Does A + B = C?

[witchwillow.livejournal.com]

Sorry to spam the comm. I don't mean to. I've just been looking at backlogs. And I noticed something; a group of somethings. It was enough to get me thinking.

We keep saying ANita/Merry = LKH. We keep talking about the blogs and the books and what the sex in the books and the lack of character death etc seems to be saying about LKH. We keep comparing it to a 15yr old. And I suddenly had a thought.

When a 15 yr old breaks up with someone she really cares about and starts writing wish fulfillment fantasy, what does she write?

Doesn't she write about being so desirable that it makes no sense that she was left in the first place? Doesn't she make the person filling in for the 'one who left' into an idiot? A jealous idiot? Doesn't she try to control circumstances in the fantasy world so she, her character, will never be left again? Will never be found lacking? Will never have to feel unloved or suspect any kind of complications? Doesn't she make all other girls jealous of her wonderful life? Doesn't she re-write 'the one who left' into his opposite? The one who stays? Who adores her and never fights and is perfect and supporting and echoes everything her brain wants?

We know LKH keeps writing about the loss of death. We know she hasn't seemed to be over the death of her mother yet, after all these years. Could she not be over the loss of her first husband? Could she, in fact, have picked up the 'fantasy wish fulfillment' guy in Jon? And he's doing what a fantasy wish fulfillment guy does? Which is to stroke the ego and make the girl feel like the prettiest, most special thing ever? Micah made real?

Doesn't the bitterness over 'the one who left', turn him into 'the one who couldn't love me' / 'the one who was threatened by me' / 'the one I'm stronger than' ? Isn't that Richard? Unable to move on, forever drawn back to Anita? Just the way a 15yr old would wish 'the one who left' to be? To never be able to forget her? To regret and stew in his own jealousy and stupidity and helplessness?

Anita and Richard as a parallel of LKH wanting to be more powerful, more over her ex than he is of her? And Anita's harem is the wish fulfillment of 'living well as the best revenge' ? Ha ha ha, pretend we're having a good time = Jon?

It probably goes more into LKH's life than many of us want to get into. But it is awfully exposed in her blogs and her writing - isn't it?

As for Merry, she'd be the 'Everything you thought I wouldn't do? / Everything you wouldn't let me do' fantasy?

Or am I just reading too much in the prior quality of the books and the fact that the ex disagreed with her and the current doesn't and his toadying doesn't seem very much like love, care and concern?

It's kinda hard when she's ready to go...

[catskin.livejournal.com]

So, we know Merry = Anita in a red wig, but what about the guys? Which of Merry's men equate with Anita's Acolytes?

I'm thinking Galen matches up pretty well with Micah - pretty little yes-men who'd do/say anything to keep Merry/Anita happy on account of Tru Luv.

Frost = Asher (for me) - both suitably angsty, tortured and in constant need of reassurance from someone that they're pretty and loveable, honest.

I'd say Nicca matched up with Nathanial - both young (or young-seeming), vulnerable and seemingly passive but both become all RRWOARSEXORGASM in bed.

Anyone got anymore? I've been thinking about this all day.

Another perspective on the comic...

[pandorasblog]

While delving through my comics/feminism RSS feeds, I ran across an article: Why The Anita Blake Comic Won't Succeed (And Trust Me, I Want To Be Wrong). It turns out to be less an article on the likelihood of that particular comic doing well, and more one on why the author doesn't seem to think that many women read comics at all (began commenting, then realised it was turning into an essay; life's too short, yadda yadda yadda). Nevertheless, I thought it was interesting to have a line on the comic from outside the immediate fandom, and this is a particularly ironic one since LKH seems to have added First Ever Bringer Of Comics To Wimminkind to her list of imagined accomplishments...