Topic on Talk:Fenry Marlow

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Comments on the time traveler background: Because Marlow in fanonically Native Hawaiian, the time traveler story reads a bit culturally problematically.

In Polynesian cultures, mana is heritable. This can manifest itself as people claiming the DEEDS of their kin. From a Polynesian perspective, Fenry's stories about the founding of the Fridays and other things in the "distant past" could easily be explained as him telling stories of deeds done by uncles, aunts or grandparents, but that are now his.

That makes the jump to him being a time traveler and the bit about his teammates being skeptical or true believers come across as potentially colonialist and lacking knowledge of the Polynesian style of storytelling and relating history.

I propose the following changes: After "speculation from the Fridays that Marlow could be a time traveller" add "Some on the team believe it more likely that Marlow is a gifted raconteur in the Polynesian tradition. Marlow is ever coy when asked directly about the truth."

Edit "Opinions differ widely, with Juice Collins the most vocal skeptic and Jacob Winner an absolute believer, always rapt with Marlow's recollections." to "Opinions differ widely, with Juice Collins strongly preferring the storyteller explanation, with Jacob Winner being a true believer in the time travel theory."

I think this ambiguity is more culturally sensitive, allowing for Fenry to be expressing his native culture, without inadvertently insinuating that a Native Hawaiian couldn't be a time traveler. It also leads open to speculation whether Homer is truly from the deep past, or a magical manifestation of Fenry's mana.