Beatrix my beloved ❤️ My approach to social media is I disappear for months on end, drop an absolutely stupid good artwork, then return to the void from which I came
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@bam-beezled
Beatrix my beloved ❤️ My approach to social media is I disappear for months on end, drop an absolutely stupid good artwork, then return to the void from which I came
Did a redraw of the trailer screencap - have a little zoom around, there's a lot of detail packed in
yeah no I'm back on this again; it's not about sofia being too pretty to be agatha though, is it? bc all the agatha fancasts I saw (in my 7 years in the fandom pre-casting) were equally conventionally attractive actresses... just, yknow. white ones. I can list them. rowan blanchard, isabella fuhrman, mackenzie foy, maia mitchell, lily collins, katie douglas, malina weissman, miranda cosgrove, jodelle ferland, grace phillips, alice pagani, maisie williams. I went and re-found a fancast for every single one of them. it could have been any fucking white girl in the world as long as she had dark hair at some point. every one of them was equally conventionally attractive. In fact, many of them didn't fit the book!agatha bill in that they were short, or they had blue or green eyes, or that they had brown hair, but that didn't matter... but the second the choice for agatha isn't white, it suddenly becomes a problem people are clearly really concerned about. even tho sofia fits the bill in every single other way. why do you think that is?
casting, part 3374673338 or smth
(will add a read more when I have my laptop sorry)
when I post this on ig (which will probably be tomorrow I'm posting this on Tumblr early) I will not tag it or make it massively obvious, because if I possibly can, I do not want to risk getting this onto the cast's radars in any form (though I'm sure they must have noticed ngl, so we'll make it something they don't have to hear about Again). how embarrassing it is that we even have to have this conversation-- have it repeatedly, in fact. I am ashamed of parts of this fandom and I have to emphasise to you all that because of this whole thing we are not well liked by the other facets of the movie fandom. sofia's fans, kit's fans, etc have seen the shit said about the casting. people do not like the book fandom and I do not fault them for it.
let me be very, very clear. you are allowed to not like the casting. opinions are opinions. what you have to do is be conscious of your reasoning, and avoid voicing negative or hurtful things where the cast could see them. just those two things. I do not know how to articulate to some of you that the reasonings and opinions some people have on the cast are racist. no one is calling everyone who doesn't like the cast racist, if you play the victim over that you are deliberately and wilfully missing the point. but what you must be aware of is that so many of the complaints I've seen stem from ignorant and hurtful stereotypes and biases. if you get immediately defensive when someone calls that out, you need to examine your reasoning closer.
1. you can be a bit disappointed that a character doesn't look how you imagined them, but that should NEVER extend to the amount of bullshit I have seen. I have seen people saying sofia should straighten her hair, that she should wear a wig, I saw someone talk about 'painting her white' as if it was a feasible option, I saw people say she'd be a better dot or nicola. you HAVE to understand that these sorts of things are hurtful. there are so many microaggressions and stereotypes around black and mixed race people's hair, that suggesting sofia should change hers is v harmful. they have cast a mixed race woman to play agatha, and she should not have to try and pass as white because that's what the book character was. and people are suggesting she'd be a better dot or nicola... as if there can only be a certain number of black or mixed race characters? (also, sofia is mixed race, nicola is not as far as we know, that doesn't even work.) I suspect part of the issue for a lot of people is that they no longer feel they can project onto/relate to agatha. this is a) not true, you don't have to look like a character to relate to them, and b) a somewhat shallow viewpoint considering the changes have been made to make the cast more relatable to and representative of more people, not less. the plot is not changed by what agatha, or anyone, looks like. if anything, agatha's arc is made more impactful if she's not white, because it works better with the narrative of struggling to fit beauty standards and finding self confidence / self love.
2. YES, it is somewhat disappointing that anadil is not albino, but as I have tried to tell you all over and over again, THEY TRIED. there was a casting call for a teenage albino actress; I saw it, loads of people saw it. it was an open casting call at that, which means they went the extra mile to try and find someone by opening the casting to everyone. it didn't work out, they couldn't find anyone, obviously. so they have now cast someone who can play the role well, regardless of appearance. But I saw someone say "they could have at least cast a white girl". That feels to me as if people felt that her being white and pale would have been a 'close enough' substitute for not having an albino actress, which is absolutely not how that works. Either they have albinism or they don't; there is no 'close enough'. They couldn't get an albino actress and therefore stepped back for a wider view altogether. Frankly I'm glad they didn't get a white actress, because it would have felt like they were going 'eh, close enough' and that would have felt extremely cheap. People even said that Sophia would make a better Anadil. It seems to me that some people only care about her being albino when they can use it as a cover for a different complaint... (Note that Anadil's race is never specified in the books, and people of any race can have albinism, so actually there's no proof she was white in the first place-- iirc, outside of the books soman said he 'felt like' she was indian, but he said that at the handbook launch party and not in the books, and it cannot count as canon just because he said it, so it remains indeterminate)
3. and I am SURE that the only reason Kit had a relatively warm reception compared to how Sofia was treated, is because he has already played a beloved YA character with a fandom that crosses over with the SGE one. If he hadn't been Jesper, god knows what people would have said. (though as it is, people have already had something to say, but it hasn't been half as bad as the response elsewhere.) people repeatedly prefaced opinions with "oh well he wasn't how I imagined Rafal BUT I loved him as Jesper so I'm sure he'll be good/I'll give him a chance!" the different attitude there is... interesting.... to say the least.
4. beyond anything else, we've barely seen anyone in character or in costume, yet. we have nine or ten pictures of dovey and lesso, and a five second clip of the coven. if you're going to judge by appearance, for god's sake at least wait until we see them properly, which probably won't be for a while yet. (this post mostly concerns the arguments around the races of characters, but I would just like to drop in here that it is incredibly rude and demeaning to declare that you don't think x y or z is good looking enough for a character, or x should have played y instead because they're better looking-- I have seen that about at least three different characters now. a) again, can you just wait until you see them in character? and b) that is the world's most subjective opinion)
overall, it is not bullying or rude to point this out, it is true, and if you are feeling attacked or defensive, you need to take a step back and consider why. I have deliberately worded this in the most straightforward way I can. if you don't want to watch the movie... then don't! but for gods sake leave the rest of us to celebrate it without screaming yourself hoarse about how much you hate it. I've waited since 2014 for this and I was not expecting to have to fight for nine months about the agatha casting which I personally was thrilled by. it is wearying and it is deeply disappointing. do people know that it's likely part of the reason the website's fantasy casting forum was deleted was because of the less-than-stellar reputation it was projecting of the fandom? that people, me included, hoped the comments would be turned off on the ENTV casting videos so that people in the comments couldn't continue to be hateful? no wonder sofia doesn't interact with us much. it's a wonder any of the cast do, tbh. I am begging ppl to think more closely about it rather than getting knee-jerk defensive when people point out the issues with the complaints. you're not obligated to like it, but it pays to practice critical thinking and basic human decency.
Finally drew the coven all together
As if turns out, artbreeder is shockingly good for generating art block inspo. I got this and it reminded me of an icy suit, which in turn made me think of Burn by @pumpkinpaperweight and consequently I drew Ted in said suit. That is all.
If ONE more person says "idk I can't see it :/" about Nicphie or Agaster or any other WLW ship but then turns around and ships Keian, Jaric or Tort--
you guys can have this one early, as a treat
sge and toxic body standards:
a rare rant from vic
tw: eating disorders, anorexia
i’ve sure everyone’s seen the handful of instagram posts going around of people addressing the widely undiscussed topic: SGE’s reoccurring toxic body standards.
but still, despite all the @‘s to soman, dms, story reposts and shares, he hasn’t said a WORD. so, i thought i’d talk about it, even though he’ll likely brush it off.
so, what’s the problem?
i’m not gonna sugarcoat it. the fat shaming in this series is REOCCURING, REPULSIVE, and used as comic relief. riddle me this, soman. what is so funny about fat shaming dot throughout the whole series because she’s plus sized? why is that her ENTIRE character? why does her size matter to much that you mention that she’s overweight every three sentences? why is it that the only time dot is viewed as “beautiful” it’s when she grows “curves” (these kids are 16 max in book 2, why are we emphasizing that they have curves?) and is skinny?
why, in book 2 when it says that “reena let herself go” that’s she’s viewed as not as pretty as she was in book 1, when she was skinny?
why does sophie say that thick thighs are uncommon in pretty princess? is that funny to you? are your nine year old fans who idolize these books laughing with you? why is it that you ramble on and on about all the prettiest princesses having tiny waists, and being short, while the main character who is described as ugly, is tall?
it disgusts me.
part of sophie’s character in this series is being stunningly beautiful. guess what else? she rarely eats anything but small portions. until book six, she’s barely shown eating any sort of cake or sweet offered to her.
have you ever considered how this could trigger people suffering from ED’s and put a negative image that they need to deny food to be seen as the “fairest of them all?”
and i won’t even start about how the toxic body images in this series applies to boys as well. why is tedros, as a 13-14 year old in book one is described as having perfect “rippling muscles,” perfect skin, and overall a “perfect”, buff and skinny body? not to mention he also avoids food because he doesn’t want to be fat? imagine the young boys reading this series, now thinking they have to achieve a “perfect” body by age 13.
“it’s not as damaging as you think!”
yes, it is incredibly damaging. these are kids books. i read this series for the first time at age eight. i read the line where sophie says, “thick thighs were as uncommon in princesses as a hooked nose.”
i had never been self conscious about my thighs before, but when i looked at myself, i noticed that they didn’t have that gap. they weren’t stick thin.
stick thin like sophie’s.
i felt like i couldn’t be a princess, like i had to make myself skinnier if i wanted to imagine myself in the world of SGE. i hates my thighs. my mother had to tell me that my thighs had nothing to do with being a princess.
i was in third grade. that never should’ve happened.
i come from a place of privilege. i’m not plus sized, so imagine how horrible plus sized people could feel reading this series? its disgusting.
in case anyone needs more evidence, i reached out to a lot of friends in the fandom, asking if maybe one or two people had stories similar to me. i wasn’t expecting that many had.
i received tons of stories, most even more severe then mine. here they are:
“In primary school, we had world book day. I went as sophie, and I felt really insecure about it because i thought i wasn’t skinny enough to be sophie.” - @anadil on insta
“When i was in 5th grade, i wrote a fanfiction where my friends and i went into SGE. I remember writing it and being like, “wait we’re not skinny!” :( So of course i had to mention we weren’t skinny in the fanfiction, because in sge that’s a plot point.” -@ rarefreckledeer on insta
“The juice cleanse comment made me relapse cause it made me remember how disgusting I thought eating was.” - @ nettleforest, who suffered from anorexia.
“the thick thighs comment definitely got to me aswell, i remember going on walks and being scared to walk up hills cause i thought i’d get fat” -@ wheresmerlin
“also, the “no breakfast” comment...looking back that definitely was part of the reason why i skipped breakfast every morning and lied about it to my parents.” - @ wheresmerlin
“honestly the thick thighs comment in the book was what made me aware of it in the first place” - @ the agathaquartet
“the whole evergirls/sophie's skincare and watching what you eat agenda combined with outside influences genuinely made me feel like i should be doing it too”
“the way it’s used as comic relief too??? um? ok soman i don’t think me seeing black spots during school at age 13 because i hadn’t eaten in 48 hours is that funny😹😹”
“like name one healthy happy character who’s plus sized in sge. and doesn’t get their weight brought up negatively ever. NAME ONE I CHALLENGE YOU”
“the way dot is shamed for being fat the WHOLE series and is only respected when she’s skinny”
“dot and nicola and book 2 Reena are the only plus sized characters but they were insecure/bodyshamed/thought they weren't pretty enough”
i only talked to about 15 people, and got THAT amount of responses. so many people have felt insecure, had EATING DISORDERS, or stopped eating because of what they read in YOUR series. but still, this series gets endless praise.
while, yes, i adore this series and love it dearly, this has to be talked about. i doubt soman will see this or speak on the topic, but i’ll use my platform to speak on things i’m passionate about.
by including these messages in the books, youre creating unrealistic body standards, encouraging people to refuse food because they don’t want to be overweight, and planting the seeds of self hatred in young minds of those who read this series.
will you speak up about it? or will you let this “blow over?”
do with that information what you will.
THIS THIS THIS
everything about this post is so so important, it’s rarely talked about it or even recognized as a problem which is so wrong! this has been circulating around this month and the fact that soman has said nothing on it and chose to ignore it is appalling. please spread this around as much as you can!
Nicola: Failed by the Fandom?
To begin this, let’s look at Nicola’s SGE wiki description from when I went to look yesterday; She’s intelligent, smart and brave (she saved her friends more than twice and gave good advices) but she degrades people around her and she thinks she’s smarter than others. Last I checked, the wiki was not supposed to be filled with people’s badly-concealed opinions, undercutting her (generic) good qualities with her (percieved) bad ones! But no one bothered to change it so I’ve changed it to be more impartial. The comments are full of people fighting about whether they like her or not. Over 2017-18, I saw people call her a hoe and a bitch, she remains one of the most unpopular characters with the least amount of fan content, and when people DO interact with content about her, it’s quite often prefaced with “I don’t / didn’t like Nicola but–” So, what is it about Nicola that makes her so dislikable? Why is she more hated than many villains? Well, I asked. Let’s discuss the reasons I got:
Don’t talk to me unless these are your stats
I’m watching people on twitter and tumblr offer The School for Good and Evil up as an unproblematic alternative to Harry Potter (since it’s also a middle grade about a magic school, only fairy tales instead of wizards) and it’s making me nervous bc… no, Soman is not a raging TERF like JKR and he really means well, but he does say dumb stuff from time to time and the series does have its problems (no, it is not as gay as people on twitter are making it seem. he just about pulls through in the second series but it’s not like a pride parade) and I don’t want people to go into it expecting this perfect unproblematic paradise? this is literally a fan account for it so don’t get me wrong, I love it, but it DOES have issues and people should really be making that clearer hh. like give it a chance, it’s good, but be prepared for it to be flawed.
the trio + the coven as chess pieces
inspo: xx
bruh i forgot to post it but here's my shitty "which SGE crackship are you?" quiz
I made a uquiz so you can find out which one of my frequently stolen fanarts are you (SHOCKING)
guys please I'm begging you, no more, they're not even that good
The official Tagatha month calendar for June 2020! Tag this blog if you try any of the prompts! I can’t wait to see what you come up with! =========================================================== 1 - Clothes swap
2 - Soulmates
3 - Blanket fort
4 - Summer day
5 - Halloween party
6 - Swimming
7 - Magic
8 - Redecorating
9 - Gardening
10 - Genderbend
11 - Wedding
12 - Coffee shop
13 - Sword fighting
14 - Comfort
15 - Winter fun
16 - Spa day
17 - Coffin
18 - Villians
19 - Food fight
20 - Rainy day
21 - Parents
22 - Scars
23 - Myths
24 - Vacation
25 - Tears
26 - First aid
27 - Colors
28 - Firsts
29 - Road trip
30 - Flowers