A couple of weeks ago I saw a very fascinating Perry Mason episode on the local station, The Shoplifter's Shoe. It's Leonard Nimoy's episode (or one of them; I think he may have been on twice), and lucky for me, a fangirl decided to compile all of the scenes he was in into one video. Among those is a wonderful scene between Perry and Mr. Burger that really depicts how close they are by season 6. And then they pin the guilty party down together. It's very unique all around.
And while reading my West Side Story book, I see that the author shares my opinion that if Schrank is racist, it's against more than just the Puerto Ricans. Of course, she is also of the opinion that he most definitely is racist. It looks bad for him, I know, but with his canonical shame and guilt there has to be more to it than just flat-out racism. If he's racist, he can't be hardcore. Hardcore racists don't give a darn. They say whatever they please and are beyond feeling. It's possible that for Schrank, it's a combination of his frustration and despair ending up turning a bit racist over time. Or it could still be like I've said, that his frustration and despair just caused him to blurt out things he didn't mean.
In any case, I'm wondering if I pussyfooted too much in my defense of him at
hated_character and if I should have been more firm in my declarations of why I believe it's not as simple as deciding he's racist. I'm also wondering if I should edit it now or whether I should instead write a second, more hardcore defense to begin with.
And speaking of Schrank, I was rather unsettled that, while answering yet another reviewer's questions about my old Detective Conan fic Breakdown, I suddenly realized that if I had previously written a partnership similar to Schrank and Krupke, it was probably Gin and Vodka. Vodka and Krupke definitely have their parallels as the bigger, slower members of the team. Schrank and Gin are the sharper, more hardened members. (And they both smoke, albeit I have never had Schrank smoke in a fic.) Schrank's speech pattern, however, is worlds away from Gin's. Schrank is rough and uncultured, often using slang and bad grammar (and just plain not caring, even if he knows what he's doing). It's actually a very different experience writing for him. Most of the main characters I write for, including or especially Gin, have a more refined manner of speaking.
Of course, the other major difference is that Schrank and Krupke are police, the good guys, while Gin and Vodka are criminal assassins. I still don't know what I was thinking, writing for a bunch of crooks. That's not like me at all. Although my attempt to find some good in Gin and craft a dark past for him is like me. I do the same thing with Baby Face Morales, it's true, but it seems different with him somehow.
And while reading my West Side Story book, I see that the author shares my opinion that if Schrank is racist, it's against more than just the Puerto Ricans. Of course, she is also of the opinion that he most definitely is racist. It looks bad for him, I know, but with his canonical shame and guilt there has to be more to it than just flat-out racism. If he's racist, he can't be hardcore. Hardcore racists don't give a darn. They say whatever they please and are beyond feeling. It's possible that for Schrank, it's a combination of his frustration and despair ending up turning a bit racist over time. Or it could still be like I've said, that his frustration and despair just caused him to blurt out things he didn't mean.
In any case, I'm wondering if I pussyfooted too much in my defense of him at
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And speaking of Schrank, I was rather unsettled that, while answering yet another reviewer's questions about my old Detective Conan fic Breakdown, I suddenly realized that if I had previously written a partnership similar to Schrank and Krupke, it was probably Gin and Vodka. Vodka and Krupke definitely have their parallels as the bigger, slower members of the team. Schrank and Gin are the sharper, more hardened members. (And they both smoke, albeit I have never had Schrank smoke in a fic.) Schrank's speech pattern, however, is worlds away from Gin's. Schrank is rough and uncultured, often using slang and bad grammar (and just plain not caring, even if he knows what he's doing). It's actually a very different experience writing for him. Most of the main characters I write for, including or especially Gin, have a more refined manner of speaking.
Of course, the other major difference is that Schrank and Krupke are police, the good guys, while Gin and Vodka are criminal assassins. I still don't know what I was thinking, writing for a bunch of crooks. That's not like me at all. Although my attempt to find some good in Gin and craft a dark past for him is like me. I do the same thing with Baby Face Morales, it's true, but it seems different with him somehow.