#loving her despite who her father is

[chaotic---calm]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: 陈情令 | The Untamed (TV), 魔道祖师 - 墨香铜臭 | Módào Zǔshī - Mòxiāng Tóngxiù Rating: Mature Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Relationships: Jiāng Chéng | Jiāng Wǎnyín & Lán Huàn | Lán Xīchén, Lán Huàn | Lán Xīchén & Lán Zhàn | Lán Wàngjī, Lán Huàn | Lán Xīchén/Mèng Yáo | Jīn Guāngyáo Characters: Lán Huàn | Lán Xīchén, Lán Zhàn | Lán Wàngjī, Jiāng Chéng | Jiāng Wǎnyín, Mèng Yáo | Jīn Guāngyáo Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Post-Canon, Pregnancy, Mpreg, Discussion of Abortion, Threats of Violence, Childbirth, Running Away, Emotional Baggage, Emotional Roller Coaster, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Protection, Hopeful Ending Summary:

Xichen sobbed, clutching a hand to his belly as if he could use it to protect the infant who’d yet to even take their first breath. Woeful eyes turned to the sky, he lamented the path that had led him there.

OR

Xichen, pregnant with a baby unwelcome by his uncle and sect elders, flees Cloud Recesses in a bid for safety and freedom.

#the untamed fanfic #my fanfic #jiang cheng #lan xichen #past xiyao #a/b/o au #omega lan xichen #mpreg #pregnant lan xichen #childbirth #hurt/comfort #a desperate flight for freedom to protect the life of a baby unwanted by anyone other than the one carrying it #salvation from unexpected places #jiang cheng isn't about to stand aside while a baby is threatened #not on his watch! #lan xichen is father of the year #giving up everything for his baby girl #and loving her unconditionally #loving her despite who her father is #or maybe rather because of who he is?

[opera-ghost]

it's immensely funny to me how andrew lloyd webber read this passage from the book and was like yeah the journey down to the phantom's lair is this really breathtaking magical gondola ride where christine is just captivated by the strange and fantastical beauty of it all (see below)

when in the novel they're both like in a rowboat in the dark with christine scared out of her mind and confused as hell while erik is paddling like he's out for an extreme day of fishing and just staring christine down for the entire duration of the journey without blinking once . like mind you his eyes quite literally GLOW in the DARK and he's just fucking staring into her soul and silently rowing and probably not even breathing like

#AND IT'S SOMEHOW STILL HOT #i always forget that by this point in the book there's no “i am your angel of music / come to me angel of music” like in the musical #like she has no idea who this mf kidnapping her is and when she says “who are you where is the voice” he's just like 🙄 #and when she DOES find out that *he's* the voice and he's been pretending to be an angel sent by her dead father for 3 months #it's when he's just set her down in his sitting room that's filled with a bunch of stupid pretentious flowers #and he's like “don't be afraid you're in no danger” despite the fact that she's been taken FIVE STORIES BENEATH THE OPERA against her will #by the guy who's been manipulating and lying to her through the goddamn walls #ohhhhhhhh and then fans have the audacity to get mad at christine for trying to snatch his mask like THIS MF ABDUCTED HER???? #(still love him though <3) #(his morals are questionable but so is my interest in men😍) #phantom of the opera #poto #poto shitpost

[trobeds]

i know the hunger games isnt about romance i know it isnt a love story but. theres just something so beautiful in the way peeta is the personification of what it means to heal and he /is/ the dandelion and the bread and the hope that things can be better even if they wont be fixed. even if the nightmares dont stop he will still hold her. wake her up and tell her shes alive. shes safe. and when its over and done and theres no more saving or protecting or trying their absolute hardest to die if it means keeping the other alive, the horrors dont stop. but katniss will still find that comfort in peetas arms.

#and peeta Goes Through It too but hes there!!!!!!!! hes always there and hes kind and artistic and peaceful and good and everything that #the games could never destroy (the hijacking couldve but he found his way back. he still wonders whats real sometimes but he knows. he know #who he is. a painter a baker and a boy who loves. she reminds him of that love too) #anyways :( katniss longs for peetas arms and nobodys been this gentle with her since her father died and she stopped letting her mother #hold her. and peeta does #something about the way he holds her so so gently with so much love and care despite all the destruction and how peeta counteracts the fire #in katniss. the one that tells her she needs to protect and defend and prioritize keeping her family alive and keep her guard up. but hes #there to comfort her and hold her and protect her and those r all the things katniss doesnt get the privilege of thinking about because she #always thinking about who she needs to protect #its so personal to me. god i am Not okay rn #i have a rehearsal before school tmr and i am sooooo sleepy but. insane thoughts can never wait #everlark #katniss everdeen #peeta mellark #peeniss #< the real ship name #the hunger games #thg #late night thoughts & all that jazz #🫀

[justaz]

arthur repealing the ban on magic and sitting merlin and morgana down to figure out who is going to be court sorcerer and ready to mediate a debate but before morgana can even open her mouth, merlin passes to position onto her. arthur and morgana just stare, morgana makes feeble attempts to spark an argument, to instigate merlin to at least fight for it. even arthur is like “…you don’t even want, like, a room or something for your magic work?? none of the perks?? a different position in the court?????” and merlin’s just like “nope! i’m good!” and morgana and arthur exchange a look before arthur asks why. merlin’s answer is that his position, where he belongs, is at arthur’s side. besides. morgana deserves it. she was snubbed from becoming queen so it was only fair.

#in the end merlin continues to serve at arthur’s side as his queen #teehee #just thinking about the implications of arthur being surrounded by those who love power and glory #his father who only looked on him with pride when he conquered an enemy #his sister who went wayward for a bit because of her desire to sit on the throne and used her magic in cruel ways to get there #his uncle who sided with morgana and manipulated arthur to try and gain power through morgana’s coup #versus merlin who was proud of arthur for being arthur #who didn’t need arthur to vanquish enemies to look at him as if he hung the stars and the moon in the night sky #merlin who despite having the power of the gods - who could bend nature to do his bidding - kneeled before arthur and cleaned his boots #merlin’s who even in the end turned down power and recognition for all he had done just to stay at arthur’s side and continue serving him #queen merlin #king arthur #redeemed morgana #merthur #court sorceress morgana #IVE BEEN THINKING ABOUT THEM FOR DAYS #HELP MEFJZBAKAKNSNCA #bbc merlin #merlin emrys #arthur pendragon #morgana pendragon

[lucy-ghoul]

can't believe a show based on a videogame (usually games adaptations are notoriously bad, which isn't the case here tho) gave me the beauty and the beast/twisted mirrors/enemies to traveling companions/ruthless antihero+optmistic but still badass heroine who takes none of his shit/age gap but make it sexy dynamic of my dreams. as much as i love maximus and i think he deserves the best writing ever because 1. he's a clever deconstruction of the aspiring Knight bro who's actually a bit of a loser and, as much as lucy, sees the world in black&white at first and then doesn't get what he thought he wanted but what he needs (or at least i hope he'll eventually get it), and 2. he's a cutie and i want an epic love story for him too, it's very funny how they tried to give us a puppy kind of romance and the tumblr girlies still fixated on the "toxic ~she bites his finger off and he cuts hers off and sews it on his hand in what we'll pretend it's a symbolic marriage rings exchange or whatever~ asshole who used to be a nice guy/good girl™ with a lot of spunk and hidden anger but unshakeable morals" kind of relationship.

#mind you idt the writers will ever have the guts to go for this pair or anything and i'm perfectly okay with the maximus/lucy romance #but still. they tried to give us the wholesome love story between two cuties with a killer side #and the fandom went ~mmmh we kinda want for that girl and the noseless radioactive ghoul to fuck nasty actually #shhdhdhf i'm sorry but this was so predictable to me. conosco i miei polli #also. i don't fully understand those who see it as a father/daughter thing? just because it worked on tlos #doesn't mean we need the same kind of dynamic here #1. despite him being an actual father (or at least. he was 200+ years ago) i've never seen a less paternal character than the ghoul lmao #2. lucy is an adult woman. young but in her mid twenties i guess? cooper had (and maybe still has) a daughter but the kid was like. 6 or 7? #lucy doesn't need a daddy she's a grown up. stop infantilizing women all the freaking time #let them be fully equals!! let them be bickering road trip companions/a killer squad/tentative allies who eventually form a real bond #i SWEAR if the writers go full parent/child bs with them in s2 because they're more popular #(at least on ao3. i don't expect the same level of insanity from the general audience) #than the canon ship i'll riot. idt they will but still #..... maybe they should go for a hot max/lucy/coop polycule instead. that would be interesting lmao #vaultghoul #fallout #val rambles in the tags #val speaks #txt

[caluupin]

Finished TGAAC around 2 1/2 weeks ago but only finished the doodles today. but still, here ya go!

#caluuart #art #dgs spoilers #dgs2 spoilers #tgaa spoilers #tgaa2 spoilers #ace attorney #the great ace attorney #tgaa #dgs2 #not tagging characters bc it's a lot #RAMBLE TIME. so ever since I finished dgs2 I have been listening to the soundtracks and MAN these bang so much #esp as a person who plays the piano and likes music. it's just. good. yeah. some of these do give me psychological dmg tho lmaoo #like kazuma's nocturne theme or his prosecutor theme. or the secret trial theme.... the partners - the game is afoot! theme.... I am normal #WHICH SPEAKING OF! man I love the sholmes + mikotoba partner twist so much even if i got a bit spoiled about it. i just think they're neat. #The partners of all time I think. #Also also the found family!?!?!? I am A SUCKER for found family. they fed me so well. #funny thing was the barok character development surprised me despite the fact that I also expected it since the first game lolol. #I do think he's an interesting character and probably one of the best character development in the game. And that I find his design cool. #oh yeah I didn't draw it but when I saw that albert mentioned that barok is “the darling of the van zieks family” I was genuinely like. #huh? wdym. like man at the time “van zieks” and “little darling” feels wrong in the same sentence. that was until I saw his pre- #-trauma pictures n well. albert isn't wrong. which was a slight surprise to me. #In conclusion: I liked it a lot. and now occupies parts of my brain along with my other brainrots. #They fight for priority in my brain whenever I try to sleep or disassociate lol. Well at least there's more material to think about. #off topic time: arlecchino animation. for the sake of the tag's length I'll just say a few things: #I am very very interested in her story and oh my god father. #My brain has stopped braining now; good night my fellows

[zukkaoru]

sorry i'm thinking abt megumi's incessant desire to be the first to die vs. the narrative keeping him alive despite and how the most tragic ending for him is not actually dying, but being left behind. for megumi, the worst fate is living a long life

#megumi growing up assuming he will be the first to die out of those he loves #bc gojo is the Strongest and tsumiki is a non-sorcerer so they should both be Safe while megumi is just. megumi #vs megumi at 15 having lost tsumiki gojo nobara nanami etc etc and knowing it's only a matter of time before he loses yuuji too #megumi not knowing how to be the survivor because he never thought he'd live long enough to have to say goodbye #also sometimes i think abt that post that was like... remember in thg how katniss' motivation for Everything is saving prim? #and then prim still died at the end because the world they lived in could not allow someone so good to live? it could not allow #katniss the One thing she wanted most #yeah so like. everything megumi is doing and has done has been for tsumiki. it's all been for her #but the world they live in is cruel and tsumiki is too good of a person #and when has megumi ever been granted anything he's wanted? why should the world allow him his one biggest desire of tsumiki's safety? #and what is megumi supposed to do when he outlives the one person who has been by his side - the one person he wanted most to save #how is he supposed to live a long life when everyone he cares about is gone? how is he supposed to care about new people? #what's that one quote that's like. a son or a husband can be replaced but who can grow me a new brother #no one can replace tsumiki. megumi cannot find a new sister #yes losing gojo and yuuji would be devastating. but at the end of the day megumi has known yuuji for only a few months #and gojo was already a replacement for his father #tsumiki has been with him longest and she's always been megumi's main motivation #she's the reason he didn't go to the zenin clan. she's the reason he was trained by gojo. she's the reason they're all in the culling games #trying to fix it from the inside and running on a time limit #and what happens if he CAN'T save her. what happens if. like katniss and prim. despite EVERYTHING. tsumiki still has to die #THIS IS ALL BECAUSE OF TSUMIKI #BECAUSE MEGUMI WANTS TO SAVE HER #DO YOU UNDERSTAND!!!!! DO YOU UNDERSTAND THE TRAGEDY IN BEING ALIVE WHEN EVERYONE ELSE IS GONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! #sorry i'm not normal about fictional sibling dynamics. btw if you even care #hello grace here #jjk spoilers #update i just realized it's not even 7am. as you can tell i'm having a great time today

[lovesickeros]

putting my thoughts under the cut in case people dont want to spoil themself on arle voicelines

currently obsessed with the view our current harbingers have of the Tsaritsa. both childe and arlecchino greatly respect her even if arlecchino is dubiously loyal to the Tsaritsa at best. they both talk about her as a figure who is gentle and compassionate, completely at odds with both the organization she allows to commit horrible acts (dottore. its a lot of dottore. he canonically took children from the hoth under the old knave if they were no longer considered "useful" and used as test subjects). shes described as someone with no love left for her people yet the harbingers we've heard talk about her never seem to describe her in such a manner. of course, childe mentions she had to harden herself to complete her goal, but he still notes that shes too gentle. the more we learn about her the more i want to meet her purely because she is contradictions all the way down and its great!!! taking whatever scraps i can get and its perfectly in line with my characterization too so i stay winning

#not a fic #shaking like a rabid dog TSARITSA LORE TSARITSA LORE TSARITSA LORE #lore that actually follows how i characterize her too!!!!!! #a woman who is the goddess of love yet so clearly incapable of it and still it peeks through anyway #a horrible contradiction of the goddess of love and the tsaritsa. the cryo archon. #a woman who is gentle and loving and adoring at her very core but she cannot love. she cannot allow herself to love #despite the fact it was the very thing she was known for. she was the goddess of love and now she must sever a part of her #the fatui as a whole is all about “the greater good. no matter the cost” and it shows through every member!! #also the themes of “love” are shown through her harbingers as well in interesting way that i adore #childe and arlecchino themselves especially. #childe is all about familial love. he adores his family and esp his younger siblings. he'll do anything to make them happy #contrasted by arlecchino's lack of emotion at all. she cares for the kids but does she love them? maybe. but she is not a good “father” #she is still a harbinger. still raising children to be soldiers in the name of the tsaritsa. #but also her + clervie as a theme of love (however you see them aside) #i wont go too in depth but scara and his is familial as well (ei. and later nahida) #and also signora (romantic. rostam) is the turning point in her story. it made her into the crimson witch of flames!!! #something something love is consuming. and it consumed her (also applicable to arle to an extent) #okay ill shut up now this has been ur daily tsaritsa yapping

[jules-and-company]

one thing about me is that i’m an orestes-electra-pylades defender. if you don’t hear them being defended anymore that means i am deceased

#something something about them being linked forever #none of them being redeemable all of them being innocent #about this sister who was refused love all her life and who kept it all inside her to give it to her little brother #who loves him so much that the lines blur and we don't know if she's sister ; mother ; father ; or lover even #because who could love him more than she does ? #about this brother who grew up with nothing but rage #rage towards this man he was given to ; that man ready to sell him into slavery #rage towards his mother who got rid of him #rage even towards this father that he has to kill for despite never having known him #rage towards the gods who set up his own curse and let him suffer for a good long while #and apollo did not tell him that no holy ritual will ever truly wash all the blood from his hands #but despite all this rage has chosen to love #to love this sister that he only knew the name of #and who welcomed him with more warmth than three suns combined #who had more fight in her than him and who urged him to do them justice #that's why he did not really hesitate when he killed clytemnestra #because he had seen his sister - a princess - reduced to rags and is skin on bone #and about this friend who became the definition of devotion #who voluntarily chose to follow his friend whom he knew was damned #chose to share the burden of killing with him #and who followed him on every corner of the earth they went to #and i know those three took such gentle care of each other #i know that electra and pylades both refused to go to sleep while the other tends to orestes having his fits of delirium caused by erinyes #yes their hands are bloody #but it's the same blood that's running through their three hearts attached by a red string #and the red of blood looks a lot like the red of love #electre/oreste #classics

[mrsdulac]

do you ever think about how Claudia kind of reverted into an actual baby child after she’s with Lestat and Louis because for the first time in her life she felt safe and loved?

#like she’s 14 but…she feels 8 years old in the first few years #like she’s just so sweet and bubbly and silly #she plays with dolls and gets dressed in frilly dresses #they gave her a tiara for her birthday 😭 #they gave her everything a kid could want #and claudia basked in it until she realized that she’s supposed to be growing but isn’t physically #it’s just so sweet and so sad to me #how child like she is despite being on the edge of adolescence #because she was never truly loved…only tolerated #her mother died and then her father left her with an aunt who beat her #and out of nowhere come these two strangers (one of whom is desperate to save her despite not even knowing HER NAME) #and they treat her like a princess #and claudia decides to ‘just go with it’ #idk where I’m going with this #I’m just really emotional about it #interview with the vampire #claudia de pointe du lac #claudia de lioncourt

[miraofhearts2point0]

i dont trust people who think Usagi is boring like just say you dont understand her and move along. bye now!!!

#shes either a buddhist or a goth in her regards to life death and survival #she helps others bc others refused to help her #life treated her so poorly but she refused to let that change her perception #rven after her father's death she refused to take out her anger on others #(despite having the right to feel that way based on her own experiences) #((her dad killed himself bc of how horrible other people were to him)) #she actively chooses good bc she wants to be that light for others who may have been in her shoes #say “manga Usagi wasnt as active” all you want but just know youre wrong #just bc she wasnt always physically active doesnt mean she wasnt actively doing other things #(like taking care of Arisu as a coping mechanism) #she chooses love light and life ALWAYS bc she knows part of life is to suffer. thats kinda the whole point #but being that good in a sea of darkness is what makes living worthwhile #the only rzn that wasnt the message right off the bat was bc it takes place from Arisu's POV not Usagi's #anyways I LOVE USAGI YUZUHA!!!!! #alice in borderland #ima wa no kuni no alice #usagi yuzuha #yuzuha usagi

[hella1975]

isn't it insane how three of endeavor's kids are heroes. and all three of them don't follow his way of going about it. shoto's a conventional hero but he does it through all might's way. he wants to save people. not climb the ranks. fuyumi teaches children so they can learn what's right and wrong. natsuo studies medical welfare so he can help people onsite without the "pro hero,, label. being so normal abt this btw.

BEING REALLY FUCKING NORMAL ABT THIS

#GODDDDDDDDDDDDD THEY ALL JUST WANT TO HELP PEOPLE DESPITE DESPITE DESPITE #fuyumi working with kids is so insane to me. like on the one hand i love fuyumi but i Do have reservations about someone who works #with kids being SOOO dismissive of like. actual domestic abuse happening to a kid right in front of her #say what you like you can't change my mind on this idc if she's justified as a person this is coming from a fuyumi defender #but no teacher should be THAT BIASED about domestic abuse #but anyway what was i saying. OH YEAH. SHE STILL WORKS WITH KIDS. SHE PRACTICALLY RAISED HER BROTHERS #AND SHE KEPT THE FAMILY TOGETHER YOU'D THINK SHE'D WANT A JOB WITHOUT SUCH FOCUS ON CARETAKING #AFTER DOING IT HER WHOLE LIFE BUT IT IS FUNDAMENTALLY PART OF HER. SHE CARES. #NATSUO BEING A DOCTOR BECAUSE HE WANTS TO SAVE WITHOUT CARE FOR RANK OR FAME #SHOUTO BEING A HERO DESPITE /EVERYTHING/ AND SAYING TIME AND TIME AGAIN HE'LL BE BETTER THAN HIS FATHER #god. they drive me mental #ask #todofam #mha

[everyurlithinkofistoolong]

Everyday I think about how Misty isn't the antler queen and how she was the first girl to be disproven right off the bat to not be her. You would think it would be her at first right? She's unhinged, she's unable to see the fault in some of the things she does, she murders and murders, and essentially everything that happened in the wilderness is indirectly her fault because she destroyed the box. But she was the first girl to be shown unmasked because Misty doesn't attempt to hide, or maybe she just can't. She's unmasked because we see her nature right of the bat, there's no pretense of normalcy or repression of who she is.

The antler queen is hidden, behind the scenes. She isn't the one who dragged pit girl's body out, prepared it, and served it. It was served to her. If the wilderness is the representation of trauma, then the antler queen is the source of it and the instigator. The center.

If Misty is a hammer used to beat someone to death, then the antler queen is a quiet poison that you don't even know is in your system until it kills you. Anyways here is why I believe with my whole heart that Shauna is the antler queen.

#who was the one who fucked jackies bf? the one who stews in anger for so long that it comes out in ways that are harmful #whos the one who left jackie out there to freeze to death? whos the one who took the first bite out of her body? #whos the one who released her anger by beating lottie half to death and setting of that whole series of events #whos the one who instead of going to jeff about her suspicions about adultry instead had her own affair and killed adam #who set off the series of events in the present that brought everyone together again which lottie interpreted as the wilderness doing it? #who maintains this veneer of housewife normalcy despite her hands shaking wanting to kill the man her jacked her car so bad #its all shauna its all been shauna its just we dont see it bc other characters have more obvious and disturbing issues #like misty and her neediness and nat and her father and lottie and her schizophrenia #but shauna the plain girl. the one who takes out her angry upon seeing jackie with jeff on taissa accusing her of injuring their teammate #on purpose #shauna whos normal. shauna whos the straight A student. but shes the one whos dark inside. her actions have such a rippling effect #that its hard to see that it all traces back to her #lottie saying that callie is so powerful. callie being repeatedly compared to her 'psychopath' of a mother (quote) #shauna being the executioner except she covers her eyes bc she is ashamed. she doesnt want them to see how badly she wants to do this #how badly she wants to pull the trigger but natalie says to look her in the eyes when she does it. bc natalie sees thru it she always seen #thru it #yellowjackets #i love shauna shipman actually i love her so much

[petruchio]

taylor swift will always be my avoidant attachment queen. like the way she always talks about desperately wanting love and fantasizing about it being perfect but then in reality just peacing out without explaining yourself whenever things get remotely hard or get a little too real [you gotta leave before you get left/should’ve known i’d be the first to leave/breaking up making up leave without saying goodbye/i packed my bags left cornelia street before you even knew i was gone] like she gets it…

#caroline speaks #taylor swift #like all her songs are for us avoidantly attached girlies #it’s like i can make you fall in love with me (find out what you want be that girl for a month) #but im actually terrified of what it means for someone to stick around (who could ever leave me but who could stay?) #and then all her songs about fantasies are the fantasy of someone STAYING despite it #(you said i’ll never leave you alone/all you had to do was stay/all those times that you didn’t leave/i never wanna see you walk away) #hmm wonder why!! (you say we’ll never make my parents mistakes/leaving like a father/trying to stay for the kids when keeping it how it is #will only break their hearts worse…)

[karmaphone]

I can see some of y'all are deep in the colonial romance fantasies re silna 😒😒😒

#terrorposting #the thing about goodsir/silna is that it's good because it didn't happen #she doesn't love him like that. he's the man who (symbolically) killed her father he's her jailer he's the information leech worming #it's way into her vocabulary #he loves her like that of course. how could he not with the tales of native romances he's been spoon-fed. and she knows that he doesn't see #her as a Whole Unique Person. she's the arctic to him. she's the unyielding ice and wind that cuts at your skin and the beast haunting them #they're not made for each other it's not 'anything could've happened' - it's good because it didn't #there was clearly a draw and a connection there - but this show is EXCELLENT at illustrating how fuzzy the borderline between chemistry and #what people are truly capable of at their worst #can be #it's 'for all the love that could have been if we were both different. if the world was different. if we weren't here (but if we weren't #here we never could be)' #it's you are clearly bad for me but I cannot tear myself away #it's you bring me comfort but I wish you weren't here (I wish we both weren't here) #it's we're going through this awful thing together. despite it all despite what either of us wants we're in this together #it's not some fuckign. uwu THIS white man will treat her good. how can you say that after a single second of considering the sexualization #of native women #they're fascinating because of the situation not because it's some 'better' romance #some of y'all suck the nuance right outta things like a juice box I swear to GOD

[broke-on-books]

☕

The live action Scooby-Doo movies?

I did not see this ask until RIGHT now (first time on desktop since crab day, second time since Nov 5 2020 [which was DOUBLY experience since I got my phone taken the same day]) so I'm going to assume this ask got eaten on mobile because tumblr, HOWEVER you poked a bear with this ask anon (as I'm sure you knew when asking) SO without further ado: my Scooby Doo live action opinions

So when you say 'live action Scooby-Doo movies' I'm assuming you're talking about the James Gunn films, starting with Scooby-Doo (2002) followed by Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed, just due to like, generally popularity and also the fact that I have actually seen those films. However shoot another ask if you wanted me to include Curse of the Lake Monster in this (because I will if anyone cares and turn this into a live-action scooby dissertation, i'd just need to like. watch the movie first) But anyways where I'm going with this is that this post is about the Gunn movies aka the ones with SMG, Freddie Prinze Jr., Linda Cardellini, and ofc our #1 man, Matthew Lilliard.

Okay so my take on these movies is... complicated. I wouldn't say it's as complicated as my feelings towards SDMI, because I watched the live actions way less as a kid and generally care less about them, but still no matter how much shit I throw at these two movies there are parts that I generally like (even love) that stops me from totally condemning them wholesale. Like the fact that these movies are FUNNY! There's so many moments from this duology that are just beyond iconic "like, that's one of my favorite names!" the whole thing with Scooby in the dress at the airport, ET. CETERA (like I can go on!)

The Gunn movies are genuinely SO fun and I can 100% see and understand how they've stood so well in the public view as a representation of Scooby. HOWEVER, this is where you start to see my problems with them. For the general American, (because that is the audience I'm familiar with) ESPECIALLY millennials and younger, who happen to make up the majority of both people on this site AND people I talk about Scooby with in real life, these movies, and the elements they introduced as "quintessential scooby tropes" are the base of their understanding of the Scooby franchise, along with likely some miscellaneous WAY episodes and maybe SDMI.

Which is where I get pissed off. In the pushing of the narrative of "breaking away" from the Scooby norm, Gunn basically invents (aka totally makes up) an idea of what classic era Scooby was like, cementing an idea of classic Scooby into the public mind that is totally disingenuous and just straight up false. For example, in attempting to portray Daphne as having taken strides to be seen more seriously in solving mysteries and defending herself, it pushes the narrative that in the classic era she WASN'T taken seriously, and only existed as a damsel-in-distress prop of a character, which is just not true??? Like yes, Daphne is clumsy, that's a part of her character, and her friends (because, fun fact, the gang ARE friends) joke about it sometimes because that's what friends DO. Framing that in some kind of sexist "that's all she does" lens is just total bull, especially as gang members fall into secret passageways/get lost etc. in WAY ALL THE DAMN TIME because that's how the plot functions! Like are we calling Velma ditzy for losing her glasses every other episode? Of course not, and Fred falls into passageways all the time, not to MENTION Shaggy and Scooby and all they get up to. Also one last thing on the topic of Daphne, like this idea of her mystery solving skills not being respected by the gang is just so supremely bullshit it amazes me sometimes, especially when she was the LEADER (or leader adjacent) through pretty much all of her appearances in the 1980s [Not that James Gunn could look at '80s era Scooby without spitting on it, but I digress]

AND THIS IS JUST DAPHNE! Like the perceptions pushed towards Fred (and Velma, but mostly Fred) through these movies are just as bad! Like okay, with Fred---In these movies Fred is just an asshole. I hate Gunn Movies!Fred. I mean yeah he can be funny but it's almost always so mean! Almost nothing makes me madder than a mean Fred by the way. If he's putting other gang members down (even halfway, like with his whole "dorky chicks like you turn me on too" line, which... ew) then to me something has gone very, very, VERY, wrong in your basic understanding of Frederick Herman Jones as a character. Like he's the cheerleader! He puts himself in between his friends and danger! He loves nets, and traps, and Elvis impressions, and wrestling, and the trapeze, and cars, and most of all he LOVES sharing the things he loves with his friends! (Sometimes to a bit of an extreme. No one wants to hear about your net facts, Fred) And the live action movies just don't understand that at all. And I know there's maybe something to say I suppose in that some of those aspects of his characterization hadn't been "established yet" by the time "Scooby-Doo" came out in 2002. But it's there if you look. For Fred Jones, being the leader means being the caretaker, (he's the Mom friend what can I say) and any version where he's cruel and arrogant and just DOESN'T CARE about his friends in the way he's shown to in the Gunn movies is just so far from Fred to me it's not even funny. And what makes it even worse for me is that this (or at least something similar) is the idea of Fred that has really spread to the popular culture. Just the "leader", the jock that makes the rules, the one that [insert X adaptation here] finally gave a personality and made interesting (something that has been said more times than I can count for pretty much every gang member, save Shaggy and Scooby).

And I haven't even touched on Velma, and how they gave her a bit of a early 2000s smart superiority girl complex against Daphne, plus the whole makeover thing and etc. etc. The Gunn Movies are pretty much what would happen if you took someone who hadn't seen Scooby since they were 7 years old (and honestly had a pretty negative outlook against it then) and tried to "fix" it, only his memory was so bad he just made up problems (and threw in a good helping of early 2000s style sexism with it) convincing pretty much the entirety of the popular culture that said problems exist and that Gunn was absolutely brilliant for fixing them (and then bringing up said "problems" whenever anyone wants to talk about Scooby) and this entire rant has been without even fucking MENTIONING what is probably the reason you, anonymous tumblr user sent this ask in the first place, to I, Swishy "Scrappy Doo Redemption Arc" Broke-on-books (dot tumblr dot com), which is his HIGHLY SUCESSFUL and utterly sadistic character assassination of my number one man, Scrappy Doo.

And I am going to try my damnedest here not to get totally into my highly passionate opinions over what James Gunn did to Scrappy in the first of his Scooby movies and how thoroughly it has pissed me the fuck off because I have been writing this post for over an hour now and if we start to really get into my feelings on this topic it will certainly be a couple of hours more but like. That Fucking Bitch. I give James Gunn personally a solid eighty-five percent of the blame for making my life as a Scrappy Doo fan UTTERLY unbearable with this stupid fucking movie alone, and just his Scrappy crimes would honestly be enough for me to say that I hate this movie, not even considering the numerous Scooby crimes I've been talking about here for the past million paragraphs, but the part about this movie that makes me the MOST mad the most pissed off is that it's actually a good fucking movie. James Gunn wrote two hilarious and entertaining movies that have become beloved in the popular culture for their successes in that arena, while at the same time pissing all over the core themes and messages of the franchise of which it was based, that of friendship.

TLDR; The Live Action Scooby Doo movies (written by James Gunn) are highly entertaining and fun pieces of media to watch, and are widely loved by the general public and looked at with fondness and nostalgia because of that. However, as a hardcore Scooby Doo fan (writing that phrase sounds so ridiculous but oh well) the existence of these movies and their impact on the popular culture can be extremely frustrating (despite any personal nostalgia said fan may have) due to their spreading of a misinformed picture of what "typical Scooby Doo" looks like. This picture is especially frustrating due to the fabrication or exaggeration of problems present in classic Scooby (such as sexism in regards to the girls), as well as giving more ammunition to other problems in Scooby fandom (such as oversexualization, and sexualization in general, which no one wants to see in regards to their children's cartoons, like HONESTLY.) Discussions of sexism and sexualization in Scooby (both of which ARE present and are issues, although not at their worst in WAY) can often lead to an overlooking of the issues that are very present and clear in WAY and have continued since then with far too little resistance (I'm 100% talking about the racism here) HOWEVER that topic deserves at least a dozen posts of its own that I am no way informed or qualified enough to even begin to think about writing. The Gunn Movies are frustrating to many longtime Scooby fans because of these reasons, but for me, and fellow Scrappy Doo fans there is also the added aspect of the demonization of Scrappy Doo in the live action movies and the affects that has had on the popular culture as well, making it uniquely inhospitable to like or enjoy the character of Scrappy. End post.

#that last sentence is such a weird tone jump btw but its because the topic flowed one way and i had to jump it back to a summary to actually #finish this monster of a post #SO anon i hope you're happy with this and this makes my opinion make some more sense. and you or anyone else is more than welcome to ask me #questions about anything i said here or my opinion on any and everything scooby related (and not) so if theres a specific aspect of this yo #would like expanded on i can definitely 100% do that for you or anyone who cares #also there are many complexities towards my feelings on these movies that i didnt get to hit on despite the monstrous size of this rant (il #check word count later but im not gonna fuck with it now because im terrified of deleting this post by accident) one of which is my lasting #fondness towards all of the actors in this movie. YES including freddie prinze jr. i may have major issues with his fred but hes also playe #characters i really really like. for example hes the va in this tv show i LOVE and havent watched in like 10 months despite the fact im on #the last season because freddie's character dies in like 7 episodes and i am NOT AT ALL emotionally prepared for that on any level because #that is my fictional father goddamnit!!!!! #also every buffy the vampire slayer gifset that crosses my dash gets me closer and closer to watching it because oh my god daphne!!!!! that #sarah michelle gellar thats daphne oh my god!!!! also i went and saw guardians of the galaxy 3 with my friend (despite not having seen a #marvel movie in 2+ years AND holding a grudge over james gunn's scooby doo crimes)[the things you do for {platonic} love amirite?] #and the title sequence SAID linda cardellini was in it and i got SO excited i was looking everywhere for her it was like wheres waldo in th #discount movie theatre FOR REAL and i just could NOT for the life of me find her (turns out she was VAing the ferret) so in a way linda mad #me cry with that role. whatever. istg i get so off topic i forget what i was even talking about but ANYWAYS <<<1 of my fave english words b #dubs (my favorite spanish word is el amanacer btw. it means sunrise. also burbujas because its bubbles and saying it sounds like bubbles #popping) BUT. AS I WAS SAYING. SEND ME ASKS IF YOU WANT SCOOBY DOO OPINIONS. DEAR GOD I GET SCATTERBRAINED SOMETIMES. #scooby doo #answered #anonymous #blah