My name is Tess, and you should talk to me whenever you want. I write, and post others' writing, and post about writing. Also mermaids, also ridiculous(ly funny) illustrations, also whimsy. For my stories, go to the link below; for Doccubus, go to my link below for faetaccompli; for pretty, go below to mosaictiles. GLBTQ safe.
Thoughts about Touch, Feelings, and Canon Interpretation
(Please note that the following isn’t spoiler-free.)
When I sat down to bash out this post yesterday about sex in Brittana fanfiction, I didn’t envisage it being as popular as it turned out to be.* I wrote it in the spirit of enduring affection for what I regard as some incredible writing coming out of the fandom, and with the hopes that it would indicate for anyone not overly familiar with that writing how imaginative it can be. I also wrote it with a healthy dose of anxiety that I might be perceived as reducing a lot of thoughtful writing down to its sexiest parts; or, and not unrelated, implying that those pieces of writing do anything less than make their sex scenes absolutely integral to their unabridged narratives. So, I thought I’d write a more serious - though hopefully as relevant - series of reflections on some ideas relating to sex in Brittana fanfiction.
And we have here a most excellent new Brittanalyst. Welcome, Ruth!
Darlings, this is difficult for me. In fact, I’ve been trying to work up to writing this essay since the beginning of last summer. There’s the question of how open and honest to be, and there’s the question of how much this will hurt.
I love Brittany for a million reasons. I find out a lot of those reasons as I watch Hemo’s performance, and I find out a lot of them as I write for Brittany or read any of dozens of beautiful stories.
But why I began writing for her was for a very personal reason.
So this brief Brittanalysis comes to you in response to an Ask from the lovely surimistik, who writes:
“Here’s something I noticed: Almost everyone in the fandom, when writing fanfictions and stuff, loves to think that Santana doesn’t think that Brittany is stupid and always tries to deny it when she calls herself that. But watching the show, I noticed that Santana DOES in fact think Brittany is stupid, or at least ‘special.’ Whenever [Brittany] says something particularly crazy, [Santana] DOES roll her eyes or make a very confused ‘WTF’ face, and [it is] only when Brittany’s ‘dumb statement’ is particularly cute [that Santana] makes a lovestruck expression. My take on this is that Santana KNOWS AND ACCEPTS the fact that Brittany isn’t the brightest tool in the shed, and she loves her even more for that. Santana loves and accepts Brittany’s dumbness. She doesn’t try to deny it, as many of the fandom loves to think. She doesn’t love her IN SPITE OF her dumbness, she loves her BECAUSE of her dumbness, because she is who she is. Truth be told, I think that Brittany really isn’t stupid and she’s an hidden genius, but ‘dumb Britt’ is what RIB show us, and that’s my theory about it. What do you think? Am I completely crazy?”
So I, like you, tend to believe that Brittany S. Pierce is anything but stupid.
However, I also tend to believe that Santana Lopez knows that Brittany is anything but stupid, too, and, moreover, that we have plenty of textual evidence from the show which proves that Santana respects Brittany’s intelligence.
Consequently, I respectfully disagree with your theory on several counts.
First of all, in 2x22, Santana quite clearly states that she thinks Brittany is “so smart.” That being the case, we can say with absolute certainty that Santana doesn’t think that Brittany is stupid. Indeed, Santana’s willingness to take advice from Brittany and to defend Brittany’s ideas to others proves that Santana respects Brittany’s mind (“Leave Brittany alone!”), even if she doesn’t always understand the way it works.
Secondly, I take issue with the notion that Santana has ever “rolled her eyes” at Brittany; she hasn’t. Yes, Santana will sometimes look confused at what Brittany says, but we must not suppose that Santana does this because she thinks that Brittany is dumb—because she doesn’t.
Rather, I would argue that Santana scrunches up her brow at various Brittanyisms for one of two reasons: first, because she’s trying to figure out what Brittany means by them—a behavior which suggests that Santana does in fact believe that what Brittany says is generally sensible, even if said sense if not initially obvious to Santana herself—and, second, because, in certain instances, she’s responding to Brittany’s attempt to joke around with her in high stress situations.
I will explore these two reasons at length under the cut.
You are fantastic. This is fantastic.
(or I have lots of time machine feelings)
“You’re working on a time machine too?”
Yes, this is a a silly, one-off line in a promo. Yes, it is very typically Brittany, and the moment is too small to reveal anything terribly substantial about her character. But. In that one line, she gets time machines right.
This is fantastic. I’m leaving it at the top of my page all day. This is beautifully thought out and beautifully expressed.
See Part I here. Please read Part I before continuing.
We are continuing our discussion of the the various theories that tackle the philosophy of love — and how they might relate to Brittany and Santana. Today’s installment focuses on the theory of Love as Robust Concern.
Cool. Just cool.
Based on canon and observations from the thejollyape, a lot of evidence suggests that Brittany does not do well with confrontation (see in particular: Brittana Moments: Preggers)
“I know I’m beginning to sound like a broken record with the whole idea that Brittany is afraid of conflict and potentially comes from a background of abuse, but she literally shies away as Burt advances on them with a slightly hostile expression on his face. She takes a step back, clenches her fist and diverts her eyes as her arms form a protective barrier across her chest. Compare her reactions to Tina’s non-reaction. Enough for me to take it as just another validation of my theory.”
This is often the reaction that we see from Brittany in the face of confrontation. She shrinks back and goes quiet, whether others have beef with her, or there’s generally a negative atmosphere around her.
However, there is one type of scenario in which Brittany has proved to consistently endure, and even initiate, confrontation. You guessed it: only with Santana.
So Anonymous wrote to Ask me this:
“Sorry this is kind of a weird question but I wanted to hear your opinion. I don’t know if you know anything about Harry Potter, but my friend and I are currently discussing what House the Glee characters would be in and right now we’re on Brittany. I personally think she’s the smartest character on the show, but I also think she’s the most loyal and best choice of a friend. I’ve read some of your analysis on her and you seem to think so too, so which of those in your opinion outshines the other? Her smarts or her loyalty?”
So how about I let you in on a not-so-secret secret, Anon: I am a total Potterhead.
Consequently, I think this question is awesome.
We’ve got Brittany. We’ve got the Sorting Hat. Where does it put her?
Let’s analyze the shit out of this.
Fricking awesome.
