Please tell me you didn’t mean the Harry Potter character because his reasons were nothing like Mari’s – who is showing actual concern over her granddaughters’ future.
They did indeed mean exactly that. 😛
“Harriet” is the go-to name for fanfiction writers who decide to Rule63 Harry into a girl and see how that changes things.
And now grandmother will only see the children at holidays and they will be grudging the time spent there. I think Amanda will see it as a rejection of her. (Not the case but she is still a child). Maybe Selkie will as well.
I wouldn’t let my future grandchildren randomly fire guns in, on, and around my house, either. Even if their parents *are* inexplicably seemingly okay with them doing it unsupervised. My house is not set up to be a firing range, it is not somewhere safe to *put* a firing range, and I am not a firearms instructor.
Wow, it’s a tricky one. But the discipline to not use a gift is also valuable. I doubt Jacob and Susan let Annie practice in the house… cabin? So I think you’ve got a point.
Obviously, so do I. 🙂 More seriously, I don’t think people would be nearly as cavalier about what’s happening here if the kids were toting, say, AR-15s, or even .22 can-plinkers. And, like firearms training, they both need to have it pounded into their heads that you don’t go shooting things off without adult supervision. No exceptions. No excuses.
I might’ve left out the part about ‘I’d ask you to stop completely if I could’ but otherwise, I don’t think Mari’s request is out of line. What I’m curious about is if her broaching the subject this way was something she worked out with Todd & Amanda (and Theo) beforehand or not.
I am a bit nervous that it seems like she is having this conversation without the parents around, or possibly knowing. I am fine with her asking how they are doing with all of this without the parents around. Getting an honest answer there is important. Saying that she would ask them to stop if she could with out the parents being around or possibly knowing much about the subject hits differently (as in her only exposure is at the wedding and she doesn’t know of the good things that an echo can do or the culture behind it, or if she has even met an adult echo). There is a lot of her own fear there that she is putting on grandchildren by themselves who probably highly value her opinion. I can understand her asking them not to do it at her house, as it is not designed for that type of thing, like woodworking only in the room made for it. Going on the woodcarving example, say you had a kid that really loved carving little animals and other things out of a small piece of wood. I could understand grandma saying no knives in the house, but not something like “I don’t understand why your parents let you do this” or “If I was your parent, I would tell you to stop doing it”. Sure knives can be dangerous, but so can so many other things. I know kids who have broken bones skiing, and lost a classmate in junior high to a freak horse riding accident (she was even wearing a helmet). Should they really be doing this is a conversation for the parents, and ends with the parents’ decision, whether you agree with it or not. Bypassing the parents this way just feels a bit like emotional blackmail. I don’t know if it actually is, or if the grandma even meant for it to be construed this way (she is understandably dealing with something difficult at the equivalent of super powers).
The other point to all of this is, this isn’t a tool that they can just put down and never use again, or something learned like a language that can either be learned or not. The echo abilities are an innate part of who the girls are now, much like hearing or seeing. Amanda saying that there is so much that they don’t know is directly related to how they can control this ability, especially with her. It is in this sense that smilies to tools fall apart and you have to get into superpower equivalents, for which we have no real life understanding, only theoretical. There was an online comic called Strong Female Protagonist that touched on these ideas (though it didn’t really have another species, as it was all just humans with mutations). I also feel like the ignorance of Sarnothi culture might end up being an issue, and how much being an echo relates to that (giving me assimilation vibes tbh).
I can understand that comparison, but at the same time, I think it’s very reasonable for her to be scared — for the safety of everyone, honestly, it’s not just a self-centered fear for her own safety — and to be overwhelmed and not able to deal.
Frankly, this feels like something that was missing from a lot of the X-Men I grew up on: a good-hearted person who loves her mutant children but honestly has no idea how to deal with the very concept of mutation to begin with. The X-Men had plenty of people who hated mutants, plenty of people who hated their own children once the children’s powers got revealed, and plenty of people who were fully on board with mutants… but precious few that I recall who were loving *and* scared.
It’s a lot to put on someone, all at once, especially when it concerns the safety of her “babies” on several levels (ability to hurt themselves, ability to hurt others, ability to hurt each other, chance of being snatched away by mysterious government agents, etc.). There are certainly better ways she could’ve reacted, but I don’t judge her for this at all.
Selkie’s comment in the last panel is spot-on (pun intended). They absolutely need somewhere safe-ish to practice. Also, both girls live in apartment buildings – not the safest places for laser eyes punching holes in ceilings and walls.
Oh good, now they’ll be practicing where there’s no adult supervision. Hopefully someone can get an actually echo on the line and set up training times in the woods/by the lake.
I don’t agree with Grandma at all. At the very least Grandpa could supervise them. Grandma is basically telling them she’s uncomfortable with who they are.
Grandma is an idiot. She would halt their progress before they’re able to control their power but after the government has already learned about their abilities Stopping now would only marginally reduce danger but greatly reduce their ability to protect themselves.
So Grandma has turned into Uncle Vernon? Doesn’t want little Harriet 1 and Harriet 2 to do any of that magic stuff.
Please tell me you didn’t mean the Harry Potter character because his reasons were nothing like Mari’s – who is showing actual concern over her granddaughters’ future.
They did indeed mean exactly that. 😛
“Harriet” is the go-to name for fanfiction writers who decide to Rule63 Harry into a girl and see how that changes things.
She’s pretending to show concern over her granddaughters’ future. She’s only actually concerned for her own comfort.
And now grandmother will only see the children at holidays and they will be grudging the time spent there. I think Amanda will see it as a rejection of her. (Not the case but she is still a child). Maybe Selkie will as well.
I wouldn’t let my future grandchildren randomly fire guns in, on, and around my house, either. Even if their parents *are* inexplicably seemingly okay with them doing it unsupervised. My house is not set up to be a firing range, it is not somewhere safe to *put* a firing range, and I am not a firearms instructor.
Wow, it’s a tricky one. But the discipline to not use a gift is also valuable. I doubt Jacob and Susan let Annie practice in the house… cabin? So I think you’ve got a point.
Obviously, so do I. 🙂 More seriously, I don’t think people would be nearly as cavalier about what’s happening here if the kids were toting, say, AR-15s, or even .22 can-plinkers. And, like firearms training, they both need to have it pounded into their heads that you don’t go shooting things off without adult supervision. No exceptions. No excuses.
This… This is just gonna get worse.
I might’ve left out the part about ‘I’d ask you to stop completely if I could’ but otherwise, I don’t think Mari’s request is out of line. What I’m curious about is if her broaching the subject this way was something she worked out with Todd & Amanda (and Theo) beforehand or not.
I am a bit nervous that it seems like she is having this conversation without the parents around, or possibly knowing. I am fine with her asking how they are doing with all of this without the parents around. Getting an honest answer there is important. Saying that she would ask them to stop if she could with out the parents being around or possibly knowing much about the subject hits differently (as in her only exposure is at the wedding and she doesn’t know of the good things that an echo can do or the culture behind it, or if she has even met an adult echo). There is a lot of her own fear there that she is putting on grandchildren by themselves who probably highly value her opinion. I can understand her asking them not to do it at her house, as it is not designed for that type of thing, like woodworking only in the room made for it. Going on the woodcarving example, say you had a kid that really loved carving little animals and other things out of a small piece of wood. I could understand grandma saying no knives in the house, but not something like “I don’t understand why your parents let you do this” or “If I was your parent, I would tell you to stop doing it”. Sure knives can be dangerous, but so can so many other things. I know kids who have broken bones skiing, and lost a classmate in junior high to a freak horse riding accident (she was even wearing a helmet). Should they really be doing this is a conversation for the parents, and ends with the parents’ decision, whether you agree with it or not. Bypassing the parents this way just feels a bit like emotional blackmail. I don’t know if it actually is, or if the grandma even meant for it to be construed this way (she is understandably dealing with something difficult at the equivalent of super powers).
The other point to all of this is, this isn’t a tool that they can just put down and never use again, or something learned like a language that can either be learned or not. The echo abilities are an innate part of who the girls are now, much like hearing or seeing. Amanda saying that there is so much that they don’t know is directly related to how they can control this ability, especially with her. It is in this sense that smilies to tools fall apart and you have to get into superpower equivalents, for which we have no real life understanding, only theoretical. There was an online comic called Strong Female Protagonist that touched on these ideas (though it didn’t really have another species, as it was all just humans with mutations). I also feel like the ignorance of Sarnothi culture might end up being an issue, and how much being an echo relates to that (giving me assimilation vibes tbh).
I can understand that comparison, but at the same time, I think it’s very reasonable for her to be scared — for the safety of everyone, honestly, it’s not just a self-centered fear for her own safety — and to be overwhelmed and not able to deal.
Frankly, this feels like something that was missing from a lot of the X-Men I grew up on: a good-hearted person who loves her mutant children but honestly has no idea how to deal with the very concept of mutation to begin with. The X-Men had plenty of people who hated mutants, plenty of people who hated their own children once the children’s powers got revealed, and plenty of people who were fully on board with mutants… but precious few that I recall who were loving *and* scared.
It’s a lot to put on someone, all at once, especially when it concerns the safety of her “babies” on several levels (ability to hurt themselves, ability to hurt others, ability to hurt each other, chance of being snatched away by mysterious government agents, etc.). There are certainly better ways she could’ve reacted, but I don’t judge her for this at all.
Selkie’s comment in the last panel is spot-on (pun intended). They absolutely need somewhere safe-ish to practice
But preferably not a totally secret place that they think no adults know about.
Selkie’s comment in the last panel is spot-on (pun intended). They absolutely need somewhere safe-ish to practice. Also, both girls live in apartment buildings – not the safest places for laser eyes punching holes in ceilings and walls.
Two pages ago:
“Grandma, are you asking us to stop?”
“No! Not at all!”
Today:
“Quite frankly, if I could, I’d ask you to stop entirely.”
Sounds like the big concern this family should be having is grandma’s failing memory.
Oh good, now they’ll be practicing where there’s no adult supervision. Hopefully someone can get an actually echo on the line and set up training times in the woods/by the lake.
I don’t agree with Grandma at all. At the very least Grandpa could supervise them. Grandma is basically telling them she’s uncomfortable with who they are.
Grandma is an idiot. She would halt their progress before they’re able to control their power but after the government has already learned about their abilities Stopping now would only marginally reduce danger but greatly reduce their ability to protect themselves.
Way to go Grandma. Drive the girls away from supervision into working unsupervised in secret.