Does anyone else think Padma and Seamus seem unusually worried about him? They must have come up with one hell of a fake challenge, if his absence has got them this worried. And what does it have to do with Milland (Snape)?
My issue is that rather than being upset about Deans death, she is only concerned about the potential consequences for her.
She may not have meant for it to happen but she hasn't shown even one smidgen of remorse. In fact, she and Seamus are happy to lay ALL the blame on Dean. I think she may be a sociopath, she really lacks any sense that others matter, except in their relations to her.
ETA: I see we are now thinking the same way :)
Edited (To respond to above edited post) Date: 2014-05-08 03:26 am (UTC)
Seamus a little less than Padma - I get the impression that he's more shaken by it than she is. I mean, she's wishing she wasn't bothered by it and he's wishing that he and Dean could have been friends.
(Of course, he's also hoping she impresses Lana as a result, so - a smidgen less.)
I almost think Padma is saying she feels guilty more because she thinks she should feel guilty than because she actually has any true feelings. But that could be my prejudices showing.
I get the impression that Seamus deals a lot with stress by redirecting it elsewhere. ISTR he got very cold and angry after the dark rite where he had to kill his mother, and very 'yeah, she deserved it', and I was very "Oh, so cold, Seamus" and then he started melting down from the nightmares afters...
I think that's a natural reaction to feeling loads of guilt over doing something horrible. And fwiw, I see Padma engaging in the same sort of behavior here. Not that Dean deserved it, or that she isn't being thoroughly self-centered here, but I think accusing her of being a sociopath is too much.
Think about how much people try to shift blame around over other types of accidents, or really any calamity that is not caused by an act of nature. The tendency to blame the victim is totally a part of human defense mechanism, whether or not it's a justified reaction.
I don't know! I've been rereading the early days and Padma is so very self absorbed all the way through. Even Parvati's problems with poor marks etc are seen through a filter of how it affects Padma, with little sympathy even for her twin. The only times she seems to be supportive are when the consequences affect her and it is in her direct interest to calm things down. She worries when Seamus is threatened but while she says the right thing, there is an underlying hint of I don't want to lose my confidante, not genuine concern for a friend. She even makes light of Sanjis death, this is explained as her religious duty to celebrate his life and see his passing as a positive,rather than dwell on his death. She is probably just being a good Sikh girl but it sits uncomfortably with me. The only truly good thing I've seen her do is support Seamus in his sexuality, but that could also be seen as being in her interest. He is her closest friend but their interactions are full of " you might be a halfblood but....you are loyal, you are right thinking etc". She sees even him through a very narrow view point. And her near hero worship of Lana is disquieting as well.
Maybe I'm just biased from having real life interactions with someone who didn't care to hide such issues, but it is a conclusion that I have been gradually reaching over a very long time.
Maybe I meant Pyschopath though on further consideration.
Andy mcNab, the former SAS member, has just released a book about being a "good"pyschopath which has got a lot of UK press. I can see those traits in both Padma and Lana.
Maybe in another environment, they would have been able to channel their actions more positively. Indeed their characters possibly believe they are doing so.
Thank you players, for once again, producing characters so realistic that we can look at them in detail and speculate as to their innermost thoughts and workings.
I assumed Sikh cause I seem to remember she talked about her older brother and his learning to tie a turban at about 12. While I had seen some other more commonly Hindu comments, that one stuck in my head last night when trying to decide which religion I thought she was.
Ok, although here in the UK I've known Sikh / Hindu families who've intermarried so it didn't read that strangely to me. Sikhism has some distant Hindu roots, and my previous boss was a devout Hindu woman who found nothing incompatible in her marriage to a Sikh.
Right - and there are occasions when turbans are appropriate / part of traditional dress whether Sikh or Hindu... Plus it was (I think) largely early in the evolution of the character.
If you look at the body of her discussion of her family, though, she consistently talks about Hindu religious practices and the family's Kshatriyan heritage. So.
I guess in the UK the majority of the Sikh men I meet still place great importance on the wearing of the turban, which they always do and Sikh boys are expected to tie the full turban by reaching their teens. So the boys I taught at secondary school would be wearing the full turban. So to me a turban is essential to a Sikh, and worn at weddings and the like by a Hindu. I understand that far less Sikh men wear turbans today in the US so it may be a distinction that is less obvious there. Their right to do so is enshrined in many of our laws, such as an exemption from having to wear a motorcycle helmet. And the military have recently had to back down on a 20 year ban on such headwear.
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winterfish
no subject
Date: 2014-05-08 03:15 am (UTC)ETA: Ugh, never mind, she and Seamus are both horrible.
"I can't help but feel bad." REALLY?!! Well isn't that sweet of you.
And how many times can you call someone an idiot when they've just died without sounding like a cold bitch? None? Okay then.
no subject
Date: 2014-05-08 03:24 am (UTC)She may not have meant for it to happen but she hasn't shown even one smidgen of remorse. In fact, she and Seamus are happy to lay ALL the blame on Dean. I think she may be a sociopath, she really lacks any sense that others matter, except in their relations to her.
ETA: I see we are now thinking the same way :)
no subject
Date: 2014-05-08 03:27 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-05-08 03:38 am (UTC)(Of course, he's also hoping she impresses Lana as a result, so - a smidgen less.)
no subject
Date: 2014-05-08 03:47 am (UTC)I almost think Padma is saying she feels guilty more because she thinks she should feel guilty than because she actually has any true feelings. But that could be my prejudices showing.
no subject
Date: 2014-05-08 04:35 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-05-08 04:43 am (UTC)Think about how much people try to shift blame around over other types of accidents, or really any calamity that is not caused by an act of nature. The tendency to blame the victim is totally a part of human defense mechanism, whether or not it's a justified reaction.
no subject
Date: 2014-05-08 08:20 am (UTC)She worries when Seamus is threatened but while she says the right thing, there is an underlying hint of I don't want to lose my confidante, not genuine concern for a friend.
She even makes light of Sanjis death, this is explained as her religious duty to celebrate his life and see his passing as a positive,rather than dwell on his death. She is probably just being a good Sikh girl but it sits uncomfortably with me.
The only truly good thing I've seen her do is support Seamus in his sexuality, but that could also be seen as being in her interest. He is her closest friend but their interactions are full of " you might be a halfblood but....you are loyal, you are right thinking etc". She sees even him through a very narrow view point.
And her near hero worship of Lana is disquieting as well.
Maybe I'm just biased from having real life interactions with someone who didn't care to hide such issues, but it is a conclusion that I have been gradually reaching over a very long time.
no subject
Date: 2014-05-08 08:46 am (UTC)Andy mcNab, the former SAS member, has just released a book about being a "good"pyschopath which has got a lot of UK press. I can see those traits in both Padma and Lana.
Maybe in another environment, they would have been able to channel their actions more positively. Indeed their characters possibly believe they are doing so.
Thank you players, for once again, producing characters so realistic that we can look at them in detail and speculate as to their innermost thoughts and workings.
no subject
Date: 2014-05-08 06:34 pm (UTC)I'm finding the discussion of and demonizing of her character really interesting, by the way! She's not a psychopath, good or otherwise.
-Padma's Player
no subject
Date: 2014-05-08 08:24 pm (UTC)I assumed Sikh cause I seem to remember she talked about her older brother and his learning to tie a turban at about 12. While I had seen some other more commonly Hindu comments, that one stuck in my head last night when trying to decide which religion I thought she was.
no subject
Date: 2014-05-08 10:49 pm (UTC)Early player error?
no subject
Date: 2014-05-08 11:14 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-05-09 12:32 am (UTC)If you look at the body of her discussion of her family, though, she consistently talks about Hindu religious practices and the family's Kshatriyan heritage. So.
-Padma's player
no subject
Date: 2014-05-09 07:36 am (UTC)I understand that far less Sikh men wear turbans today in the US so it may be a distinction that is less obvious there.
Their right to do so is enshrined in many of our laws, such as an exemption from having to wear a motorcycle helmet. And the military have recently had to back down on a 20 year ban on such headwear.
no subject
Date: 2014-05-09 07:39 am (UTC)