#Glee Meta

[backslashdelta]

I like to imagine that Kurt has that photo of Blaine in his locker the moment after they meet because Blaine is just pretentious enough to give it to Kurt unprompted, and Kurt is just enough of a freak to think that's normal behaviour

[receivedhope]

I feel like it's pretty undeniable that from Season 3 onwards, there seemed to have been a shift in Blaine's character from how he was in Season 2. While I am not the first to point this out, I do think there are some greatly underutilized traits of Blaine present in S2 that get phased out as he receives more screen time and are not usually brought up in such conversations.

This will unfortunately get long because I love Blaine meta.

There was always some half attempt at making Blaine out to be bossy and while Puppet Master is an episode that aims to address this, I did think it fell a little flat in selling this side of him. He was more whiny than anything lol. This bossy side of him that always wants to be in control of the room and the people around him was... given a better set up, I'd say, while he was in the Warblers. It was more subtly showing than outright telling, though unfortunately we spend so little time in Dalton that it was hard to gauge the inner hierarchy and dynamics of the group accurately since they always presented a united front to outsiders - Trent's betrayal in S4 is a big deal. But I always did find it interesting how hung up they were on Blaine, who at the very most attended Dalton only for two years, as well as that he had no actual title such as a captain or head Warbler, yet was the decided leader of the group not just star performer. (See: Will shakes Blaine's hand after their Sectionals tie. Based on just the Warbler court scenes, you'd assume Wes stepping up here to do so make more sense.)

Though it was not lost completely and I always have been of the opinion that most conflict Kurt and Blaine have stem from their respective control issues. Kurt needs schedules, sufficient space to move on his own and he exercises his need for boundaries freely (see: retreating to his room in Home and asking Burt to leave as well, not allowing Finn to touch him in Theatricality and Grilled Cheesus, scheduling Friday night dinners with Burt, scheduling make outs with Blaine in DWS) while Blaine enjoys being the protector and ultimately having the last word (see: the entire plot of Tested and NNY). It makes a stupid amount of sense that the times they butt heads the core issue stems from an external force limiting their movement, like how in TFT Blaine sees the opening night closing in on him as a deadline and makes him panic, or when Blaine cheats in TBU to gain some control over how to identify their long distance relationship, or how Kurt feels their impending wedding more suffocating than anything pre S6.

However something that unfortunately did seem to get entirely lost from Blaine's character as time went on, that I do think miss from him entirely in latter seasons, is his conformist attitude from S2.

Blaine is almost Kurt's foil during his Dalton arc. While Kurt hates having to fit in (and has never quite succeeded in it at all), Blaine likes moving as one with other people. He likes being a part of a team, being depended on and being liked. And this attitude ultimately is why he is stuck in a rut before he meets Kurt - he retreats to Dalton when real life gets complicated and messy, because he is never challenged by it. Dalton is how Blaine ultimately sabotages himself.

Even his wardrobe in S2 was telling this story - a completely normal guy who likes being only that. The very few times we see him in everyday clothes, they are average with nothing outstanding to note. Dark colors, jeans, simple shirts. A far cry from "I am the center of attention and this primary colors proves it" and wacky bowties. While I always liked that Kurt is most likely the one picking out his clothes, I did enjoy this side of Blaine more, the subdued, regular everyday guy who wears only what his peers do - even if the costume department would have found it painfully boring to stick with in the long run lol.

Why he got so worked up about and increasingly frustrated with Finn actively excluding him from the ND in early S3 also makes sense. While Kurt, as a true individualist with no real desire to fit in is not easily phased by not being included, Blaine takes it to heart.

(I always thought Blaine views having a significant other is like always being in the same team with someone and is why he desires a relationship so much.)

I like this aligned with his hesitance and slight uncomfortableness over Kurt's prom outfit in PQ as well. (Though, I'm sorry to grasp as straws, I also enjoy the thought of Blaine deciding to side with Burt as a way to impress him - if you look closely, Blaine is more impressed and smitten with Kurt's outfit at first... But you are free to disregard this point because this is just me being insane.)

A natural conclusion of his bossy and conformist personality would ultimately result in him also leaning towards being authoritarian, which I think makes great sense for someone who likes being part of a team, knowing where they all stand and making sure he fits in but also preferring to take charge and be the head. I really like that! And I think this all being contrasted with Kurt, who can't blend in, even if he tries (see: Preggers, Laryngitis, his entire dalton arc, I'd argue that even his senior class president campaign as well as starting in NYADA qualify a bit) and always makes his own path to follow is just sooo interesting and can really sell the whole opposites attract thing! Because I do believe that Kurt found it particularly nice that there is this outstanding, well mannered guy who is respected by all his peers and is ready to go to bat for him, helping him push Kurt's ideas as well as using his influence to help him - I think somthing very similar attracted Kurt to Finn as well in S1 - and it is pretty much canon that Blaine finds Kurt's fighting spirit inspiring and something hopeful (I think he was inspired by Kurt to transfer to McKinley, which is why "I did this for me" and "I even switched schools for him" can simultaneously be true), as well as attractive that Kurt is a one of a kind (cut to 'youre the only one...' in DCT). Also put a pin in that last part, because I have so much to say about the consistent bird allegories and imagery associated with their relationship, but maybe at a later date since this is already getting long.

Other times, I also think that S3+ Blaine is not that out of left field if you pay attention to him in S2. Something that gets pretty early established is that Blaine is a rash and impulsive person. When he is hurt, he lashes out. You can see this in NoN when Karofsky picks a fight with them, it gets physical pretty quickly, however you can see Kurt being just... disappointed? Resigned, almost?

Blaine is also quick to react to Sandy's heckling that Kurt shuts down asap.

We later learn that Blaine is also entirely capable of doing things with the intent of hurting Kurt - he sings a Whitney Houston song at him that implies Kurt much less ambigiously cheated than in reality, in front of all his friends, because at the core of it is his anxiety about Kurt leaving him. He cheats on Kurt when he feels neglected.

And I think it is a bit naive to think he dated Karofsky entirely because of a supposed mutual attraction, ignoring the Kurt of it all. The history them three share is undeniable and he did want Kurt to feel like shit about it - which, for the record, I think is understandable since Kurt broke off their engagement rather ungracefully and it pushed Blaine into a depressive state, to the point of getting cut from NYADA and having to move back to Ohio.

All that to say - I always found all of the above very in line with the S2 Blaine who was quick to compare Kurt to Karofsky in BIOTA, just because Kurt said something mildly offensive in a moment where he was also hurt!

I guess this is also the time to quickly, as a sidenote, talk about Kurt's biphobic comment. I think the ultimate, intended purpose of the scene was more comedic. A mean, off color joke, but a joke RIB wanted to make nonetheless. However I do not find it out of character. Firstly: that is a seventeen year old boy who was told his whole life that he is disgusting and sick for liking men by the entirety of the conservative town he lives in. He is sexually assaulted by his closeted bully and has to transfer schools and he was never afforded to be "in" the closet either, because everyone around him assumes his sexuality. How right or wrong that is to do, is another topic. He has a crush on the only other out and proud gay kid in Ohio - who would rather give it a shot with a girl before Kurt. And to add insult to injury, Kurt already lost a crush of his to Rachel!

Of course he is hurt, of course he will say something less than gracious!

And Blaine in the only other person who is fully aware of Kurt's situation - for him to compare Kurt saying something mean and a bit offensive to Karofsky's actions is out of pocket, in my opinion.

I'm not sure how to end this neatly, but I will say this: I do like all of the above about Blaine and would have loved to see these traits more consistently. I do not think this darker side of his negates the good parts of him. If anything, understanding his lows helps me appreciate his highs even more.

[mymanyfandomramblings]

Best Season For Each Glee Character (In My Opinion) And Their Best Episode In Said Season

Note: I'm picking which episode in the season I picked is their best, not overall

Rachel: Season One. Early Rachel is truly one of THE characters of all times, and she's hilarious, and I think they had the formula down the best for her insanity. Best Episode: Either Pilot or Bad Reputation

Finn: Also Season One. I love his arc in the first season, and you get such a good feeling for his character, and you get such a good feel for both his strengths and weaknesses. The other three seasons he's in are also good for him, and he has one of the most consistent arcs and developments, but he's making less Horrible Decisions in Season One. Best Episode: Ballad (no questions asked)--

Kurt: Season Two. Yes, he suffers in Season Two, but he also meets Blaine, and he gets actual storylines that are seperate from Rachel's, and aren't just reducing him to his sexuality or his ability to deliver cutting remarks. Best Episode: Grilled Cheesus, Never Been Kissed or Born This Way

Mercedes: This is rare but Season Five is truly the season where Mercedes shines brightest. She gets to be more than Rachel's competition for solos for the first time, and they actually take time to explore the way her faith informs her decisions. She truly feels like such a realized character in S5. Best Episode: Tested

Santana: Season 2 or 4. Season Two because she's living her best evil life, as well as having some chances to really show her vulnerable side, Season Four, because she's actually being a pretty nice person most of the time, albeit in the most chaotic way possible. I could do a whole analysis of why those are her best seasons, but this is not the time. Best Episodes: Silly Love Songs or Sexy (S2), Girls (And Boys) On Film or Feud (S4)

Quinn: Season One. They seemed to have gotten the right balance here of Quinn being character who suffers a lot, but is also not a very nice person in Season One, and they are never quite able to regain that again. My second pick would actually be Season Three, where she gets to have a lot of good conversations and growth. Best Episode: Throwdown or (what else) Funk

Puck: Season Two. Two words: Lauren Zizes. Also they seemed to have actually figured out what they wanted to do with him in that season. Like Quinn, Season Three was going to be my second pick for him, because I really like his arc in Choke, but alas, the Puck x Shelby thing drags S3 down for him. Best Episode: Never Been Kissed or Original Song

Tina: Season Three or Five. She gets a fair bit to do in Season Three--she's in quite a few songs, and she isn't yet at corruption-arc status, although she's no longer dressing goth, which is a shame. That said, Season Five is also a fun season for her--she's past the worst of her villain arc, and she gets to participate in the stupidity that is Blamtina. Best Episodes: Hold Onto Sixteen or Props (S3) and Trio (S5)

Artie: Season One. He gets some storylines in S1 which aren't just him fumbling girls (and as Artie's no.1 fan, I am here for him getting storylines), and they hadn't completely flanderized his occasional sexist comments into his whole personality yet. Best Episode: Dream On, by a mile.

Brittany: I'm conflicted here. Season One was the only season where she was written with any consistency, however she barely does anything in S1, so it seems unfair. However, she does have some great moments in Season Two. Best Episode: Sexy or Britney/Brittany

Mike: Season Three. He actually gets things to do in Season Three. Best Episode: Asian 'F' (surprisingly)

Sam: Season Two. It took a moment, but once they figured out what to do with Sam Evans, he truly became one of The characters of Glee. Season Three is also good, but he's out-of-focus a lot Best Episode: Rumours

Blaine: Season Four. I know everyone loves Dalton era!Blaine, but I don't care about the Warblers, and although I do like Klaine, I honestly think that it was so good to see Blaine minus Kurt for a season or so, because previously, it had been so obvious that he was a Designated Love Interest character, and Season Four was so important in developing his personality outside of Kurt. Best Episode: Dynamic Duets

[jin-zixun]

well if it isn't the 15th anniversary of the glee episode where rachel and kurt have a diva-off and kurt throws the high note because his father is being harassed.

Literally in tears at this episode tonight because ffs knowing how Kurt's story ends there is nothing to call this other than tragic. This isn't the diamond placed under tragic circumstance he will need to overcome. This is the tragic flaw that will lead to his inevitable downfall.

Kurt is accommodating, Kurt is compromising. Kurt sacrifices his dream, what he's fought for, the thing that actually got him excited, for someone else's sake. And it's for the sake of his father, the same person he got involved with the football team for. He wasn't excited over football! He was excited over his father seeing him play football! Because he's selfless and he cares about people!

But it's also... Not great? Kind of toxic? If he's always giving of himself and sacrificing for others?

What Kurt's arc should be is to learn how to be able to put himself first, at least some of the time. Like an opposite situation to Rachel who wants what she wants and stops at nothing to get it and complains when she doesn't.

Also about being truly seen as he is, and getting the support he needs from the people around him (which have been set up as issues for him since the pilot).

Kurt needs to be acknowledged and to be given the space to self-actualize, to know that it's okay to want things, that support isn't one way (from him to everyone else).

So... He ends up with a love interest who is like a male version of Rachel if she were more manipulative and selfish, who tells him he needs to blend in, places limits on him, and treats him as a support for himself, taking and taking to the point where he tries to force himself on Kurt to improve his performance and then twisting it around on him until Kurt apologizes.

Who ends up cheating on him because Kurt dares to take time away from being his full time cheerleader to pursue his own dreams. Who sees him as competition, and therefore someone who will always have to step aside for him, because that's the person Kurt is.

Someone who is custom built to take advantage of Kurt's better nature rather than to build him up and help him to grow. Someone who purposefully hurts his growth because it's more convenient to manipulate a guy who never puts himself first, who sees it as unmitigated good to sacrifice for others. Someone who thinks it's fine and good that Kurt be the support and that's all he'll ever be.

And it's not like this isn't the direction the story is taking for Kurt! Because that's exactly the direction Kurt's story goes in regards to his relationship with his father. Kurt ends up backsliding into pleasing his father when he decides he needs to be straight, which leads to a series of choices that is a complete sacrifice, and honestly, betrayal of himself. Something he is able to overcome by the end of that episode, because he sings Rose's Turn and has a talk with Burt where Burt finally seems to be offering him the support he so desperately needs.

Then there's the confrontation between Finn and Burt in Theatricality. Burt is finally the one standing up for his son, sacrificing for him by telling Finn he can't be there treating Kurt the way he is, that it might cost him his relationship with Carole, but his son comes first.

And he even spells it out so kindly to Kurt and to the audience. Kurt assumes the best in people. Including in Burt himself, let's be clear. Burt *has* been dropping the ball. He's gone through his own arc parallel to Kurt's in this! Because he needs to be the Father Kurt needs.

Kurt is forgiving, Kurt is willing to let things slide because they're only things being done to him and he can take it, he's fine. He can sacrifice, he doesn't need to feel safe or be free from harassment in his own home. That doesn't matter. But it does to Burt, as it should! Because Kurt is his son, who he loves, that's his priority. And Finn has to make it up to Kurt too, as he should! And he does.

Everything's coming up Hummel!

(But it doesn't.)

(Finn even tells Kurt he should try harder at blending in in Theatricality, but it's different when Blaine does it. Dalton doesn't have a 'bullying problem' but yeah the outcome is the same. Actually it's not, because in Theatricality, Kurt (and eventually Finn) could stand up to the bullies. Nobody stands up to Blaine because *he's* not a bully, of course not, he's just *looking out* for Kurt. Because, well. It's just not done.)

[wowbright]

Can anybody tell me what Adam Crawford's necklaces were? Like, the main one looks kind of like a dog tag but it's not. Clearly there is someone who has looked into this in detail and maybe even done meta.

@spaceorphan18 ?

[therealvinelle]

I smell a glee meta about quinn fabray coming soon…. Hopefully on why she's a pit of despair??

Anon, she gets pregnant in high school and gets kicked out by her parents. She has to live with a classmate she barely knows because no family will take her, all the while her Glee club leader's wife is preying on her to get her baby. She has to live with the guilt of this only happening because she cheated on her boyfriend, I can't even blame her for saying it was Finn's- she's a teenager and Puck is the least suitable father in the world, Quinn was in survival mode.

Oh, and she loses her popularity at school and place in the Cheerios (which could have gotten her a scholarship) over this, yes she... more or less gets it back but that doesn't take away the fact that everything crumbled at once for her.

Wanting to do right by the child she gives her baby up to Rachel's mom, only to later regret this decision because her life is such a pit of despair that the baby is the sole shining beacon in her life. There is a baby theft attempt.

The girl is a mess.

And the world of Glee is a strange world where the rules are written by the Rachel Berrys of the world, and so Quinn continues to be treated like Regina George even when she's at her lowest points. Take her prom queen dream for an example, she wanted this one thing for herself, something she was embarrassed for even caring about because it was so silly, but damnit she wanted to be prom queen. Or the time we found out she used to be ugly, but she went under the knife and lost weight, and the message seems to be that she's shallow.

In a sentence, the show keeps trying to gaslight me into thinking Quinn Fabray needs to redeem herself of the sin known as being blonde and pretty. And that leads to her being the show's constant, relentless, punching bag.

[von-frappe]

have i posted consistently in a year? no. but i've had a thought about the show glee (2009-15) and nowhere else to share it so to the old tumblr blog it goes.

In season 6 we're introduced to 2 new characters; spencer and mason.

Spencer is a post modern gay teen™ he's not like the other gays he loves football (❤️🏈) and hates lady gaga (🤢🤮) and whilst theres nothing wrong with having those opinions, spencer is placed in a position of superiority because he has those opinions.

Things stereotypically liked by feminine people = bad

Things stereotypically liked by masculine people = good

The character clearly has internalised homophobia and toxic masculinity and even the itself series depicts him as being negatively affected by these issues, when he feels as though he can't join glee club because he'll be judged.

Spencer says that he needs to keep in line with a more stereotypically masculine presentation because being gay is already seen a mark against him, he's pressured into being one thing

The show acknowledges spencers harmful mindset a little but they dont deconstruct it enough, so a lot of the audience still see it as a positive one simply because its not stereotypical.

Then we have Mason, he's a cheerleader who doesn't have the same pressures or worry over judgement that spencer has, despite being a straight man who is part of a cheerleading squad and enthusiatically joins the glee club because he wants to.

He rejects the stereotypes associated with his sexual orientation and has a freedom and joy that spencer doesn't have.

yet we're led to believe that spencer despite all the baggage he has around doing anything that could possibly be percieved as feminine is the the more liberated one

[thesubtextmachine]

In my penultimate article in my Glee series, I talk about the ways Glee could/should have ended. I’m so fucking curious you guys. From the gleek perspective, what’s the ideal configuration? I’m personally on team “Just Can’t Get Enough” because im an indulgent gleek 😇

[sopheadraws]

When it comes to Brittany S. Pierce, people’s interpretations are all over the place. It ranges anywhere from <3 innocent babie <3, to severely cognitively impaired, to manipulative liar who pretends to be stupid so others obey their will (which I’ll later accuse her mother of, but that’s neither here nor there). Anyways, I’m adding my opinion into the cacophony because, despite the indecisive fanbase, thorough Brittany meta is lacking in quantity. Also, I tend to think my opinion is best, as is human nature.

This analysis is rooted in autistic!Brittany, and while its unnecessary since I’ll go through many of her autistic characteristics, here’s a post detailing the headcanon and a medical article describing the diagnostic criteria in simple terms if you’re unfamiliar with the disorder. I understand that not everybody considers Britt neurodivergent, and that’s totally fine - I’m always up for a healthy conversation/debate! - but please give me a heads up if you plan to respond critically because a lot of this is based on my own experiences as an autistic teenage girl, so unmentioned critiques can feel personal fast. Now without further ado:

A Deep Dive Into Brittany S. Pierce <3

Auditory Processing Disorder “APD” is a subdivision of Sensory Processing Disorder “SPD” which is a quintessential element of an autism diagnosis. APD is pretty much exactly what it sounds (haha pun) like: despite somebody’s hearing abilities, the brain fails to process auditory input properly. The APD trait I hear discussed most in autism spaces is the inability to filter out background noises, but Britt seems to struggle most with interpreting meaning from words. Sometimes when people talk to me (“dolphins are just gay sharks”), even though they’re speaking clearly and I’m very literate in English, it sounds like jumbled nonsense (“dulfanz-our-goost-gae-shorcks”). This accounts for what I’m calling Brittany’s “so close you can taste it” lines. Think of her claim that Christopher Cross discovered America or that O is the capital of Ohio; a man named Christopher C. is indeed credited with discovering America and O is the only capital letter in Ohio. As a whole, they often misunderstand things told to them directly, and it seems a lot less foolish if she only understood half of what was being said via APD.

I’m calling the category of Brittany lines that can’t usually be rationalized as possible by anybody over seven (e.g. Rory the leprechaun, storks delivering babies, and anything with Lord Tubbington) the “stranger than fanfiction lines.” Now, I could take these at face value and say she’s tapping into a magical dimension, but I have my own set of autism driven realism issues, so, without a pre-existing fantasy world, I’m using my significant brainpower to twist Brittany into plausibility =D I ultimately think the best explanation for the stranger than fanfiction lines is echolalia. Echolalia is the repetition of words or phrases, and it’s usually associated with autism. Autistic people often reuse other people’s words, and since we usually think in pictures and have various social communication problems, it’s easier than formulating new sentences. Or we just like the tongue movements/sound a word makes. Personally, I quote songs a lot - if you say something loosely related to a Taylor Swift, musical, or Glee lyric, chances are I’ll sing it - and dipsomaniacal is a new fave to say randomly. There’s some evidence for Britt doing this in canon, unrelated to the stranger than fanfiction lines. While Brittany is known for calling him Blaine Warbler, it actually originated from Rachel and the infamous spin the bottle kiss. They also repeat ‘uber weird after Blaine in the That’s So Rachel reading, and the last line of that scene is them talking in time with Blaine, a behavior seen in S1 with Santana. However, it interests me most that she calls Artie a robot, as we see her dad call Stephen Hawkin, another wheelchair user, a robot in S6.

Basically, I blame the Pierces for how terribly adjusted their child is <3 (Mostly Whitney. Assuming Pierce actually has an IQ of 40, he’s disabled too and deserves some slack in terms of spreading misinformation.) In her admittedly limited screen time, Whitney manages to do two positive things: be an LGBTQ+ ally and let her younger daughter do soccer, I guess. Otherwise, she kept the truth about Stephen Hawking from Brittany for 20 years, cheated on her husband on their honeymoon for claiming infertility, crapped in random barns, insulted her husband’s intelligence, publicly insulted her husband’s appearance, and arguably restricted her daughter’s intellectual growth. To be honest, I realize Whitney isn’t that deep and I don’t actually hate her, but if people can hate Brittany for being a comedic character from the 2010s, I’ll do the same thing to their mother in defense of Brittany. Fight stop the violence with violence, baby! Anyways, I don’t think echolalia alone can explain the stranger than fanfiction lines. At least, not without a source. And that’s usually where upbringing comes in.

I’m ruling out nature automatically because there aren’t chromosomes telling people to believe in unicorns. Well, some people - including autistic people (hehe see what I’m doing here?) - are more inclined to believe falsehoods, but falsehoods have to be fed by someone else. With autism, the reckless believing tendencies come from literal thinking in part. Also, since SPD makes processing the outside world difficult, we often can’t recognize “obvious” truths in the first place. My extended family hated watching movies with me because I used to ask questions every five seconds lol. Setting Pierce aside because he seems to follow Whitney blindly; Brittany’s unnamed sister, Sue, and Whitney are the remaining suspects.

I assume Brittany’s sister is significantly younger than Britt because she played soccer with a seven-year-old in S1 (technically she could’ve been the coach, but that throws off my theory that the Klaine/Brittana wedding was child free), and children aren’t clever or mean enough to throw off anybody’s world view so badly :) Sue does seem the obvious answer, but she didn’t meet Brittany until they started high school, and she’s consistently baffled by Britt’s behavior despite encouraging her own eccentricities in the other Cheerios. And that leaves Whitney as the perpetrator, blaming her Scientology and gambling addiction on a cat.

Finally, I do think there’s a few times when Brittany intended for her jokes to be jokes. I don’t think it happens as much as you might expect, but there’s a scene in S3 when JBI is interviewing Brittany about her class president candidacy, and she tells him she’s voting for Rick “The Stick” Nelson before turning to Santana and laughing that clued me in. I think the mentality behind these lines (the “pun intended” category) is best explained with an anecdote from my own childhood.

When I was little - maybe six or seven - I really wanted to be funny. Well, I wanted to be liked, and since I didn’t understand social cues, my solution was humor because I knew my dad told jokes which made me laugh, which made him likable! Unfortunately, as a literal thinking child, I had no idea how to do this, which meant I parroted the only joke I knew (“What time is it when an elephant sits on the table?” “Time to get a new table!”) in hopes of chuckles. This went about as badly as you would expect. After a while, my parents got rightfully fed up with this joke and got me a joke book. I had no sense which of these jokes were funny, which wasn’t helped by most of the book being about taxes, bad marriages, and other stuff aimed at adults.

It wasn’t until a routine walk to the convenient store that my comedy dreams were fulfilled. My dad, little sister, and I used to walk to the “snack store” to buy a drink each and share a candy bar. While we had some routine favorites, we also tried out new candies together. However, there were a few bars my dad refused to buy because he’d disliked them prior to our snack store outings. Most infamous of these forbidden fruits was the Zero Bar. We tended to reference the Zero Bar when picking our next treat, and on this fateful day I said, “It’s called the Zero Bar because zero people like it.”

And my dad laughed. He laughed because of something I’d said. I was elated!

The only catch up was I hadn’t actually intended it as a joke. After all my attempts to be funny, the only thing that apparently worked was speaking my mind. This singular incident didn’t rewire my understanding of humor - I attempted the parroting tactic with the Zero Bar joke after all - but it’s the most pivotal moment in my mind. To this day, I play up my neurodivergent thought process to make others laugh. I reference Glee at seemly unrelated times with mock enthusiasm to callback times I’ve mentioned Glee with real enthusiasm or talk about my other interests in forced monotones.

There isn’t any actual evidence that Brittany has the same weird complex about humor, but some of their interactions regarding stupidity parallel it. In general, when they’re away from Santana, Brittany appears fairly insecure about her neurodivergence. I might even go as far as to say that she doesn’t joke without Santana around. Now, I don’t think Britt knows what her atypicalities are until they’re presumably diagnosed at M.I.T., but every neurodivergent person I know knew something was wrong before being diagnosed. (I want to talk about how Blaine’s diagnosed autism is a foil for Brittany’s undiagnosed autism at some point, but you didn’t sign up for autistic!Blaine, so now isn’t the time.)

Anddd, that’d pretty much it for now :) I intend to write more in depth Brittany meta in the future, but this is a decent overview for the time being. I hope this made you think, and I’d love to hear your thoughts if it did!

[framboises-supremacy]

unpopular opinion perhaps but Blaine in glee annoys me sooo much

[autismtana]

season 3-4 brittany thoughts

Maybe Brittany S Pierce in season 3 wasn't "dumbed down" so much as she was just struggling with her executive functioning because she was stressed and anxious about being in senior year and the possibility of everything changing, and the possibility of graduating from high school or not, and what that means. Not to mention her girlfriend went through a really traumatic public outing and being disowned by a family member, Brittany herself was outed by association and then one of her best friends got into a really serious car accident. Maybe everything else took a back seat and people (i.e. her teachers) who should have known about it and supported her with it weren't doing their jobs (like they did not need to shame Mercedes for "lacking direction" or whatever, she actually applied and got into more than one college).

Then in season 4, it gets worse because she doesn't have her safe person (Santana) around, and yeah, people try and all, but they don't really get it. When she comes back, she has a newfound confidence about how smart she actually is, but she doesn't know how to balance herself so she becomes hyperfixated on her math equations while neglecting the things she actually enjoys. I am glad MIT happened for her because even though it was a hasty way to get Heather Morris off the show while she was pregnant, it did add an interesting layer to Brittany's character.

[backslashdelta]

Going a bit insane right now about how much it would have broken Kurt if Blaine had been dating Sebastian instead of Dave in season 6.

Like in both the season 4 breakup and when he finds out Blaine is dating someone in season 6, Kurt's immediate reaction is to think it's Sebastian. It's been YEARS, the boy helped Blaine propose to Kurt, and Kurt is still so scared that it's Sebastian.

Anyway if that happened I don't know how Kurt would come back from that. Like we see him break down about Blaine and Dave in the bathroom but I think that's more about Blaine moving on than it's about Blaine moving on with Dave. But if he were with Sebastian? I just think it would wreck him. It would be so much worse.

I wonder if Blaine still would have told him the same way. Would he have had Sebastian meet them there, without warning? At Scandals, the place that Sebastian introduced them to? The last time they were there together Sebastian was trying to steal his boyfriend and now he HAS and I just–

I don't know how he would have handled that. But I am so obsessed with the idea I cannot get it out of my head.

[receivedhope]

An embarrassingly deep dive into the Klaine Animal duet

I did a personal ranking of Klaine duets and ended up at my pick for number one being Animal. Not that it was a surprise to me in any capacity, because it's one of my favorite Glee covers, but it did prompt me to try and word why I love this duet the most. And while saying "it's a good song and a cute performance" and leaving it at that would suffice just as well, I enjoy rambling wayyy too much.

First off: I am genuinely surprised it is not a more common number one pick?

While I am a total layman when it comes to music (I can only confidently say if I liked a song or not, it is beyond me to try and critique anything on a more technical level) I do think Kurt and Blaine both sound really good and complement each other well here, with the Warbler arrangement putting an interesting twist on an already good song.

I also think the performance itself is so carefree and works flawlessly as a music video on its own. The entire warehouse scene is really well shot and has a distinct color grading to it - one of my favorite shots in almost the entire show is the Crawford Country Day girls' knee socked legs framing Blaine when he gives his speech about how they need to be scream-worthy for regionals. I think it's a very playful shot, getting Blaine between the girls' legs, lol. I also like the foam machine, which is honestly just funny to me and I like thinking this somehow references the Jonas Brothers' foam spray stunt from the late 2000's - which just ties the more innocent, one-sided love and boyband appeal of the song and performance (represented by Kurt) with the more raunchy interpretations of the lyrics, explicitly chosen for the purpose of being sexy with a foam machine complete (represented by Blaine).

Animal is also just a surprisingly innocent song despite the context, since it captures a crush that is about to get serious and the yearning and uncertainty that comes with - my friend and I were talking about Klaine duets and after she mentioned this it clicked into place (and inspired this post).

Because Kurt is leaning so much more on the cute side of things rather than sexy that even when singing "you're just a cannibal and I'm afraid I won't get out alive" I buy that he's talking about exposing his heart and feelings to Blaine, a boy he's still trying to figure out - even if one with a dirty enough mind could interpret that line, in a vacuum, to be about sex.

(As a side note, it bears repeating that Kurt is such A CUTIE here. It's okay Kurt, I think you're sexy in a very adorable and virginal way.)

I actually forgot myself that Animal's lyrics can be considered kinda more flirty and dirty if you squint? And funnily enough, Animal is not as inappropriate as several other songs Blaine picks to describe softer feelings. I like the thought of Blaine choosing it as a "sexy" song and forgoing the "will they won't they" one sided love the song is actually about, to describe a more animalistic urge to "not sleep tonight".

Meanwhile Kurt sings it much more innocently. Partly, we know that Kurt has faced a lot of issues with his sexuality and that he loves romance and marriage. Even though we only get confirmation later in on the episode that he is actually uncomfortable with sex to begin with, we can already sort of deduce that based on how we saw him act around Finn and Sam - I don't want to digress too much, but Kurt was very far from a "sexual predator" considering his wildest fantasies boiled down to another boy singing him a love song and kissing him or that the showers is just a place for him to check what shampoo Sam uses and if it's right for his color treated hair - as well as how he is pretty consistently set up as the antithesis of an average teenage boy. Sex is the last thing on his mind.

And when you rewatch his performance, you GET that he thinks this is only about one sided love and it also contributes to his attempts at being sexy be so goofy and a bit cringey. Not only is he uncomfortable, but he does not see the song in the same way Blaine (and perhaps everyone else in this scene) does. Or at least, it's how I explain away the strike contrast between his demeanor in Push It (confident, he even slaps Finn's ass lmao) and Toxic (playful and a bit detached) compared to Animal (very silly...<3) aside from his recurring and staple trait of losing all of his cool and measured manner when he is working to impress someone, rendering him just so very cringe, like when he tried to impress Burt in Laryngitis, Blaine in most of Season 2 and June Dolloway in The Back-Up Plan (most notably).

While I absolutely feel like I am almost trying too hard to explain some indecency into the lyrics (when it is really not what it's trying to convey) Blaine does consistently misinterpret the emotions of people around him and I'd argue, of his own as well. Would he really pick up on the emotional core of songs that easily?

While this may be an almost appropriate enough segue to talk about why Glee being a musical dramedy plays a lot into how one should interpret the songs and musical performances accompanying them at length, I will refrain for now and condense my thoughts on it: Glee (at least initially) follows the adage "when words are not enough to express your feeling, you sing, and when song is not enough, you dance" and the comedy usually takes a backseat (or is played straight faced) so the emotional state of the characters can shine and guide the story. I guess it is up to you how much you are willing to indulge in the characters themselves picking songs rather than the writers, but I find it much more satisfying to consider them part of the narrative and characterization just as much as you would dialogue, for example.

Thus, Blaine consistently choosing inappropriate songs is an interesting look into his character: he picks When I Get You Alone as a serenade song for Valentine's Day, Candles to sing with his fresh new boyfriend, It's Not Unusual to express his happiness over getting to spend even more time with his boyfriend, Cough Syrup as an inspirational song and not to mention the two break up songs he sings to (and with) his brother.

I don't think it is that much of a reach to think Blaine read "No, I won't sleep tonight / Oh-oh, I want some more / Oh-oh, what are you waiting for?" and went "Oh yeah this has crazy sex appeal".

If Baby It's Cold Outside is a look into how Blaine pursues Kurt, Animal is a look into how Kurt pursues Blaine and why I believe they are so prone to miscommunication.

In BICO, Blaine is crowding him and not taking his teasing protests seriously, which is pretty much what the song is about - a cheeky "we know we shouldn't REALLY do this, but let's anyway" duet from a time when women weren't allowed to express such forward interest. It, coincidentally, fits really nicely with the narrative of two gay school boys alone in some common room who end up flirting, despite the society they live in harshly discouraging them to do so and would not let them perform the song together. You know, as two artists.

Later, however, we find out that Blaine can't easily differentiate Kurt's teasing from his hard no's, so he interprets all of Kurt's actions, someone naturally impish, to be sarcastic most of the time. I don't think it is an entirely off-based assumption by Blaine, but since he is not exactly the best at reading people in the first place, it's even harder to discern for him how Kurt feels, who is more subtle about his emotions than most people.

But it works this time because Kurt is into Blaine, is teasing him and wants him to crowd him.

Kurt has a tendency to never really say word for word what he expects of Blaine so Blaine takes everything Kurt says either at face value or tinted by Blaine's own wants and needs - I firmly believe the scene in the Lima Bean from TPPP is the first time Kurt actually does come out and say he seriously wants Blaine to transfer (and why Blaine drops everything to do so rightaway). Or why such controversial scenes that can turn people off this pairing entirely, like the car scene of TFT or the entirety of their DWS plot, could happen. They always had pretty severe communication issues.

Which is why when the song ends with them sitting down so close to each other, Kurt almost expects a confession after such an undeniably flirty duet (you did NOT make it all up in your head, Kurt!) but Blaine would rather run away from the sudden closeness (and ambiguity) instead and promptly exits. He is not there yet to recognize his own feelings.

Meanwhile, everything Kurt does in Animal is a clumsy attempt at seduction (which he has no experience at). He does high kicks, rolls his hips, tries to stick his tongue out as much as he can when singing the words and is not put off by, or even registering Blaine's worried and confused glances at him.

Kurt has a tendency to be so romantic it dips into delusion. We see this a lot with Finn in S1 and until The Lamp Incident of Theatricality, Kurt is ascribing romantic undertones to Finn's actions very generously and guards what he wants to see of Finn very closely to his heart (a knight in shining armor devoted to him), shielding it from the cruel pain of reality (Finn being an easy-going and nice, straight guy who is very susceptible to peer pressure and a bit too dumb). You can see this the best in Home, when Kurt shows off a bunch of swatches to Finn very proudly and Finn manages to break the illusion for a bit - telling Kurt he has a cowboy wallpaper and ultimately, does not care about something Kurt does so deeply for. You can even see Kurt's expression shift at this moment - but then Finn ends up indulging him and randomly picks a color and that's enough for Kurt to consider it another common interest they can share, going back to fantasize about their future shared room's decor.

The lyrics of Animal are just much more relevant to Kurt than they are to Blaine, even if the lines "It's getting heavy and I wanna run and hide / I wanna run and hide" are some of the most Blaine lyrics ever.

I think Animal also stays relevant even until the next time we see Kurt trying to seduce Blaine in S6 - especially with the first line of the song being "Here we go again", setting up this cyclical nature of the relationship the song is about right away - they get close because they move each other down to their cores and want more, until they get sick of each other again, only to then go back to the pining stage - not their first time at this either, because they have already cycled through this in S4.

"And I won't be denied by you / The animal inside of you" may also be some of the most Klaine lines I have ever read, because their relationship lies on the foundation of sentimentality and this inexplicable, deep attaction to each other that regularly overrides common sense.

I also love that in-universe, Blaine kinda already made Kurt his duet partner (since they ARE technically training for regionals here) and also that he did not give a FUCKKKK about any of the other 15 or so warblers.

No notes, 10/10, five stars, etc etc, if Animal has 0 fans I am dead.

[thecarnivorousmuffinmeta]

Glee Master Post

Quinn Fabray

Thoughts on Quinn

Crossovers

What if the Cullens from Twilight Were in Glee?

What if the Cullens from Twilight Were at Mckinley and Rachel Smelled Delicious?

[holisticfansstuff]

Glee: Klaine—Not So Effing Perfect After All | so thinky

[wowbright]

This was cut from show. But it was apparently in the wedding book as prepared by props for show. Was it in script - idk?

Yes Blaine mentions parents both being there in Shooting Star. The first person he phoned after that was his Mom,not Kurt or others.

They weren’t there at proposal or any competition or graduation.

Also he mentions in Loser like me that he moved back in with his parents. So did they split sometime between Blaine’s return to Lima approx Summer 2014 and his wedding November 2014?

Not a huge time scale really for them to be divorced. Maybe dad left during that time? She doesn’t seem too bothered by it, so it doesn’t seem like a fresh wound.

My head canon is dad’s work takes him away a lot and he has tried to overcompensate by throwing money at the Blaine problem - private school, spare cash, well dressed, able to fly to Ny for Christmas season 4. Mum has maybe her own beauty business as suggested, she was at Britanna wedding to help? Or just cos Sue made sure she was there.

Thank you!!!!