#and that's why ppl have so many problems with s5

[jaegerisim]

Vent post y'all are gonna hate me for.

I viscerally hate how the Duffers treat most of their non white or queer characters and I hate even more viscerally, how y'all big byler blogs in your circle jerk of other 5 big byler blogs casually like to ignore many red flags the show has.

Y'all like to say: "tHe DufFeRs ArE gReAt WrIteRs" and it's like girl, who are you lying to??? They aren't top shit writers at all. The Duffers are pretty mid imo. Yeah, they run a good show that's fun to watch and theorize abt , but that doesn't mean they're good writers cuz they're not.

1. they completely side lined Will during s3 for the sake of their straight romances: lumax, jancy, mlvn, duzie and partly stobin (even if stobin wasn't endgame, thankfully, Steve's intentions were clearly wanting to date Robin and they gave it a lot of screen time). Will was sidelined bc he didn't fit the straight romance plotline bc they planned to make him gay or whatever. Now in s4 Will and his feelings have been used as mlvn toilet paper. Yes, we like to say this is build up for byler but canonically, Will's feelings have been used to clean the shit mlvn leaves behind.

2. Billy was sympathized a lot during the last 2 seasons. They gave him the sad backstoryTM in order for ppl to feel sorry for him. Billy's backstory is literally Jonathan's but whatever.

3. El's anger issues are constantly girlboss-ified. They down play her bullying situation and literally just use it for El to be a ''girlboss" without realizing how triggering that is. As someone who has lived bullying, seeing it be ignored by canon and fanon is super sad. The whole Rink-O' Mania experience must have been so traumatizing for her yet, everyone absolutely forgets abt it 🤷🏻‍♀️

4. Robin, Erica and Argyle are stereotypical characters. Robin is the quirky lesbian with social anxiety, Erica is the badass black woman and Argyle is the Latino stoner that sells weed to white kids and works as a pizza delivery guy.

5. Altho Argyle and Eddie both do drugs, (Eddie actually sells K-12 to a minor and nobody batted an eye. He has a huge fan base). Eddie is held in a pedestal bc "poor thing 🥺 he lives in a trailer with his uncle 🥺". Tell me a single fact you know abt Argyle that isn't "he smokes weed", "he is Jonathan's only friend", "drives a van" and "he works at a pizzeria". Exactly, Eddie is given a useless backstory and Argyle isn't.

6. Dustin stopped being important to the plot sometime around s2 and s3. He is only there to curse and be mildly funny. My guy needs to hangout with ppl his age cuz he only hangs out with seniors.

7. El needs to stop having so much "I'M THAT BITCH" screentime like I need in s5 for El's arc to not just be her becoming more powerful and falling in love with Mike. I need the Duffers to explore her trauma and problems.

8. Angela should have been run over by the van.

9. Patrick should have been given a backstory that isn't the basic "strict black parents that hit their kids cuz they are a disgrace". Patrick's backstory is actually racist af, fight w the wall.

10. As Lex already said, they didn't trigger tag the ep where Jason and his friends assault Lucas and Erica. Like wtf? Why was that necessary? Why did I have to see a black boy being held at gunpoint by some white guy?? Was it relevant to the plot?? I don't think so. And then I've got to see ppl online be like "Jason wasn't that bad. He was just mourning" like bitch you can stfu. This is what happens when you make the racist assholes conventionally attractive.

Also the fact that Lucas's arc is fulfilled by him fist-fighting Jason and "embracing his weirdness" aka accepting he is black. His arc was not fulfilled at all cuz that ending spoke so loud to me. It showed how little empathy ppl have towards the struggles poc ppl living in the Midwest have. Y'all circle jerks can only see racism when it's super obvious.

Furthermore, parents complained when ST showed "an excessive amount of smoking" yet nobody batted an eye when Billy tried to run over Lucas, when Erica (an 11 y.o ffs) was chased by white kids or when Lucas was held at gunpoint by Jason.

All of this happened while they focused on Max's guilt and mourning that, yeah, are important but certainly not less important than racism!!!

11. In s3, they gave us that whole Nancy vs The Bigots arc that was honestly just triggering and useless. It didn't help Nancy's character at all, quite the opposite it put unnecessary angst.

12. Lonnie being presented as an abuser just for him to never be spoken of again. Can we please get to explore the trauma he left the Byers's with?

13. The fact that both queer relationships are considered "sloppy seconds" is extremely sad. Both Vickie and Mike are rebounding from their failed relationship with Robin and Will. These 2 ships have caused more commotion than Jancy and Jopper together! (These last ships are technically sloppy seconds too but everybody forgets that. Shocker!!)

14. Last but not least, ppl blame Argyle for being the one to get Jonathan into smoking weed as if Jonathan probably wasn't the one looking for it. Let me tell you, that you only find weed if you look for it.

#P.S: I'm gonna pay attention to how many ppl send me hate bc of this or block me #stranger things #lucas sinclair #st vickie #robin buckley #jason stranger things #will byers #dustin henderson #eddie munson #argyle #jonathan byers #erica sinclair #byler #← target audience #byler target audience

[aemiron-main]

why are some people so staunchly against acknowledging mike’s mental health? or also often against the idea of him being gay specifically? (it’s often the same ppl who have issues with these things) well. I’m gonna do a full big post about this to demonstrate more in-depth how we can see that mike’s character has been set up this way (i also talk about it in this post) but for now, here’s some thoughts:

imo it’s because mike's character is set up in a way where a.) his struggle is meant to be largely invisible to viewers on the surface, even to bylers (ie we see him walk off a cliff but many viewers just say 'oh that was just to save dustin" and doesnt think any further abt the scene) and b.) mike is a character who forces people to rethink their own preconceived biases and stereotypes. he's gay but he's not identical to will. he’s struggling mentally but not in an identical way to max or will. but people are looking at him through a will lens or through a 'stereotypes of gay men' lens or any other lens and so then they try and deny his sexuality because it doesn't align with their lens/what they think gay men are like. the same goes for his mental health struggles. he's not struggling in the way that people expect, his struggles arent identical to will's or other characters' and so people dont see it/refuse to see it. people are so weird about acknowledging mike's issues because acknowledging mike's issues means acknowledging the fact that there's very likely invisible people just like mike in their own life that they've overlooked and dimissed. people don't like acknowledging gay mike or mike's mental health because it often means having to acknowledge their own biases about sexuality and mental health. people are so bizarrely defensive and angry about the idea of other people discussing mike’s mental health or gayness bc every time they see those posts, they have to see something that forced them to rethink their biased notions about sexuality and mental health struggles. everyone has biases- but it’s a matter of to what extent you use those biases to try and dismiss others.

people are weird about mike because they're falling for the exact trap that the duffers have set up with his character- a trap that forces many people to a.) be face to face with their own biases and b.) puts them in the same position as other characters, into a position of ignoring mike's issues, they don't like to acknowledge mike's mental health or the reasons why it deteriorated because people like THEM are the reason it deteriorated- people who dismiss others' struggles, people who put their own biases first, people who just see mike’s value as being relative to other characters, who refuse to see things through a Mike Lens, it puts those viewers into the shoes of people like ted, the people who aren't active bigots but whose silence and refusal to see mike is slowly killing him. people who won't acknowledge something like mike's food issues and dismiss it until it's killing him. like i said in that writeup i linked, mike has to die in s5 because even walking off a cliff wasnt enough for these people to recognize his suicidality/the way he's sacrificed himself for others. they won't fucking care until he is DEAD. because he is invisible to them. just like how Karen for example doesn't really seem to care about mike until a moment of crisis (ie will's death), some viewers/bylers dont either, they dont give a shit about mike unless it's a crisis, unless they NEED HIM, unless they need him to solve a problem or to be a love interest to another character. nothing will be good enough for these people until mike is fucking dead. the duffers have been throwing his struggle in our faces and they KNOW that people are going to deny it because mike is a character who lends himself to being denied and dismissed in that regard.

mike is a character who is going to be a wakeup call for the people who insist that their socially isolated, depressed, not eating friend is just 'like that' and are waiting until it gets worse to intervene. but it never actually gets “bad enough” in that person’s eyes for them to ever actually intervene, not until said friend is dead.

mike is a wakeup call for the people who focus so much on the people who are splashing that they dont see the ones that are drowning. the ones who go “oh that person can’t be drowning- there’s no splashing, and I know what drowning looks like, the way I see drowning looks like This, not like That, he’s not struggling in the Right Way to be drowning!”



#stranger things #byler #mike wheeler #mike’s mental health #st analysis #mike wheeler analysis #gay mike wheeler

[thecelestialsyzygy]

I feel like this needs to be said because of all the stuff happening lately. Apologies if this post is a mess.

I want to thank all of the Byler’s who post in the tag. Whether it be shit posts, memes, long analysis, random thoughts, or all of the above mixed in with posts about your life; Thank you for being here and making fandom fun! The tag has been a mess recently and I think we’re all aware of that because of all the recent deactivations. There’s always been a bit of toxicity in the Stranger Things fandom (as there is in just about all other fandoms), but I feel it's been amplified here due to the lack of content and long wait. Another reason it’s a lot more prominent in the Stranger Things fandom, to begin with, is because of its popularity. In the coming months, we should see some things regarding S5 come up for us to talk about, but if you’re not into leaks then you’re in for an even longer drought (and when it comes to said leaks, please take them with a grain of salt).

I originally came here from Twitter so I’ve seen a lot. Ppl leaving isn’t new to me, and it is a pretty common thing with fandoms in general. Sometimes it’s over something simple, like ppl losing their interest, and other times it’s because ppl don’t know how to use the block button and want to be rude, hateful, and harass others into leaving, or cause/insert themselves into drama for entertainment. It’s understandable to be bored during droughts and perhaps become irritable, but if you like creating/being in drama, please don’t put it in the main tag. Not everybody is going to agree and it is what it is. Some posts you may agree with, some posts you may not, some you may partly agree with, some you may partly disagree with. If you ever come across something that really bothers you, big or small, just use the block button or mute/filter things you don’t want to see. You can always make your own post sharing your thoughts about whatever the topic may have been. There are so many ways to control content you consume. It’s important to remember we’re all here for a good time, so let ppl have fun and learn to draw a line.

It’s OK to be opinionated, but I think some things that are important to note is the difference between head-canons and canon. Head-canons are personal interpretations about a character. It’s not ACTUALLY canon. Some head-canons can be based off of things that ARE canon, but it’s important to realize that it’s still NOT ACTUALLY canon. Canon is confirmed. It’s OK to not agree with somebody else’s head-canon, but it’s not a reason to be rude to them. You can share your own opinions with them in a respectful way or separately. However, I feel like some ppl want to make things problematic to further push their narrative or are genuinely just not educated enough. And of course there are exceptions to just about everything, like potentially problematic head-canons which I think is OK to have discussions about, but once again, that’s why we need to learn to draw a line.

I also know hate anons have been a problem lately. If you’re ever getting a lot of hate anons, please don’t be afraid to protect yourself and turn off the anon feature/not allow asks. If that doesn’t work don’t be afraid to block and report. If none of these are working, just know it’s OK if you feel like social media is becoming too much. Take a break if you need to, distance yourself if you need to, make a completely new account if you need to. You can always let the ppl who care about you know you need to go away for awhile.

Lastly, don’t feel pressure to post! That’s one way to add a lot of stress onto yourself and become tired of your interests. I promise everything is going to be fine and Byler’s/ the Stranger Things fandom will always be here if/when you come back.

#byler #byler s5 #stranger things 5 #will byers #mike wheeler #byler tumblr

[spopsalt]

Spop/Catra/Catradora stands: People just don't understand what trauma does to a person. Once Catra is free of it she becomes way less angry and starts to heal. Their relationship by the end of the series is anything but toxic because Catra is actively working on things despite her trauma./ I like this one. Anti catradora ppl don’t realize that their story, the entire she ra story is one of trauma and healing. Making mistakes (even very drastic ones like catra) is apart of healing and growing. If you can’t handle catradora bc their story is so complex just say that./ Don't be so quick to throw shade at Catra. Adora is also not as good as everyone points out. As strange as it is to say, Adora isn't that great of a person either.

Me on my mind: do this people stan abuive relationships, incest ships, bullying, etc ?

Friend, i can't believe that here in 2024 people still explaining how C*tradora is " good and healthy " and excuse what C*tr* has done. I wan't them to explain me how the fuck in s5 did C*tr* had the time to change ? or how she become a better person when she clearly didn't change ?? Also something i found funny is that C//A stans call us C//A antis " Shadow Weavers " for hating C*tr* and C*tradora because when they are weirdos who ship incest, normalize bullying when it's a really bad thing ( after watching how C*tr* bully Adora i understand why Adora wasn't afriad of suicide herself in the epsode of the portal, i mean it's sadly true bullying can get someone in suicide if the problem is not done and C*tr* wanted that Adora literally suicide herself and didn't care if she die or not which make me hate more both C*tr* and C//A. I mean, bullying is not a joke it's something seriously that happens irl but C//A stans took it as a joke which it's so disrespectful and disgusting. What was Nate thinking about making a show that literally shows date your sister and abuse her for years and normalize bullying would save the world ?? I'm really disappointed with the shera fandom friend, but really i mean they took serious stuff bullying or abuse relationships as joke or that is that it doesn't affect but it actually it does. Not only that, they say that even they ship C//A they do not stand abuse irl and i'm like " if you don't stand abusive relationships then why you ship c*tradora ? " ) well my question is what do you think about shera fandom ? and what do you think that they normalize serious topics as joke ?

Thanks for the ask! Yeah, they will try saying that Catra's redemption just started, but if that's the case, why did they have her fate? She has so many problems she needs to work through before she dates anyone, especially her sister whom she resented for so long, it just feels like a cheap way to defend their abusive kitty cat.

#spop criticism #spop crit #spop discourse #anti catra #anti catradora #anti c//a #antic//a #spop salt #anti spop #spop critical

[pholiabanna]

Confession time; i kinda hate the st writers. They are the reason why the pride was ruined during the vol2 waiting, the reason why we face constant homophobia from mlvns and the ga for shipping byler and all bc they refused to break up mlvn and also included that shit ass monologue. Now we have to wait years to see the conclusion meanwhile ppl gradualy start lose their interest. They ruined Nick's career and reputation for no reason when his site was there for years. The way they say nothing against the apparent fandom homophobia even though it is not even a secret since ppl sharw homophobic comments left and right. The way they use Will's car scene as a memeable moment even though many queer fans were devastated when the scene came out. The way they write these characters. The way they treate Will. The way they treated Robin. I have so much spite and hatred bottled in me and i am only starting to realize it after a year. If byler doesnt become canon i hope all st writers and the duffers lose their jobs and never manage to write ever again. I would even support Netlix going full bankrupt. My respect for the writers all depend on whether or not byler becomes canon and i dont care if it makes me stuck with byler or whatever. After everything the writers pulled, yes, my respect all depend on this choice for S5.

Honestly I see where you're coming from, so your feelings are completely valid. I do believe that the monologue and saving byler for the last season makes narrative sense because of the way they've written the story and how best friends to lovers stories usually work (they normally won't get together until the end of a movie, and you have to think of ST as a 5 season long movie).

I think most of those things you pointed out are more of a fandom problem, like Will crying in the van becoming a meme- I believe it was portrayed very seriously in the show and it was a certain sector of the audience who decided to memefy it. Also, the homophobia would happen even if byler became canon in season 4, sadly homophobes are everywhere in every fandom. I also believe a lot of those things you pointed out are more of Netflix's fault, because using Wills scene as a meme was something accounts like Netflix, Netflix geeked, Netflix UK and other did, but I don't recall strangerwriters doing that (but I may be wrong so please if I am let me know). Their executives were probably the ones who decided to split the season as well, and having vol 2 come out right after pride month (being a terrible coincidence because of the byler-Milkvan storyline and the homophobia that subsequently came from maloobans). If I remember correctly, the writers account has stated a couple times that everyone should be allowed to ship whoever they want. But as you pointed out, sometimes I feel like they could do a little bit more. They tanked Nick's reputation (which I can understand up to a certain point if they are trying to protect the show they are working on from getting spoiled, but maybe they should have made a less vague and incriminating statement), and they definitely could address the rampant homophobia in the fandom more frequently.

It sucks that we need to wait so many years to prove we were right, but think about how satisfying it will be once the season comes out and you watch all of those people have a breakdown, and hopefully you see interviews from the duffers explaining how that was the intention all along. If that's the case, then I'll be happy, but as you said, if all of these was for nothing and byler isn't endgame, I'll definitely consider it queerbaiting, because they have built up romantic feelings for Will on Mike's side, even if some people want to deny it. So yeah, queerbaiting in 2023 sucks, and it's totally valid for you to feel like you won't respect them anymore if they go that route. I think more people need to realize this is not a matter of whether the couple I like ends up together over the couple other people like, it's a matter of whether queer people get a respectful and deserved treatment or not. And if they don't, then they're terrible writers, because if the way they fucked up that storyline, and terrible people too.

But hopefully not. Right now, I'm really convinced byler is endgame and they know what they're doing. We have to deal with crazy Melvin stans meanwhile, but the wait will be over before you notice and they'll get really quiet and embarrassed once they realize how wrong they were. But I'd like for them to address some of the homophobic comments online a little bit more often.

#byler #byler tumblr #stranger things

[shifthours]

OK why I think byler would help Mike's character let's go

SO we all know Mike was a great friend (tho a bit of a hothead) in s1 and s2 but then suddenly in s3 and s4 he's kind of an asshole (conviently when he starts dating el)

So right there it's alr a clear connection that milkvan isn't good 4 him bcs?? A relationship isn't healthy if u feel the need 2 detach from all your friends and give nobody else attention except each other...

BUT ANYWAYD I think byler s5 would change SO MANY THINGS 4 mike LIKE 1. HES WELL KNOWN 2 BE NOT THAT GOOD AT FIGHTING RIGHT okay well hear me out will is good at fighting and they have a moment where he teaches him (kind of like that jancy moment where Jon and nancy swapped the gun and bat 2 find out which 1 was better 4 them) and WE KNOW that will brings the bravery out of him (ex he litr goes 2 all means 2 save will despite knowing there's monsters and ppl dying and things) a bravery that was sort of snuffed out in the fact that Mike didn't really have 2 do anything after they found el, he just kind of was like 🤯 el use ur powers and she did so he doesn't rly have 2 do any of that anymore BUT WITH ELEVEN GROWING INTO INDEPENDENCE I think it wld be so nice 2 see a scene of him also learning 2 take care of himself and I think the best one 2 teach him that wld be will (showing him how 2 load a gun nd aim nd shit)

2. He wld finally be able 2 open up abt how he was feeling more often

In the show we've seen like.MANY many times that Mike opens up 2 will more often and more genuinely than he does 2 any1 else (including el)

If byler ends up being real I think it wld be so much more healthy for Mike bcs he would be lying all the time which is like the main msg of their group (friends don't lie!!!!)

3. Again I think we would get better insight 2 mike as a person for the first time since s2, his thoguhts his wants, needs, motivations, everything. Again when has he ever had a truly honest dialogue with eleven about how he feels (and don't tell me the stupid superhero speech bcs that was trash), he never has not really. He never tells el the complexities of his emotions but rather dumbs it down 2 😟 sowwy I was angy and that's it

But with will they really deeply talk abt things and admit things 2 each other that they don't talk 2 any1 else abt and having a connection like that be one of the main focuses in the show wld totally let us see into mikes thoughts and therefore him as a character so much better

4. HE CLD INTERACT W HIS FRIENDS IN A NORMAL WAY AGAIN one thing that irked me so bad w milkvan is they are insanely clingy 2 thr point of being unhealthy

Even though Mike and will have one or two moments in s4, this like?? Unhealthy obsessed attitude is still present (in mike at least, el seems 2 be getting over it), all he talks abt is el, he hardly even mentions anyone else at all despite seeing will for the first time in a year (u think he wld talk abt the party more?? b4 el got kidnapped I mean)

BUT ANYWASY yeah s3 was also rly bad w that where he wld just abandon his friends 4 her ALL THE TIME and there's a point where like.you really aren't a good friend if all u do is ditch them 24/7 and they all call him out 4 it.

BUT when el's out of the picture he seems to have no problem hanging out w the party (ex. When hopper told mike 2 stay away from el or else, and mike immediately starting hanging out w lucas and will again?? Yeah)

so I think byler wld make him a better friend as well

OK I think that is all the points I wanted 2 hit I feel like I'm missing one but ill just come back later and add on if I rmbr 😟??? BUT ANAYWAYS YEAH byler real

#st4 #stranger things 4 #byler #will byers #mike wheeler #st5

[bakerolivias-archived]

idk why ppl call elena selfish and always slander her it's confusing to me tbh........... like yeah main characters can sometimes be hella annoying and self-centered and elena certainly is more flawed than a surface-level interpretation would suggest but how many times has she sacrificed herself for her friends safety and lives at the cost of her own?? and been concerned with their happiness above her own? she didn't complain once about being put into a sleeping beauty spell, she volunteered herself as a lamb in klaus's ritual, she even put herself in the situation where she and klaus had mutually beneficial partnerships and negotiated on her loved ones' behalf, asking the man who killed her aunt for his help, abandoning pride, safety, and righteous hatred of klaus on jenna's, as well as her other victimized loved ones', behalf because those loved ones, would benefit (which is really intelligent and manipulative actually? and also admirable? so miss me with the bullshit about elena sitting on her ass and letting her friends do the work because if that's what you think happened we were not watching the same show). and idk what narrative bamon fans (a group which i'm also a part of) invented where elena consumed all of damon's attention and was madly jealous and insecure about the friendship because in s4 she acknowledged it (he actually kind of loves her) and seemed happy that they got along. she encouraged their relationship dynamic and did not in any way seem inconvenienced? or make bamon about herself? elena supported and understood bonnie and damon's bond and encouraged it. it's the DE fans that were the problem in their hella racist bonnie hate and targetting kat graham for "interfering," but elena did not do anything wrong.

also she never led the salvabros on, or constantly switched indecisively. she was loyal to stefan, her fidelity remained intact, not once did she cheat on either of them, she communicated her complicated feelings very clearly without any mind games, and once she was completely sure that damon was the one for her she repeatedly affirmed that he was her "real" love and their relationship/feelings were real, despite damon's doubts and insecurities. stefan was the one who encouraged her to explore her attraction to damon in s3. elena was never the problem in the triangle of doom, and anyone who makes her out to be is most likely just a bitter stefan/damon fan. if anyone was the bad person in the triangle, it was the salvabros, who stalked and harassed a 17 year old girl, refused to allow her agency and respect her decision to keep her humanity off, saw her as a possession to "fix," used the nifty sirebond to control her and remove her autonomy shamelessly, and set her on fire/locked her in a safe because she was independent of them, experienced a personality change, and no longer relied on them.

and as for the racial misogyny of the writers and their preferential treatment of caroline and elena over bonnie, that's certainly a valid criticism which should be voiced but neither care or elena actively wished bonnie harm, both were determined to protect their friend, and both truly cared for bonnie's safety. also they all relied on bonnie too much and bonnie endangered herself in helping her friends many times but that's more or less the fault of racist writers, because care and elena mourned and grieved their friend's death and hated seeing her in pain. and when you compare this to clarke griffin, the main protagonist of the 100 who accused her latina friend of attempting to poison lexa in s2, treated raven like a servant to suit her political agenda for most of the show, and left her to die/be brutally tortured in s5 to "protect" her daughter (despite said latina having already been willing to offer protection to said daughter).... clarke actively screws her friends over with the purpose of achieving her own gains, especially her friends of color like bellamy and raven. elena, while complacent in the racist treatment of bonnie, never would have pointed a gun at her and fired, left her to die in a fighting pit, or left her to be tortured.

#elena gilbert #pro elena gilbert #anti tvd #anti tvd fandom #anti clarke griffin #anti the 100

[mikiruma]

actually wtf is going on in the replies of the breaking bad post we reblogged earlier???? do people think breaking bad is a show about our good buddy walter white who was thrust into an unfair situation and was rewarded for killing people????? sorry to drop spoilers for a show that ended 9 years ago but

heres just a short list of things i can remember he did off the top of my head

rejected payment for his treatment out of pride/resentment for the old friend offering (who was a BILLIONAIRE)

got into meth without really any prompting (yes he was desperate but you could argue he could have done literally anything else in his position instead of stew quietly and fuck around in the desert)

kills/severely injures 2 people the second time cooking ever

(throughout the show) manipulating/gaslighting his wife, his lab partner, anyone he thinks he has an inkling of power over

when his meth empire as he knows it crumbles he starts working with actual white supremacists

one of which shoots/kills a child in front of him, which he defends

literally nearly every scene of him and jesse interacting

indirectly caused the universe's "9/11 two" (by watching/letting the daughter of the air traffic controller who took responsibility die) (the daughter happening to be jesse's gf at the time)

at a school assembly addressing this he essentially told the student body & faculty (many of which were directly affected by the tragedy ie property damage via plane/body parts or severe emotional trauma from witnessing) to "get over it"

poison's jesse's new gf's son to manipulate jesse into killing their boss, who they don't like admittedly but jesse isn't an overzealous idiot

literally every scene where he tells skyler "you dont know WHAT ive done for this family... to protect us..." literally nobody asked you to start cooking meth and terrorizing people

ok on god this show is designed to make you sympathize with him early on bc hes sad and desperate and trying to be a strong brave man but he gets so gradually unlikeable and is continuously punished and doesnt understand WHY bc he was BADASS and BUSINESS IS BOOMING and honestly i cant give you a specific point when i personally stopped rooting for walt bc i've been rewatching slowly and just always knew he was a shithead but i WILL say it is extremely apparent when, in the beginning, he cries abt how he does it to secure a future for his family & keep them out of medical debt and even originally has a set dollar amount goal! but in early s5 he calls $5mil 'pennies' and even before then its extremely obvious it hasnt been about the family for a long ass time, hes no longer interested in securing a future, hes trying to flex his wealth (NOT EVEN BOTHERING WITH MONEY LAUNDERING UNTIL S4?????) and "prove" how much of a hero he can be to his family who never asked him to do any of this.

this show is awesome bc you get to watch a guys joker arc set in over the course of a year or so and he sucks SO BAD. it literally shows how the nightmare medical industry drives people to desperate measures. it shows toxic masculinity and the problems with the nuclear family mindset/image and a wonderfully awful demonstration of how pride can rot you. seeing ppl say they wont watch the show because it touches on those themes at all, being completely dismissive of how theyre examined or what the point in all of it is, is really fucking weird. i dont mean to sound like a married middle-class white man in a mid-life crisis who thinks he's walter white and would kin him if i knew what that meant (and was simultaneously too cool for comic books so i cant relate to the joker at all) but this show is fucking cool and i have just witnessed the other side of the fanbase revival, which is 'people who have never seen it who think they know what its about posting their opinions online and it hurts my little autistic brain'

#talking #all this to say......... i miss jane margolis

[tuiyla]

I feel like ppl tend to gloss over the UHT convo w the glee girls right before Come See About Me in 4x08 - like Quinn is literally saying that the three of them knew each other so well, they could communicate perfectly without saying a single word. Not just her and Santana, not just Santana and Brittany, but all three of them. Ignoring how Glee almost completely erased Quinn's relationship to Brittana s5 and beyond, those three are family 🤧

Right?

Like, okay, let me go on a bit of a rant Anon if you don't mind. So a common gripe with the UHT is something that can really be applied to all of Glee: they love to tell you something's a certain way and in fact take credit for it, but don't put the actual work in. Case in point, yeah, the New Directions are a found family, but you'd be hard pressed to find scenes that truly build on that and especially for certain dynamics that don't include the core mains of Rachel/Finn/later Kurt.

But you know, I'm willing to take what I often feel like is a singling out of the UHT in good faith. For two reasons: one, they're a pre-established group that existed before ND and should have been shown to be close more. And two, Glee loooved capitalizing on the Unholy Trinity even in subtle ways. They couldn't be bothered to put the work in but coopted the fan-coined name UHT and in later seasons slapped them together to perform a fan-service number. Except they couldn't do fanservice in a way that was more than a male-gazey, "look we know they're iconic" lazy-feeling scene. Hence why we have both Toxic and Problem in seasons 5 and 6 but no actual convo scene between them save for the brief pre-Problem one.

So I get the dissonance. On the one hand, the UHT is so recognizable and iconic. From I Say a Little Prayer on, they're the Cheerios and as even Brittany and Santana develop into their own characters, they all get a substantial fanbase of their own. On the other, we have very few scenes of the three and just the three being friends. The only two UHT scenes I'd consider to be the kind of thing we desperately needed more of are New York 2x22 and the one I recently analyzed in 3x01. Other than that, good luck finding anything more substantial than a background scene or quick "see we know you like them ones" like "ending together" in Nationals.

But, and here's why I start getting baffled at people singling them out as bad writing or a bad friendship. A) it's a general problem Glee has and it's really us the fans who put work into 80% of the friendships because hardly any of them were treated right. So, like I've said before when I got asks about this, I feel it's unfair when people HC Mike or Sam or whoever to be besties with everyone but when it's the canon trio of the UHT they go "idk we never really saw them being friends". Being told, like in your example of how well they knew each other, is more than the nothing that we get a lot of others. And B), something's fishy about recognizing and acknowledging the writing problems Glee had and yet not extending the same grace (afforded to many other characters) to the UHT. People bring up season 1 and how Brittana didn't help Quinn; right, except we can recognize that Brittana were barely characters, that even Quinn herself hardly got the focus during her own pregnancy, and that Glee not only hates girls but female friendships.

And C), there are scenes where they're shown to be friends. Granted, they're often small and like I said not substantial but they're there. To substantiate what Quinn says in 4x08, we have them dancing together in 2x22 during Light Up the World. For Brittany and Quinn we have everything from Lean On Me to 2x11 to 3x17. For Quinntana, @amazonworrier just had an excellent post about this that I wholeheartedly agree with. All these scenes do in fact exist for a reason, even if the writers couldn't be bothered to flesh out the UHT. And I mean really there are so many scenes of the three sticking together throughout the seasons that it'd feel unnecessary to list them all here but amazonworrier's point about Quinntana scenes goes for those too. They exist; that's more than nothing. That's more than most ND combos have.

And like, here's the thing. You can lament the lack of substantial scenes as I do - as does every single fan of their dynamic. But if it's show don't tell you're looking for, Glee did show them. It wasn't much, not nearly enough for me, but it was there. So after a while it's like?? So what do you want? Do you purposefully ignore the moments they do have as a friendship trio because it's not enough, but then it's also not enough to be explicitly told they're good friends? Is there just no winning? But then there shouldn't be winning for 80% of Glee friendships we still hold them close to our hearts.

This really is just a rant at this point but I'm reminded of anons I got about how the UHT not being really friends was a correct hot take and it's,,, it's just not. It's canon, it's in the text. You might not like it, like me you might have wanted more, but it's there. And to recognize Glee's bad writing practices but then single out the UHT as a bad friendship instead of seeing the bigger picture is not where it's at. And to go back to your original point Anon after this ranty rant, people do gloss over Quinn saying that. And what for? They know each other well and they are a family. And to be clear I refuse to give Glee credit for the scenes that do show them be friends because they could have done, so, so much more, but it was enough to call them friends.

#and do not get me started on 'but quinn wasn't even at the wedding!!!' #long story shot glee hates girls but why ya'll gotta #did any of this even make sense i need lunch #the unholy trinity #glee asks #uht asks #unholy trinity #glee friendships #anon #i appreciate you anon sorry for the rant but you're right and you should say it #i think the uht gets more scrutiny because they're taken for granted more within the show #ffs the novels had more scenes for them than the show #but is that a reason for a 'they were never really friends' #or even better 'britt cares more about mike than quinn hot take' #or is a reason to simply be critical of glee and its injustice towards female characters #or should i just go grab lunch already instead of now going on a separate rant in the tags #hmm

[akaashism]

The problem with the whole "Arthur should've noticed Merlin had magic" argument is that Merlin literally went out of his way to make sure Arthur didn't know. Also, saying that Arthur was a barrier to Merlin being happy is BS in my opinion. Arthur had no idea that Merlin had magic, and as mentioned, Merlin went out of his way to hide it. Obviously it's sad that Merlin felt he had to keep a part of himself hidden from Arthur but if we're being honest, this was a decision he made himself. Ppl compare Arthur and Lancelot but forget that Lancelot hadn't been brainwashed and emotionally abused to believe that all magic was evil. I mean, ppl dunking on Arthur forget that everytime Arthur questioned whether magic was truly evil, either someone evil would use magic against Camelot or Merlin himself would convince him otherwise. The amount of times that Arthur tried to reach out to Merlin to ask him what was wrong and he was rebuffed can actually be seen in the show. People talk about how Arthur didn't notice how upset Merlin was when they were discussing Morded's betrayal and Merlin literally told him there could be no place for magic in Camelot seem to forget Arthur literally asked Merlin what was wrong and had noticed he hadn't been smiling in the same episode and was rebuffed yet again. There's only so many times one can reach out to someone and more rebuffed. And Arthur obviously had other things on his mind at that point anyway. This is not meant to be dragging Merlin at all bc I understand why he did it all but I'm really sick of the whole "poor blameless Merlin" spiel bc the truth is Merlin made a lot of decisions that contributed to his own misery while Arthur had no idea what was happening. If ppl had just been honest with him, we are given every reason throughout the show to believe that he would've accepted magic once he understood. I'm just so sick of ppl dragging Arthur bc 99.9% of the time they blatantly seem to ignore the context or have the most superficial view of it possible. Again, I totally understand why Merlin did what he did and I dint think anybody ever has any obligation to reveal secrets about themselves but to blame Arthur and to call Arthur the barrier to Merlin's happiness when he literally did not know and ppl went out of their way to hide and lie to him is not fair

Thankfully, I've never heard the "Arthur was a barrier to Merlin being happy" take. In fact, Arthur was the only one who could make Merlin smiley and playful in s5 soo...

Anyway, I have nothing more to add to what you said so I'm just gonna post this <3

#merlin #bbc merlin #arthur pendragon

[aswellingstorm]

taylor swift x catradora playlist

in honor of evermore dropping tonight (midnight, EST) i humbly present the following by album break down of songs that miss swift wrote solely for catradora

taylor swift (2006)

tied together with a smile--the struggle adora faces being the hero/put on a pedestal from her horde days to becoming she ra

invisible--catra facing jealousy over adora’s new friendships

i’m only me when i’m with you--young catradora/growing up in the horde

fearless (2008)

forever & always-- broken promise. need i say more

white horse-- catra’s resentment for adora’s hero complex

breathe-- mutual catra & adora--struggling to cope with the other choosing the opposing side

you’re not sorry--adora coming to terms w post s3 catra & having to accept her former best friend has gone too far this time

change-- post s1 victory for adora

speak now (2010)

the story of us--princess prom catradora vibes

mean--unfortunately.........could see the best friend squad singing this therapeutically & adora thinking of catra

better than revenge-- ‘stealing other peoples toys on the playground won’t make you many friends//i’m just another thing for you to roll your eyes at honey’....jealous catra really comes thru here

innocent-- feel like this could be applied to adora but more specifically catra losing herself and her innocence in this war/getting caught in the cycle of abuse shadow weaver set her in at a young age

if this were a movie-- adora’s naïve hope that catra might make the right choice one day

haunted-- ‘all this time you and i have walked a fragile line, never thought i’d live to see it break’, easily fits into adora leaving the horde, but def has the angsty vibes for ‘save the cat’

back to december--regret. longing. wishing u could take something back but knowing you really cant

enchanted--ok hear me out. not necessarily a ‘meet cute’ for them, but could def see this song playing at a princess prom post s5 and being a cute look for them over all.

red (2012)

treacherous--post ‘save the cat’, catra learning redemption is....something she Wants

the last time--post-portal. def reminds me of the scene where catra saves glimmer and apologizes to adora

sad beautiful tragic-- break up sadness

the lucky one--more adora becoming she ra/learning the truth of mara

i almost do--catra & adora missing each other on opposite sides of the war

come back...be here--^^

state of grace--end of/post s5

1989 (2014)

out of the woods--i mean..........those ladies entered the whispering woods in s1 on a stolen skiff and did not leave until the end of the series

all you had to do was stay-- aside from the title... “let me remind you this was what you wanted // you ended it// you were all I wanted //but not like this”. def catra yearning

i wish you would--all of the lyrics. all of them

bad blood--warrants no explanation

this love-- “when you’re young, you just run// but you always come back to what you need”......................the defense rests

clean--s4 adora accepting and coming to terms w catra’s decision

wonderland-- really captures the betrayal/hurt of s1 catradora

you are in love-- adora POV// subtle moments leading up to realizing she loves catra

new romantics--”we need love, but all we want is danger//we team up then switch sides like a record changer”

catra’s personal memoir reputation (2017)

i did something bad--a title that could (unfortunately for everyone else) summarize a large majority of catra’s decisions. the song is very justified/righteous anger/revenge. basically a ‘fuck you, i know i’m bad’ & embracing that. reminds me of her kicking sw & hordaks ass (the rebellion could never) and her just...war criming it up in the crimson waste

Look What You Made Me Do-- void!catra void!catra void!catra void!catra void!catra void!catra--

getaway car--could see this from adora’s perspective to catra solely for the whole leaving/betrayal bit. but might be more fighting for double trouble & catra’s relationship

dancing with our hands tied-- i mean...lyrically. everything. but esp ‘I'd kiss you as the lights went out//swaying as the room burned down//I'd hold you as the water rushes in//If I could dance with you again”

dress-- “i dont want you like a best friend”. period. end of sentence. 

this is why we can’t have nice things--s1 promise feels. the lack of forgiveness, the shade. u know.

lover (2019)

cruel summer-- “i scream for whatever it’s worth, i love you--ain’t that the worst thing you ever heard?” the heart. the longing. the ‘i dont want to keep secrets just to keep you’

the archer-- ‘who could ever leave me, but who could stay?’ + the rest of the song is v fitting for both catra/adora

afterglow--making up, admitting wrongs--catra perspective

miss americana & the heartbreak prince--idk just the narrative of the song reminds me of them

it’s nice to have a friend--whooooh boy this post is not about glimbow but this song works equally as well for them

daylight--enjoy the healing

lover--enjoy the healing pt 2

death by a thousand cuts-- warrants 0 explanation

folklore (2020)

finally

the 1-- definitley adora POV, reminiscing on maybe what they could have been. maybe in a world where catra never redeemed herself or they never reunited and adora watched her friends pair up/get married/build lives w each other, she might realize there is a whole in her heart. a part that’s missing and cant be explained, but she feels it every time she looks at glimmer&bow. 

cardigan-- feels like catra writing a letter to adora. reflecting on the feelings of hurt and betrayal after time has passed and the anger fades

exile -- lowkey the premise of my fic but. ‘i’m not your problem anymore/ you were my crown/ now i’m in exile seeing you out’ catra was raised to feel like she was adora’s problem to fix. she feels cast aside by her for a majority of the series etc

my tears ricochet-- “i didn't have it in myself to go with grace//and you're the hero flying around saving face//and if I'm dead to you why are you at the wake?//cursing my name, wishing I stayed//look at how my tears ricochet” tswift explained this in the doc about how no one can hurt you like your best friend turned enemy. so i think in that sense this song works from adora’s perspective--but there’s so much bitterness and anger that i feel like it fits more from catra’s POV

seven-- “love you to the moon and to saturn//passed down like folksongs//the love lasts so long” i feel like this is so young/child adora and her feelings of protectiveness over catra. their bond through trauma and abuse

august--lmaoooooo i know. ok i KNOW what the deal is. i KNOW that cardigan, august and betty are a narrative story and really there are 3 POVs--james, betty & august. but i will do with that what i please. i just see catra’s pov from this song just as much as i see it for cardigan. her losing adora/feeling like adora doesn’t want her back or will choose other ppl over her. 

this is me trying--can fit adora’s need to be everything for everyone/fear of failure--leading to burn out. also works for what i assume how catra’s redemption arc continued post s5. progress isn’t linear and this can show both of them struggling to recover from abuse

invisible string--if u strip out the imagery of taylor and her mans then sure

mad woman--i MEAN...is this not catra’s villain origin story? so often she was just poked/kicked/provoked into continuing down the dark path. not always by adora but regardless.

epiphany-- ‘with you i serve, with you i fall down’ reminding me of them both fighting/practicing/training together pre-s1 as well as them finally teaming up

betty--betty betty betty. the worst thing these two have ever done is what they did to each other. i see it more catra to adora, but it can go either way. gotta admire catra’s range for fitting into the role of betty, august + james... who else is doing it quite like her?

peace-- adora to catra. she can never not be she ra. is that enough for catra?

hoax--def more of a catra POV

evermore (2020?)

tbd......

#not me including almost the entire folklore album on here.........not my explanation solely devolving into brain rot...................... #catradora #catra #adora #spop #tswift #long ass post my b

[bellamyblake]

so I saw some posts in the bellarke tag (from a few bellarke) saying how season 6 bellarke was terrible and that Bellamy was out of character and would never do the things he did for Clarke that season.. and that he was bland, and the cpr scene could’ve been any sappy couple, but like ?? I loved season 6, and I thought Bellamy was in character (as opposed to season 5 where they barely interacted and had any big emotional talks after 6 years of thinking she’s dead and ugh s5 to me felt the least like them) i mean to me him doing anything for her seems like something Bellamy would do? Look at the all past seasons and all the sacrifices and thing he did for her and how protective he was over her for any little thing! I feel like Bellamy leaving everyone to save clarke would be something that would happen? And him basically in tears trying to save her as she’s dying in front of him pleading that he needs her seems in character and something they would do and it felt special and sweet to me :/ how was Bellamy bland for doing the most he can to save someone he loves?? Idk, s6 was one of my favorites for how actually romantic it was and it bums me out hearing some bellarkes hating it. How do you feel about it? Do most of the fandom think it’s ooc and Bellamy’s bland?

I think the most important fact to begin with here would be that you gotta understand something that was also a little hard for me to understand at first but that I learned fast when I got into the fandom and that is that-

Nobody judges Bellamy Blake more than his own fandom.

Literally.

I’m even gonna be as brave as to say that the pinapples might not even know what to put on his shoulders besides season 3 to blame him for every mistake but we can. We absolutely can say the worst things about him and call him anything.

You know back when I got in the fandom that was season 3 and that was the WORST time to join but haha, silly cute lil me, I knew of so many blogs and Bellamy and Bellarke fans who HATED Bellamy and refused to understand his actions which yes though questionable, were at least supposed to be put under the microscope and understood.

I knew people who hated season 2 Bellamy too which was such a surprise to me, those were mostly original season 1 fans who said that he was *too  herioc* in season 2 and it *doesn’t fit his character*.

So after that, like season 3 and everything (and after Bob explained how much was missed on and not told and the better part of the season which made some fans show some mercy towards his character), I decided myself that I’ll always step back, think over everything that happens to him with as clear of a head as I can and decide for myself. 

I kept doing it to the end which is also why I am the only one in the fandom who didn’t call him ooc in s7. But THAT is another subject.

I think what I mean here is that nobody and I believe that wholeheartedly is more rude or more brutal to Bellamy Blake than we are. I often felt like we as a fandom hated him more than any anti can and it broke my heart. Most of all what broke my heart was the blatant refusal to understand him or his actions.

I think after season 1 people just had this image of the bad boy rebel king with soft heart who lets Clarke and the 100 in and that was it and that still sells most to these days in fics and amongst the fandom. 

That’s literally where they stopped and they refused to add anything else to his multilayered character in their heads.

ANYWAY-

You asked about season 6 and I LOVE season 6 despite most bellarkers not being fans of it. I think here it comes again a lot to fandom and how the said old gen bellarkers refused to like season 6 bellarke because apparently it wasn’t written as well, the dialogue was bad, they kept recycling stuff, I’ve seen this over and over and over again but for me, personally season 6 was a whole ass trip from beginning to end that is just that-

a love story.

His love story to Clarke.

I think through it he manages to achieve in his heart what he never got to do for her in season 4 and season 5. I have had a few friends at the time who thankfully felt the same way and we discussed the fact that-

season six is filled with all the romantic tropes that we as bellarke writers (and old gen bellarke) KEEP WRITING but complain that we never actually had

WHICH WE DO????

but somehow it is not good enough for them. 

So to answer your quesiton, no, not all people in the fandom thought it was bad, but I feel like again as before with just bellamy and season 3 there was this PUSH as if on purpose, to hate this, to condemn it, to call it *not the same*. I understand what they say that yes they are not entirely the same people and here comes my next point-

THEY ARE NOT!

and newsflash-

THAT IS FINE.

I think a majority of the people refused to accept the fact that they grow as characters and they have layers added to them just as the story grew and went from one planet to another. I think not everyone can accept that and that is fine, I have no problem with that I just wish it wasn’t just so blatantly hated.

I personally think that the CPR scene is where they PEAKED in all aspects. THIS is the most they’ve been truly romantic I believe that and that it is actually expressed in the DESPERATION with which he saves her and her waking up and throwing herself in his arms. Also let’s not forget his lips touching hers which for us is like basically sex.

And after that scene came out I saw a lot of hate and I was so surprised, mainly on twitter from old bellarkers, fic writers who said LOL what a dumb scene, haha he can’t do CPR right and i was like WHAT-

WHAT-

WHAT-

COME AGAIN?

You were okay when she peckered his cheek for 0,02 secs and left him all the fuck alone in season 2 to deal with EVERYTHING and the kids but this is-

BAD FOR YOU?

HIm reccassitating her and begging her and crying and his own effing sister seeing his break down and then managing to get to her, to make her to pull through and her coming back and throwing herself in his arms IS BAD?

I mean I literally died there and it is still my favorite moment.

I know nobody would agree with this but I still think this is the best one. The hugs were great but at some point how many hugs can you have?

This was more. This was so much more and I loved it.

I think also there is something else when people call some scenes blind and that is that Bob was in a lot of pain filming that because of his injury. He literally couldn’t walk and had to redo some scenes from the beginning of the season back in the end when he was a little bit better so it is clear that it is very hard for him to do this but he still does his best imo and by the time the CPR scene comes he clearly is much better and it shows in his acting too (which is also why i personally love his acting in s7 it shows so much how when an actor takes care of themselves, takes a step back, recovers and comes back he literally crushes it but AGAIN i am a lone wolf in that aspect)

Anyway, here is my advice:

1.Stay out of the tags;

2. Find people who you enjoy seeing on your dash to follow and who do fit your interests in terms of the show.

3.Don’t read ppl’s opinions, frankly, don’t listen to anyone, not even me in that ask if it doesn’t sit right with you. Instead find your own thoughts and emotions. 

When I first got in the fandom there was so much meta and meta blogs and you dk the hate I saw in our fandom when it came to bellamy or the wrong discorse about his actions so I just unfollowed them all and did my own thinking. 

That’s what i advise you to do!

Thank you for your question, sorry for the length!

#bellarke #bellarkeedit #the 100 #meta #answered #season 6 #bellamy blake #clarke griffin #sorry for the lenght #Anonymous

[dragimal]

now that s5 is over and I’m starting to wind down from the high of the finale, I think I can finally grasp *exactly* why I have mixed feelings on s5. to be clear, I absolutely ADORE TMA as a whole, and still consider it one of the best pieces of horror media I’ve consumed. but s5 left me feeling... not bad, but off, even when there’s plenty I still rly like abt s5

it mainly comes down to 2 things for me: 1) the severe tone shift, and 2) Martin being Fucking Weird for a lot of the season

a lot of ppl have talked abt how s5 just wasn’t as scary as the previous seasons for various reasons. one kinda inevitable reason was simply that a lot of the mystery of the horror had been revealed at that point, and a monster is never as scary once you can see it clearly. but I think the bigger reason is that the format shifted from horror anthology to.... sociology anthology. like, every statement of s5 felt like a sociology paper on fear and systemic abuse, rather than something meant to chill the reader

this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, honestly-- like I said, much of the mystery had been revealed, so I think it was an understandable move to try to shift the narrative somehow. also, I love sociology papers! I think they’re interesting to read, and s5 gave us some rly creative frameworks for some of them (the poetic carousel, Oliver’s professional assessment, Jared’s garden--)

however, I do think the tone shift was still a bit jarring, esp considering what the audience was used to up to that point. perhaps that’s an appropriate move, to match a plot point as game-changing as the literal apocalypse. BUT that doesn’t mean the tone shift still wasn’t a bit of a let-down, in terms of horror and tension

like, yeah a lot of the mystery was gone, but Hill Top Road ended up being the big mystery of s5... and we weren’t even fully aware of it til almost the end of the season? sure, there was plenty of fan speculation, but we were also considering SO many other possibilities, Hill Top was never rly a core theory until VERY late in the game. like, the mystery seemed to take a backseat to the sociology papers, if that makes sense, lmao

literally the ONE episode to give me chills down my spine like the good ol’ days pre-s5 was MAG196: This Old House. Annabelle vaguely threatening Martin, and ending on, “You have no idea who’s listening, do you?” fucking SUPERB, I was absolutely DELIGHTED by the possibilities of that one line! like, what did it mean? were we gonna go full meta??

but the last few eps after that were... frankly kind of a letdown from that spike of tension? I think those last eps are what rly cinched this idea for me-- that s5 was literally like reading a sociology paper. it rly all was just, arguing about the possibilities, considering the consequences, and making decisions. which, again, isn’t necessarily bad, but it’s not horror-- it’s a thought exercise with an apocalyptic garnish

EDIT-- I forgot to say, I think this is part of why MAG200 simply didn’t hit me the same way it hit others. it was intellectually satisfying-- it tied up loose ends, closed character arcs/relationships, left some delicious ambiguity-- but not emotionally cathartic, if that makes sense? like, I was expecting to cry, but I didn’t even rly get teary? I was grinning and delighted by all the satisfying conclusions, but I didn’t feel that emotional RELEASE that I was expecting and hoping for

as for jonmartin, I want to be clear here. I am NOT one of those ppl that thinks jonmartin came out of nowhere in s4-- I think the buildup pre-s5 was excellent, and their finally being together at the end of s4 was so so earned and rewarding. I’m also NOT one of those ppl that thinks arguments = abuse. I think when I briefly criticized jonmartin in s5 in the past, ppl got this impression that like, I think that jonmartin miscommunicating and having bad coping mechanisms... means that they’re bad for each other and abusing each other? and that’s just not the case?? 

I admit that my initial response to some of the jonmartin weirdness may have been a bit harsh, but even at the time I still loved jonmartin and was simply looking at their relationship with a critical but loving lens

what I have a problem with is that Martin pulls just as much bullshit as Jon in s5, and NEVER gets called out for it

this post I made a while back gets more into the details that bother me, but essentially, there’s always been this rly uneven “accountability scale” (idk what else to call it) for Jon vs. a lot of other characters-- in that, Jon always gets called out for his bullshit, while a lot of other characters don’t. now a lot of this is perfectly explainable as Jon being the main character, so we simply see his fuck-ups AND the subsequent consequences more often than any other character. and there are plenty of characters that I absolutely do NOT blame for going a bit overboard (I give Melanie and Tim in particular a ton of leeway here, given their respective situations. they more or less have full rights to bully Jon imo)

but, the problem is, there are also a LOT of moments where other characters say something absolutely horrific to Jon (namely Basira and Georgie in s4), like imply that he’s responsible for problems he had absolutely no control over, or fucking blame him for literally being groomed into an Archivist by people/powers he couldn’t even grasp... and those accusations are just left to sit and fester in Jon, completely uncontested

the nice thing abt s5 is that most of this is addressed-- like Basira’s completely unfair double-standards for “monsters”, and Georgie unknowingly blaming Jon for his trauma, etc.-- in very satisfying ways.

.... except for Martin.

without rehashing that linked post too much, Martin’s main problem in s5 is that his go-to response to trauma is denial. he denies the fact that he wants to kill avatars for his own satisfaction (which is a completely reasonable desire on its own tbqh!), and instead continues to lie to himself (for quite a long time) that killing avatars is actually helping anyone but Jon and Martin. he denies that Jon’s become a real full-fledged “monster”, and refuses to acknowledge all the baggage that comes with that

this denial unintentionally projects a lot of rly fucked-up messages at Jon, like: Jon is now a freaky horrorshow (even when he’s doing something completely innocuous, like talking casually about his powers); Jon’s fears over losing his autonomy/identity to the Eye, and his fears over his proven abilities to hurt others, are invalid; monsters inherently deserve to die, despite Jon technically being one; Jon not being able to use his powers “well enough” is some failure on his part

now, none of this is to say Martin’s characterization on its own is a bad thing-- I actually think it could’ve been interesting! it’s a perfectly reasonable trauma response, it tracks for Martin’s character pre-s5, and could have been a rly interesting perspective to explore.... if it was ever actually challenged by the narrative or other characters

I think the closest we got was Martin’s conversation with himself in his own domain, when his double calls him out for fantasizing a happy ending where Jonah is dead and Jon and Martin kiss (OUGH.... JONNY YOU HURT ME..), but that still never rly addresses the hurt that Martin’s denial causes Jon

and god, I was rly holding out-- Martin seemed to chill out on the denial a lot after the first third of the season, and I was hoping it might go a similar route as Basira, where it would just take a while to rly address Martin’s issues. but then Jon and Martin have their argument in MAG194, and I was fully on Martin’s side of it, UNTIL he said, “You weren’t meant to enjoy it this much!” (in reference to Jon killing avatars), and when Jon calls him out, Martin just brushes over it! 

BOY when I tell you I went BALLISTIC.... FUCK YOU Martin, YOU’RE the one that went all Kill Bill and PUSHED Jon to feel the same way!! JESUS. like I get that that wasn’t the core of the argument there, but oh my god that one bit...

and once again, to make myself perfectly fucking crystal clear here, this is coming from someone who relates heavily to both Jon and Martin. I can see exactly where Martin is coming from for many of his decisions, and the trauma that’s led him to mentally protect himself like this. so it only makes me more frustrated to see him refuse to face his own issues, while still (understandably) expecting Jon to face his issues. yes, Jon pulls a LOT of bullshit in s5 that he deserves to be called out for (and called out he is!), but accountability goes both ways, Martin! you can’t demand responsible behavior from others if you’re not willing to extend the same courtesy!

#the magnus archives #shut up ashley #tma

[inmyarmswrappedin]

I used to give ppl the benefit of doubt by assuming they were struggling to see things from other people's perspectives. But I really noticed, probably bc s5 and s6 aired back to back, that while many on SM had difficulty understanding Ava, Josh and Zoe's behavior during s5, s6 seems to have decreased that problem. Kieu My and Ismail (but Ava's perspective still appears to be too far afield for a lot) are receiving a lot more think pieces/posts from their povs. Why do u think that is?

Hi anon 🎼 It’s because Ismail and Kieu My are gnc and bi, respectively. Characters of color are generally afforded more sympathy if they are queer, or ~give off~ queer vibes. Do you remember all the posts before s5 that said the anti corona kids were a gay/queer squad? That was based on their vibes.

Meanwhile, Ava has only shown interest in boys so far. Therefore she receives less sympathy because people can’t (and won’t headcanon) ship her in wlw ships. Compare with Mailin, who has shown no interest in people of any gender, but is frequently headcanoned as wlw, and shipped with Nora. 

Josh suffers from the same effect, he’s a moc, into women and not shown to have, or headcanoned to have, attraction for dudes. Meanwhile Zoe had a somewhat adversarial relationship with Nora, the main, for most of the season, and because of the POV element, characters like that are also afforded less sympathy. So out of all the characters you mentioned, Zoe is the one where I feel like her only problem was people struggling to see things from her perspective. 

#ask #druck #this also very obviously affects who people want to see as main next btw #Anonymous

[lucidpantone]

Druck is objectively better than all remakes at making a pointed effort to do better with their pic reps. They actually take in the feedback of their audience and try to execute a better product. There are problems with druck and 80% of it is the fandom. Ofc all remakes have issues tho, so ppl should chill. Druck fans unapologetically shit on other remakes while, wtfock fans and skam fr fans have the courtesy of slyly getting their digs in there. It's quite amusing to watch from the sidelines

this is super long but for you anon.

So I think we need to look at these three remakes as what I call the og period and the original period because they do change alot once they get more freedom some for the absolute worse. Ok so lets talk first about the OG periods. To be perfectly honest s1 in all these remakes are just ok. Jana & Jens are a bit unbearable but Jana as a whole is fine and am happy she doesnt end up with Jens. Same with Hanna and Jonas they aren’t unbearable per-say but I am also not gushing over them but I do like Jonas being a heart throb music man sometimes but once again they dont burn into my core but am happy they reunite. Love Emma and love Yann just not together its that simple. S2 is where we really start to see the difference. Charles is the devil so I hate skamfr s2 and like really Manon stays with him??? ughh why?? Daphne is right at almost bursting into laughter when he talks about doing philanthropy. Ok bruh....sure. Winterberg is fine I dont hate them and I dont love them they are just okay to me. S2 happens to be wtfock best season so its kinda hard to stack them up because this is the best they ever looked. All of the s3 for all these remakes are good. To say they aren’t would just be nonsense some are better then others but all are above average. Now S4....... well well well. What can we say the elusive goldstar Sana season is yet to be made (I will say the script for Italia s4 is fantastic, THE SCRIPT).

Skamfr s4 was a mess and ridiculous and Druck’s s4 was lazy and harbored accents of prejudice all over it.Both seasons undercut their woc and both miss the opportunity to write deep meaningful stories that explored the societal struggles of muslim women. Skamfr s4 just happened to really just shows us their colors but honestly am not shocked this is skam the micro racist decisions are all over the verse. TBD on yasmina season.

 NOW......this all changes when we talk about the original seasons because this is when we see the shows on their own and also we get to see if they have been listening and absorbing the fan commentary or not. So let’s get the obvious out of the way wtFOCK was an absolute mess and maybe the worse season ever created in the skamverse the only thing that made that season even slightly bearable was the Moyo arc which I hear it actually continues in s5 so in a weird way s4 is actually about Moyo since his story continues but we already know thats only because if the fans saw Kato on the screen for a matters of seconds the volcano of hate would explode. I despise how Noa has become the pseudo main of s4 but didnt get the credit. It kills me they did this to him. Maining Romi is the worse mistake ever made by any remake and thats just fact. Now do I want to see a newgen out of wtfock? hmmmm ask me after s5 but am leaning towards probably not but am on the fence. Now skamfr .....let me say this one thing skam fr is nothing without their cast. Talk about fucking talent. Those kids can act their ass off but their writing is atrocious. s5 could have been good they had all the ingredients but the writers bomb it. S6 once again flavie amazing the writing a shit show. S7 lucie was amazing the writing was better but still needs work I think it pretty obvious skam fr is going to step into the thunderdome and finally do what no skam has done before and main bilal but should I really applaud it taking 8 seasons and 35 plus skamverse seasons to get here??? Probably not, but since no one else is gonna pull the trigger I wish them well and at least skamfr listen and lamifex is super rich in diversity and they are honestly a fabulous newgen. They are such a ridiculous squad but god I love them and Jo is an angel. Please please skamfr please write a good story for a brown boy I beg of you!!! Now druck s5 all I can say is Bravo!! If skamfr is their cast then Druck is their writers. That s5 season is a fucking beast. Thats how you write an original skam season. They also listen the cast is super diverse. The girl squad feels natural and their age I actually like that the insta squad are problematic as fuck and happen to be queer. Like just cause your a gay baby doesnt mean you arent an ass. s6 for me personally was ok maybe its unfair of me but I expect amazing writing out of druck and s6 to me was not their best. It could have been amazing they touched so many topics but never deeply explored them and I wanted more for fatou. Also def got the vibes at the end they were panicking on who to main next season so everyone got a little plot thread but that also distracted me from fatou but I love the Mailin plot it was really smart and done well. I didnt hate her but boy did she bug the shit out me.That how you write modern day racism and white privilege. I just wish Ava’s plot was spread more onto fatou they were moments but i wanted more. So I guess I do think out of the original seasons druck s5 is the best. Nora being white didnt matter because she was written well but i do think Tiff being the main out of skamfr wasnt the best choice but then seeing Lucie act am like ok i get it but honestly I expect that from that cast they can all kill it so why not let someone else be the main and not tiff. BTW druck’s cast is good too I just dont think they are as good as the skamfr cast on the acting front but they are some members that are very very good. Like you said because Druck does listen I hope they listen to the honest criticism of s6. I know some people are like its the best ever but like its not....am sorry s5 was way better then s6 and that makes me sad because i want my black girl magic.... I do expect s7 to be good because when the writers for druck have the room to take their time they always kill it but I also feel like they are about to pull a Tiff on us and main Ismail(plus constantine as the side plot) but if I trust anyone with not fucking it up its them. Concerning the fandoms I live off tag and I do that for a reason. The fandom tags are alot but the druck one is almost hostile and honestly you would love the show more if you didnt interact with it. The skamfr tag is hilarious because they are no anti’s its just a bunch of arm chair critics making memes at how ridiculous the frenchies are but in away it makes the remake super fun because no one cares anymore. The wtfock tag has really high highs and really insane lows. When its low its really low so I have decided to live off tag. For those who haven’t..... god speed. Your brave souls!!

#lucidpantone anons #super long read but enjoy #excuse the million typos

[peachywander]

All asks

Holy shit, this will be so much fun B-) *cracks knuckles*

Ask me: FANDOM EDITION

A - Your current OTP

Uhhh pff,,, skeleton dance I think?? I mean sure, skelley dance is always my current OTP, ngl. They're basically made for eachother, hell, even craig himself wore tshirts and stuff with wander hugging hater ifthisisn'tcannonthenidkwhatitis

B - A pairing you initially didn’t consider but someone changed your mind

To be honest,, wander x beza. I used to dislike every wander x girl ship bcs I see him as gae and nothing else. But I have a friend who does lots of art with them so I think it grew on me more and more with time?? Now I think they would look cute together, even if i'm still not super big on it.

C - A pairing you have never liked and probably never will

Wnder x domi. No comment, I despise it with all my heart 😂😂 Like I said earlier, I don't like most of wander x girl ships, and domi really hates wander. Sooo this ship simply doesn't make sense to me,, lmfao.

D - A pairing you wish you liked but just can’t

I think Twi x Flash from mlp. Yeah, I thought twi was cute when crushing on him in the 1st EG movie but they don't seem to have that chemistry I was hoping for. Plus I haven't seen any recent episodes of mlp in a long time, though I heard ppl say that he was mean to her once, if I remember well? Anyways, doesn't work so much for me.

E - Have you added anything stupid/cracky/hilarious to your fandom, if so, what

Besides memes/ shitposts, not really. Check @gunxball if you want to see posts of mine back when I was into gumball 2 yrs ago (golly i miss those times)

F - What’s the longest you’ve ever been in a fandom

Probably su (2016-2019) or kid vs kat (2011-2014)

G - Do you remember your first OTP, if so who was in it

Why yes, of course I do. cosmo x wanda from fop. They were so adorbs together esp in the first 2 seasons. Don't like how they got so flanderized with time, their dynamic was absolutely destroyed, and my day was ruined when I found out.

H - Do you prefer characters from real action series or anime series

I don't watch either lolol

But I think anime.

I - Has tumblr caused you to stop liking any fandoms, if so, which and why

Dislike the fandom, not the show itself? Probably hzbin hotel. The show has a pretty neat concept and animation and it had such a big impact on my artstyle when I first watched it. But the fandom? Absolute hell. (pun intended)

From shipping wars, to pestering vivz, anything is possible. Glad I haven't actually interacted with that part of the fandom.

J - Name a fandom you didn’t care/think about until you saw it all over tumblr

Not a show but among us. Back in september/october last year, my tl was FILLED with among us, up and down. Made me a lil tired of it but once I tried playing that game, I couldn't stop. Also the owlhouse, fell in love with the artstyle and story.

K - How do you feel about the other people in your current fandom

I don't have a current fandom. Not feeling in the mood + school + inactivity bcs of school. So I'll say abt my latest fandom, which was animaney. Well, people were really nice, and they seemed to enjoy the reboot. Nothing more to say tbh,,

L - Your favorite fanartist/author gives you one request, what do you ask for

Ummm I don't really like giving rqs to my fave artists, i don't wanna bother them haha

M - Your favorite fanart or fanartist

I don't know aaaa, prolly toonipi but she also draws ocs, not just fanart.

N - Your favorite fanfiction or fanauthor

Anything cute or sappy with skelleydance (NO nsfw)

O - Choose a song at random, which OTP does it remind you of

Lasers and feelings. Skellydance again. It matches sO well-

P - Invent a random AU for any fandom (we always need more ideas)

I used to have a skatepark AU ft. su chars but never put anything over here. I still have the sketches from 9th grade lmao.

Q - A ship you’ve abandoned and why

To be completely honest, Amydot. Up until s3 they really gave me possible ship vibes. They interacted a lot, and peri discovered her metal powers thanks to amy. But after s3 they hardly ever interacted anymore (besides that one ep from s5 with the kindergarden). I was so dissapointed, but hey lapdot isn't so bad anyway, right?

R - A pairing you ship that you don’t think anyone else ships

Back in 2014 I would have said chred from angry birds, definitely. Not many really shipped them, and when I saw some fanart of them on dA everyone would say "ew, gae". Well, 2014 everyone. I was always like "so?? i like that ship, what's the problem??"

S - Show us an example of your personal headcanon

Uhmm, i headcanon darwin from tawog that he likes to yodel lol

T - If you mostly have homoships, do you have any heteroships

I think my ships are 50-50, but here are some examples:

Larsdie

Stevnnie

Blckeye

Fluttrcord

Beeckard

Starc0

Tanyamao

Foxodile

Pennball

Carwin

U - If you mostly have heteroships, do you have any homoships

Same as T. Another examples:

Skelleydance

Wnderingeye

Sylava

Lumty

Rupphre

Pearlmthyst

Badgrmao

Bubbline

Flutterdsh

Patbob

V - Are you one of those fans who can’t watch anything without shipping

Lol no. Tbh, i'm not super big on shipping either. I only slighty like/dislike any ship i listed earlier (with the exception of skelleydance, i'm too in love with that ship)

W - 5 favorite characters from 5 different fandoms

wakko warner (animaney)

wander (woy)

fluttershy (mlp)

amethyst (su)

bubbles (ppg)

X - 3 OTPs from 3 different fandoms

skelleydance (woy)

lumty (toh)

stevnnie (su)

Y - A fandom you’re in but have no ships from

kid cosmic (or maybe I do ship papa g w/ chuck), animaney, okko, gravity flls

Z - Just ramble about something fan-related, go go go

That one fan made episode from su called the smothering, it was so freaking amazing. It helped a lot in relieveing the pain of that big hiatus from 2017 (which was the biggest one, i literally turned into a skeleton waiting for new eps). Loved peri's needy personality, as well as lappy's playful one. It was so well written, like it could be perfectly fit as a role reversal episode in the main show.

#the reason i typed the ships like that is to not appear in the tags #ask