#like i respect that so much and also: goals

[whollysensei]

sensei what would "the left and right hands" wedding look like? more steppe or more capital? in the town or in the fields? would danya wear his snakeskin coat to his own wedding?

Ohh, i have so many words in my little head i doubt i can fit them in just one post. Im quite certain people wouldn't care much about my letters so i brought pictures >:) also im currently feeling very nauseous almost 24/7 so pls wait a bit before i get my strength back and post the second part

To make it short, i think they respect each other upbringings and cultures enough to do both.

First of all, since we already have a concrete idea of what a wedding to the Kin is — which is the sacrifice of a Herb Bride in order to wed her to the Earth — there might be a need for an alternative ritual for the declaration of eternal companionship. I think of it as a dance still but not where one is caressing the Earth, but showing her the connection of two people. Of how they complement each other through dance (earthly tango of sorts). As if a silent song of movement and fabric. And so to add even more meaning to the Kin's dance.

Though, frankly speaking, i have a big grudge with such bare (hehe) selection of clothing ipl gave to the Kin. I doubt all the festivities and ceremonies wouldn't require special kind of wardrobe. Atleast for the sake of convenience. (Ohh how i'd love to draw all the different jewelry and accessories the herb brides would wear and everything and anything....)

I pretty much looked for the same cultures which were used for the creation Kin's language ( Tibetan, Mongolian, Buryat ) to imagine my own idea of such costumes. These people have such gorgeous headwear and bright fabrics and beautiful embroidery, I can't be doing it justice with my art. My main goal was to make the costumes use mainly head accessories and visually light materials so the gays can move and dance freely. But thanks to this little question i might draw more of it and maybe even post it!!!!!

All in all, 5/10 execution cause i'm too stupid for beautiful clothes these are literally so pretty i want to stare at it :c

plus a more private sketch with our newlyweds c:

thank you for reading this c:

#rambling into the void #pathologic #мор утопия #daniil dankovsky #artemy burakh #burakhovsky #burda #бакаруспик #artists on tumblr #herb bride #wedding?? #not wedding?? #who knows

[serene-dipity]

NAKSHATRA OBSERVATION SERIES—ASHLESHA (i) .

༄ A PHOENIX NATURE. ashlesha—❝ the clinging one. the tikshana nakshatra. ❞

masterlist. ask box. navigate. next post in ashlesha. all ashlesha works.

—ashlesha natives retain their position as some of the most seductive and hypnotic people in popular media.

left to right→ megan fox. sridevi. devon aoki.

—i often internally relate ashlesha with the nature of a phoenix, particularly due to the nature of these natives, and their main goal in life. most of them suffer due to ignorance, lack of understanding, emptiness and an intrinsic inability to process this 'unfairness' that they have to face in life.

if you go through the lives of most ashleshas, there appears to be a pattern where these natives have the option to either succumb to the situations they face, or to be brave and call these behaviours out—only to be ignored, unfortunately, and laughed upon. when these natives are stepped upon, most of them react explosively—due to either pride or self-respect, but none of the times are they taken in a serious manner.

for example, take megan fox who has been quite active with her experiences of being hyper-sexualised even as a child by michael bay, starting from somewhere when she was just 15 years old. consistent extremely dehumanising claims have been made against her by michael bay and his team, which are evidence enough of what she must have faced working with them, only for her words to fall on deaf ears.

she has also admitted not feeling accepted as a part of the 'me too' movement many a times, and expressing her own designation with the bias against her—what is the feminist movement, if it cannot unite the struggle of all women? if it chooses to support only the struggle of a few women, then is it really a feminist movement anymore?

—many, however, do not have the chance to be so open with it and often succumb against this struggle.

for example, sridevi. explaining what she went through would be detailing every bit of her life from finish to end. but in short, she faced abuse at a young age starting from her mom who pushed her into the bollywood industry and ending with an abusive marriage with a man who cornered her as soon as her mother died. due to her co-dependent relationship with her mother, and her mother's extreme control over her, she did not know much about the world, and thought the man was giving her solace. she married him, an already married man who had children, and suffered extreme abuse and disrespect at the hands of her mother-in-law. she was killed died in a bathtub at the hands of her husband in dubai where she went for a wedding.

their stories and lessons go with them, and little do we know today about their struggles. the repetitive cycle of abuse and repression becomes the trademark of these natives' lives; and one can observe that this translates to ashlesha natives often having very sharp tongues and a venomous approach towards communication.

like a cat whose safe haven has been snatched from it, this nakshatra's yoni, or like a snake who feels even slightly threatened—these natives quickly become hostile at the slightest inkling of hazard; making these natives feel scared is not a hard task when they already feel marginalized enough, and trust me, it always happens, whether internally or externally. due to this, ashlesha natives have a violent, hostile approach towards interaction with people.

left to right→ gautam buddha, rama & lakshamana.

ashlesha nakshatra represents the divine knowledge within us present in the form of kundalini. both, siddhartha gautama and lakshamana were ashlesha natives. it is not wise to compare ourselves to their holy selves, but i am using this simply to show the higher nature of this nakshatra.

these natives are guided by dharma, and are internally fierce by nature, which manifests in the form of lakshamana's fierce sense of protection, and complete and utter devotion towards his elder brother and sister-in-law; holy rama and mother sita. these natives are also extremely intuitive, wise and love to learn new things via experimenting. gautam buddha said 'that not eating was not the path to divinity; devoting even the simplest act of eating, to his god was.' he says, 'when i practiced forsaking food, i grew immensely weak, so much so that i could not even search for my god, my wisdom, my enlightenment.' he emphasized the importance of searching for truth via self-observation, and concentration instead of popularising the idea of any god or deity, further emphasizing this nakshatra's nature of soul-searching.

—in spite of their outwardly hostile nature, these natives are wise and tough internally. you will often observe that it is not easy to startle these natives with any negative situation in life. usually, they are mentally prepared for everything, and don't flinch easily.

if the serpentine's venomous energy receives a good outlet, then these natives even have the capacity of destroying negative situations, auras and energies around them. if not, then the venom within these natives collapses in on themselves.

—they seem to understand the concept of birth through death all too well, and this intrinsic faith in destruction is what makes me believe most of them share this phoenix-like nature. when life hits them like a freight train, they respond back to it by unleashing their own prowess which lies in their ability to inflict poison. via this nature do they survive, and it is only by nurturing this nature that they can truly come to understand their karma and purpose in the world.

—next post: since ashlesha natives contain poison inside themselves, like lord shiva, there are three things they can do with it. either, throw it out at the world, consume it and kill themselves, or carefully hold in it their throat.

#sidereal astrology #vedic #astrology #astro observations #astro notes #vedic astro notes #astrology tumblr #astrology observations #vedic astro observations #vedic astrology #astro community #astroblr #vedic chart #vedicwisdom #jyotish #ashlesha #nakshatras #ashlesha nakshatra

[metabolizemotions]

The creative choices on the show are as subjective as each of the viewer's interpretations.

I think a lot of why I personally feel deeply uncomfortable n resistant is the asymmetry.

I get the need for variety. The same thing may be expressed differently for different characters. A healing journey will differ from person to person. Each step is also taken on a personalized timeline.

But I can't help but think of the asymmetry of how the show dealt with Mason vs Beckett n even Dixon. They condemned Mason immediately at his worst but dug deep to show the sides of Beckett n Dixon that were still human despite it all.

The trigger shot scene with Beckett felt like 0 to 100 in his reconciliation with Maya. It felt like a 12-step program of which he skipped many steps when it came to Maya. From the get-go, we saw a sexist, incompetent captain who was demeaning to his team n constantly put them under stress n in danger, on top of endangering civilians n even equipment. For months, we saw this middle-aged man in a position of power, take perverse joy in bullying a younger female subordinate to appease his ego. That was workplace harassment. He also took out his unresolved trauma on the people around him, in this case, people he had authority over. Alcoholism was not the sole reason for all his bad behavior. Even if it was, it should not be used to excuse it.

The team, esp Maya, was trapped in this hostile work environment sanctioned by the female chief. This was a more common n insidious manifestation of toxic masculinity, one that was amplified by his position of power, n sometimes even supported by women, when their goals aligned in the power struggle.

Yet the show gave so much more grace n compassion to the bullies than the bullied. The team treated Beckett n Ross with more kindness n respect than they earned, n less kindness n more apathy towards Maya than she deserved.

Then he was given a long, carefully constructed redemption arc, while Mason, a rushed condemnation arc.

It felt like 100 to 0 with Mason. We saw Mason briefly in earlier seasons, mainly thru the eyes of Maya. We missed a lot of the in b/w. We caught him again at his worst. We only saw the side that was full of hate ideology, but not his side that was also human. We knew about his addiction n homelessness. But we didn’t see how as a young abused person w/o positive role models n a support system, he was vulnerable to these hate groups, which he clung to, when offered him just a semblance of belonging or respect. He had not learned to let go of his resentment of their parents n Maya but taught to transfer this unresolved hate to fill a meaning void.

The scene itself b/w Maya n Mason was great. It was an urgent n imperative story to tell. Maya's actions were right n necessary. But in the bigger scheme of things, it felt like a quick tie-up of loose ends, of a once-beloved brother, who came n went abruptly. Despite it being a logical narrative choice to wrap up the nature/nurture discussions of Marina n discovery that Maya's deepest fears about herself manifested in her bro instead. It's heartbreaking n yet disheartening that it was again about queer hate when it came to another main queer character on the show.

It is just jarring to juxtapose Mason with Beckett in 703 then 707. Also juxtaposing his empathy towards Maya with the lack thereof from the others, despite everyone having just been thru 706 n having witnessed Maya's breakdown. So, in a way, I see the actions of these characters as being designed with the goal to emphasize Beckett's empathetic side, in support of his arc.

When looking at a scene with 2 scene partners, what it is really about? Who it is really for? Would the scene be the same if one is replaced?

There are many different takes on this. For me, it was really about Maya, but choosing Beckett as the scene partner made the scene more for him. If it were for Maya, other scene partners would be more meaningful n realistic. Esp those who earned their right for her to be vulnerable with. Maya, who bottled her feelings, let alone spill her deeper emotions, to someone whom she never had a proper conversation with, not to mention a fraught shared history. To add, alone in a small enclosed space, while administering a shot that made her even more vulnerable.

For the realism argument, this was not more realistic to me than having Carina, for a show which took a lot of liberties. It was a choice to design the circumstances to make Carina n the others unavailable n combine 2 scenes together. Carina's also Maya's life partner n best friend. A more realistic choice for Maya to share this devastating heartbreak n grieving process with. It was a big aspect of their marriage. We saw many discussions b/w them yet when it finally came to the conclusion, it was with the least likely person, an almost stranger.

I see the trigger shot as part of Marina's baby journey I wish we get to see them undergoing together. It reminded me of 5b in that Marina's story about their own baby journey - again with someone of a fraught shared history, of a different nature - was more about him n to lead to his own bio family story. Marina's story was messy n got nowhere. And here we r, seasons later, rushing thru it.

It's not that Maya/ Carina or Marina should not have scenes with others. It's that it's usually more about the others even if it's their storyline. Or they r the backdrop for others' drama. They either isolate Marina or suddenly include them or one of them in an in-depth discussion of their private matters with others, usually something we hear about for the first time. I just don't remember something like that happening with other characters. Is it too much to ask to see a married w|w couple, with little screentime, share a meaningful conversation or moment first, also or exclusively? We so rarely see such a rep on TV. The show is not about Marina, but shouldn't their own story reasonably prioritize them?

#this is just my personal take on this #this is in no way to invalidate other takes #i'm sorry i really don't know how to be succinct #my fav thing abt fandom #is to talk. cry. laugh. be silly n fangirl tog #abt fictional chs #or actors #i love to see diff povs even if i may disagree w #when expressed respectfully #i love #discussions #or see details someone noticed #interesting connections... #feelings r valid #but povs r subjective #my 2 cents is #it's ok to like only one ch #or all #hav opinions on everything #or accept everything #u decide what u want out of it #viewers have opinions #agreeing w everything is in itself an opinion #i rant a lot abt the decisions bts #it doesnt mean i don't respect their hard work #my opinion is just my pov #it's not more right or better just diff #it's my way to make sense of this #station 19 comments #station 19

[jacks-little-jacky]

How do you think the other captains would react if Jack a soft cute so but in the battle field she’s just as violent as him

The other Captains | Jack the Ripper x Reader Headcanons

This is the second time I've written this request and I swear to god if Tumblr crashes again and deletes everything I will start pre-writing everything on docs. Also, this isn't my usual request of writing for Jack but rather the other Captain's opinions on something that has to do with Jack, so I hope I somewhat nailed them.

Yami Sukehiro

Honestly he's so confused about how Jack got a gf

She's cute??? Huh???

Since I see them as the best buddies, he's glad that Jack got himself a pretty and sweet gf but he fears how long he's able to keep her because the man is batshit crazy

so he's a bit surprised but relieved when he sees you go crazy too

he was a lil afraid Jack would become too much or maybe try to dull himself down as he only saw your cute side, so seeing how you're able to match him is good in his eyes

still makes jokes about Jack being too dumb to keep a relationship but he secretly ships it fr

William Vangeance

he likes you! you're sweet and nice!

maybe a little weird next to Jack because you seem his polar opposite

doesn't think too much about it, he's glad you make Jack happy

like Yami he spends a little moment to wonder if maybe he'd get too much for you

also relieved but not as much when he sees your other side

also... a little concerned.... especially if you're not a magic knight.

Rill Boismortier

oh! Captain Jack has a girlfriend! He has a heart! A soft side!

and you're so sweet too???

he def. would try to get along with you, partially because he really thinks you're sweet and he's a very friendly guy

also because he hopes it puts him in good books with Jack because he's lowkey scared

His reaction when you reveal your crazy side is like: "... Oh no... they're both insane..."

He likes your passion though! And how it matches with Jack. He sees a certain beauty in how your differences become irrelevant in a dire/battle situation and you both "dance" on the field

Mereleona Vermillion

she doesn't care all that much tbh

she thinks you're sweet but doesn't really waste another thought on it

only get's interesting when she sees how intense you can get

I guess she'd like Jacks willingness to fight so to see that you're kinda double trouble would be relationship goals for her

doesn't really spend much time thinking about it tho

Charlotte Roselei

How

No, just how? Jack? Pulled a girl? A sweet one like you?

She's baffled

You're so sweet? And nice? And that all for someone like Jack?

Charlotte doesn't like most men in general and while I am a firm believer of Jack x Charlotte in a platonic friendship way... She still would be confused how someone likes him ROMANTICALLY

a little happy for Jack tho, she knows he's not that bad (and she likes roudy guys Yami too)

likes you a lot more when she sees you can dish out some too, maybe would even suggest for you to join her squad

a little worried about Jack and you riling each other up though

Dorothy Unsworth

she likes you, you're sweet and she ships the difference in everyday attitude

Now it depends, if you're being unnecessarily cruel, she'd frown at it but she understands well that it's fun to let loose and play with your magic (which can be very destructive at times)

so yeah Dorothy would like the energy but if you're like crazy violent in a sense of hurting more than you'd have to for no real reason she'd be put off a little

she'd pull you into her glamour world sometimes to show you versions of Jack who totally swoons over you because that how it looks like to her LMAO

Kaiser Granvorka

he's also a little concerned about you at first

sure Jack has to be somewhat sane and respectable to be a Captain but I don't think Kaiser thinks too highly of him

he likes you tho, hopes that maybe you'll rub off on Jack a little

when he sees the way you behave in battle he's more concerned

maybe... he doesn't want you to rub off on Jack. He is crazy enough

After all, this man is married as far as I know and I belive he's still as happy as he can be for you two

Nozel Silva

he's... confused.

Now if you're a noble or a royal his mind is genuinely blown and he thinks Jack did some dirty trick to get you with him

if you're a peasant he doesn't care. at all. maybe raises an eyebrow but doesn't care too much.

if you're a noble/royal he's a bit "concerned" about your violent side but of course, you'd be powerful. it does shift his view on the relationship in a more positive light to see that you don't need to use Jack as a bodyguard/are not dependent on him

if you're a peasant his only thought is "Great, now there's two of them..." - he doesn't like your boyfriend and your chances for him to like you are very, very thin

he might like you more than Jack though because you at least have a sweet and soft side that is socially acceptable

Fuegoleon Vermillion

he's pretty much a middle ground of William and Nozel here

he thinks his part but you won't catch onto that

very glad you're a well behaved and mannered woman and you seem to manage Jack's personality well

he can see the appeal for Jack when you match him, you have no reason to be scared if you're the same and you certainly understand his odd... hobbies like this

but also a little concerned that there are now two of that kind together

Julius Novachrono

Man is in everybodies business

he doesn't say or think much of it tbh, he has seen a fair amount of people and how layered they can be

he likes that you're sweet and soft because it definitely could be handy for Jack (he doesn't cause trouble that much but damn him and Yami at the same spot is always a ticking time bomb and oh does your presence keep Jack focused on something else than Yami)

the violent part is only really interesting depending on your magic, if somehow you and Jack worked on a spell or something that boosts both of you when near each other he'd be intrigued

just hope none of you gets hurt (or does something illegal)

#jack black clover #jack the ripper #black clover #jack the ripper black clover #black clover jack #jack the ripper (bc) #black clover x reader #jack the ripper x reader #jack x reader #black clover yami #nozel silva #fuegoleon vermillion #yami sukehiro #rill boismortier #dorothy unsworth #julius novachrono #kaiser granvorka #charlotte roselei #mereoleona vermillion #william vangeance #black clover captains #black clover headcanons

[rocksalt-and-pie]

shout-out to the makers of NBC Hannibal for (clearly) reading all four books about Hannibal Lecter by Thomas Harris and going "hmm. actually we will make the gayest possible version of this" going on to COMPLETELY disregard the other main character and (canon) ?love interest? of the series and never even MENTION Clarice Starling. Like it's so funny to me that she never even appears on the show when book!Will Graham literally fucks off after The Red Dragon and wants nothing to do with any of this anymore and book!Hannibal is obsessed with Clarice in the same way that tv!Hannibal is obsessed with tv!Will. like they really took a whole book franchise, picked out the cherries, and made it their own personal little gay AU. that's so refreshing and should be a leading example in television adaptations. in this essay i will

#hannibal #hannigram #hannibal lecter #will graham #Clarice Starling #thomas harris #nbc hannibal #mp #i actually like clarice as a character though #but i do think that the red dragon is the best book of the series and they get worse and worse #also they have nothing to do with the show when it comes to aesthetics #they're literally just action filled crime thrillers. they feel very to the point‚ very technical and practical and sober #whereas the show is literally just art and poetry and emotions and meaning and simply beautiful #i also love that the show treats its female characters so much better than the books #the books feel very masculine which is just due to the time of publishing i guess #i feel like a lot of books written and published by men in the 80s/90s have this very brutalist straight forward no emotions style #but yeah. the people who made the show really went all out with it and i love how their interpretation is kinda just high scale fanfiction #like i respect that so much and also: goals

[carnivalcarriondiscarded]

That post about everything being "Nah" I felt in my core. I'll always respect people who identify differently but when they ask me "what's your pronouns?" Or "where do you lie romanticaly?" I'm just "eh call me whatever you want I guess" or *I don't feel romantically for much anything" maybe cause online people always thought I'm one gender and irl people always thought I was the other so I just responded with "sure I guess"

and it's honestly such an easier way to live ngl... like when it comes to people who Know that i use they/them, it hurts to hear my given pronouns. but when it comes to strangers and just people who i haven't told, it's like... "yeah. ok. ill put on this hat" it feels a bit like a performance. it feels Mischievous, even! ohoho, they've been Tricked!

#which is Equally funny when i get 'misgendered' the other way. actually its More So #its so delightful. the sheer joy of having genderfucked myself to the point where people get it wrong in the Opposite way #ive had moments where i was confidently referred to with the 'wrong' set until i opened my mouth #and then theres The Face Of Terror and them scrambling to use the 'correct' set while visibly dying inside #ITS SO FUNNYYYYYY #this is my gender. fucking with people Is My Gender i have just realized #my goal every time i leave the house is to make people go '?????' #GODDDDD I LOVE NOT CARING ABOUT GENDER ALL THAT MUCH ITS SO FUCKING FUN #like yeah. sure youre wrong but lmfao whatever im vibing #rambles from the bog #im a bit less excited about being aroace purely bc i know the stigma around it #and ive heard So Many disheartening stories about aro/ace folks getting rejected/shunned in queer spaces #like there's a queer bar i wanna go to but now im. less enthused because someone Will hit on me im confident about that #and flirting is fun but like... man i dont wanna lead anyone on but- #sorry sorry i didnt mean to start Worrying Out Loud lmao #but no yeah i respect strong gender feels and labels but like. Eh! Im Just Me! #i use nonbinary bc technically Yea and also the flag fucks <3

[collieii]

rly obsessed with how the trimax finale says vash's real power was his ability and willingness to connect and communicate with others and meet them in their own level. respecting and seeing each person and plant as their own individual. even when they wouldn't do the same for him. allowing both plants and humans to realize that communication and coexistence is possible through his actions. uniting everyone thru love and peace...

#trigun #trigun maximum #vash the stampede #i feel like you could also talk about the contrast between vash and knives #knives making all the plants part of him to service his goals vs vash respecting their autonomy. #but im not a knives stan so idk i don't think about him that much oops #idk the idea the vashs dedication to pacifism (and the scars that follow) finally pays off in a way #bc ppl who meet vash remember his kindness #bc he truly represents love and peace!! #trimax spoilers #vaguely but yk #trigun meta #.lieii #.lieii txt

[whitmore]

i can’t stop thinking about that jacaranda tree in tallulah’s flower fields there’s so many implications there. the solid information we have is that phil logged in yesterday to “organize backpacks”, the tree and dugout appeared seemingly overnight, the waypoint is called ‘welcome back, nerd <3’. tubbo says that it’s likely someone who doesn’t know the mechanics of planting that kind of tree due to the waypoint placement in midair & the secondary dig that seemed to have occurred after the player realized the initial dig couldn’t host the tree.

our two most implicated players there are wilbur and tallulah; phil even points out that while the waypoint name is wilbur’s verbiage, the heart emoticon is not very wilbur and is more tallulah. he however pointedly makes it known that it’s built very wilbur-style, with spruce and stone walls. and logistically (to meta-talk it) it was not ccwilbur; he did not log in at an ungodly hour, dig a hole, plant a tree, and not tell anyone. plus (if we’re looking past the dialect disconnect) there’s no real reason for him to make a waystone seemingly welcoming himself back, and he isn’t narratively aware that the eggs are even missing, so it can’t be a wilbur-made-structure in preparation for tallulah’s return. so perhaps we say ‘well maybe ccwilbur asked ccphil to do it for him for some presently unknown reason and that’s why he logged in and organized backpacks!’ except why would phil lead tubbo there knowing it didn’t make much sense and was seemingly unfinished in terms of both build and story? (cc)phil could have so very easily diverted tubbo and him both from visiting but he made it a point to go out there to the field; phil saw the tree first, pointed it out first, investigated first, tubbo just followed his lead— did he know what he was walking into? was it planned; whose idea was that, the name of the waystone, the materials and contents chosen?

there’s no black concrete, which makes me hesitant to allude it to a dimensional-tallulah structure— there’s nothing that indicates she’s communicating like there has been with all the other eggs previous communications, not even a pink sign, though you could make the argument that the tree itself is her sign because it’s her favourite kind of tree, and it’s also her favourite color, but i think it’s kind of a stretch in the grand scheme of things. plus in a meta-sense, especially if we’re taking into account phil’s recent backpack organizing activities, there’s no reason to believe that 02 wouldn’t just dig and plant the tree herself, which still begs the question that even if it IS somehow tallulah’s doing, what was phil doing yesterday?

#eleanor.txt #qsmp #qmeta #i split this into paragraphs for easier reading but the breaks don’t actually mean anything #if i could morally leave it as one big paragraph i would it flows better that way #alas. i split for reading ease (both mine and yours) #it’s not like it’s a hidden place really either like it’s accessed via warp place in an open air space #it could Technically be anybody truly there’s no like securitycraft rp laws to respect #*warp plate my bad #this is kind of saying a whole bunch of not much bc i don’t come to an actual conclusion #i Do think phil built it. like in my theoriest of theories heart of hearts the timing of it all is too on the nose #ccphil that is. i don’t think qphil did necessarily #but i don’t understand Why. i want to know why so bad what is the goal of it #sighs. good things come to those who wait #also this is all q unless i specify cc in the meta sections. for clarification

[sailforvalinor]

Who doesn't like Edmund??????? HOW can they not like Edmund?????????? He's the best of the Bertrums!!!!

Well, to be fair, being the best of the Bertrams is not too difficult, lol.

But yes, a LOT of people dislike Edmund, like, probably the majority of the Austen community. I agree!!! It’s so frustrating!!!

Like, Darcy insulted Elizabeth’s family to her face and actively separated her sister from the man she loved, Captain Wentworth ignored Anne’s existence and courted other girls in front of her on purpose, Edward was engaged to another woman while courting Elinor, and we give them passes, but we come down so hard on Edmund for *checks notes* letting Mary ride on Fanny’s horse for too long.

Yes yes, obviously there was more to that incident, but the point still stands—Edmund has committed far less grievous mistakes than most Austen heroes, but he’s the most hated. Why is this??

There’s a couple reasons for this, I think: we never get to see him actually in love with Fanny, and, unlike most Austen heroes, he never gets to perform any sort of grand gesture to make amends for his mistakes. We know that he does fall in love with Fanny and that these amends must have been made (especially seeing how quick he is to apologize to Fanny when he realizes he's been neglecting her in other places in the novel), but Austen deliberately chooses to narrate these events without actually giving them to us directly. Admittedly, this frustrates me, but I understand why: Mansfield Park is not a love story. There is a romance in the story, but that isn't what the narrative is fundamentally concerned with--the narrative is fundamentally concerned with Fanny's development and strength of character independent of (you might even say in spite of) the other characters in the novel. Unlike Pride and Prejudice or Emma, Fanny's character development is not incited by the actions of the hero (which, to be clear, I don't have any issue with--Mansfield Park just has a different narrative formula). Fanny overall is what you might call a static character--not in the sense that she is not fleshed-out or well-developed, but in that she does not go through a lot of character change. Rather, instead of her arc being about changing to become a better person, her arc is about her struggle to remain the good person that she is in spite of outside pressure to change to become more like the rest of the world. (For a really good example of a static character arc, look no further than Captain America!) It's not that Fanny doesn't go through any character growth whatsoever, she definitely does, but this growth overall roots her more deeply into what she believed before, rather than inciting change. The more I think about it, actually, the more it seems like Mansfield Park is a typical "Austen" story told from the perspective of the love interest.

It is actually Edmund who goes through the more dynamic character arc that we associate with most protagonists--which is why I've been thinking for ages that a retelling of Mansfield Park from his perspective could be REALLY interesting. Because told from his perspective, Mansfield Park undoubtedly becomes a love story where it did not hold that status previously. And Edmund would make such a great protagonist!!! There is SO MUCH about his character that I find absolutely fascinating. He of course has a very strong moral compass, which is something I've always admired him for, and despite his attraction to Mary and delusion about her character, is never once even tempted to change his profession from a clergyman to earn Mary's love. We really don't give Edmund enough credit for coming out so well-adjusted and morally upright as he did, coming from a family like the Bertram's. He is also fundamentally very kind, but what's so interesting about him is that he is not, though he certainly tries, always the most attentive. He certainly never neglects Fanny on purpose and is horrified when he finds out that he has, but the fact still remains that he is not the most emotionally perceptive (I'm actually very tempted to draw some parallels between him and Catherine Morland here). Edmund possesses a lot of book-smarts, but is somewhat lacking in social intelligence--or, for lack of a better term, street-smarts. I don't know what textual evidence there is to support this, but I've always had the impression that up until the beginning of the novel, Edmund hadn't had much experience mingling in society, given how as soon as he finished college he was brought straight home to manage Sir Bertram's estate while he was away in Antigua. Regardless of whether or not this is actually the case, it's clear that Edmund is a terrible judge of character despite how morally upright he himself is, which is absolutely fascinating to me. (Again! Catherine parallels!!) Fanny makes a direct contrast to Edmund in this regard--she does not possess the same book knowledge or have the advantage of the education that he had, but she is, though unconsciously, the most emotionally intelligent person in the room and the best judge of character in the entire book.

It is this contrast, but with their shared beliefs about the world and what is right and good, that cements my belief in how well-suited they are for each other. Edmund does not challenge Fanny to change, but Fanny's steadfastness of character does motivate Edmund to change--when he realizes that she perceived what sort of person Henry Crawford was all along and that she was right to refuse him, it exposes to him just how blind he is to the character of others. Edmund basically goes through the same sort of arc that Austen's heroines go through, but this time the roles have been reversed! IT'S JUST SO COOL

Anyway, sorry for rambling. TL;DR, I'm not going to try to convince you that Edmund Bertram is on the same level as Mr. Knightley or Mr. Tilney, but PLEASE examine him critically before you write him off as trash, because he really isn't.

#blorbo from my regency novels #sorry this took so long i wanted to be able to give a full reply #i held myself back from giving my take on the edmund x mary shippers because that would've been a LOT #but suffice it to say i hate it given how much mary fundamentally disrespects his profession and therefore his goals in life #could she have changed her mind someday? maybe but it would take a lot of work #fanny is better for him in the end because their beliefs about the world are so aligned and she actually respects him as a person #which is. you know. why she's the one he ended up with #(also i feel like people would be MUCH more offended by her attacking ed's chosen profession if it were literally anything other than him #going into the clergy. just saying) #mansfield park #edmund bertram #fanny price #jane austen #edmund bertram defense squad

[countess-of-edessa]

there’s a specific catholic woman instagram influencer who keeps getting shown to me who i just want to take by the shoulders and shake. soulmates aren’t real and it’s stupid for catholics to think that, sorry

#does God have a plan for your life and might He send you a spouse? yes #but for a Catholic to believe that God made one person to be our life partner and he did it for everyone who is called to marriage and we #ARE going to meet that person and marry them is both irresponsible and also dumb as hell #like. did God just come up with this idea in the 19th century when people started considering love as something to prioritize in a marriage #all the women before then just didn’t get soulmates? #do people's soulmates get aborted? is that why so many women don’t have husbands when they want them? #she also is like GIRLS. don’t worry about waiting and worrying that you’re never going to find someone. i didn’t meet my husband who was #also my first kiss and my first date until i was 23!?!?!?! so trust in God #and like im happy for her and that doesn’t really matter to me that much but like #do you think that plays well for women in their thirties lol #i know it doesn’t cause they’re in her comments haha #how is the idea that God made one person out there for you and will allegedly put him in your path whenever He decides is right #more of a comforting idea than “there are multiple people out there I can be compatible with and eventually love #and choose to be in a relationship of commitment and mutual respect and goals and we can get to heaven together.” #especially when you’re an unmarried woman who is like thirty five #our souls do not mate there is no marriage in heaven

[silverselfshippingchaos]

so in love with the idea of my f/os loving and supporting my sexuality

#ash rambles 💚 #i was doing a bit of healthy reflection on myself and my goals and the such this morning #and i've come to realize that i've gotten so much hate for identifying as unlabeled that it honestly makes me feel so horrible #there's no 'figuring things out' because i already HAVE figured things out #i know what i am and there's this pressure on me to pick. i dont want to. i see my sexuality as just me existing #sexuality and love is a fluid thing and i can never see myself picking one thing and sticking to it without feeling confined #i just really love being unlabeled. it's freeing and makes me happy #and i love the thought of my f/os loving me and supporting me for that. what matters isnt labels but that we love each other #i feel this way especially in the case of the f/os that i hc as bi. we all like the same kind of people but we're still different and we #respect that about each other #just thinking out loud i guess #my f/os are very supportive methinks! there's also a few i hc as unlabeled too actually aksjajsk one of us!!! one of us!!!

[ambreiiigns]

i wanna be someone who listens to misfits full time again wtf is ghost

#i used to be so cool. i used to be my brother's inspirations and goals. now he sees me and cringes and he's right #hsnckajdja joking. but also no #i feel like i finished the main game (cool iconique music) and now i'm doing the silly but way funnier side quests (ghost) #i mean ghost is not a bad band by all means. but they are so silly. i for one cannot take them seriously. never could #i thot they'd sound like repugnant back in the day then i heard like ritual and dance macabre and pissed my pants at the contrast between #the sound and the look and the purpose of the contrast. i respect them and love them but God they are so funny #i don't know how to phrase this. i don't even know what point i'm trying to make #but i do miss the music i listened to in high school. i lost so many songs #<- cons of only listening to music by downloading it to my phone is that sometimes when changing phones or sd cards you mess up #bc you're stupid and useless w technology and lose 500000000 songs and the thought of having to find them again is #anxiety inducing so you kinda give up on listening to them ever again. lol #like i was listening to so much guns n roses... misfits.... iron maiden..... metallica.... tool.... idk just those cool person bands #and now i hardly ever hear them and i actually miss them a lot :( #thankfully my brother has been following my footsteps so far and he's currently in his pink floyd tool era so i'm re-living those days #thru him but. i just miss it. i need to download everything again someday #the only bitch who survived the changing phone & sd card purge was alice cooper. i went and downloaded everything again #i will NEVER give up on that old man he's my favorite music guy in the world #i also was just starting out w him when it happened tho so i didn't have a lot of catching back up to do but STILL. alice cooper forever #and ever 100 years alice cooper love that guy to death and hell #oh nay #ignore this. i've been feeling nostalgic

[seventeendeer]

alright owl house fans, I'm sorry but I have to take a bat to the hornet's nest tonight, so if you just wanna enjoy your cozy cartoon in peace stop reading Now ok, no hard feelings

I just watched the season 3 premiere and it only reinforced my probably controversial take:

amity barely qualifies as a character anymore. that girl is made of cardboard and prayers, and the fact that she keeps getting shoved to the front of the narrative because she is The Girlfriend only further accentuates the fact that there's straight up Nothing going on with her outside of her romance subplot. by contrast, willow and gus continue to be the most charismatic supporting characters, who have to share whatever table scraps of screentime are left over after the plot relevant characters are done talking, since neither of them have had a consistent reason to be on screen since season 1

imho in a better world, amity, willow and gus would have been boiled down to two supporting characters - luz's shy, standoffish upperclass love interest with a complicated family life who eventually stands up for herself and becomes bold and spunky, and luz' one roguish weirdo outcast friend who stood by her since the beginning. the two characters could easily have played out amity and willow's troubled history with one another while they were at it. with only two characters for the writers to keep track of instead of three, the writers might even have been able to give the platonic relationship proper attention and development, and the love interest character could have actually been fun to watch when she was on her own, instead of giving luz one really boring girlfriend who has no personality outside of the relationship and two really likeable but really underdeveloped "best friends" that she never gets any screentime with.

owl house is really cute and I really respect what it's trying to do but I would have killed to see a show with this much budget and talent on board written by people who can write

#deerchatter #owl house negativity cw #this show reads like it was written by an ai trained exclusively on childrens fantasy novels #we need Quirky Outcast Protagonist! we need Conventionally Attractive White Girl Love Interest Whose Life Revolves Around Protagonist! #we need Weird Outcast Friends! we need Angsty Damaged Boy With A Good Heart! #etc etc etc. it's just a rehash of the writers' favorite tropes without any indication they understand what the tropes are FOR #and before any1 comes to fuck w me like buhh it's just a kids cartoon it's not meant to be smart CONSIDER THE FOLLOWING: #1. it is TRYING to be smart. it is TRYING to follow in the footsteps of better kids cartoons in the same genre (su and spop come to mind) #2. season 1 of owl house was great because it stuck to what the writers were good at: comfy fantasy family comedy. #kids cartoons don't have to be smart to be good but the goal of any piece of media should be to accomplish what it sets out to do #and owl house wants to be smart soooo badly and it straight up is not. and that makes me sad. because!! cool witch stuff !!!! #once more the core of my annoyance is that i want a thing to live up to its true potential and it straight up isn't ;_; #i got beef w su over some of its later narrative choices mostly for personal reasons but man its writers could WRITE. #they didn't always write stuff i liked but man could they write!!!! they had so much to say and they knew how to use tropes #and they did so much stuff that was NEW #mad respect. sometimes also just mad. but mostly respect

[ninja-yogurt]

Every episode of the new quantum leap, regardless of my other takeaways, I end up getting mad that Sam's family is missing from the story and that Ziggy has been reduced to a personalityless tool

#hashtag where is Tom #quantum leap #not really spoilers or criticism #i just want to know if Tom is alive? #does he know his brother is missing? #does Katie? #where's DONNA??? #like #the fact that they're honoring Al so much is great and the fact that they're respecting Scott bakulas decision to stay away from the reboot #is fine with me #i have some concerns about like why they decided to claim that the point of the new project is to retrieve Sam when that's Scott's stance #and also about like what might be going on behind the scenes for that to be Scott's stance because from what I've seen #it seems like he really loved the show and pretty recently would have been thrilled to appear on it #but they've made their decisions and now a huge plot point is the characters having a goal of finding Sam #so like where is literally everyone from the original project then? where's Sam's family? why is the main tie to the original cast #characters who are friends with a character whose much beloved actor is dead and literally cannot appear onscreen again? #who murdered ziggy and why was it gooshie in a fit of rage

[pikkish]

Jupiter Hell headcanons. Giv.

Headcanons? Plural? HECK YEAH DON'T MIND IF I DO

^^^also putting the cinematic trailer here bc its good and more people should watch it (and then go buy the game and play it for hours and give it a good review)

anyway yes I have lots of headcanons about this game and since I'm basically the only one posting about it here on tumblr there's no one to contradict me on them. also a lot of them parallel and/or contrast with Doom headcanons, since JH is largely inspired by Doom.

For starters, the CRI isn't inherently evil like the UAC. I mean, they definitely have problems, what with the Callisto mines being run primarily by prisoner labor, and the primary funder of the CRI being the us military so their main focus is war weapons, so they're just as twisted as any major government funded war profiteering company, but they're not actively going "hee hoo lets sacrifice our own employees in cult rituals to Hell for ~SCIENCE!~" They just went "Woah whats this funny pentagram thing buried in the heart of Europa? WOAH ITS A PORTAL TO IO!! SICK WE CAN INSTANTANEOUSLY TRAVEL BETWEEN MOONS hey wait there's another one here on Io YOOOOOO IS THIS A SPACE STATION INSIDE JUPITER??? WE SHOULD TOTALLY INVESTIGATE THIS!" And then it turned out it was a portal to Hell and they accidentally started the demonic invasion. Tough luck, guys.

As for the protagonist, JupeGuy, or Mark Taggart, as is his default name for each run, I like to think that for all his flippant, snarky comments throughout the game, he's actually a relatively sane, levelheaded character, especially compared to Doomguy. This is mostly inspired by the fact that, once you get to the Dante Station levels, he stops with all the silly snarky voicelines and gets a lot more serious and solemn in reacting to things, but there are a few other points that work well with the headcanon. He uses cover when fighting, he can actually pick up a medkit and store it in his backpack for later use instead of either using it immediately or leaving it behind, he can modify and repair weapons and armor, he can gather intel on what's ahead and plan which route he wants to take based on that intel, and he doesn't just go charging at the final boss screaming ferally (unless you're playing a melee build.) He's like Doomguy's smarter, more wary cousin!

He 100% did go to The Pit on Europa, and he did pet Rexio, and now he has a funny puppy that's like five feet taller than him and will maul anything that looks at him mean. Let the man have his pet hellhound.

Also speaking of pets, solely because Doomguy has Daisy, I headcanon JupeGuy also likes small, flluffy animals, though he tends more toward birds, specifically budgies. He had a little green budgie with a yellow head named Spinach.

Ok, just one more headcanon, though this one takes a bit of explaining: there's a secret level in JH called Purgatory, and it is... punishing, both to survive, and just to get to.

First, in order to get to it, you very much have to know what you're doing. First, you have to go to a specific branch on Callisto, which is the first moon you're on. If you miss it, you're out of luck. on each floor you have to close a portal within a pretty short time limit, which usually means tanking damage from all the enemies between it and you, and again, this is early-game, so you're relatively low level and don't exactly have the stats to be tanking like that. Then, you have to close two of these portals, minimum, when at maximum, there only are three portals, and sometimes, there are only two to begin with, depending on where the branch entrance is.

So if you manage to do that, you'll be given the "Demonic Attunment" status, which... well! It's entire description is just "Unknown," so it doesn't really give you a whole lot to go on! But, if you can make it to the branch special level and successfully fight off a handful of archreavers- essentially JH's equivalent of Barons of Hell- then so long as you have a high enough rank of Demonic Attunement, you can hit a handful of pillars in the right order (an upside down star, of course) to open the portal to Purgatory, which doesn't sound so difficult in theory, but those pillars are the only cover you get from the archreavers in the entire arena, and if you accidentally bump one out of order while seeking shelter from the archreavers, then you're out of luck, you can't open the portal.

BUT, if you do get everything right, and you go through the portal, congratulations! you have a whole new set of problems to worry about! For one thing, Purgatory is jam packed with late game enemies, and you're still using early game gear, maybe with a few buffs if the loot in the Callisto Anomaly was good. For another, Purgatory is a liminal space, and going up and then right does not take you to the same place as if you go right and then up, so it's very easy to get lost. And the final icing on the cake? You gain the "Catharsis" status, the description for which reads, "You've witnessed the Purgatory. Some wounds will never heal, and you're less motivated to learn from new experiences."

How does that translate to game mechanics? the "less motivated to learn" means you permanently get 20% less experience for killing enemies, so you level a lot slower, and "some wounds never heal" means that every time you go through one of the teleporters to the next room, you permanently lose a few points off your maximum health.

So what's the reward for going to Purgatory aside from the challenge of it, fighting the secret boss battle, and unlocking the second, harder hardest mode? Well, see, Jupiter Hell is a roguelike game, so all of the loot and weapons you get are randomized. But if you know the route- and I do mean really know the route, because again, going right and up is not the same as up then right, and the health loss applies when backtracking, too- you can get your pick of any of the unique weapons in the game, of which, in a non-purgatory run that goes to all three possible special levels, you are normally only guaranteed to get one unique, and a random one that may not work at all with your build. But in Purgatory, if you can survive there and back, you can get any of them that you want.

Now, the unique weapons are great and all, but if you know what you're doing, you can beat the game without one. So what's an even more powerful weapon, or perhaps, a more powerful defense against Hell itself, that which does its utmost to rip all the joy and hope and love out of you? What could possibly let you knowingly stand against and fight Hell itself like that?

Here's where the actual headcanon starts, because my answer is apathy.

Or, the achievement of catharsis.

Knowing that you're going to bleed forever, knowing that your achievements don't actually amount to all that much, knowing that you are going to go to Hell, choosing to go to Hell, and being okay with that. Being at peace with that. Because how can you truly be affected by misery and suffering if you have already made peace with your situation?

So I think that JupeGuy figured out pretty quickly that he was fighting demons and realized he wouldn't be going home, but to Hell instead. I don't know how he knew to get to Purgatory, since, like I said, it isn't readily apparent, but you pretty much need to know what you're doing in order to get there, so it was a conscious decision on his part. He chose to go there, chose to take up the burden of eternal pain, chose to lose the joy of learning new things, the excitement of life, he chose the horrible apathy of catharsis, all so that he could fight Hell itself and stop the invasion.

And I just think that's a terrible, awful, and incredibly interesting concept, of catharsis first being a bad thing, a painful thing, that only by knowingly, willingly choosing to bear that pain forever can one gain some meager benefit.

as a last note, here is the background music for Purgatory. I think it is absolutely terrifying and also sometimes I will listen to it on repeat and think about JupeGuy.

(I had to record this myself by sitting in the level and taking a video then converting that video to mp3, because no one's put the ost up on youtube, I don't know if/where you can officially download it, and apparently JH uses a weird filetype that I could not for the life of me find a tutorial on how to rip the soundfiles for. So idk if that's its actual name or what.)

#pikspeak #jupiter hell #thank u for asking me about jh i love it so much it is such a good game #i think you in particular would actually really like it. it feel very very much like classic doom to me #albeit with more stat management and reading and such #but it actually plays so SO fast for a turn based game #and has only marginally more lore than classic doom does #the vast majority of which is entirely just flavor text #which means there is SO much room for making up your own stuff lol #ive actually been thinking about a JHxModern Doom crossover au for a while now #in which doomguy and jupeguy are brothers and end up fending off their respective hell invasions at roughly the same time #and then things get funny while dg is in argent dnur and later when jupeguy gets back to earth #im sure ill talk about that sooner or later if people wanna hear it #also it was made by a small dev team and theyre still actively updating it even a year after launch #like the full game is definitely there but the devs are still adding the stuff from like #kickstarter goals that werent initially reached in the original kickstart #and i hopped on the discord a while back and everyone there is so nice #i was actually able to reach/beat the purgatory boss bc of tips they gave me #and they have a channel for posting your death/victory logs and #even though most of the ones people put there are like their super hardcore victories #both times ive put my little medium difficulty victories in there people have congratulated me #also i see the lead dev in the discord all the time especially in the bug report channel and the design suggestion channel #helping people troubleshoot and talking with them about their ideas for the game #basically what im saying is that its a super awesome game AND the devs seem super cool too #you should definitely play it. and let me know what you think of it if you do!! #we could yell at each other about ANOTHER silly stupid space marine...!

[heavencasteel420]

Okay, so these are the worst endings I can think of for each character (within the universe of what I think is even slightly probable—there’s some characters I don’t think they’ll kill, and some character assassination they won’t stoop to):

Joyce: She continues to act as a sidekick to Hopper, but she doesn’t even have comedic material to work with because it’s the last season and everything’s serious. We continue to learn nothing about her past or her interests. She has minimal interaction with Will, and somehow none with El or Jonathan. One or two of her kids die and she seems only a little sad. She goes out on the note of making a New Start with Hopper and the remaining kid(s). They also make her more of Traditional Good Housewife for some reason.

Hopper: They really double down on making him a renegade cop who solves all problems with violence. He has not learned shit since Season 3. His interactions with Joyce and El are underwritten, and no one ever really acknowledges that he’s close to being Will and Jonathan’s stepfather. He has some interaction with Mike but spends more time validating Dustin or Steve, which is nice but why is that the focus?

Murray: he shows up, flails around yelling at people to kiss, shares a very heteronormative and not very revealing back story (college girlfriend killed by a wheat thresher?) that we don’t really have time for, and dies.

Jonathan: he is forced to play the Romantic Comedy Fiancé in the dreaded love triangle, and is framed as and vilified for thinking that he’s better than Steve. Nancy gives a speech about how Steve has changed so much while Jonathan hasn’t. His history of trauma and poverty is either ignored or presented pretty unsympathetically as stuff he needs to get over. For maximum ill effect, his real problem is that he needs to forgive his father. He has minimal interaction with his family and none with anyone else. He dies saving Nancy and/or Steve, and is therefore redeemed for his heinous crimes of smoking pot and not fellating Steve. Will’s pretty sad; Nancy and Joyce are lightly misty.

Nancy: She ends up with Steve, and all of her character development throughout the show is framed as the misguided actions of a scared little girl. Now that she’s over her trauma, she’ll no longer need to date a person not of her social class or seriously pursue a career or pick up a gun ever again. She has “matured” enough to realize that life on the cul-de-sac is actually great if your man is good enough. This is presented as her being at peace, but it comes off as very sexist. The last shot of her has her riding beside Steve in an RV with a couple of kids in the backseat. It’s 1995 but her hair is very 2023. Steve is also a cop in this scenario. She doesn’t interact much with anyone outside the love triangle, especially not her own family.

Steve: he loses all his brain cells and devotes all his non-action screentime to mooning over Nancy, even ignoring Robin and Dustin. He gets to look badass in the action scenes from time to time, but he suffers from Late Game Jon Snow Syndrome, where he’s presented as a super-competent guy but all his plans are bad. Outside the action scenes, he’s either comically stupid or everyone acts like he is. He does not figure out anything about himself, and there’s no delving into anything psychologically interesting (is he at all fucked up from the events of past seasons? What’s his family like?). He dies saving Nancy. She, Robin, Dustin, and maybe a few others mourn him, but the way they talk about him sounds suspiciously close to the way you’d eulogize the family golden retriever.

Robin: she’s completely reduced to comic relief and cheerleading Steve, and all the characters act like she’s annoying. She’s extremely inept at all things, to the point that it seems like the show is engaging in mean-spirited mockery of a disabled young adult. She mentions Vickie once and otherwise might as well not have a sexuality. She becomes really hostile towards Nancy for “breaking Steve’s heart,” and overall is much more invested in Steve’s love life than her own. It becomes clear that Maya Hawke has opted to portray her this season by doing a Phoebe from Friends impression the whole time. Her hair is also very 2023.

Argyle: he’s just not there, and no one ever mentions him again.

Mike: he spends most of the season getting dumped on for being a bad boyfriend to El and a bad friend to Will and the rest of the party, in a way that would kind of make sense if he was a thirty-five-year-old man but is pretty ridiculous in light of him being a fifteen-year-old boy. He “redeems” himself by sacrificing his life for El’s. We never get to find out what his whole deal was; the whole thing is vague enough so that it feels sort of homophobic but we’re not exactly sure why. He does not interact with Nancy.

Will: he is tempted to join forces with Vecna, and finally succumbs specifically because he’s jealous of El’s relationship with Mike. He’s saved from himself at the last minute by El, in a way that feels pretty impersonal; she’s doing it less because she cares about him specifically and more because she’s the hero. Breaking away from Vecna costs him his life, however. Joyce pretty much tells El that she’s a replacement for Will. The other characters honor his memory but in kind of an infantilizing way; they either don’t know about or awkwardly ignore his sexuality.

Dustin: he becomes embittered and volatile following Eddie’s death, but, instead of this being a sympathetic problem for him to deal with or a generator of conflict within a group, it becomes a source of comic relief. It’s a running gag that the other characters will turn around and see that Dustin has fucked shit up in a fit of rage. He also becomes subtly crasser and more sexist. He dies fighting against Vecna, and his friends honor his memory, but also in a pretty infantilizing way.

Lucas: he’s reduced to being quietly sad about Max and acting as a bland voice of reason within the party. He apologizes to his friends onscreen for trying to do an extracurricular activity that they weren’t into last season. He gets minimal interaction with Erica, and there’s no delving into his traumas or family life or interests. Ultimately he sacrifices himself so that Max can wake up from her coma or otherwise be saved.

El: she sacrifices herself in the fight against Vecna, after expounding at length about how she’s too damaged to live a normal life or have a relationship. It’s kind of implied that she and Vecna are, in a sense, getting married on another plane of existence. Her friends and family memorialize her, but in an infantilizing way—lots of Eggo and superhero references.

Max: she survives her coma but is visually impaired and/or can’t walk, and the show doesn’t handle her disabilities well at all. In a retrograde reprise of the previous season, she pushes Lucas away because she doesn’t want to “burden” him. He protests, but no one actually points out that people with disabilities can have full, happy lives. The defeat of Vecna magically cures her, but Lucas is dead so she has to be all Titanic about it.

Erica: the show doubles down on her jingoistic streak and also makes her a fan of “enhanced interrogation techniques.” She’s basically an evil baby genius by the end of the show. More grounded moments, like her interactions with Lucas and Dustin, are nowhere to be seen.

If any of these happen, I get a treat, to console me about the awful writing.

#stranger things #anti stancy #(although there are iterations of stancy I wouldn’t mind so much) #(like if Steve got some more realistic goals) #(and it was clear Nancy wasn’t going to change for him) #(and if Jonathan got to be happy doing his own thing and didn’t give up all his ambitions) #(or if Jonathan does die it’s after he and Steve make friends) #(and Steve and Nancy are both really sad and also two of the few people who know what they all went through) #(I could go for that) #i really doubt they’ll be stupid enough to kill Lucas #but if they do I think that’s the way they’d go #killing max or hopper is too silly (I’m pretty sure) #Joyce and Nancy are probably safe but if they die I’m pretty sure it’d be a more respectful ending than what I’ve described #Robin and Erica are totally safe #I’m having a hard time imagining them killing argyle as well