#i have Lots of Thoughts about this

[66sharkteeth]

Hi 66, I have a lot of thoughts sorry in advance! One of my favorite things about CoB is how the premise lays the groundwork for some really interesting angst, psychological horror, and identity crises. Today, when I was at work and thinking about CoB (as one does) a thought suddenly occurred to me. Bell and Rex are both interested in each other -- if they were to start dating, and Lyss found out about it, oh my god how would she even begin to process that???? (1/4)

Sharing the full thing bc I think it's good food for thought!

Honestly, I'm not sure I'm gonna give you the answer you're looking for though and might end up rambling with my own thoughts related to this. Because I can't really say much about Lyss and Bell's relationship yet, let alone each individual's with Rex. Except that Lyss did have romantic feelings for Rex, ones that she knows weren't ever requited bc of how she treated his kind before she knew he was one of them. Without those factors, Rex could have been interested back...and low and behold, he is, with Bell.

Honestly though, Bell and Lyss make me think about the argument that blanks are just a continuation of humans though. I see soooooooooooooo many comments (esp in earlier episodes) of people going like "why do people hate blanks? they're the same person." but no, they aren't, and Lyss and Bell are the most blatant example of that. Yes, they might look and act exactly the same, but Bell and Lyss are the PRIME example that when a blank takes your face, your consciousness and who you are STAYS with you (and usually dies), and a COPY of it is born. Lyss didn't suddenly wake up as Bell. She isn't Bell now that half her face was stolen. She isn't magically connected with Bell either, like they don't share a consciousness and read each others minds or anything. Lyss stayed Lyss when her face was stolen, and Bell was born as an (albeit incomplete) copy of her.

There is no difference in their situation than any other blank victim's, other than Lyss survived and Bell will never get 100% of Lyss' memories in her current state. But like that girl in the opening episodes? She didn't "become" a blank. A blank became her. And if Rex hadn't mercy-killed that blank, she'd be living pretty similar to Lyss now, still existing and living her life with a blank copy of her out somewhere. Just because most people die in the face stealing process, doesn't change anything.

Any of them who survive would end up essentially like Lyss and Bell, who everyone views as two very different people despite insisting that blanks are just the person whose face they stole, just now a different species.

Now, I do acknowledge this gets a little confusing and complicated when we got blanks like Claude and Charlie who were also Claude and Charlie as humans...but that's simply just a case of identity. Claude was Claude the human, then he became Claude the blank. But he will NEVER be Claude the human again. Claude the human is dead and Claude the human will never come back. However, he was comfortable with his former identity (plus he wanted to keep Claude the human's family and business ties), so he just decided to be Claude the blank when it came time to settle on his identity.

But then there's blanks like Desmond, who don't identify as their face at all. He took his face from Reese the human, and now Reese is dead and he is a blank named Desmond wearing a Reese skin. He will never be Reese, though, not even Reese the blank.

#rambled more than i planned here #ty if you read it lol #i have lots of thoughts about this #identity is a big theme in cob and blanks are kind of a metaphor for it #but much like gender identity it's REALLY hard to explain it to people who arent experiencing it themselves #its one of those themes in the story where i hope the people its intended for notice #but the people who have no grasp on it are just able to go with it and enjoy #city of blank

[gayjolynecujoh]

Watching the manic pixie dream girl trope: 👎

being the manic pixie dream girl in the reader insert fanfiction: 👍

#reader insert fanfiction is a safe space where being the manic pixie dream girl is fine #i was watching the bear and thought that Claire would have really worked as the reader in a Carmy x reader fanfic #childhood friend is like one of three easy ways to create a reader insert character #I have lots of thoughts about this #I have embraced the most embarrassing part of myself #which is of course the one that loves x reader fic

[witherbee]

i realize that there are in fact people who cry in order to manipulate the person they're in conflict with, but this recent categorization of ALL instances of crying as manipulative and inappropriate is so detached from the reality of humanity. and i think this knee-jerk reaction and desire to call crying manipulative goes hand in hand with the uptick in inappropriate uses of therapy-speak in order to avoid actually engaging in challenging (meaningful!!) conversations with their loved ones.

we're so averse to negative emotions these days that people actually think that feeling discomfort during a conflict or difficult conversation is harmful. and seeing someone cry makes them uncomfortable, so instead of sitting with that discomfort and working through it, we accuse normal people with normal reactions of being manipulative.

#i have lots of thoughts about this #emotions #manipulation #abuse #conflict #argument #manipulate #relationships #friendship

[reallyneedsalife]

the next person i see shipping yelena with anyone imma throw hands withv

yelena is aromantic asexual. you have plenty of others to ship, don't erase aroace rep for the sake of your ship. we get to little of it, don't make it less.

also, just think, if she was a lesbian would you ship her with a man? no? then don't ship her with anyone. period. she's aromantic asexual.

don't be aphobic people!

#yelena belova #aroace #aroace yelena belova #please stop shipping her #i have lots of thoughts about this #mainly that peoples reception of her intentity says a lot about the lgbtq community #because lets be honest here #if she was a lesbian there would be outcry if someone shipped her with a manb #but suddent because shes aroace her identity doesnt matter? l #aphobia #aphobes fuck off

[katelfiredemon]

Actuality you know what, I’m not done with this. Let’s talk about book covers for a bit. Can we talk about how so many books have gone from having beautiful artistic and interesting covers to just having some poorly photoshopped object or woman on the front? Bring back book covers with beautiful artwork and feeling!

Some examples of books that I loved the covers of and their new covers:

Like seriously! Look at these! The new covers make them look like just any other YA Novel while the older ones are so dynamic and fun and made me pick them up because they looked different and interesting!

Or like this series:

Like the new covers look nice, but the old covers just have so much detail to them! They’re these gorgeous painted dresses that have a very whimsical vibe instead of just a girl in front of a vague background

#books #book covers #anyways #I have lots of thoughts about this

[dollscircus]

Mmm Sam comparing darlin to the sun, alternatively Quinn comparing them to hellfire.

#I have lots of thoughts about this #redacted asmr

[sourstiless]

i want to preface this before i say what i say, because i don’t want anyone to get the wrong idea. i am not an advocate for killing characters off for shock value, or using death as the only way to wrap up a character’s redemption arc. in most cases i really hate it, and i’ve actually stopped watching shows for it. that being said, i really do think that the only direction for steve’s character is death.

putting it under the cut because it got longer than i intended. spoilers for all of s4 under the cut.

i don’t like the idea of it, because he’s had such great development and redemption, and he’s become such a beloved character, and like i said before i don’t like using death as the only way to wrap up characters like steve’s arcs. but, honestly i feel like there’s nothing else to really do with steve in terms of furthering the plot. in season 1, steve served as the antagonist. he was a catalyst in getting nancy and jonathan together (inviting nancy to the party, nancy bringing barb, barb cutting her finger, jonathan taking pictures of said party and catching a pic of barb by the pool before she died, nancy sees said pic, and we all know what happens after that). he then served as nancy and jonathan’s savior by using the nail bat to hit the demogorgon, saving jonathan so they could then set it on fire.

in s2, steve is used to further nancy’s character in dealing with her guilt regarding barb, pushing her to investigate it further because he wants to just be stupid teenagers. after they break up, steve serves as the “babysitter” for the younger kids, protecting them from demogorgons and keeping them safe from billy and the tunnels (something they couldn’t have otherwise done because billy is much bigger than them, and we see in the tunnels that steve is the reason they’re able to get out because he boosts them up). he also serves to help support dustin’s character and his confidence.

in season 3, he is a driving factor in the group discovering the russian base. he’s the only one to pick up on the ride music in the mall, which is how they discover that the russians are using the mall as a front in the first place. and yeah, this could have fallen on dustin or robin, but i do think this was significant because i think it’s used to show how the logic driven characters can often overlook little details that seem unimportant. the others were so focused on the actual words and translating them, but we all know steve isn’t really the academic type, so it does make sense that he would choose to focus on the music in the background instead. the scoops troop are then huge players in the overall plot, as they’re the ones who discover the russians have reopened the gate to the upside down.

but in season 4, we start to see that the writers don’t really know what to do with steve. max is the one who discovers eddie may be hiding out in reefer rick’s place, while steve is the only one who isn’t actively looking for eddie and instead tending to the customers. dustin is the one who is connected to eddie, and able to get through to him. max and nancy are the one who have a connection to vecna. lucas and el were driving forces in saving max from the first time vecna took her, not steve. and yeah, you can say that they needed him to find the gate, but as we see in episode 6 when he gets dragged through the gate, the others are able to find it and save him without any trouble. i think it’s a cute headcanon to believe that steve’s relationship to dustin is the reason he heads him from the upside down, but the others are also able to hear dustin when they come back down. it’s shot in such a way that makes it easily interpreted as steve hearing dustin because he was the only one to linger downstairs, and not because of any emotional connection they have. in volume 2, steve, nancy and robin didn’t really do all that much until the end of episode 9 when they set vecna on fire, and that only slowed him down, it didn’t him. most of steve’s scenes were him pining over nancy, which in my opinion was insignificant and unnecessary. the plot would have been exactly the same without it.

because they don’t know how to develop his character further, they’ve instead elected to water him down to someone who only cares about things like romance and finding a partner. and that’s not a bad thing, i do think a core part of his character is wanting to love and to be loved, but the way they wrote it made it seemingly stunt his growth rather than develop him. a huge part of why steve did what he did in s1 was because he thought nancy was cheating on him, and it would be regression to have him then, in s4, be or want to be a homewrecker to nancy’s other relationship.

so to recap, in s1 he was the antagonist, in s2, the babysitter, in s3, he played a huge part in discovering the gate and what happens to hopper because of what they find, but in s4, they start to lose him. and yeah, you can say they could send him to college, but i don’t think they can. they’ve implied multiple times that he was “too dumb” and didn’t have the grades to get into college (which is such bs, but a conversation for another day). they could’ve gone the route of him deciding that college wasn’t for him, or that he decided to take a gap year, but they didn’t. they’ve specifically alluded to him not being smart enough for it, even way back in s2 when nancy was editing his essay. he can’t just move out of town unless his parents do because he doesn’t have the money. the first job he ever had was scoops ahoy because his father wanted to punish him for not getting into school. we can assume it’s a minimum wage job, like family video. places run solely by teenagers are usually paying minimum wage form my experience, or under in some cases. it’s only been a year since the end of s3 and the beginning of s4, and we know enough time passed between the time the mall was destroyed and getting the job at family video for his face to heal entirely, meaning it had to be at least a week but probably more. with steve being around in hawkins at the end of s4, we can assume his parents aren’t moving.

basically what i’m saying is the writers don’t know what to do with his character and have boarded up and cut off all the good, or at least decent endings for steve. him dying seems like the only way to keep his character “important”(i put that in quotes because he will always be important to me). they used eddie as a cop out death in place of steve. eddie had the same relationship to dustin as steve had, meaning it would pack the same emotional punch without having to kill off one of their main characters. like yeah we love him as the babysitter, but the kids aren’t kids anymore. they don’t need a babysitter. he’s developed past being an antagonist, and he’s graduated from high school, he’s not the cliche high school bully anymore. jonathan and nancy are still together, the very relationship he inadvertently helped set up. and the rest of the people his age are planning on leaving and going to college. there is nothing else for him to do. narratively speaking, they have set his character up to die, whether they know it or not, because they have made it so there is nowhere else for him to go. narratively speaking, his relevance to the plot is fading because of the way they have written the show, whether we like it or not.

and obviously, this doesn’t mean he’s going to be killed off, but what it does mean is that i would be more satisfied with him dying than him fading into obscurity or simply just not doing anything important because the writers didn’t know what to do with his character.

#anyway #i have lots of thoughts about this #i would stop watching the show if steve died #i’ve done it with many shows before #but i don’t see any other way for his story to end #not with the way they have set him up #steve harrington #stranger things #stranger things 4

[butchfalin]

the funniest meltdown ive ever had was in college when i got so overstimulated that i could Not speak, including over text. one of my friends was trying to talk me through it but i was solely using emojis because they were easier than trying to come up with words so he started using primarily emojis as well just to make things feel balanced. this was not the Most effective strategy... until. he tried to ask me "you okay?" but the way he chose to do that was by sending "👉🏼👌🏼❓" and i was so shocked by suddenly being asked if i was dtf that i was like WHAT???? WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY TO ME?????????? and thus was verbal again

#yeehaw #1k #5k #10k #posts that got cursed. blasted. im making these tag updates after... 19 hours? #also i have been told it should say speech loss bc nonverbal specifically refers to the permanent state. did not know that! #unfortunately i fear it is so far past containment that even if i edited it now it would do very little. but noted for future reference #edit 2: nvm enough ppl have come to rb it from me directly that i changed the wording a bit. hopefully this makes sense #also. in case anyone is curious. though i doubt anyone who is commenting these things will check the original tags #1) my friend did not do this on purpose in any way. it was not intended to distract me or to hit on me. im a lesbian hes a gay man. cmon now #he felt very bad about it afterwards. i thought it was hilarious but it was very embarrassed and apologetic #2) “why didn't he use 🫵🏼?” didn't exist yet. “why didn't he use 🆗?” dunno! we'd been using a lot of hand emojis. 👌🏼 is an ok sign #like it makes sense. it was just a silly mixup. also No i did not invent 👉🏼👌🏼 as a gesture meaning sex. do you live under a rock #3) nonspeaking episodes are a recurring thing in my life and have been since i was born. this is not a quirky one-time thing #it is a pervasive issue that is very frustrating to both myself and the people i am trying to communicate with. in which trying to speak is #extremely distressing and causes very genuine anguish. this post is not me making light of it it's just a funny thing that happened once #it's no different than if i post about a funny thing that happened in conjunction w a physical disability. it's just me talking abt my life #i don't mind character tags tho. those can be entertaining. i don't know what any of you are talking about #Except the ppl who have said this is pego/ryu or wang/xian. those people i understand and respect #if you use it as a writing prompt that's fine but send it to me. i want to see it #aaaand i think that's it. everyday im tempted to turn off rbs on it. it hasn't even been a week

[sadclowncentral]

I think if a fairy showed up at my house like yeah they are not real but there is narrative precedent for that. a fairy, if it existed, would show up at a house. i just need to suspend one disbelief everything else tracks. it's a big surprise, but a singular one. i would know how to get with the programm pretty quick.

if a walrus knocked at my door there would be many more fucking questions than one. a walrus showing up at my house? knowing that knocking is the required social etiquette? having reasons to knock on my door and somehow the ability to do that despite having no arms? said walrus coming to me of all people?? a walrus being real is the least of my concerns at that point why the fuck does it need my help what kind of problem can I solve that a socially aware and apparently findextrous walrus fucking can't

#i have a lot of thoughts about this.

[jeanivere]

arthur morgan tiddies and tummy thats all im gonna say

#my art #arthur morgan #rdr2 arthur #arthur morgan rdr2 #rdr2 #red dead redemption 2 #man i have so many feelings about him #thinking a lot of thoughts #like that happy trail im currently staring at #no im not i gotta go guys bye

[inkskinned]

the thing is that they're so fascinated by sex, they love sex, they can't imagine a world without sex - they need sex to sell things, they need sex to be part of their personality, they need sex to prove their power - but they hate sex. they are disgusted by it.

sex is the only thing that holds their attention, and it is also the thing that can never be discussed directly.

you can't tell a child the normal names for parts of their body, that's sexual in nature, because the body isn't a body, it's a vessel of sex. it doesn't matter that it's been proven in studies (over and over) that kids need to know the names of their genitals; that they internalize sexual shame at a very young age and know it's 'dirty' to have a body; that it overwhelmingly protects children for them to have the correct words to communicate with. what matters is that they're sexual organs. what matters is that it freaks them out to think about kids having body parts - which only exist in the context of sex.

it's gross to talk about a period or how to check for cancer in a testicle or breast. that is nasty, illicit. there will be no pain meds for harsh medical procedures, just because they feature a cervix.

but they will put out an ad of you scantily-clad. you will sell their cars for them, because you have abs, a body. you will drip sex. you will ooze it, like a goo. like you were put on this planet to secrete wealth into their open palms.

they will hit you with that same palm. it will be disgusting that you like leather or leashes, but they will put their movie characters in leather and latex. it will be wrong of you to want sexual freedom, but they will mark their success in the number of people they bed.

they will crow that it's inappropriate for children so there will be no lessons on how to properly apply a condom, even to teens. it's teaching them the wrong things. no lessons on the diversity of sexual organ growth, none on how to obtain consent properly, none on how to recognize when you feel unsafe in your body. if you are a teenager, you have probably already been sexualized at some point in your life. you will have seen someone also-your-age who is splashed across a tv screen or a magazine or married to someone three times your age. you will watch people pull their hair into pigtails so they look like you. so that they can be sexy because of youth. one of the most common pornography searches involves newly-18 young women. girls. the words "barely legal," a hiss of glass sand over your skin.

barely legal. there are bills in place that will not allow people to feel safe in their own bodies. there are people working so hard to punish any person for having sex in a way that isn't god-fearing and submissive. heteronormative. the sex has to be at their feet, on your knees, your eyes wet. when was the first time you saw another person crying in pornography and thought - okay but for real. she looks super unhappy. later, when you are unhappy, you will close your eyes and ignore the feeling and act the role you have been taught to keep playing. they will punish the sex workers, remove the places they can practice their trade safely. they will then make casual jokes about how they sexually harass their nanny.

and they love sex but they hate that you're having sex. you need to have their ornamental, perfunctory, dispassionate sex. so you can't kiss your girlfriend in the bible belt because it is gross to have sex with someone of the same gender. so you can't get your tubes tied in new england because you might change your mind. so you can't admit you were sexually assaulted because real men don't get hurt, you should be grateful. you cannot handle your own body, you cannot handle the risks involved, let other people decide that for you. you aren't ready yet.

but they need you to have sex because you need to have kids. at 15, you are old enough to parent. you are not old enough to hear the word fuck too many times on television.

they are horrified by sex and they never stop talking about it, thinking about it, making everything unnecessarily preverted. the saying - a thief thinks everyone steals. they stand up at their podiums and they look out at the crowd and they sign a bill into place that makes sexwork even more unsafe and they stand up and smile and sign a bill that makes gender-affirming care illegal and they get up and they shrug their shoulders and write don't say gay and they get up, and they make the world about sex, but this horrible, plastic vision of it that they have. this wretched, emotionless thing that holds so much weight it's staggering. they put their whole spine behind it and they push and they say it's normal!

this horrible world they live in. disgusted and also obsessed.

#this shifts gender so much bc it actually affects everyone #yes it's a gendered phenomenon. i have written a LOT about how different genders experience it. that's for a different post. #writeblr #ps my comments about seeing someone cry -- this is not to shame any person #and on this blog we support workers. #at the same time it's a really hard experience to see someone that looks like you. clearly in agony. and have them forced to keep going. #when you're young it doesn't necessarily look like acting. it looks scary. and that's what this is about - the fact that teens #have likely already been exposed to that definition of things. because the internet exists #and without the context of healthy education. THAT is the image burned into their minds about what it looks like. #it's also just one of those personal nuanced biases - #at 19 i thought it was normal to be in pain. to cry. to not-like-it. that it should be perfunctory. #it was what i had seen. #and it didn't help that my religious upbringing was like . 'yeah that's what you get for premarital. but also for the reference #we do think you should never actually enjoy it lol' #so like the point im making is that ppl get exposed to that stuff without the context of something more tender #and assume .... 'oh. so it's fine i am not enjoying myself'. and i know they do because I DID. #he was my first boyfriend. how was i supposed to know any different #i didn't even have the mental wherewithal to realize im a lesbian . like THAT used to suffering.

[peachebo]

I remember I had a concept about alternative ending of sl where michael brings ennard home and jus lives very normal life with a killing machine...

also here's ennard with da cat

#yep they are besties in my head #also sibling coded not only bc elizabeth but ennard taking michael clothes to cover themselves when going outside #i am having thoughts about them like a lot #fnaf #michael afton #ennard #fnaf sister location #cat #2k... #3k..... #4k!!! #5k??!! #6k wha- #7k guys r u crazy... #8k #9k bro #10k happy new year!!

[clown-owo]

been replaying the Portal series I think this is where its heading

#i haven't drawn in like. half a month. which listen i know i don't post much here but i do draw a lot #i have another blog. but also sometimes i just don't post things. i draw for myself #just got burnt out from working on an animation final 😔 #so anyway. eased myself back in with a silly comic about portal #my irl saw my shitty sketch and thought glados was painting chell which is very funny to me. #chelldos #but like. unrequited. glados is obsessed with chell. chell is not having a good time #portal #chell #GlaDOS #GlaD0S #my art #og post #1k #5k #10k #20k #edit: i made this post almost a year ago and it haunts me. theres a typo. chell is out of character. #because i couldn't come up with a good reason for her to be there in the first place #and this was a shitty ms paint replicating drawing that i did just to get back into drawing #i didn't think it would gain much attention #i was Wrong #anyway someone in the comments said this is what happens when you speedrun thats an infintely better setup for the punchline #EDIT 2: ok i fixed it fuck you

[evercelle]

but the show must go on

#genshin impact #furina #focalors #ever makes art #how about that archon quest huh!!! #i have a lot of thoughts about fontaine....... but the one i have the most thoughts about is #the theme of 'justice for all at the cost of suffering for a few' #focalors is so fascinating... the cruel calculus of what her gambit costs is very cool and sexy

[reallyneedsalife]

anyone else kinda pissed Tennant is the Doc again instead of Ncuti..?

#doctor who #the power of the doctor #holy shit #i have lots of thoughts about this #so so many thoughts about this episode #but i legitimately went from a sobbing mess to shouting WHAT?! at the screen bc #w h a t ??? #and secondly #w h y ???

[peridot-tears]

Truths that Co-Exist

Barbie (2023) is a giant product placement that profits off nostalgia.

The writing is profound and life-changing and understands why we seek nostalgia in a way most nostalgia-driven entertainment doesn’t.

The film is self-aware about how even now, Barbie dolls set incredibly unrealistic beauty standards. Their “body diversity” does not even scratch the surface of what that phrase really means. I don’t expect this to change.

The film still made a beautiful statement with the scene on the bench about how societal beauty standards are narrow and restrictive! And that beauty comes from experiencing life and the marks it leaves on you!

Its feminist statements are validating. Many of us see our reality onscreen, and the great thing is that it includes how cishet men fall down a pipeline of toxic hypermasculinity. It also shows the solution, and allows men to express themselves despite what society expects them to be.

The film is a capitalist venture.

The cast (aside from the leads) and crew were probably overworked and severely underpaid during filmmaking.

We can still appreciate that something fun was made, and we all made another wonderful memory where we and our loved ones went to the movies color-matching in pink.

We should not feel guilty about seeing ourselves in this film.

Meanwhile, support the WGA and SAG-Aftra strike.

#i am kenough #barbie #barbie 2023 #i have a lot of thoughts about this film but i had fun #ken #barbenheimer #barbie movie #margot robbie #ryan gosling #i wanted to sob at seeing simu liu having fun onscreen tbh #tears falling like peridots