Board Thread:Magnus Chase & the Gods of Asgard/@comment-32364251-20171218232652/@comment-25512094-20190506181447

BlueKettu wrote: I was surprised, to say the least, to see this subject has generated so much talk. I was under the impression, while reading, that Alex and Magnus were made for each other, though you can't say they're your typical teenagers in love being all lovey-dovey (thank the gods) :

- given their personnality, but also their past (Magnus) and gender Identity (Alex), they share the same need for freedom, for not being restrained and trapped in a situation. This also leads them to be wary of any authority figure. Plus, both have lived/are living outside what's considered "normal", with Magnus being homeless and Alex's genderfluidness, and I think it's interesting that they will be able to relate with their shared feeling of being outcasts, while still having experienced this in separate ways.

- both are sarcastic, and I think you'll need someone VERY sarcastic to grow past Magnus' défenses and catch his interest. They have this shared sense of humor that will make them able to keep amusing the other, without being hurt by their comments/words (….I see a lot of comments against Alex. Personnally, I found the scenes where he/she is alone with Magnus to be the best ones, and I kept waiting for their next exchange that would make me grin)

- In the same way, you'll need someone like Magnus, for Alex to be able to trust that there's nothing to fear from getting close. Given what he/she has been through, I think her/his tendency to be snarky is only natural and a defense against potential new attacks : "they reject me, but I don't want to keep suffering from their rejection so I won't allow myself to care for their attitude/words, they suck, I don't need them". Magnus is sarcastic but well-meaning, very pure of heart. He's pessimistic but caring towards his friends, and a healer. Despite his/her attitude, I think Alex is the most fragile character around here, refusing to grow close to others instantly, out of fear. Being snarky is easier. Especially towards someone he/she is attracted to, both physically and mentally : Magnus could hurt her/him pretty bad, if he ended up rejecting Alex, so it's better to push him away, right? to make fun of him, so as to hide her/his true feelings. Or Alex could be also acting this way because he/she doesn't trust someone could like her/him : it's too good to be true. So maybe he/she's trying to shot this hope down? or to test whether this could be real by pushing the limits? The heart is a complicated thing. But notice that Magnus reacts the same (though without the same intensity) : despite Alex having made her intent clear, it doesn't come to Magnus' brain that she kissed him because she wanted to (since they were about to die anyway, there was nothing to fear anymore). What I mean is : I think each has a way to understand and help/heal the other, like no other character can.

- both are clearly not looking for a traditionnal romance. They admire what Sam has with Amir, but it's clear they are not after this, and would probably explode from embarasment if they were confronted to it. I also liked that both are uncomfortable with most PDOA, though seem comfy with the contact of each other, showing that instinctively, they are physically in tune and won't cross each other's boundaries, while seeking the same level of intimacy.

- Magnus has also shown that he's one of the most instictivly in tune with his friends' emotions (...though he can be clumsy), and I think it's important to have Alex paired with someone who can perceive things on a subconscious level, since many things won't be said clearly, given Alex's personnality/past/reluctance to open up.

- don't hurt me, but I think Magnus is one of the less manly protagonists, when it comes to standard masculinity. And so, in a way, he's more balanced, regarding his own gender identity. ….which I think is perfect for a genderfluid character. Plus, as a son of Freyr, Magnus is a lover *grins*

- …..okay plus the fact Magnus got the power to talk with animals and Alex shapeshifts into many animals and I so wanted a scene with the both of them talking, Alex being in an animal form of any kind

And finally…. I don't think Alex is an abusive or violent character, especially within the viking setting. Did anyone notice that most characters here show joy when fighting? that some express themselves through violence? Have we talked about MacKey or Halfborn or anyone? Has anyone noticed that a lot of the main characters act rebellious/angry/insulting towards gods without punishment? Or the fact that Magnus here seems to be the exception and to be regarded as weak. Norsemen from the Middle Age are not traditionnally viewed as being sensitive or able to express their emotions in a delicate/passionate way (not saying this was the case back then, but they're most often described stereotypically as very 'manly', stoic, and yes, violent). Sure Alex can get angry at the way she/he's being addressed, but honestly, I think she/he has to, in a place filled with fighters and creatures that are not within the most LGBT friendly (as compared to the Greeks, though even them had their homophobic moments).

Most of the rest of the arguments about Alex being a mary sue don't make sense to me :

- heterochromia here is not a fancy detail but a symbol of his/her double nature. And I viewed Alex as having an average body type for a thin teen, making it easier for his/her gender to change easily (or to be more difficult for others to pinpoint).

- appart from Magnus, not a lot of people seem to be attracted to Alex, or commenting on his/her beauty (most are confused/grossed by her/his gender fluidness).

- the depiction of his/her clothing didn't seem over the top to me, especially since I took it as Magnus trying to gather clues about Alex current gender.

- I didn't think there was so much focus on Alex that we lost sight of the plot O__o I think maybe an analysis of the text would prove that it wasn't that important

- Alex himself/herself says she/he is not representative of the whole transgender Community. And if the author uses this character to send some messages about transphobia, then, what's the problem? Or should we also erase any explanary comment about the Nordic mythology, because they're also the author talking here, and the reader should make their own researches about who is who?

- How have people reformed to change their beliefs according to Alex's views? If anything, I saw Alex changing to start appreciating Sif. And I saw Halfborn trying to use better words, a much less important change compared to his opinion regarding Flam. Finally, Alex's dad IS a really bad person. And that's not because he has a little disagreement with his child. I think it's been made very clear why he's evil.

Who the heck is Mackey? Like Mr. Mackey from South Park? Didn’t know he had a role in this story, lol.

All jokes aside, time for a rebuttal~

-Heterochromia actually is something that has a bad track record amongst OC’S not strictly to PJO, but it’s an infamous one (Extending to actual Books written by authors) that signals that the creator wants their character to be perceived as special or beautiful~ That’s why she got the Mary Sue label.

-Eh, Sif does comment on Alex’s looks in the dress after the next day time skip when those two are magically no longer hating each other which was such hilariously bad writing~ Even with Magnus’s thoughts, it kinda got even more annoying or equally as bad as Percy doing the same thing to Annabeth.

-I respectfully disagree, it did.

-You kinda derail the latter half of this comment~ This is a book that totes itself about Norse Mythology and people kinda purchased this god-awful series just for that reason, Riordan can have whatever he has in his series from whatever spectrum as a extra bonus but he eclipsed the main selling point once Alex showed up....There’s a very big reason why people are divided on his LGBT presentation post-HoO, it isn’t all just bigots or those with certain views but even LGBT readers have called him out on it.

That’s a bad sign.

-Sif’s view is changed in a span of freaking five minutes, she literally goes from her bias against Alex and Sam due to Loki being their parent along with her calling Alex an it and when the next day comes you see Alex dreading spending more than a minute with someone who not only doesn’t like her, but misgendered her with a derogatory...Why do they become besties in a short time? In all honesty, that was poor as heck writing.

And no one argues that Alex’s Dad wasn’t less of a jerk or scumbag, that seems to be a universal thing.

-