A cute little reference to the Ninth and the Sixth teaming up but more importantly, how badly do you think it pained Tamsyn not to make it sixty-nine pieces?
[ID: comment saying: average nona the ninth readers. reply to that comment: listen, not condoning the mass murder, enslavement of god, fascist dictatorship, manipulation, or out of date meme references, but Jod was ABSOLUTELY a victim of vegan cancel culture. End ID]
Something I’ve seen a lot of in the Locked Tomb fandom is John’s irreverence/sense of humour held as evidence that he is and always was a piece of shit - his response to Wake’s questions about the bombs, his general attitude in the Nona flashbacks. (This is not a defence of John’s actions, so bear with me.)
This is a cultural barrier I’ve encountered before with New Zealand humour - Americans in particular have taken offence to my ‘attitude’ when I was making what would be considered a very chill joke here, and I think it’s no coincidence that a large portion of the tlt fandom seems to be American. New Zealand humour is very, very dry and irreverent and relies mainly on sarcasm, understatement and self-deprecation. We’re not overly sophisticated or witty. Delivering a very serious statement deadpan is considered very funny. We’re (especially men) discouraged from showing honest emotions and often cope with tragedy by making casual remarks that are almost callous at times. This all frequently comes off as rude or disrespectful to non-New Zealanders, especially via text with no vocal/body language indicators. I’ve gotten in trouble online more than once before over it.
I think part of the reason I interpreted John as less sinister than a lot of other people on my initial read is because his humour and manner seem very normal and non-threatening to me. When he says flippant shit that other people jump on as “See? He has no heart he’s evil he doesn’t care about others!” I’m like what? He was just- that’s what I’d have said too? That’s just how kiwis talk? This is not always true of course - sometimes he goes too far because he’s dead inside - the line about Sydney’s tram service is, while in line with New Zealand humour, deeply disturbing. But I think it’s really important that he’s not just Some Guy, he’s Some Kiwi Guy and to someone who’s grown up in New Zealand his manner of speech is very familiar and not the evidence of coldness/evilness it’s often perceived as by others.
The Locked Tomb fandom is fascinating because I’ll read the books and be like “welp, there sure was Stuff that happened” and feel like I followed it all, and then I’ll poke around tumblr and see discussions about character designs and events that I have absolutely no recollection of. It’s like getting a second, secret book.
everyone talks about “why are you not appeased? this is how meat loves meat” but did everyone fucking forget how devastating this part is. because i forgot
ALT
