some aspect of their relationship and Doesn't Know How To Deal, offering reassurance and wise counsel, and generally being the adults while Mwu and Murrue behave like teenagers. I blame this mostly on Destiny, in which both of them, especially Lacus, do have a bit of this going on. Still, you'd think that if any SEED character were going to occupy the wise, serene earth-mother sort of role, it would be Murrue herself. Maybe she does, in Kira/Lacus fic. In any case, stop for a moment and seriously think about the idea of Mwu getting relationship advice from Kira. Just think about it.
Yeah. Blind leading the blind.
My poor OTP, getting schooled in the ways of life and love by a couple of teenagers.
And then there's the assortment of minor wtf-ery like how everyone refers to Murrue's eyes as "marigold" and her hair as "auburn" - yeah, yeah, "brown" doesn't sound special enough, Cry Me A River - and how the fandom has seized on the idea that she is from California and he is from Canada. I have no idea where that came from, but he's even listed as French Canadian in Wikipedia now. I... really don't get it. I mean, I suppose it's possible, but Murrue is one of the only characters we see who regularly delivers formal bows - I can think of at least three instances off the top of my head - which does not scream "Californian" to me.
Sometimes I really hate this fandom.
Mostly regarding stupid Mwu and Murrue fanon, because that is mostly what I read.
Meet our cast of characters:
Buttercup Murrue
Fanwriters just love the idea that Murrue loved a mobile armor pilot who was killed in action prior to the series. they love the idea that, like Princess Buttercup, she has sworn never to love again - especially not another pilot! - and has built up walls and defenses around her heart, blah blah dramacakes. And they love to write about how Mwu won past all those defenses and claimed her heart and taught her to love again. The fact that Murrue is the second most emotionally adjusted major character in the series and shows no indication of being determined not to love - she seems more exasperated than anything else at the fact that she has fallen in love again - or that Mwu is in no position to be teaching anyone how to love again does not dissuade them. A broken heart is romantic, and who doesn't love The Princess Bride?
Just to make it that much more annoying, the writers who do this tend to refer to Murrue's past lover exclusively as he, in italics (or less often in boldface). While I can understand the aversion to just assigning the guy a name, this is no better. I mean, honestly - who really thinks like that?
Insecure Teenager Murrue
Because, I don't know, God forbid a woman be secure in herself. I guess there is a certain amount of canon basis for this one - if you squint - in that Murrue does seem to sometimes doubt her own judgment calls and her ability to lead. Mostly, though, I think it's teen girl writers projecting their own personal worries onto her, to make her easier to identify with, or... something. The result is that she worries incessantly, about everything, and needs constant reassurance from Mwu. She thinks she is plain and can't imagine why Mwu would be attracted to her - I have seen, no lie, fic in which two random blonds hit on Mwu and, when rejected, disparage Murrue's looks, prompting her to flee in tears.
Which is another really annoying thing about fanon Murrue that I will get to shortly.
In her worst iterations, Insecure Teenager Murrue tearfully begs Mwu not to launch during battle, but to stay on the Archangel instead. Which... no. No. Never mind that she has to already know that he'd never agree to it anyhow, if he doesn't launch, the Archangel runs exponentially greater risk of getting blown up, in which case they'll all die anyhow. She doesn't get to ask him not to launch, even assuming it would occur to her to think of it, because she's the captain. But it seems like the "please don't go out there" scene is practically mandatory for Mwu/Murrue fanwriters.
I have also seen one variant, set years after Destiny, in which it was remarked that Mwu did not fly much any more because Murrue didn't like it, and she stressed out over the idea that her (still very young) daughter wanted to be a pilot. slkajsjkdf
This portrayal of Murrue really bothers me because it is so often so clearly an idealized depiction of the relationship - the writer's personal fantasy version - and yet Murrue is weakened by it, turned from a genuinely strong female character into an insecure and passive shadow of herself. And... this is their idealized relationship? This is the character in whose place they are imagining themselves?
Guh.
Weepy Murrue
Speaking of God, why, here's another annoying fanon trend Murrue gets subjected to constantly: she cries at the drop of a hat. When she's sad, worried, scared, relieved, happy... you name it. They will go so far as to rewrite scenes from the anime, like their scene after Colony Mendel, to include Murrue having random crying breakdowns before, during, or after perfectly good canon moments. What the hell, people. Murrue cries exactly twice in SEED, both times when someone important to her has just died. She tears up twice more, both times during moments of great emotional stress, and both times she makes every effort to maintain her composure.
It hurts and stings.
But never fear! Wherever Insecure, Weepy Fanon Murrue goes, Perfect Shiny Mwu is bound to follow.
This is one I see less of now than I did when I first entered the fandom, but it's no less annoying, and it still turns up a lot. Where Murrue gets wimped out, Mwu gets genuinely idealized - his flaws are soft-pedaled and his damage is ignored in favor of showing how much he supports Murrue and takes care of her and solves her problems. When Murrue worries, he puts things into perspective. He is, in fanfic, far more likely than Murrue to express the desire for a normal life with her after the war, marriage and children and white picket fences and all, even though in canon he demonstrates a notable failure to grok a civilian point of view, and he is far more comfortable with expressing love and affection than Murrue is even though she is the one who has been in a serious relationship before - you see the problem here, right? Aside from the way it unbalances a great, naturally supportive dynamic, Mwu is interesting for what's behind his perfect shiny ace pilot exterior. Fortunately, quite a few fanwriters have latched onto the idea of Mwu as the more damaged of the two of them. Unfortunately, he still gets idealized a lot.
Slightly less angry-making, if only because it's a step in something vaguely akin to the right direction, is Workaholic Murrue, who is constantly pushing herself too hard and taking on too much and ignoring the consequences until they pile up her and, once again, Mwu has to take care of her. This accounts for by far the majority of the Mwu/Murrue hurt/comfort fic out there, ranging from "she works herself to exhaustion" to "she's getting sick and ignores it until she passes out" to "she tries to walk around on a sprained ankle" to "she gives birth alone in her own home" - no, I'm not making that last one up. This one has at least slightly more canon basis than any of the others - but what the writers fail to take into account is that when we see Murrue pushing herself, it's because there are lives on the line; they're in the middle of a war and everyone is having to work hard. If anything, this is more Mwu's territory than Murrue's, and even he seems to have a pretty finely developed sense of his limitations to go along with his vanity, most of the time.
Perhaps related to this, fanon likes to describe Murrue as "thin" and delicate. I refer you to my icon for my thoughts on that score.
Blushing Virgin Murrue
As much as fanwriters like to make of Murrue's past love, you would think this would not be an issue. But it is. Chalk it up to the age and immaturity of the writers again, or to a more widespread issue in which women in fiction just aren't allowed to have healthy attitudes toward sex - fanon Murrue might as well be starring in the cheesiest kind of romance novel. It is always Mwu who initiates, and when he does, Murrue is almost always flustered and embarassed and in need of coaxing. They will go so far as to write her having attacks of nervous flutters just from being alone in her quarters with him - after phase 38. On the rare occasions that she does take the initiative, we get lines about him "needing to regain control." Which is ridiculous.
(Amusingly, this doesn't tend to happen nearly as much in the rare pieces of actual plot-what-plot smut which turn up. Quite the contrary, in those fics Murrue tends to cheerfully abuse her authority as captain. They're still terrible fics, of course, but at least we're spared the blushing virgin nonsense from a character who ought to be allowed to take the initiative occasionally.)
Suicidal Emo Murrue
I should not even have to say why this is so wrong, folks. And yet - people keep writing fic about how heartbroken Murrue is after Mwu's death and how empty and meaningless life is without him and pretty much every wangsty how-do-i-live-without-you sap ballad you've ever heard. I swear, if I read another fic about Murrue committing suicide out of grief over losing Mwu, I am leaving this fandom and coming back with a flamethrower.
Naturally, they never, ever address the part where killing herself after he died saving her really robs his death of its meaning. Way to go, fandom.
And then there's the one that's really grossing me out lately, Man-Child Mwu. I am completely at a loss as to the appeal of this version of the character, or why on earth anyone who actually watched the series would at any point get the impression that Mwu would, under any circumstances, whine at Murrue to get his way, or insist on being allowed to get ice cream only to make a mess of eating it, or generally behave like a six-year-old. He's twenty-eight years old, for God's sake - thirty by Destiny - and he's spent some twelve to fourteen years in the military; he is probably not going to habitually just drop his stuff haphazardly all over his quarters, or... I could go on, but frankly, it skeeves me out. Murrue is happy to be any number of things to him - captain, partner, lover - but I don't think either of them in any way wants her to be his mother.
Eugh.
As a weird side effect of how immaturely Murrue and Mwu are portrayed in fanfic about them, we are also frequently treated to appearances by Lacus and Kira the All-Wise and All-Knowing, who turn up whenever Mwu or Murrue (usually Murrue) is stressing over some aspect of their relationship and Doesn't Know How To Deal, offering reassurance and wise counsel, and generally being the adults while Mwu and Murrue behave like teenagers. I blame this mostly on Destiny, in which both of them, especially Lacus, do have a bit of this going on. Still, you'd think that if any SEED character were going to occupy the wise, serene earth-mother sort of role, it would be Murrue herself. Maybe she does, in Kira/Lacus fic. In any case, stop for a moment and seriously think about the idea of Mwu getting relationship advice from Kira. Just think about it.
Yeah. Blind leading the blind.
My poor OTP, getting schooled in the ways of life and love by a couple of teenagers.
And then there's the assortment of minor wtf-ery like how everyone refers to Murrue's eyes as "marigold" and her hair as "auburn" - yeah, yeah, "brown" doesn't sound special enough, Cry Me A River - and how the fandom has seized on the idea that she is from California and he is from Canada. I have no idea where that came from, but he's even listed as French Canadian in Wikipedia now. I... really don't get it. I mean, I suppose it's possible, but Murrue is one of the only characters we see who regularly delivers formal bows - I can think of at least three instances off the top of my head - which does not scream "Californian" to me.
Sometimes I really hate this fandom.
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no subject
Date: 2006-07-19 06:30 am (UTC)I think that the one that I find most outright amusing is the need for hurt/comfort where Mwu takes care of Murrue. I mean, look, people, there is canon Mwu/Murrue hurt/comfort in the series itself. She takes care of him. I guess you could say that they're filling the void by reversing it, but still.
I knew almost from the instant I attached to Mwu that fandom would get him all wrong, would idealize the fuck out of him and turn him into a flat, lifeless character. But I didn't foresee how badly they'd fuck up Murrue, or the many and varied creepy ways they'd fuck them both up.
Dammit, people, Mwu is boyish and in some ways emotionally immature--but is also a soldier. A very good one. To the point where he is a bad civilian. He is not a child.
And what the hell is it with what fandom does to strong female characters? First they whine about not having any, then they character-rape the ones they get!
The thought of Kira giving Mwu love advice is hilarious on so many levels, though. I should write a fic where Mwu tries to give Kira love advice.
"Make sure you've got a dramatic line. And you have to be smug! Then you kiss her!"
And Kira just stares at him blankly.
no subject
Date: 2006-07-19 06:39 am (UTC)I found a new low in Mwu/Murrue hurt/comfort today - a one-shot in which, at some point apparently during SEED continuity, Murrue doesn't show up for her shift on the bridge so Natarle sends Mwu to look for her, and he finds her battered, bloodied, and traumatized in her quarters, having been - I shit you not - raped. By who? I am not sure. They make some vague reference to "that prisoner" - I can only assume they meant Dearka.
Spffft.
no subject
Date: 2006-07-19 06:46 am (UTC)That's...
...really...
...wow.
I just can't process that. My brain imploded.
no subject
Date: 2006-07-19 06:48 am (UTC)Those were both incredibly surreal.
no subject
Date: 2006-07-19 03:30 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-07-22 12:26 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-07-31 08:00 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-07-31 08:06 pm (UTC)I really have no idea where the whole Mwu = Canadian thing came from. Just another weird bit of fanon.
no subject
Date: 2006-10-01 05:32 pm (UTC)And the French spelling of Raww's name just makes me think of obscenely expensive cookware (http://www.lecreuset.com/usa/home.php) (and also makes about three or four Japanese fanartists think the same, LOL, so I *know* it isn't just me). :3
no subject
Date: 2007-09-25 03:48 am (UTC)Okay, I admit, I've done some of those up there >__> though not too much I hope... I re-read some of my writing and feel ashamed or just wtf.. but I'm too attached to them to delete them... I shall try to write better in the future.
But I was talking to someone about Murrue one day, and I asked her if Mwu didn't "come back" in Destiny, would she have moved on. She answered no, Murrue would've held on, forever until she died. Why? Because Murrue is lovesick, and therefore, not sane. She is in pain forever because even though she's strong, she was struck down and can never get up again. So she will wallow in her pain forever waiting for Mwu to come back. Because she closed her heart again and will never love again.
I told her it's not so, that Murrue's not "lovesick" and she'll get over it in time because she's not like that. And she told me that it's "bull".
ARRRGGHHH!!!! lkj;dfsalkj;asdf >____<
Sorry for ranting ^^;;
But I guess when it comes down to it, they just have different... viewpoints or something. And there's nothing anyone can do or say to change that, unfortunately. The best thing you can do is to ignore it and pretend you've never seen it and it doesn't exist. Kinda like my view on Neo and Destiny, but that's another matter all on its own.
I wish there were more responsible and mature fans like you. But unfortunately, SEED is targeted at teenagers mostly, and they have warped views on the world, and sees everyone as a teenager, because they don't know how adults are supposed to act >__>
no subject
Date: 2007-09-25 03:50 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-09-25 04:12 am (UTC)But I was talking to someone about Murrue one day, and I asked her if Mwu didn't "come back" in Destiny, would she have moved on. She answered no, Murrue would've held on, forever until she died.
aslkdfjlksaj wtf no. Whyyyy do people give Murrue so little credit? Or is it just that it's more "romantic" for her to never get over it? Never mind that she was already getting over it in the first three quarters of Destiny.
See, that's the sort of thing that prompted me to write this post - not your fics. (It also has a lot to do with why I ship Andy/Murrue.)
no subject
Date: 2007-09-25 02:53 pm (UTC)Why do they do it? Some theories that I have:
1. It's "Romantic", because her love never dies. Except they forgot that love doesn't have to "die" in order for her to get over it
2. They can't stand the idea of Murrue being with anyone other than Mwu. I sort of share this sentiment, but if they're true fans, wouldn't they want her to be happy? (okay, another fan said she was torn between this, and wanting her to wait for him forever)
But good for them, Mwu did "come back", as Neo, which is why they love him so much. Personally I have lots of complaints about Neo and would rather choose to ignore him, but that's a rant all on its own.
As for Andy/Murrue, I like the possibility. Except, I can't see it right now (now being Destiny time), because they're still on a last-name basis. But given a few years and no Neo, you never know.